ERMOD, king of Leinfter, having conceived a violent paffon for the wife of Tighernan O'Rourk, king of Breffney, held fecret correfpondence with her, and taking advantage of her husband's ablence, found means to carry her off with her own confent.

When O'Rourk, at his return, was informed of this treachery, he immediately applied to the monarch of Ireland, who, together with the forces of Meath and Offory, invaded the dominions of Dermod, where they were joined by a number of malcontents whom his government had difgutted. Such a force as this being too great for him to withstand, trembling at the ftorm which was ready to burt over his head, and finding his chiefs and nobles all in-. clined to defert his caufe, he refolved to retire into fome foreign country, there to procure, if poffible, that aid which his fubjects would not afford him; and to return at the head of an army, in order to punish their defection. Thus determined, he firft paffed over to Briftol, and from thence to France, in order to implore the English king's affiftance.

Henry II. the fon of the emprefs Matilda, then reigned over England, a prince of a great and enterprifing fpirit. He was in Aquitaine, when Dermod. king of Leinfter repaired to him, imploring, in the character of a diftreffed fovereign, his royal aid against his rebellious fubjects, by which alone he could hope to be reinftated in his kingdom. No thing could be more welcome to the king of England than fuch an application; but he concealed his joy, and was very cautious how he grant ed Dermod's requeft-Yet this cau. sion did not arife from any examina

tion into the merits of the caufe, but rather from a defire of trying what advantage might be hoped from interfering in this quarrel before he abfolutely engaged himself and his people in a war with the Irish nation. For this purpofe, having received an oath of fealty from Dermod, who engaged to hold his dominions as a fief from the crown of England, instead of raifing an army directly for the intended Irish expedition, the wary monarch gave him letters patent indited in the following manner:

Henry, king of

England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and earl of Anjou, to alf his liegemen, English, Norman, Welch, and Scotch, and to all the nations under his dominion greeting.

When thefe letters fhall come to your hands, know ye that we have received Dermod prince of Leinster, into the bofom of our grace and be nevolence; wherefore, whofoever in the ample extent of all our territories, fhall be willing to affift in reftoring that prince, as our vaffal and liegenian, let fuch perfons know that we do hereby grant to him our li cence and favour for the faid undertaking.".

Thefe letters being expedited, Dermod returned to England, and fixed his refidence at Bristol, waiting only till he could collect, by virtue of the patent, fufficient fuccours to enable him to return to Ireland. And it was fome time before he faw any profpect of fuccefs; probably he had waited much longer, had not Richard Clare, earl of Pembroke, furnamed Strongbow, come into his interefts, and embarked in his caufe, on a promife Dermod made him, of giving him his daughter in marriage, and confirming to him the right of

fuccesfion

of the confultation was, that an army fhould immediately be affembled, to check the progress of Dermod and the foreigners; and Roderick was now advancing faft upon them with his forces, but was prevailed upon to enter into a negociation, even after he had difpofed all things for the attack, and a treaty was accordingly made by the terms of which it was agreed That Dermod fhould be reftored to his kingdom of Leinster, which he was to hold under fealty to Roderick, as monarch of Ireland; and, in return he promifed to call over no more foreigners into the island, by a fecret article, alfo ftipulating to get rid of thofe, who were already with him, as foon as he fhould be peaceably fettled in his poffeflions.

But Maurice Fitz-Gerald, foon after landing at Wexford with ten knights and about one hundred and thirty horsemen and archers. Dermod, without paying any regard to what had paffed between the monarch and himself, received this new ally with great joy, and again commenced hoftilities.

He then by the advice of FitzStephen and Fitz-Gerald, wrote to the earl of Pembroke, preffing him to bring over now (in the autumn) thofe forces which he had promifed to land in the fpring; at the fame time informing him of his good fuccefs, and intimating that if he would come over speedily, the conqueft of all Ireland was not a business too great for them, in confort, to attempt.

The earl received this letter with great pleafure; but conceiving that. hat had been done already was rather freiching the power granted in king Henry's patent, before he embarked for Ireland, he went to Normandy, where he fought out that prince, and asked his permiflion to accept the invitation that Dermod had offered him. To this requett

y returned an equivocal anr, which, however, the the earl

chofe to conftrue into a grant of his petition; and accordingly, coming back to England, he waited an opportunity of embarking on this expedition.

When the earl had completed his levies in South-Wales, he led his men to Milford Haven, where, when he was juft ready to embark them, he received a pofitive order from king Henry to go no farther. But, animated with the hopes of atchiev ing honour, and gaining great acquifitions, Strongbow flighted the order, and proceeding on his voyage, landed on the twenty-third of Auguft near Waterford, without oppofition.

The earl allowed his troops but a day's refreshment before he attacked the town without waiting for Dermod's joining him, being willing to have all the honour of fuch an enterprize entirely to himself, - He took it by ftorm, and when the ftreets were filled with blood and laughter, the Danes retreating to a ftrong tower, the earl took that alfo, and made Reginald, the Danish governor, prifoner. After this exploit, (Dermod, Fitz-Stephen, and their troops arriving.) he claimed the King's promife, efpoufed his daughter Eva that very day, and the night was fpent in feftivity and rejoicing, though the morning had opened with fcenes of war and bloodfhed. Thus Dermod kept his word with Strongbow; and this is one of the foundations of the claim of the English kings to the dominion of Ireland, the earl having afterwards refigned his pretenfions in that island to his fovereign.

Dermod, in conjunction with his allies, took Dublin, which was plundered and the inhabitants maffacred; after which they laid wafte the territory of Meath, and expelled the prince of Offory and other chiefs from their lands, carrying terror and difinay wherever they went.

About this time, Henry who was muck

much offended at Strongbow's contempt of his royal orders, and ftill more jealous of his conquefts in Ireland, published an edit forbidding the English to carry on any commerce with that ifland, and moreover ordering all his fubjects who had reforted thither, to return to their native country by the enfuing Eafter, on pain of perpetual banifhment, and confifcation of all their effects.

The earl being much difconcerted at this event dispatched a meffenger to that monarch, who was then in Normandy, with a fubmiflive letter, which concluded thus:

"Whatfoever the favour of Fortune may have beftowed on me, of the patrimony of Derimod or any other, as I owe it entirely to your royal munificence, fo fhall it all return to you and be difpofed of according to your abfolute will and pleasure."

In the interim Dermod made another expedition into O'Rourk's country, in attempting to ftorm whofe camp he was repulfed with lofs and difgrace and returned to Leinfter leaving his friend Donald O'Melachlin to oppofe O'Rourk, whom the latter quickly drove cut of the province.

In the midst of this war, kindled by his own ungoverned paffion, died this Dermod, king of Leinfter, who after having made ufe of the moft anjuftifiable methods of obtaining the fupreme dominion of Ireland, was obliged to leave his project unfinish ed, having executed juft fo much of it as rendered his memory odious to all good men, and contributed to the final overthrow of a kingdom which had lasted for many ages, and had repelled very formidable invafions.

On Derimod's deceafe, the earl of Pembroke immediately took poffeffion of his private eftate, and of the government of Leinfter, and marched immediately to Dublin, in order ro get his title recognized; but he

now found a great falling off among the Irish chiefs, fcarcely any of whom chofe to acknowledge or aflift him, which the monarch perceiving, quickly levied a great force, and befieged him in Dublin. In the mean while, Fitz-Stephen, governor of Wexford, having greatly weakened his garrifon by detaching troops to his affiftance, the Irish took the fort; and having flain many of his foldiers, made Fitz-Stephen himfelf prifoner.

And now Dublin was invefted by fea and land; for the chief of the Ile of Man, by Roderick's folicitation, blocked up the harbour, and the conquerors, in their turn, began to be diftreffed, and offered to capitulate, on condition that Strongbow should be permitted to hold Leintter as a feudatory tenure of Roderick, who in confequence of this fubmiflion was to draw off his army and raife the fiege immediately.

But the Irith, being flushed with the hopes of entirely exterpating the foreigners, refufed to grant thofe terms, and Roderick fent word to the earl by the archbishop, whom he had employed to treat of the capitulation, That unless he would furrender Dublin, Waterford, and Wexford, together with all his fortified caftles, and promife, on a day appointed, to quit the ifland with all his men, he would immediately storm the city. -This antwer threw the whole affembly into confufion, who, on the one hand, were mortified to the laft degree with the thoughts of fubmitting to fuch terms, whilft, on the other, they could not but be terrified at the fate which feemed impending over their heads, in cafe they fhould reject them; for they had little mercy to expect from the Irish, if the city fhould be taken by affault, and perhaps they did not think there was much fafety in a reHance upon their promiles, if laying down all their power, they fhould deliver themfelves entirely into their N 2

hands

hands; and it was doing little lefs to give up the places which Roderick demanded. All the English were in this dilemma, when Miles Cogan, a man of great addrefs, who had been the chief inftrument in taking Dublin, exclaimed, We are a confiderable number of able men; our best remedy is to make a fally, which is leaft expected by the enemy; and I hope, by the goodnefs of God, that we shall have the victory, or at least die with honour, and I defire that I may be the first man to attack their quarters."

This advice being approved of by the council of war, immediate or ders were given for the chiefs to but their men in order, the whole number amounting only to fix hundred. Miles Cogan was appointed to lead the van, Raymond commanded the centre, and the earl of Pembroke brought up the rear. Thus difpofed, they marched directly towards the Irish camp, which they attacked with fuch fury that the enemy, being quite unprepared, quickly gave way, and were put to flight, having 150 foldiers flain, and leaving their camp, together with their baggage and provifion behind them, to the difpofal of the conquerors, who loft (it is faid) but one man in the action. Thus was the fiege raifed by the valour of Miles Cogan, whom the earl now left to take charge of the government of it, whilft he himfelf marched with a chofen band to Wexford, in order to fuccour FitzStephen, whom he expected to find employed in the defence of that place. But Fitz-Stephen being made prifoner, and the place having furrendered, he came too late. However, on his approach, the inhabitants fet the town on fire, and withdrew to an ifland, where they knew they could be fafe from any attack of the earl's not fatisfied with that fecurity, they fent him a folemn declaration, that if he dared to follow them,

they would intlantly prefent him with the heads of Fitz-Stephen and the reft of their prifoners. After receiving fuch a meffage, Strongbow, who was a brave and generous man, and at least valued his friend's life as much as he did his own, directed his courfe towards Waterford, where he found Hervey de Mount maurice had arrived from England, who brought him letters from his corref pondents, who advised him to make his peace with the king, before he attempted to proceed in any farther conquests.

Accordingly, the earl repaired directly to England, and found Henry at Newenham in Gloucestershire. At first the king, who was highly incenfed at the contempt of his order, appeared quite irreconcileable, till by the mediation of Hervey de Mountmaurice, he was prevailed upon to admit him into his prefence, and after a long conference, to receive him again into favour, the following conditions being then ftipulated between them: That the earl thould renew his homage to his liege-lord, and furrender to him, in full and abfolute property, the city of Dublin, with the cantrds adjoining, as well as all the other fea-port towns, with the caftles and fortreffes, which he poffeffed in that country; the rest of his acquifitions there, remaining to him and his heirs, under homage and fealty to the crown of England. And at the fame time the king a-greed to restore to that nobleman thofe eftates of his, which had been feized upon as forfeited, in England. After this Henry and the earl went together to Pembroke, while fhips were getting ready in order to tranfport an army into Ireland, which the former had fet on foot even before the arrival of the latter in England.

While thefe preparations were making in England and Wales, O'Rourk, king of Breffny, haftily collected together a numerous army

of