Irelands Misery Since the Late CESSATION: Sent in a Letter from a Gentleman in DUBLIN, to his Brother in Law, now residing in London, sometime living in the County of Cavan in that Kingdome.
Wherein is set forth the great Cruelty and Horrible Massacres, committed upon the English Protestants in severall Castles and places which they have taken since.
With divers other remarkable Passages of great consequence concerning the Affaires of both Kingdoms
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LONDON, Printed for Henry Shephard, at the signe of the Cradle in Corne-hill. January 26. 1644.
A Letter from Mr. Richard Harrison in DUBLIN, to his brother Mr. R. TUKE, now resident in London, &c.
I Have written to you severall times of our great and prosperous victories against our enemies formerly: but now I must write unto you of the fearfull Tragedies acted against our poore Countrey men, by the barberous Irish, since the unluckie cessation, our forces being drawne away from hence daily, and our victuals exhausted through the great and daily concourse of the Irish to this miserable City, we being left as a prey to the enemy, expecting daily and hourely to be massacred and murdered in our beds, being strongly conceited so, through the manifold outrages and slaughters committed upon our poore brethren, in their severall Castles and Garrisons, as in that of Catherlow, Malohon, Racoffie, and divers other places, which the Irish have taken, contrary to their pretended Truce since the bloody Cessation, having cruelly murdered all our men, women, & children that recided in them: they at this present manage all the affaires in the City, the Castle excepted, where our Lords, Justices, and Councel▪ keepe themselves close, fearing to be surprized. Our condition is very lamentable, we are as sheepe appointed for the slaughter, our wives & children swooning in the streets [Page 2] for want of bread, and our wofull eyes made spectators of their cruell insolencies, in setting up their Idolatrous Masses in all our Churches, whereof they have taken possession, and banished our best Divines; the Lord for our sinnes having already begun a great famine of the word amongst us; neither are we suffered to depart the Kingdome, but are exposed to the mercilesse cruelty of hunger, cold and famine, as also the ending stroke of grizly death which we hourly expect. Oh our miseries are unspeakable, but like to increase if not prevented by sudden (but I hope in the Lord) a provided death. But our only woe is, that you are like to suffer with us, and that very soone, if some speedy course be not taken for the stopping of the great multitude of Irish Papists which daily flock from hence into this kingdome, under pretence to assist his Majestie against the Puritans. I do beleeve that this shall be the last that ever I shall write unto you (my deer Brother) but in regard of my duty and loyalty which I owe to my Countrey▪ I will to my best endeavour set down in briefe according to my own knowledge how this plot or misery contrived and still acted in both kingdomes, hath been a working these sixteen yeares, to establish popery both here and in England, to the intent that my deer native countrey men may be the more cautious in not falling into their mercies as we have done.
About the yeare 1630, the Earle of Cork and my Lord Chancellour Loftus, being Lords Justices of this kingdom, the said Earle being zealous of Gods worship, did put in execution the statute against Recusants, which took such effect here, that the common sort of Irish came daily to our English Churches for two moneths and more: in the meane time the Earle of Westmeaths, Sir Richard Barnewall [Page 3] of Crickstow, are imploid as agents to the Queen, in the behalfe of all the Irish. I cannot tell how the businesse is carried, but the Kings Letters of favour are obtained to the Lords Justices, commanding them not to molest his good subjects the Irish, in their former liberty of conscience, which was accordingly obayed. Afterwards the Earle of Strafford succeeded in this governement, (who being a cunning man to get wealth) threatned the subversion of popery (though by him never attempted, the Irish being mightily terrified) imployed Westmeath and Barnewall the second time to the Queen: these Agents fall cunningly to work, and compounded with his Majesty to afford him a mighty sum of money throughout the whole kingdome, if so be they might enjoy their former liberty. Presently they obtaine his Majesties Letters againe to the Earle of Strafford, commanding as they desired, then all things go well with them: but that the money is not gathered, Warrants are issued out, and none so deeply taxed as the poore Protestants in purchasing the freedome of the Papists who afterwards cut their throats and dashed their children in pieces: well the money is collected, the Papists take courage, they build Abbies and Couvents in every corner of the land, the Locusts flock in daily to this miserable City, they build their Masse houses in every street▪ and increase in three year to the number of fifteen hundred Priest, Jesuits Fryers, and Monks, as is here still extant by the computation of Paul Harris, one of their owne Seminary Priests: the High Commission is set up for the suppressing of our honest Ministers, and it is made Court of justice for Seminary Priests to pleade and sue for Parishes for themselves, as may appear by this story following; the said Paul Harris being Seminary Priest in the Back Lane, [Page 4] was to be put out of his Parish by the titular Romish Arch Bishop of Doublin, and one Patrick Cale appointed in his place: Haris appeals to our High Commission Court, and cites Cale to answer his suit, which he accordingly did: after long pleading Harris was adjudged to keepe the Parish, he having formerly obtained a Letter of favour from Sir George Ratliffe to our godly Bishops to that intent, to proceed further in the plot: Strafford disarmes all our English, and raises an army of the Papists to the number of eight thousand, and sends them to the North against the poore Scotch, allowing every Regiment as many Masse Priests as they please to use. But what is all this to the many insolencies and approbrious words used against us, by tearming us traitors to the Crowne and dignity, affirming (they having the Kings Commission for their warrant in murdering and destroying an hundred and fifty thousand soules. And great likelyhood there is of a strong party they were assured of in England: their Agents Nicholas Plunket and the rest of his confederates being all that Summer before the rebellion with his Majestie at Court, and waiting upon his person to Scotland, from whence they posted into Ireland, and proclaimed openly the Kings authority to handle in that wofull manner you often heard of. I have sent unto you for your better satisfaction, the speech made at Granarde in the County of Longford, by Edmond O Bealy, the titular Romish Primate, the 27 of August, 1641, before the rest of his fraternity. It was found in Latin about Anthony O Lork, a Franciscan Fryar, slaine at the Battell of Clodeum Mill, in the County of Cavan: but afterwards translated into English by Archdeacon Watson, for the better satisfaction of all honest men.
Edmond O Healy, his Speech to the rest of the Romish Bishops at Granarde, the 27 August. 1641.
WE doe not presume most reverend Fathers in God, through any preheminence of our place or calling, to make our selves the mouth of the sacred Assembly; neither do we confide in the small value of either our learning or eloquence, wherein we know our selfe to be inferiour to the meanest capacity here assembled: But the zeale of the Catholick cause hath eaten us up: the waves of ungodlinsse having overwhelmed our Holy Mother, the Church. S. Peters ship was never so neer sinking, when he cryed Perimus, as it is now. Its not unknowne to you Reverend Bishops, how the factious Puritan Parliament of England, endeavour to root out our Holy Church in the three Kingdomes: how our King and gracious Queene are slighted by these aforesaid wicked Hereticks; and how all hope of her godly assistance is frustrated: all these passages you are certified by our Agents from Court, but there is hopes that all is not lost, have not we a blessed Hester to pacifie Ahafuorus? have not we a strong party to joyn with us both in England and Scotland? and which is more to be considered, are not we fully certified of mighty combustions to ensue in England, our King and Queen are blamelesse in this persecution intended, whose clemencie we have tasted these many yeers past, therefore Right reverent Fathers lend your helping hands for to build an Ark to save us from this deluge, let us be couragious as (we are directed) to destroy all the hereticks of this land, [Page 6] they are but a handfull to us, that we may be able to serve our own turn in England in assisting the King against o [...] enemies, go to I beseech you in the name of the blessed virgin Mary of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints and Angels in heaven, all whose blessing we implore in these meritorius proceedings. Amen.
Sir, you see how our woes begun and what encouragement the Irish had to use us as they did, or do you think that these inhumane butchers will fight for the Protestant Religion, the professours thereof being so odious to them, that they digged all the bones and carcases out of their graves in every Church throughout the land because forsooth, they would not say masse there as long as they had any hereticke bone within the church, and here they swear too that they fight for the Protestants Religion, but you shall here their equivocation, they say that it is the protestation that makes the Protestant and if they protest to fight against the Gospel, their Protestation makes the Protestant, and as they say themselves, they may be lawfully tearmed so.
You see their cunning trickes in striving to overthrow our Religion, I beseech the Lord to preserve England from their tyrannie though I my self never hope to see it or to escape their crueltie, hoping to meet you in heaven I rest.