The Irish Parliament

The Wars of the Roses had come to a close. Henry the Seventh, the first of the strong-willed line of the Tudor sovereigns, sat upon the English throne (1485). By his marriage with Elizabeth of York, he had united the two houses of York and Lancaster, which had so long struggled with each other for supremacy. It seemed as if Henry would have a long and undisputed reign. Ireland had for years been left to herself, so entirely had the attention of the English kings been diverted from her, first by the wars with France, and then by the protracted civil conflict.

Henry was a stern, determined man, who was fully resolved to rule with an iron hand. In the earlier part of his reign, however, he scarcely thought of Ireland. The Earl of Kildare, the head of one of the branches of the powerful Geraldines, was governor of Ireland at the time of Henry's accession; and, although he had been a partisan of the Yorkists, Henry's enemies, Henry allowed Kildare to remain in his office. Kildare, besides being a very powerful lord, had a great deal of influence with the native clans; and, for this reason, the new king thought it wise not to disturb him.

But in no long time an event occurred which drew Henry's attention to Ireland. His enemies sought to make Ireland a point from whence to assail his hold on the English crown. The Yorkist heir to the crown was Edward, Earl of Warwick, who had been kept for some time a close prisoner in the Tower of London. Suddenly an English priest arrived in Dublin, bringing with him a handsome youth with attractive manners, whom he declared to be no other than the Earl of Warwick. Henry's enemies promptly espoused the cause of the pretended Warwick, who was really an impostor, and whose true name was Lambert Simnel. He was the son of an English shoemaker. Nevertheless, the Earl of Kildare himself, and many of the nobles and chiefs in Ireland, both English and Irish, recognized Simnel as the rightful king of England; and Simnel was solemnly crowned in Christ-church cathedral, Dublin, by the bishop of Meath. His partisans, emboldened by this event, lost no time in preparing to make good his claim in England.

The French duchess of Burgundy, who was a bitter foe of Henry, sent a fleet, with two thousand veteran soldiers, to the pretender's aid. The combined forces of French and Irish, with many English Yorkists, in all about eight thousand, landed on the Lancashire coast, and boldly marched into Yorkshire. Thence they moved southward, and were confronted by Henry and his army near Newark. After an obstinate battle, Henry was victorious. The Earl of Lincoln, two of the Geraldines, and Sir Thomas Broughton, on the pretender's side, were killed; and. Lambert Simnel himself was taken prisoner. The king treated his defeated enemies with singular leniency. He pardoned Simnel, who afterwards became a servant in the royal kitchen; and, what is still more strange, he permitted the Earl of Kildare to continue as governor of Ireland in spite of his treason. As for the rest of the survivors of the expedition, they were allowed to go free, no punishment being inflicted upon them.

The failure of Simnel's attempt did not wholly discourage those who wished to drive Henry from the English throne. Five years afterwards, another pretender, Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the Duke of York, son of Edward the Fourth, and one of the princes who were supposed to have been murdered in the Tower of London, landed in Ireland. He, too, was supported by the duchess of Burgundy, and was also encouraged by the French king. His first visit to Ireland produced no result; but a few years later, after many adventures, he again made his appearance on Irish soil. He was now joined by the great Earl of Desmond of the Geraldine family, and by many of the Irish and English of Cork. He laid siege to Waterford, but was forced to give up the attempt to take that town. Then Desmond deserted him and Warbeck retreated to Scotland. He was at last captured by Henry's adherents, and executed (1499). Desmond sought and obtained the king's pardon, and remained as powerful as ever on his domain. But Kildare, his kinsman, was not let off so easily. He was thrown into prison in England, and his wife died of the terror caused by the fear that he might be executed.

The Irish Parliament had originally comprised an assembly of the lords, bishops, and the principal English landlords, who were summoned to register the king's commands, to consult about the raising of money, and to advise the king concerning the affairs of the island; and its rise had taken place soon after the first intrusion of the English. In the thirteenth century, members, called "knights of the shire," representing the counties, took their seats in Parliament; and towards the close of the same century, "burgesses," representing the towns, were admitted to its sessions. Parliament was summoned to meet by the king's representative in Ireland, sometimes frequently, and sometimes at rare intervals. There was no stated time for it to assemble. It generally met at Dublin; but now and then it was called upon to meet at Kilkenny, or at Drogheda. At some periods, there seem to have been at least two parliaments in Ireland. One, composed of the lords, bishops, and commons of Leinster, met at the same time that another, similarly composed, was sitting in Munster.

For a long time the Irish Parliament had been subject to the powerful influence of the Earl of Kildare and a few other great Anglo-Irish lords. It had by no means been obedient to the English crown. On one occasion, it ventured to choose a viceroy or governor, instead of the one who had been appointed by the king. On another, it declared boldly that Ireland was only bound to obey the laws of the Irish Parliament. It recognized Simnel as the rightful heir to the English crown, and abetted the Geraldines—the earls of Kildare and Desmond—in their rebellions. It gave protection to the plotters against the English king, and to disloyal Englishmen who repaired to Ireland to escape capture and punishment. In the time of Henry the Seventh, the Irish Parliament had somewhat changed its character. There were now two houses, the upper and lower. In the upper house sat the lords, bishops, abbots, and priors. The lower house was composed of the knights of the shire and the burgesses. Thus the Irish Parliament, in its composition, now much resembled that of England.

King Henry was at last fully aroused to the necessity of paying some attention to Ireland. He looked upon Ireland as a part of his dominions, yet neither the English settlers nor the native Irish were loyal to his crown. Twice had Ireland been the starting-points of attempts to drive him from his throne. He therefore sent over Sir Edward Poyning with a thousand soldiers, to restore, if possible, the royal authority. Poyning, like his master the king, was a stern, resolute man. He called together the Irish Parliament, and caused it to reaffirm the Kilkenny law which had been imposed by Clarence more than a century before. One or two of its provisions were, however, omitted. Parliament was also compelled to pass a law, which is known in history as "Poyning's Law," declaring that no Parliament should thenceforth assemble in Ireland, until the measures it intended to pass had been submitted to the king and his council, and had been approved by them. The laws passed by the Irish Parliament, moreover, were to be sent to the English council, the members of which might alter them at pleasure; and, after they had been sent back to Ireland thus amended, they could not be further changed by the Irish houses.

These were not the only measures which the determined Poynings procured from the Irish Parliament. The custom of "coyne and livery," or quartering soldiers in the houses of the people, was forbidden. The land-owners were required to live upon their estates. The freemen of the towns were prohibited from entering the service of the lords; and it was declared treason to instigate the native Irish to war. These were good laws, and were intended to protect the people from the tyranny of the nobles. Poyning, moreover, caused a law to be passed, that the chief officials and judges should hold office at the king's discretion, and not, as before, for life. The effect of Poyning's Law was what the king had intended. The Irish Parliament, often rebellious and never thoroughly loyal, was stripped of all real power, reduced to helplessness, and became merely an assembly to proclaim such laws as England chose that Ireland should have. Poyning demanded one more act of this Parliament before it was dissolved. This was that it should condemn the Earl of Kildare, who had given Henry so much trouble, as a traitor. The pliant houses yielded to the demand, and then separated.

The Earl of Kildare was a very bold, audacious, quick-witted man. He had always held close relations with the native Irish, and had shown himself to be not only an inveterate, but a formidable enemy of the English crown. No sooner, however, did he find himself Henry's prisoner, than he formed a scheme to recover his freedom, and to return to Ireland more powerful than ever. He had been charged, among other things, with having caused the cathedral of Cashel to be set on fire. To this he bluntly replied, in the presence of the king, that he would not have done so, if he had not supposed that the archbishop was inside. The archbishop was a close adherent of the Earl of Ormond, Kildare's bitter rival. Henry was amused at this audacious answer, and told Kildare that he might choose any advocate he chose to plead his cause. "I fear," was Kildare's reply, that your Highness will not permit me to choose the honest man I prefer." The king assured him that he would. "Then," said the earl, "I know no better man to defend me than your Highness's self, nor will I choose any other."

The archbishop of Cashel and the Earl of Ormond, who were present, cried out at this, "All Ireland cannot rule the Earl of Kildare!" Whereupon Henry, who had been completely won by Kildare's boldness, said, "Then shall he rule all Ireland." Kildare was not only pardoned on the spot, but was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and received Elizabeth St. John, cousin of the king, as his second wife. He returned to Dublin armed with almost royal power. And now, completely changing his conduct, he became entirely devoted to the interests of the English crown. His government was stronger than any that Ireland had seen for sixty years. He asserted his authority over the Anglo-Irish barons and the natives alike, and vigorously suppressed all resistance to his will.

In an obstinate conflict with the clan of Burke, Kildare entirely overcame his enemy at the battle of Knockdoe (1504). In the later years of his rule, Kildare seems to have become almost the absolute master of Ireland. He went hither and thither as he pleased in the island, sup-pressed and raised up chiefs, and planted his garrisons in many places where the English had not before secured a foothold. This energetic and unscrupulous lord remained in power as governor of Ireland until his death (1517). He is described by an old writer, as "of tall stature and goodly presence; very liberal and merciful; of strict piety; mild in his government; passionate, but easily appeased." The English colony in Ireland, indeed, produced few abler men, few more brilliant rulers or generals, than Gerald, Earl of Kildare.