CHAP. IV.

FROM 1484 TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE IRISH REBELLION IN 1641.

Wardenship of Galway instituted by the archbishop of Tuam, and confirmed by Pope Innocent VIII.-Charter of Richard III.-Remarkable instance of inflexible justice Fortifications built-Great fire in the town--Battle of Knoc-Tuadh-Hospital built, and several improvements made-Disputes between Galway and Limerick-Prisage of wines claimed-Orders of Henry VIII. to the inhabitants-The lord deputy, Grey, honorably received in the town, and several Irish chiefs come in, and submit— Sir William de Burgh created earl of Clanrickard, and deprived of all power in Galway-Charter of Henry VIII.—Mercantile bye-laws-Charters of Edward VI. -The earl of Sussex, chief governor, arrives in Galway, and is splendidly received -Sir Henry Sidney, his successor, arrives in town-Insurrection of the Mac-anEarlas-Their defeat-Charter of Elizabeth-The lord justice, Sir William Pelham, arrives in town, and confirms the charter-Sir John Perrot, lord deputy, comes to Galway-Prisage of wines in the town, established by the earl of Ormond-One of the vessels of the Spanish armada wrecked in the bay-The lord deputy, Sir William Fitzwilliams, arrives in town, puts several of the Spaniards to death-Sir William Russel, lord deputy, arrives and investigates the state of the town and province— The town besieged by Hugh Ruadh O'Donnel-Licentiousness of the inhabitants of the country-The chief governor, lord Mountjoy, visits the town-St. Augustine's fort built-Charter of James I.-The town erected into a separate jurisdiction -The lord deputy, Viscount Falkland, arrives in Galway-His munificence-Fort of Ballymanagh built-Several fortifications erected-Splendid entry into Galway and reception of Viscount Wentworth, lord deputy-His oppressive proceedings against a jury of the county-Concluding observations.

THE town of Galway having considerably increased in wealth and opulence during the two last centuries, (by its constant and gradually extending commerce with the nations of Europe, but particularly with France and Spain, from whence its merchants annually imported vast quantities of wine,) and the principal part of the inhabitants being connected together by the ties of kindred, (which were daily augmenting by frequent intermarriages,) and by the more powerful influence of mutual interest; the great and continual object of their care and solicitude was, to prevent any intercourse with the native Irish of the surrounding country, from whose vindictive dispositions (according to the accounts of the

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town) and implacable, though, perhaps, just, and often provoked, resentment, many of the town's people had, from time to time, been deprived of their properties and their lives. In order effectually to attain this desirable end, and entirely to cut off all communication between the town and the natives of the country, it became necessary to accomplish two points: the first was, to obtain and establish a separate religious jurisdiction within the town, which should be independent of any exterior ccclesiastical power; and, the second, to new model the corporation, and get rid of the interference of the De Burgos, whose authority had now become insupportable to the inhabitants.

Galway anciently belonged to the diocese of Annaghdown, which was united, in 1324, to the arch-diocese of Tuam; and since that union it was governed by vicars, nominated by that see. In the year 1484, the inhabitants prevailed on Donat O'Murray, then archbishop of Tuam, to release the town from his jurisdiction, and to erect the church of St. Nicholas into a collegiate, to be governed by a warden and vicars, who were to be presented and solely elected by the inhabitants of the town. " As it was necessary that this act should receive the sanction and confirmation of the Pope, a petition from the parishioners of the town was transmitted to Rome, in which they stated themselves to be "modest and civil people," and represented the inhabitants of the surrounding country as a savage race, brought up in woods and mountains, unpolished and illiterate, by whom they were often disturbed in exercising the divine duties of their religion, according to the English rite and custom; that they were often robbed and murdered by them, and were in continual danger, and likely to suffer many other losses and inconveniences if not speedily succoured, and they therefore prayed that his holiness would be pleased to confirm the institution of the archbishop. This petition was graciously received by the Pope, Innocent VIII. who granted a bull of confirmation, according to the prayer of the petitioners.

About the same time, the inhabitants also solicited Richard III. for a new charter, praying that they might be at liberty to elect thenceforth, for ever, a mayor and bailiffs; that no person whomsoever, not even excepting the King's lieutenant and chancellor, (who alone were then privileged,) should enter the town without licence; and particularly that the lord Mac William, of Clanrickard,

Such appears to have been the statement of the inha. bitants of Galway; but, if the accounts of the accused

Irish could now be obtained, it is more than probable that

they would be found materially different from those charges of their adversaries. No fact is better authenticated than that, for many centuries anterior and subsequent to this period, the native Irish continued to enact laws in their own districts, to prevent any intercourse whatever with the English settlers; whose "rapacity and want of principle," says the historian, were so notorious, that they became proverbial.”—O'Halloran.

town.

and his heirs, should be for ever deprived of all rule and authority within the. A new charter was accordingly granted, dated at Westminster, the 15th of December, 1484, whereby the king confirmed all former grants, and renewed the powers to levy the tolls and customs, which he directed should be applied towards the murage and pavage of the town: he also granted license that they might, yearly, for ever, choose one mayor and two bailiffs, and ordained that no person whomsoever should enter the town without license; and particularly ordained and granted, that from thenceforth neither the lord Mac William, of Clanrickard, nor his heirs, should have any rule or power whatsoever within the town, either to act, exact, ordain or dispose of any thing therein, by land or by water, as he and his predecessors were anciently accustomed to do, without the special license and by the consent and superintendence of the mayor, bailiffs and corporation, to whom he granted plenary power and authority to rule and govern the town. The first mayor and bailiffs were accordingly elected under this charter, on the 1st of August, 1485, and were sworn into office on the 29th of September following, which practise has continued without intermission to the present day.

The bull was soon after received from Rome, and a meeting of the inhabitants was immediately convened in the town-aouse, where it was publicly read, in the hearing of all the people, on the 3d and 6th days of November, 1485. By this instrument, which is dated the 8th of February, 1484, the pope confirmed and approved of the erection of the church of St. Nicholas into a collegiate, to be governed by a warden and eight vicars, who should be moral, well bred and virtuous men, and who were to follow the English rite and custom, in celebrating the mysteries of religion; and he also granted the right of presentation of the warden and vicars to the chief magistrate or mayor, bailiffs and equals (pares) of the town for ever.

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These municipal and ecclesiastical grants being obtained, gave general satisfaction to the people, and principally laid the foundation of the future greatness and prosperity of the town, which were also much advanced by the public faith and integrity of its merchants, and by the unsullied honor of the inhabitants, whose strict adherence to truth and love of impartial justice became universally proverbial. But as a single fact, in illustration of this statement, may prove more satisfactory, and have a greater effect than any general description; the reader will find it forcibly displayed in an appalling instance of inflexible virtue which occurred about this period in Galway, and which stands paralleled by very few examples in the history of mankind.

This charter of Rich. III. with all preceding grants, is fully recited in that of queen Elizabeth.-Appendix,

No. III.

The original bull has been lost many years ago; but a copy from an ancient transcript is given in the Appendix,

No. II.

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James Lynch Fitz-Stephen, an opulent merchant, and one of the principal inhabitants of Galway, was elected mayor in 1493; at which time a regular and friendly intercourse subsisted between the town and several parts of Spain. This mayor, who from his youth had been distinguished for public spirit, had, from commercial motives, on all occasions encouraged an intercourse that proved so lucrative as well to his town's-men as to the Spaniards; and in order the more firmly to establish the connexion between them, he himself went on a voyage to Spain,, and was received, when at Cadiz, at the house of a rich and respectable merchant, of the name of Gomez, with the utmost hospitality, and with every mark of esteem suitable to his high reputation and to the liberality of his entertainer. Upon his departure for his own country, out of a wish to make some grateful return for the numerous civilities he had received from the Spaniard, he requested of him, as a particular, favor, to allow his son, a youth of nineteen, to accompany him to Ireland, promising to take parental care of him during his stay, and to provide for his being safely restored to his friends, whenever he desired, to return, Young Gomez, who was the pride of his parents and relations, was rejoiced at this agreeable opportunity of seeing the world; and the merchant's request was gratefully complied with by his father, They embarked accordingly, and, after an easy passage, arrived in the bay of Galway. Lynch introduced the young stranger to his family, by whom he was received with that openness of heart

Most of the minor incidents contained in this narrative are the offspring of fancy; but this by no means affects the truth of the principal occurrence. It has been chiefly abstracted from a publication, entitled "George the third," attributed to the classic pen of the reverend Edward Mangin, but has been here extended for the pur-, pose of affording some variety amidst so many uniform details from ancient records.-This, however, the author apprehends may justly be deemed an insufficient reason; but as it is the only similar instance which occurs, he depends solely for indulgence on the kindness of the reader. Other traditionary accounts of this interesting transaction, give a different description of the nature and origin of the crime committed, which it may not be uninteresting briefly to notice. According to these accounts, young Lynch, the guilty and unfortunate cause of this melancholy tragedy, was sent on a voyage to Spain, as captain of one of his father's ships, for a cargo of wine; and, having squandered or secreted part of the money with which he was entrusted, he availed himself of his father's credit, to cover and and for a time to conceal the defi, ciency. The Spanish merchant who supplied him on the occasion, sent his nephew with him to Ireland, to receive. the debt, and to establish a further correspondence. The ship proceeded on her voyage; and, as every day must bring them nearer the place of destination, and discover the fraud intended by Lynch, he conceived the diabolical resolution of destroying his friend; and, having brought the major part of the crew over to his purpose, by promises of reward, and the rest by fear, on the night of the fifteenth day, the unfortunate Spaniard was violently seized in his bed, and thrown over board. A few days more brought them to port. His father and friends

received him with joy, and, in a short time, bestowed a sufficient capital to set him up in business. Security had lulled every sense of danger; and he proposed for a beautiful girl, the daughter of a neighbour, in marriage. His terms were accepted, and the day appointed which was to crown his yet successful villainy; when one of the sailors, who had been with him on the voyage, was taken ill, and finding himself on the point of death, he sent for the father, and communicated a full relation of the horrid deed his son had committed on the seas: thus far these accounts vary; but, in every other circumstance they perfectly agree. It must, however, be stated that the truth of the entire occurrence has been doubted. Archbishop King's collections, in possession of the Dublin Society, vol. I. p. 313, contain the following entry of a horrid murder committed in Galway, apparently taken from the records of the Franciscan abbey there: Horrendum homicidium accidit in villa Galwey, 22. aug. ubi quidam fur, Johannes, media nocte, occidit avunculi sui, Gulielmi reogh pistoris, uxorem et filium et nepotem, puerulum 12 annorum, cum securi, quos in hortum nostrum, qui contiguus fuit, projecit. A°. 1625."—It has been suggested to the author, that the monument said to have been erected in 1624, to perpetuate Lynch's crime and punishment, (vide the miscellaneous plate,) possibly related to the latter circumstance, which, though entered under the year 1625, might have occurred the year preceding. This, however, is mere supposition.Few transactious of so. old a date stand better authenticated than that concerning young Lynch; for, independently of the general voice of tradition, it appears recorded in several ancient mannscripts, many of which have passed through the hands of the author.

and hospitality which has ever characterized the Irish, under any circumstances: and he also recommended him, in a particular manner, as a companion to his only son, who was but a year or two older than Gomez, and who was considered one of the finest youths of his time: the beauty of his person, and the winning softness of his manners, rendered him a favorite with the fair sex; he was the idol of the people for his affability and spirit, and respected by all ranks for his abilities. With superior height and dignity of mien, he possessed great muscular strength and intrepid spirit, and uncommon vigour of body and mind. Thus highly gifted by nature, and endowed with every great and good quality of the heart, he soon felt the delightful influence of his own attractions, by the general admiration and esteem which they excited in others. But his endowments were not unattended by what is too often seen united with superior qualities, a tendency to the pleasures of libertinism, which greatly afflicted his father, who was himself exemplary for the purity of his life. He, however, now conceived the fullest hopes of his reformation, from discovering that he paid honorable addresses to a beautiful and accomplished girl, the daughter of one of his richest and most respectable neighbours; and he found additional satisfaction in procuring for his son the company of one so serious and well brought up as the youthful Gomez, who, he hoped, would assist to draw him entirely from his licentious courses. The year of his return from Spain, this worthy magistrate was more than usually solicitous that nothing should happen to cast a stain upon his house or native town, of which he then was mayor-a rank, in those times, of the greatest importance, and one, on the management of which, more than on that of any other civil employment, the general security depended. The young men lived together in perfect harmony, and frequent entertainments were given at the mayor's house, as well in honor of the stranger, as for the sake of advancing the suit of his son Walter to the beautiful Agnes. At one of those festivals, which, as usual, she adorned with her presence, it happened that her lover either saw, or which, with lovers, is the same, imagined that he saw, the eyes of the lovely maid beam with rapture on the young Spaniard. Wild with astonishment, the fairy spell was broken; his ardent and unruly passions took fire at the thought, and he seized an opportunity, not of asking his mistress if his suspicions were founded in fancy or reality, but of upbraiding her for her infidelity in terms of haughty anger: she, in her turn, astonished and irritated by such unexpected injustice, and that too from the chosen of her heart, affected disdain to conceal her fondness, and refused to deny the charge. "Love," says some philosopher, who assuredly had felt the passion, "for the most part resembles hatred rather than affection ;" and what now passed between these young persons was a confirmation of the truth of that remark. Though mutually enamoured, one obeyed the dictates of jealousy, the other of pride: they parted in violence; and, while the forlorn Agnes may be supposed retiring to weep over her wrongs, her admirer, racked by the fiends and furies