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the Union, on which occasion he replied to O'Connell's argument in a speech of six hours' duration. He frequently acted on royal commissions in matters of art, and gave much attention to the question of decimal coinage. He died at Mount Trenchard, near Limerick, 7th February 1866, aged 75. 7 177

Richard II., King of England, Lord of Ireland, was born at Bordeaux, 3rd April 1366. His reign commenced 22nd June 1377. In 1394, finding it necessary to assert his supremacy in Ireland, he came over with a large fleet and an army of 4,000 men-at-arma and 30,000 archers, and entered the Suir on 2nd October. He was accompanied by his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, the Earls of March, Not- tingham, and Eutland, and other nobles. Of the descendants of the adventurers amongst whom Henry 11. had divided Ireland two centuries before, there re- mained in the direct male line only the Geraldines of Kildare and Desmond, and the Butlers. Most of the Anglo-Norman families had become, according to an often- quoted saying, " more Irish than the Irish themselves." The native Irish chieftains had to a great extent regained their lands in Ulster, Connaught, and Munster ; and "all Leinster trembled" at the "might and puissance" of Art MacMurrough. Immediately after the King's landing, MacMurrough made a descent upon New Eoss; and the English troops were dis- comfited by the attacks of the O'Conors and O'Carrolls. In November Richard despatched letters to the Privy Council, informing them that he had made many long journeys since he had taken the field, and had marched to Dublin through the country of the " rebel Makemurgh," and directing them to transmit money for the payment of his army, and to defray his personal exnenses. Owing to the charac- ter of the Cvjuntry, and the irregular mode of warfare of the natives, his large force, led by experienced commanders, was able to make but little progress in the subju- gation of Ireland beyond the borders of the Pale. King Eichard, as Henry 11. had done on one occasion, spent Christmas in Dublin in a sumptuous palace fitted up on Hoggin [College] Green, where he enter- tained such of the native chiefs as paid court to him. Concerning the country he wrote to his uncle, the Duke of York, on 1st February 1395 : " In our land of Ire- land there are three kinds of people : wild Irish, our enemies ; Irish rebels ; obedient English. To us and our CouncU here it appears that the Irish rebels have rebelled in consequence of the injustice and griev- 452

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ances practised towards them, for which they have been afforded no redress ; and that, if not wisely treated, and given hope of grace, they will most Ukely ally them- selves with our enemies." Finding it im- practicable to reduce the Irish by force of arms, Eichard sought to conciliate the chiefs, and laying aside the English ban- ners, quartered with leopards and fleurs- de-lis, he substituted flags bearing a golden cross on an azure ground, surrounded by five silver birds, the arms of his patron saint, Edward the Confessor. On i6th February 1395, Eichard met MacMur- rough in the open plain of Ballygorry, near Carlow. A proposed treaty having been read and explained in English and Irish, MacMurrough did homage, received the kiss of peace from the Earl of Notting- ham, and promised allegiance, conditional on the restitution of his wife's lands, the payment of an annuity, and the grant of territories for those he might surrender. At Drogheda Eichard met O'Neill with the northern chiefs, and Brian O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, and he forwarded to the Lord Treasurer of England two ham- pers, containing seventy-five agreements, entered into with them. In March he again entertained with great splendour some of the chiefs in Dublin, Henry Castede (a knight, the particulars of whose captivity amongst the Irish are related by Froissart) acting as their principal atten- dant and interpreter. Froissart gives an interesting recital of the efforts made to induce these tribal magnates to adopt English manners and customs. O'Neill, O'Conor, MacMurrough, and O'Brien were knighted by the King, after keeping their vigils in Christ Church Cathedral. The English Privy Council, while expressing satisfaction at the King's efforts to settle affairs in Ireland, complained of his ad- mitting the Irish chiefs to grace without payment of fines, which would have de- frayed a portion of the heavy costs of his expedition. After nine months spent in Ireland, Eichard left in the summer of 1395, committing the government of the colony to his cousin, Eoger Mortimer. Froissart says that the great expenses of the campaign were " cheerfully defrayed by the kingdom ; for the principal cities and towns in England thought it was well laid out when they saw their King return home with honour." On the other hand, Grafton, the chronicler, says, under date 1394: "This yere King Eichard made a voyage into Ireland, which was nothing profitable or honourable vnto him, and therefore the wryters seeme to thinke it scant worth the noty ing." In 1 3 99 Eichard