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 much alacrity divesting themselves of all propriety in their estates, and waiting to see what the King will do for them. I, that am of gentle heart, am much taken with their proceeding. The jesting tone of the remainder of the letter, and Strafford's reference to his tender heart lead one to wonder whether these remarks are the truth or merely a bitter jest at the helpless landowners.

By Ormond, in the above extract, is meant the whole district in north Tipperary and the adjoining part of Limerick inhabited by Irish clans.

Theobald Walter, ancestor of the house of Ormond, had got from King John a grant of five and a half cantreds of land, comprising the northern half of the modern Tipperary, Ely O'Carroll, now in King's County, and some districts now in Limerick. These territories had been fairly well conquered and settled, although in the hilly districts the Irish were never thoroughly mastered.

In the fourteenth century the Irish recovered the greater portion of the lands included in Theobald Walter's grant, though needless to say his descendants, who had meanwhile established themselves firmly in south Tipperary, still maintained their claims.