Carew’s Three Important Enemies

Above : Picture Of James Fitzgerald

Three important enemies remained for Carew to deal with : James Fitzthomas Fitzgerald (The ” Sugaun,” Earl of Desmond), Florence Mac Carthy, and John Fitzthomas, the brother of James. The President’s first attempts against them proved unsuccessful. By offering to Dermot O’Connor a bribe of £1,000, he induced him to capture the Earl, but Pierce Lacy and Dermot Movie Mac Carthy gathered together, a large force and rescued him (June, 1600). Two months later (August, 1600), Carew, as he himself relates in a letter to Cecil the English Minister, hired one John Nugent to murder John Fitzthomas.

A servant named Coppinger intervened and struck up Nugent’s pistol. The would-be assassin was seized and hanged. Next year the President was more fortunate. The Earl was finally captured by the treachery of his brother-in-law, ” the White Knight.” His life was spared, but the remaining eight years of it were spent as a prisoner in the Tower. In that gloomy fortress, Florence Mac Carthy, arrested in violation of a safe conduct, joined him within a few weeks. He, too, never regained his liberty, but death was long in claiming him. He was still alive in 1637. By the autumn of 1601, the insurrection was practically over in Munster.

In ‘ulster the two Irish leaders had been weakened by further defections. O’Doherty of Inishowen had died, and, as he was an uriacht of O’Donnell, the latter, apparently with the consent of the clan, had named Phelim, his brother, to succeed him ; Cahir, his son, being but twelve years old. This choice was resented by the Macdevitts, the fosterers of young Cahir. They look the lad into the English camp, and Sir Henry Dowcra set him up as a rival O’Doherty. Other chiefs, notably Maguire and O’Hanlon, also deserted the Irish cause.

Niall Garff now occupied with a strong garrison the monastery of Donegal, which he had seized during the absence of Hugh Ruadh. O’Donnell had, on his return, blockaded the monastery. Niall’s men were almost starved, but he would not yield the fortress.

While his colleague was thus employed in the north-west, the activities of Mountjoy kept O’Neill fully employed in Tir Owen. Twice, in September of 1600 and again in the following June, the Deputy invaded Ulster, cutting down woods and destroying crops as usuaL He forced the strong Moyry Pass near Dundalk, and to prevent its recapture, garrisoned the fortress which Sir John Norris had built. He reached Armagh, which O’Neill was compelled to abandon, and occupied it.

Above:Map of  Carrickfergus

There were now (September 1601) English garrisons in Lecale, Carrickfergus, Portmore, Mountnorris, Armagh and Newry. Besides this, Sir Henry Dowcra had a large force in north Ulster, and several allies amongst the neighbouring chiefs. The last stronghold of the Irish was being captured bit by bit. If foreign aid did not come speedily and effectively, the National cause was doomed.