Ireland History

To Sydney, who was inclined to try conciliatory methods with the Ulster prince, succeeded Sussex, with his belief in so-called strong methods, and his habit of useless raids. Whether acting on his advice, or on her own initiative, the Queen changed her poKcy towards Shane. She now denied his right to the Tir Owen lands, and prepared to make war on him, under pretext of supporting the claim of young Brian, eldest son of Matthew. Shane endeavoured to placate her. He wrote that he ” meant to be a faithful subject.” He desired, he declared, to visit her in England, if proper arrangements could be made. Elizabeth pretended to consider the matter, but all the time she was urging on the military preparations. Nor was Shane much more sincere. He was engaged in a correspondence with the King of Spain.

In truth, neither party was deceived by the other. Shane was well aware of what was going on. The combination against him was formidable. Sussex had enlisted the help of the Scots, both in Ulster and in Scotland. Some of Shane’s sub-chiefs had been gained over. Calvach O’Donnell had been promised an English title if he would side with the English, and his wife received sundry presents from Elizabeth herself. The Pale army was to march from the south to support these allies. It was probably Calvach’s wife, who much preferred Shane to her husband, who betrayed the whole plot. Shane surrounded the monastery of Kilodonnell on Lough Swilly, where O’Donnell was, and took him and his wife prisoners. He is said to have treated the former with great brutality.

The whole plan of the Deputy was put out of gear by this move. He marched up to Armagh, where he used the Cathedral as a military store-house, to Shane’s great annoyance. He then invited the Ulster prince to a conference, but the latter declined to appear; giving as his reason that many Irish chiefs who had trusted themselves to the English —he mentions several by name—had found reason to repent having done so, having been either imprisoned or executed.