An Essay on the Antient and Modern State of Ireland Part 1

An Essay on the Antient and Modern State of Ireland.

by Henry Brooke.

DEDICATION.

TO

MATTHEW MC. NAMARA,

Of _LIMERICK_, Esq;

COUNSELLOR at LAW.

Justly sensible, Sir, how sincerely You have the Character and Esteem of our Native Country at Heart, I take Leave to offer to Your Perusal, and commend to Your favourable Acceptance, the following Sheets.

What gave them Rise, was my happening, some Time since, to have fallen into Company with two or three sprightly young Gentlemen, then just returned from their Continental Rambles,-who-altho' little burthened with the Religion, Laws, Learning, Policy, Customs, Habits, Manners, or Languages of any, or the several Countries they had scampered thro', affected, nevertheless, an high Contempt for this,-their Native.

I listened with silent Indignation, and determined to contribute my Mite towards giving such unattentive, uninformed Youths, a more adequate Idea of this Kingdom, under its ancient and under its present happy Establishment.

The common Accidents of Time must lead them by better Authority to clearer Knowledge: In the mean while, I profess my Obligations to them, as they have given me this Opportunity of declaring my Regard to my Country in general, and the particular Attachments that ever bind me, in the strictest Sense of Fidelity and Esteem, to a Friend so worthy as You have been to,

Sir, Your very obliged, and Most obedient Servant.

ESSAY.

In a Nation, where almost every Gentleman is better acquainted, and more conversant, with the Nature and Circ.u.mstances of other Countries than those of his own, the Publication of such Hints as may somewhat contribute to remove so odd an Inattention, and induce those far better qualified to render a Subject so interesting some Justice, will not, I hope, be deemed an Impertinence; in one especially who, by this Essay, however feeble, hath nothing beside the Honour and Advantage of _Ireland_ in View, a Kingdom whereof he is, without Vanity, proud of being a Native.

As the Story of Savages and Barbarians can contain nothing instructive, or entertaining, the _Antemilesian_ Inhabitants of this Land having been mostly such, and all surviving Accounts of them almost totally overcast with Fable, we are therefore, in treating of the antient _Scotia_, or modern _Ireland_, to refer princ.i.p.ally to three distinguished aeras, whereof the _first_ is, its being peopled by an _Iberian_ or _Spanish_ Colony: The _second_, truly glorious, the Arrival of St. _Patrick_, in his most salutary Mission: The _third_ and last, its Cession to _Henry_ the Second, King of _England_, (the first of the Royal Race of _Plantagenet_) partly from a pretended t.i.tle of _Adrian_ the Fourth, Pope of _Rome_; partly from the restless and insatiable Desires of _Henry_; _more_ from the manifold Infirmities of the then reigning _Irish_ Chiefs-but above all, from the peculiarly adverse Fate of _Roderick_, the last of our Kings.

The a.s.siduous, exact, and candid Author of the _Dissertations_,(1) lately published, on the Origin, Government, Letters, Sciences, Religion, Manners and Customs of the antient Inhabitants of this Country, hath put all those Matters in so clear and happy, and, at the same Time, in so strong a Light, by the Powers of various foreign Testimonies, of undeniable Authenticity, coincident with our own, that scarce any Thing new can be offered on the same Subject.

It may, however, in general be observed, that _Milesius_, a _Spanish_ Prince, so far back as the Reign of _Solomon_ (instigated by Necessity, or induced by Ambition) with a considerable Number of a.s.sociates and Followers, landed from the Western Parts of _Spain_, on the Southern Coasts of this Island, where it is probable they met little, or but faint Opposition, from wild and undisciplined Inhabitants.

Those People, from their early Knowledge of the _Phnician_ Arts and Letters, imported such Rudiments of Government and Learning, as those primitive Times admitted; a Truth visible from the Similarity or rather Ident.i.ty of the _Phnician_ and _Scotic_ Alphabet.

This antient Colony quietly settled here, remote from the Storms and Revolutions of the greater World, and secured by Situation from its hostile Incursions, there is no Doubt but the Cultivation of Religion, Philosophy, Politicks, Poetry, and Musick, became the chief Objects of popular Study and Application: The Spirit of Ambition in succeeding Ages, with its unhappy concomitant Train of Sedition, Faction, and Violence, the foreign Invasions, and often the intestine Oppressions and Calamities, to which our neighbouring Nations were subject, calling forth the protective or conciliating Aids of those ancient Heroes, made them great Masters also in the Art military.

The Pentarchy originally formed by those _Iberian_ or _Celtic Spaniards_, with a popular Right of Election, was certainly a Kind of Government extremely consistent with the Essence and Genius of true Liberty, and a System derived from the Patriarchs themselves. For when the various Necessities of Society required a Subordination, together with some stated Maxims to go by, to avoid the confused and promiscuous Intercourse in a State of Nature; then did the People elect the most Virtuous and Wise, to lead and conduct them in Times of War and Trouble; to govern, inform, and protect them, in milder and more auspicious Seasons. Then was the Motto of the Crown, or of the chief Ensign of Pre-eminence, _Digniori detur_, and so continued till the Degeneracy of Time, and the baneful Growth of Avarice and Pride, with the feverish l.u.s.t of Power, perverted it to-_Rapiat Fortior_!

Such, thro' a long Succession of Ages, was the Condition, and such at length the Fate of this Kingdom, destroyed after a longer Continuance than any other can boast, by the Abuse of its own Powers; a sure Argument that all created Beings, all sublunary Inst.i.tutions, however wisely composed, in the very Essence of their Creation, and in the very Rudiments of their Formation, comprehend, at the same Time, the Seeds of Dissolution: Yet it is not more remarkable than true, that in the most boisterous Periods of this Kingdom's antient Establishment, the Arts and Sciences, with the fundamental Principles of Const.i.tution, were preserved and cherished with inviolable a.s.siduity. The Priests, Philosophers, Advocates, Annalists, Poets and Musicians, were obliged to preserve Religion, political Wisdom, Law, History, _&c._ hereditarily in their respective Tribes, and to educate in these different Branches the Chiefs and n.o.bles of the Land, for which they were graciously maintained in secure and splendid Tranquillity: Those Sages attended the National Conventions, where all publick Acts were religiously recorded, and all Abuses of Power and Government retrenched or reformed; nor were they permitted, except in Case of extraordinary Necessity, or uncommon Merit, to deviate from their proper and primitive Spheres of Action: Since, where an harmonious Subordination of Rank and Order hath not been duly preserved, even in free Estates, Liberty itself (wisely attempered, the greatest of all social Blessings) hath often, from Abuse and Neglect, sickened into Licentiousness, the immediate lewd Mother of Anarchy! In the visible Creation, the direct Result of infinite Wisdom, the lesser Planets do not interfere with, much less shock or oppose the Motions and Revolutions of the greater; they constantly keep the Distances first prescribed them, and all move regularly to their respective Ends.

The most verdant and fragrant Meadows may, from the too frequent Irruption of muddy Waters, degenerate into noxious Marshes, if some Care was not taken to divert those impure Gus.h.i.+ngs into their proper Channels. Hence it may be inferred, that laying open the most honorary, as well as important and useful Professions of Society, to the Intrusion, or rather pyratical Invasions, of the Sc.u.m and Dregs of the People, cannot, however varnished over with the fict.i.tious Colourings of pretended Liberty, consist with true Political Wisdom.

Those ancient _Sophi_ and _Literati_ enjoyed their Places with the greater Security, that they were uninvadable by the inferior Cla.s.ses of Mankind; with the greater Content and Chearfulness, that much Esteem and Emolument were connected with them: The Priest and Advocate informed and directed the Conscience and Conduct; the Historian and Annalist recorded the Inst.i.tutions; the Poet and Musician celebrated and sung the Exploits of their Kings and Leaders: No Wonder then this Kingdom should have been revered at Home, and admired Abroad; when Religion formed, Erudition nurtured, Philosophy strengthened, History preserved, Rhetorick adorned, Musick softened, and Poesy refined, the National Wisdom and Accomplishments; to all which was added, a thorough Knowledge of Tactics, and great Skill and Agility in all the athletick Arts, and bodily Exercises.

In the Versions of some original Codes exported by our Countryman, the learned and pious St. _Fiechry_, still extant in the _Navarre_ Library at _Paris_, the Const.i.tutional Wisdom of _Ireland_ appears in a clear and happy Light: Persons, Things, Actions, and Expressions, were cautiously attended to, by the Laws; _Persons_, in their Minority, Youth, and Manhood, according to their different Ranks in the State, so as by Care, Education, and Discipline, to render them, some subservient, others useful, some beneficial, and others ornamental thereunto. _Things_, so carefully, as to prevent, by prohibatory Laws, Wastes of whatsoever Kind, and to ascertain to each Individual, as well as Society, their proper and distinct Rights. _Actions_, by directing those in general, and particular, to the Honour of the Deity and Welfare of the Community: _Expression_, by the penal Interdiction of prophane Cursing and Swearing, Obscenity, Scurrility, Calumny, and Detraction, yet with a full Indulgence of proper Satire against such as merited popular Reprehension, or Contempt; the Satirist's Pen in those Days being as much dreaded, or rather more so, than the Magistrate's Rod, and consequently as diligently avoided by a Demeanour absolutely irreproachable.

It appeareth that, under the antient Government of _Ireland_, the Education of the landed Gentry, when Luxury, with its wasteful Catalogue of Vices, had not rendered Property so mutable and wavering as in modern Ages, was provided for; whether by the immediate Care of Parents, or essential Attention of Guardians, by the Laws of the Land; in order that Gentlemen should, to the Antiquity of Birth and Possession, add the important Dignity of Learning, and social Refinement of Arts: Since a Man at the Head of an original Estate, who should want the necessary Cultivation of Letters, was considered only as a Peasant in Disguise, and not more respected than a Hewer of Wood, or Drawer of Water.

In these Writings of St. _Fiechry_, the legislative Wisdom of _Olam-Fodla_; the philosophically-religious Capacity of _Cormac-O Quin_, who, from the pure Light of Nature, in a great Measure defeated the absurd _Polytheism_ of the _Druids_; the consummate Integrity and Impartiality of _Federach_ the Just, and _Moran_ his Chief Justice; the Magnanimity of _Con-Ked-Cathagh_; the Conquests of _Kineth Mac Alpin_; the long, glorious, and peaceful Reign of _Conary_ the Great, _coaeval_ with the Birth of our Blessed Lord and Saviour _Jesus Christ_, (undoubtedly the happiest, brightest, and most blissful Period the World ever saw;) are all displayed in a copious masterly Style, yet with strict chronological Exactness.

This learned St. _Fiechry_ was Founder of the University in _Paris_, in the Beginning of the 8th Century. The better to enable him to carry on that n.o.ble Work, he obtained of _Charles_ the Great a Tax on all Wheel-Carriages, within the Barriers of that City: Whence, a Hackney-Coach is at this Day technically term'd _Fiacre_.

_Charles_ the Great, in order to repair the cruel and truly lamentable literary Dilapidations of the ferocious North-men, invited Numbers of the learned and pious _Irish_ to the Continent, where he established and entertained them with Dignity, Tenderness, and Respect. In a curious Ma.n.u.script of _Nicholaus Gurtlerus_, (now in the _French_ King's _Parisian_ Library) Author of the _Origines Mundi_, where he alludes to these Times, you find the following favourable, but true Account of _Ireland_.-_Temporibus illis, barbaris Normannorum Cohortibus undequaque irrumpentibus, Religio, Fides, Philosophia, Virtus, Hospitalitas, Fort.i.tudo, Cast.i.tas, necnon et Amniores omnium generum Artes, Hibernia solummod natali, veluti Solo, viguerunt_; little Wonder that _Ireland_ should have been esteemed the _Ierne_, or sacred Isle of the _Greeks_, the _Insula Sanctorum_, or Island of Saints of the _Romans_.-Would to Heaven our Countrymen had, upon all considerable Occasions, recollected those deserved Encomiums, thereby to approve them worthy their applauded Origin, and native Soil!

We now proceed to consider _Ireland_ in her happiest and brightest View, after the Admission and Propagation of Christianity. It is certain there were many Christians in _Ireland_, before the Arrival of _Palladius_ in 431, or of St. _Patrick_ the Year following: St. _Kieran_, St. _Ailbe_, St. _Declan_, and St. _Ibar_, whom _Ussher_ calls the Precursors, or Forerunners of St. _Patrick_, are pregnant Proofs of this; they were of the Birth of _Ireland_, from whence they travelled to _Rome_, in Search of Education and Learning, where they lived some Years, were ordained, and returned Home about the Year 402.

It seems that those early Preachers confined their Labours to particular Places, in which they had considerable Success, but fell very short of converting the Body of the Nation: However, they sowed the Seed which St.

_Patrick_ came after to water: And it is certain that St. _Patrick_ was so well satisfied with the Progress they made, in their particular Districts in _Munster_, that this was the last Province in _Ireland_ he thought proper to visit. That there were many Christians in _Ireland_, at this Period, seems to be confirmed by _Prosper_, who, in giving an Account of the Mission of _Palladius_, says, that he was ordained by Pope _Celestin_, and sent the first Bishop to the _Scots_ believing in Christ. This Pa.s.sage can mean nothing else, but that _Palladius_, born in Britain, was sent to the Scots [i.e. the _Irish_] who had already formed Churches under _Kieran_, _Ailbe_, _Declan_ and _Ibar_; and so the Bishop of St. _Asaph_ expounds it. This then was the next Attempt that was made for the Conversion of the _Irish_: _Palladius_ engaged in a more ample and extensive Design than his Predecessors, yet he failed in the Execution of it, stay'd but a short Time in _Ireland_, and did little worth remembring; he converted, however, a few, and is said to have founded three Churches; but he had neither Courage to withstand the Fierceness of the heathen _Irish_, nor Abilities, for Want of the Language, proper for the Work.

_Nathi_, the Son of _Garcon_, an _Irish_ Prince, opposed his preaching; upon which _Palladius_ left the Kingdom, and died in the Land of the _Picts_, on the 15th of _December_, 431. This glorious Work was reserved for St. _Patrick_, to whose holy Life, divine Mission, and extraordinary Success, I refer the Reader. This great Apostle of the _Irish_ founded and built the Cathedral Church of _Ardmagh_, about the Year 444, or 45, which, from that early Period to this, hath continued the Metropolitan Church of all _Ireland_. So that 1194 Years pa.s.sed away from the Founding of the City of _Rome_, to that of _Ardmagh_.

The various and most signal Blessings derived to this Nation, from the salutary Mission of this ill.u.s.trious Saint, require, in Grat.i.tude, our giving the Reader yet a further Account of the Author of such Happiness and Glory to _Ireland_.

He was born in the extreme Bounds of _Britain_, (in that Part thereof which is now comprehended within the Limits of the modern _Scotland_) at a Village called _Banaven_, in the Territory of _Tabernia_, (as he himself saith in his Confession) in _Vico Banaven Taberniae_, &c. He tells us that he was born of a good Family. _Ingennuus fui secundum Carnem._ His Father was _Calphurnius_, a Deacon, who was the Son of _Pot.i.tus_, a Priest; from whence may be clearly inferred that the Clergy were not restrained from Matrimony in that Age. He was just advanced into his sixteenth Year, when he was taken Captive, the Manner of which is thus related by St. _Evin_ and others: His Father, Mother, Brother, and five Sisters, undertook a Voyage to _Aremorick Gaul_, (now called _Ba.s.s Bretagne_) to visit the Relations of his Mother _Couchessa_. It happened about this Time, that the seven Sons of _Factmude_, a _British_ Prince, were banished, and took to the Sea; that, making an Inroad into _Aremorick Gaul_, they took _Patrick_ and his Sister, _Lupita_, (some say _Tigrida_ also) Prisoners. They brought their Captives to the North of _Ireland_, and sold _Patrick_ to _Milcho Mac Huanan_, a Prince of _Dalaradia_: Others tell the Story in a different Manner, and with a stronger Degree of Probability. That the _Romans_ having deserted _Britain_, to preserve their own Country from the barbarous Incursions of the _Northern Hive_, the _Irish_ made frequent Conquests, in _North Britain_ especially, whence returning victorious, in one of those Expeditions among others brought _Patrick_ Captive. But in this they all agree, and he himself confirms it, that he continued Prisoner in _Ireland_ six Years; he was sold to _Milcho_ and his three Brothers, which gave Occasion of his changing his Name into _Cathraigh_, or rather _Ceathir-Tigh_, because he served four Masters; _Ceathir_ signifying four, and _Tigh_ a House or Family. _Milcho_ observing the Care and Diligence of his new Servant, bought out the Shares of his Brothers, and made him his own Property. He sent him to feed his Hogs on _Sliev-Mis_. And St. _Patrick_ himself tells us his Behaviour in this Office.

"My constant Business was to feed the Hogs. I was frequent in Prayer; the Love and Fear of G.o.d more and more inflamed my Heart; my Faith was enlarged, and my Spirit augmented, so that I said an hundred Prayers by Day, and almost as many by Night. I arose before Day to my Prayers, in the Snow, in the Frost, and in the Rain, and yet I received no Damage; nor was I affected with Slothfulness; for then the Spirit of G.o.d was warm within me." It was here he perfected himself in the _Irish_ Language, the wonderful Providence of G.o.d visibly appearing in this Instance of his Captivity, that he should have the Opportunity in his tender Years of becoming well acquainted with the Language, Manners, and Dispositions of that People, to whom he was intended as a future Apostle. He continued six whole Years in Servitude, and in the seventh was released. There seems to have been a Law in _Ireland_ for this Purpose, agreeable to the Inst.i.tution of _Moses_, that a Servant should be released the seventh Year.

Having parted from his Master, after a great Variety of Distresses, he at length arrived to his Parents, who received him with extraordinary Joy; with these he remained two Years, and probably would much longer, had he not by a Vision been quickened to a more active and glorious Life. In this he thought he saw a Man coming to him from _Ireland_, whose Name was _Victoricus_, with a great Number of Letters; that he gave him one of them to read, in the Beginning of which were contained these Words, _Vox-Hiberionac.u.m_, the Voice of the _Irish_: While he was reading this Letter, he thought the same Moment, that he heard the Voice of the Inhabitants who lived near the Wood of _Foclut_, in the Barony of _Tyr-Awley_, and County of _Mayo_, hard by the Western Sea, crying to him with an audible and distinct Voice, "We intreat thee, holy Youth, to come and walk among us." He was greatly amazed at this Vision, and awoke; it animated him, however, to his future Studies and heavenly Progress; so far even, that he tells us himself, he thanked G.o.d, that after many Years he had dealt with the _Irish_, according to their crying out.

These early Scenes of this great Saint's Life, should, among many others, serve as lessons of Charity, Consideration, and Humility, to the Rich, the Great, the Proud, and the Wanton; who may recollect that, altho' he was well born, he was nevertheless, in the most vigorous Season of Life, a Slave and a Swine-Herd: Happy, though wretched Servitude! In which, his leisure Hours, mostly employed in Christian Confidence and Prayer, made him so signally the Favourite of Heaven, that from those cloudy Dawnings, he in Process of Time became a learned Doctor, a sanctified Missioner, a venerable Prelate, an eminent Primate, a national Apostle, and the bright Instructor of Kings! Such were the fruitful Rewards of uninterrupted unshaken Devotion, Piety, and Zeal! From this Time he formed the steady Resolution of converting the _Irish_; and, the better to accomplish the heavenly Task, he undertook a laborious Journey to foreign Countries, to enrich his Mind with Learning and Experience.

He continued abroad thirty-five Years, pursuing his Studies under the Direction princ.i.p.ally of his Mother's Uncle, St. _Martin_, Bishop of _Tours_, who had ordained him Deacon; and after his Death, partly with St.

_German_, Bishop of _Auxerre_, (who ordained him a Priest, and called his Name _Magonius_, which was the third Name he was known by,) partly among a Colony of _Hermits_ and _Monks_, in some Islands of the _Tuscan_ Sea; and he employed a good Part of the Time in the City of _Rome_, among the Canons Regular of the _Lateran_ Church: At length, having his Soul thoroughly tempered with religious Virtue, enlightened with the true Evangelical Faith, and his Understanding enlarged by the most profitable and edifying Studies, he arrived in _Ireland_ about the 60th Year of his Age; and in the Year of our Lord 432, landed in the County of _Wicklow_, where he began his Ministry, by the Conversion of _Sinel_, a great Man in that Country, the Grandson of _Finchad_, who ought to be remembered, as he was the first Fruits of St. _Patrick_'s Mission in _Ireland_; he was the 8th in lineal Descent from _Cormac_, King of _Leinster_, and came afterwards to be enumerated among the Saints of _Ireland_.

From this Country he sailed to an Island on the Coast of the County of _Dublin_, called after him _Inis Phadring_, and by the _English_, _Holm Patrick_ at this Day, where he and his faithful Companions rested after their Fatigues. From _Inis Phadring_, he sailed Northward to that Part of _Ulster_ called _Ulidia_, and put in at _Inbherslaying_ Bay. When he and his Fellow Labourers landed, _Dichu_, the Son of _Trichem_, Lord of the County, being informed that they were Pirates, came out with armed Men in order to kill them: But being struck with the venerable Appearance of St.

_Patrick_, he gave him Audience, and listened attentively to the Word of Life preached by him; he changed his wicked Purpose, believed, and was baptized, and brought over all his Family to the Faith: It is further observed of him, that he was the first Person in _Ulster_, who embraced Christianity. He dedicated the Land whereon his Conversion was wrought to the Service of G.o.d, where a Church was erected, changed after to an eminent Monastery. He travelled hence by Land to _Clunebois_ in _Dalaradia_, to endeavour the Conversion of his old Master _Milcho_, whose Service he had left thirty-eight Years before; but this obstinate Prince, hearing of the great Success of St. _Patrick_'s preaching, and ashamed to be persuaded in his old Age, to forsake the Religion of his Ancestors, (by one especially who had been his Servant, in a most inferior Station,) made a funeral Pile of his House and Goods, and by the Instigation of the Enemy of Mankind, burned himself therein: Thus ended _Milcho McHuanan_.

Hence St. _Patrick_ returned to _Inis_, the Habitation of _Dichu_, and in his Journey converted great Numbers to the true Faith of _Christ_. In some time, he took his Leave of _Dichu_, and bent his course Southward by Sea, keeping the Coast on his Right-hand, and arrived at Port _Colbdi_, where he landed, and committed the Care of his Vessel to his Nephew _Luman_, desiring him to wait for him there forty Days, while he and his Disciples were travelling in the inner Parts of the Country to preach the Gospel.

His Intention in this Journey was, to celebrate the Festival of _Easter_ in the Plains of _Bregia_, and to be in the Neighbourhood of the Great Triennial Convention at _Tarah_, which at this Season was held by King _Leogair_, and all his Tributary Princes, n.o.bles, _Druids_, _Annalists_, _and Fileas_. St. _Patrick_ wisely foreseeing that whatever Impressions he should make on this august a.s.sembly must have an Influence on the whole Kingdom, and therefore, being supported with invincible Christian Fort.i.tude, resolved not to be absent from a Place where his Presence was so conducive to the Ends of his Holy Ministry.

Never did the Spirit of popular Freedom exert itself more powerfully or harmoniously, than in those truly parliamentary Triennial Conventions of _Ireland_, where the supreme Monarch, the Provincial Kings, the feudatory Lords, the n.o.bles, landed Men, _Druids_, &c. by the unbiased Suffrages of the People, convened for the Peace, good Government and Security of each particular Province, as well as those of the whole Kingdom. Many Centuries had this wise Const.i.tution subsisted here, before our Neighbours, even of _South Britain_, knew any thing relative to Houses, or Raiment; it being notorious that so late as the Arrival of _Julius Caesar_ among them, they painted their Bodies, to render them terrible, and lived in the open Fields. It is really somewhat surprzing that People so near in Situation, should differ so essentially in Disposition, as the Inhabitants of those Islands have in all Ages; Hospitality having been the distinguis.h.i.+ng Attribute of the _Irish_, and it's opposite Defect, that of the _Britons_; the Account given of them by _Horace_ 1700 and odd Years ago, _Visam Britannes Hospitibus feros_, being as literally applicable to them at this Day, where the Force of Education doth not operate to mitigate their natural Ferocity.

But to return: St. _Patrick_ in his Way to _Tarah_, took up his Lodgings at the House of the hospitable _Sesgnen_ in _Meath_, who kindly received and welcomed him. St. _Patrick_ preach'd Christ and his Gospel to him; he believed, and was baptized with his whole Family.

From the House of _Sesgnen_, he moved Westward, and arrived on _Easter Eve_ at _Fierta-fir-feic_, on the Northern Banks of the River _Boyne_, where he rested, resolving there to prepare for the next Day's Solemnity.

It was penal for any Person at the Time of the Celebration of this solemn Convention at _Tarah_, to kindle a Fire in the Province, before the King's Bonfire first appeared. I am of Opinion this was a religious Ceremony, as the chief Deity of the ancient Inhabitants, in exterior Wors.h.i.+p especially, was _Bel_, or _Belus_; whence _Apollo_ or _Ap-haul_, the Son of the Sun, whom they emblematically wors.h.i.+pped, by those fiery Offerings; whence the first Day of _May_, peculiarly dedicated to this _Bel_, is even now in _Irish_, called _Lha-Bel-Thinih_, and probably from the same Source may be derived the Custom of lighting up Bonfires, and Sops, on the Eve of the 24th Day of _June_. St. _Patrick_ however, either not knowing or not minding this Ceremony, lighted up a Fire before his Booth, which altho'

eight Miles distant from _Tarah_, was very visible. It was seen with Astonishment from Court, and the _Druids_ informed the King, that if he did not immediately extinguish the Fire, he who kindled it, and his Successors, should for ever hold the Princ.i.p.ality of _Ireland_; which hath hitherto turned out a true Prediction of those Heathen Priests, in a Primatial and Spiritual Princ.i.p.ality.

The King dispatched Messengers to bring _Patrick_ before him, and gave his positive Orders, that n.o.body should presume to rise out of his Seat, or pay him the least Honour: But _Ere_, the Son of _Dego_, ventured to disobey this Command; he arose, and offered the Holy Father his Seat. St.

_Patrick_ preached to him and converted him. He became a Person of eminent Sanct.i.ty, and after some Time was consecrated by St. _Patrick_, Bishop of _Slain_.

The Day following, when St. _Patrick_ and two of his Disciples appeared unexpectedly at Court, and preached to the King and his n.o.bles, _Dubtach_, the King's Poet Laureat, payed Honour and Respect to the Saint, and was converted by his Preaching. _Fiech_, a young Poet, who was under the Tuition of _Dubtach_, was also converted, and afterwards made Bishop of _Sletty_, and is said to have been the Author of a celebrated Poem, composed in Praise of St. _Patrick_. _Anselm_, Arch-Bishop of _Canterbury_, relates the Conversion of _Tingar_, the Son of _c.l.i.to_, (one of the n.o.bles in this a.s.sembly,) in the same Manner. The Queen also, and many others of the Court, became Christians; and altho' the King held out for a long Time with great Obstinacy, yet at last he submitted to be baptized. St. _Patrick_ is said here to have wrought many Miracles: There could not truly, even according to the Purposes of human Wisdom, have happened a more solemn or weighty Occasion, for G.o.d Almighty's supporting this Holy Preacher by Miracles, than when the collective Body of the whole Nation was a.s.sembled together; from whose Report and Conviction, the Influences of his blessed Works and Doctrine must of Course spread through the whole Kingdom.