THE OLD ENGLISH

Despite the Ulster Plantation, most land in the island of Ireland remained in the possession of Catholics, especially those Catholics who were descendants of the Anglo-Normans. These "Old English" still retained a sense of distinction from the Gaelic Irish and were particularly adamant in their loyalty to the Crown. Also, they had firmly accepted the reforms of the Council of Trent, which reforms had not gained the same adherence among the Gaelic Catholics. In addition, they espoused a premature sense of parliamentary nationalism, that is, a sense of the autonomy of the Irish parliament from that of England, regardless of the inhibitions on it imposed by Poynings' Law. Catholicism thrived in Ireland in the early decades of the 17 th century as a resident episcopacy had been reestablished and numerous parishes set up. Catholics formed the majority of the aldermen in Dublin, and the number of Franciscan friars on the island increased fivefold to 1,000 within several decades.

On the other hand, repressive measures still existed and more were being considered or advocated. In theory, priests were supposed to be banished and nonattendance at the Protestant Church of Ireland was subject to a fine. Outrage at the "Gunpowder Plot" of November 1605, an alleged attempt by some Catholics in England to supplant the monarchy, led to demands for more

Repressive measures in Ireland. A Catholic bishop of Down and Connor was hung for treason in 1612 and a Catholic alderman died after seven years imprisonment in 1621. A special court, the Castle Chamber, which played the same role in Ireland as that of the Star Chamber in England, of bypassing the common law, was often employed against Catholics. Because of their "Englishness," the Old English Catholics were better adapted than the Gaelic Catholics to employ such English institutions as Parliament to defend their religious rights. They tried to overcome restrictions on their religion, whether impediments to church building, establishment of educational institutions, movement of clergy, or exclusion from certain offices or professions because of religion. They also had to contend with assaults on their property. A mixture of use of special courts and intimidation of common law court juries often worked to challenge their title to various lands. These tactics were especially effective when applied against the Gaelic lords, whose original claims were based on traditional and Brehon law concepts.

Differences between James I and the English parliament gave the Old English Catholics an opportunity to improve their position. Irish history in the 17th century was inexorably drawn into the domestic struggle in England between the king and parliament. The Irish sought concessions from the king at the time of his difficulties with his parliament. This, in turn, made the parliamentary forces severely condemnatory of real or imagined royal collusion with the Irish against the interests of the English parliament and Protestantism.

Two matters were at the root of the clash between the king and parliament: one was the parliament's growing consciousness of what it thought should be its powers, the other was the severe revenue shortfall confronting the king. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that James was a "foreigner," that is, a Scot. His own experience as king of Scotland and his dealings with the elected kirks of the Presbyterian Church had made him increasingly suspicious of elected bodies that could inhibit royal power. Adhering to the concept of the divine right of kings, he was emboldened in his new position to take steps that would inhibit the English parliament from behaving the way in which the Scots had. A clash became inevitable when the dispute moved beyond simple requests for revenue to the theoretical questions about whether parliament had the right to exist without the king. James's depreciatory remarks about Calvinist elements (the source of his difficulties in Scotland) within the English church, still a minority, transformed these adherents into martyrs, which scarcely helped his efforts to sustain the Episcopal character of the church, that is, one with bishops appointed by the monarch.

The king hoped Ireland might provide assistance in the financial difficulties caused by his own parliament's reluctance to give him additional revenues. Accordingly, the lord deputy, Chichester, summoned a parliament in 1613. Old English Catholics made up a substantial portion of the upper house, the House of Lords. Catholics were a minority in the House of Commons, whose members represented the counties and the incorporated boroughs, because of the careful management of the county elections by the royally appointed sheriffs and the creation of 39 new boroughs that were certain to return Protestant members. Catholic members were outraged at the substantial Protestant major-

Ity so created and withdrew from the parliament. An inquiry partially rectified their grievances, leaving the Protestants with a much narrower majority when the parliament reassembled in 1614. The government secured post-facto parliamentary sanction for the attainder of the land of O'Neill and O'Donnell in Ulster, but it was unsuccessful in its revenue requests and in measures to inhibit the Jesuits in Ireland. The major difficulties for Catholics included the Act of Supremacy, which required the oath acknowledging the king as head of the church, and recusancy fines, which, when enforced, could penalize those who did not attend the official church. However, these were not as rigorously enforced in Ireland, although many of the New English, including the hierarchy of the church, were outraged at this "sinful" toleration of Papists.

When he failed to get the desired revenues from Ireland, James resorted to the same tactic he had employed in England. He invoked certain feudal rights as first lord of all property and made use of special royal courts as enforcers. In addition to legal challenges to the land title of many Catholic lords, James employed a Court of Wards to administer the estates and oversee the education of minor children of a tenant in chief, that is, a lord who had died without a male successor who had come of age. The effect was to exploit the property for the revenue interests of the government and to guarantee the Protestant education of the minor children. It was in such circumstances that James Butler, later earl and ultimately duke of Ormond, became a Protestant. During the 16th century the Butlers had proved more loyal than had their Geraldine rivals in Kildare or Munster.

Even if they were not minors, heirs of tenants in chief could also be required to take the Oath of Supremacy when coming into their inheritance. This was a further instrument to induce religious conversion or to gain financial or property concessions. Lastly, there were the continuing title challenges to Catholic landholders, especially Gaelic lords, that resulted in acquisition of extensive property by many New English. Typical of the latter was Richard Boyle, who had arrived in Cork as a penniless settler in 1588 and, having been created earl of Cork in 1620, built several towns and started industries.