th and Munster, Mac Gerald, the Burke, Butler, and Cogan, may
appear."

The famous invasion of Ireland by Bruce took place on the 16th of May,
A.D. 1315. On that day Edward landed on the coast of Ulster, near
Carrickfergus, with six thousand men. He was attended by the heroes of
Bannockburn; and as a considerable number of native forces soon joined
them, the contingent was formidable. Although a few of the Irish had
assisted Edward II. in his war against Scotch independence, the
sympathies of the nation were with the cause of freedom; and they gladly
hailed the arrival of those who had delivered their own country, hoping
they would also deliver Ireland. It was proposed that Edward Bruce
should be made King of Ireland. The Irish chieftain, Donnell O'Neill,
King of Ulster, in union with the other princes of the province, wrote a
spirited but respectful remonstrance to the Holy See, on the part of the
nation, explaining why they were anxious to transfer the kingdom to
Bruce.

In this document the remonstrants first state, simply and clearly, that
the Holy Father was deceived; that they were persuaded his intentions
were pure and upright; and that his Holiness only knew the Irish through
the misrepresentations of their enemies. They state their wish "to save
their country from foul and false imputations," and to give a correct
idea of their state. They speak, truthfully and mournfully, "of the sad
remains of a kingdom, which has groaned so long beneath the tyranny of
English kings, of their ministers and their barons;" and they add, "that
some of the latter, though born in the island, continued to exercise the
same extortions, rapine, and cruelties, as their ancestors inflicted."
They remind the Pontiff that "it is to Milesian princes, and not to the
English, that the Church is indebted for those lands and possessions of
which it has been stripped by the sacrilegious cupidity of the English."
They boldly assert "it was on the strength of false statements" that
Adrian transferred the sovereignty of the country to Henry II, "the
probable murderer of St. Thomas a Becket." Details are then given of
English oppression, to some of which we have already referred. They
state the people have been obliged to take refuge, "like beasts, in the
mountains, in the woods, marshes, and caves. Even _there_ we are not
safe. They envy us these desolate abodes." They contrast the engagements
made by Henry to the Church, and his fair promises,