feeling of hostility between Drogheda _versus Uriel_
and Drogheda _versus Midiam_, in consequence of trading vessels lading
their cargoes in the latter or southern town, to avoid the pontage duty
levied in the former or northern town. At length, after much blood had
been shed in the dispute, Philip Bennett, a monk residing in the town,
succeeded by his eloquence, on the festival of Corpus Christi, 1412, in
persuading the authorities of the two corporations to send to Henry IV.
for a new charter sanctioning their combination, and this was granted on
the 1st of November. Drogheda was always considered by the English a
place of much importance. In the reign of Edward III. it was classed
along with Dublin, Waterford and Kilkenny as one of the four staple
towns of Ireland. Richard II. received in its Dominican monastery the
submissions of O'Neal, O'Donnell and other chieftains of Ulster and
Leinster. The right of coining money was bestowed on the town, and
parliaments were several times held within its walls. In the reign of
Edward IV. the mayor received a sword of state and an annuity of L20, in
recognition of the services rendered by the inhabitants at Malpus Bridge
against O'Reilly; the still greater honour of having a university with
the same privileges as that of Oxford remained a mere paper distinction,
owing to the poverty of the town and the unsettled state of the country;
and an attempt made by the corporation in modern times to resuscitate
their rights proved unsuccessful. In 1495 Poyning's laws were enacted by
a parliament held in the town. In the civil wars of 1641 the place was
besieged by O'Neal and the Northern Irish forces; but it was gallantly
defended by Sir Henry Tichbourne, and after a long blockade was relieved
by the Marquess of Ormond. The same nobleman relieved it a second time,
when it was invested by the Parliamentary army under Colonel Jones. In
1649 it was captured by Cromwell, after a short though spirited defence;
and nearly every individual within its walls, without distinction of age
or sex, was put to the sword. Thirty only escaped, who were afterwards
transported as slaves to Barbados. In 1690 it was garrisoned by King
James's army; but after the decisive battle of the Boyne (q.v.) it
surrendered to the conqueror without a struggle, in consequence of a
threat that quarter would not be granted if the town were taken by
storm.

Drogheda ceased to be a parliamentary borough in 1885, and a county