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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2016
The negotiations between Charles I and the Confederation of Kilkenny endured, except for brief intervals, from the signing of a truce on 15 September 1643 until two weeks before the king's death (30 January 1649), when, too late, they culminated in a treaty. On the royalist side they were officially directed by the marquis of Ormond, but in practice a number of agents were active at various times on the king's behalf. Of essentially secondary interest to Charles, the negotiations absorbed much of the time and energy of the confederation and undoubtedly contributed to its eventual downfall.
1 The use of this term and its derivative ‘ the confederates ’ is now so well established that there is no point in trying to avoid it. Nevertheless, as Professor J. G. Beckett has pointed out, it was not contemporary usage but a title coined as late as the nineteenth century –The article in which Professor Beckett made this observation is by far the most original and penetrating study of the nature, aims and problems of the confederation that has yet been published, and I am greatly indebted to it. See Beckett, J. G., ‘The confederation of Kilkenny reviewed’ in Roberts, M. (ed.), Historical Studies, 2 (1959), pp. 29–41.Google Scholar
2 See, for example, his letter to Prince Rupert, dated 3 Aug. 1645 ( Carte, T., Life of James, duke of Ormonde, 1851, 7. 311–12).Google Scholar
3 Ibid., vi. 119.
4 Not all; see R.I.A., box 29, tract 14, vol. 34.
5 A full account of their activities was published in a contemporary tract (R.I.A., box 37, tract 12, vol. 41).
6 In general, we need to know more than we do about the background and aims of the personnel at Kilkenny and about the views of the population at large in the country. A great deal of invaluable information is contained in the unpublished thesis of Cregan, Rev Donai F., ‘The Confederation of Kilkenny : its organisation, personnel and history’ (National University of Ireland, 1947).Google Scholar
7 The operations of the court of wards and liveries and their effect on the temper of the old English are described in Kearney, H. F., ‘The court of wards and liveries in Ireland, 1622–41’, in R.L.A. Proc, 57, sect. G, no. 2, pp. 29–68.Google Scholar
8 The war and rebellion in Ireland began in 1641 (N.L.I., MS 345, Carte’s Abstract, p. 675).
9 Comment Rinucc, i. 728–32.
10 Rinuccini himself stated that they had circulated the rumour that he had come to Ireland for the purpose of restoring Ireland to the Holy See ( Hutton, A., The embassy in Ireland of Monsignor G. B. Rinuccini, trans, of the Nunziatura, ed. Aiazzi, G., p. 134).Google Scholar Though he himself knew this report to be false, it did not occur to him that they might well have believed it to be true.
11 N.L.I, MS 345, Garte’s Abstract, pp. 777–8.
12 Gilbert, , Ir. confed., 5. 286–308.Google Scholar
13 Ibid., iii. 128–33.
14 Since most of the records of the general assembly have been lost irrevocably, it is impossible to be categorical on this point. But it would seem that the Ulstermen acted at most as some sort of pressure group., In any case, in so far as opposition to the old English was organised, the clergy provided the binding element.
15 Rothe of Ossory, Dease of Meath, and Tirry of Cork (died 1646).
16 ‘Ecclesiastical politics and the counter–reformation in Ireland, 1618–1648’, in Journal of Ecclesiastical History, no. 2, pp. 202–12.
17 Gilbert, , Ir. confed., 6 278–9.Google Scholar
18 Comment, Rinucc, ii. 174–5.
19 Gf. Roberts’ relation of his journey to proclaim the peace, I Sept. 1646 (Bodleian Library, Carte Papers, xviii. 213). Poor Roberts obtained a medical report of the cuts and contusions inflicted on him at Limerick (ibid., xviii. 186).
20 Cf. Embassy, p. 498.
21 From the first moment of his arrival Scarampi was advocating a strong line in the negotiations with Gilbert, Charles. Cf., Ir. confed., 2. 321–7.Google Scholar
22 Historical Studies, ii. 36.
23 The Irish catholic confederacy and the puritan revolution (Dublin 1954).
24 See his remarkable letter to his financial agent, Edward Comerford, written on 6 Apr. 1644 (Ormonde MSS at Kilkenny, 25 Mar.–i Aug. 1644, pp. 13–17).
25 See, for example ‘Wee conceive them (the Scots) to be our Common enemyes and doe desyre they should be repelled with our ioynt endeavours’ (Bodleian Library, Carte Papers, x. 161).
26 See their letter to the king, 15 July 1644, in Carte, Ormonde, vi. 159–62.
27 I have attempted elsewhere to discuss the importance of the military factor during this period. See ‘Some aspects of the wars in Ireland’ in The Irish Sword, iv, no. 15 (1959), pp. 81—7
28 See Ormond to Digby, 7 Nov. 1644, in Carte, Ormonde, vi. 214.
29 On 4 Nov 1644 Sir James Ware and two others left Dublin for England in order to obtain instructions for Ormond from the king. On the return journey they were captured at sea and forced to jettison their despatches. In consequence, Ormond did not receive his answer until March 1645.
30 22 July 1644, in Carte, Ormonde, vi. 177.
31 Ibid., vi. 193.
32 Ibid., vi. 260.
33 Ibid., vi. 286.
34 13 Aug. 1644, (ibid., vi. 194).
35 Carte, Ormonde, vi. 209.
36 Rebellion, ed. W. D. Macray, ii. 485.
37 Ormond was always finding it necessary to ask for elucidation of his instructions. Daniel O’Neill put a revealing gloss on the situation . ‘… you are to stand or fall by what is good in your one eyes. This iss not what I knowe you expect or desire; butt lett mee assure you,’tis all the direction that can bee hoped from the present condition of affaires, or from our cautious counsellors; …’ (13 Aug. 1645, Garte, Ormonde, vi. 188).
38 Ibid., vi. 153.
39 Warburton, E., Memoirs of Prince Rupert and the cavaliers (London, 1849), 3. 143.Google Scholar
40 Notably Arthur Trevor, Sir George Radcliffe and the archbishop of York.
41 See for example, A. Trevor to Ormond, 25 Mar. 1644, in Carte, Ormonde, vi. 70: ‘Sir Edward and sir John Colepepper are suspected to bee something rigide in the business of the Irish. This from lord primate, who is yett well.’ That Hyde was hostile is plain from his particular account of Irish affairs during the civil war period : A short view of the state and condition of the kingdom of Ireland (cf. The history of the rebellion and civil wars in England, edn. 1849, vii.).
42 The peers and commoners sat together after the first assembly.
43 There were nine general assemblies in all, the dates of which have been worked out as follows by Rev. Dr Donai Gregan (‘The Confederation of Kilkenny; its organisation, personnel and history’).
i. 24 October–21 November 1642.
ii. 20 May–18–19 June 1643.
iii. 7 November (approx)–i December 1643.
iv. 20 July–31 August 1644.
v. 15 May (adjourned 5 July: re–assembled 27 August) — dissolved soon after 31 August 1645.
vi. 7 February (approx)–4 March 1646.
vii. 10 January–3–4 April 1647–
viii 12 November–24 December 1647.
ix. 4 September 1648–17 January 1649.
44 Castlehaven claimed that he was made an additional member (J. Touchet, earl of Castlehaven, The earl of Castlehaven’s review, or his memoirs of his engagement and carriage in the Irish wars (Dublin, 1815),p. 33).
45 Embassy, p.128.
46 In spite of this, each assembly seems to have fixed the opening date of the next one at the end of each final session. But the agreed opening dates were rarely observed, and in any case they were usually chosen in the light of the anticipated duration of the next phase in the negotiations.
47 ‘They [the general assembly] appointed others for preparing instructions for those that were to treat, whom they named commissioners of instruction’ (Bishop French, Historical works, i. 42).
48 Namely, that ‘… as to the demands made by the lord marquesse of Ormonde, lord lieftenant of Ireland, to the commissioners for the treaty of peace, for the restoring of the churches to the protestant clergy, the commissioners shall give an absolute denyeall, and the committee of instructions are to prepare an instruction to this affect (Resolution of the general assembly, 9 June 1645, in Gilbert, , Ir. corifed., 4. 278–9).Google Scholar
49 Gilbert, , Ir. confed., 4. 280.Google Scholar
50 In March 1646 the membership of the council was reduced to nine including the secretary. Gf. Comment. Rinucc., ii. 149.
51 Cf. ‘… it followed that time was lost and affairs of importance were not properly examined by the wearied Council, who had to sit for many hours together, both in the morning and evening’ (Embassy, P. 133).
52 See my unpublished thesis ‘ The negotiations between Charles I and the Confederation of Kilkenny, 1642–95 ’ (University of London, 1960), pp. 367–408 and passim.
