Page 188 - Demo

188 Stephen Dunford: The Journey of The IrIsh
Affane,’ since known as ‘the last private battle fought in Ireland,’ was the result of a dispute which arose as to which of the two great houses should rule over the territorty in modern Waterford known as the Decies. The Geraldine leader, Gerald Fitzgerald, defeated, wound- ed and taken prisoner, was jestingly asked by his victorious adversary ‘Black Tom Butler’ “Where now is the great Earl of Desmond?” and replied “Where he ought to be, on the necks of the Butlers.” To add fuel to an already blazing fire, during the reign of Elizabeth, the head of the House of Ormond converted to the Protestant faith, while the Desmonds adhered to the old faith: consequently these two houses became more bitter enemies than heretofore.
In any case, having made arrangements for the overthrow of Shane O’ Neill, Sir Henry Sidney, on the express orders of a seething Elizabeth, who was furious at this ‘private war- ring,’ advanced into Munster to restore order. He arrested Gerald Fitzgerald, who, along with his brother John, was shortly afterwards sent to London, where they were detained in the Tower for almost seven years. With Munster reasonably subdued, Elizabeth was now free to carry on her half-sisters policy of “plantation”- and the widespread belief among the Irish was that she not only wished to plant the region, but that she also intended to pursue a vigorous religious policy, in other words, to propagate Protestanism vi et armis –‘by force and arms.’
Fortified with Elizabeth’s permission and blessing, a group of young military men, most- ly natives of Devonshire and collectively known as “The Gentlemen Adventurers” arrived in Ireland. Secure in the knowledge that unprecedented rewards were available for risk- taking, the group immediately set out to conquer and plant parts of Munster and Leinster, some of them setting up claims that dated back as far as the Norman invasion, and others without even the pretext.
Their leader was Sir Peter Carew, amongst whom were the renowned Englishman, Sir Walter Raleigh, and the courtier, Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Sir Peter Carew’s claim to part of the Earl of Desmond’s lands in Cork and other regions of the country were permitted and granted by Elizabeth. So, the outrage felt by the House of Desmond at Carew’s claim, together with the intensified religious bitterness, on both sides, gave rise to what we now call ‘The Geraldine Rebellion.’
In 1569, Seamus Mac Muiris Mac Gearailt -‘James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald,’ the then ‘Cap- tain of the Geraldines’ and cousin of the imprisoned Gerald, Earl of Desmond, called
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