The Irish standard., 1900-04-14
FOR A PERIOD OF SEVEN CENTURIES
Little Good Has Ever Resulted
from Their Invasions.
A PACK OF LIARS AND BLACKGUARDS
Why Cromwell is not Popular in
the Prosecuted Isle.


Apropos of the queens visit to Ire
land the Dublin Freeman's Journal pub
fishes in brief the history of several oc-
casions upon which the country was
visited by kings of England, or by
princes who afterward became kings of
England.
The first royal visitor to ireland was
King Henry H., who came to initiate
that conquest of ireland still incom-
plcte after seven eventful centuries and
the source of such evils to both coun-
tries. King Henry landed at Crook,
near Waterford, on Oct. 10, 1171. There
is no sovereign OF the dark ages of
whom so many details remain by which
we can realize the man-brave, brilliant,
clever, cruel Two .pastimes he had
which he loved above all things-to
read and discuss literature with learned
men and to hunt; he had always, says
a chronicler, either book or a bow in
his hand" When he landed in Ireland
he was SO years OF age, and had already
been the hero of a most famous love
affair and the most famous tragedy of
the age-his intrigue with the fair Rosa
.nond and the martyrdom of St. Thom-
as of Canterbury. He marched through
and subdued Leinster; at Christmas
held his court on what is now College
Green, and there astonished the Irish by
the splendor of his entertainments and
conciliated many by his courtesy and
tact. He spent exactly six months in
Ireland and then left the country for
ever. One most interesting relic of
King Henry's visit still remains. Dub
lin was in those days a Danish town,
and the Dublin Danes resisted the Eng
lish. They were slaughtered or driven
out, and the city was left uninl1abited.
King Henry was brought over to Ire
land in ships belonging to the merchants
of Bristol, and as reward the king
gave by charter CHS city of Dublin to
the men Of Bristol to inhabit." This
charter from 'Henry, King of Eng
land, Duke of Normandy, Duke of
Aquitane and Count of Anjou," is still
extant in the strong room OF the Dublin
corporation, and was produced as the
root of the corporations title to certain
dues claimed in an action against
Messrs. Tedcastle, tried about ten years
ago by the late Judge O'Brien. 1t is in
Norman French and written on small
piece of parchment about the size of a
half sheet of notepaper.
That "royal blackguard," King John,
was twice in Ireland-once as viceroy
and once as king. It is said, indeed,
that it was the intention of his father,
Henry H., to create Ireland into sepa-
rate kingdom for John, his favorite son;
that Pope Urban had ratified the
princes title to the Irish kingdom and
sent him golden crown; that it was
only the Jealousy of the kings other
sons that prevented the design being
carried out. John sailed from Milford,
and landed in Waterford on Easter
Thursday, 1885. He bore himself with
characteristic rascality from the first, al
lowed his courtiers to play rude prac-
teal jokes on the Irish chiefs who wait
ed on him, spent on wantons the reve-
nue. of the kingdom, and lived life OF
disgraceful debauchery. In series OF
unsuccessful engagements with the r.
ish he lost almost his entire army, and
several of the newly-erected Norman
castles were sacked by the native
princes. After an inglorious sojourn OF
eight months he returned to England.
AS king he returned to ireland in 1910,
and although he only stayed two months
very many traces of this visit still re-
main. For example, he divided the part
of Ireland under his sway into twelve
counties-Dublin, Kildare, Meath,
Uriel (now Louth), Carlow, Kilkenny,
Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Limerick
and Tipperary. It will be seen that no
part of Ulster or Connaught was then
in the Pale. Many castles were built by
him, including, we believe, the Castle of
Trim, now a magnificent ruin, and the
Castle OF Limerick, still intact. Tradi-
ton has preserved and enhanced his
fame as builder. There is not coun-
ty in ireland that has not King Johns
Castle; some the real work Of King
John, others not.