Catalogue description STEPHEN AP HARRY to CROMWELL.

"Upon my Lord [Lord Leonard Grey.] my master's departing with Thomas Fygh Garret out of Ireland into England, he commanded me, being captain of a 100 of his men," to go into my Lord of Ossory's country with my Lord James Butler, till my master's return. On entering Ossory's country at Leklyn Bridge, we were appointed to lie there that night. The people were glad of us. The morrow after we rode to Callayn, and there remained a se'nnight and two days. Then we were commanded to go to Clonmel, where we remained three days and three nights. "There came to us one Thomas Buteler, brother-in-law unto my Lord James, now Sir Thomas Buteler, knight, made at the Castle Dungarvyn, and so did conduct us over the mountains to Dungarvyn ward; and by the way met with us another brother-in-law of my Lord James's, called Garret MakShane, the which is a man that can speak never a word of English," and made us very good cheer. He is sworn to be the King's servant, and has put in pledges "to abide whatsoever the King and his Council will admit him to do." Sir Thomas Buteler is a strong man in his country, and can speak very good English.

As for the winning of Dungarvyn, my Lord James, perceiving that they within the castle were not disposed to surrender it, and the charges that the King would be at in beating down the house and rebuilding it, "found the means to set in two gentlemen of his own to be pledges for the constable, and the constable to come and to speak with him." The constable was very well content to yield it up. My Lord James's pleasure was that I should prepare to go with him to commune with a young gentleman [who] challenges to be the Earl of Desmond, Cormak Oge and many others, and to see O'Breyn's country; but my Lord Deputy would not let us have one of the battering pieces with us. From Dungarvyn we went to Youghhall, where we had very good cheer, and where they sold a gallon of Gascon wine for 4d. ster. The second night we camped by a castle called Cahermon, and there my Lord James mustered his host. He had with him 202 horsemen and 312 galoglas, and 204 kernes, besides followers. I had 78 spearmen, 24 long bows and 5 handguns; every man well horsed.

Next day, upon a hill half a mile this side Cork, my Lord James commanded me and all his captains to put the men into array. "Upon a hill half a mile or more, Cormak Oge was with his host, and so down came Cormak Oge into the valley with a certain, and my Lord James with a certain with him, as then ["Ther" in State Papers.] was appointed; and so they met together and fell to parelying;" after which my Lord James went into the town with all his host, and the Mayor and his brethren received him. On the morrow Cormak Oge came to my Lord James, and brought with him the young gentleman who challenges to be the Earl of Desmond. This young man speaks very good English, and "keepeth his hair and cap after the English fashion upon his head." He said he had never offended the King; that his lands "came by the King's gift, and that he was a true Englishman born, and would be content with all his heart, if Sir John A Desmond his uncle would come and submit himself unto the King and his Council, and to open his title, as he would do, then he would be content to come into England;" and even if his uncle will not come, he is content to go into England. Moreover there came in to my Lord James, one called my Lord Barrowe, who can speak very good English, and is of not more than 17 or 18 years. He "is a great inheritor and if he had right, and laid very sore to Cormak Oge and to one Makerte Ryaghe, the which is son in-law to Cormak Oge, and is my Lord of Kildare's sister's son; and so the answer of Cormak Oge was this, that he would be sworn to do the King true service, and to put in his pledges to abide the judgment" of the Deputy and Council between him and any man. Macarte Ryagh came in upon a safeconduct, and his answer was, "that he hath won with his sword he will hold it with his sword." My Lord James would fain have been in hand with his country, but could not meddle with any man until he had brought in the Desmondes and Cormak Oge, to have bond of them according to their promise.

We removed from Cork to a place called Malaghe, and there camped by a river side. On the morrow we went to Kylmalok, and next day to Lemeryk. "O'Breyn was come down and lay within three mile of Lemeryk, and (as the saying was) with a great host, and had hurled down the woods in the way as we should have gone into his country, and had forsaken two of his castles hard by Lymericke; and heard that we were so nigh, he went into the mountains from us, for fear of ordnance; and when he heard tell that we had no ordnance, then he restored his men into his castles again with such ordnance as he had of his own; and without ordnance to beat the one pile we could not enter well into his country. Therefore my Lord James thought best to recoil back again, and to bring the Descemontes and Cormak Oge with his company to a stay, or that he would [pass] any further. And so in Lymericke we had very good cheer, but not nothing like the cheer that we had in Corke. And so we departed an eight mile off to a place of religion, the which is after the order of Grenwyche, and my Lord of Kildare was the founder of it, for he hath castle and lands even there fast by; and there met with my Lord James his brother-in-law, which is O'Bren's son, and his saying is this to my Lord James:--'I have married your sister; and for because that I have married your sister, I have forsaken my father, mine uncle, and all my friends, and my country, to come to you to help to do the King service. I have been sore wounded, and have no reward, nor nothing to live upon. What would ye have me do? If that it would please the King's grace to take me unto his service, and that you will come into the country and bring with you a piece of ordnance to win a castle, the which castle is named Carygoguyllyn, and his Grace to give me that, the which never was none Englishman's this 200 year, and I will desire the King no help nor aid of no man but this English captain with his hundred and odd of Englishmen, to go with me upon my father and mine uncle, the which are the King's enemies, and upon the Irishmen that never Englishmen were amongst; and if that I do hurt or harm, or that there be any mistrust, I will put in pledges as good as ye shall require, that I shall hurt no Englishman, but upon the wild Irishmen that are the King's enemies; and for such lands as I shall conquer, it shall be at the King's pleasure to set Englishmen in it, to be holden of the King as his pleasure shall be, and I to refuse all such Irish fashions, and to order myself after the English laws, and all that I can make or conquer. Of this I desire an answer.'"

That day came in Sir John A Desmonde. He is a very old man, and speaks very good English. He has been full of mischief. "His answer is this:--'What should I do in England to meet a boy [Note in margin:--"His nephew, the young Earl of Desmond, called James."] there? Let me have that Irish whoreson Cormak Oge, and I will go into England before the King.' But he concluded at this day fortnight to be at Yowgholl, and there to be the young gentleman that challenges to be the Earl of Desmond, and Cormak Oge, and there they to parley, and to put in their pledges to my Lord James, and to other that shall be there of the Council.

That night we came to Kilmaloke, and the next day to Casshell, "and so forth to Clonmell, and there to leave my company, and I for to ride in all the haste for Master Treasurer and the Chief Justice to come to my Lord of Ossory and to my Lord James, to set their heads together at that day that they be appointed to parle in."

"All this journey from Dungarvyn forth there is none alive that ever can remember that ever Englishman of war was ever in that parts. Some day we rode 16 mile of waste land, the which was Englishmen's ground, yet saw I never so goodly woods, so goodly meadows, so goodly pastures, and so goodly rivers, and so goodly ground to bear corn; and where the regges were that hath borne corn, to my thinking there was no beast did eat it, not this 12 year; and that it was the moster part such waste all our journey." I beseech to you give my Lord James thanks for the kindness that he has shewed to us. If the King let him have some battering pieces and some aid of men, he will do his Grace better service than any man, "by reason he is so called [Altered by Carew to "followed." In the "State Papers" it is "calyd."] by the marriage of his sisters and by my Lady his wife, that either by fear or love he is like to do the King service, and put him to less charge than any alive."

Waterford, 6 October. Signed: Stevyn Ap Parry.

Copy. Headed: "A letter," &c. "unto Mr. Th. Cromwell, his Matie's principal Secretary."

Printed in "State Papers," II., 281, from the original in the Record Office.

Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts preserved in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, ed. J. S. Brewer & W. Bullen (6 vols., 1867-73), vol. I, document 61.