2

ULICK DE BURGH,

MARQUIS OF CLANRICARDE,

AND

EARL OF ST. ALBANS.

He was son of the great earl of Clanricarde by that remarkable woman the lady Frances, sole daughter and heiress of sir Francis Walsingham, widow of sir Philip Sidney and of Robert earl of Essex; and mother of the generals of the parliament's army in England, and of the king's army in Ireland, Robert, the second earl of Essex, and this lord Ulick, who is represented as a man of great honour, and, though a steady Roman Catholic3, was a zealous servant of the king against the Irish rebels, succeeding the marquis of Ormond in his lieutenantcy and ill success. He lost an immense estate in that kingdom, and being obliged to submit to the superior arms of the parliament, he retired to England in 1657, and died within the year at his house called Summer-hill in Kent, He has

⚫ [Ulick, i. e. the red, the third of that name, was grandfather of Ulick, called by the Irish Ne-gan, i. e. a capitibus, or the beheader; having made a mount of the heads of men slain in battle, which he covered with earth. Pedigree of De Burgh, p.x.] His mother turned Papist after lord Essex's death.

left a large collection of papers relating to the affairs of the Irish rebellion: they were published imperfectly at London in 1722, in 8vo. under the title of

"Memoirs of the Right Honourable the Marquis of Clanricarde, Lord Deputy of Ireland; containing several original Papers and Letters of King Charles the Second, the Queen Mother, the Duke of York, the Duke of Lorrain, the Marquis of Ormond, Archbishop of Tuam, Lord Viscount Taaffe, &c. relating to the Treaty between the Duke of Lorrain and the Irish Commissioners, from February 1650 to August 1653, (said to be) published from his lordship's original manuscript. To which is prefixed a Dissertation containing several curious Observations concerning the Antiquities of Ireland 3."

But a complete edition has been lately given in folio by the present earl, called,

"The Memoirs and Letters of Ulick Marquis of Clanricarde and Earl of St. Albans, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Commander in Chief of the Forces of King Charles the First in that Kingdom during the Rebellion, Governor of the County and Town of Galway, Lord Lieutenant

[This Dissertation, says sir James Ware, by no means answers what is promised in the title. Writers of Ireland, p. 203.]

of the County of Kent, and Privy Counsellor in England and Ireland. Printed from an authentic Manuscript, and now first published by the present Earl of Clanricarde. Lond. 1757. With a Dedication to the King and an Account of the Family of De Burgh."

The title of the new edition is more proper than the former, as it is in reality little more than a collection of letters strung together to preserve the connexion.

[This earl, whom Granger has arranged under the class of Irish nobility, was not, he says, a man of shining abilities, but of great humanity, courtesy, and generosity; strongly attached to his friends, a true lover of his country, and above all sordid views or motives of private interest. He adhered to the crown from principle, and had a particular affection for the king's person. He for some years attended the court, where he contracted many friendships; and indeed few courtiers have been more generally esteemed. Judge Lindsay has greatly added to this honourable character, by a short comparative view of the two great Irishmen of their age, the marquisses of Ormond and Clanricardes, in which he observes, "They were both of ancient extraction and great estates, of equal

Biog. Hist. vol. ii. p. 149.

› Printed with the pedigree of the family of De Burgh, before lord Clanricarde's Memoirs, p. xix.

magnanimity, but of different persuasions in religion : the first being of the Protestant religion as professed in the established churches of England and Ireland; the other was of the religion of the church, not of the court of Rome. They both preserved an unshaken and steady loyalty to their prince, and an abstracted love for the true interest of their country. These principles, no sufferings which were great, no dangers which encompassed them on every side, could in the least alter. The marquis of Clanricarde seems to derive some advantage to his character from an erroneous religion, and an infirm constitution of body. No prospect of benefit to his persuasion, no invitations of persons of quality of the same opinion, could prevail upon him to depart from his duty to his king and country; and no pain, no sickness which did not confine him to his bed or house, ever made him decline such fatigue or expeditions as he thought necessary to be undertaken for the good of the kingdom. His memory will be precious with all men of honour and virtue to the latest posterity."

His lordship's numerous letters appear to be altogether of a political nature; and a short extract as a specimen of his epistolary style, may therefore suffice.

"The bearer, my noble kinsman, sir Roger Shaghnussy, being by my licence upon his departure out of this government into Munster, to take care of his lady, family, and estate in those parts, which by rea

son of his long absence, hath and may suffer much by the general unhappy distempers in this kingdom; I could not let so much worth and merit pass from me, without giving your lordship notice that in his own person, his son and followers, he hath constantly, and with much forward affection, been present and assist ing to me in all my proceedings and endeavours for his majesty's service: and I must truly attribute much of what I have been able to compass therein, to his diligence and ability. And the due consideration thereof I do recommend unto your lordship, that he may find your favour and assistance in all his just occasions, both for reparation, and for the safety and preservation of himself and estate in those parts: and our condition here I shall refer to his relation.

"I must not omit to give your lordship many humble thanks for your favour shewed to Marcus Lynch and others of Galway, upon my letters in their behalf to my late lord president, which came to your lordship's hand and power to effect; and if in any thing my service may be of use to your lordship, I shall esteem it a very great happiness to be guided to those ways and employments, that may with most respect approve me your lordship's affectionate kinsman to serve you, ،،CLANRICARDE AND ST. ALBANS.

Longhreagh, the 2gth of July, 1642.