Clonmacnoise, A.D. 1088, O'Reilly, in his "Catalogue," gives the number of 108 poets of Ireland; of that number, about seventy were either in Holy Orders, or consecrated to religion; some of their compositions were given in prose. From 1088, to his death, the same author enumerates 123 Irish writers, most of whom, or nearly all were poets; O'Reilly continues his " Catalogue," down to 1750; in all he counts 379, most of them poets; amongst them he reckons at A.D., 1651," Dr. John O'Connell, R. C. Bishop of Ardfert in Kerry." He was not, however, at that time Bishop of Ardfert, as Rickard O'Connell, his grand-uncle, was (about which time he was martyred), though we believe he was a priest; nor did he then write the "Dirge," whereas he refers to Beeling's "Writings" which were not then composed. He also mentions King William, who was not until 1691. Archbishop Plunkett who was executed in London, on false evidence, on the 1st of July, 1681, is mentioned by O'Reilly in his list. The holy martyred prelate did not think it unbecoming his office to pen an eloquent poem as a eulogy on Tara. The Plunkets of Meath, of whom he was, were ever distinguished for love of letters and of Fatherland. Connaught seems to have produced the greatest number of poets at one period. This can be learned from a perusal of the "Irish Writers"which book, if there existed no other, is sufficient to prove the glory of Ireland in every respect. It is a work of undoubted authority, having been prepared under the inspection of "The Iberno Celtic Society," Dublin, on whose committee, were Catholic prelates and priestsseventy-three noblemen, mostly Protestant, and Protestant clergymen.

IRELAND NOT PECULIARLY ADDICTED TO DIVISION. Notwithstanding the piles of native evidence and of foreign historians, attesting the sanctity, valor, and enlightenment of our old country, still as libellers have been hired to strive to tarnish her glorious fame, it is my duty here to shew that she was not peculiar in her internal strife.

Though I bear no malice nor envy to any nation or to any person, yet I shall give instances of bloody feuds in other lands. I shall begin with the first inhabitants of this world,-Cain slew Abel. I shall then proceed to Greece and ask my reader to call to mind their murderous strifes. Then I shall direct attention to Rome, whose first king, Romulus, killed his brother Remus. Thus, the foundation of the famous "seven-hilled" city, was cemented with the blood of a brother. We bear in mind the rebellion of Tarquin, the plebeian insurrection, the oppression and murder of the decemviri-the tyranny of the tribunes-the factions of Sylla and Marius, and the rivers of blood flowing from their swords-Cataline's conspiracy-the civil wars of Pompey and Cæsar-the total change of the

republic, ending in plain, lawless, rebellious force, and the annihilation of myriads of the people-thirty emperors murdered.-In the time of Gallienus thirty men at least set themselves up as emperors. Germany, in later times, exhibit, awful instances of civil contentions--such as the violent deaths of Rodolph, Albert, Henry VII., Frederick III., Lewis of Bavier— each of whom was killed by poison or conspiracy.-Bodin, page 250; Peter Walsh, 206. The Ghibellines and Guelphs; - the bloody revolutions of the Florentine republic, in Italy, which lasted for 340 years. The slaughter and total extinction of one party was the result. At last the prudence of one man, Cosmus Medicis, Grand Duke of Tuscany, restored order. The same can be said of Spain-Alphonsus III., put out the eyes of all his brethren, except one, who was killed. Raymirus treated with the like cruelty, his own brother, Alphonsus IV. Peter deposed and killed by his bastard brother, Henry,-Garzius by Sanctius-Sanctius by Vellidius;-all Spain in the time of Roderick, betrayed to the Moors by Julian, prince of Celtiberia. By this act of treason 70,000 Spaniards were killed in fourteen months! And, as to France, no pen could describe its convulsions, devastations, cruelties and barbarous, sacrilegious, civil wars, as can be seen in De Avila and Peter Walsh. Now let us come nearer home and ask pure and pious England how stands her account;— Twenty-eight Saxon kings, part killed by each other, part murdered, by their own subjects, others deposed and obliged to fly for refuge. Four of the Northumbrian kings alone murdered, and three deposed within the space of forty-one years. Charles II., of France, having heard of such atrocities, and though he had intended to send large presents to England, changed his mind and told Alcuin, an Englishman, his majesty's tutor, that England was indeed a perfidious and perverse nation, a murderer of their lords, and worse than pagans." The bishops and nobles had also to fly, so that for thirty years no one dared sit on the throne of Northumbria. After the Norman invasion we have the unnatural rebellion of Henry II.'s own children. The baron wars under king John and Henry III.-Edward II.'s own queen, Eleanor, and son, the prince of Wales, conspired to dethrone him. The woful feuds of the houses of York and Lancaster-the oceans of blood that deluged the country for thirty years, under Henry VI. and Edward IV.—the murder of Richard II.-all are acquainted with the history of Richard III.! His grandfather, the earl of Cambridge, beheaded at Southampton,-the duke of York, his fatherbeheaded before Sandal. His three brothers, one of them slain in cold blood-the duke of Clarence drowned in a butt of Malmsey-his two nephews, strangled in their beds, besides eleven battles fought-in one of which 36,730 Englishmen were left dead on the field, besides the

wounded! (Echard, p. 520). This was the battle of Taunton, in Yorkshire. Philip Comines, an English writer, says, "eighty of the royal blood were lost in them," of whom was Henry VI., by all accounts, a good and virtuous prince. The Usurper, Richard III., was killed in the battle of Bosworth, after having swam to the throne on rivers of blood. His opponent, the earl of Richmond, assumed the sceptre, as Henry VII., who by marrying the daughter of Edward IV., united the houses of York and Lancaster, and thus ended the terrible factions of "the White and Red Rose." All this I have from their own historians, and to do justice to Mylius, whose work is a very good school-book-he does not hide the faults of his countrymen. Nor does he act so unfairly towards Ireland as Lingard; Mylius I take to be a Briton-Lingard, a Norman, all know, of course, that both are Catholic books. "Lingard," by J. Burke, Esq., is a well got up school book.

We now leave our readers to infer whether Ireland was peculiar in her feuds. During the long space of 2468 years of the Gadelian monarchy, down to 1172, A.D., it will be found that not more blood was shed by civil wars in Ireland, than there was in 1000 years in England. During the whole time of our 136 Pagan kings, and forty-eight Christian ones, there were scarcely as many fell by intestine broils, as there did in onehalf the time in the island of our traducers. And what excites my indignation most is, that some of our modern Irish romancers have the impudence to tell us that they find no characters, in Irish history, illustrious enough to make heroes of tales. These bear a great name, but very unjustly, as they live by forging calumnies of the Irish people, of old and modern days, of peasantry and gentry; still their base coin passes current. They must know very little of the solid history of Ireland, else, notwithstanding all her feuds, they could make out characters as brilliant as ever adorned the pages of any book.

THE FORTY-EIGHT KINGS OF IRELAND AFTER ST. PATRICK. As it is falsely asserted that there were no Milesian kings from the coming of St. Patrick until the arrival of the English (though that most accurate historian, O'Flaherty, in his "Ogygia," gives them in regular succession, and the year of the reign of each), yet, I shall here cite a few foreign authorities, to disprove the deliberate falsehood: In the first book of the Polychronicon I find these words-which I render thus in English"From the coming of St. Patrick, to King Felim's time, there have been thirty-three kings in the space of 400 years in Ireland. But in the time of Felim, the Norwegians with their leader, Turgesius, occupied the

land; from Turgesius to the last monarch, Roderick, King of Connaught, seventeen kings were in Ireland." Thus it may be seen that a foreign author gives within eight of as many kings as O'Flaherty.

Anselm, the learned Archbishop of Canterbury, in one of his "Thirtysix Epistles," (contained in Dr. Ussher's collection of the "Epistles of the English Clergy"), written A.D. 1118 to Muircheartach (Murty), the great O'Brien, King of Ireland, thus writes, "To the glorious Murty, by the grace of God, King of Ireland, Anselm a servant of the Church of Canterbury, &c." Lanfranc, the predecessor of Anselm, and previously Bishop of Dover, thus says in his letter to Turlough O'Brien, King of Ireland, 1074, "Lanfranc, a sinner, and the unworthy Archbishop of the Church of Dover, to Tordelagh, the magnificent King of Ireland, benediction, &c. In the same collection is mentioned a letter of King Henry I., to Rodolph, Archbishop of Canterbury, ordering him to consecrate priest Gregory Bishop of Dublin. This was A.D. 1123. These are Henry's words, "The King of Ireland has instructed me, that he and the citizens of Dublin, elected Gregory to be bishop, and sent him to you to be consecrated. Wherefore, I order you that, in compliance with their request, you immediately perform the consecration."

The Psalter of Cashel, quoted by the learned Rev. Dr. Keating, in its allusion to Irial, son of Heremon, informs us that of his line, up to St. Patrick, there were fifty-seven kings, and fifty after the same monarch. Such evidences as the above are quite sufficient to show to any unbiassed mind that there were, after Christianity, a long series of the Gadelian race of kings in this holy land, whose renown, valour, hospitality, liberality, and piety, formed a rich theme for the native bards and annalists.

It is worthy of remark that though there was repeated contention amongst the provincial kings of Ireland, still the annals of the several provinces agree generally as to the principal facts contained in Irish history. Thus each was a check on the other and was sure to contradict, if either put forward a false statement of any fact; this tended to make and keep native records pure and unadulterated. But, above all, the Literary Committee of the Triennial Senate of Tara was highly calculated to preserve the truthfulness of our history; by it the historian, who put forth false statements, was sure to be degraded. No other nation on earth, of ancient or modern times, had such an ordeal of investigation. Amongst our kings and princes, jealous of their fame, and having different interests and views, there could not, by possibility, be a combination to corrupt the national records. Mutual jealousy prevented it.

Our space will not allow us to give an outline of the constitution of the Parliament of Tara, nor of the laws of Ollamh Fodhla (Ollav Fyola),

and Cormac O'Quin, and of other Irish kings; the first reigned twelve centuries, and the second, two before St. Patrick. Who would read our national archives will find that no nation, ever yet, up to his day, has had so polished a constitution as was that of Tara. The reader is referred to Keating, Mac Curtin, O'Halloran, O'Connor, O'Flaherty, Taaffe, &c. The Scythic civilization, so much lauded by Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, of the fourth century, and quoted by me in page seventeen of the "Dirge," streamed to, and over Ireland.

BOOKS OF REFERENCE.

It would be tedious to enumerate, in this place, all Irish works whence has been derived our information on the previous facts. The “Seabright Collection," in Trinity College, is a book of great value. "Psalter na Rann," being an abridged history of the posterity of Abraham, until after the death of Moses. The collection called the "Speckled Book," the "Book of Invasions," the "Book of Lecan," the " Book of Clonmacnoise," the "Psalter of Cashel," by Cormac, its king and bishop. Most of this was a transcript from the "Psalter of Tara," besides some original prose and verse compositions. He wrote also a glossary of difficult Irish words, his poems, though not all illustrative of Irish history, but chiefly on religion, are most interesting. The "Psalter" is in the British Museum ; the compositions of Eochaidh (Ayughy) O'Flynn, as contained in the "Book of Invasions," by the O'Clerys, &c., are of immense interest. His poems on the colonization of Eire, present specimens of eloquence and diction not to be equalled in any language that I have read. His poem on the Milesian kings, from their landing 2935, to 3150 of the Creation; his poem detailing the building of the palace of Emain, in Ulidia, 3596, A.M., to Connor, A.D. 1, down to its destruction by the Colla Uais, A.D. 331, and many more of still greater importance.

The Annals of Tigernach, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, who died A.D., 1088He went back only to 3596. From this fact some dogmatizers assert, in opposition to most numerous, concurrent, and authentic authorities, that it was on that year the Milesians landed. Just as if a writer may not take his start from any year he pleases. And so we find in the historians of all countries. Such inferences from false data are very dangerous. Was anything ever more silly than to say, "such a historian did not mention a certain fact, therefore, such a fact had no existence." If a historian finds a thing well done by another he leaves it so, he then takes up what he thinks he may do better. Thus, acted Tigernach. He left well enough alone.

"The Roll of Kings," the "Din Seanchus," the "Book of Innis