Foxe - The Book of Martyrs

Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
Holy War for the preservation of the faith in Ireland;" they were assisted by great numbers of
the Irish, but were at length totally defeated by the deputy, Lord Mountjoy, and his officers.
This closed the transactions of Elizabeth's reign with respect to Ireland; an interval of
apparent tranuillity followed, but the popish priesthood, ever restless and designing, sought
to undermine by secret machinations that government and that faith which they durst no
longer openly attack. The pacific reign of James afforded them the opportunity of increasing
their strength and maturing their schemes, and under his successor, Charles I, their numbers
were greatly increased by titular Romish archbishops, bishops, deans, vicars- general, abbots,
priests, and friars; for which reason, in 1629, the public exercise of the popish rites and
ceremonies was forbidden.
But notwithstanding this, soon afterwards, the Romish clergy erected a new popish
university in the city of Dublin. They also proceeded to build monasteries and nunneries in
various parts of the kingdom; in which places these very Romish clergy, and the chiefs of the
Irish, held frequent meetings; and from thence, used to pass to and fro, to France, Spain,
Flanders, Lorraine, and Rome; where the detestable plot of 1641 was hatching by the family
of the O'Neals and their followers.
A short time before the horrid conspiracy broke out, which we are now going to relate,
the papists in Ireland had presented a remonstrance to the lords-justice of that kingdom,
demanding the free exercise of their religion, and a repeal of all laws to the contrary; to which
both houses of parliament in England solemnly answered that they would never grant any
toleration to the popish religion in that kingdom.
This further irritated the papists to put in execution the diabolical plot concerted for the
destruction of the Protestants; and it failed not of the success wished for by its malicious and
rancorous projectors.
The design of this horrid conspiracy was that a general insurrection should take place at
the same time throughout the kingdom, and that all the Protestants, without exception, should
be murdered. The day fixed for this horrid massacre, was the twenty-third of October, 1641,
the feast of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits; and the chief conspirators in the principal
parts of the kingdom made the necessary preparations for the intended conflict.
In order that this detested scheme might the more infallibly succeed, the most
distinguished artifices were practiced by the papists; and their behavior in their visits to the
Protestants, at this time, was with more seeming kindness than they had hitherto shown, which
was done the more completely to effect the inhuman and treacherous designs then meditating
against them.
The execution of this savage conspiracy was delayed until the approach of winter, that
sending troops from England might be attended with greater difficulty. Cardinal Richelieu,
the French minister, had promised the conspirators a considerable supply of men and money;
and many Irish officers had given the strongest assurances that they would heartily concur
with their Catholic brethren, as soon as the insurrection took place.
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