|
Things
went wrong with the Treaty of Limerick after it was signed
I often wonder how many of us think of the Treaty of Limerick
beyond the words 'The Treaty broken ere the link with which
'twas written could dry'. Did we ever take a deep look at
the words of the Treaty or what happened when it was broken.
Strange as it may seem, in the circumstances under which
it was made, the treaty itself was fair enough, it was in
the aftermath of its signing that things went wrong. William
of Orange had declared that he had come to Ireland to help
Protestants but not to persecute Catholics. The main provisions
of the Treaty were - 1. Roman Catholics were to have the
same freedom rights as under the reign of Charles II. 2.Those
in arms for King James were to keep any estates they had
at the time and to be free to exercise their calling and
professionals without hindrance. 3.The Irish Garison in
Limerick was free to march out of the city with colours
flying and drums beating and with weapons and baggage. The
soldiers were permitted to go to any foreign country they
liked or to join William's army. (Of the garrison of Limerick
about 20,000 entered the French army, 1,000 joined William's
army and 2,000 returned home.)
William restored many of the Irish their land and granted
others pardons but he rewarded his own troops very well.
Ginkel was made Earl of Athlone with an estate of 26,000
acres and others were also well rewarded. It was in 1692
that the real harm was done. In October of that year Lord
Sidney, the Lord Lieutenant, summoned a parliament meeting
in Dublin. This was a year after the Treaty of Limerick
and the parliament was all Protestants. This was the result
of a clause which said that every member had to take such
an oath. (According to the Treaty they were only obliged
to take an oath of allegiance.)
Sidney, representing the King, opposed this motion but was
out-voted and as a result all the Catholics walked out.
One of the first things this parliament did was to declare
itself independent of the English Parliament. Lord Sidney
was so angry at this snub to the English Parliament that
he suspended the Dublin parliament twice and finally dissolved
it in November of 1693. In 1695 a new Lord Lieutenant, Lord
Capel was appointed and he at once summoned a new parliament
which sat for several sessions, and it was during these
sessions that the Penal Laws were really brought in to the
country in a manner which, to say the least, was almost
inhumane where Catholics were concerned. It was this set
of Penal laws that was to remain in force until the Catholic
Emancipation Act was passed in 1829. One of the first acts
of this parliament was to tear holes in the Treaty and although
their acts went through the house of commons easily enough,
some peers, seven bishops and seven laymen condemned this
braking of the Treaty.
It was the opening of the door to really grinding the Catholic
population into the dust as one bill followed another in
quick succession, one worse than the other. Some of the
most important bills were 2. Catholic parents were forbidden
to send their children abroad for education. 3. Catholics
had to hand in their arms, and magistrates could forcibly
enter homes to search for arms. 4. If a Catholic had a valuable
horse any Protestant who offered £5 for it had to
be given it. 5. All existing parish priests had to be registered
and were not allowed to have curates. 6. All other clergy
- bishops, priests, member of religious orders, etc, had
to leave the kingdom by 1st of May 1698. (These last two
laws meant that after existing Catholic clergy died out
there would be none to take their place). 7. Catholic priests
who came into the country could be hanged. 8. Catholics
were forbidden to travel more than eight kilometres from
home, to keep arms, to take cases to court, or to be guardians
or executors of wills. 9. Catholics were forbidden to wear
swords.
These are only a few of the Penal Laws but they were only
the first installment; worse was to come. When the Duke
of Ormond became Lord Lieutenant he passed further penal
regulations. 1. If the eldest son of a Catholic declared
himself a Protestant he became owner of all his father’s
land. 2. On the death of a Catholic landowner all his property
had to be divided between his sons. 3. If any other son
declared he was a Protestant he was placed in the care of
Protestant guardian and his father had to pay all the expenses
for his upkeep. 4. No Catholic was allowed to vote with
out first taking an oath that the Catholic religion was
false. Later on they were not allowed to vote under any
circumstances.
In a court a Catholic would come before a Protestant judge
and jury and he represented by a Protestant lawyer. The
Lord Chief Justice Robinson declared, 'The world does nor
suppose any such person to exist as an Irish Roman Catholic.'
(It must be remembered that elsewhere in Europe similar
penal laws were passed by Catholics against Protestants
and Protestants against Catholics.) The Penal Laws had the
effect of eroding respect for the law among the Irish. It
must be remembered that the ordinary Protestant had no responsibility
for the enactment of the Penal Laws and in many instances
actively circumvented them. The foregoing was just part
of the conditions at the time in Ireland. Today Protestants
and Catholics live as good neighbours should and are prepared
to help each other in times of trouble. Let us hope that
the future will be as we would all like it be be, a time
of peace and goodwill in every part of Ireland.
Courtesy of the Carlow Nationalist
|
