ing thus the throne of Ireland, had to vacate that of Munster. Acting on a principle not rare in either ancient or modern times, he placed his own relative, Conal Eachluaith, a descendant of Cormac Cas, on the throne of Munster. This was resented by the descendants of Eoghan Mor as an open violation of the will of their common ancestor, Oilioll Oluim ; and though the Eoghanachts were far from blameless themselves in this respect, Conal magnanimously agreed to refer the matter to the arbitration of chiefs selected from both families. Thus an unnatural conflict was averted. Corc, of the race of Eoghan Mor, was declared the rightful possessor of the throne, and held it till 366, when he died, and was succeeded by Conal Eachluaith. Once more, then, the chosen chief of the Thomond clans ruled all Munster his sense of justice and desire of avoiding bloodshed being rewarded by the restoration, after only about one year, of the crown.

In the meantime, Crimhthan was securing himself on the throne of all Ireland by a wise and vigorous policy. He diverted attention from the irregularity of his accession by raids on the peoples of the Continent. It is not unlikely that the natives of Britain, whose king was allied to the royal house of Ireland, gave him willing aid in those plundering expeditions. His reign is spoken of by Irish annalists as one of the most successful known to Irish history; and very probably this it was that aroused the jealousy and excited the impatience of his sister, the widow of Eoghy, and urged her to the commission of an enormous crime, In her passionate anxiety to see the reversion of the crown to her eldest son, Brian, she administered poison to her own brother, the ruling monarch. It is even recorded that, to avert his suspicion and make sure of his death, she herself partook freely, and of course with a fatal result, of the poisoned drink. His career was thus foully brought to a close while he was on a journey through Clare. He died in A.D. 379, near Cratloe, on the mountain called, from this event, Slieve - Oighe - an - Righ, "the Hill of the King's Death." The wicked design of the barbarous sister was, however, frustrated. The choice of the electorate fell

not on her son, but on Niall, son of the second wife; and of her descendants, only two, long afterwards, enjoyed the sovereignty, and both brought much misfortune to Ireland.1 From her son Brian, who had to be content with the crown of Connaught, were descended the unlucky monarch Turlogh Mor and his son Roderick O'Connor. With the death of Crimhthan and the accession of Niall, the connection of Clare with the sovereignty of Ireland ceases for the long period of about six hundred years, when once more a descendant of Oilioll Oluim, a prince of Thomond and King of Munster, far more renowned and more powerful than even Niall of the Hostages, assumed sway over the whole island.

The choice of Niall for the throne was due, probably, to an early display of warlike abilities. His subsequent career would warrant this belief, for his long reign of twenty-seven years was one of the glories of Irish history. Being the son of a British princess, he attacked with great vigour the Roman general Stilicho, who then held Britain in subjection. The poet Claudian gives a picture of his prowess. Speaking in the person of Britain, he uses for her these words: "By him (Stilicho) was I protected when the Scot moved all Ierne against me, and the sea foamed with her hostile oars;" and the same poet relates that the success of the Roman Legion under Stilicho, in resisting the incursions of the Irish under Niall, procured for them the honour of being recalled to defend Rome itself against the fierce onslaught of the Goths. It is not at all unlikely that Niall had in view, in his incursions into Britain, not only to aid his maternal relations against their oppressors, but also to give the encroaching Romans practical proof of the stubborn resistance they might expect if they attempted a conquest of his country. Nor did he confine his attentions to Britain, as we learn from the fact that his death took place in the British Channel. He was there assassinated-the annals do not say for what cause-by Eoghy, son of Enna Kinsellagh, in the year A.D. 405, and was succeeded by his nephew, Dathi, son of Fiacha.

1 Four Masters.

This prince was animated by the same spirit of foreign adventure. Some may call it a spirit of plunder, but, before utterly condemning it as such, it must be borne in mind. that Christian monarchs of our own enlightened nineteenth century are sometimes actuated by a similar policy. They seek to divert attention from home affairs by foreign war; and, when successful, are not above seizing the property as well as the territory of the vanquished. The records of this king's reign are very scanty, the most significant being the manner in which it came to a close. Like Niall, he fell far away from Ireland on one of his expeditions. He was killed by lightning at the foot of the Alps, A.D. 128. We are not told where Niall was interred; but it is stated that Dathi's warriors brought his body home and buried it in Rath Cruachan, where he began his reign as King of Connaught. His cousin Laoghaire, the eldest son of Niall, mounted the throne. He was the first of what came to be known as the Hy Niall race of monarchs. His reign was signalised by the introduction into Ireland of Christianity. This great event put an end to the martial expeditions of the Irish. The next time they invaded Britain and the continental nations, they sought and won success, not with the sword of the warrior, but with the Cross of the Crucified.

CHAPTER III.

FROM A.D. 432 TO 554.

Christianity introduced-St. Benignus, Nephew and Successor of St. Patrick, preaches in Thomond and Kerry-St. Patrick blesses Clare from Knoc Patrick, near Foynes-Baptises there people from Corcovaskin-Prophesies the Birth of St. Senan-Incidents in the Life of this Saint-His Labours-His Death and Burial-St. Ruadan, Abbot of Lorha, in East Thomond, curses the Ard-Righ and his Palace of Tara-Its Abandonment.

THOUGH this county was not at any time blessed by the presence of St. Patrick; his coming to Ireland effected such a radical change in the social and moral, as well as religious, condition of the whole of the people of the country, that the events attending it are not out of place within the narrow limits of a county history. He had been preceded in the effort to convert the nation by St. Palladius. For some reasons not explained, this holy man "did not," in the words of the Four Masters, "receive much respect in Ireland," so he had to depart, having failed to impress the people, and died on his return towards Rome-his ill-success hastening in all probability his demise. St. Patrick then offered to the Pope, St. Celestine, his services in attempting the difficult task of weaning the Irish from their ancient and comparatively enlightened pagan worship. He knew the language and customs of the people, having been for years a slave among them, probably brought over into bondage by Dathi after one of his foreign expeditions. The escaped slave panted to rescue from a worse form of slavery those at whose hands he had suffered so great a wrong. St. Celestine blessed his design. He was consecrated Bishop. And so St. Patrick, having received his mission from the successor of St. Peter, turned his face

towards the "Wooded Island" of the West, and landed with some companions on our shores, A.D. 432, in the fourth year of the reign of Laoghaire, King of all Ireland.

As might be expected, he met with much opposition, his life being often in danger. The Druids and their fanatic followers could not be easily won over from their ancient superstitions. The preaching of Christianity meant to many among them the loss of valuable and dearly-prized privileges. It pleased God, however, to protect him from their machinations, and the spectacle, unique in the history of the world, is presented of a whole nation converted to the faith of Christ by the energy of one man, and without the loss of a single life. The time for the shedding of blood in defence of faith came much later on. At St. Patrick's arrival, Aengus of the Eoghanacht line was King of Munster, and embraced the Christian faith.

The conversion of the island was in no small degree facilitated by its singularly peaceful condition. Judging from all the accounts of the progress of St. Patrick, from end to end of the country, we can reasonably infer that no intestine war raged. As Christ came into the world, so did His apostle bring the knowledge of Him into Ireland, in a period of profound peace.

It is very likely that, as the Saint himself did not visit. Thomond, some of his disciples preached the faith there;1 the fact of their having done so being overshadowed by the much better known and more successful preaching of St. Senan some years after. While St. Patrick was preaching in the country of the Hy Figcinte,-the western portion of the present county of Limerick,-the people of Corcovaskin, on the Clare side of the Shannon opposite, crossed over to invite him to preach and baptize in their country. The chief and his. people claimed descent from Conary I., King of Ireland, but became afterwards amalgamated with the more numerous and more powerful Dalcassian clans. Finding himself unable to accede to their request, he consoled them by foretelling the

1 It is recorded in the Acts of St. Benignus, the successor of St. Patrick, that, while yet a priest, he preached in Clare and Kerry, as St. Patrick himself was unable to visit those places.