A true Deſcription of ſundry ſad and lamentable Collections, taken from the monthes of very credible Perſons, and out of Letters ſent from Ireland to this Citie of London, of the perfidious outrages and barbarous cruelties which the Irish Papiſts have committed upon the perſons of the Proteſtants, both men, women, and children in that Kingdom, ſince Anno Dom. 1641.
THe Iriſh nation is a people both proud and envious. The Commonaltie ignorant and illiterate, poor, and lazie: and will rather beg or ſtarve, then work; and therefore fit ſubject for the Prieſts and Ieſuits to ſpur on upon ſuch bloudy actions and murtherous deſignes.
It is too well known that the Iriſh have murthered of the Proteſtant party in the provinces of Vlſter, Leinſter, Connaght, and Munſter, of men women, and children, the number of fifty thouſand, as it is credibly reported by Engliſhmen, who have been over all parts of the Kingdom, and do proteſt upon their oaths, that there are above five thouſand families deſtroyed.
The Iriſh have moſt murtherouſly and trayterouſly ſurpriſed them upon great advantages, and without reſpect of perſons, either of age, youth, or infancie, of young men or maids, or of old men or babes, ſtript all to their skins, naked as ever they were born into the World, ſo they have gone out of the World, many ſtarved to death for want of food and rayment; the Iriſh have ſhewed them no more compaſſion, nor ſo much as they do to their dogs.
At Belturbait in the County of Cavan, the Popiſh Rebels demanded the Town, on promiſe that if they would ſurrender, they ſhould paſſe free with bag and baggage: On ſerious conſiderations of the inhabitants and the Governour, they were perſwaded to yeeld it up, which when they had done; they ſent about twenty or thirty to guard them; when they had guarded them ſeven miles from the Town, they ſeiſed on them, robbed all the Proteſtants, being between five hundred and a thouſand perſons, men, women, and children: who ſubmitting themſelves to their mercy, found no quarter but cruelty: they ſtript them all naked, and turned them into the open fields in bitter cold weather, not affording them one of their lowzy rags to hide thoſe parts which even nature commands to be covered.
The Lord Macquires brother at the beginning of the rebellion, for the firſt fortnight commands his ſouldiers to give quarter to women and children, but to maſſacre all the men.
The Handlowans came to Tom-regis, divers of them aſſaulted the Caſtle, of which Captain Saint Iohn was Commander, he with his ſon got away with ſome difficulty, leaping over the wall, they fearing they might fetch ſome ſupplies, took the Captains wife, and ſet her on the wall, having ſtript her to her ſmock, who was big with child, and within an hour of her deliverie, that in caſe the Captain and his ſon ſhould have aſſaulted the Towne, his wife ſhould have been the white at which he muſt have levelled.
M. Trafford a miniſter, was aſſaulted by theſe bloudy wolves, who deſired but to call upon God, yet they would admit no time, but fell on him, and hackt him to peeces.
In the County of Roſcommon, there fled into the pariſh Church eleven ſcore of the Engliſh, men, women, and children, where they remained three daies and nights without any ſuſtenance, till they were almoſt ſtarved: ſo that at laſt they were forced to commit themſelves to the cruelty of the Iriſh, who ſtript them naked, after drove them through the Towne like ſo many harmleſſe Lambs over a Bridge at the Townes end, having before broke downe one of the middle arches, where a ſtrong water runneth, ſo that either they muſt leap in, or come back, their intent being there to murther them, as they did: For the poor wretches being ſick, weak and faint for food and ſleep, ſome returned back, whom they killed without mercy, others they thruſt into the water, who were drowned: ſome that could, did ſwimme towards the ſhore, and there, inhumane villains, they ran and met them before they could get to land, and knockt them on the head in the water.
Maſter Blundry a Miniſter they hanged, after pulled his fleſh from his bones in his wifes ſight.
At the Borough of Kello, the Rebells ſurprized the houſe of one Arthur Robinſon, hee himſelfe being at that time in Dublin, he not knowing that the Rebels were riſen in thoſe parts there, intending to have gone home to his wife and family, before his appointed time to return home, a Meſſenger prevented him with heavy tidings, even his only Daughter, whom hee quickly knew, though ſhe were much diſguized, for the Rebels had ſlaine moſt of his family, robbed and pillaged the houſe, after they had ſtripped his wife and raviſhed her, they ſought out for this young Virgin, who had hid her ſelf in a barne, where the Villanes found her; but ſhe made what reſiſtance ſhee could, and with a knife ſhee had (unſeene to them) wounded one of them, which the reſt perceiving, ſeized upon her violently, ſtripped her, & then bound her with her arms abroad, in ſuch manner as ſhe could not help her ſelfe any way, and ſo deſtoured her one after another, puld the hair from her head, and cut out her tongue, becauſe ſhee ſhould not report the truth and their cruelty, but the maid could write though ſhe could not ſpeak, and ſo diſcovered their inhumane uſage to her and her mother. The maid was ſent with a letter from her father in Dublin, to her uncle at Mynhead in Somerſetſhire.
In the County of Fermannagh, Mr Champion was betrayed by an Iriſh Villaine (his Tenant) whom he had ſaved twice before from the gallows: the rogues name was Patrick Mack-Dermot, who finding one of his Companions, brings him to Maſter Champion's houſe, and tells Mr Champion that hee found this thief ſtealing of his cattle: the Gentleman knowing this Mack-Dermot, ſaid unto him before one Mr Iremonger, I am glad thou art turn'd from a thief to catch a thief; whereupon hee returned him this anſwer, that Hee was no more thief than himſelfe. No ſooner had he utter'd theſe words in the Court, before his houſe, but there ruſhes in upon them a great number of rebells, who ſtabd Mr Champion before he could get into his houſe: but their fury went further, for they wounded him with their Skeins in thirty places after he was dead, and then cut off his head while the reſt ran into the houſe after Mr Iremonger, they fell upon him, and ran him thorow: Then the Rebells entered the houſe, and killed more, his wife's ſiſter and her brother in law; his wife was down on her knees to beg a ſheet, to put her huſbands dead body in. And other friends that came to viſit him, loſt their lives.
They have ſet up Gallows five miles diſtant in diverſe places, on purpoſe to hang up the Proteſtant Spies: they•ave likewiſe ſet women and men on red hot Gridirons to make them confeſſe the mony and goods they had, or whether they have hid or ſold any.
Theſe bloudy Papiſts forced the Proteſtants to pull off their clothes, and then killed them, on purpoſe, that they might have their clothes without holes.
They have forced (as is reported) ſome to turn to their curſed bloudy Religion, and then perſwaded them that they were fitteſt to die, and then treacherouſly kill their bodies, and doe what in them lies to kill their ſoules.
Others they have wounded to death, and then left them languiſhing, their bellies being ript up and guts iſſuing out.
An Iriſh Rebell (as a credible friend reports) ſnatcht an innocent babe out of the arms of the mother, and caſt it into the fire before her face, but God met with this bloudy wretch: for before he went from that place, he brake his neck.
Another, Rory Macqueere, who came into an Engliſh Gentlemans houſe, and found him in his bed, and there began to cruciate and torture his naked body to make him confeſſe where his treaſure lay, which when this poore diſtracted Gentleman acknowledged, they cruelly killed him, and then ſtript his wife naked, and turned her out of doors, took his daughter and ſatisfied his beaſtly luſt on her, deflouring her, cut off her garments by the middle, and then turned her to the mercy of the common Souldiers, to bee abuſed at their pleaſure.
Pulling them about the ſtreets by the hair of the head, daſhing t•e Childrens brains againſt the poſts, ſaying, Theſe were the Pigs of the English Sows.
The Proteſtant Troopers marched out of Dublin, to view the Coaſts, they eſpied a Rebell hewing a woman in ſo horrid a manner that it was not poſſible to know her, having acted his Devilliſh part, he triumph'd over the dead corps, and waſhed his hands in her bloud, whereupon the Troopers apprehended this barbarous villain in the very act of crueltie, and brought him to Dublin with his hands all bloudy, and was adjudged to be hanged immediately, hee aſcended the Ladder, and would not ſtay till the Executioner turned him off, but deſparately leapt off and hanged himſelf.
Theſe Villains take children and toſſe them with pitchforks like dung into Rivers: one was an eye witneſſe who ſaw a cruell wretch, throw a woman crying with teares one way, and he•Childe with a pitchfork another way.
They have cruelly murdered women great with child, and then left them in ditches, to the fury of their dogs, who have eaten the children out of the bowels of the mother.
A Miniſter ſeeing his wife abuſed, and his children roaſted, deſired them to put him out of his extremity of anguiſh, to ſee ſuch crueltie on thoſe ſo neer him, they moſt inhumanely cut his tongue out of his head.
Seventeen of thoſe barbarous monſters came to a Miniſters houſe, where they violently fell on him and his wife, ſtript them naked, bound them back to back, then cut off his privy members, afterwards raviſhed his wife on his back, and then inhumanely cut their throats.
Women were delivered whiles they were hanging. One ripped up, and two children taken away and all caſt unto, and eaten by ſwine. Another ſtabbed in the breaſt, her childe ſucking.
They forced 40. or 50. Proteſtants to renounce their profeſſion, and then cut all their throats.
Chriſtians have been eaten by Dogs, and Dogs tearing children out of the womb; the bloudy beholders relate ſuch things with boaſting. Two were ſaid to be buried alive, and others that had been long buryed digged up; they ſaying that the Church could not be conſecrated whiles Hereticks bones lay therein. And in the Church of Newtown was a childe boyled alive in a Caldron.
The rebells met with a Proteſtant Miniſter at Kells, by name Mr Sharpe, who had three children, two of them on his back, and did moſt barbarouſly hack, cut in peeces, and murther him, thruſting into his body three o•four pikes together, and then threw him into a ditch of water, where they left him.
Captain Bryan mac Mahon, of Tehollan, ſaid, hee would hang any that could ſpeak Engliſh: And a Prieſt ſaid that all the Engliſh muſt be hanged, and being asked why, hee ſaid, meat was ſcarce, and they would not be at the charge to keepe them.