government may be considered his participation in the
Parliament convoked by Sir John Perrott in 1585, and
prorogued till the following year. It is remarkable of
this Parliament, the third and last of Elizabeth's long
reign, that it was utterly barren of ecclesiastical
legislation, if we except "an act against sorcery and
witchcraft" from that category. The attainder of the late
Earl of Desmond, and the living Viscount of Baltinglass,
in arms with the O'Byrnes in Glenmalure, are the only
measures of consequence to be found among the Irish
statutes of the 27th and 28th of Elizabeth. But though
not remarkable for its legislation, the Parliament of
1585 is conspicuously so for its composition. Within its
walls with the peers, knights, and burgesses of the
anglicized counties, sat almost all the native chiefs of
Ulster, Connaught, and Munster. The Leinster chiefs
recently in arms, in alliance with the Earl of Desmond,
generally absented themselves, with the exception of
Feagh, son of Hugh, the senior of the O'Byrnes, and one
of the noblest spirits of his race and age. He appears
not to have had a seat in either House; but attended, on
his own business, under the protection of his powerful
friends and sureties.




CHAPTER VII.

BATTLE OF GLENMALURE--SIR JOHN PERROTT'S ADMINISTRATION--