SCOTTISH MIGRATION TO IRELAND (1565 - 16(7) by r '" M.B.E. PERCEVAL~WELL A thesis submitted to the Faculty of er.duet. Studies and Research In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts. Department of History, McGIII UnIversity, Montreal. August,1961 • eRgFAcE ------..--- ---------------..--------------..------ .. IN..-g.JCTI()tf------------------..--·----------...----------------..-..- CHAPTER ONE Social and Economic Conditions in UI ster and Scotland..--.... 17 CtMPTER TWO Trade and Its Influence on Mlgratlon-------------------..-- 34 CHAPTER ItREE Tbe First Permanent Foothold---------..-------------------- 49 CHAPTER FOUR Scottish Expansion In Ir.land......-------------..-------......- 71 CHAPTER FIVE Rei 1910n and MIgratlon--------------·------------------------ 91 CHAPTEB SIX The Flnel Recognition of the Scottish Position In I reI and....-------·-----------------------------.....----------..... 107 COffCl,US IQN-..--------------------·---------·--·-----------..------- 121 BIBl,1 ~--------------.-- ....-----------------.-----....-------- 126 - 11 - All populatlons present the historian with certain questions. Their orIgins, the date of their arrival, their reason for coming and fInally, how they came - all demand explanatIon. The population of Ulster today, derived mainly from Scotland, far from proving 8n exception, personifies the problem. So greatly does the population of Ulster differ from the rest of Ireland that barbed wire and road blocks period­ Ically, even now, demark the boundaries between the two. Over three centuries after the Scots arrived, they stili maintain their differences from those who Inhabited Ireland before them. The mein body of these settlers of Scottish descent arrived after 1607. The 'flight of the earls,' when the earls of Tyron. and Tyrconnell fled to the conTinent, left vast areas of land In the hands of the crown. Although schemes for the plantation of U.lster had been mooted before, the dramatic exit of the two earls flnelly aroused the English to action. The plan took effecT 1n 1610. However, long before this date Scots had begun to settle. In fact, the plantation of Ulster merely conflnmed end enlarged an already existing stete of affairs. This thesis attempts to explain the course and causes of this migration from 1585 to 1607. The dates in the title of the thesis are not meant to be taken as rigid boundaries. In certain Instance. events that occurred before 1585 are relevant to the general topic and are discussed. Up to 1585, and indeed after, the English made successive efforts to expel the Scots. The reason for tbis apparently arbitrary choice of the year 1585 as 8 - ill - poInt of departure Is that It marked the last time that England succeeded In her efforts at expulsion. The next year, the Scots reTurned to remain for evermore. The same date, or approximate' y the same date~ coincldes with striking events In Scotland. In 1584 the old earl of Argyle died leaving a minor 85 a successor, while the next year James Stewart, or the earl of Arran as he became, fell from favour at the Scottish court. From that time on, Jamss VI bsc8me king of Scotland In fact as well as in name. The pattern followed In this thesis aims at four objectives after tracing briefly the earlier contacts between Ireland and Scotland# and English policy in Ireland. First, It contrasts the economic end social conditions in Ulster end the west of Scotland and examines the trade between these two areas at the end of the sixteenth century. Secondly, it describes the ~ourse the migration Took from the establishment of the f f rsf permanent foothoI d of the Scots in Ulster to the end of the phase of expansion that begen In 1594, approximately, and ended In 1603. At this point the general narrative Is Interrupted for a consideration of the third objective of the thesis, namely an examInation of the religious influences at work on the migratory movement. The discussion of the Impact of religion Is Inserted bere as it can only be understood within the context of the developments that occurred between 1585 and 1603. The fourth objective follows the chapter on religion and deals with the effect that the accession of a Scottish king to the throne of England hed on the migratory movement. Finally, the tbesls ends with. short conclusion - Iv - In which the relative Importance of the factors that tended to stimulate Scottish migration are balanced. Although no pretence Is made to total originality, some of the ground covered has not been explored before. From the general point of view, the migration of Scots to Ireland before 1607 has usually been treated In Isolation and not as part of a process leading up to the plantation of Ulster with Scots. More specifIcally, trade between Scotland and Ireland has only had passing reference made to It In works on Irish trade In the sixteenth century. Also, the extent of the land grants to the Scots In Ireland between 1603 and 1607 has received remarkably little attention, probably because the later grants were so much more e><tens I ve. The period between 1585 and 1603 has received fuller treatment than the period between 1603 and 1607. G.A. Hayes-McCoy, for Instance, has gIven. very full account of the movement of Scottish mercenaries to Ireland In his book, Scots Mercenary EgretS In Ireland ('565-1603,) partly because this aspect ha·s been well covered previously, and partly because little evidence exists to suggest that the mercenaries settled permanently In Ireland, the present work has only mentioned tbe mercenaries when they tended to affect the general course of migration. Finally, before moving on to the main body of this work, I acknowledge,wlth more thanks than I can adequately express, the advice, aid and encouragement of Dr. W.S. Reld, my Director of Studies. My .. v - thanks also go to tbe Woodrow Wllson Fellowship Foundation for theIr extremely generous support, to Mrs. Pat Streka. who ha. so kindly typed this thesis, and to Mr~ St.fan Straka. who has been good enough to read through the final draft. -2-- The connexlons between Ireland and Scotland reach far back. Geographically e lose end to some extent ethnically similar, the Inhabitants of the Western Isles of Scotland and those of Ulster bad constant caamunication with each other since the times of St. Columbe and the Dalriadlc kingdom, if not before. So n..r .kin did these peoples appear to outsiders that the centre' government in ScoTlend I referred to Its Isle&men 8. Irish, thougb, from tbe point of view of government Tbe Isles definitely constituted part of Scotland. One notable characteristic of the relations betweeA the two countries stands out. With few exceptions, any migration of population 2 that took place moved In one direction - frOll Scotland to Ireland. The first Scots to be granted land In Irelend by the English were the Galloway prince. of the dynasty of Fergus. These entered into alliance 3 with the Engllsb king against Scotland until they died out in 1234. A second group of migrants of far greater significance consisted of the 9a1lowgla8s. The word gallow918SS literally means a young fighting man of foreign origin, the term foreign referring not so much to Scotland I. Hamilton PIR,rs I, pp. Ixxlii and 398. 2. The Delr-Iadle kingdom presents the most striking exception TO this. The dowry of Margare~ O'cahaa provide. anotber. She married Angus Og of Islay, the supporter of Bruce, With her she took 140 men from each surname I n the O' cahan country. These became the Munroes as they came from tbe Roe co~ntry In hrry. (S.. Grant, I.F., !h' Lordship of tb. "1,,, Edinburgh, 1935, p. 212.> 3. Grant, I.F-6 Social Md Econqmic Development of Scotland B,for. 1603, London, 1937, p. 152. .. 3 .. 4 as to the Norse extraction of the Isle..en. The Irish chiefs employed the 98110W918s8 as mercenary troops both against tbe Engllsb and rival cblefs. Although they began to enter Irelancl Iwt. In tile tblrteenth century, being first _Tioned in 5 the Irlsb records In 1290, not until the rise of Bruce In Scotland did they assume signifIcant numbers. From the North they spreed througbout the other province. of Ireland, eventually settling, on the land and becaftlng Integrated with the native popule-tlon. Bruce's success In Scotland effected the flow of pllowgla•• bee.us. one 'eader of the Macdonalds In the Isle., Angus OS Macfbnald, supported Bruce in his struggle for power while another, Alexander of lala, did not. After Bruce had trl~pb.d, he I.prlson.~ Alex.nder. Tbe latter's six soos, faced with overwbel.Jng odds, did not wait to suffer 8 similar or worse fete. Instead, they fled to Ireland, eacb 7 leading bands of followers to .erve as sellowglass. The Invasion of Ireland ~y Edwer4 Brace In 1315, curiously enough, only Indirectly stimulated aigretlon. Before the Bruce Inveslon, the English had ••tabllshed fairly strong .ettl_ts .round Carrlck­ fergus, Belf••t, Anaagb IIftd CarIJngford. All of these, with the pos.'ble 4. Heyes--McCoy, S.A., Scots ",(aMIty Fors_ In Ir"'nd (156'--1603,) Dublin, 1937, p. 15. 5. Ann'" of Loch et, year 1290. 6. Hayes-McCoy, OD. clt., pp. 54 and 70. McKerral, A., "west Hlgbland Mercenaries In Ireland," Scottish tll,forle.' ReV I• w• XXX, 1951, p. 5. 7. McKerral, A., op. clt., p. 8. - 4 - exception of Carrlckfergus, suffered annihilation under the Impact of the Scots. As a resu It, the IocaI Gee Is overran a II of the east of 8 Ulster. Although the remains of Edwerd Bruce's army went home as 9 test as possible after Its final defeat at Faughart In 1318, It had opened the way for those Scots who might wish to come after It. WIth the Irish In commend instead of the English, Scots who decIded to enter Ireland met little opposition; on the contrary, the native Irish probably welcomed the Scots as additional support In their struggle against the Saxons.