Patrick D'Arcy
Encyclopedia
Patrick D'Arcy was an Irish Catholic Confederate and lawyer who wrote the constitution of Confederate Ireland
.
Born in County Galway
, Ireland, Darcy was the youngest son of James Riabhach Darcy by his second marriage to Elizabeth Martyn. James Riabhach was formerly Vice-President of Connacht, and Mayor of Galway
upon his death in June 1603. By his first marriage he fathered Nicholas, Martin, James, Anthony and Anastace. With Elizabeth he had Andrew and Patrick. Elizabeth Martyn was a granddaughter of William Óge Martyn
, and an aunt of Richard Martyn
, who would later become Patrick's brother-in-law and law partner.
Darcy's ancestor, Walter Riabhac Ó Dorchaidhe (fl. c. 1488), was a member of a lowly family who were descendants of the Partraige of Lough Carra, in what is now County Mayo
. The Partgaige are not featured in any extant Irish annal or chronicle, and the only record of them in Gaelic sources is a brief note stating that the Uí Dorchaidhe was chieftain of the Partriage, while their king was the Ó Goirmiallaigh. Adrian James Martyn believes that Walter Riabhach would have settled in Galway sometime in the mid-15th century. Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh states that this Walter Riabhach was "the first man of the Uí Dorchaidhe who came to Galway, according to the Galweigians themselves.
, London, on 21 July 1617.
Darcy appears to have spent fully five years at the Temple, and began working about 1622. He was engaged by Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde
, who was the most powerful landowner in Connacht
. Darcy's stepfather, Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet
, was Burke's business agent.
Darcy is said to have become active on the Connacht circuit abut 1627, having joined the King's Inn in June 1628. This coincided with the proclamation on 26 June permitting lawyers to practise at the bar by taking the Oath of Allegiance
instead of the Oath of Supremacy
. As the latter had been inimical to Catholics such as Darcy, the proclamation now enabled them to practise freely.
Because Charles I
was constantly short of money, he need to regularly find new ways of income. One proposal was to sell land in Ireland to English subjects, by exploiting legal titles. This led to Darcy's involvement in politics, as he, Clanricarde, Richard Martyn
and their generation tried to solve "a more complex political" problem. Writing in 1984, Liam O'Malley put it as follows:
By using their influence both in Dublin and London, led by the Earl of Clanricarde, the landowners of Connacht did what they could to prevent confiscation. Lord Deputy Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
called for a parliament to meet at Dublin in July 1634; Darcy having already been returned as Member of Parliament
for Navan
, Richard Martyn for Athenry
. Others in attendance included Sir Henry Lynch, Dominick Browne, along with other Galwegians.
However, Wentwoth ensured a Protestant majority was returned, and from there clearing the ground for the confiscations to take place. By June 1635 preparations were in earnest, and inquisitions were to be held in Boyle
, Mayo
, Sligo
and Portumna
for juries to find the King's Title to the lands concerned and thus give a legal fiction to the proceedings. However the jury of Galway found against the King, leading them to be imprisoned and Darcy to be fined 1,000 pounds.
To combat this, Darcy, Martyn and Sir Roger O'Shaughnessy travelled to London to present a petition on behalf of the Connacht landowners at court. As Wentworth considered the refusal of the Galway jury had put the entire plantation scheme in jeopardy, he did much to frustrate their efforts. Ultimately, all three returned to Ireland by May 1635, their mission a failure. Along with the Galway jury, they were tried, censured 400 livres each, and convicted. Darcy and Martyn refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and were instantly disbarred. Darcy's brother, Sheriff Martin Darcy, had been the head of the Jury, and died in prison in June after ill-treatment. The jury submitted in December 1636.
Yet the plantation did not go ahead. Wentworth over-reached himself, and English political issues led to him been recalled in 1639. Darcy was again elected to the Irish House of Commons
in 1641 and it was there that his reputation reached another level.
that "no parliament but an Irish one can properly legislate for Ireland", which is the central summation of his work.
In 1961, the American constitutional expert C.H. McIlwain gave it the ultimate compliment in stating that Darcy's Argument
The outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641
put the Old English into alliance with the Gaelic
Irish. Returning to Galway
in February 1642, Darcy and Martyn seem to have tried at first to work out a common policy that would not lead them into outright rebellion. But events soon took a course of their own leaving Darcy and his friends no option but to lead the townspeople instead of letting chaos loose. Matters were not helped by the commander of Forthill, overlooking the town, constantly harassing the neighbourhood. Darcy and Martyn set up and led a Council of Eight which dealt with any and all emergency matters, including procuring arms and ammunition for defence. Dominick Kirwin
led a force which captured a British naval vessel for just that purpose in March and thus placing Galway on the path to rebellion.
Darcy attended a General Assembly of the Irish Catholic Confederation at Kilkenny
in October 1642. He was instrumental in drawing up the constitution, and along with his nephew, Geoffrey Browne, was one of the twelve members of the Supreme Council. Liam O'Malley says of them:
With the arrival of Oliver Cromwell
in 1649, the cause began to crumble, ending with the surrender of Galway in 1652.
, Dublin. Attempts were made to try him for murders commuted during the war, but he was eventually released. His lands were confiscated and he was no longer able to practise law as he was a Catholic. With The Restoration, however, he was able to resume work, though without his lands been restored.
Shortly after The Restoration, an issue of precedence
arose between Sir Jerome Alexander and Sir William Aston. Aston's anonymous and acrimonious statement on the rights of the matter drew the challenge of a duel
from Darcy. Aston responded by refusing the challenge and apparently trying to prosecute Darcy. For this, Darcy swore he would horsewhip
Aston should they ever meet, with the result that Aston fled Ireland, refusing to return till after Darcy's death.
He died in Dublin in 1668, and was buried in Kilconnell
Abbey. His tomb bears the epitaph
HIC MISERA PATRIA SOLA COLUMNA JACET/Here, wretched country, lies your sole support.
. He had a son, James, who went into exile in 1650. James Darcy eventually inherited property via his cousins at Kiltullagh, Athenry
. James's descendants included Count Patrick D'Arcy
and John Darcy, the founder of Clifden
.
Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
.
Background
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, Ireland, Darcy was the youngest son of James Riabhach Darcy by his second marriage to Elizabeth Martyn. James Riabhach was formerly Vice-President of Connacht, and Mayor of Galway
Mayor of Galway
The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The Council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area which is the city of Galway – the largest city in the province of Connacht, in the Republic of Ireland. The office was originally established by a...
upon his death in June 1603. By his first marriage he fathered Nicholas, Martin, James, Anthony and Anastace. With Elizabeth he had Andrew and Patrick. Elizabeth Martyn was a granddaughter of William Óge Martyn
William Oge Martyn
-Early life:Also known as William Óge Martyn fitz Thomas, was a son of Thomas Óge Martyn and Evelina Lynch of Galway. Bailiff of Galway in 1566 to 1567, he was kidnapped by the Earl of Thomond in January 1570 but was free in time to participate at the battle of Shrule in April of the same year...
, and an aunt of Richard Martyn
Richard Martyn
Richard Martyn was a leading figure in early New Hampshire, in business, church and government.Martyn was a merchant, and in 1671, he was one of the founders of the first church in Portsmouth. He served as Selectman, as Commissioner for the Trial of Small Causes, and as Deputy to the General...
, who would later become Patrick's brother-in-law and law partner.
Darcy's ancestor, Walter Riabhac Ó Dorchaidhe (fl. c. 1488), was a member of a lowly family who were descendants of the Partraige of Lough Carra, in what is now County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
. The Partgaige are not featured in any extant Irish annal or chronicle, and the only record of them in Gaelic sources is a brief note stating that the Uí Dorchaidhe was chieftain of the Partriage, while their king was the Ó Goirmiallaigh. Adrian James Martyn believes that Walter Riabhach would have settled in Galway sometime in the mid-15th century. Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh states that this Walter Riabhach was "the first man of the Uí Dorchaidhe who came to Galway, according to the Galweigians themselves.
Early life and career
Patrick Darcy is believed to have been first educated in one of the schools operating in the town in the early 17th century, but as there were no Inn for lawyers in Ireland, Darcy had studied in London, been admitted as a student of the Middle TempleMiddle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, London, on 21 July 1617.
Earl of Clanricarde
Earl of Clanricarde is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is still extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 1916....
, who was the most powerful landowner in Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
. Darcy's stepfather, Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet, knight and land agent, died 1635.Lynch was the son of Nicholas Lynch fitz Stephen Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet, knight and land agent, died 1635.Lynch was the son of Nicholas Lynch fitz Stephen Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet, knight and land agent, died 1635.Lynch was...
, was Burke's business agent.
Darcy is said to have become active on the Connacht circuit abut 1627, having joined the King's Inn in June 1628. This coincided with the proclamation on 26 June permitting lawyers to practise at the bar by taking the Oath of Allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
instead of the Oath of Supremacy
Oath of Supremacy
The Oath of Supremacy, originally imposed by King Henry VIII of England through the Act of Supremacy 1534, but repealed by his daughter, Queen Mary I of England and reinstated under Mary's sister, Queen Elizabeth I of England under the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or...
. As the latter had been inimical to Catholics such as Darcy, the proclamation now enabled them to practise freely.
Because Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
was constantly short of money, he need to regularly find new ways of income. One proposal was to sell land in Ireland to English subjects, by exploiting legal titles. This led to Darcy's involvement in politics, as he, Clanricarde, Richard Martyn
Richard Martyn
Richard Martyn was a leading figure in early New Hampshire, in business, church and government.Martyn was a merchant, and in 1671, he was one of the founders of the first church in Portsmouth. He served as Selectman, as Commissioner for the Trial of Small Causes, and as Deputy to the General...
and their generation tried to solve "a more complex political" problem. Writing in 1984, Liam O'Malley put it as follows:
How could the Old English Catholics create a political structure in which they could have sufficient influence to safeguard their interests in the face of a Dublin administration appointed by a Protestant, and often hostile, English government? .. They felt constantly threatened by an intolerant Protestant administration and a hostile Established Church. Their position was being gradually undermined by confiscationConfiscationConfiscation, from the Latin confiscatio 'joining to the fiscus, i.e. transfer to the treasury' is a legal seizure without compensation by a government or other public authority...
of Irish lands and the steady build-up on the Protestant population of English and Scottish settlers ... Darcy had to cope with these difficulties in the course of his political career.
By using their influence both in Dublin and London, led by the Earl of Clanricarde, the landowners of Connacht did what they could to prevent confiscation. Lord Deputy Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...
called for a parliament to meet at Dublin in July 1634; Darcy having already been returned as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Navan
Navan (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Navan was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...
, Richard Martyn for Athenry
Athenry (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Athenry was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Athenry was represented with two members.-1689–1801:...
. Others in attendance included Sir Henry Lynch, Dominick Browne, along with other Galwegians.
However, Wentwoth ensured a Protestant majority was returned, and from there clearing the ground for the confiscations to take place. By June 1635 preparations were in earnest, and inquisitions were to be held in Boyle
Boyle, County Roscommon
Boyle is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the popular fishing lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gara are also close by...
, Mayo
Mayo, County Mayo
Mayo or Mayo Abbey is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. Although it bears the same name as the county, it is not the county seat, which is Castlebar...
, Sligo
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
and Portumna
Portumna
Portumna is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where the River Shannon enters Lough Derg. This historic crossing point over the River Shannon between counties Tipperary and Galway has a long...
for juries to find the King's Title to the lands concerned and thus give a legal fiction to the proceedings. However the jury of Galway found against the King, leading them to be imprisoned and Darcy to be fined 1,000 pounds.
To combat this, Darcy, Martyn and Sir Roger O'Shaughnessy travelled to London to present a petition on behalf of the Connacht landowners at court. As Wentworth considered the refusal of the Galway jury had put the entire plantation scheme in jeopardy, he did much to frustrate their efforts. Ultimately, all three returned to Ireland by May 1635, their mission a failure. Along with the Galway jury, they were tried, censured 400 livres each, and convicted. Darcy and Martyn refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and were instantly disbarred. Darcy's brother, Sheriff Martin Darcy, had been the head of the Jury, and died in prison in June after ill-treatment. The jury submitted in December 1636.
Yet the plantation did not go ahead. Wentworth over-reached himself, and English political issues led to him been recalled in 1639. Darcy was again elected to the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
in 1641 and it was there that his reputation reached another level.
Darcy's Argument
During a conference held in the dining-room of Dublin Castle on 9 June 1641, Darcy delivered his famous Argument. published in 1643 and reprinted in 1764, it was the first forceful and detailed statement of the rule of law in Ireland, articulating an effective constitutional position for her as England's colonial country. He is quoted arguing to William MolyneuxWilliam Molyneux
William Molyneux FRS was an Irish natural philosopher and writer on politics.He was born in Dublin to Samuel Molyneux , lawyer and landowner , and his wife, Anne, née Dowdall. The second of five children, William Molyneux came from a relatively prosperous Anglican background...
that "no parliament but an Irish one can properly legislate for Ireland", which is the central summation of his work.
In 1961, the American constitutional expert C.H. McIlwain gave it the ultimate compliment in stating that Darcy's Argument
constitute the first definite statement of the central point of the American opposition more than a century later. Patrick Darcy deserves a place in American constitutional history.
Darcy and Confederate Ireland 1642–1649
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
put the Old English into alliance with the Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
Irish. Returning to Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
in February 1642, Darcy and Martyn seem to have tried at first to work out a common policy that would not lead them into outright rebellion. But events soon took a course of their own leaving Darcy and his friends no option but to lead the townspeople instead of letting chaos loose. Matters were not helped by the commander of Forthill, overlooking the town, constantly harassing the neighbourhood. Darcy and Martyn set up and led a Council of Eight which dealt with any and all emergency matters, including procuring arms and ammunition for defence. Dominick Kirwin
Dominick Kirwin
Dominick Kirwin was an Irish Confederate, fl. 1642–1653?Kirwin was a member of one of The Tribes of Galway, and led the raiding party that seized a ship anchored near Galway early in the morning of 19 March 1642. It was a British naval vessel under the command of a Captain Clarke, and had been sent...
led a force which captured a British naval vessel for just that purpose in March and thus placing Galway on the path to rebellion.
Darcy attended a General Assembly of the Irish Catholic Confederation at Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
in October 1642. He was instrumental in drawing up the constitution, and along with his nephew, Geoffrey Browne, was one of the twelve members of the Supreme Council. Liam O'Malley says of them:
The confederate movement was essentially a conservative one, aimed at defending Catholic interests and anxious from the beginning to make a settlement which would protect their interests. Their aim from the beginning, therefore, was not to win a war but to secure a just peace. Most of them were loyal to the king, and the primary objective of the Supreme Council was to negotiate a settlement with Charles I. ... Sadly, however, the civil war, bigotry and fear made a just peace almost impossible.
With the arrival of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
in 1649, the cause began to crumble, ending with the surrender of Galway in 1652.
Later life
Named as a person liable to death and confiscation, December 1653 saw Darcy jailed in the MarshalseaMarshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
, Dublin. Attempts were made to try him for murders commuted during the war, but he was eventually released. His lands were confiscated and he was no longer able to practise law as he was a Catholic. With The Restoration, however, he was able to resume work, though without his lands been restored.
Shortly after The Restoration, an issue of precedence
Precedence
Precedence may refer to:* Message precedence of military communications traffic* Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state* Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming...
arose between Sir Jerome Alexander and Sir William Aston. Aston's anonymous and acrimonious statement on the rights of the matter drew the challenge of a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
from Darcy. Aston responded by refusing the challenge and apparently trying to prosecute Darcy. For this, Darcy swore he would horsewhip
Horsewhip
A horsewhip or horse whip is* a crop* a whip* a quirt* a tool used as an artificial riding aid* in zoology, the English name for a snake species Oxybelis aeneus...
Aston should they ever meet, with the result that Aston fled Ireland, refusing to return till after Darcy's death.
He died in Dublin in 1668, and was buried in Kilconnell
Kilconnell
Kilconnell is a small rural village in County Galway, Ireland.Its population in 2006 was 680. Its land is mainly used for dairy farming and the raising of cattle....
Abbey. His tomb bears the epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
HIC MISERA PATRIA SOLA COLUMNA JACET/Here, wretched country, lies your sole support.
Personal life
Darcy married in 1628 to Mary French, one of the four daughters and co-heiress of Sir Peter French. She was previously married to Peter Blake of Ardfry. Two of her sisters married Darcy's Lynch half-brothers, while a fourth, Magdalene, married Darcy's first cousin, Richard MartynRichard Martyn
Richard Martyn was a leading figure in early New Hampshire, in business, church and government.Martyn was a merchant, and in 1671, he was one of the founders of the first church in Portsmouth. He served as Selectman, as Commissioner for the Trial of Small Causes, and as Deputy to the General...
. He had a son, James, who went into exile in 1650. James Darcy eventually inherited property via his cousins at Kiltullagh, Athenry
Athenry
Athenry is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies east of Galway city, and one of the attractions of the town is its medieval castle. The town is also well-known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry".-History:...
. James's descendants included Count Patrick D'Arcy
Count Patrick D'Arcy
Count Patrick D'Arcy was an Irish mathematician, and soldier.Born at Kiltullagh House, County Galway, D'Arcy was a descendant of the Irish Confederate Patrick Darcy , his parents were John D'Arcy and Jane Lynch , both members of the Tribes of Galway...
and John Darcy, the founder of Clifden
Clifden
Clifden is a town on the coast of County Galway, Ireland and being Connemara's largest town, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". It is located on the Owenglen River where it flows into Clifden Bay...
.