Richard Bellings
Encyclopedia
Richard Bellings was a lawyer and political figure in 17th century Ireland
and in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
. He is best known for his participation in Confederate Ireland
, a short-lived independent Irish state, in which he served on the governing body called the Supreme Council. In later life, he also wrote a history of the Confederate period, which is one the best historical sources on the Confederation.
Pale
gentleman. His grandfather, (also named Richard Bellings) was Solicitor-General for Ireland
from 1574–1584, and was granted extensive lands by the Crown at Tyrrelstown
, a suburb of Dublin in 1600. His father, Henry Bellings, served as Provost Marshal
, and as High Sheriff
of Wicklow
County, where he campaigned against the O’Byrnes. Richard Bellings himself was trained as a lawyer at Lincoln's Inn
, London
, and afterwards served in the Irish Parliament. However in spite of this impecably loyal background, Bellings, as Roman Catholic was banned from all public office. He later wrote that he resented the Protestant New English monopoly on, "places of honour , profit and trust" in the Irish government, that he, as a Catholic, was barred from. This resentment caused many Palesmen, including Bellings to join the Irish Rebellion of 1641
. However, Bellings later insisted that he and his peers joined the rising only out of self defence, given the hostility of the English government in England and Ireland to Irish Catholics.
In October 1641, rebellion broke out in the northern province of Ulster
, led by Gaelic Irish Catholic noblemen. Bellings and his contemporaries in the Pale did not immediately join the uprising, but were drawn into it by a number of events. Bellings in his history of the period cites his main reasons for joining the rebellion as; a refusal on the part of the authorities to arm the Catholic population to put down the rebellion or even in self-defence, the decision of the Lords Justices in Dublin to suspend the Irish Parliament and thus to avoid redress of Catholic grievances, and finally the victory of the insurgents at Julianstown
, which brought the rebellion into the Pale and forced the Pale nobility to either join the Catholic rebels or to be treated by them as enemies. Bellings was among the Palesmen led by Viscount Gormanstown who signed pact with Phelim O'Neill and Rory O'Moore, the rebel leaders in early 1642.
Bellings was a committed Royalist
and was involved in negotiations with Ormonde
- Charles I
's representative in Ireland - to help the King in the English Civil War
in return for political and religious concession to Irish Catholics. However, his critics argued that the Supreme Council were far too moderate in their demands and pointed out that many of them were actually related to Ormonde. In Bellings' case, this was true, he married Lord Mountgarret
's daughter, and was thus related to the Ormonde dynasty and privy to the thinking of peers
such as Ormonde himself, Mountgarret and Viscount Muskerry. Furthermore, in his capacity as secretary of the Supreme Council, he was also familiar with other aristocrats like Clanricarde
and James Dillon, whose thoughts and actions during 1641-42 he recounts extensively in his history of the period. The Supreme Council's critics - mostly Gaelic Irishmen who allied themselves with Owen Roe O'Neill
and later Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
- were so alienated by the Supreme Council's failure to prosecute the Irish Confederate Wars
successfully, that they began calling them "traitors" and "Ormondists".
Bellings spent 1644-45 as the Confederate's ambassador in continental Europe, visiting France
, Spain
and the Papacy to appeal for military or financial help. He returned in 1646 along with the Papal Nuncio Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
. However, he was dismayed to find that Rinuccini rejected the Ormonde Peace treaty, that the Supreme Council had negotiated with the King. The Peace, although it abolished most of the civil restrictions on Catholics, did not guarantee public practice of Catholicism and offered no reversal of the confiscation of Catholic owned land. Under pressure from Rinuccini and the Catholic Bishops, the peace was voted down by the Confederate General Assembly.
Bellings and his colleagues, which included Peter Valesius Walsh, were temporarily arrested, but were released in time to conclude a new Omonde Peace with the Royalists in 1648. However, by this time it was too late to help the English Royalists and the English Parliament turned its attention on Ireland, re-conquering it in 1649-1653. See Also Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
. Bellings managed to flee to the Royalist court in exile in France
but his lands were confiscated in bulk by the Parliamentarians
. In fact, they had been devastated in the wars anyway, as they lay directly on the route to Dublin taken by the contending armies.
, Bellings was rewarded by Ormonde, (now Lord Deputy of Ireland
) for his loyalty to the Royalist cause by being one of the few Confederates to recover their confiscated estates in the Act of Settlement 1662
. In later life, he wrote a several volume history of the 1640s, called The Confederation and War in Ireland. Bellings’ account was written in the 1670’s, from the perspective of a sound royalist, whose property had been recovered after the Restoration. He therefore presented the rebellion as a tragic accident caused by the King’s untrustworthy ministers, and which was joined only reluctantly, and under extreme provocation, by him and his fellow Palesmen and Irish nobles. Although Bellings is often considered a typical Old Englishman, he considered himself Irish and his writings show a good familiarity with Irish Gaelic
, including the Old Irish texts such as the Lebor Gabála Érenn
. Following his death in 1677, his body was carried to Mulhuddart
, near Dublin, to be interred near his wife. His tomb, which was enclosed by a wall has no inscription visible upon it.
His son, another Richard Bellings gained fame as the secretary to Catherine of Braganza
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
. He is best known for his participation in Confederate Ireland
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"...
, a short-lived independent Irish state, in which he served on the governing body called the Supreme Council. In later life, he also wrote a history of the Confederate period, which is one the best historical sources on the Confederation.
Early life
Bellings was an Old EnglishOld English (Ireland)
The Old English were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy, and England after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71. Many of the Old English became assimilated into Irish society over the centuries...
Pale
The Pale
The Pale or the English Pale , was the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages. It had reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast stretching from Dalkey, south of Dublin, to the garrison town of Dundalk...
gentleman. His grandfather, (also named Richard Bellings) was Solicitor-General for Ireland
Solicitor-General for Ireland
The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. At least one holder of the office, Patrick Barnewall played a significant role in...
from 1574–1584, and was granted extensive lands by the Crown at Tyrrelstown
Tyrrelstown
Tyrrelstown is a rapidly expanding village located 13 km northwest of the city of Dublin in Ireland. The local authority for the area, which forms part of the Dublin 15 postal district, is Fingal County Council.-History:...
, a suburb of Dublin in 1600. His father, Henry Bellings, served as Provost Marshal
Provost Marshal
The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
, and as High Sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of Wicklow
Wicklow
Wicklow) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. Located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island, it has a population of 10,070 according to the 2006 census. The town is situated to the east of the N11 route between Dublin and Wexford. Wicklow is also connected to the rail...
County, where he campaigned against the O’Byrnes. Richard Bellings himself was trained as a lawyer at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and afterwards served in the Irish Parliament. However in spite of this impecably loyal background, Bellings, as Roman Catholic was banned from all public office. He later wrote that he resented the Protestant New English monopoly on, "places of honour , profit and trust" in the Irish government, that he, as a Catholic, was barred from. This resentment caused many Palesmen, including Bellings to join the Irish Rebellion of 1641
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...
. However, Bellings later insisted that he and his peers joined the rising only out of self defence, given the hostility of the English government in England and Ireland to Irish Catholics.
In October 1641, rebellion broke out in the northern province of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. 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 administrative and judicial...
, led by Gaelic Irish Catholic noblemen. Bellings and his contemporaries in the Pale did not immediately join the uprising, but were drawn into it by a number of events. Bellings in his history of the period cites his main reasons for joining the rebellion as; a refusal on the part of the authorities to arm the Catholic population to put down the rebellion or even in self-defence, the decision of the Lords Justices in Dublin to suspend the Irish Parliament and thus to avoid redress of Catholic grievances, and finally the victory of the insurgents at Julianstown
Battle of Julianstown
The Battle of Julianstown was fought during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, at Julianstown near Drogheda in eastern Ireland, in November 1641.- Battle :...
, which brought the rebellion into the Pale and forced the Pale nobility to either join the Catholic rebels or to be treated by them as enemies. Bellings was among the Palesmen led by Viscount Gormanstown who signed pact with Phelim O'Neill and Rory O'Moore, the rebel leaders in early 1642.
The Confederate Politician
Belling was one of the chief movers behind the creation of the Confederate Catholics of Ireland which sought to bring the anarchic rebellion under social control and to organise Irish Catholic armies in self defence. Bellings was voted onto the Supreme Council as secretary (the Confederation's executive branch) in 1642. However, Bellings, like his colleagues on the Supreme Council, was a conservative Confederate. Because of his Old English background, he had little time for the initial Ulster Irish rebellion. Also given his social standing, he detested social rebellion, calling it, "the violent fury of a rude and desperate multitude". He also strongly disapproved of the killing of Protestants in the early phases of the rebellion.Bellings was a committed Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
and was involved in negotiations with Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
- 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...
's representative in Ireland - to help the King in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
in return for political and religious concession to Irish Catholics. However, his critics argued that the Supreme Council were far too moderate in their demands and pointed out that many of them were actually related to Ormonde. In Bellings' case, this was true, he married Lord Mountgarret
Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret
Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret was the son of Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret and Grany or Grizzel, daughter of Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory...
's daughter, and was thus related to the Ormonde dynasty and privy to the thinking of peers
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
such as Ormonde himself, Mountgarret and Viscount Muskerry. Furthermore, in his capacity as secretary of the Supreme Council, he was also familiar with other aristocrats like Clanricarde
Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde
Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde was an Irish nobleman. He was the son of Ulick Burke, 3rd Earl of Clanricarde and Honora Burke, daughter of John Burke....
and James Dillon, whose thoughts and actions during 1641-42 he recounts extensively in his history of the period. The Supreme Council's critics - mostly Gaelic Irishmen who allied themselves with Owen Roe O'Neill
Owen Roe O'Neill
Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill , anglicised as Owen Roe O'Neill , was a seventeenth century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster.- In Spanish service :...
and later Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini was a Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar who became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV, who made him the Archbishop of Fermo in Italy...
- were so alienated by the Supreme Council's failure to prosecute the Irish Confederate Wars
Irish Confederate Wars
This article is concerned with the military history of Ireland from 1641-53. For the political context of this conflict, see Confederate Ireland....
successfully, that they began calling them "traitors" and "Ormondists".
Bellings spent 1644-45 as the Confederate's ambassador in continental Europe, visiting France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the Papacy to appeal for military or financial help. He returned in 1646 along with the Papal Nuncio Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini was a Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar who became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV, who made him the Archbishop of Fermo in Italy...
. However, he was dismayed to find that Rinuccini rejected the Ormonde Peace treaty, that the Supreme Council had negotiated with the King. The Peace, although it abolished most of the civil restrictions on Catholics, did not guarantee public practice of Catholicism and offered no reversal of the confiscation of Catholic owned land. Under pressure from Rinuccini and the Catholic Bishops, the peace was voted down by the Confederate General Assembly.
Bellings and his colleagues, which included Peter Valesius Walsh, were temporarily arrested, but were released in time to conclude a new Omonde Peace with the Royalists in 1648. However, by this time it was too late to help the English Royalists and the English Parliament turned its attention on Ireland, re-conquering it in 1649-1653. See Also Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
. Bellings managed to flee to the Royalist court in exile in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
but his lands were confiscated in bulk by the Parliamentarians
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
. In fact, they had been devastated in the wars anyway, as they lay directly on the route to Dublin taken by the contending armies.
Restoration
After the English RestorationEnglish Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, Bellings was rewarded by Ormonde, (now Lord Deputy of Ireland
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...
) for his loyalty to the Royalist cause by being one of the few Confederates to recover their confiscated estates in the Act of Settlement 1662
Act of Settlement 1662
The Act of Settlement 1662 passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the wholesale confiscation of their...
. In later life, he wrote a several volume history of the 1640s, called The Confederation and War in Ireland. Bellings’ account was written in the 1670’s, from the perspective of a sound royalist, whose property had been recovered after the Restoration. He therefore presented the rebellion as a tragic accident caused by the King’s untrustworthy ministers, and which was joined only reluctantly, and under extreme provocation, by him and his fellow Palesmen and Irish nobles. Although Bellings is often considered a typical Old Englishman, he considered himself Irish and his writings show a good familiarity with Irish Gaelic
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
, including the Old Irish texts such as the Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...
. Following his death in 1677, his body was carried to Mulhuddart
Mulhuddart
Mulhuddart is a suburb situated to the north-west of Dublin city, in the barony of Castleknock, Ireland. The River Tolka passes near the village.-Location and access:The N3 dual carriageway now by-passes the village...
, near Dublin, to be interred near his wife. His tomb, which was enclosed by a wall has no inscription visible upon it.
His son, another Richard Bellings gained fame as the secretary to Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662...
See also
- Wars of the Three KingdomsWars of the Three KingdomsThe Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
- Confederate IrelandConfederate IrelandConfederate 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"...