The Rebels of Ireland: The Dublin Saga - By Edward Rutherfurd Page 0,2

pirates, a tantalizing opportunity for smuggling; colluding with other residents of Dalkey, he unloads the valuable cargo of three ships under the cover of night, thereby avoiding massive tariffs.

The fifteenth century in England is marked by the Wars of the Roses, bloody feuds between rival branches of the Plantagenet royal House. Though the wars culminate in 1485 with mortal defeat for Richard III and victory for Henry Tudor, an Anglo-Irish faction continues to back the Yorkist cause. They crown a young pretender, who claims to be the Earl of Warwick, as the new King of England and set sail for England, plotting to topple King Henry. The disastrous results only lead to further subjection in Ireland, which is divided between those living within the Pale (Dublin’s surrounding counties, dominated by the English) and the more Irish world, beyond the Pale. Through interlocking plots we follow the lives of four sixteenth-century families: the Tidys, the Walshes, the Doyles, and the O’Byrnes.

For those within the Pale, scrupulous English appearance was essential. These codes are vividly portrayed when Henry Tidy’s fiancée, Cecily, is arrested for wearing a scarf that signals her alliance with the Irish. Henry was hoping to apply for a franchise soon, to become a freeman of Dublin. Alderman Doyle helps get the charges dropped, but he warns Henry to be careful; the revelation that his fiancée is Irish might ruin his chances. This seemingly minor incident bodes the schisms that will divide Dublin society in decades to come.

This precarious political climate is felt in the Walsh household as well. William Walsh tells his wife, Margaret, that his work as an attorney is going to take him into the far south of Ireland. He warns her to keep his trip confidential; though his assignment there is legitimate, plots are brewing against King Henry VIII, and spies might think he is visiting rural Munster for more sinister reasons. But Margaret reveals the Munster secret to Joan Doyle, wife of the alderman. William is subsequently denied a chance to run for Parliament, though John Doyle does gain a seat. Margaret’s distrust for Joan— compounded by long-standing rumors that the Doyles cheated Joan’s family out of land—cause her to hate the other woman.

But it is King Henry VIII’s momentous decision to annul his marriage to his Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon, that will change Ireland’s history. The Pope has granted annulments before, but Catherine’s nephew has just become Holy Roman Emperor. The Pope dare not offend the Hapsburg monarch in favor of an upstart Tudor king. Henry VIII breaks with the Pope and the Reformation in England—and Ireland—has begun.

The spurning of the Pope also piques the cultural differences between Henry and Cecily Tidy. At an elaborate Corpus Christi Day pageant, Cecily blurts out that the new queen is a heretic; she then says the king will burn in hell. Henry Tidy is aghast, and as fate would have it, she has made these proclamations before a figure who will soon rouse the Irish into taking up arms against the king. He is Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, an influential member of the aristocracy who wears the finest silk tunics available and is hence called Silken Thomas.

Soon after the Corpus Christi incident, Silken Thomas withdraws his English loyalty and in essence proclaims himself the new protector of Ireland. Like many of his countrymen who envision a glorious renewal of Gaelic dominance in Ireland, Sean O’Byrne is thrilled by this turn of events and even pays a call to the Walshes, asking William to swear his loyalty to Silken Thomas.

Cecily Tidy joins in the fervor as well, calling out to Thomas from a high window and shouting a string of pledges that echo in the street. Her public oaths to the Fitzgeralds horrify her husband. He knows that she has now ruined any chance he might have had in rising through the ranks of English power brokers.

The Doyles continue to oppose the Fitzgeralds in favor of the pro-Tudor Butlers.

Concerned about the looming battles, Alderman Doyle decides Joan would be safer in Dalkey and makes plans for her to be escorted there. He doesn’t realize that Margaret has crafted a vengeful plan of her own, arranging for Sean O’Byrne to kidnap Joan on the road and hold her for a ransom to be shared equally between Margaret and the O’Byrnes. But the raid does not go as planned. Joan is unharmed, but one of Sean’s sons is killed. When William Walsh hears the news, he reveals to his wife