[Sidenote: The Church held responsible for Ulster savagery]
[Sidenote: Munster refuses O'Neill's help.]
Rinuccini, though O'Neill was his only champion, came to hate him almost as much as he hated Ormonde. He even made excuses for Preston, whose intrigues with the latter might be explained by O'Neill's ambition 'under cover of religion.' After Benburb, the northern general had increased his army without orders, and he thirsted for the plunder of Leinster. Monck took care that he should have no supplies from Eastern Ulster. 'If I had not sent my confessor to dissuade him from so unjust a resolution,' said the nuncio, 'Kilkenny would have been sacked and much innocent blood shed.' Wherever O'Neill went, the Ulster soldiers, 'barbarous enough by nature, although good Catholics,' spread terror and destruction around. The worst of it was that they called themselves the army of Pope and Church, and when they 'perform any act of cruelty or robbery, the sufferers execrate his Holiness and me, and curse the clergy, whom they consider the patrons of this army.' Two regiments harried the property of Mountgarret, who brought a crowd of women to the nuncio's house, 'where they made a dreadful uproar with howls and lamentations, thus giving it to be understood that I countenanced the cruelties perpetrated by the Ulster men.' After the failure of the attack on Dublin, O'Neill was made general of Connaught, and devoted himself to the affairs of that province. He was at Boyle, preparing to march against Sligo, when the news of Dungan Hill reached him, with a pressing summons to enter Leinster again, so as to prevent Inchiquin from joining hands with Jones. Muskerry was a party to this, for he could see no other means of safety; but O'Neill refused to move. The personal entreaties of Bishop Macmahon at last prevailed, but many of his officers, with Alexander MacDonnell at their head, refused to obey. Partly by persuasion and partly by turning his guns on the mutineers, the general pacified them for the time, and established his quarters at Castlejordan in Meath, until November 1647. He had then collected about 12,000 foot and 1500 horse, and with these he proceeded to make a famine round Dublin. Tichborne followed the northern army everywhere, and cut off many stragglers. The destroyers passed near the scene of Preston's defeat to Dunboyne and Clonee, and all southern Meath was burned or spoiled. Turning northwards, they went almost to Balbriggan. Two hundred fires were counted at one time from St. Audoen's steeple in Dublin. On the sixth day, between Ratoath and Garristown, Jones and Tichborne showed themselves; and the latter wished to fight, but was overruled, so that O'Neill returned to Castlejordan without having to strike a blow. He offered to quarter 4000 men in Munster, who were to spare the Confederates while galling Inchiquin's partisans; but the provincials refused such help. Inchiquin's methods of making war were not gentle, but there was some excuse for doubting whether the deliverers would be much better.[117]
