Richard Bellings facts for kids

Sir Richard Bellings (1613–1677) was an important person in 17th-century Ireland. He was a lawyer and a political leader during a time of big conflicts called the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He is most famous for being part of Confederate Ireland. This was a short-lived independent Irish state. In this state, he served on its main governing group, called the Supreme Council. Later in his life, he wrote a history book about this time. His book is one of the best sources for understanding the Confederation period.

Richard Bellings' Early Life

Richard Bellings was born in 1613 at a place called Bellinstown. He came from a family known as the Old English gentry. These were families who had lived in Ireland for a long time, especially in an area called the Pale. Richard's grandfather, also named Richard Bellings, was a top lawyer for the King in Ireland. He was given a lot of land near Dublin. Richard's father, Henry Bellings, was a local official and sheriff.

Richard himself studied to become a lawyer in London. After that, he became a member of the Irish Parliament. Even though his family was very loyal to the King, Richard was a Roman Catholic. Because of his religion, he was not allowed to hold important public jobs. He felt it was unfair that only Protestants could have these jobs. This made many Old English Catholics, including Bellings, join the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Bellings said he and his friends joined only to protect themselves. They felt the English government was hostile to Irish Catholics.

Why Did the Rebellion Start?

In October 1641, a rebellion began in the north of Ireland, led by Irish Catholic noblemen. Bellings and other Old English leaders did not join right away. But several things pulled them into the fight. Bellings wrote that the authorities would not give weapons to Catholics, even for self-defense. Also, the government in Dublin stopped the Irish Parliament. This meant Catholic complaints could not be heard. Finally, the rebels won a battle at Julianstown. This brought the rebellion into the Pale area. The Pale nobility then had to choose: join the Catholic rebels or be seen as enemies. Bellings was among the leaders who made an agreement with the rebel leaders in early 1642.

Bellings as a Confederate Leader

Richard Bellings was a key person in creating the Confederate Catholics of Ireland. This group wanted to bring order to the rebellion. They also wanted to organize Irish Catholic armies to defend themselves. In 1642, Bellings was chosen to be the secretary of the Supreme Council. This was the main executive group of the Confederation.

Bellings and his friends on the Supreme Council were quite traditional. Because of his Old English background, he did not fully support the first rebellion led by the Ulster Irish. He also disliked social unrest. He called it "the violent fury of a rude and desperate multitude." He also strongly disagreed with the killing of Protestants early in the rebellion.

Working with the King

Bellings was very loyal to the King, Charles I. He was involved in talks with Ormonde, who was the King's representative in Ireland. The Confederates wanted to help the King in the English Civil War. In return, they wanted more political and religious freedom for Irish Catholics.

Some people criticized the Supreme Council. They said the Council was too soft in its demands. They also pointed out that many Council members were related to Ormonde. Bellings himself was related to the Ormonde family through his marriage. As secretary, he also knew other important noblemen.

The critics of the Supreme Council were mostly Gaelic Irishmen. They sided with Owen Roe O'Neill and later Giovanni Battista Rinuccini. These critics felt the Supreme Council was failing in the Irish Confederate Wars. They even started calling the Council members "traitors."

Travels and Treaties

From 1644 to 1645, Bellings traveled around Europe. He visited France, Spain, and the Papacy (the Pope's government). He was asking for military or money help for the Confederates. He came back in 1646 with the Pope's special messenger, Nuncio Giovanni Battista Rinuccini.

However, Bellings was upset to find that Rinuccini rejected a peace treaty. This treaty, called the Ormonde Peace, had been agreed upon by the Supreme Council and the King. The treaty would have removed most limits on Catholics. But it did not guarantee that Catholics could practice their religion openly. It also did not return land that had been taken from Catholics. Because of pressure from Rinuccini and Catholic bishops, the Confederate General Assembly voted against the peace treaty.

Bellings and his colleagues were briefly arrested. But they were released in time to make a new peace deal with the Royalists in 1648. By this time, it was too late to help the English Royalists. The English Parliament then focused on Ireland, taking it over between 1649 and 1653. You can learn more about this in Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Bellings managed to escape to France, where the King's court was in exile. But his lands in Ireland were taken by the Parliamentarians. His lands were also badly damaged during the wars.

Life After the Wars

After the King returned to power in England (this was called the English Restoration), Bellings was rewarded. Ormonde, who was now a top official in Ireland, helped Bellings. Bellings was one of the few Confederates who got his confiscated lands back. This happened because of a law called the Act of Settlement 1662.

Later in his life, Bellings wrote a long history book called The Confederation and War in Ireland. He wrote it in the 1670s. In his book, he presented the rebellion as a sad accident. He said it was caused by the King's bad ministers. He also wrote that he and other Irish nobles joined the rebellion only because they had no other choice. Even though Bellings is often seen as a typical Old Englishman, he thought of himself as Irish. His writings show he knew a lot about the Irish Gaelic language and old Irish texts.

Richard Bellings passed away in September 1677. He was buried near Dublin. His tomb is still there, but it does not have an inscription.

His son, also named Richard Bellings, became famous as the secretary to the Queen, Catherine of Braganza.