midst of warriors standing up in battle." The republication of the Senchus Mor (which when complete will extend to several volumes, three being already published in 1877, and a fourth in the press far advanced), with a translation and notes, was commenced by order of Government in 1865, from MSS. in Trinity College and the British Museum, the oldest dating from the early part of the 14th century. 171 300*
Lake, Gerard, Viscount, an English general, who took a prominent part in suppressing the Insurrection of 1798, was born 27th July 1744. He served in Germany during the Seven Years' War, and in America during the War of Independence. He was Lieutenant-Colonel under Cornwallis, and was taken prisoner at Yorktown. He served in the Low Countries in 1793. In 1797 he was engaged in Ulster chiefly in disarming the population and counteracting the plans of the United Irishmen. Early in 1798 General Abercrombie resigned, apparently sickening at the severity which the Government considered it necessary to exercise towards the people of the disaffected districts. General Lake was appointed to the chief command on 23rd April; and on 24th of the following month the insurrection burst forth. His most distinguished military service in the County of Wexford was the capture of Vinegar Hill, and the occupation of Wexford next day, the 22nd June. The former was the culmination of a series of combined movements by General Lake, supported by Dundas, Needham, Johnson, and Loftus, with 13,000 troops in four columns. Early in the day the insurgent position on the hill was attacked and carried with trifling loss to the assailants. General Lake says: "The carnage . . . was dreadful. The rascals made a tolerable good fight of it." He had a horse killed under him early in the action. Great as was the loss of the insurgents, it would have been greater but that large bodies were able to break away through a pass left open by the accidental delay of General Needham in taking up his position. This accident has been by some erroneously ascribed to General Lake's deliberate intention to leave way open for the people to escape. Of the executions which he afterwards carried out at Wexford he writes to Lord Castlereagh: "I really feel most severely the being obliged to order so many men out of the world; but I am convinced, if severe and many examples are not made, the rebellion cannot be put a stop to." After the landing of the French at Killala in 1798 [See HUMBERT], General Lake marched to confront them. On 27th August he was, partly through the unsteadiness of the Galway, Kilkenny, and Longford militia (probably in secret sympathy with the enemy), defeated at Castlebar by a combined force of about 2,000 French and insurgents. After this disaster General Lake fell back upon Tuam, where he was reinforced, and acting in concert with Colonel Vereker and Lord Cornwallis, after a series of exhausting marches, he effected the capture of General Humbert and the whole remaining French force at Ballinamuck on the 8th September. The French were treated honourably as prisoners of war; but the insurgents, numbers of them in French uniforms, and indeed the country people generally of the districts that had been in occupation of the French, were slaughtered unmercifully, and their cabins were burnt to the ground. General Lake was brought into Parliament for Armagh in 1799, by Lord Castlereagh, to vote for the Union. He was afterwards Commander-in-chief in India, where on more than one occasion he strenuously opposed the policy of Lord Cornwallis, his former coadjutor in Ireland. For distinguished services, especially at the battles of Delhi and Laswanee, he was granted a pension, and was in 1804 created Baron Lake, and in 1807 raised to a viscountcy. He died in London, 20th February 1808, aged 63. 72 87 146 249
Lambart, Sir Oliver, Lord Lambart, an officer distinguished in the Irish wars, who served with much credit in the Low Countries and Spain, and was knighted at Cadiz in 1596, by Essex, with whom he came to Ireland in command of a company. In 1600 Sir Oliver led a force into Leix and Offaly against the O'Mores and O'Conors; afterwards served under Mountjoy, and in 1601, at his recommendation, was appointed Governor of Connaught. He built a fort at Galway, served at the siege of Kinsale, and was granted estates in Cavan. He was created Lord Lambart, Baron of Cavan in 1617, and died 9th July next year. The present Earl of Cavan is his descendant. 54 196 339
Lanigan, John, D.D., ecclesiastical historian, was born at Cashel in 1758, the eldest of sixteen children—the youngest of whom (Anne) survived until 30th October 1860. At sixteen, after receiving the education of a Cashel school, he started for the Irish College, Rome, to pursue his studies for the priesthood. He sailed from Cork to London, where he was robbed of everything by a fellow-passenger; but fortunately a clergyman took him into his house until funds were sent him from home
