23rd March 1578: Job news. Nicholas Sander was Papal Nuncio to Ireland. A Surrey boy he had had two older sisters who were nuns in Sion before the dissolution. Ordained a priest in Rome about 1550 he pottered about Europe and generally been stirring up anti-Elizabeth feelings. Today he wrote to the pope saying thanks for the grant of about 400 aurei from the fruits of the vacant archbishopric of Toledo, and a new pension from the fruits of the see of Plasencia; for which he prayed God to reward him with a speedy victory in Ireland, to be followed by a similar triumph in England and then some English posts would be very welcome. He was involved with including Stukely plot to land in Ireland. In March 1578 Stukley was provided by the Pope with infantry and sailed from Civitavecchia in Rome with 1000 men, including pardoned highwaymen, musketeers and some professional officers, including Hercules of Pisano and Sebastiano di San Giuseppe of Bologna. In Cadiz in Spain he added some Irishmen and King Philip II sent him to Lisbon to secure better ships and meet with Fitzmaurice. Having no ships to offer, King Sebastian of Portugal, instead invited Stukley to join an invasion of Morocco, Stukley was killed there in August 1578 at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir, thus ending Fitzmaurices initial plans for invading Ireland.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 06:29:16 +0000
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