and was anxious, in the probable event of
the prince's refusal, to obtain the lord-lieutenancy for himself, sailed from Waterford
on 20 Feb. 1648, seven days before his colleagues. The appointment of the Marquis
of Ormonde to the place he aspired to was a
bitter disappointment to Antrim. He returned to Ireland in September, opposed the
peace between the confederates and Ormonde,
and heartily supported the scheme for a
union between Owen O'Neill and the parliament. Early in 1649 he succeeded, by means
of one Crilly, a priest, in opening up a correspondence with Cromwell, to whom he subsequently rendered some service at the siege of Ross and other places. Carte, in his 'Life of Ormonde' (ib. 101), has a very questionable story, for which he adduces no authority,
that at the time when Inchiquin's forces revolted to the parliament, Antrim forged an agreement between that nobleman and Michael Jones, whereby the former engaged
to betray the king's cause and army. Inchiquin, who vehemently denied the charge (Gilbert, Aphorismical Discovery, ii. 332-3),
challenged Antrim, but he, declining to give
the other the usual satisfaction, 'made a
solemn acknowledgment of his crime before
the lord-lieutenant and four of the commissioners of trust, confessing that the pretended instrument was a mere forgery and a contrivance between himself and Jones.' But
it is more than likely (Macray, Cal. Clarendon Papers, ii. 68) that Inchiquin did meditate some such step as rumour attributed to him (cf. Letter from Lord Broghill to the Speaker, 19 Dec. 1649 in Several Proceedings, 4 Dec. to 11 Jan. 1649-60, where for 'Lord ' Mr. S. R. Gardiner suggests we ought to read
'Lord Inchiquin'). On the death of Owen
O'Neill in November 1649 Antrim hoped to
succeed him in the command of the northern
army, with the intention probably of effecting a reconciliation with the parliament, but
being disappointed in this4)y the election of
the Bishop of Clogher, he entered into correspondence with Ireton, and his services being
accepted, he was present at the siege of Carlow. In December 1650 he was allowed to
return to England, with an order protecting
him from his creditors, who were clamorous for his arrest (cf. Antrim to Henry Cromwell, 11 April 1657, in Lansdowne MS. 821, 14); and his estate in Antrim having been assigned in satisfaction of adventurers' claims, he received a pension from government of
500/., subsequently increased to 800l., together with certain lands, as an innocent papist, in co. Mayo.
As a catholic, Antrim, at the Restoration, stood outside the Act of Oblivion, and on going to court to petition for the restoration of his estate, he was, through the representations of his enemies, notably of Sir John Clotworthy, who had acquired considerable part of it in the barony of Dunluce, committed to the Tower, and was only liberated after several months' imprisonment, on Lords Moore, Dillon, and Taaffe entering into recognisances in 20,000l. that he would appear within six weeks before the lords justices in Ireland, to whom his case was remitted. After more than fourteen months' attendance in Dublin he was at last dismissed and allowed to return to England. With the assistance of the queen-mother, a letter was in December 16o3 obtained directing a bill to be prepared for his restoration, but the council in Ireland were unanimous that such a bill ought not in his case to be transmitted. Antrim thereupon petitioned the king, and his petition being referred to a committee of the council, an order in his favour was after some delay obtained. Notwithstanding the opposition of Ormonde, who owed him a grudge for his conduct in 1647-8, the order of the council, together with a letter from the king in his favour, was transmitted to the commissioners of claims, and on 20 Aug. 1663 he was awarded a decree of innocence (printed in Hill, MacDonnells, App. p. xi). This decision caused considerable consternation among the adventurers, who spared no efforts to discredit Antrim in the king's eyes (see Murder will out, or the Kings Letter justifying the Marquess of Antrim, &c), and upon their petition a fresh trial was ordered. In order to prevent this, Antrim, who felt his weakness on certain technical points, threw himself on the king's mercy, whereupon the king was pleased to pardon him, and provision was made in the Act of Explanation for his restoration to his estates and for cancelling the decree of the court of claims.
On his return to Ireland, Antrim found his castle of Dunluce so dilapidated that he built a new residence for himself at Ballymagarry House, not far from the castle. He was a great lover of field-sports, and the remainder of his life is traditionally said to have been devoted to hunting and hawking. He took no further interest in politics, and died at Ballymagarry on 3 Feb. 1683, when, after lying in state for some time, he was buried in the family vault at Bunnamairge. He was a tall, clean-limbed handsome man, with red hair. For the settlement of his youthful debts he assigned in his will the baronies of Carey and Kilconway and the Long Liberties of Coleraine.
Antrim's first wife, the Duchess-dowager
