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  3. Irish Historical Monographs

The aim of this series is to publish monograph studies in Irish history, covering all periods from the early middle ages to the twentieth century. It aims to publish new research of the highest quality, both by established scholars and by younger historians who may be publishing their first work.

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22 results in Irish Historical Monographs

Page 1 of 2

Ireland's Sea Fisheries, 1400-1600
  • Economics, Environment and Ecology
  • Patrick W. Hayes
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    22 February 2024
    Print publication:
    12 December 2023
  • This book examines the environmental, political, and economic history of Ireland's marine fisheries from 1400 to 1600.

Ireland and Empire in the Late Nineteenth Century
  • Fergal O'Leary
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    17 December 2023
    Print publication:
    15 August 2023
  • This book examines the place of imperialism in the cultural, political and economic life of late nineteenth-century Irish society.

Irish Women in Religious Orders, 1530-1700
  • Suppression, Migration and Reintegration
  • Bronagh Ann McShane
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    17 December 2022
    Print publication:
    18 October 2022
  • This book investigates the impact of the dissolution of the monasteries on women religious and examines their survival in the following decades, showing how, despite the state's official proscription of vocation living, religious vocation options for women continued in less formal ways.

    Overall, this study provides a rich picture of Irish women religious during a period of unprecedented change and upheaval.

Ireland's English Pale, 1470-1550
  • The Making of a Tudor Region
  • Steven G. Ellis
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    09 January 2024
    Print publication:
    12 November 2021
  • A key argument of this book is that the English Pale - the four counties around Dublin under English control - was expanding during the early Tudor period, not contracting, as other historians have argued. The author shows how the new system, whereby 'the four obedient shires' were protected by new fortifications and a newly-constituted English-style militia, which replaced the former system of extended marches, was highly effective, making unnecessary money and troops from England, and enabling the Dublin government to be self-financing. The book provides full details of this new system. It also demonstrates how direct rule by an English army and governor, which replaced the system in the years after 1534, was much more costly and led on in turn to the policy of 'surrender and regrant' under which Irish chiefs became subject to English law. The book highlights how this policy made the English Pale's frontiers redundant, but how ideologically ideas of 'English civility' nevertheless survived, and 'the wild Atlantic way' remained 'beyond the Pale'.

The Jacobite Duchess
  • Frances Jennings, Duchess of Tyrconnell, c.1649-1731
  • Frances Nolan
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    04 January 2024
    Print publication:
    17 September 2021
  • Frances Jennings, elder sister of Sarah, duchess of Marlborough, had an interesting and eventful life, most notably as the influential wife of Richard Talbot, earl of Tyrconnell, Catholic viceroy of Ireland under James II. Born circa 1649 into a Hertfordshire gentry family, she was a noted beauty at the Restoration court. There, she met and married George Hamilton, a Catholic officer who, after 1667, served in Louis XIV's army. In Paris, Frances raised three daughters, converted to Catholicism, and became an active member of the English Catholic émigré community. Following Hamilton's death, she remarried to Richard Talbot. As vicereine of Ireland, Frances helped re-establish Catholic hegemony, assisting in the foundation of convents and re-consecration of Christ Church cathedral. During the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland (1689-91), Frances fled to James II's exiled court in France. In 1691, she received word that her husband, now Jacobite duke of Tyrconnell, had died. Attainted for high treason, she used the Marlboroughs' influence to recover her Irish estates. In 1708, she returned to Dublin, where she died in 1731. Highlighting Frances's political manoeuvrings, religious identity and deep family attachments, this book portrays a complex and contested figure, a woman who acted on multiple stages, in diverse roles, challenging expectations of rank, gender, and 'nationality' in unexpected ways.

Aristocratic Women in Ireland, 1450-1660
  • The Ormond Family, Power and Politics
  • Damien Duffy
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    26 March 2021
    Print publication:
    16 April 2021
  • An in-depth analysis of the key contribution made by the women members of this important ruling family in maintaining and advancing the family's political, landed, economic, social and religious interests.

Political Conflict in East Ulster, 1920–22

The Old English in Early Modern Ireland
  • The Palesmen and the Nine Years' War, 1594–1603
  • Volume 20
  • Ruth A. Canning
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    07 September 2019
    Print publication:
    15 March 2019
  • Examines the divided loyalties of the descendants of Ireland's Anglo-Norman conquerors during the wars against the Irish confederate rebels.

Popular Protest and Policing in Ascendancy Ireland, 1691-1761

Catholic Survival in Protestant Ireland, 1660–1711
  • Colonel John Browne, Landownership and the Articles of Limerick
  • Eoin Kinsella
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    28 June 2018
    Print publication:
    01 June 2018
  • Traditional accounts of early modern Ireland have traced the seemingly inevitable decline of the Catholic landed interest following the Cromwellian and Williamite wars of the seventeenth century, portraying the Irish Catholic community as leaderless and politically moribund in the decades after the surrender of Limerick in 1691. This book demonstrates, however, that the picture was considerably more complex. By taking advantage of the upheavals in Irish landownership of the 1650s, many Catholics not only survived, but thrived. Having emerged as leaders of the Irish Catholic interest during the 1680s, these landowners refused to go into exile following the surrender of the Jacobites. They do not fit neatly into the archetype of the dispossessed and discontented Irish Catholic, offering instead an alternative perspective on Irish Jacobitism. Using the career of Colonel John Browne of Westport House as a focal point, this book casts new light on a wide range of subjects, including Catholic opposition to the repeal of the Restoration land settlement, the Irish Jacobite civil and military administration, estate management in late seventeenth-century Ireland, and the creation of lobbying networks in Dublin and London by Irish Catholics. The book also provides a detailed examination of the Williamite peace settlement in Ireland, and highlights the deeply interconnected nature of Irish society in the late seventeenth century. EOIN KINSELLA completed his doctorate at University College Dublin

Hugh de Lacy, First Earl of Ulster
  • Rising and Falling in Angevin Ireland
  • Daniel Brown
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    26 May 2021
    Print publication:
    19 November 2016
  • This book charts the striking rise, fall and restoration of the first earl of Ulster, Hugh II de Lacy, described by one contemporary chronicler as 'the most powerful of the English in Ireland'. A younger son of the lord of Meath, de Lacy ascended from relatively humble beginnings to join the top stratum of Angevin society, being granted in 1205 the first earldom in Ireland by King John. Subsequently, in 1210, having been implicated in rebellion, Hugh was expelled from Ulster by a royal army and joined the Albigensian crusade against Cathar heretics in southern France. Unusually, after almosttwo decades in exile and a second revolt against the English crown, de Lacy was restored to the earldom of Ulster by King Henry III in 1227, retaining it to his death, c. 1242.
    Situated in the north-east of Ireland, Ulster's remoteness from centres of colonial administration allowed Hugh de Lacy to operate beyond the normal mechanisms of royal control, forging his own connections with otherpowerful lords of the Irish Sea province. The fluidity of noble identity in frontier zones is also underlined by the career of someone who, according to his political needs, presented himself to different audiences as a courtly sophisticate, freebooting colonist, crusading warrior, or maurauding 'Irish' ruler.
    The foundation for this study is provided by Hugh de Lacy's acta, providedas an appendix, and representing the first collection of comital charters in an Irish context. These cast fresh light on the wider themes of power and identity, the intersection of crown and nobility,and the risks and rewards for ambitious frontiersmen in the Angevin world.

    Daniel Brown obtained his PhD from Queen's University Belfast, and completed his research on Hugh de Lacy as a postdoctoral fellow at Trinity College Dublin.

Charity Movements in Eighteenth-Century Ireland
  • Philanthropy and Improvement
  • Karen Sonnelitter
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    11 May 2021
    Print publication:
    16 June 2016
  • The philanthropic impulse to engage in charitable work and to encourage economic "improvement" was sharpened in eighteenth-century Ireland as Irish Protestants became increasingly aware of the threatthat social problems, such as poverty, disease and criminality, posed to their rule. One response to this threat was the establishment of a number of voluntary societies which sought to address the different problems plaguing Ireland. This book examines a number of these voluntary societies, including those concerned with promoting education, supporting hospitals, and improving agriculture and manufacturing. It shows how these movements differed from earlier efforts in organisation, method and aims and demonstrates the connection between religiously motivated charities, Enlightenment-inspiredscientific societies and the Irish government. It pays particular attention to the role of women, both as supporters of, and objects of, charity. It argues that, together, these movements aspired to purge Ireland of what they saw as destabilising factors that weakened the Anglo-Irish state. Improvers reflected Enlightenment-era optimism about the perfectibility of society and saw themselves as serving the interests and aspirations of the nation.

    Karen Sonnelitter is Assistant Professor of History at Siena College, Loudonville, New York. She completed her doctorate at Purdue University.

The Stuart Restoration and the English in Ireland
  • Danielle McCormack
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    05 July 2016
    Print publication:
    19 May 2016
  • This book focuses on how historical memory and political discourse affected land settlement and political processes in early Restoration Ireland. The period 1660-1667 was one of insecurity for the Protestant plantation in Ireland, as Catholic spokesmen undermined the Protestant status quo. The Stuart Restoration and the English in Ireland draws out the dynamism of the rhetorical, moral andlegal challenges that Catholics made to Protestant power in Ireland and examines the Protestant responses and the rise of a Protestant identity inextricably linked with the possession of power. This identity was expressed as that of the 'English in Ireland', a belligerent self-denomination which did little to accommodate the king or the importance of monarchy to the Protestant position in the country. Crossing boundaries of political, intellectual and cultural history, the book highlights the complexity of political culture in Restoration Ireland, which was defined by the intersection of political language, ideas, historical understandings and economic imperatives.

    DANIELLE McCORMACK is Assistant Professor at the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures at Adam MickiewiczUniversity, Poznan, Poland.

Elite Women in Ascendancy Ireland, 1690-1745
  • Imitation and Innovation
  • Rachel Wilson
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    11 May 2021
    Print publication:
    17 September 2015
  • The late seventeenth and early eighteenth century was a period of great social and political change within Ireland, as the Protestant Ascendancy gained control of the country, aided by the English government and aristocracy, with whom the ruling class in Ireland mixed through marriage and travel. The resulting Anglo-Irish elite, with its distinct transnational identity, differed markedly from the preceding Irish elite, but, at the same time, because of its Irish dimension, was very different also from the contemporary English and Scottish upper classes. Women played key roles in this Anglo-Irish elite, and the nature of the Protestant Ascendancy can only be completely understood by considering women's roles fully.This book provides a thorough examination of the role of women in Ascendancy Ireland. It discusses marriage, family and social life; explores women's roles in economic and political life and in charitable activities; and places Irish elite women of this period in their wider historiographical context. The book is based on extensive original research, including among the papers of aristocratic families in Ireland and Britain, and provides a wealth of detail on elite women's lives in this period.Rachel Wilson completed her doctorate in modern history at Queen's University, Belfast.

The Irish in the Spanish Armies in the Seventeenth Century
  • Eduardo de Mesa
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    23 February 2023
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
  • Provides a wealth of detail on how 'the wild geese' - the Irish who refused to submit to the English - played a significant role in the armies of Spain.

Consumption and Culture in Sixteenth-Century Ireland
  • Saffron, Stockings and Silk
  • Susan Flavin
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    24 February 2023
    Print publication:
    20 November 2014
  • A detailed study of changing patterns of consumption, showing how these related to wider political, social and economic developments.

The Welsh and the Shaping of Early Modern Ireland, 1558–1641
  • Rhys Morgan
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    18 September 2014
  • The colonial presence in early modern Ireland is usually viewed as being thoroughly English, and in places Scottish, with the Welsh hardly featuring at all. This book, based on extensive original research, demonstrates that there was in fact a significant Welsh involvement in Ireland between 1558 and 1641. It explores how the Welsh established themselves as soldiers, government officials and planters in Ireland. It also discusses how the Welsh, although participating in the 'English' colonisation of Ireland, nevertheless remained a distinct community, settling together and maintaining strong kinship and social and economic networks to fellow countrymen, including in Wales. It provides a detailed picture of the Welsh settler communities and their networks, and discusses the nature of Welsh settler identity. Overall, the book demonstrates how an understanding of the role of the Welsh in the shaping of early modern Ireland can offer valuable new perspectives on the histories of both countries and on the making of early modern Britain. Rhys Morgan completed his doctorate in history at Cardiff University.

The Presbyterians of Ulster, 1680-1730
  • Robert Whan
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    05 March 2014
    Print publication:
    15 November 2013
  • The Presbyterian community in Ulster was created by waves of immigration, massively reinforced in the 1690s as Scots fled successive poor harvests and famine, and by 1700 Presbyterians formed the largest Protestant community in the north of Ireland. This book is a comprehensive survey and analysis of the Presbyterian community in this important formative period. It shows how the Presbyterians formed a highly organised, self-confident community which exercised a rigorous discipline over its members and had a well-developed intellectual life. It considers the various social groups within the community, demonstrating how the always small aristocratic and gentry component dwindled and was virtually extinct by the 1730s, the Presbyterians deriving their strength from the middling sorts - clergy, doctors, lawyers, merchants, traders and, in particular, successful farmers and those active in the rapidly growing linen trades - and among the laborious poor. It discusses how Presbyterians were part of the economically dynamic element of Irish society; how they took the lead in the emigration movement to the American colonies; and how they maintained links with Scotland and related to other communities, in Ireland and elsewhere. Later in the eighteenth century the Presbyterian community went on to form the backbone of the Republican, separatist movement. ROBERT WHAN obtained his Ph.D. in History from Queen's University, Belfast.

The Anglo-Irish Experience, 1680-1730
  • Religion, Identity and Patriotism
  • D. W. Hayton
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    05 February 2013
    Print publication:
    18 October 2012
  • The wars and revolutions of seventeenth-century Ireland established in power a ruling class of Protestant landowners whose culture and connexions were traditionally English, but whose interests and political loyalties were increasingly Irish. At first unsure of their self-image and ambivalent in their loyalties, they gradually became more confident and developed a distinctive notion of 'Irishness'. ‘The Anglo-Irish Experience’ explores the religious, intellectual and political culture of this new elite during a period of change and adjustment. D.W. Hayton traces both the shifting sense of national identity characteristic of the period and the changing stereotype of the Irish in English popular literature - which did much to push the 'Anglo-Irish' to embrace their Irish heritage. He also argues for the emergence of a pragmatic, constructive form of political 'patriotism', linked closely to the prevailing ideology of economic 'improvement' and underpinned by the influence of evangelical Protestantism. A key feature of the book is the use made of case studies of individuals and families: the decay of the Ormond Butlers, undermined by debt and eventually driven into political exile; the rise and fall of the Brodricks, gentlemen lawyers with a strong provincial power-base; the political journey of the politician and political writer Henry Maxwell, from 'commonwealth whig' ideologue to ministerial hack; and the relationship between Sir John Rawdon, a pious and intellectual squire, and his estate agent Thomas Prior, pamphleteer and apostle of 'improvement'. These and other narratives illustrate the variety and complexity of the 'Anglo-Irish' experience in a period that witnessed the foundation of what would in due course come to be known as the 'Protestant nation'. Early modern British and Irish historians will find this book invaluable. D.W. Hayton is Professor of Early Modern Irish and British History at Queen's University Belfast, and the author of ‘Ruling Ireland, 1685-1742: Politics, Politicians and Parties’ (Boydell, 2004).

The Militia in Eighteenth-Century Ireland
  • In Defence of the Protestant Interest
  • Neal Garnham
  • Published by:
    Boydell & Brewer
    Published online:
    05 February 2013
    Print publication:
    14 June 2012
  • The militia in eighteenth century Ireland was a contentious issue: initially only those of a certain social and political class could participate, dissenters and Catholics being excluded, and the degree of enthusiasm with which people participated was an indication of their commitment, or otherwise, to the regime. However, as this book demonstrates, the militia as an issue changed over the course of the eighteenth century, with, from about 1760, demands for the reform of the militia being a key issue spearheading demands for wider constitutional reform. The book traces the militia in Ireland from early Protestant militia forces in the sixteenth century, through formal establishment in 1716, to demise in 1776 and re-formation in 1793. It shows how the militia played a larger role in the defence of Ireland than has hitherto been realised, and how its reliability was therefore a key point for government. It discusses how political debates about the militia reflected changing views about the nature of the Irish establishment and how these changing views were incorporated in legislation. It examines how the militia operated as an institution; considers how the militia reflected social and political divisions; and compares the militia in Ireland with similar bodies in England, Scotland and Europe more widely, relating debates about the militia in Ireland to wider debates about whether a country is best defended by a professional soldiery or a citizen army. NEAL GARNHAM is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Ulster and the author of two books and more than twenty articles published in refereed academic journals.

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