Kerryman Richard Cantillon was born in the 1680s to a Hiberno-Norman landowning family from Ballyheigue. The family fought alongside James II, to whom they were related, during the Williamite War and were consequently dispossessed of their lands. Nevertheless, Cantillon’s landed gentry origins were to leave a lasting impression on his work, and his experiences in … Read more
Written in French in the late 1720s, though not published until 1755, long after his death, Cantillon’s Essai contains the first known use of the term entrepreneur and is where he became the first economist to develop formally the now fundamental insights concerning the role entrepreneurship plays in the economy. Cantillon’s writing portrays entrepreneurs as … Read more
In 1603 two events—the establishment of a united Ireland under English rule for the first time, and the accession of James I—set the scene for a major reorganisation of Ireland’s urban network. The new monarch pursued a two-pronged urban policy in his Irish kingdom: first, the autonomy of the existing urban network was greatly reduced; … Read more
It is sometimes asserted that the 40 boroughs were established as part of the Ulster Plantation, but in fact only 45% (eighteen) were in Ulster, while 22% (nine) were in Munster, 18% (seven) in Leinster and 15% (six) in Connacht. The best-represented counties were Down and Cork, with four each; Donegal and Tyrone with three … Read more
Since the Norman invasion, a chain of self-governing municipal boroughs had been established in Ireland, chiefly in the more heavily settled provinces of Munster and Leinster. A municipal borough or borough corporation was a self-governing town and the granting of this privilege was known as incorporation, which involved receiving a charter or written constitution (generally … Read more