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
Scotland and the Ulster plantations: explorations in the British settlements of Stuart Ireland W. P. Kelly and J. R. Young (eds) (Four Courts Press, Ä49.50) ISBN 9781846820762 Has the edited volume of papers had its day? These are all individually very interesting essays but they do not add up to a treatment of the … Read more
Consolidating conquest: Ireland 1603–1727 Pádraig Lenihan (Pearson Longman, Ä25.20) ISBN 9780582772175 In the last twenty years, a whole coterie of Irish medievalists, early modernists and modernists have sought to emulate and supersede J. C. Beckett’s Making of modern Ireland—with varying degrees of success. Although all these scholars have both identified and explored interlocking themes of … Read more
The HMS currently operates four museums—the Tower, Harbour, Workhouse and Foyle Valley Railway Museums. An Archive Service and a programme of learning activities allow staff to raise awareness of the collection and of the region’s history. Learning is at the heart of the HMS, with a range of activities for all ages, based on the … Read more
The union of the English, Irish and Scottish crowns in the person of James, self-styled king of Great Britain and Ireland, both facilitated and heralded a monumental shift in ‘English’ Crown policy. Since the Scottish Wars of Independence of the late thirteenth/early fourteenth century, successive English kings and queens had endeavoured to keep the Scots, … Read more