By Fiona Fitzsimons This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Irish Church Act (1869), which disestablished the Church of Ireland. As the State church, the Church of Ireland was an arm of the government at local level. Its basic administrative unit was the civil parish. All the people of the State were required to … Read more
A master-class in trolling from an eighteenth-century bishop. By Clare Moriarty George Berkeley is Ireland’s best-known historical philosopher, whose fame rests on being the chief advocate of a pretty peculiar metaphysical position: immaterialism, the view that no mind-independent material objects exist. Historians of mathematics know him as a petulant critic of early calculus. In his … Read more
Exploring medieval Ireland’s economy via papal taxation records. By Chris Chevallier There are multiple obstacles hindering the study of the Irish medieval economy. Regionalism and political divisions spatially limited the effective administrative reach of the colonial government. Shifting alliances, conflict and a frontier in constant flux exacerbated this issue. Concerning existing records, colonial financial … Read more
The interesting article by Brian Hanley on ‘the shadow of Strongbow’ in the last issue (HI 27.3, May/June 2019) made reference to the word ‘usurpation’ as a description of the character of English rule in Ireland. Reflection on the significance of this word provides not only an unexpected connection between Patrick Pearse and John Redmond … Read more
Sir,—Permit me two observations on your excellent last issue on Strongbow and his companions (HI 27.3, May/June 2019). Prof. Seán Duffy’s Platform piece and your deliberately provocative editorial proclaiming the invaders to be English has surely garnered much reaction. But I fail to see how a mixed band of Norman, Welsh, Flemish and, yes, some … Read more