1995 marks the 250th anniversary of the ‘45 which also coincides with the quincentenary of the foundation of the University of Aberdeen. Organised in conjunction with the Thomas Reid institute, the college provided the ideal location for a week-long conference in August on Jacobitism and the Scottish Enlightenment. This unique gathering brought together many of the foremost authorities in the field, many of whom have established Jacobitism as a serious scholarly option to the Whig school which still retains a fixed foot in the historiographical consciousness of the three kingdoms.
Joan Pittock-Wesson, Michael Fry and Catherine McInerney are to be highly complimented on an extremely well-organised and diverse programme—historical and literary presentations, papers on Jacobite iconography, glass and print-cultures, Jacobite song recitals and a series of visits to places of historical interest including Culloden and Dunottar Castle. Another highlight of the conference was Drambuie’s excellent reception, in conjunction with their exhibition of Jacobite portraits, prints and Jacobite toasting glasses which was expertly displayed by Robin Nicholson.
If not much more than a whimper was heard from Irish Jacobites during the ‘45, or at many Jacobite symposiums and conferences in recent years, they were well represented at this conference. As well as chairing the session on Scottish-Gaelic Jacobite poetry, Breandán Ó Buachalla presented a well-received paper on Irish Royalism and Jacobite poetry which served to whet the appetites of his audience for his forthcoming extensive monograph which will appear in Irish, and later in a shorter English version, within the year. Míchéal Mac Craith examined a corpus of Irish Jacobite poetry, in the contemporary political and literary context of the three Stuart kingdoms, the focus of a number of recently published articles. Vincent Morley, who has just published an extensive scholarly biography of Aodh Buí MacCruitín, provided a glimpse into the world of this prolific poet, lexicographer, historian and genealogist, with particular reference tohis Scottish contemporary Alasdair Mac Mhaistir Alasdair. Éamonn Ó Ciardha concluded the Irish Jacobite proceedings with an analysis of the political importance of the Irish Brigade in the service of France and Spain in eighteenth-century Irish historiography. The pivotal importance of the Irish and Scottish Brigades in eighteenth-century Europe received a further airing from Philippe Henri Morbach, while Patrick Clarke de Dromantin focused on a family of Irish refugees after the treaty of Limerick.
