Restoration Charles II, already King of Scotland, was proclaimed King in Dublin in May 1660. The King was requested to appoint judges to the courts and call a Parliament of Protestant peers and Commons. The Church of Ireland was requested to be re-established. The restoration led Catholics to look forward to toleration and land recovery. Confederate Catholics protested their loyalty. Many had shared Charles II’s […]
Military Government The Cromwellian reconquest of Ireland fatally undermined the powers of the remaining Gaelic lords and old English magnates. Cromwell came to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant and Commander in Chief. He left in 1650 and delegated the establishment of a civil administration to four commissioners of Parliament. The country was initially divided into six precincts, later expanding to 15 and finally ending up with […]
Post-Rebellion The Act of Settlement 1652 barred Catholics from membership of Parliament. The Act of Settlement of Ireland 1652 was passed by the so-called Rump Parliament after the second English Civil War. The royalist supporters of King Charles II had allied themselves with the Irish Confederacy and were seen as a threat to the newly formed English Commonwealth. The Act listed 104 nobles who were […]
Reformation In 1534, King Henry VIII broke with the Papacy and became head of the Church of England. The Act of Supremacy refers to two Acts of the English Parliament declaring and establishing Henry VIII and his successors as the supreme head of the Church of England. He was the “only supreme head on Earth of the Church of England,” and the Crown was to […]
Overview The Common law system remained largely as it was at the start of the 14th century. By the middle of the 16th century, it had been brought more in line with that in England. There were two judges on each of the benches and three exchequer barons. Additional puisne judges were appointed from time to time. The Master of the Rolls was established as […]
Context The late 1530s is said to mark the end of the medieval and commencement of the modern phase of Irish (and European) history. In 1534, Fitzgerald’s of the Kildare who had monopolised the role of Lord Deputy for over a half a century rebelled were defeated, attainted and tried for treason. It marked the end of a continuous line of Irish born Lord Deputies […]
Context Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 succeeding her half-sister Mary. She was confirmed by Act of Parliament as head of the established church. An Act of Uniformity required the use of the new Book of Common Prayer by all clergy. Non-attendance at official church was an offence punishable by fine. In practice a significant degree of toleration was allowed. Elizabethan England was […]
Post-Nine War At start of the 17th century following the 9 years’ war, Ulster remained the part of Ireland where local autonomy was greatest. Although the government did not press the Earl’s too closely after their submission, the government was intent on introducing regular civil administration into the area supported by substantial military presence. Sheriffs, justices of the peace, coroners and constables were appointed, and […]
Organisation The administration of Ireland was based on that in England. The revenue and military enforced tax collection and order. There were juries, petty and grand constables, vestries, overseers of the poor, manorial courts, informal committees of villages. There were officials of vestries, wards, manors, baronies and boroughs. There was thought to be approximately 3,500 working on behalf of the state in 1670. Until the middle […]
Late Medieval Period At the start of the 16th Century, the Dublin government formally claimed jurisdiction over the whole island. In some cases, governors were able to obtain recognition by Gaelic chiefs of the King’s rights in Ireland. In practice however, the English government in Ireland was limited to the main areas under Anglo-English influence; the Pale and surrounding lordships including, in particular lands held […]
Overview The period from 1640 to 1653 represents one of the most turbulent periods in Irish history. The so-called wars of the three kingdoms were a complex set of interrelated events involving the crown, Parliament and various interests in Ireland. They involved several wars, including the first, second and third English Civil War and other distinct wars with different protagonists in succession with changing of […]
Counties/ Shires I The Anglo-Norman lordship sought to replicate shire government by royal sheriffs through Ireland. The organization of shires spread slowly. Dublin was the first shire established at the end of the 12th century. Waterford and Cork had commenced to be organized at about the same time. By the early 13th century, Waterford with Cork and Munster, Limerick, Tipperary and Thomand were the main […]
Gavelkind and tanistry The Statutes of Kilkenny proscribed Irish names, law and Gaelic language, fosterage of sons and intermarriage of the Irish race. They were renewed in 1468 and supplemented in 1536 by measures against Irish dress and customs within the Pale. However, the Gaelic Lordships had retained effective sovereignty in their area in that they could make law without reference to the King. The […]
Tudor Parliaments Poynings’ Law curtailed parliament’s judicial role. Parliament met rarely and began to resemble its English counterpart. During the Tudor monarchy (1485-1603) fifteen parliaments only were called in Ireland, each of relatively short duration. Only three were summoned by Elizabeth in Ireland in her 45-year reign. The famous parliament of 1540 to 1541 which declared Henry the King of Ireland contained Anglo-Irish magnets and […]