Restoration Ireland: Always Settling and Never Settled

Abstract

In the history of post-medieval Ireland, the reign of Charles II now stands as the last conspicuously uncultivated patch. Over the past three decades other major gaps between the stepping-stones of the familiar nationalist master narrative—the early eighteenth century, 1801–23, the 1850s and 1860s—have, one by one, been filled. This new collection of essays provides a welcome indication that the Restoration period too is about to receive the attention it deserves. Tim Harris, in a wide-ranging introductory survey, suggests that the closely interconnected character during these decades of events in the three Stuart kingdoms creates a particularly strong case for a ‘British history’ approach. The only one of the succeeding chapters fully to live up to this prescription is Anne Creighton's detailed analysis of how shifts in power within the Cabal ministry, and the ambiguities created by Charles II's secret diplomacy, affected the position of Irish Catholics. Eoin Kinsella, on the other hand, bravely disputes Harris's suggestion, arguing instead that the proper frame of reference for a study of Ireland in the early modern period is continental Europe. In practice, however, his own contribution—a revealing discussion of the tension within the Catholic lobby between dispossessed former landowners and a ‘new interest’ holding property acquired following the Restoration settlement—does not stray, in any geographical direction beyond the boundaries of the island.