Description
Book SynopsisCrossing boundaries of political, intellectual and cultural history, this study highlights the complexity of political culture in Restoration Ireland. This book focuses on how historical memory and political discourse affected land settlement and political processes in early Restoration Ireland. The period 1660-1667 was one of insecurity for the Protestant plantation in Ireland,as Catholic spokesmen undermined the Protestant status quo. The Stuart Restoration and the English in Ireland draws out the dynamism of the rhetorical, moral and legal challenges that Catholics made to Protestant power inIreland and examines the Protestant responses and the rise of a Protestant identity inextricably linked with the possession of power. This identity was expressed as that of the 'English in Ireland', a belligerent self-denominationwhich did little to accommodate the king or the importance of monarchy to the Protestant position in the country. Crossing boundaries of political, intellectual and cultural history, the book highlights the complexity of political culture in Restoration Ireland, which was defined by the intersection of political language, ideas, historical understandings and economic imperatives. DANIELLE McCORMACK is Assistant Professor at the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures at Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland.
Trade ReviewOffers a perceptive and often challenging perspective on a crucial span of Irish history. * JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *
McCormack has written a closely argued account of the role of political discourse and historical memory in defining issues and identities in the 1660-67 period. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsIntroduction The political and mental map of 1660s Ireland Stuart restoration and the beginnings of Protestant discontent Roger Boyle, earl of Orrery, and the evolution of English Protestant identity in Ireland Moral and rhetorical challenges to Protestant power Charles II and his ministers in Ireland The court of claims, popery and Stuart authority Conclusion
