Dominus Hibernie / Rex Hiberniae

Lord of Ireland / King of Ireland

Tiarna na hÉireann / Rí na hÉireann

From the late-twelfth-century conquest to the union of the kingdoms, Ireland was a key constituent element of the dominions of the monarchs of England and Great Britain, their royal title and identity. Over six centuries institutions, policies and attitudes developed to enable the crown to tackle the challenges of governing Ireland and its inhabitants. The records which such processes generated are voluminous and afford rich, multi-faceted insights into the administration of pre-modern Ireland, its political and legal culture, its geography, environment, society, economy and trade. As the custodian of the records of royal government, The National Archives arguably holds the world’s most important collection of records of relevance to the history of pre-modern Ireland but it remains under-utilised.

In bringing together historians of medieval and early modern Ireland, this symposium aims to facilitate discussion of continuity and change across six centuries of Irish history by putting into sharper focus the collections with relevance to pre-modern Ireland at The National Archives. It also aims to consider the archival context and history of this vast collection.

#premodernireland

PROGRAMME

Thursday 21 March (Day 1)

12.00-13.00 Registration (please note, lunch will not be provided)

13.00-13.15 Introduction (Events Space)

Jeff James, CEO and Keeper of Archives, The National Archives (UK)

Adrian O’Neill, Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to the United Kingdom

13.15-14.30 Keynote 1

Professor Robin Frame (University of Durham), Historians of medieval Ireland and the Public Records: retrospect and prospects

14.30-14.45 Coffee Break (Balcony Lounge)

14.45-16.15 Panel Session 1 (Events Space)

• Dr Annaleigh Margey (Dundalk Institute of Technology), Thinking geographically: cartography and state administration in early modern Ireland
• Dr Neil Johnston (The National Archives), The politics of counsel in seventeenth-century Ireland

Friday 22 March (Day 2)

09.00-09.15 Registration

09.15-10.45 Session 2 (Events Space)

• Professor Brendan Smith (University of Bristol), Medieval Ireland in The National Archives
• Dr Bernadette Cunningham (Royal Irish Academy), Governing Connacht: archival sources for the development of a provincial administration in the west of Ireland, 1560-1630

10.45-11.15 Coffee Break (Balcony Lounge)

11.15.12.30 Keynote 2 (Events Space)

Professor Patricia Palmer (National University of Ireland, Maynooth), ‘“To Advertise of Every Common Person”: Extending the Cast List of Early Modern Ireland’

12.30-13.15 Lunch (Balcony Lounge)

13.15-14.45 Session 3 (Events Space)

• Dr Peter Crooks (Trinity College Dublin), Archival Medievalism: The Public Record Office (Chancery Lane) and its precursors in Ireland's Search for a Usable Past
• Dr John McCafferty (University College Dublin / Irish Manuscripts Commission), State Papers, State formation: views from Dublin Castle during Ireland’s English centuries

14.45-15.15 Coffee Break (Balcony Lounge)

15.15-16.45 Session 4 (Events Space)

• Dr Paul Dryburgh (The National Archives), Escheators never prosper: managing the landed economy of medieval Ireland
• Dr Ivar McGrath (University College Dublin), Managing Parliament and Making Money: Government, Political Undertakers, ‘Patriots’ and Taxation in early Hanoverian Ireland

16.45-17.00 Comfort Break

17.00-18.30 Session 5 (Events Space)

• Dr Sean Cunningham (The National Archives), Sir Richard Edgcombe’s Voyage into Ireland in 1488: the first steps of Tudor interaction with Irish politics and society, 1485-90
• Dr Rachel Wilson (University of Leeds), “The usual ceremonies”: the arrival and inauguration of Ireland’s Lords Lieutenant during the eighteenth century

Saturday 23 March (Day 3)

09.30-11.00 Session 6 (Events Space)

• Dr Beth Hartland (Victoria County History of England), The Importance of Representation in the Governance of the Lordship of Ireland
• Dr Brendan Kane (University of Connecticut), Legitimating power in Irish-English relations, 1169-1832

11.00-11.30 Coffee Break (Balcony Lounge)

11.30-13.00 Keynote 3 (Events Space)

Professor David Hayton (Queen’s University Belfast), Anglo-Irish government, 1690–1750: administrative records in a composite state

13.00-14.00 Lunch (Balcony Lounge)

14.00-15.30 Session 7 (Events Space)

• Dr David Green (Harlaxton College), Ireland and the Plantagenet Estates: Government from Within and Without
• Dr Coleman Dennehy (University College Dublin), Parliament in early modern Ireland

15.30 Closing Remarks