Irish History

Boydell has long published on all aspects of Ireland’s history and literature – we even publish a delightful travel guide for visitors – and the last year or so has been no exception. So here’s a brief round-up of new, forthcoming and recent titles from across the list, all with your special Proofed discount (offer prices are listed). 

Aristocratic Women in Ireland, 1450-1660: The Ormond Family, Power and Politics 

Damien Duffy 

An in-depth analysis of the key contribution made by the women members of this important ruling family in maintaining and advancing the family’s political, landed, economic, social and religious interests. 

The book is illuminating, revelatory, and, I have to add, thrilling. It not only fills a yawning gap in Irish history by exploring the lives and roles of these Ormond women, but it portrays them as three-dimensional people who actively shaped the wider political, societal, economic, and cultural changes of the day. IRISH EXAMINER 

9781783275939, Hardcover, £48.75/$78 

Ireland’s English Pale, 1470-1550: The Making of a Tudor Region 

Steven G. Ellis 

Coming soon, this study argues that the English Pale – the four counties around Dublin under English control – was expanding during the early Tudor period, not contracting, as other historians have argued. The author shows how the new system, whereby “the four obedient shires” were protected by new fortifications and a newly-constituted English-style militia, which replaced the former system of extended marches, was highly effective, making unnecessary money and troops from England, and enabling the Dublin government to be self-financing.  

9781783276608, Hardcover, £48.75/$78 

The Jacobite Duchess: Frances Jennings, Duchess of Tyrconnell, c.1649-1731 

Frances Nolan 

New in our vibrant Irish Historical Monographs series, this fascinating account reveals the remarkable triumphs and reversals of woman whose story deserves to be much better known, Frances Jennings, someone for whom the description ‘estimable’ doesn’t even come close. 

9781783276141, Hardcover, £32.50/$58.50  

The Rood in Medieval Britain and Ireland, c.800-c.1500 

Eds. Philippa Turner & Jane Hawkes 

This 2020 collection brings together contributions offering a new perspective on the medieval rood – understood in its widest sense, as any kind of cross – within the context of Britain and Ireland, over a wide period of time which saw significant political and cultural change. The chapters consider roods in a variety of media and contexts: the monumental stone crosses of early medieval England, twelfth-century Ireland, and beyond. 

9781783275526, Hardcover, £39/$64.35 

Transhumance and the Making of Ireland’s Uplands, 1550-1900 

Eugene Costello 

Already a prize winner (of the American Conference for Irish Studies Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book), this unique study of transhumance (very simply, the seasonal movement of livestock between seasonal pastures) has become an instant classic. 

An exemplar of how historical landscapes should be studied, and informs our wider understanding of how social and economic processes played out in different regions. LANDSCAPE HISTORY 

9781783275311, Hardcover, £48.75/$84.50 

Political Conflict in East Ulster, 1920-22: Revolution and Reprisal 

Christopher Magill 

A major entry in our Irish Historical Monographs series, this volume reassesses the context in which the state of Northern Ireland was created. It explores the extent of unionist violence, discusses the relationship between politicians, the British government and local communities, considers how far the Northern Irish security force the Ulster Special Constabulary was a sectarian organisation and examines the reaction of the nationalist community. 

9781783275113, Hardcover, £48.75/$78 

British and Irish Religious Orders in Europe, 1560–1800: Conventuals, Mendicants and Monastics in Motion 

Eds. Cromac Begadon & James E. Kelly 

And here we believe is a classic in the making and the first in the Catholicisms, c.1450-c.1800 series and the first from the Durham University IMEMS Press imprint, about which we are hugely excited. It presents new perspectives on the British and Irish conventual, mendicant and monastic movements in mainland Europe and re-examines their roles and wider impact within early modern European Catholicism. 

9781914967009, Hardcover, £45.50/$64.35 

Redcoats to Tommies: The Experience of the British Soldier from the Eighteenth Century 

Eds Kevin Linch & Matthew Lord 

Admittedly there’s not a huge amount of Irish history here but the essay Irish Military Cultures in the British Army, c. 1775-1992 is well worth a read – maybe your library has a copy you can peruse? 

9781783276028, Hardcover, £48.75/$64.35