The greatest gerrymander in Irish history? James I’s 40 boroughs of 1612–13

In 1603 two events—the establishment of a united Ireland under English rule for the first time, and the accession of James I—set the scene for a major reorganisation of Ireland’s […]

The new boroughs and the Ulster Plantation

It is sometimes asserted that the 40 boroughs were established as part of the Ulster Plantation, but in fact only 45% (eighteen) were in Ulster, while 22% (nine) were in […]

Death and taxes: tobacco-growing in Ireland

If Benjamin Franklin’s axiom assures us of the certainty of two things only—death and taxes—the Irish can add further to that list, and indeed link the two. For what was […]

Italian echoes in the City of the Tribes pictorial map of Galway City

The map is in the archival collection of the library at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and has several additional elements, including the coats of arms of several families. […]

The Down Survey of Ireland project

Following the 1641 uprising, the Confederate wars and the Cromwellian conquest, the English Commonwealth was obliged to redeem debts owed to soldiers and adventurers with land in Ireland seized from […]