The University of Strathclyde hosted the second conference of the Research Centre in Scottish History on 5 April 1995. The organiser, John Young, brought together a new generation of historians engaged in original research to explore the ‘Celtic Dimensions of the British Civil Wars’. Although the ‘British problem’ has been the focus of much debate in recent years, and engaged the minds of many capable historians from G.A. Pococke, J.S. Morrill to C. Russell, it has often been conducted from an Anglo-centric stand point.
In the first session, chaired by Aidan Clarke, John Scally and Billy Kelly (featured in HI Summer 1993) provided original and comparative analyses of the careers of the Marquis and first Duke of Hamilton and James Butler, Earl of Ormond. Pádraig Lenihan (also featured in HI Summer 1993) concluded with a stimulating appraisal of Irish confederate warfare in the 1640s.
With Allan Macinnes in the chair for the second session, Sharon Adams supplied an insight into the radical south-west of Scotland, the hatchery of the covenanting movement between 1625-1649, while Tadhg Ó hAnnracháin’s examination of the stance of the Catholic Confederate clergy provided a contrasting backdrop. Following up on Pádraig Lenihan’s paper in the previous session, Éamonn Ó Ciardha concentrated on the breakdown of the Confederate and Royalist armies in Ireland and Scotland and the emergence of political banditry in the later Cromwellian period.
The third session, chaired by Ted Cowan pursued the theme of Scottish radicalism. John Young’s stimulating analysis of the Scottish parliament and the covenanting revolution provided a backdrop for Ronnie Lee’s paper on the Scottish parliament in the Restoration period. John Coffy’s examined the political thought of Samuel Rutherford, the conscience of the covenanting movement, while Claire Jackson concluded the session in the Restoration with an analysis of the political thought of Sir George MacKenzie of Rosehaugh.
The concluding discussion was chaired by John Morrill with contributions from the various chairpersons, as well as Keith Brown, Kenneth Nicholls and members of the audience. A lengthy instalment of the ongoing exchange between John Young and John Scally provided a witty backdrop to Dr Morrill’s concluding remarks. The proceedings will shortly be published by John Donald Publishers (Edinburgh).