Old English alienation from the Tudor state: a case study on the royal liberty of Wexford 1534-1585

Abstract

The early modern period (1500-1700) is a transformative era in the history of Ireland, establishing many enduring processes, some of which still impact today. An important component is the ideological formation of the Irish Catholic nation, a process more often assumed than analysed. This is especially the case for one significant component, that element descendant from the mediaeval Anglo-Norman settlement, whose divided loyalties marked them as a `middle nation?. How did these loyal Crown subjects, who generally considered themselves `English?, and whose support proved essential to the growth of Tudor power in Ireland, became increasingly alienated to the point of outright opposition to that self-same process? This thesis sets out to take a fresh look at this problem, using a different methodological framework and a specific geographic region to help reevaluate the chronology and causes of Old English alienation.

In doing so it establishes that English reintervention into Ireland under Henry VIII started the process of the exclusion and ultimate alienation of the Old English ruling class in Ireland almost immediately. By looking at the Wexford liberty it is possible to explore the practical implementation of that process in detail. Wexford was a relatively wealthy district, but of limited strategic importance, without the protection or domination of a regional magnate. That meant it was open for immediate and direct Viceregal control. Old English rights and privileges, which both defined that community?s authority and wealth, as well as their identity, were either ignored or dismantled by successive governors. Instead, local government office and Crown land was used as sinecures for New English officials or to support the Garrison Government of Gaelic south Leinster. Once the Liberty was tethered to that martial administration, the legalistic opposition of the Old English was misinterpreted as treason. Their continued loyalty, despite these challenges and provocations, may seem incongruous, but their political outlook was conditioned by their rights and privileges.