Anglicizing Tudor Connacht: The Expansion of English Rule in the Lordships of Clanrickard and Hy Many
At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the adjacent south Connacht lordships of Clanrickard and Hy Many lay beyond the effective control of the Tudor government. Both possessed similar cultural and socio-political structures in the Gaelic Irish tradition, but were inhabited by population groups of different ethnic origins: Clanrickard was ruled by the Burke dynasty, descendants of the thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman conquerors and colonists of Connacht, while Hy Many was governed by the indigenous Gaelic Irish O’Kelly lords.
This talk will chart the intermittent expansion of English rule into the lordships during the course of the sixteenth century, while examining major government initiatives such as the surrender and regrant programme of Sir Anthony St Leger in the early 1540s; the establishment of the Connacht presidency and the formation of Co. Galway in 1569; and the drafting and implementation of the second composition of Connacht in 1585 and after.
The difficulties experienced by the historically hostile political communities of Clanrickard and Hy Many, as they endeavoured to accommodate the ever-increasing demands of the Tudor state, will be analysed and discussed, as will the consequent changes in the political, social and economic fabric of the province of Connacht.
Date: Monday 9 December 2024
Time: 20:00/8pm
Venue: Harbour Hotel, Galway