Capell’s 1695 parliament demonstrates how post-war security, fiscal settlement and Protestant political participation became intertwined with lasting restrictions on Catholic life. Particularly striking is the article’s emphasis on horses and education: measures presented within a climate of international conflict also affected everyday mobility, inheritance, family decisions and access to learning. The distinction between immediate precaution and a durable system of confessional hierarchy therefore seems important. Because enforcement varied locally, legislation cannot alone reveal lived experience. What might comparisons between parish, court, estate and evidence suggest about how the Disarming and Foreign Education Acts reshaped Catholic communities across regions of Ireland?