Year by Year
Explore Year by Year articles from the most modern historical year back to the oldest.
3,294 Articles Archived
Connacht Transplantation
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1675, Ireland remained shaped by unresolved consequences of Cromwellian conquest and Restoration land legislation. On 22 September, Charles II appointed commissioners to decide individual Connacht transplanters’ claims, addressing disputed assignments without reversing Protestant property gains. Lord Lieutenant Essex left for England amid conflict over revenue farming, military finance and Dublin’s dependence on Whitehall; Boyle and Forbes governed as lords justices. Catholic clergy faced continuing, uneven pressure under banishment policy, while parallel Protestant and Catholic hierarchies endured. English restrictions on Irish cattle trade encouraged commercial redirection towards continental and Atlantic markets. Together, these issues exposed an incomplete post-conquest settlement still.
Oxmantown School
Archived: 14 October 2026
On 5 May 1674, the Hospital and Free School of King Charles II opened at Oxmantown, Dublin, admitting sixty poor children, including three girls, and combining education, clothing, food and Protestant instruction. Its civic charity symbolised Restoration order amid poverty and uneven urban recovery. Lord Lieutenant Essex sought administration despite disputed land settlements, financial arrears, unpaid troops and Dublin Castle, where he built lodgings. Government reinforced Protestant authority by expelling Catholic clergy, though worship persisted covertly. Grain restrictions revealed concern over supplies and prices, especially in Ulster, despite peace with the Dutch. Proclamations against robbers and Redmond O’Hanlon exposed insecurity.
Essex Trade
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1673, Lord Lieutenant Essex’s proposed trade report portrayed Restoration Ireland through estimates of land, rents, livestock, housing, goods and scarce circulating coin, privileging taxable wealth over poorer households and local life. English restrictions on cattle imports encouraged exports of processed provisions, wool and fish through Dublin, Cork and Atlantic markets, although benefits were uneven. Essex governed within Protestant political dominance amid English anti-Catholic pressures. Investigation and hostility prompted Archbishop Peter Talbot’s departure for France, while October proclamations targeted Catholic arms, offices, clergy and institutions. Enforcement varied, but Catholic worship became more precarious. Presbyterians retained favour, illustrating selective confessional policy.
Essex Arrival
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1672 Arthur Capel, earl of Essex, became lord lieutenant, seeking to centralise Restoration government by curbing provincial power, notably suppressing Munster’s presidency. Ireland supported the Third Anglo-Dutch War through transport, harbour defence, fortification surveys, customs regulation and garrison discipline. Charles II’s Declaration of Indulgence enabled limited, uncertain Catholic activity: bishops and clergy organised synods, appointments and disputes, while Protestant authority remained entrenched. Corporate officeholders faced the Oath of Supremacy, restricting Catholic civic participation. William Petty’s Political Anatomy assessed land, population and resources, reflecting a country still shaped by conquest, redistribution, taxation and religious division. Government combined flexibility with ascendancy.
Ranelagh Revenue
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1671, Ireland’s unresolved Restoration settlement shaped politics, finance, trade and religion. Sir Richard Talbot’s petition for Catholic landowners prompted a commission under Prince Rupert, yet threatened no immediate reversal of confiscations. Viscount Ranelagh’s revenue-farming contract transferred collection and government payments to private financiers, provoking army officers’ complaints over arrears. Navigation legislation further constrained Irish colonial commerce, while Sir George Hamilton recruited 1,500 men for French service. Catholic bishops Peter Talbot and Oliver Plunkett maintained precarious church administration amid internal disputes. Scholar Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh died, while Dublin’s Hospital and Free School received a royal charter, strengthening organised urban charity.
Plunkett Restoration
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1670, under Lord Lieutenant John Berkeley, Ireland remained dominated by the Protestant land settlement and military power established after Cromwellian conquest, yet experienced limited religious latitude. Oliver Plunkett returned as Catholic archbishop of Armagh, rebuilding clerical discipline and hierarchy. Bishops met in Dublin, issued pastoral statutes and declared civil loyalty, despite rivalries between Plunkett and Dublin’s Peter Talbot. Plunkett’s Clones council extended reform and he mediated pardons for Tyrone tories. William Penn defended Quakers while managing Cork estates. Trade adapted to English livestock restrictions, Dublin gained Barrack Bridge, and rebuilding, estate consolidation and constrained negotiation reshaped society across Ireland.
Robartes Administration
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1669, John, Lord Robartes replaced the duke of Ormond as lord lieutenant, reflecting English court politics and concern over Irish revenue and military administration. Arriving quietly at Howth, Robartes inherited a Protestant-led settlement founded on confiscation, unequal landholding and Catholic exclusion. Catholic leadership revived through appointments of Peter Talbot, James Lynch and Oliver Plunkett, consecrated abroad under continuing constraints. Protestant charitable education expanded through Erasmus Smith’s schools and Dublin’s proposed King’s Hospital. George Fox and William Penn documented active Quaker networks, persecution and petitioning. These developments revealed a pacified but unreconciled Ireland, divided by property, religion, power and taxation.
Taaffe’s Imposture
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1668, Restoration Ireland was shaped by contested landownership, religious insecurity and English trade restrictions. Franciscan James Taaffe, claiming forged papal authority, convened clergy, appointed visitors and sought to discipline Catholic divisions over the Remonstrance. Rome repudiated him by October, while alarm over unauthorised papal jurisdiction hastened his collapse. Lord Lieutenant Ormond faced vulnerability and rivalry with the Earl of Orrery, who resigned the Munster presidency. Debt, estate rebuilding and inheritance reflected post-war recovery and unresolved confiscation. English cattle-import prohibitions constrained livestock producers, prompting commercial adaptation. Deaths of George Hamilton and Patrick D'Arcy highlighted property succession and the Catholic generation.
Penn’s Arrest
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1667, Restoration Ireland experienced postwar settlement as courts and officials resolved contested land claims under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation. Ormond’s administration stressed legal procedure, military discipline and strained finances, while English restrictions on Irish cattle threatened trade and exposed Ireland’s dependence on Westminster. Dutch naval successes prompted defensive preparations at Kinsale before the Treaty of Breda ended the war. Protestant institutions strengthened, yet religious conformity was enforced: William Penn was arrested with Friends at a Cork meeting. Jeremy Taylor died, Jonathan Swift was born, and Alice Barry’s death marked elite change. The year revealed a fragile order.
Dublin Synod
Archived: 14 October 2026
In 1666, Ormond’s Restoration administration sought to consolidate authority in Ireland through land settlement, military discipline, taxation and regulation. Proclamations advanced implementation of the Acts of Settlement and Explanation, while the dissolution of parliament ended legislative sessions until 1689. A pay mutiny at Carrickfergus was suppressed, with nine leaders executed. Dublin’s Catholic synod debated Peter Walsh’s loyalist Remonstrance but failed to secure agreement, exposing clerical organisation and state dependence. War, naval concerns and London’s fire prompted official fasts and thanksgiving. Hearth money, fisheries policy and impending English cattle restrictions affected livelihoods. Sir James Ware’s death marked a loss to scholarship.
Some records do not yet have a verified historical year and are awaiting chronological placement.