Penal Era and Golden Age: Essays in Irish History 1690-1800 (Ulster Historical Foundation Reprint)

First published in 1979 as a tribute to the late Professor J.C. Beckett this volume of original essays on the history of 18th-century Ireland was conceived both as an exercise in revision challenging accepted orthodoxies and as an attempt to open up new areas of study in a period grown stale with competing cliches: the penal era for Catholic Ireland which was also the golden age of Protestant Ascendancy. As a collection these essays may fairly be said to have inaugurated a new era in the writing of 18th-century Irish history as well as launching the careers of a generation of young scholars a number of whom have gone on to establish themselves as leading authorities in the period. 25 years on the volume still stands as a landmark the impact and freshness of the essays undiminished.