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Ireland 1685–1714

James II, Tyrconnell and the Catholicisation of Ireland

  • 3 things to know
  • A2 Unit 2

Overview

The appointment of Tyrconnell, the promotion of Catholics to office, and the debate over whether the King or his viceroy set the pace.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

Who was Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell?

Numbers

Why did the Earl of Clarendon's period as Lord Lieutenant fail?

Numbers

When did James II succeed to the throne, and why was his accession significant?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    When did James II succeed to the throne, and why was his accession significant?

    Model answer

    James II succeeded on 6 February 1685 as the first openly Catholic monarch in England and Ireland since the sixteenth century, which raised Catholic hopes and Protestant alarm across both kingdoms.

  2. 2

    Why did Irish Catholics expect so much from James II?

    Model answer

    Irish Catholics believed a Catholic king would restore them to office, to the army and above all to the estates taken from them under the Cromwellian and Restoration settlements.

  3. 3

    Who was Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell?

    Model answer

    Richard Talbot was an Old English Catholic soldier who had survived the siege of Drogheda, spent years at the exiled Stuart court and acted as agent for dispossessed Catholic landowners, and James II created him Earl of Tyrconnell in 1685.

  4. 4

    What command did Tyrconnell receive in 1686?

    Model answer

    Tyrconnell was made Lieutenant-General of the army in Ireland in 1686, which gave him control of commissions and therefore of the whole military establishment.

  5. 5

    Why was Tyrconnell's appointment as Lord Deputy in 1687 a landmark?

    Model answer

    Tyrconnell became the first Catholic to govern Ireland since the Reformation. That meant that the Crown's authority in Ireland was now exercised through a man committed to overturning the Protestant monopoly of power.

  6. 6

    Why did the Earl of Clarendon's period as Lord Lieutenant fail?

    Model answer

    Clarendon was a Protestant sent to reassure the settlers, but Tyrconnell controlled the army and had the King's ear directly, so Clarendon found himself powerless and was recalled in 1687.

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