Wednesday, February 26, 2014

CFP: Law and Revolution in Ireland

[Via H-Law, we have a call for "Law and Revolution in Ireland: Law and Lawyers before, during, and after the Cromwellian Interregnum."  Dr. Coleman A. Dennehy, Department of History, NUI Maynooth, writes:]

I am writing to inform you of a Call For Papers for a conference on Irish legal history in the seventeenth century. The conference will explore the theme of law and lawyers in Ireland before, during, and after the Cromwellian Interregnum.

The 1641 rebellion, subsequent wars, and the political change that followed were to have a profound and lasting impact on the island for generations.  Recent historiographical trends have seen great strides made in our understanding of the military, political, and religious aspects of this upheaval, but despite some notable work already undertaken, the role of lawyers and the law in this general crisis still warrants further attention.

How consistent with the law and the constitution of Ireland was government policy and its main actors in the decade before the rising? What role did the legal community play in the wars and political dynamics of the period?  How did the law adapt to the new political realities in Ireland after 1649, and how was it used to effect a restoration of peace and stability after 1660?  To what extent do these changes reflect the situation in Scotland and England at the time?

These questions and others will be considered in a conference to be convened in late November 2014.  This conference is being held in the House of Lords, Bank of Ireland, College Green, Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Legal History Society Winter Discourse on 28 November, which will also address the topic.

For those wishing to present at the conference, a short description of your paper, academic affiliation (if any), along with relevant contact information, should be sent to the convenor of the conference no later than May 2014.

All correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Coleman A. Dennehy, Department of History, NUI Maynooth