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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 July 2016
While in Ireland as chief secretary (1812–18) Sir Robert Peel became acquainted with William Shaw Mason, the Irish topographer and statistician who was remembrancer or receiver of the first-fruits or twentieth parts in Ireland and secretary to the commissioners for public records. Impressed with Mason's work and abilities, Peel encouraged him to prepare a major statistical survey of Ireland, along the lines of Sir John Sinclair's famous survey of Scotland; and the result was the three-volume work entitled A statistical account, or parochial survey of Ireland, drawn up from the communications of the clergy (the three volumes were published in 1814, 1816, and 1819 respectively), which is still a valuable record of the period. In 1819 Mason compiled a Survep, valuation, and census of the barony of Portnehinch in Queen's County. Published in 1821, this work was submitted to George IV during the royal visit to Ireland in that year ‘as a model for a statistical survey of the whole country’.
1 The statistical account of Scotland, drawn up from the communications of the ministers of the different parishes (21 vols, Edinburgh, 1791–9).
2 D.N.B., s.v. Mason.
3 The exact number and location of the copies of this catalogue still extant could not be determined. Among libraries now possessing a copy are the National Library of Ireland, the Royal Irish Academy, the British Museum, and the Library of Congress. There are some notes on Bibliotheca Hibernicana in I.B.L., ii. 182, 196; vii. 117.
4 Kenney, , Sources, p. 48.Google Scholar
5 ‘The unsold copies of Harris’s edition of Ware’s writings were reissued at Dublin with new title-pages in 1764’ (D.N.B., s.v. Harris). Mason lists this edition of 1764.
6 Edward Ledwich gained much notoriety by his bold denial of the very existence of St Patrick. Mason, William Shaw, Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 3.Google Scholar
7 Mason’s date for the publication of the two volumes (1764) does not agree with the dates given by the D.N.B. or by Kenney, (Sources, P. 59).Google ScholarPubMed
8 The sword of light; from the Four Masters to Douglas Hyde, 1636–1938 (London, 1939), p. 52.
9 It is hard to understand why the history of Ireland by Stanyhurst’s more famous friend, Edmund Campion, was not also selected as a separate item by Mason.
10 O’Halloran, , reports Desmond Ryan, ‘maintained that Irish had been spoken by Japhet, and before that son of Noah in Paradise itself’ (The sword of light, p. 75).Google Scholar
11 Dr Magnus MacLean, quoted by Eoin MacNeill in Phases of Irish History (Dublin, 1918), p. 8.
12 But Mason does not give equal attention to Plowden’s replies to Musgrave (A postliminious preface to the historical review of the state of Ireland (London, 1804), and An historical letter to Sir Richard Musgrave, Bart. (London, 1805), although he does refer to the latter work in his comments on Musgrave’s book. See article on Plowden in D.N.B.
13 O’Conor’s, Columbanus ad Hibernos (2 vols, London, 1810–13),Google Scholar and Plowden’s, An historical letter to C. O’Conor, D.D., heretofore styling himself Columbanus (Dublin, 1812).Google Scholar
14 Bibliotheca Hibernieana, p. 9.
15 Mason erroneously states that this compilation ‘was commenced in 1774’ (ibid., p. 13). The first number was published in 1770 and the whole project, as the editor stated in his preface to the first number, embodied ‘the fruit of many years research’.
16 Kenney, , Sources, pp. 58–9;Google Scholar see also Ryan, , The sword of light, PP. 74–5.Google Scholar
17 Kenney, , Sources, p. 56.Google ScholarPubMed
18 O’Flaherty’s, Ogygia seu rerum Hibernicarum chronologia was published in London in 1685.Google Scholar
19 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 13.
20 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 12.
21 The history of the principal transactions of the Irish parliament from … 1634 to 1666, by Henry Redmond Morres, 2nd viscount Mountmorres (2 vols, London, 1792).
22 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 18, n. 1.
23 Mason lists the second edition (2 vols, London, 1812).
24 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 21.
25 Mason gives the date as 1788. The first edition of Lodge’s work, in four volumes, was published in London in 1754.
26 These two histories of Dublin were notoriously inaccurate, for reasons explained by Sir John T. Gilbert in his article on Walter Harris in the D.N.B. : ‘Some imperfect and inaccurate papers left by Harris came into the possession of a Dublin book-dealer, who, in 1766, printed them with the title of the “History and Antiquities of the City of Dublin” (also London, 1766). Much of this work was reprinted, without acknowledgment and with additional errors, in “A History of the City of Dublin,” by Whitelaw and Walsh, London 1818.’
27 Mason stated positively that this work was written ‘by Walter Harris and Dr Lyons, and was the first work published under the auspices of the Physico-Historical Society’ (Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 25). Sir John T. Gilbert, in his article on Harris in the D.N.B., merely states that ‘In 1744 Harris helped the Physico-Historical Society of Dublin to produce “The ancient and present state of the county of Down”’. However, C. Litton Falkiner, in his article on Charles Smith in the D.N.B., definitely attributes the work to Harris and Smith : ‘In 1744 he [Smith] published, in conjunction with Walter Harris, … a history of the county Down. This was the first Irish county history on a large scale ever written. The preface to this book contains the outline of a plan for a series of Irish county histories, which appears to have led in 1744 to his foundation at Dublin of the Physico-Historical Society for the purpose of providing topographical materials for such a series.’ The British Museum catalogue lists the book under the name of Walter Harris, with a question mark. The Library of Congress catalogue attributes it to Harris and Smith. Mason lists the edition of 1757, instead of 1744.
28 According to Mason, this is’ the scarcest of Smith’s works’ (Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 26).
29 The importance of Smith’s county histories may be judged by the following comments of C. Litton Falkiner :’ Although encumbered with much irrelevant matter, these volumes form a valuable contribution to Irish topography, of which Smith may be regarded as the pioneer. Smith’s statements of fact are generally to be trusted, though it was said of him in the counties of which he was the historian that his descriptions were regulated by the reception he was given in the houses he visited while making his investigations. His books were warmly commended by Macaulay, who frequently refers to them in his “History”’ D.N.B.
30 This interesting work, by James Stuart (Mason spells his name ‘Stewart’), purported to cover the history of Armagh ‘for a period of 1373 years’, and also included, for good measure, ‘a refutation of the opinions of Dr Ledwich, respecting the non-existence of St Patrick’.
31 For some reason, these plans were not included in all the copies of this work. A perfect copy, with the plans, would therefore be doubly valuable.
32 Bibliotheca Hibernieana, p. 39.
33 Ibid., p. 32.
34 Young, Arthur, A tour in Ireland, ed. Maxwell, Constantia (Cambridge, 1925), p. 15.Google Scholar
35 The Dublin Society was founded in 1731 and incorporated in 1750 as the ‘Dublin Society for promoting husbandry and other useful arts in Ireland’. A royal charter was granted in 1820, when its name was changed to the Royal Dublin Society.
36 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 33.
37 Ibid., p. 35.
38 Ibid., p. 42. Alexander Pope thus referred to Dunton in the Dunciad (Book 11) :
In a footnote to this passage in the 1729 edition of the Dunciad, Pope called Dunton’ a broken bookseller and abusive scribbler Whitwell Elwin and Courthope, William J., The works of Alexander Pope (London, 1882), 4 140.Google Scholar
38a Mason gives 1764 as the date of publication. No date is given on the title-page, but the conclusion of the 143-page letter reads : ‘I am, dear sir, With great esteem, Your affectionate, humble servant, J. B. Lucas’s Coffee-house, Dublin, 30th Novemb. 1764’. Apparently, however, the book was published in or about 1768. The catalogues of the British Museum and of the Library of Congress give this year, with a question-mark; Watt’s, Robert Bibliotheca Britannica (vol. 1, Edinburgh, 1824)Google Scholar gives 1767 Another edition was published in London in 1769.
39 Bibliotheca Hibernica, p. 44. The D.N.B. states that Twiss’s book ‘was very unpopular in Ireland’.
40 Mason lists the edition published in Dublin in 1778.
41 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 44. On pages 437–8 of Campbell’s work Dr Johnson’s epitaph on Oliver Goldsmith appears for the first time in print. In spite of the title there is’ not much philosophy in this book’ (D.N.B.).
42 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 41.
43 It was cleverly satirized by Dubois, Edward in a book entitled My pocket book; or, hints for ‘A righte merrie and conceited’ tour … by a knight errant (Dublin, 1808).Google Scholar
44 Mason cites an edition of 1810.
45 Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 48.
46 This chapter was not included in the first edition of Chalmers’s book, published in 1804 (Bibliotheca Hibernicana, p. 51).