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Catholic inheritance under the penal laws in Ireland
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 November 2020
Abstract
Recent decades have witnessed a continued interest among historians in Ireland's eighteenth-century penal laws. Earlier broad surveys of the laws and their impact have given way to case studies that have highlighted the varied experiences of individual families, with many focusing on the strategies, whether legal or otherwise, that were utilised in attempts to circumvent these restrictions. Despite these advances, however, our understanding of the laws remains incomplete. This is particularly the case in relation to the gavelling clause within the 1704 popery act. This was one of Ireland's most infamous penal laws, yet it remains one of the least studied and least understood set of restrictions against Catholics. It is clear that the restrictions it placed on the sole inheritance of land could be circumvented in certain instances, but how exactly this was achieved without suffering prosecution requires further study. This article will advance our understanding of the gavelling clause through an in-depth examination of the law and its interpretation by Irish courts, which in turn will highlight the avenues that were open to Catholics in their attempts to either neutralise or evade the restrictions and other related legal provisions. This will demonstrate how successful circumvention did not depend on breaking the law per se, but instead relied upon loopholes in the law itself.
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References
1 In the absence of male issue, an estate would be divided equally between the daughters of a Catholic landowner or, failing this, other collateral kindred: ‘An act to prevent the further growth of Popery’, 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 10 (1703[/4]) in The statutes at large, passed in the parliaments held in Ireland: from the third year of Edward the Second, A.D. 1310 to the twenty sixth year of George III, A.D. 1786 (20 vols, Dublin, 1786–1801), iv, 19 (hereafter cited as Stat. Ire.); McGrath, Charles Ivar, ‘The provisions for conversion in the penal laws, 1695–1750’ in Brown, Michael, McGrath, Charles Ivar and Power, Thomas P. (eds), Converts and conversion in Ireland, 1650–1850 (Dublin, 2005), pp 41–2Google Scholar.
2 The fear of subdivision was the guiding factor behind conformity in certain cases, but it appears in many other instances that conversion was motivated by an appreciation that it opened up avenues of advancement and material benefits for individuals and their families: Cullen, Louis, ‘Catholics under the Penal Laws’ in Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an dá chultúr, i (1986), p. 27Google Scholar; Connolly, S. J., Religion, law and power: the making of Protestant Ireland, 1660–1760 (Oxford, 1992), p. 308Google Scholar; McBride, Ian, Eighteenth-century Ireland: the isle of slaves (Dublin, 2009), pp 234–6Google Scholar.
3 For the previous interpretations of the penal laws, particularly from a nationalistic perspective, see: Patrick O'Kelly, History of Ireland since the expulsion of James II (Dublin, 1855), pp 16, 18; Martin Haverty, The history of Ireland: ancient and modern (Dublin, 1860), pp 674–84; P. W. Joyce, A concise history of Ireland (New York, 1903), pp 386–7; William P. Burke, History of Clonmel (Waterford, 1907, repr. Clonmel, 2010), p. 150; Seamus McManus, The story of the Irish race: a popular history of Ireland (New York, 1921), p. 398. For an assessment, see: James Kelly, ‘The historiography of the Penal laws’ in John Bergin, Eoin Magennis, Lesa Ní Mhunghaile and Patrick Walsh (eds), New perspectives on the penal laws (Dublin, 2011), pp 27–45.
4 Maureen Wall, ‘The rise of a Catholic middle class in eighteenth-century Ireland’ in I.H.S., xi, no. 42 (Sept. 1958), pp 91–115; eadem, The penal laws, 1691–1760 (Dundalk, 1961); eadem, ‘Catholics in economic life’ in L. M. Cullen (ed.), The formation of the Irish economy (Cork, 1968), pp 37–51. See also: Cullen, ‘Catholics under the Penal Laws’, pp 23–36; idem, ‘Catholic social classes under the penal law’ in Thomas P. Power and Kevin Whelan (eds), Endurance and emergence: Catholics in Ireland in the eighteenth century (Dublin, 1990) pp 57–84.
5 On Catholics and trade, see also: David Dickson, ‘Catholics and trade in eighteenth-century Ireland: an old debate revisited’ in Power & Whelan (eds), Endurance & emergence, pp 85–100; Eamon O'Flaherty, ‘An urban community and the penal laws: Limerick, 1690–1830’ in Bergin et al. (eds), New perspectives on the penal laws, p. 206; Kelly, ‘The historiography of the penal laws’, pp 38–9.
6 Kelly, ‘The historiography of the penal laws’, pp 46–7; John Brady and P. J. Corish, ‘The church under the penal code’ in P. J. Corish (ed.), A history of Irish Catholicism, volume iv (Dublin, 1971), pp 1–88; Patrick J. Corish, The Catholic community in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Dublin, 1981), pp 73–81. See also: Eoin Magennis (ed.), ‘Select document: “The present state of Ireland”, 1749’ in I.H.S., xxxvi, no. 144 (Nov. 2009), pp 594–5.
7 McBride, Eighteenth-century Ireland, pp 195–245; James Kelly, ‘Sustaining a confessional state: the Irish parliament and Catholicism’ in D. W. Hayton, James Kelly and John Bergin (eds), The eighteenth-century composite state: representative institutions in Ireland and Europe, 1689–1800 (Basingstoke, 2010), pp 44–63; Connolly, Religion, law and power, pp 263–313; idem, Divided kingdom: Ireland, 1630–1800 (Oxford, 2008), pp 198–203, 250–9. For the framing and subsequent interpretation of the penal laws, particularly the 1704 and 1709 popery acts, see: J. G. Simms, ‘The making of a penal law (2 Anne, c.6), 1703–4’ in I.H.S., xii, no. 46 (Oct. 1960), pp 105–18; W. N. Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’ in Power & Whelan (eds), Endurance & emergence, pp 21–56.
8 Kelly, ‘The historiography of the penal laws’, p. 52.
9 Philip Walsh, ‘The Blakes of Ballyglunin: Catholic merchants and landowners of Galway town and county in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries’ (Ph.D. thesis, University College Dublin, 2017), pp 123–4, 129–30, 136–7, 203.
10 Thomas P. Power, ‘Converts’ in Power & Whelan (eds), Endurance & emergence, pp 101–3.
11 McBride, Eighteenth-century Ireland, p. 240.
12 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 23.
13 J. G. Simms, The Williamite confiscation in Ireland, 1690–1703 (London, 1956), p. 160.
14 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 10 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 19; Eileen Spring, Law, land & family: aristocratic inheritance in England, 1300–1800 (London, 1993), p. 84.
15 The significance of these settlements has only been referred to briefly by: Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 35; idem, Studies in Irish legal history (Dublin, 1999), p. 224; Charles Chenevix Trench, Grace's card: Irish Catholic landlords, 1690–1800 (Dublin, 1997), p. 63.
16 G. E. Howard, Several special cases on the laws against the further growth of popery in Ireland (Dublin, 1775), pp 55, 116–7.
17 Ibid., p. 115; Thomas Jones, The reports of several special cases adjudged in the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas … in the reign of King Charles II (London, 1729), pp 108–09; William Leonard, The third part of the reports of severall excellent action grounded on statute after claim is made cases of law, … in the time of the late Queen Elizabeth (London, 1686), p. 92; Richard Hutton, The reports of that reverend and learned judge Sir Richard Hutton, Knight sometimes one of the judges of the common pleas, … in the several reigns of King James and King Charles (London, 1862), p. 22.
18 J. C. W. Wylie, Irish land law (3rd ed., Dublin, 2005), p. 179; Andrew Lyall, Land law in Ireland (Dublin, 1994), pp 12–13; Lloyd Bonfield, Marriage settlements, 1601–1740: the adoption of the strict settlement (Cambridge, 1983), pp 8–9; A. W. B. Simpson, Legal theory and legal history: essays on the common law (London, 1987), pp 146–8, 153; Zouheir Jamoussi, Primogeniture and entail in England: a survey of their history and representation in literature (Cambridge, 1999), pp 15–16; Frederick Pollock, The land laws (3rd ed., London, 1896), pp 111–12; Eileen Spring, ‘The settlement of land in nineteenth-century England’ in American Journal of Legal History, viii, no. 3 (Jul. 1964), pp 210–11; eadem, Law, land & family, pp 124–30, 187–92.
19 ‘Dr Thos Fogerty's Case’, 20 Feb. 1747[/8] (N.L.I., Fogarty family papers, G.O. MS 171, pp 203–4: microfilm, p8304).
20 Howard, Several special cases against popery, p. 55.
21 Ibid., pp 116–7; ‘An act for explaining and amending an act intituled, an act to prevent the further growth of popery’, 8 Anne, c. 3, s. 9 (1709) in Stat. Ire., iv, 194–5.
22 8 Anne, c. 3, s. 6 (1709) in Stat. Ire., iv, 193; ‘Dr Thos Fogerty's Case’, 1747[/8], p. 204; Commons’ jn. Ire. (1796 ed.), ii, p. clxvi; Power, ‘Converts’, pp 108–9; Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 35.
23 8 Anne, c. 3, s. 6 (1709) in Stat. Ire., iv, 193.
24 Walsh, ‘The Blakes of Ballyglunin’, p. 129. See also: Power, ‘Converts’, p. 108.
25 Mathew family settlement, 11 Mar. 1713[/14] (N.A.I., M 5302); the Mathew properties (Tipperary County Library, Thurles (hereafter T.C.L.T.), Papers of Rev. Father Walter G. Skehan, typescript copy, vol. lxvi, pp 52–3); Thomas P. Power, Land, politics and society in eighteenth-century Tipperary (Oxford, 1993), pp 110–11.
26 Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 81–4, 102–117; Alexander Wood Renton (ed.) The English reports: House of Lords (11 vols, London, 1901), ii, 734–7.
27 Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 81–4, 102–117; Wood Renton (ed.) The English reports: House of Lords, ii, 734–7.
28 Marriage settlement between Martin Blake and Margaret French, 28 Nov. 1691 (N.A.I., Blake papers, M 6931/46); marriage settlement between Edmond Blake and Mary French, 27 Mar. 1724 (ibid., M 6931/64(a&b)).
29 Richard Burn, A new law dictionary: intended for general use, as well as for gentlemen of the profession. By Richard Burn, LL.D. late chancellor of the diocese of Carlisle. And continued to the present time by John Burn, Esq. his son, one of His Majesty's justices of the peace for the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland (Dublin, 1792), p. 600; Josiah W. Smith, ‘A succinct view of the operation of fines and recoveries: chapter II: of the operation of recoveries’ in The Jurist, ix, no. 468 (27 Dec. 1845), pp 502–05.
30 ‘Dr Thos Fogerty's Case’, p. 204; Burn, A new law dictionary, p. 600.
31 Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 291–2.
32 The basic definition of a fine of land was ‘a final agreement or conveyance upon record, for the settling and securing of lands and tenements’: William Blackstone, Commentaries on the laws of England, in four books. By Sir William Blackstone, Knt. one of the justices of his majesty's court of common pleas. And with notes and additions by Edward Christian, esq. barrister at law, and professor of the laws of England in the University of Cambridge (12th ed., London, 1793–5), ii, 361–2; ‘Fine’ in T. E. Tomlins, The law-dictionary: explaining the rise, progress, and present state of the British law: defining and interpreting the terms or words of art, and comprising also copious information on the subjects of trade and government (4th ed., 2 vols, London, 1835), i, s.v.; Burn, A new law dictionary, p. 598. See also: William Cruise, An essay on the nature and operation of fines and recoveries (3rd ed., 2 vols, London, 1794), i, passim.
33 Unless subjected to the direction of other deeds (deeds of lease and release for example), the fine conveyed an absolute estate without limitations (i.e. in fee simple) to the cognizee. Therefore, if such uses were not declared, a fine would have a similar operation to a common recovery, and ‘these assurances could not be made to answer the purpose of family settlements’: Blackstone, Commentaries on the laws of England, ii, 362.
34 Manuscript damaged.
35 Marriage settlement of M. Blake and M. French, 28 Nov. 1691 (N.A.I., Blake papers, M 6931/46); marriage settlement of E. Blake and M. French, 27 Mar. 1724 (ibid., M 6931/64(a&b)); deed of release between Martin Blake 1st part, Edmond and Martin Blake Junior of the 2nd part and John French and Francis Coghlan 3rd part, 13 Aug. 1726 (ibid., M 6931/65); booklet containing notes of deeds affecting the Blake of Ballyglunin estate, 1658–1771 (ibid., M 6935/65, ff 13–4); ‘The situation relative to the estate of Martin Blake of Ballyglunin’, 26 July 1773 (ibid., M 6935/66, f. 5); memorial of deeds of lease and release between Martin Blake 1st part, Edmond and Martin Blake Junior 2nd part and John French and Francis Coghlan 3rd part, 12–13 Aug. 1726 [registered 10 Mar. 1726[/7]] (Registry of Deeds, Dublin (hereafter R.D.), lii, 372–3, no. 349161); Walsh, ‘The Blakes of Ballyglunin’, p. 129.
36 Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 102–4, 116–7.
37 The particular purposes and effects of these different fines are too various and complex to discuss here, and the reader is best served by consulting: ‘Fine’ in Tomlins, The law-dictionary, i, s.v.; ‘Fine’ in idem, The law dictionary, defining and interpreting the terms or words of art, and explaining the rise, progress, and present state of the English law (London, 1810), s.v.; Francis Bayley, A treatise on fines and recoveries (London, 1828), pp 8–9, 17–18; Blackstone, Commentaries on the laws of England, ii, 362; Josiah W. Smith, ‘A succinct view of the operation of fines and recoveries: chapter I: on fines’ in The Jurist, ix, nos 465–7 (6–20 Dec. 1845), pp 472–5, 482–4, 491–3.
38 Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 116–17.
39 Marriage settlement between Martin Blake and Bridget Joyce, 30 Oct. 1751 (N.A.I, Blake papers, M 6933/16/18); the situation relative to the estate of M. Blake, 26 July 1773 (ibid., M 6935/66, ff 7–8).
40 The situation relative to the estate of M. Blake, 26 July 1773 (ibid., M 6935/66, ff 8, 14–21).
41 Ibid., ff 8–9.
42 Hugh Fenning (ed.), ‘Documents of Irish interest in the “Fondo Missioni” of the Vatican Archives’ in Archiv. Hib., xlix (1995), p. 35.
43 The situation relative to the estate of M. Blake, 26 July 1773 (N.A.I., M 6935/66, ff 10–16).
44 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, pp 23, 35; Connolly, Religion, law and power, p. 308.
45 Will of Daniel Ryan of Inch, 22 Apr. 1692 (T.C.L.T., Ryan papers, microfilm TL/F/21).
46 The case of Butler v. Butler (1773) observed that a Catholic estate held partially in tail was open to subdivision. However, no precise information on the wording and terms of the family settlement affecting the particular estate were given in the case report: Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 270–5; 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 6 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 17; attested copy of exemplification of common recovery suffered by Daniel Ryan of lands in Co. Tipperary, Hilary term 1738 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Grehan family papers, BL/EP/G MS 175/2).
47 Deed of sale of the manor of Coolkill, Nicolas Purcell, Loughmoe, Co. Tipperary and Sir Stephen Rice, Dublin 1st part; John Ryan of Inch 2nd part, 18 Mar. 1703[/4] (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan of Inch collection, BL/EP/R MS 778).
48 Josiah Brown, Reports of cases, upon appeals and writs of errors, in the High Court of Parliament; from the year 1701, to the year 1779 (8 vols, London, 1779), ii, 263; H. J. Habakkuk, ‘Marriage settlements in the eighteenth century’ in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, xxxii (1950), pp 15–17; Barbara English and John Saville, ‘Family settlement and the “rise of great estates”’ in Economic History Review, new series, xxxiii, no. 4 (Nov. 1980), pp 556–8; Spring, ‘The settlement of land in nineteenth-century England’, p. 212; Burn, A new law dictionary, p. 598; William Cruise, A digest of the laws of England respecting real property (2nd ed., 7 vols, London, 1818), iv, 408.
49 8 Anne, c. 3, s. 9 (1709) in Stat. Ire., iv, 194–5; Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 35.
50 Power, Land, politics and society in Tipperary, p. 108; Philip D. Vigors (ed.), ‘County Tipperary’ in Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, v, no. 1, part 2 (1901), p. 106.
51 John Ryan's sons were Daniel, George, John and Andrew. His daughters were Frances (m. John Purcell, c.1733) and Margaret (m. William Carroll, c.1738): rent roll of Daniel Ryan's estate and accounts kept by William Carroll, 1735–8 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 173, f. 7); executors’ account, 12 Jan. 1729[/30] (ibid., MS 367); Finn's Leinster Journal, 5 Apr. 1775.
52 Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 271–2.
53 Different court judgements provide different ages for the conversion of a Catholic heir: either within six months of reaching eighteen years of age (Butler v. Butler 1773) or by the time he reached twenty-two years of age (Lessee of Burk v. Blake 1716 & Burke v. Morgan 1717). In this particular instance, it appears the latter age is applicable: Howard, Several special cases against popery, p. 272; Andrew Lyall (ed.), Irish Exchequer reports: reports of cases in the Courts of Exchequer and Chancery in Ireland, 1716–1734 (Selden Society, lxxxii, London, 2009), pp lxxv, 9–10; 2 Anne, c. 6, ss 7, 12 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 18, 20–1.
54 For example: Brown, Reports of cases, upon appeals and writs of errors, ii, 179–83; Hubert Gallwey, The Wall family in Ireland, 1170–1970: 800-year history of a distinguished Norman family (2nd ed., Dublin, 2011), pp 108–9.
55 Rent roll and accounts kept by W. Carroll, 1735–8 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 173, f. 5); ‘An act to restrain foreign education’, 7 Will. III, c. 4 (1695) in Stat. Ireland, iii, 254–6.
56 See below, pp 246–7.
57 What stand out about the decision to trust Howard Egan with such an important matter are the very obscure familial links that existed between the families. John Ryan of Inch's (d. 1724) first cousin, Philip Fogarty of Curraheen and Ballinlonty, married Alice Flood of Rathcannon, County Tipperary. Howard Egan's sister was married to another Flood of Rathcannon. Therefore, the closest association that could have existed between the two men was that Howard Egan's niece was married to John Ryan's first cousin: Howard Egan to Frances Ryan, 21 Mar. 1723[/4] (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 345); Howard Egan to Frances Ryan, 23 May 1724 (ibid., MS 349); will of Howard Egan of Anameadle, 4 June 1737 (ibid., MS 39); the Fogartys of Ballinlonty (T.C.L.T., Fogarty papers, typescript copy, xxix, p. 10); Martin Callanan ‘History of the barony of Eliogarty’ (N.L.I., Callanan MS, microfilm, p4546), p. 641; Eileen O'Byrne (ed.), The convert rolls (I.M.C., Dublin, 1981), p. 89.
58 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 26.
59 Although less frequent, genuine instances of religious conversion are now beginning to receive more attention from historians: Michael Brown, Charles Ivar McGrath and Thomas P. Power, ‘Introduction’ in idem (eds), Converts & conversion in Ireland, 1650–1850, p. 12; Power, ‘Converts’, pp 102, 110–11; Cullen, ‘Catholics under the Penal Laws’, p. 27; McBride, Eighteenth-century Ireland, pp 234–6.
60 Memorial of deeds of lease and release of the lands of Blane, Co. Tipperary, Daniel Carroll, late of Blane, to Howard Egan, 14–15 Feb. 1714[/5] [reg. 19 Mar. 1714[/5]] (R.D., xiii, 394, no. 6113); memorial of deeds of lease and release of the lands of Sheragh, Co. Tipperary, Cormack McEgan and Anthony Carroll of the 1st part and Howard Egan of the 2nd part, 22–3 May 1722 [reg. 30 May 1722] (ibid., xxxiii, 426–7, no. 20783); Dermot F. Gleeson, The last lords of Ormond – Cromwellian plantation, prelude and aftermath in the countries of the three O'Kennedies (2nd ed., Nenagh, 2001), pp 230–1.
61 Will of H. Egan, 4 June 1737 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 39); abstract of the lord justices, Dublin Castle, to Dorset, n.d. (P.R.O.N.I., T3019/67), available at P.R.O.N.I. eCatalogue (http://apps.proni.gov.uk/DCAL_PRONI_eCatNI_IE/ResultDetails.aspx) (13 Feb. 2019); abstract of a copy of the petition of Daniel Carroll, n.d. (ibid., T3019/68), available at P.R.O.N.I. eCatalogue (http://apps.proni.gov.uk/DCAL_PRONI_eCatNI_IE/ResultDetails.aspx) (13 Feb. 2019).
62 Will of H. Egan, 4 June 1737 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 39).
63 ‘An act for the better securing the government, by disarming papists’, 7 Will. III, c. 5 (1695) in Stat. Ire., iii, 260–7; 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 7 (1703[/4]) in ibid., iv, 17–18.
64 Will of H. Egan, 4 June 1737 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 39); H. Egan to F. Ryan, 25 Oct. 1725 (ibid., MS 359). Extracts from Egan's will can be found in: will of Howard Egan of Anameadle, County Tipperary (T.C.L.T., Skehan papers, typescript copy, lxv, pp 103–5); will of Howard Egan, 4 June 1737 (N.L.I., Papers of Dr Martin Callanan, MS 11,422(8a)). See also: Kevin Whelan, The tree of liberty: radicalism, Catholicism and the construction of Irish identity, 1760–1830 (Cork, 1996), p. 6; Cullen, ‘Catholics under the penal laws’, pp 27–8.
65 Copy of account by Howard Egan Esq. as guardian to Daniel Ryan, 24 Feb. 1731[/2] (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 368).
66 Letter of guardianship issued by the Court of Chancery concerning the younger children of Henry Sandford of Castlerea, County Roscommon, 15 May 1771 (N.L.I., Pakenham-Mahon papers, MS 48,355/61).
67 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 4 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 16.
68 George Dames Burtchaell and Thomas Ulick Sadleir (eds), Alumni Dublinenses: a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin, 1593–1860 (Dublin, 1935), pp 259–60.
69 Brown, Reports of cases, upon appeals and writs of errors, ii, 183.
70 Commons’ Jn. Ire., ii, p. clxvi.
71 Ibid., p. 522; Transcripts of Cotter family papers by Rev. George E. Cotter, c.1878 (N.L.I., MS 711, ff 129–31); William Hogan and Liam Ó Buachalla, ‘The letters and papers of James Cotter, Junior, 1689–1720’ in Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, lxviii (Jan.–Dec. 1963), pp 67–8.
72 Commons’ Jn. Ire., ii, 526, 536, 544, 546, 550–2.
73 Ibid., p. 526.
74 Connolly, Religion, law and power, p. 309.
75 7 Will. III, c. 4 (1695) in Stat. Ire., iii, 254–6; Emma Lyons, ‘Morristown Lattin: a case study of the Lattin and Mansfield families in County Kildare, c.1600–1860’ (Ph.D. thesis, University College Dublin, 2011), pp 252–68; Karen Harvey, The Bellews of Mount Bellew: a Catholic gentry family in eighteenth-century Ireland (Dublin, 1998), p. 92.
76 Rent roll and accounts kept by W. Carroll, 1735–8 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 173, f. 5).
77 Recognizance of Charles O'Hara, Kean O'Hara and Loftus Jones, appointing Charles O'Hara (the elder) as the legal guardian of Elizabeth Mathew, 7 March 1737[/8] (N.L.I., O'Hara papers, MS 36,389/1).
78 7 Will. III, c. 4 (1695) in Stat. Ire., iii, 255; 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 2 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 15–16.
79 David Hannigan, ‘The University of Dublin, 1685–1750: a study of matriculation records’ (M.A. thesis, Saint Patrick's College, Maynooth, 1995), p. 33.
80 The cost of Daniel Ryan's education and upkeep reflects that of other children from landowning backgrounds during this period: ibid., p. 59; executors’ account, 12 Jan. 1729[/30] (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 367); accounts relating to the diet & upkeep of the children of Henry Flower of Durrow, County Laois, 1728–30 (N.L.I., Flower papers, MS 11,470/6); William Jackson to Eleanor O'Hara, 6 May 1720 (N.L.I., O'Hara papers, MS 20,278); Toby Barnard, Improving Ireland? Projectors, prophets and profiteers, 1641–1786 (Dublin, 2008), p. 147.
81 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 4 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 15–16.
82 For clarification of this point, see the discussion below, pp 238–40.
83 8 Anne, c. 3, s. 30 (1709) in Stat. Ireland, iv, 194–5.
84 Brown, Reports of cases, upon appeals and writs of errors, ii, 183.
85 Lyall (ed.), Irish Exchequer reports, lxxv, 10; The English reports, ii, 734; Josiah Brown, Reports of cases, upon appeals and writs of errors, in the High Court of Parliament, ed. T. E. Tomlins (8 vols, 2nd ed., London, 1803), viii, 437.
86 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 24.
87 Andrew Lyall, ‘The Irish House of Lords as a judicial body, 1783–1800’ in Irish Jurist, xxviii/xxx (1993/1995), p. 354, note 193; idem (ed.), Irish Exchequer reports, lxxv, cxxxiv.
88 Power, ‘Converts’, p. 107; McGrath, ‘The provisions for conversion in the penal laws, 1695–1750’, p. 41.
89 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 7 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 17.
90 Edward Hunt, An abridgment of all the statutes in Ireland, in the reigns of Queen Anne, and King George. In force and use (Dublin, 1718), p. 182.
91 In line with this interpretation, counsel in the case of Butler v. Butler (1773) pointed out that clause seven ‘refers to Papists getting new acquired estates which had belonged to Protestants, and admits of a construction and consideration diametrically opposite to the gavelling clause, which relates to taking away part of an old Popish inheritance’: Howard, Several special cases against popery, p. 269 n.
92 Hunt, An abridgment of all the statutes in Ireland, p. 182.
93 Perhaps a reason why this clause has been misinterpreted is that the annotations/marginal notes that accompany the 1765 and 1786 printed versions of the law exclude references to Protestant estates: 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 7 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 17; The statutes at large, passed in the Parliaments held in Ireland: from the third year of Edward the Second, A.D. 1310, to the first year of George the Third, A.D. 1761 (8 vols, Dublin, 1765), iv, 17. See also the cases of Stone v. Rice (1720), Dillon v. Dillon (1772) and Farrell v. Crosbie (1773): Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 71–2, 236, 243, 256–8.
94 2 Anne, c. 6, s. 7 (1703[/4]) in Stat. Ire., iv, 17–18.
95 Will of John Ryan of Inch, 2 Mar. 1723[/4] (T.C.L.T., Ryan papers, TL/F/21).
96 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 25; Sir Arthur Vicars (ed.), Index to the prerogative wills of Ireland, 1536–1810 (Dublin, 1897), p. 411.
97 Will of John Ryan, 2 Mar. 1723[/4] (T.C.L.T., Ryan papers, TL/F/21).
98 Will of D. Ryan, 22 Apr. 1692 (ibid.).
99 Draft petition by John Ryan to Sir John Meade of the Regal and Liberties of County Tipperary, 1699 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 8); plaintiff's brief in the case Pierce Purcell lessee of John Ryan v. Frances Ryan, c.1702 (ibid., MS 9); copy answer by Frances Ryan to a bill of complaint lodged by John Ryan, 11 Apr. 1702 (ibid., MS 10).
100 Executors’ account, 12 Jan. 1729[/30] (ibid., MS 367); will of John Ryan, 2 Mar. 1723[/4] (T.C.L.T., Ryan papers, TL/F/21); Deborah Wilson, Women, marriage and property in wealthy landed families in Ireland, 1750–1850 (Manchester, 2008), p. 154.
101 The oldest surviving example of Daniel Ryan's will is a probate copy made in 1773. The clerk appears to have made an error when copying the will, because it is dated 22 Aug. 1757. However, most of the information contained in the will supports a later date. For example, Ryan referred to his daughters Frances Woulfe and Margaret Harrold, whose marriages did not occur until 1759. Furthermore, in September 1767 Daniel Ryan's will was referred to in family correspondence as being ‘lately made’. Therefore, the correct date of the will was 22 Aug. 1767, a month before Ryan passed away: probate copy of the will of Daniel Ryan of Inch, 22 Aug. 1757 [1767] (probate 4 Nov. 1773) (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 23); copy will of Daniel Ryan, 1757 [1767] (U.C.C., Boole Library, Grehan papers, MS 175/3); Walter Woulfe to George Ryan, 20 Sept. 1767 (N.L.I., Mansfield papers, MS 9630); Vigors (ed.), ‘County Tipperary’, p. 106; Vicars (ed.), Index to the prerogative wills of Ireland, p. 410; Faulkner's Dublin Journal, 7 Nov. 1767; Belfast News Letter, 10 Nov. 1767.
102 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, pp 23, 35; Connolly, Religion, law and power, p. 308. See also: Walsh, ‘The Blakes of Ballyglunin’, p. 196.
103 Edward Fitzgerald was the youngest brother of the prominent London-based merchant George Fitzgerald the elder (d. 1744): Daniel Ryan's account with Justin McCarthy, 1738–56 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 198, f. 3); rent roll and accounts kept by W. Carroll, 1735–8 (ibid., MS 173, ff 3, 5); typescript copy of the marriage articles between Jorge Ryan y Mathew and Maria Ryan y Armelin, Apr. 1746 (Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library and Archive, Armagh, Irish Overseas Archive); Kevin Whelan, ‘The Catholic community in eighteenth-century County Wexford’ in Power & Whelan (eds), Endurance & emergence, pp 135–6; Jan Parmentier, ‘The Irish connection: the Irish merchant community in Ostend and Bruges during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries’ in Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an dá chultúr, xx (2005), pp 46–7; Jacob M. Price, France and the Chesapeake: a history of the French tobacco monopoly, 1674–1791, and of its relationship to the British and American tobacco trades (2 vols, Ann Abor, 1973), i, 558–64; George Fitzgerald to Xaviera Walsh, 27 May 1738 (private collection; my thanks to John Bergin for supplying a transcript of this source).
104 A return of prisoners of Buckley's, Clare's and Berwick's regiments confined in the Citadell of Hull, 6 Nov. 1746 (T.N.A., SP 36/89/1, f. 38); list of 148 prisoners in the French service, held at Hull, to be delivered to Captain De Cosne, Nov. 1746 (ibid., SP 36/89/3, f. 106).
105 Ledger kept by Daniel and John Ryan, 1742–73 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 174, f. 2).
106 ‘An act for the more effectual preventing his majesty's subjects from entering into foreign service, and for publishing an act of the seventh year of King William the Third, intituled, an act to prevent foreign education’, 19 Geo. II, c. 7 s. 1 (1746) in Stat. Ire., vi, 744–5; McGrath, ‘The provisions for conversion, 1695–1750’, p. 56.
107 19 Geo. II, c. 7 s. 1 (1746) in Stat. Ire., vi, 744; Howard, Several special cases against popery, p. 182; Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 39.
108 O'Neill, ‘Discoverers and discoveries’, p. 3; Chenevix Trench, Grace's card, p. 65; Howard, Several special cases against popery, p. 243. My thanks also to S. J. Connolly for his views on this topic.
109 John Brady (ed.), Catholics and Catholicism in the eighteenth-century press (Maynooth, 1965), p. 161.
110 Ibid., p. 160; Leonard Shelford, The real property statutes passed in the reigns of William IV and Victoria; including prescription, limitations of actions, abolition of fines & c. and judgements & c. & c. With copious notes, and forms of deeds (4th ed., London, 1842), p. 438.
111 Howard, Several special cases against popery, pp 71–2, 76, 243, 262–5; Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 29.
112 Chenevix Trench, Grace's card, p. 65.
113 Walsh, ‘The Blakes of Ballyglunin’, p. 131; Cullen, L. M., The emergence of modern Ireland, 1600–1900 (London, 1981), p. 196Google Scholar.
114 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 35; Dickson, David, Old world colony: Cork and South Munster, 1630–1830 (Cork, 2005), p. 273Google Scholar; Owen-Madden, Daniel, Revelations of Ireland in the past generation (Dublin, 1848), pp 170–3Google Scholar; Connolly, Religion, law and power, p. 308.
115 Francis Mathew is said to have been George Mathew's first cousin. John Ryan and his cousins were captured on-board the Louis XV on 28 November 1745 off Montrose. The two Mathews were later discharged, but there is no record of them having been pardoned: a return of prisoners of Buckley's, Clare's and Berwick's regiments, 6 Nov. 1746 (T.N.A., SP 36/89/1, f. 38); list of prisoners in the French service, Nov. 1746 (ibid., SP 36/89/3, f. 106); Bric, Maurice J., ‘The Whiteboy movement, 1760–1780’ in Nolan, William and McGrath, Thomas G. (eds), Tipperary: history & society: interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county (Dublin, 1985)Google Scholar, p. 448 n.; Scots Magazine (Nov. 1745), p. 541; G. B. Seton and J. B. Arnot (eds), The prisoners of the 45 (3 vols, Scottish History Society, 3rd series, xiii-xv, Edinburgh, 1928–9), i, 85–6; iii, 14, 294.
116 A year previously, Thomas Mathew (later of Thomastown – converted 1755) had inherited the Annfield estate as a Catholic. Due to his brother George's service in the French army, the Annfield estate was also open to discovery proceedings under the 1746 act: 19 Geo. II, c. 7 s. 1 (1746) in Stat. Ireland, vi, 744; Howard, Several special cases against popery, p. 182; Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, p. 39.
117 Seton and Arnot (eds), The prisoners of the 45, i, 29, 40; iii, 294.
118 For the dating of valid pardons cf. 19 Geo. II, c. 7 s. 4 (1746) in Stat. Ire., vi, 745; McGrath, ‘The provisions for conversion, 1695–1750’, p. 56.
119 ‘An act for the relief of his majesty's subjects of this kingdom professing the popish religion’, 18 Geo. III, c. 41 (1778) in Stat. Ire., xi, 301.
120 Denis MulRyan to George Ryan, 18 Dec. 1782 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 469); ledger kept by George and Daniel Ryan, 1778–1811 (ibid., MS 175, f. 2); Power, Land, politics and society in Tipperary, p. 88.
121 Guillermo Thompson to Jorge Ryan, 4 Sept. 1778 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 374/88).
122 Deed of annuity for £100 from George Ryan to Denis Ryan, 4 Aug. 1780 (ibid., MS 14); statement of title to the lands of Rossmult (N.A.I., M 5306/7).
123 D. MulRyan to G. Ryan, 18 Dec. 1782 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 469).
124 For a discussion of the overall importance of kinship in the affairs of the Ryans of Inch between 1724 and 1756, see: Richard John Fitzpatrick, ‘The Ryans of Inch and their world: a Catholic gentry family from dispossession to integration, c.1650–1831’ (Ph.D. thesis, Maynooth University, 2018), pp 100–44.
125 William Carroll married Daniel Ryan's youngest sister Margaret in c.1738: rent roll and accounts kept by W. Carroll, 1735–8 (U.C.C., Boole Library, Ryan collection, MS 173).
126 Hogan and Ó Buachalla, ‘The letters and papers of James Cotter’, p. 95.
127 The situation relative to the estate of M. Blake, 26 July 1773 (N.A.I., Blake papers, M 6935/66, ff 14–18).
128 Harvey, The Bellews of Mount Bellew, p. 15.
129 Osborough, ‘Catholics, land and the popery acts of Anne’, pp 28–9.