Most of the research in this interesting new collection is based entirely or in part on the epistolary archives of the Irish Jesuit mission, which comprise the Society's ex officio correspondence (The Jesuit Irish mission: a calendar of correspondence, 1566–1752, ed. V. Moynes, Dublin 2017) and the annual letters sent to the superior general in Rome (Irish Jesuit annual letters, 1604–1674, ed. V. Moynes, Dublin 2019). These archival series reflect aspects of the Jesuit ministry in Ireland, such as the interactions of the missionaries with local communities, and Jesuit culture and institutions. In the introduction to this book, the editors Mary Ann Lyons and Brian Mac Cuarta outline the scholarly context behind the conception of this collection, which stands as the latest instalment of an ambitious archival and publication project, aiming to represent a gateway onto further research.
The two essays opening the collection examine the second and the third Irish Jesuit missions respectively. Through the correspondence of William Good, Alexander G. DeWitt and Thomas M. McCoog explore the challenges and dangers connected with establishing schools and making the mission grow in the difficult context of the mid- to late 1560s. Starting from Good's fragmentary letters, the authors construct an unforgettable picture of this pioneering enterprise and the toll it took on Good and his companions. The context of the third mission is explored by Colm Lennon, who illuminates the manifold forms of interaction between urban communities and the missionaries. The support that the Jesuits, often of Irish origin, enjoyed from urban and familiar networks in the post-Tridentine context was unprecedented, but as it entailed the domestication of worship it also posed challenges to their identity as missionaries.
The next essay focusses on the source materials with Jason Harris's skilful analysis of the style of the Irish annual letters. Grounded on a careful reconstruction of the ‘Jesuit approach to Latin style’ (p. 65), and using Christopher Holywood's letters as a case study, Harris shows that an appreciation of their language and rhetoric is key to a better understanding of these texts as sources. Sermons were another fundamental expression of Jesuit missionary culture, often advertised in the annual letters. Though preaching in opposition to the state Church required extreme caution, Bernadette Cunningham argues that the Jesuits’ interactions with the local communities and clergy were extensive, and that preaching was in fact one of the channels contributing to the long-term impact of the counter-Reformation in early modern Ireland. In the next essay, Mary Ann Lyons explores a largely uncharted dimension of the interaction between the missionaries and local communities by focussing on women's engagement with the Society. The patronage of Elizabeth FitzGerald, discussed in the first part of the essay, provides evidence of specific ways in which women of high standing supported the mission, but, as Lyons shows, engagement extended far beyond this, from women's involvement in catechising activities to Jesuits’ support of domestic life, child bearing and child rearing.
Jesuit culture is at the core of the next two essays. Raymond Gillespie sheds light on the role of music in the Irish mission, arguing that, contrary to our current understanding, the musical experience of Jesuit Ireland was rich and nuanced, although the clandestine nature of worship in this context might have hampered some developments and experiences. Brian Jackson studies religious controversy, using it as a lens for the exploration of the dynamics between centre and periphery within the Society as an institution. Taking the writings of the Irish Jesuit Henry Fitzsimon as a case study, Jackson situates his disputes with James Ussher, Meredith Hanmer and John Rider within the developments of Catholic controversial writing in English. Focussing on a fascinating manuscript that Fitzsimon prepared for publication, he explains how Jesuits working in England and Ireland pursued common goals though they may appear ‘to be pulling in different directions’ (p. 139).
The dynamics of Jesuit conversions in Caroline Ireland are examined in compelling detail by Brian Mac Cuarta. Through his study of an exceptionally well-documented case of a family of the colonial elite, Mac Cuarta illuminates the role of the Jesuit missionaries in supporting and guiding conversions, as well as the far-reaching social, political and financial consequences of conversions in extended family networks. Exorcisms represented another form of engagement of the Jesuits with local lay communities, and they were duly recorded in the annual letters as an important part of their evangelical mission. Alma O'Donnell examines this evidence, revealing surprising trends and astutely situating them in context. Her close analysis of some reports highlights the role of Jesuits not just as exorcists and promoters of conversions, but also as ‘healers’ who could mitigate the emotional and psychic pain of the victims of ‘demonic’ attacks.
The two essays closing the collection focus on Jesuit educational institutions. Martin Foerster's engaging study charts the establishment of Jesuit schools in Ireland after the restoration of Charles ii and explores the conditions that made it possible for them to thrive, throwing light on unexpected stories of cooperation between Jesuits and Irish Protestants through the evidence of the annual letters. As an ideal conclusion to the collection, Liam Chambers's updated history of the Irish college in Poitiers highlights the role of the college in assuring the continuation of the Irish mission. Founded in 1674–6, in the context of the deterioration of conditions for Jesuits in Ireland, the college functioned in fact as a shelter for Irish Jesuits after the defeat of Irish Catholics in 1691 and until the suppression of the order in 1773.
This is an extremely rich and informative collection that succeeds in enhancing the potential of the Jesuit epistolary archives and the role of committed scholarship in bringing them to life. The threads connecting the various studies published here (such as under- researched aspects of Jesuit culture, and mutually supportive interactions with women and Protestants) contribute to identifying significant directions for further research as they restore a nuanced picture of the mission in the exceptionally unsettled Irish context.
