In Pursuit of a Positive Construction: Irish Catholics and the Williamite Articles of Surrender, 1690-1701

Following the defeat of the Irish Jacobite army in 1691, for many Catholics the choice was stark: to go into exile on the Continent, or to remain in Ireland under the government of a victorious yet resentful Protestant minority. For some, however, emigration was impractical or unappealing. Furthermore, a considerable proportion of the Catholic elite of Ireland made a positive choice to remain in their native country. These men were determined to retain possession of their property and enjoy the rights promised to them by the articles of surrender. The fate of the exiles has long engaged the popular imagination and the interest of historians, yet few have explored the lives of the ‘dastard gentry’ who remained in Ireland.