State Papers Ireland, 1660–1715
Transforming access to the records of early modern Ireland. Curated by Dr Neil Johnston with Simon Neal, The National Archives (UK)
via the Knowledge Graph
Explore People Introduction
State Papers Ireland is an assembled collection of official letters, private papers, and correspondence that is held at The National Archives UK. It is a collection of letters sent between the English governments in Dublin and London in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In total, the series spans the years 1509–1782, comprises more than 500 volumes, and runs to tens of thousands of letters. For now, we are focusing on the years 1660–1715, from the restoration of Charles II to the death of queen Anne, providing enhanced cataloguing, images, and machine-generated transcriptions of more than 20,000 items that provide extraordinary insights on early modern Ireland. The State Papers Ireland Gold Seam is re-engaging with this official and personal correspondence with the aim of virtually recreating an accessible State Papers Office for the twenty-first century.
About State Papers Ireland
From the late twelfth century, the English crown claimed dominion over Ireland. During the following centuries, it forcibly expanded its area of control out from Dublin and imposed a style of government that resembled the one used in England. Distance from London and the difficulties of travel and communication meant that those appointed to govern Ireland often did so with only irregular recourse to London.
This changed late in the late fifteenth century, when the crown took away the Dublin government’s right to propose policy and legislation without being pre-approved by London. This substantially increased the flow of correspondence back and forth across the Irish Sea, particularly from the reign of Henry VIII onwards, as officials in Dublin sought approval for policy, reported on events, and received instructions. These letters, papers, and correspondence have been gathered into a series called the State Papers Ireland.
Letters between Dublin Castle and Whitehall give fascinating insights into the English governance of Ireland. Through the records, we can witness senior administrators as they grappled with policy problems and the demands of parliament, as junior officials carry out their duties at local and national level, while complaining about the lack of money.
These were tumultuous years and the State Papers Ireland give us insights into the return of monarchy after the collapse of the Commonwealth in 1660, the efforts to resolve land ownership in Ireland, the rise of toryism and banditry as a response to the land settlement, the consequences that several Anglo-Dutch wars had on Ireland, before the James II was ‘unkinged’ in England and the War of the Two Kings was fought in Ireland.
But there is more than just politics. Among the descriptions of conquest and war, religious persecution, and plantation, we also see ordinary life. In their petitions for clemency, appeals for justice, and lobbying for government jobs, we encounter Irish people struggling to find a footing in a rapidly changing country.
What can I find here?
More than 70 volumes of TNA SP 63 are now available in the State Papers Ireland Gold Seam. Click Browse to see the full digitised collection now available, which covers the years 1660–1715. The records published are TNA SP 63/303 — TNA SP 63/373.
There are four aspects to this gold seam:
New and Enhanced Cataloguing:
- It is more than a century since the Calendars for State Papers, Ireland for Charles II’s reign were published, providing printed summaries of the original manuscript collection housed at The National Archives, Kew. We are repurposing our predecessors’ efforts for the twenty-first century by revising the cataloguing of approximately 22,000 items, ensuring that entries are fit for purpose for modern researchers. This includes adding new descriptions for thousands of letters that previously had none.
- Alongside TNA SP 63, we have included Signet Office (TNA, SO 1) papers. These volumes contain final clerical copies of letters (often referred to as ‘king’s letters’) that were sent to the administration in Dublin and form an essential component in virtually recreating the collection that was destroyed in 1922. Written by the secretaries of state at Whitehall on behalf of the monarch, they take the form of instructions to the administration in Dublin and are usually grants of some kind, including for lands, offices, positions within the Church of Ireland or the army. But they also contain many less prominent but no less important matters: grants of money and support for widows and children of those who served the crown; or other acts of clemency that supported women following the death of their husbands.
Images
- Images for approximately 22,000 items provide researchers with digital access to original records held at The National Archives UK (TNA) at Kew, London.
Transcriptions
- We have employed Transkribus, a machine-generated transcription platform that creates transcriptions based on its assessment of the handwriting in each letter, which in turn makes the content searchable on the VRTI.
Knowledge Graph Entities
- With the publication of this section of this State Papers Ireland Gold Seam, we are keen to ensure that researchers can find the material that they are searching for. To support this, we have used data contributed by the Dictionary of Irish Biography to create a knowledge graph that matches individuals with their correspondence, whether they are a sender, receiver, or a beneficiary of the letters. This has enabled us to link letters with major and minor historical actors and provide biographical context for the letters.
