Overview
The Stuart papers are in effect the official correspondence of the court of James II and, predominantly, of his son, the Old Pretender. Following the death of Cardinal York in 1807, the British Government, at the instigation of the Prince Regent, acquired these papers. The entire collection contains in the region of 80,000 items.
The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts published the papers for the period up to 1718 in seven volumes, but these contain relatively little of Irish interest. The Stuart papers have largely been ignored as a source of Irish history; yet they shed a great deal of light on Catholic Ireland in the first half of the eighteenth century. In particular they deal with the nomination of bishops to vacant sees and with clerics who furnished the court with reports on events and conditions in Ireland; they also include much information on the Irish colleges on the continents.
About the Author:
Patrick Fagan is the author of Catholics in a Protestant Country: The Papist Constituency in Eighteenth-century Dublin (1998) and Divided Loyalties: The Question of the Oath for Catholics in the Eighteenth Century (1997).
Editorials
History Ireland
This edition of letters is arguably the single most important edition of primary source-material published for the eighteenth century in years.Liam Irwin
In addition to providing ease of access to a valuable collection of documents, the editor also offers a challenging criticism of his fellow academics...Patrick Fagan has now provided some of the means by which others can meet the challenge he has issued.— Irish Historical Studies
Patrick Kelly
In publishing these documents Patrick Fagan has made a very significant contribution not merely to Irish eighteenth-century studies but to the general understanding of the nature of Jacobitism at home and abroad.— Parliamentary History