Descendancy
Irish Protestant Histories since 1795

A compelling account of Protestant loss of power and self-confidence in Ireland since 1795, illustrating how 'descendancy' was experienced and perceived.

David Fitzpatrick (Author)

9781107440296, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 September 2016

282 pages, 9 b/w illus. 21 tables
23 x 15.3 x 1.5 cm, 0.41 kg

'This important book examines the roots of sectarianism in the context of the declining Protestant population, who formed a 'non-ascendancy' quite separate from the landed Anglican elite … Fitzpatrick combines the sophisticated analysis of qualitative sources with an elegant handling of quantitative data. He dissects complex and ambiguous evidence with thoroughness, clarity and empathy.' Eugenio Biagini, Irish Times

This book examines Protestant loss of power and self-confidence in Ireland since 1795. David Fitzpatrick charts the declining power and influence of the Protestant community in Ireland and the strategies adopted in the face of this decline, presenting rich personal testimony that illustrates how individuals experienced and perceived 'descendancy'. Focusing on the attitudes and strategies adopted by the eventual losers rather than victors, he addresses contentious issues in Irish history through an analysis of the appeal of the Orange Order, the Ulster Covenant of 1912, and 'ethnic cleansing' in the Irish Revolution. Avoiding both apologetics and sentimentality when probing the psychology of those undergoing 'descendancy', the book examines the social and political ramifications of religious affiliation and belief as practised in fraternities, church congregations and isolated sub-communities.

1. Prologue: Protestant descendancy in Ireland
Part I. Orangeism: 2. Orangeism and Irish military history
3. The Orange Order and the border
4. The gardener and the stable boy: Yeats, MacNeice, and the problem of Orangeism
5. Methodism and the Orange Order
Part II. Covenant: 6. Ulster's covenanters
7. Ulster's non-covenanters
Part III. Exodus?: 8. Protestant depopulation and the Irish revolution
9. The spectre of 'ethnic cleansing' in revolutionary Ireland
Statistical appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], British & Irish history [HBJD1]