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The Famine didn’t happen in Ulster’ has been one of the most unchallenged myths in recent Irish history. This volume corrects that distortion by giving an account of how each of the nine counties fared during ‘this great calamity’. Ulster was indeed spared what a local newspaper called ‘the horrors of Skibbereen’. Nonetheless, the severity of the famine for much of the population, particularly in the winter of 1846-7, is all too apparent in each of the counties. Ninety-five inmates of Lurgan workhouse died in one week in February 1847; 351 people queued to get into Enniskillen workhouse in one day, emigration continued at an increasing pace and fever hospitals were full

Over the last 350 years, Ireland has sent a constant stream of emigrants to North America. Estimates range from six to ten million. Each emigrant spoke English, Irish, or Ulster Scots. Many indeed used two of these tongues. One of the most formative chapters in this fascinating story is the often-overlooked arrival of perhaps 200,000 people from Ulster in the colonial era, specifically in the sixty years before the American Revolution. This book recounts the lasting impact they made on the development of the, English language of the United States from the eighteenth century to the present day. It documents nearly four hundred terms and meanings, each with quotations from both sides of the Atlantic, that were contributed to American English by these eighteenth-century settlers from Ulster. Drawing on letters they

sent back to their homeland and on other archival documents associated with their settlement, including local fiction and poetry, it shows that Ulster emigrants and their children, who settled mainly in the American interior, gave as much to regional American English as any other group from the Old World. Its pages contain many pleasant surprises: readers will find terms both instantly recognizable and unfamiliar. The numerous quotations not only bring alive the speech of earlier days on both sides of the Atlantic but also extend our understanding of the culture, mannerisms and life of those pioneering times and, through the spoken and written word, poignantly link the past with the present.

Please note this product is for BOTH the print version and digital eBook of this title

The print version of this book will be sent by mail and the eBook will be sent to you via email when your order is complete.

During the course of the eighteenth century, migration from Europe and Africa shaped the emerging consciousness and culture of the American Colonies. Whether free, bond servant, or slave, migrants brought skills and folkways from their motherlands, contributing to the agricultural and commercial development as well as to the peopling of North America. Emigrants from Ulster, the northern province of Ireland, did all of this and more. Ulster exported an economy.

Scotch-Irish Merchants in Colonial America tells the story of the transatlantic links between Ulster and America in the eighteenth century. The author draws upon a remarkable range of sources gleaned from numerous repositories in America and Ireland as he explores the realities of life and work for the merchants. The trading networks and connections established and the economic background to the period are examined in some detail. Scotch-Irish Merchants in Colonial America: The Flaxseed Trade and Emigration from Ireland, 1718-1755 provides fascinating insights into the connections between Ulster and Colonial America through the experiences of the Scotch-Irish merchants. The chapter titles are:

Chapter 1: ‘Novel Traffics’
Chapter 2: Scowbanckers and Redemptioners
Chapter 3: The Flaxseed Trade Begins
Chapter 4: Transatlantic Partners
Chapter 5: Into the Backcountry
Chapter 6: From Ulster to the Carolinas
Chapter 7: Merchants in Politics
Chapter 8: A Scotch-Irish Boom Town
Chapter 9: Emigration at High Tide
Chapter 10: Patterns of Emigration
Chapter 11: Non-Importation, Non-Exportation, and the Flaxseed Trade

This lavishly-illustrated and eloquently-written book by the acknowledged authority on the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Irish landowning elite, Dr Anthony Malcomson, is a study of the gentry of Co. Down, defined in the old-fashioned way of ‘titled and untitled aristocracy’, viewed through the prism of the Maxwell, later Waring Maxwell, later still Perceval-Maxwell, family of Finnebrogue, Downpatrick. The theme which runs through the book is the Down gentry’s sense of pride in their county’s superiority over all other counties in Ireland, be it in its buildings (e.g. the Southwell Charity of the 1730s), its institutions (the Down Hunt and Down Royal), and in the residence-record, public spirit, harmonious relations and general ‘specialness’ of their own gentry class.

In 1862 Alexander Robb (1839-1910) was one of a group of young men from County Down, Ireland, who travelled to British Columbia. They were among the thousands seeking to make their fortunes in the goldfields of the Cariboo. Finding no gold and lucky not to starve, Alex got work among the labourers building the Cariboo wagon road. After several years struggling to make a living, he and an Englishman were the first two Europeans to homestead in the Nicola Valley of central British Columbia. Later, appointed by the province as superintendent, he oversaw building the first roads in the valley.

In a series of letters to those at home in County Down, Alex told of his experiences as a labourer, rancher and public servant in a young colony that was transitioning into a province of the new Canada.

Illness and death in his family took him back to Ireland where he steered the Robb farm successfully through a period of agricultural recession and major political change while continuing his commitment to public service. Alexander Robb’s remarkable story of hardship and perseverance is told along with a full revision of his unique letters. The book also contains insights into the lives of his comrades from County Down and elsewhere who had sought their fortunes in the Cariboo.

This book will be launched at an event on 01 June, 2023. Click here for more information

This bundle includes:

Researching Farming Ancestors

Agriculture has been central to Irish life for millennia and though in recent decades there have been significant social, economic and demographic changes, the people of Ireland are still generally thought of in terms of their historic relationship with the land.

The aim of this book is to help those with roots in the farming communities of Ireland find out more about their ancestors. Throughout this volume, attention is drawn to the richness of the documentation held in archives and libraries on the island of Ireland, as well as highlighting a selection of material found beyond these shores.

Prior to the late nineteenth century very few farmers owned their farms outright, but rather were tenants on an estate. Considerable attention is given to the records generated by the management of landed estates in Ireland and how these can help uncover much about the lives of farming families. As the result of legislation passed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the estate system came to an end and an owner-occupier class of farmers was created. The records relating to this major period of change are highlighted and discussed.

There are also chapters on the Registry of Deeds, Valuation records, registers of freeholders and the Encumbered Estates Court and its successors, as well as material created by farmers, such as diaries and account books, and the records of farming organisations, including agricultural improvement societies and the co-operative movement. A final chapter considers documentation relating to agricultural labourers, cottiers and farm workers.

Researching Presbyterian Ancestors

Written by Dr William Roulston, author of the best-selling Researching Scots Irish Ancestors and Research Director of Ulster Historical Foundation, Researching Presbyterian Ancestors in Ireland is a new genealogical guide to help you find your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestors.

Millions of people around the world have Presbyterian ancestors from Ireland. The aim of this book is to help those with Irish Presbyterian roots find out more about their forebears. It considers the different strands of Presbyterianism in Ireland and explores the range of records generated by these religious denominations and where this material can be accessed by researchers. Much attention is focused on the documentation created by individual congregations, though consideration is also given to the records created by the higher courts of Presbyterianism and other bodies, as well as the personal papers of Presbyterian ministers.

Whether your ancestors were Covenanters, Seceders or Non-Subscribers, whether they were devout or merely nominal, whether they lived and died in Ireland or departed from these shores, this publication will assist you in understanding more about Presbyterians and Presbyterianism in Ireland.

By the late 19th century, Belfast had developed into one of the great industrial cities of the Empire. Much of this new-found wealth was based on the manufacture of linen. The opulent lifestyle that came to be so characteristic of the great linen barons is reflected perhaps best of all in the houses they built. Many travelled from their imposing mansions in the Lagan Valley into the city on the new Great Northern Railway. Others lived in equally resplendent houses near the linen works they had already established on the River Lagan. This book provides an illustrated and informed commentary on the major linen families and the magnificent houses they built along the Lagan Valley. The images-exterior views of the actual houses, interior scenes of the stately rooms and portraits of the families themselves-present tantalising and poignant glimpses of a bygone age, when Belfast was justifiable know as “Linenopolis.”

Note: This is a paperback reprint of the original hardcover title.

This bundle includes the following publications:

Through the Salerooms: Art Auctions in Belfast, 1807-1888
Through the Salerooms is the third and final volume to be derived from the author’s doctoral dissertation of 1998, ‘The Development of Belfast as a Centre of Art 1760–1888’ (Queen’s University, Belfast). The first book, Art in Belfast 1760–1888: Art Lovers or Philistines? (2006) told the story of art in Belfast from its beginnings in the 1760s to the 1880s, whilst the second volume, Window to an Age: A Chronicle of Art in Belfast 1760–1888 (2016) contained details of artists’ movements, the contents of exhibitions held by art societies and art dealers and the identities of owners.

This third book completes the study of art in Belfast within the period, focussing upon a little-known aspect of the local art world: art auctions and the works on sale. As can be seen, the number of works passing through the salerooms was considerable. Whilst the majority were British paintings, there were also many Irish and European paintings and numerous Old Masters. Though the subject of auctions had been touched upon in the first book, this is the first extended examination of the topic.

The expansion of the art trade from the late 1830s saw the beginning of an important trend: dealers from outside Ireland sending collections to be auctioned in Belfast. This sending of works indicates that Belfast was regarded as a good place to sell, a fact hitherto unknown in the art history of the town.

With a section on auctioneers and dealers and an index of owners, the book is a valuable addition to the art and cultural history of Belfast in the nineteenth century.

Window To An Age – A Chronicle of Art in Belfast 1760-1888

Dr Eileen Black, a former fine art curator in the Ulster Museum, has published numerous articles on Irish art and catalogues on various areas of the museum’s collection; also, catalogues of the fine art collections of the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, Queen’s University and Down County Museum.

In 2006, she published Art in Belfast 1760-1888: Art Lovers or Philistines?, a major work based on her doctoral thesis. Now retired, she continues to explore the art world of Belfast in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a subject of endless fascination for her.

Window to an Age is intended as a companion to the author’s book of 2006 – Art in Belfast 1760-1888: Art Lovers or Philistines? – which told the story of art in Belfast from its early beginnings to the opening in 1888 of the town’s first rate-supported art space, a suite of galleries on the top floor of the Free Public Library (now Central Library) in Royal Avenue.

This new publication gives an account of artists’ comings and goings in Belfast between 1760 and 1888 and details the contents of the various exhibitions held by exhibiting societies and art dealers, information which has been largely forgotten or lost through time.

The book also reveals lesser-known features of the local art world, such as the many panoramas which came to town, providing entertainment and education for the masses; also, the art to be seen at the conversaziones of societies like the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society and the various kinds of artistic training offered to gentlewomen by now-forgotten lady artists.

Overall, Window to an Age gives a bird’s-eye view of the art world of the town during the period covered and provides a unique insight into aspects of Belfast’s cultural life in former times.

The inclusion of an index of owners of art, of whom little was known, together with an index of portraits, should prove particularly useful to local and family historians.

Through the Salerooms is the third and final volume to be derived from the author’s doctoral dissertation of 1998, ‘The Development of Belfast as a Centre of Art 1760–1888’ (Queen’s University, Belfast). The first book, Art in Belfast 1760–1888: Art Lovers or Philistines? (2006) told the story of art in Belfast from its beginnings in the 1760s to the 1880s, whilst the second volume, Window to an Age: A Chronicle of Art in Belfast 1760–1888 (2016) contained details of artists’ movements, the contents of exhibitions held by art societies and art dealers and the identities of owners.

With a section on auctioneers and dealers and an index of owners, the book is a valuable addition to the art and cultural history of Belfast in the nineteenth century.

Please note this product is for BOTH the print version and digital eBook of this title

The print version of this book will be sent by mail and the eBook will be sent to you via email when your order is complete.

The Evolution of the GAA brings together leading writers and academics to examine the history of the GAA over 125 years and Gaelic games over previous centuries. This collection outlines the progress made by the organisation and its games in Ulster, Ireland and abroad.

The first section comprises a number of personal reflections by prominent members of the GAA from the last seven decades: President Mary McAleese, Cardinal Sean Brady, Paddy McFlynn, Maurice Hayes, Jim McKeever, Peter Quinn and Mickey Harte. In the second and third sections, a series of academic essays explore various themes of GAA history, such as the antiquity of hurling and related games in Ulster; the founding of the GAA; the social aspects of early clubs; the role of the press in the propagation of the association; its relationship with religion and politics; its initial struggles in Ulster; the development of the playing rules of football and hurling; the reduction of violence in the games; camogie up to 1950; and the international dimensions of the GAA.

The fourth section includes an appraisal of Cardinal Ã O’Fiaich’s involvement with the GAA, and reveals new information about John McKay, the Ulsterman who attended the first meeting of the association in 1884.

Also contained are new records of Ulster senior hurling and football championship results and final teams back to 1888, and the most comprehensive bibliography of GAA-related material published to date. Dozens of previously unpublished photographs and other images feature throughout the volume.

Note: This is a paperback reprint of the original publication.