Between Myth and Margin: The Huguenots in Irish History*

This article surveys the modern historiography of the Huguenots in Ireland. As victims of religious persecution, but also as Protestants, the historiography of the Huguenots in Ireland provides an excellent barometer for measuring contemporary political and historiographical concerns within Ireland. In the long and arduous struggles over Irish identity, religion and political control, the Huguenots have been used by some historians to represent heroic Protestant victims of Catholic, absolutist tyranny, and the prosperity‐inducing values of Protestant dissent. Alternatively, they have been overlooked as inconsequential bit‐players in the clear cultural and political divide between Saxon and Celt. In post‐1920 Ireland, they have also represented the legitimacy of southern Irish Protestantism. More recently, professional historians have attempted to examine the Huguenot refugee communities in Ireland with no preconceived notions or political points of view. This approach has proved fruitful. Nevertheless, by representing European connections in Irish history and cultural diversity within Irish society at a time when these issues are debated throughout the island, the Huguenots in Ireland remain a potent political symbol.