Property, Privilege and Politics: The Coroner in Pre-Famine Ireland, 1801–1846

This chapter examines the function, status and qualifications of the men that served in the role of county coroner in Ireland in the first half of the nineteenth century. This remains an under-researched area when compared to other local government figures of authority. The history of the office exposes tensions within a politically polarised society and the need for changes in legislation. A combination of factors initially undermined the social standing and reputation of coroners. An examination of the legislation on coroners that the administration subsequently introduced suggests that the authority of the office in early-nineteenth-century Ireland was not strictly jurisprudential, but political and confessional by nature. By analysing the personal background, work experience, social standing, political alliances and religious patronage of coroner William Charles Waddell (1798-1878), the paper charts the wider social and political narrative that allowed this eminently respectable Presbyterian figure to secure the role of coroner of County Monaghan.

Invoking the Authority of the Middle Ages in Nineteenth-Century Ireland: The ‘Irish Crosses’ of Earley & Powells

This essay challenges the claim of the antiquarian artist Henry O’Neill that the publication of his 1857 book on early medieval crosses in Ireland sparked the nineteenth-century Celtic cross industry. While acknowledging O’Neill’s contribution as a founding researcher of medieval high cross scholarship, it argues that the design and significance of Celtic crosses developed in Victorian Ireland through social networks of antiquarians, monument makers and their culturally diverse, elite clients. Highlighted is the Irish ecclesiastical decorating firm, Earley & Powells, which began producing Celtic cross monuments in the 1860s. The significance of the Celtic cross silhouette which featured in landscape paintings alongside medieval ruins is considered in view of the conflicted relationship between landscape and Irish aristocracy. The essay concludes with a discussion about two of Earley & Powells’ clients and the monumental Celtic crosses they commissioned.

Sermons and the Performance of Historiographical Authority in the Construction of the Roman Catholic Built Landscape, 1880–1890

During the nineteenth century, infrastructures of devotion and religious worship in Ireland changed dramatically. By 1900, the landscape was transformed by the presence of highly decorated, prominent church buildings. The many building projects of the Roman Catholic church were highly dependent on donations and fundraising. This essay explores the extent to which historical narratives, images, and ideas were used in order to motivate donations, and to develop a sense of community engagement with these new buildings as both symbols of past persecution overcome, and future spiritual glory. It explores sermons and speeches associated with new church building projects as sites for the performance of historiographical authority, and traces the emergence of key narratives of identity and memory, which were powerfully expressed through the spaces and architectural forms of the church buildings.

The O’Connellite Persuasion

This essay explores how the political language of the nineteenth-century Irish political leader Daniel O’Connell did not present a consistent doctrine, or a finely articulated programme, but a persuasion. O’Connell’s political strategy was to present a broad judgement of political affairs informed by common sentiments and beliefs about what was happening in Ireland. In doing so, he developed his own political rhetoric and articulated a language that inspired the downtrodden Catholics to follow him and agitate for their civil rights. The language remained consistent even as the political strategies switched and changed, and rolled and adapted to suit changing political realities. By casting himself as the people’s tribune, O’Connell made himself the champion of the oppressed, but it also ensured that his legacy was hotly contested.