Gillespie

Irish Provincial Cultures in the Long Eighteenth-Century: Making the Middle Sort Gillespie

Brief Description: "In this book, thirteen distinguished historians of early modern Ireland recreate the lost world of those who carved out a middle position between the aristocracy and the tenantry of provincial Ireland. These essays chart the sometimes easy relationships between local and wider worlds, consider the societies that those in provincial Ireland made for themselves and document the material goods with which they adorned the places they occupied. By considering aspects of the long eighteenth century as diverse as music, wine consumption, buildings, paintings, plasterwork and print as well as the better-known subjects of the law, landlord improvement and literary patronage, this volume builds a fascinating picture of a restless society trying to adapt itself to the needs of a complex and divided world. These essays provide new insights and perspectives on a world that is usually seen through the windows of the parliament house or the episcopal palace. In doing so they reveal much about the texture of a world that is gradually coming to be understood as the fascinating and complex society that it was, in which the middling sort sought their own salvation in a vortex of political, economic and religious change."--Publisher's website. Table of Contents: List of Illustrations -- List of Abbreviations -- List of Contributors -- Preface -- Toby Barnard and Ireland / R. F. Foster -- Introduction: Recovering the Grand Figure -- Part I. Provincials and the world: consumers and shapers -- 1. Print and the provision of medical knowledge in eighteenth-century Ireland / James Kelly -- 2. Grand tour: the passage of migrant craftsmen from Lake Lugano to Co. Kildare / Christine Casey -- 3. The world of Richard Lahy, an Irish law agent in eighteenth-century London / John Bergin -- 4. 'Irish wine': the import of claret from Bordeaux to provincial Ireland in the eighteenth century / Marie-Louise Legg -- 5. Thomas Prior, Sir John Rawdon, third baronet, and the mentality and ideology of 'improvement': a question of upbringing / D. W. Hayton -- Part II. Provincial societies: time and place -- 6. Cycles, seasons and the everyday in mid-eighteenth-century provincial Ireland / David Fleming -- 7. Music and song in early eighteenth-century Belfast / Raymond Gillespie -- 8. Fighting for a 'small provincial establishment': the Cork goldsmiths and their quest for a local assay office / Alison FitzGerald -- 9. The Book of O'Loghlen: an unwanted wedding gift? / Bernadette Cunningham -- Part III. Provincial things: building and pictures -- 10. The architecture of Irish country houses, 1691-1739: continuity and innovation / Rolf Loeber, Livia Hurley -- 11. 'A good painter may get good bread': Thomas Pooley and Garret Morphey, two gentlemen painters / Jane Fenlon -- 12. Chapel or Church? The case of St Mary's, Pope's Quay, Cork / Edward McParland -- Bibliography -- Bibliography of the major writings of Toby Barnard to 2011 -- Index. Publisher Marketing: In this book, 13 distinguished historians of early modern Ireland recreate the lost world of those who carved out a middle position between the aristocracy and the tenantry of provincial Ireland. These essays chart the sometimes uneasy relationships between local and wider worlds, consider the societies that those in provincial Ireland made for themselves, and document the material goods with which they adorned the places they occupied. The book considers aspects of the long 18th century, as diverse as music, wine consumption, buildings, paintings, plasterwork, and print, as well as the better-known subjects of the law, landlord improvement, and literary patronage. It builds a fascinating picture of a restless society trying to adapt itself to the needs of a complex and divided world. It provides new insights and perspectives on a world that is usually seen through the windows of the Parliament House or the Episcopal Palace. In doing so, the book reveals much about the texture of a world that is gradually coming to be understood as the fascinating and complex society in which the middling sort sought their own salvation in a vortex of political, economic, and religious change.

Contributor Bio:  Gillespie, Raymond Raymond Gillespie teaches History at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.