TLRH | The Cecils in Ireland | Conference
Friday, 26 November 2021, 9:30am – 5:30pm 
The Cecils in Ireland: Anglo-Irish relations in the early modern period
Not that long ago, the relevance of the Cecils, both Lord Burghley and his son Lord Salisbury, to the history of Ireland in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries would have been regarded as marginal. Indeed, several major studies of these great figures were produced over the course of the twentieth century without any reference to Ireland at all.
This reduced vision was in part ideological – the often uncritical assumption that the history of England could be treated entirely independently of its neighbours, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. But it was also shaped by nineteenth century archival decisions within the (then) Public Record Office to separate the State Papers into distinct collections for Domestic, Foreign, Scotland, and Ireland, suggesting that the problems arising in these areas could be compartmentalised.
In recent decades, however, historians have moved on from such divisions, and revealed the complex ways in which the thinking of the Elizabethans was informed by the interconnectedness of all the regions of the archipelago. Central to this re-interpretation has been a reassessment of leading figures in Elizabethan government, notably the Cecils.
The purpose of this conference is to discuss the Cecils in the context of substantial recent research on Anglo-Irish relations in the early modern period. The contributors are all experts who have published and researched widely in this field. This conference is a partnership between the Trinity Long Room Hub and the Lord Burghley 500 Foundation.
The foundation was established in 2019 with the aim of organising and promoting the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the birth of William Cecil (First Baron Burghley) in 2020-21. William Cecil was the first Chancellor of Trinity College Dublin 1592-1598.
LISTEN BACK TO THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE HERE
Programme
9.30am | Welcome by Prof Eve Patten, Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub
9.40am - 11.40am | Session 1 - Chair: Prof Ciaran Brady, Prof. Emeritus, TCD
Dr Alan Kelly, TCD: ‘The secretaries before the Cecils: the foundations of an Irish policy 1495 – 1558’
Dr David Heffernan, UCC: ‘Sir William Cecil and the shaping of English policy in Ireland, 1558 – 1598’
Dr Annaleigh Margey, Dundalk IT: ‘Sir William Cecil and the mapping of Elizabethan Ireland’
11.40am – 12pm | Coffee
12pm – 1.30pm | Session 2 – Chair: Prof Susan Flavin, TCD
Dr James Murray, Technological Higher Education Association (THEA): ‘Sir William Cecil and the Reformation in Ireland’
Dr Brian Jackson, TUSEI: ‘Sir William Cecil and the Counter-Reformation in Ireland’
2.45pm – 4.15pm Session 3 -Chair Prof Ruth Karras, Dept. History, TCD
Prof David Edwards, UCC: ‘The Cecils and the Irish nobility, 1558 – 1612’
Prof Hiram Morgan, UCC: ‘In war and peace: Sir Robert Cecil’s /Salisbury’s Irish policy, 1594 – 1612’
4.15pm – 5.00pm Panel Discussion
Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English
interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact: foraffer@tcd.ie.
Campus Location: Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute
Accessibility: Yes
Research Theme: Creative Arts Practice, Identities in Transformation, Making Ireland
Event Category: Alumni, Arts and Culture, Conferences, Lectures and Seminars, Public
Type of Event: One-time event
Audience: Undergrad, Postgrad, Alumni, Faculty & Staff, Public
Cost: Free but Registration Required
More info: www.eventbrite.ie…
