Anglo-Irish Politics, 1680 - 1728

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The Brodricks, who originated in Surrey and established themselves in Ireland, in County Cork, in the mid-17th century, were among the most important Anglo-Irish political families in the reigns of the later Stuarts and early Hanoverians. During the 1690s Alan Brodrick (1656-1728) and his brother Thomas (1654-1730) emerged as prominent figures in the Irish house of commons, at the forefront of a political interest which associated itself with the whig party in England. Alan was elected Speaker of the Commons in Dublin in 1703, and was soon recognised as the leader of what became known as the Irish whig party. Meanwhile Thomas carved out for himself a career in the Westminster parliament. The correspondence between the two brothers, and with other members of their immediate family, provides a wealth of detailed commentary on political events in Ireland and England, both national and local. The collection was largely unused by historians until deposited with the Surrey Record Office in the 1970s, when its enormous value was appreciated by researchers seeking to understand Irish political history in the decades after the Glorious Revolution. However, it remains relatively unknown to students of English politics in the same period. This is the first part of a three-volume edition that will present a fully annotated edition of the letters, running from 1680-1728, and covering the Williamite settlement in Ireland, the 'rage of party' under Queen Anne, and the complex factional politics of the years after 1714, marked by controversy over the South Sea Bubble, and in Ireland, the 'patriotic' agitation over Wood's halfpence. Each volume includes an extensive introduction setting out the historical background to the letters, and placing the Brodricks in their various contexts, in County Cork and Surrey, and in the political worlds of Dublin and Westminster.