ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the impact of James II’s accession to the English throne for the Irish Mission. The new king was a Catholic, and set conditions which, apparently, were favourable to the missionary effort. Spain, for its part, seemed well disposed to help the Stuart by deploying more priests and friars in Ireland. James’s attempt to bring his dominions back to Catholicism, although following the tone set by French Gallicanism, which prompted the opposition of Protestants, should have acted as a boost to the Spanish patronage of Irish missionaries. Be that as it may, the number of viatica did not increase, but remained stable. The 1688 revolution and the beginning of the Williamite War in Ireland undermined these favourable conditions. The consequences of the struggle between James II, who had the support of Louis XIV’s troops, and the king-stadholder William III went beyond a mere change of names on the English throne. The signature of the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 brought the conflict to an end and triggered a period of religious tolerance which was to have a lasting effect on the Spanish interests in Ireland.
