ABSTRACT
This chapter first introduces the late seventeenth-century Irish political system, including the evolution of Poynings’ law. It then focuses on the career of Henri de Ruvigny, earl of Galway, as one of the three governing lords justices in 1697, and contends that he was de facto vice-roy in the period 1697–1701. It examines Galway’s role in shaping the government of Ireland in the post-Glorious Revolution era, at the height of the Williamite regime. Particular attention is given to the legitimisation of the state through law, and how Galway managed the parliament in this crucial period of Irish history, which marked the beginning of the so-called ‘Protestant Ascendency’. Galway’s association with Lord Chancellor John Methuen, his broadening of the court party in parliament, his quelling of factionalism, his overseeing the implementation of penal legislation (including the Bishop’s Banishment Act) and ratification of the treaty of Limerick without the missing clause, alongside his dealing with the thorny question of the sole right, are also addressed in the chapter.
