ABSTRACT
The unrest in Ireland which eventually followed the accession of James II to the throne affected not only the political life of that kingdom but brought a sudden halt to the work of the Dublin Society. The last recorded meeting took place on 11 April 1687, and although informal sessions may have been held throughout the following months, Ashe informed William Musgrave in the middle of July that ‘the jealousy, suspition, and prospect of troubles in this kingdome have such unhappy influence on our philosophical endeavours, that little of late worth communicating has been done among us’. 1 But at Oxford and London the situation was soon to follow a similar course, and early in 1691 Plot, in a letter to Edward Lhuyd, deplored the fact that the two English societies were quite asleep. 2 Soon the threat of open war in Ireland became so serious, that a number of members, all but one of whom were Protestants, fled to England, where they remained until the Williamite Settlement had been finally imposed. The Molyneux brothers went to Chester, where they both maintained their interest in natural philosophy and where William began to write his Dioptrica Nova. While in London Ashe and Mullen moved in scientific circles, and already in 1689 were frequenting Jonathan's Coffee House, which had become a meeting place for fellows of the Royal Society. 3
