Institutional history and the early modern Irish state

Typically, the study of courts, parliament, and local, shrieval, provincial, and national administrations has been used to provide material for traditional history—that is, the history of great men, wars and territorial disputes, and religious, constitutional, and political contests. Irish history has generally followed many of the main trends within historiography to be found outside of Ireland (usually from Britain), except perhaps with the exception of the lurch to Marxist or strong leftist history in the second half of the twentieth century. ² In Ireland, such orthodox history, as in most countries, has been undertaken in order to produce a broad national history—the story of Ireland and how it got to where it was when such histories were written. ³ This inevitably has led historians toward understanding the relationship between native and newcomer; England and Ireland; Catholic and Protestant; or, in short, conflict and resolution.