The Irish in London and “The London Irish,” ca. 1660–1780

Abstract

The essay looks at individuals from Ireland who came to London between the 1660s and 1780s. Some belonged to groups that had particular reasons to be there, such as wealthy landowners with property in both England and Ireland, would-be lawyers and physicians, writers and artists, clergymen and active members of religious sects. Occasions when sizable numbers of the Irish met are discussed. Also, other factors that may have encouraged a sense of “Irishness,” such as residential districts favored by the Irish or continuing use of the Irish language, are considered. The occasional evidence of coordinated activity is set against the forces that encouraged assimilation into the local London and English cultures, thereby diluting “Irishness.”

Theatrical Gold Diggers: Fortune-Hunting and the Irish on and off the Eighteenth-Century Stage

“…62 This essay, I hope, has made a modest contribution to those lines of enquiry while, for scholars interested in Charles Macklin, it has established that when we wish to consider his oeuvre we should not include the 1750 Fortune-Hunters as a part of his output. That play, even though we now know more about the occasion of its publication, must rather be categorized as the work of that most prolific of writers: Anon.…”

Review of periodical literature published in 2015

“…The contribution of the Irish to London life in the eighteenth century also received positive examination in a special edition of Eighteenth Century Life , introduced by O'Shaughnessy, who provides an excellent review of the existing literature and issues. Bergin stresses that London was the stepping‐stone to continental destinations and networks, and Barnard shows that a real metropolitan identity for the London Irish did not develop until the end of the eighteenth century.…”