[Sca-List] Seeking Irish References

[acheron at elp.rr.com]

> Does anyone know of good references for what everyday life would 
> have been like in 16th Century Ireland?

Yay! Another late period Irishman!

There are various articles you can find floating around the 'net for 
Philip O'Sullivan Beare's Zoilomastix (orignally written in Latin, 
covers a lot. The translated portions tend to be a little more along 
the lines of the history of the Nine Years' War, but there you 
go.)...it covers quite a bit. The translation I have (listed as Ireland 
Under Elizabeth) has a full table of contents, but pretty much ignores 
everything but the direct war-related material. (I happened on my copy 
in a dusty bookstore in San Antonio for about $20 years ago.) Bits and 
pieces of the non-war material have been translated and used in various 
articles.

There's also Sources for Early Modern Irish History, 1534-1641 -- you 
can still find this on Amazon for a decent price. It's got a variety of 
bits and pieces of material.

Annals of the Four Masters is more of a history of Ireland through the 
early 1600s, and you might be able to find that in a university 
library. It's not much for the day-to-day life in Ireland, but a very 
important source for the history of Ireland.

As to clothing, dress and the like, there are quite a few woodcuts and 
portraits available on the 'net of the major players in Ireland, 
especially during the Nine Years' War that show some of the dress. The 
Dungiven and Kilcommon costumes (Reconstructing History has patterns 
for both, along with a few other sites) give some starting points for 
clothing. 

I'd give a longer list, but most of my Irish books are packed away in 
boxes due to somewhat reduced living quarters. ;)

In any event, I'll see what else I've got bookmarked and available in 
easy-to-reach boxes and see if I can get some more information your way.

I guess I should've asked, too...early or late 16th century Ireland?

Kieran,
Citadel