The last generation has seen a veritable revolution in scholarly work on Elizabeth I, on Ireland, and on the colonial aspects of the literary productions that typically served to link the two. It is now commonly accepted that Elizabeth was a much more active and activist figure than an older scholarship allowed. Gaelic elites are acknowledged to have had close interactions with the crown and continental powers; Ireland itself has been shown to have occupied a greater place in Tudor political calculations than previously thought. Literary masterpieces of the age are recognised for their imperial and colonial entanglements. Elizabeth I and Ireland is the first collection fully to connect these recent scholarly advances. Bringing together Irish and English historians, and literary scholars of both vernacular languages, this is the first sustained consideration of the roles played by Elizabeth and by the Irish in shaping relations between the realms.

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2015

‘Elizabeth I and Ireland is an expansive and inclusive take on what is thorny subject matter. It is to be commended for its variety of approaches which, taken overall, highlight the multifaceted complexities of the engagement between Tudor governance and sixteenth-century Ireland.’

Patrick Murray Source: Irish Studies Review

‘This cohesive collection of essays provides an excellent distillation of recent cross-disciplinary research on Elizabethan Ireland. It should be of particular benefit to scholars of early modern England and Europe in illustrating that England was but one unit of multiple kingdom governed from London, and that the Crown’s involvement with Ireland is vital to understanding how the British state came into being.’

Nicholas Canny Source: Renaissance Quarterly

'This volume of essays, edited by Brendan Kane and Valerie McGowan-Doyle, originated in a multidisciplinary conference held at the University of Connecticut in 2009. The justification for the volume, so the editors claim, is that recent work on Elizabeth had largely failed to consider Ireland.'

Steven G. Ellis Source: The English Historical Review