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Promoting Irish Culture and History from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Tag Archives: County Coleraine


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Plantation Agreement Between the Crown & the Irish Society of London

The agreement on January 28, 1610, between the Crown and the Irish Society of London to carry out the plantation of Derry, Coleraine, and part of Tyrone refers to a significant historical event known as the Plantation of Ulster. This event takes place in the early 17th century and is part of the broader policy of the English and later British colonization of Ireland.

The Plantation of Ulster is a process initiated by the English Crown, primarily under King James I, to colonize the province of Ulster in the north of Ireland with English and Scottish Protestant settlers to defend against a future attack from within or without. This follows the Flight of the Earls in 1607, when several Gaelic Irish lords leave Ireland, leading to the confiscation of their lands by the Crown.

In his survey, James I finds that the town of Derry (renamed Londonderry) can become either a great asset as a control over the River Foyle and Lough Swilly, or it can become an inviting back door if the people of the area are against him. He pressures the guilds of the City of London to fund the resettlement of the area, including the building of a new walled city.

The Irish Society is formed by the City of London in response to James I’s royal request to participate in the plantation. The Society is a consortium of London livery companies, which are trade associations and guilds.

The Crown grants the Irish Society lands in Ulster, particularly in modern-day County Londonderry (then including what is now County Tyrone), to establish new settlements. The key areas are the city of Derry and the town of Coleraine.

The primary objective is to settle Ulster with loyal Protestant subjects, thus consolidating English influence in Ireland. The plantation aims to bring about economic development and to establish control over what is considered a rebellious and unruly region.

The livery companies of London undertake the establishment of new towns, fortifications, and the settlement of the land with tenants. However, the implementation faces various challenges, including resistance from the native Irish population, logistical difficulties, and issues of mismanagement.

The Plantation of Ulster has profound and lasting demographic, social, and political impacts. It leads to significant changes in land ownership and contributes to the religious and cultural diversification of the region. The plantation is also a root cause of the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland, contributing to centuries of conflict between the Protestant and Catholic communities.

The agreement between the Crown and the Irish Society of London to carry out the Plantation of Ulster is a pivotal event in Irish history. It plays a crucial role in shaping the historical trajectory of Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland, and its effects are still felt in the region’s complex socio-political landscape.

The Plantation of Ulster remains a subject of historical analysis and debate, reflecting the complex interplay of colonization, cultural identity, and conflict in Irish history.

(From: “The Crown and the Irish Society of London, Agree to Carry Out the Plantation of Derry, Coleraine and Part of Tyrone,” McManus Family History, http://www.mcmanusfamilyhistory.com | Pictured: The crest of the Irish Society of London)


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Preparations Commence for the Plantation of Ulster

On July 19, 1608, preparations commence for the plantation of six Ulster counties of Armagh, Cavan, Coleraine, Donegal, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.

The Plantation of Ulster is the organised colonisation, or plantation, of the Irish province of Ulster by people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the settlers, or planters, come from southern Scotland and northern England. Their culture differs from that of the native Irish. Small privately funded plantations by wealthy landowners begin in 1606, while the official plantation begins in 1609. Most of the colonised land had been confiscated from the native Gaelic chiefs, several of whom had fled Ireland for mainland Europe in 1607 following the Nine Years’ War against English rule. The official plantation comprises an estimated half a million acres of arable land in counties Armagh, Cavan, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Donegal, and Coleraine. Land in counties Antrim, Down, and Monaghan is privately colonised with the king’s support.

Among those involved in planning and overseeing the plantation are King James, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Arthur Chichester, and the Attorney-General for Ireland, John Davies. They see the plantation as a means of controlling, anglicising, and “civilising” Ulster. The province is almost wholly Gaelic, Catholic, and rural and has been the region most resistant to English control. The plantation is also meant to sever Gaelic Ulster’s links with the Gaelic Highlands of Scotland. The colonists, or “British tenants,” are required to be English-speaking, Protestant and loyal to the king. Some of the undertakers and settlers, however, are Catholic. The Scottish settlers are mostly Presbyterian Lowlanders and the English mostly Anglican Northerners. Although some “loyal” natives are granted land, the native Irish reaction to the plantation is generally hostile, and native writers bewail what they see as the decline of Gaelic society and the influx of foreigners.

The Plantation of Ulster is the biggest of the Plantations of Ireland. It leads to the founding of many of Ulster’s towns and creates a lasting Ulster Protestant community in the province with ties to Britain. It also results in many of the native Irish nobility losing their land and leads to centuries of ethnic and sectarian animosity, which at times spills into conflict, notably in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and, more recently, the Troubles.


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Creation of The Honourable The Irish Society

irish-society-coat-of-arms

On January 28, 1613, The Honourable The Irish Society, a consortium of livery companies of the City of London, is created by Royal Charter of James I of England to undertake the Plantation in the North West of Ulster that is then being driven by the English Crown.

Following the Gaelic defeat in the Nine Years’ War in 1603 and the Flight of the Earls in 1607, northwest Ulster is left open to colonisation. James I sets out to defend against a future attack from within or without. He finds that the town of Derry can become either a great asset as a control over the River Foyle and Lough Swilly, or it can become an inviting back door should the people of the area turn against him. He pressures the guilds of the City of London to fund the resettlement of the area, including the building of a new walled city. This results in the creation of the Society.

The city of Derry is renamed Londonderry in recognition of the London origin of the Irish Society. County Coleraine is enlarged and renamed County Londonderry after its new county town. The rural area of the county is subdivided between the Great Twelve livery companies, while the towns and environs of Londonderry and Coleraine are retained by the Irish Society.

In January 1635, the Irish Society, as well as the City of London, are found guilty of mismanagement and neglect of Derry plantation. They are sentenced to a fine of £70,000 and forfeiture of Derry property. The Society is suppressed in 1637 but is revived by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 and again after the Restoration by Londonderry’s 1662 royal charter.

The Society is involved in several controversies over the years including a dispute over fishing rights with the Church of Ireland and Bishop of Derry and a lawsuit brought by The Skinners’ Company in 1832 over the distribution of profits. The Society also has some disputes with the corporations over ownership and development of property. During the 17th and 18th centuries, four of the twelve livery companies sell their estates, with the Irish Society requiring a bond of indemnity in each case. Leases to middlemen granted by the remaining companies expire at various times during the nineteenth century, after which the companies “enormously increased the rental.”

The Society finances the building of the Guildhall in Derry. Construction begins in 1887 and it is opened in July 1890, at a cost of £19,000.

The Society remains in existence today as a relatively small grant-giving charitable body. Its educational grants are funded by its remaining property, including the Walls of Derry, a tourist attraction and heritage site, and fisheries on the River Bann. The Society is based in London, but maintains a “representative” resident in County Londonderry.