Richard Bagwell, Irish Historian, Dies

Richard Bagwell (9 December 1840 – 4 December 1918) was a noted historian of the Stuart and Tudor periods in Ireland, and a political commentator with strong Unionist convictions. He particularly focusing on the period of the Cromwellian and Williamite wars. His major work is the “History of Ireland under the Stuart Kings,” which covers the 17th century in Ireland.

He was the eldest son of John Bagwell, M.P. for Clonmel from 1857 to 1874.

His son John Philip Bagwell followed the family tradition in politics becoming a Senator in the government of the Irish Free State in 1923

Politics and Employment

Bagwell was educated at Harrow and Oxford in England and called to the Bar, being admitted to Inner Temple in 1866. He was the author of Ireland Under the Tudors, 3 vols. (1885-1890) and Ireland Under the Stuarts, 3 vols. (1909–10), in recognition for which he was given the honorary degree of Litt. D. by Dublin University in 1913 and that of D.Litt. by Oxford University in 1917.

He also wrote the historical entry on ‘Ireland’ for the Encyclopædia BritannicCommissioner on National Education between 1905 and 1918

• Member of the Patriotic Union (Southern Unionists).
• High Sheriff of County Tipperary in 1869.
• Justice of the Peace for County Tipperary (and later for Waterford)
• Held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Tipperary.
• Special Local Government Commissioner between 1898 and 1903
• President of the Borstal Association of Ireland.

“Ireland under the Tudors” (1885-1890)

This work is a multi-volume history covering the period of Tudor rule in Ireland.

“Ireland under the Stuarts and under the Interregnum” (1909-1914)

Similar to the Tudors series, this work is a multi-volume history focusing on Ireland during the Stuart period and the Interregnum.

“Ireland under the Stuarts: 1603-1642” (1885)

This book is part of the broader series and covers the early Stuart period in Ireland.

“Ireland under the Stuarts: 1642-1660” (1887)

Another volume in the series, this book covers the period of the Confederate Wars and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

“The Old English Manor: A Record of the Norman Invasion of Ireland in 1169-79” (1892)

This work delves into the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century.

“Ossory, Laois, and Leinster” (1889)

A regional history focusing on the Irish provinces of Ossory, Laois, and Leinster.