Four Courts Press

29/10/2026

Now 👏 in 👏 paperback 👏

The new paperback edition of The Ormond lordship in County Kilkenny, 1515–1642: The rise and fall of Butler feudal power by David Edwards is now available in bookshops and on the Four Courts Press website.

During the 16th century Ireland was dominated by a handful of great feudal dynasties controlling entire regions of the country by ancestral descent and military might. It is generally recognised that by the beginning of the 17th century several of these dynasties had collapsed, forced into rebellion and exile by the re-emerging power of the English monarchy. This book tells a contrasting story of the Butlers, earls of Ormond, a dynasty that managed not only to survive but to profit from the growth of English royal power. Preferring to collaborate with the monarchy rather than resist it, the Butler earls reaped great benefits from royal favour, gaining grants of land and office and securing a lasting influence over the implementation of crown policy in Ireland. As their national status grew so they increased their power-base in Co. Kilkenny, developing stronger patron-client ties with many of the local Old English and Gaelic gentry.

The earls continued to enjoy crown support until the reign of James I. No longer satisfied with political obedience, but demanding religious compliance as well, King James' Protestant government reacted with hostility to the spread of Counter-Reformation Catholicism in the Ormond territories. An effort was made to make the earldom Protestant while simultaneously weakening its feudal relationship with the local gentry. The experiment failed under a heavily indebted Protestant earl, and the Ormond lordship disintegrated. Where once it had been a loyalist stronghold, by 1641 Kilkenny had emerged as a major centre of resistance to the royal government and Catholic community leaders played a significant part in the downfall of the British multiple monarchy of Charles I.

David Edwards is Associate Professor in the School of History at UCC. His publications include (co-edited) Age of Atrocity: Violence and political conflict in early modern Ireland (2007; reprinted 2026).

22/10/2026

Book Launch Tomorrow ‼️

Don't miss the launch of The Irish Soldier edited by Thomas Bartlett.

21/10/2026

Congratulations to Maurice J Casey and John Waddell jointly awarded prestigious Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction 2026.

The prize was presented by President of the Royal Irish Academy, Professor Daniel Carey, and by Eugene Downes, Cultural Director with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The ceremony was attended by the French ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Céline Place, and featured a lecture by the winner of the 2025 Académie française Michel Déon Prize, Fabrice Humbert.

This Award celebrates the vital literary links between France and Ireland honouring the legacy of the Great French writer Michel Déon

https://www.ria.ie/2026/10/02/maurice-j-casey-and-john-waddell-jointly-awarded-prestigious-michel-deon-prize-funded-by-the-department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trade/

13/10/2026

Happy publication day to … 🥁

Improvement and nationhood: Essays in Irish history, 1700–1850 presented to James Kelly, edited by David Hayton and Ciarán Mac Murchaidh!

This collection of essays explores various aspects of Irish life from the beginning of the eighteenth century until the Great Famine, reflecting the interests and scholarly achievements of Professor James Kelly, one of the foremost historians of the period. The contributions cover a broad range of subjects but are united in their concern with the effects of political and social change on the mental landscape of Irish men and women in an era defined by economic improvement and developing senses of nationhood.

Swipe for a photograph of a happy James Kelly with his book 😊➡️

The book is available to buy now from all good local bookshops and the Four Courts Press website: https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2026/improvement-and-nationhood

06/10/2026

Happy publication day to The Irish Soldier edited by Thomas Bartlett! 🥳

This edited volume presents some thirty chapters by a team of international scholars reviewing the Irish military experience throughout the world over the past 1000 years with each chapter seeking to address the question of whether or not there was anything distinctive about ‘The Irish soldier’.

Check out our website for the full contents list 📋

About the editor: Thomas Bartlett MRIA, professor emeritus of Irish history at the University of Aberdeen, has published widely on Irish history and most recently was the general editor for the 4-volume Cambridge History of Ireland (Cambridge, 2018).

The book is available now from all good local bookshops and from the Four Courts Press website. Get it while the ink's still hot 😉🫟

https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2026/the-irish-soldier

02/10/2026

We are ecstatic! 🕺🥳

Huge congratulations to Four Courts Press author John Waddell and Maurice J Casey who were jointly awarded the Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction 2026.

Read all about it in the Irish The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2026/10/02/maurice-j-casey-and-john-waddell-win-michel-deon-prize/

Congratulations to Maurice J Casey and John Waddell MRIA for winning the 2026 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction, in the first joint-awarding of the prestigious prize.

Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism’s Forgotten Radicals by Maurice J. Casey is published by Footnote Press and The Celtic World: a history by John Waddell is published by Four Courts Press.

The prize, sponsored by the Irish Foreign Ministry, was presented by Royal Irish Academy President, Daniel Carey, and by Eugene Downes, Cultural Director with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at a ceremony last night which also featured a lecture by the winner of the 2025 Académie française Michel Déon Prize, Fabrice Humbert.

Read more about the Michel Déon Prize ceremony on the RIA website: https://www.ria.ie/2026/10/02/maurice-j-casey-and-john-waddell-jointly-awarded-prestigious-michel-deon-prize-funded-by-the-department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trade/

📸: Professor Daniel Carey, President of the Royal Irish Academy, Maurice J Casey, joint winner of the 2026 Michel Déon Prize, John Waddell MRIA, joint winner of the 2026 Michel Déon Prize, H.E. Céline Place, Ambassador of France to Ireland and Eugene Downes, Cultural Director, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Photo: Johnny Bambury.

29/09/2026

This Friday, a celebration of Brian Friel will be taking place at the National Library of Ireland, marking the 11th anniversary of his death. Tickets are fully booked, but you can join the waitlist, and, while you’re waiting, why not read a copy of Brian Friel: New Beginnings by Kelly Matthews?

This wonderful book reveals Friel’s struggles to be noticed as a young writer, as well as his correspondence with his first mentors, and the influences which shaped his early work.

📢 And there are only 19 copies of this book remaining (0 available in North America), so pick up a copy from our website while you can!

Buy the book: https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2024/brian-friel

Join the event waitlist: https://www.nli.ie/exhibitions-events/ballybeg-goes-global

23/09/2026

Mark your calendars 🗓️🖍️

21/09/2026

New publication alert 🚨🆕

Welcome The Royal Irish Constabulary Auxiliary Force, 1881-3: A short history and complete alphabetical list of the “Magpies” written by the wonderful Jim Herlihy

To augment the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Land War, 1879–82, a new auxiliary police force was raised, entitled the Royal Irish Constabulary Auxiliary Force (RICAF). In December 1881 it began recruiting candidates from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Its 440 members, after a short period of training in the Curragh Military Camp in County Kildare, were armed and deployed to remote areas of the country, occupying specially adapted steel-clad and concrete-covered timber huts, with the primary mission of affording security to threatened landlords. The RICAF was disbanded in August 1883, and during its short existence suffered no casualties. This book contains an alphabetical list of the 440 men who enlisted as sub-constables in the RICAF. Each entry includes the surname, forename, registered number, birth year, native county, previous occupation, height, religion, marital status, enlistment date, by whom they were recommended, constabulary division to which they were allocated, departure date and remarks. It also includes an in-depth analysis of the RICAF by religion; age; marital status; occupations; countries and counties of birth; and allocations by constabulary divisions. The book also contains a complete list of Protection Posts and RIC Hut Stations occupied by members of the RICAF during its existence, arranged by constabulary divisions and stations, and showing the distance in miles from each constabulary district headquarters. Finally, the RIC service records of the sixteen members who saw previous service in the RICAF are provided.

Jim Herlihy, a retired member of the Garda Siochana and a co-founder of the Siochana Historical Society, has worked on these sources for many years.

The book is available to buy now from good local bookshops and our website 📘 https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2025/the-royal-irish-constabulary-auxiliary-force-1881-3