Ulster Reading Resources The Plantation of Ulster: “In this vivid account, the author punctures  some generally held assumptions: despite slaughter and famine, the province on the eve of the Plantation was not completely depopulated as was often asserted at the time; the native Irish were not deliberately given the most infertile land; some of the most energetic planters were Catholic; and the Catholic Church there emerged stronger than before. Above all, natives and newcomers fused to a greater degree than is widely believed: apart from recent immigrants, nearly all Ulster people today have the blood of both Planter and Gael flowing in their veins. Nevertheless, memories of dispossession and massacre, etched into the folk memory, were to ignite explosive outbreaks of intercommunal conflict down to our own time. The Plantation was also the beginning of a far greater exodus to North America. Subsequently, descendants of Ulster planters crossed the Atlantic in their tens of thousands to play a central role in shaping the United States of America.” M.C. O’Callaghan’s Using the 1901/1911 Irish Census is a highly recommended resource, particularly if you are not familiar with the content of the census and how it can be used. The amount of information in the 1901/1911 Census is surprising. Even more interesting is the ability to drill down and see which townland is included in each District Electoral Division. The book is available as a Kindle book and is reasonably priced at $1.32. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland:   “a key resource in Irish genealogical research, this second edition contains maps detailing the location of Roman Catholic parishes in all 32 countries of Ireland and Presbyterian congregations in the nine counties of Northern Ireland. Information collected here is essential for tracing pre-1864 ancestors in church records and useful for locating post-1864 ancestors in civil records, with descriptions and maps of the parochial and civil administrative divisions to which all major Irish record sources are linked. To aid researchers in identifying the precise location of administrative divisions, there are at least four maps for every county, depicting Church of Ireland parishes, baronies, and Church of Ireland dioceses, poor law unions and the parishes included within the probate districts serving that county, and Roman Catholic parishes and dioceses.”  The Scottish Migration to Ulster:  “was first published in 1973, yet it continues to be one of the most significant works of scholarship on the 'plantation' of Ulster. This book describes in detail the initial establishment of settlement in Ireland's northern province over a comparatively short space of time, that is from 1603 to 1625. He examines the society that produced the Scottish settlers, describes the conditions that they encountered when they arrived in Ireland, and explains what effect the Scottish migration had in both Ireland and Scotland. Short biographies of the principal planters are included and also maps, showing patterns of settlement.” It’s also available at the Ulster Historical Foundation book store. Researching Ulster Ancestors:  “When the first edition of this book appeared in 2005 it was quickly recognised as an essential work of reference for family historians researching Ulster ancestors in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It filled an important gap in providing reliable guidance on sources for perhaps the most critical period in understanding a family’s links with the north of Ireland. This is territory where some family historians fear to tread. But they need not. This guide opens up avenues for research; drawing attention to the riches of archives inside and outside of the island of Ireland, demonstrating the benefit of often undervalued, rare, even quite unconventional, yet accessible sources – if you know where to look – which can help document your ancestors back to the 1600s.” Researching Presbyterian Ancestors in Ireland: “Millions of people around the world have Presbyterian ancestors from Ireland. The aim of this book is to help those with Irish Presbyterian roots find out more about their forebears. It considers the different strands of Presbyterianism in Ireland and explores the range of records generated by these religious denominations and where this material can be accessed by researchers. Much attention is focused on the documentation created by individual congregations, though consideration is also given to the records created by the higher courts of Presbyterianism and other bodies, as well as the personal papers of Presbyterian ministers.” First published in 1966, R. J. Dickson’s  Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718-1775 “remains the acknowledged work of scholarship on migration in the eighteenth century of a quarter of a million people from Ulster to the New World. It combines detailed investigation of the economic, social, and political background to the exodus with information on the emigrant trade and an analysis of the motivations and origins of the emigrants themselves. This new edition includes a specially written introduction by Graeme Kirkham, whose researches on both sides of the Atlantic are reflected in an essay which considers recent advances in the understanding of this important mass population movement from Ireland to America.” Colonial Ulster , the Settlement of East Ulster 1600 - 1641: “In this Landmark Raymond Gillespie reconstructs the society of east Ulster – the counties of Antrim and Down – in the early seventeenth century. These counties formed a distinct region within Ulster and were excluded from the official scheme for the Ulster plantation. In remarkable detail – all the more impressive due to the loss of so many records of this era – the author explores demographic and economic developments, the emergence of rural and urban communities, and the tension between central government and local interests. In doing so, he reveals a fascinating picture of the strivings of both settlers and natives to establish a modus vivendi during a period of rapid change.” Strabane Barony during the Ulster Plantation: “Under the scheme of Plantation, Strabane barony was allocated to undertakers from Scotland, the chief of whom was James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn. The settlement here was therefore overwhelmingly Scottish, rather than English. Chapters in this book look at Strabane in the pre-Plantation era, the background of the Scottish undertakers, the development of the town of Strabane, the impact of the Reformation, and the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the barony in the early seventeenth century. First published over 30 years ago, this fresh edition of The Strabane Barony during the Ulster Plantation, 1607-41 presents to a new audience the story of the Plantation in the barony of Strabane. It stands as an exemplar of the way in which a professional historian and his students can successfully work together to produce a high-quality publication.“ A Narrow Sea:“Based on the popular BBC Radio Ulster series of the same name,   traces the epic sweep of Ireland’s relationship with Scotland, exploring the myriad connections, correlations, personalities and antagonisms that have, over the years, defined the relationship between these two spirited neighbours. Roving freely across the centuries, from the first migrations of the regions’ intrepid Mesolithic pioneers, to the grand colonial projects of the Vikings, Normans and Stuarts, this is the dramatic story of how one culture came to found two very different nations and, in doing so, project its influence as far afield as North America and Australasia. In 120 brief and accessible episodes, A Narrow Sea offers a stirring and panoramic view of a connection that has shaped the course of history on both sides of the narrow sea.”