The Confederate Oath of Association was an oath of allegiance made by Irish Confederate Catholics during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1638–53).

Background

The roots of the "oath of association" lay in the wider

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

during the 17th century, and the then recent Tudor conquest of Ireland which saw the status of much of the Hiberno-Norman and Gaelic Irish gentry challenged, and some of whom were not fully assimilated into the nobility of the new

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed fro ...

. The

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

also saw the seizure of much land, to the dismay of the native Irish. Religious differences were also an issue, with the Irish remaining mostly Catholic, and the newly planted families being either Presbyterian,

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

or Puritan. From October 1641, the Irish Rebellion of 1641 saw an open attempt by the Irish Catholic gentry to retake power in Ireland, with many believing they had been royally authorised by the

Proclamation of Dungannon The Proclamation of Dungannon was a document produced by Sir Phelim O'Neill on 24 October 1641 in the Irish town of Dungannon. O'Neill was one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion which had been launched the previous day. O'Neill's Proclamatio ...

. An oath was drafted at a synod at Kilkenny in May 1642. It emphasised the Confederates' loyalty to the

Stuart monarchy The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter f ...

, their unity, their commitment to protect each other's property rights and their desire for equality of religious practises. From the

Execution of Charles I The execution of Charles I by beheading occurred on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall. The execution was the culmination of political and military conflicts between the royalists and the parliamentarians in ...

in 1649 its acceptance of royal power extended to his son Charles II. Although not a complete success, the Confederates (as they would later be known) established four strongholds across the island — around Ulster under

Phelim O'Neill Sir Phelim Roe O'Neill of Kinard ( Irish: ''Sir Féilim Rua Ó Néill na Ceann Ard''; 1604–1653) was an Irish politician and soldier who started the Irish rebellion in Ulster on 23 October 1641. He joined the Irish Catholic Confedera ...

; around The Pale under Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara; in the south east under

Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret Richard Butler, 3rd Viscount Mountgarret (1578–1651) was the son of Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret and Grany or Grizzel, daughter of Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory. He is best known for his participation in the Irish Confed ...

; and in the south west under

Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician. He succeeded as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defendin ...

. Following this, the Scottish

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covena ...

drove O'Neill's forced out from Ulster, while English

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

took care of the Pale. In response, the Irish, in the areas that they still held, proclaimed a

Confederate Ireland Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military ...

with its capital at Kilkenny. A constitution was drawn up by lawyer

Patrick D'Arcy Patrick d'Arcy (27 September 1725 – 18 October 1779) was an Irish mathematician born in Kiltullagh, County Galway in the west of Ireland. His family, who were Catholics, suffered under the penal laws. In 1739 d'Arcy was sent abroad b ...

in consultation with a committee of noblemen, clergy and gentry — including an "oath of association". The Confederates accepted

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter ...

as their sovereign. They also wished to secure full rights for Catholics in Ireland, toleration of the Catholic religion and governance by its own local aristocracy.

Oath

Transcription

Original spelling

References

{{Reflist Monarchy in Ireland Government documents of Ireland Wars of the Three Kingdoms Irish manuscripts Political history of Ireland History of Catholicism in Ireland 17th century in Ireland 1642 works