Nicholas Canny
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Nicholas Patrick Canny (born 1944) is an
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
historian and academic specializing in early modern Irish history. He has been a lecturer in Irish history at the
University of Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...
since 1972 and professor there from 1979 to 2011. He is Emeritus Professor of History,
University of Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...
.


Biography

Born at
Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capi ...
on 4 January 1944 to Cecil Canny and Helen Joyce, he was educated at
Kilfenora Kilfenora ( ga, Cill Fhionnúrach , meaning 'Church of the Fertile Hillside' or 'Church of the White Brow') is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. S ...
national school,
St. Flannan's College Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entere ...
,
Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...
, and University College Galway (now the
University of Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...
) from where he graduated with a BA in 1964, and an
M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in 1967. Research student at the
Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...
,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
, 1969–70, and graduated PhD from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
in 1971. Since the mid-1970s, Canny has been a leading authority on early modern Irish history. He was a lecturer in Irish history at University of Galway from 1972 and professor there from 1979 to 2011. His first paper was published in 1970 and focused on
Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill (Irish: ''Aodh Mór Ó Néill''; literally ''Hugh The Great O'Neill''; – 20 July 1616), was an Irish Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created ''The Ó Néill Mór'', Chief of the Name. O'Neil ...
and in the subsequent years additional examinations of Gaelic
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
followed. His 1974 O'Donnell lecture (published in 1975), ''The formation of the Old-English elite in Ireland'', was a ground breaking study of that community. It was, however, his 1976 study ''The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland: a Pattern Established, 1565–76'' that brought him to international attention. This book built on his PhD studies in the United States. He is the only person to have won the Irish Historical Research Prize on two occasions, in 1976 for the above book and in 2003 for ''Making Ireland British 1580–1650''. In 1967 Canny was awarded the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
fellowship to travel to the United States and carry out a PhD in History in the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
. He completed this in 1971 and in subsequent years received a Fulbright-Hayes post-doctorate fellowship to study in
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
. Canny's work is noticeable for its sharp examinations of the ideology of colonisation. He has contributed enormously to current understanding on the Spanish influences on English colonial policy in 16th-century Ireland. In addition, he has built hugely on David Beers Quinn's thesis of Ireland as a practising ground for English colonial policy in the Americas. This study was the basis of his PhD in the United States and Canny's research on this topic has demonstrated the extent of these parallels in a manner previously under appreciated. Canny's debates with fellow historians, Brendan Bradshaw of
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and Ciarán Brady of
Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
, on why the Reformation failed to reform more than 20% of the population of Ireland, and on the ideology of
Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of ...
, have been major additions to historical debate in recent decades. Canny has so far written and/or edited nine major books and over fifty-five academic papers and reviews. He was Founding Director of the Moore Institute at University of Galway from 2000 to 2011, and President of the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...
from 2008 to 2011. Between 2011 and 2016 he was a Member of the Scientific Council of the
European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...
. He was awarded the
Cunningham Medal The Cunningham Medal is the premier award of the Royal Irish Academy. It is awarded every three years in recognition of "outstanding contributions to scholarship and the objectives of the Academy". History It was which was established in 1796 at ...
by the Royal Irish Academy in 2020. Canny is a Fellow of The British Academy and a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.


Works


Published books, edited and coedited

*''The Elizabethan Conquest of Ireland : a Pattern Established'', 1565=76 (Harvester Press, 1976). *''The Upstart Earl : a Study of the Social and Mental World of Richard Boyle, first earl of Cork, 1566–1643'' (Cambridge University Press, 1982). *''From Reformation to Restoration : Ireland 1534–1660'' (Dublin 1987); the third volume in the Helicon history of Ireland paperback series. *''Kingdom and Colony : Ireland in the Atlantic World 1560–1800'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987). *''The Westward Enterprise : English Activities in Ireland, the Atlantic and America, 1480–1650'', edited together with K. R. Andrews and P. E. H. Hair (Liverpool University Press, 1978) a festschrift for David B. Quinn. *''Colonial Identity in the Atlantic World, 1500–1800'', edited with Anthony Pagden (Princeton University Press, 1987). *''Europeans on the Move : Studies on European Migration, 1500–1800'' edited by Nicholas Canny (Oxford University Press, 1994). *''Empire, Society, and Labor: Essays in Honor of Richard S. Dunn'', edited together with Joe Illick and Gary B. Nash (College Park, Pa., published Spring 1997 as supplement no. 64 to Pennsylvania History). *''The Origins of Empire, British Overseas Enterprise to the Close of the Seventeenth Century'' ed., Nicholas Canny vol I of the five volume Oxford History of the British Empire (Oxford University Press,1998). *''Making Ireland British'', 1580–1650 (Oxford University Press, 2001).


Papers, articles and review articles

*'Hugh O'Neill and the changing face of Gaelic Ulster', in ''Studia Hibernica'', X (1970), pp. 73–5. *'The treaty of Mellifont and the reorganisation of Ulster', in ''
The Irish Sword ''The Irish Sword'' is the official journal of the Military History Society of Ireland containing articles on the military history of Ireland, book reviews, notes, notices, queries, illustrations and proceedings. It includes information on subje ...
'', IX (1970) pp. 249–62. *'The Flight of the earls, 1607', in ''Irish Historical Studies'', XVII (1971), pp. 380–99. *'Changing views on Gaelic Ireland', in ''Topic : 24 : Themes in Irish Culture'' (Washington, Pennsylvania. 1972), pp. 19–28. *'The ideology of English colonisation : from Ireland to America', in ''The William & Mary Quarterly'', XXX(1973), pp. 575–98; subsequently reprinted in ''Colonial America : Essays in Politics and Social Development'' ed Stanley N. Katz and John M. Murrin (New York, Knopf, 1983), pp. 47–68; and to be reprinted yet again in ''Theories of Empire, 1450–1800'', ed. David Armitage, (London, Variorum Press, 1998). *The formation of the OldEnglish elite in Ireland, the National University of Ireland O'Donnell lecture for 1974 published in pamphlet form, Dublin 1975, pp. 37. *'Early Modern Ireland : an appraisal appraised', in ''Irish Economic & Social History'', IV (1977), pp. 56–65. *'Dominant Minorities : English Settlers in Ireland and Virginia, 15501650', in ''Minorities in History'' ed. A.C. Hepburn (London, Arnold, 1978), pp. 51–69. *'Rowland White's "Discors Touching Ireland"
569 Year 569 ( DLXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 569 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the ...
, in ''Irish Historical Studies'', XX (1977), pp. 439–63. *'Rowland White's "The Dyssorders of the Irisshery" 571, in ''Studia Hibernica'', XIX (1979), pp. 147–60. *'Why the Reformation failed in Ireland : une question mal posée', in ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History'', XXX (1979), pp. 423–50. *'Sixteenth Century Ireland : Themes and Sources', a debate with Dr. Brendan Bradshaw, Sussex Tapes, 1981. *'The AngloAmerican Colonial Experience', in ''Historical Journal'', XXIV (1981), pp. 485–503. *'The Formation of the Irish Mind : Religion, Politics and Gaelic Irish Literature, 1580–1750', in ''Past & Present'' no. 95 (1982), pp. 91–116; subsequently reprinted in ''Nationalism and Popular Protest in Ireland'', ed. C. H. E. Philpin (Cambridge, 1987), pp. 50–79. *'Edmund Spenser and the Development of an AngloIrish Identity', in ''Yearbook of English Studies'', XIII (1983), pp. 119. *'Galway : from the Reformation to the Penal Laws', in Diarmuid Ó Cearbhaill ed., ''Galway : Town & Gown'', 14841984 (Dublin, Gill & Macmillan, 1984), pp. 10–28. *'Fusion and Faction in Modern Ireland', in ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' XXVI (1984), pp. 35265. *'Migration and Opportunity : Britain, Ireland and the New World', in ''Irish Economic & Social History'' XII (1985), pp. 732; subsequently included in slightly revised form as a chapter of Kingdom and Colony. * Debate with Raymond Gillespie on Migration and Opportunity in ''Irish Economic & Social History'', XIII (1986), pp. 96–100. *'The Power but not the Gory', in ''Times Literary Supplement'', 19 Dec 1986, p. 14–32 : a review of ''New History of Ireland'', vol. IV. *'Pádraigín Haicéad : an sagart agus an file i gcomhthéacs a aimsire', in ''Dúchas'', 1983, 1984, 1985 (Dublin, 1986), pp. 820 ádraigín Haicéad the priest and the poet in the context of his time *'Natives & Other Strangers : settlement, cultural assimilation and conflict', in ''Community, Culture & Conflict'', ed. M.A.G. Ó Tuathaigh (Galway, 1986), pp. 116. *'The Irish Background to Penn's Experiment', in ''The World of William Penn'', ed. R. S. Dunn and M. M. Dunn (Philadelphia,1986), pp. 139–56. *'Europeans Abroad : Problems, Perspectives and Possibilities', in ''Historical Journal'', XXIX (1987), pp. 46979. *'Protestants, Planters and Apartheid in Early Modern Ireland', in ''Irish Historical Studies'', XXV, (1986), pp. 105–15. *'The Birth of the Modern Constitution', in ''De Valera's Constitution and Ours'', ed. Brian Farrell (Dublin, 1988), pp. 117. *'To Establish a Common Wealthe: Captain John Smith as New World Colonist', in ''Virginia Magazine of History & Biography'' XCVI (1988), pp. 213–22. *Debate with Dr. Ciaran Brady on 'Spenser's Irish Crisis' in ''Past & Present'' 120 (1988), pp. 20115. *'Raleigh's Ireland', in ''Raleigh and Quinn : the Explorer and his Boswell'', ed. H.G. Jones (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1987), pp. 86–101. *'Upper Ireland', in ''London Review of Books'', 16 March 1989, pp. 89: a review of R.F. Foster, Modern Ireland, 1600–1972 *'Conquest and Colonisation : the implications of these processes for Modern Irish History', in ''IrishAustralian Studies : Papers Delivered at the Fifth IrishAustralian Conference'', ed. Oliver MacDonagh and W.F. Mandle (Canberra, 1988), pp. 4264. *'Early Modern Ireland, c.15001700', in ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland'', ed. R. F. Foster (Oxford, 1989), pp. 10460. *'Introduction : Spenser and Reform in Ireland' in ''Spenser and Ireland : an Interdisciplinary Perspective'', ed., Patricia Coughlan (Cork, 1989), pp. 92–4. *'Uplift', in ''London Review of Books'', 24 May 1990, pp. 223 : a review of Oliver MacDonagh, The Emancipist : Daniel O'Connell, 1830–1847. *'The British Atlantic World : Working Towards a Definition', in ''Historical Journal'', XXXIII (1990), pp. 479–97. *'In Defence of the Constitution? : the nature of Irish revolt in the Seventeenth Century' in ''Culture et Pratiques Politiques en France et en Irlande, XVIeXVIIIe siècle'' ed. Louis Bergeron and L.M. Cullen (Paris, 1990), pp. 23–40. *'The Marginal Kingdom : Ireland as a Problem in the First British Empire', in ''Strangers within the Realm : Cultural Margins of the First British Empire'', ed., Bernard Bailyn and Philip D. Morgan (Chapel Hill, 1991) pp. 35–66. *'Ireland: the Historical Context', in ''The Spenser Encyclopedia'', ed. A.C. Hamilton et al. (Toronto, 1990), pp. 40–47. *'The Early Planters : Spenser and his Contemporaries', in ''The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing'', ed. Seamus Deane (Derry City & London, 1991), pp. 171–234; prepared with Andrew Carpenter. *'Remembering Columbus, 14921992', in ''Journal of Galway Archaeological & Historical Society'' XLIV (1992) pp. 110. *'The Attempted Anglicization of Ireland in the Seventeenth Century: an Exemplar of "British History"', in ''Three Nations a Common History c.1600–1920'' ed. Ronald G. Asch (Bochum, Germany, Universitatsverlag Dr. N. Brockmeyer, 1993), pp. 4982; reprinted in ''The Political World of Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford, 1621-1641--, ed. Julia Merritt, (Cambridge, 1996). *'The 1641 Depositions as a Source for the Writing of Social History : County Cork as a Case Study', in ''Cork: History and Society'' ed. Patrick O'Flanagan and Neil Buttimer (Dublin, 1993), pp. 249–308. *'1641 Depositions : a Source for Social and Cultural History', in ''History Ireland'', vol. 1, no.4 (1993), pp. 52–55. *Irish Resistance to Empire? : 1641, 1690 and 1798', in ''An Imperial State at War'' ed. Lawrence Stone (London, Routledge, 1994) pp. 288–321. *'What Really Happened in Ireland in 1641?', in ''Ireland: From Independence to Occupation, 1641–1660'', ed. Jane Ohlmeyer (Cambridge, 1995), pp. 24–43. *'Irish, Scottish and Welsh Responses to Centralization, c.1530-c1640', in ''Uniting the Kingdom? The Enigma of British History'', ed Alexander Grant and Keith Stringer (London, Routledge, 1995), pp. 147–69. *'Reviewing A View of the Present State of Ireland' in ''Irish University Review'': Special Issue: Spenser in Ireland, 1596–1996 XXVI (1996), pp. 252–267. *'Revising the Revisionist', in ''Irish Historical Studies'', XXX (1996), pp. 242–254 . *'Religion, Politics and the Irish Rising of 1641', in ''Religion and Rebellion: the Proceedings of the Twenty Second Irish Conference of Historians'', ed. Judith Devlin and Ronan Fanning, (Dublin, 1997), pp. 40–70. *'Writing Atlantic History; or, Reconfiguiring the History of Colonial British America', in ''The Journal of American History'', vol. 86 (1999), pp. 1093–1114. *'Atlantic History; what and why?', in'' European Review'', vol. 9 (2001), pp. 399–411. *‘Atlantic History, 14921700: Scope, Sources and Methods’, in ''Atlantic History: History of the Atlantic System, 1580–1830'' (Göttingen, 2002), pp. 55–64. *‘Asia, the Atlantic and the Subjects of the British Monarchy’, in ''A Companion to Stuart Britain'', ed., Barry Coward (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2003), pp. 45–66. *‘Taking Sides in Early Modern Ireland: the Case of Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone’, in ''Taking Sides?: Colonial and Confessional Mentalitiés in Early Modern Ireland; Essays in Honour of Karl S. Bottigheimer'', ed., Vincent Carey and Ute Lotz-Heumann (Dublin, 2003), pp. 94–115. *‘Writing Early Modern History: Ireland, Britain and the Wider World’, in ''The Historical Journal'', vol. 46 (2003), pp. 723–747.


References

* Maher, Helen; ''Galway Authors'', 1976


External links


Moore InstituteRoyal Irish AcademyERC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canny, Nicholas 1944 births Living people Academics of the University of Galway Alumni of the University of Galway Harvard University alumni 20th-century Irish historians 21st-century Irish historians Members of the Royal Irish Academy People educated at St Flannan's College People from County Galway Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Members of the American Philosophical Society