The Confederate Oath of Association was an

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

made by Irish Confederate Catholics during the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

(1638–1653).

Background

The roots of the "oath of association" lay in the wider Wars of Religion during the 17th century, and the then recent

Tudor conquest of Ireland Ireland was conquered by the Tudor monarchs of England in the 16th century. The Anglo-Normans had Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, conquered swathes of Ireland in the late 12th century, bringing it under Lordship of Ireland, English rule. In t ...

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 (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

. The

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

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 Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

. From October 1641, the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

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 Proclama ...

. An oath was drafted at a synod at

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

in May 1642. It emphasised the Confederates' loyalty to the

Stuart monarchy The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

, 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 Charles_I_of_England, Charles I, King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, was executed on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London. The execution was ...

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 Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

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 Confede ...

; around

The Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

under

Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara (1585October 1655) was an Irish soldier of the 17th century. After lengthy service as a mercenary in the Spanish Army, Preston returned to Ireland following the outbreak of the Rebellion of 1641. He was appointe ...

; 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 (''Grainne'') or Grizzel, daughter of Barnaby Fitzpatrick, 1st Baron Upper Ossory. He is best known for his participation in t ...

; and in the south west under Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry. Following this, the Scottish

Covenanters Covenanters 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. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

drove O'Neill's forced out from Ulster, while English Royalists 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 Church, Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1652, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristoc ...

with its capital at

. A constitution was drawn up by lawyer Patrick D'Arcy. An Oath of Association was also written, under which the Confederates accepted Charles I of the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

as their sovereign. They also wished to secure the restoration of Catholic churches and overturn all anti-Catholic measures.

Oath

Transcription

Original spelling

References

{{Reflist Monarchy of 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