It has been a busy few months for the Law versus Practice team. In March, Dr Frances Nolan (Law versus Practice PI) presented initial findings from the project to the Oxford Irish History Seminar and the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.

_{Faculty of History, University of Oxford}

One of the most exciting developments was the publication of A list of the claims as they are entred with the trustees at Chichester House – a modern edition of a printed schedule of claims that came before the trustees for the Irish forfeitures between 1700 and 1703. The volume was coedited by Professor Ivar McGrath and Dr Frances Nolan and is published by the Irish Manuscripts Commission.

The List is an incredibly rich source, providing details of over 3,140 claims that were submitted by persons with a title to an estate that pre-dated 13 February 1689, which was the date of William III and Mary II’s accession to the throne. The List is a key source for the  Law versus Practice project because it contains the names of hundreds of women, who appear both as claimants and as witnesses to legal documents. You can find out more about the List from a previous blog post on Lady Jane Newcomen, who submitted a claim as guardian to her young son.

_{At the List of the Claims launch (l-r): Professor Ivar McGrath, Dr Frances Nolan, Professor John McCafferty (Chair of the IMC) and Professor David Hayton (image credit: Cathy Hayes, IMC)}

The modern edition of the List was launched by David Hayton, Emeritus Professor of History at Queen’s University Belfast, at the IMC headquarters on Merrion Square on 1 April 2025. It is available to purchase through the Commission’s website.