The Vestry Records of the united Parishes of Finglas, St Margaret's, Artane and the Ward, 1657–1758

Maighréad Ní Mhurchadha, editor

'An immensely important contribution to the study of genealogy and social history … The importance of these publications by Four Courts Press to the study of Irish local history, genealogy and social history cannot be underestimated', Michael Merrigan, Ireland's Genealogical Gazette (2009).

'The records provide information on births, deaths and marriages as well as poor relief, road maintenance and tax collection. They provide a fascinating view of life in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries', Books Ireland (February 2008).

‘This is the third volume in the series … [of] critical editions of important Church of Ireland archives and manuscripts that are supported by substantial interpretive and explanatory apparatus’, Book News, (May 2008).

‘This is the third volume in the texts and calendars series published by Four Courts Press in association with the Representative Church Body Library, volumes which are intended to complement the Library’s already established parish register series…The research importance of this volume is unquestionable and in association with the other two volumes previously published in this series, together with the related parish register series, represents a growing body of vital published research relating to the Church of Ireland and the social and economic life in which it existed. Those involved are to be congratulated and encouraged to continue their invaluable work', Colm McQuinn, Irish Archives (Winter 2008).

‘This is the third volume in the Texts and Calendars series published by Four Courts Press in association with Ireland’s Representative Church Body Library ... Combining vestry minutes, parish accounts, and fragmentary lists of baptisms, marriages, and burials, this meticulously presented edition brings to light a largely neglected, vibrant Church of Ireland worshiping community with a viable local administration.
The value of this edited manuscript for researchers is significantly enhanced by Ní Mhurchadha’s scholarly introduction in which she provides a concise, contextualized overview of the structures and operation of the vestry as well as tantalizing glimpses into the world of clerics and parishioners living in this rural community ... [the editor provides a] finely nuanced and well-structured interpretative framework within which researchers may trace the evolution of this community and explore the wide range of issues addressed in this rare archival source ... Refaussé, Ní Mhurchadha, and Four Courts Press are to be commended on publishing this handsome volume that adds significantly to the growing corpus of archival material made available in print, thus enabling historians to reach a fuller understanding of Church of Ireland parish community life and the mechanics of poor relief and local government in early-modern Ireland’, Mary Ann Lyons, Catholic Historical Review (July 2009).

‘The publication of the earliest surviving records of the united parishes of Finglas, St Margaret’s, Artane and the Ward in County Dublin is to be welcomed. It is a valuable addition to a most useful series …the vestry records are, as one might expect, full of interesting and incidental detail on what was involved then and later in keeping the church in repair [and] offers some interesting perspectives on the manner in which the church was used … the text is accurately transcribe and helpfully annotated, and the index is clear and comprehensive', James Kelly, Irish Economic and Social History (2009).