Harris: The Whole Works of Sir James Ware concerning Ireland

Walter Harris (1686-1761) was an Irish historian who also worked for the Bishop of Meath. He devoted himself to translating The Whole Works of Sir James Ware Concerning Ireland. 

 

Sir James Ware (1594-1666) was born in Dublin. He was an antiquarian and also an Irish MP. He published his first work on Ireland’s ecclesiastical and literary history in Latin in 1629, entitled Archiepiscoporum Casselensium et Tuamensium Vitae. He later published a completed volume entitled Commentarius de Praesulibus Hiberniae.

 

The Whole Works of Sir James Ware Concerning Ireland is Harris’ translation of this completed volume. He undertook the translation from Latin as he found that previous translators had misunderstood Ware’s original meaning. Ware’s manuscripts and library collection is now housed in the Bodleian.

 

The Whole Works of Sir James Ware was originally intended to be published in three volumes, but only two were published. A preface to these volumes is provided by Walter Harris, which gives an account of his research for the work. Harris admits to the reader in the preface that some sections of Ware’s original work have been moved in his revised edition as he felt they were better placed elsewhere. The specific sections that have been edited are given in the preface. Anything that Harris himself has added to the text is included in square brackets in order to preserve the original text. Topographical notes were also added by Harris when ancient places in Ireland are mentioned that were no longer known. It is signed in Clarendon Street, Dublin, October 20th, 1739. 

 

Volume I contains the ecclesiastical history of Ireland, including a short biography of the bishops of the various dioceses of Ireland. Harris has included many copper plate illustrations of a variety of churches around Ireland in order to enhance Ware’s work e.g. a plan of the churchyard of Clonmacnois, the Church of St. Carnice in Kilkenny with the bishop’s Pallace and many more. 

 

Volume II is divided into two sections; a history of the antiquities of Ireland, and a history of the writers of Ireland (in which Harris has included an account of Sir James Ware). Copper plate images are also included in this volume, e.g. typical images of nuns, monks, knights, as well as a map of Ireland and ancient monuments. All aspects of antiquities in Ireland are given, from ancient laws to the surnames of the ancient Irish, buildings and boats of ancient Ireland.

 

In the preface to Volume II, Harris tells us that Volume III was intended to include the civil history of Ireland. A revised edition of the first two volumes was published posthumously in 1764.