Description

“That Damn’d Thing Called Honour”: Duelling in Ireland, 1570–1860 by James Kelly is a major historical work published in 1995 by Cork University Press. It is one of the most authoritative studies of duelling in Ireland and forms part of broader scholarship on honour culture in early modern and nineteenth-century Europe.

The book traces the evolution of duelling across nearly three centuries, from its early appearance among the Irish and Anglo-Irish elite in the late 1500s through its decline in the mid-1800s. It explores how duelling was not simply personal violence, but a socially regulated practice tied to honour codes, reputation, political life, and elite masculinity.

Kelly draws extensively on court records, newspapers, memoirs, and legal documents to reconstruct actual duels, their causes, and their consequences. He shows how duelling functioned as both a symbolic and practical mechanism of conflict resolution among gentlemen in Ireland.

Key themes include:

• Origins and evolution of duelling culture in Ireland
• Codes of honour and aristocratic masculinity
• Role of seconds, pistols, and formal duel procedures
• Legal responses and criminal prosecution of duellists
• Church and state attitudes toward duelling
• Political duels involving Irish MPs and elites
• Regional patterns of duelling incidents across Ireland
• Gradual decline of duelling in the 19th century

A major argument of the book is that duelling persisted in Ireland longer than in many parts of Europe because of the strength of elite honour culture and political rivalry, particularly among the Anglo-Irish governing class. However, increasing legal enforcement, changing social attitudes, and modern state authority eventually led to its decline.

The work is widely cited in studies of violence, legal history, and cultural anthropology, and is considered a foundational text in understanding how concepts of honour shaped behaviour in historical Ireland.

Overall, the book provides a detailed reconstruction of how a seemingly archaic practice was deeply embedded in Irish political, social, and cultural life for nearly 300 years, making it essential reading for scholars of Irish history and European honour systems.