Irish Manuscripts Commission

Annual Letters were the means by which Jesuits across the globe stayed in contact with Rome and with each other. Twenty-five of the Annual Letters from Ireland survive and they are published here for the first time along with translations from Latin and Portuguese into English. Not only do they give insight into this dynamic and influential mission, they also provide unique information on the social, political, cultural, religious, sexual and linguistic realities of the time.

Élie Bouhéreau (1643–1719), a French Huguenot refugee, settled in Dublin in 1697 and served as Keeper of Marsh's Library. He led a varied and well-travelled life — an active member of the Republic of Letters during his youth, he acted as secretary on a British diplomatic mission in the Swiss Cantons during the 1690's and subsequently during a military campaign in Piedmont. His diary and account offer political, personal, social, cultural and diplomatic insights, shedding light on the history of Ireland, France and Europe more broadly