The English in Ireland and the Practice of Massacre
by John Minahane
John Minahane discusses the means by which Ireland was brought into the circle of British civilisation in the sixteenth century. This article was first published in the journal Church and State no. 110. Minahane was to continue his discussion of the legal principles to be applied in war and conquest with a series of articles on the Spanish 'discovery' of America and the challenge posed to the colonists by the Dominican priest and Bishop, Bartolomé de Las Casas. These can be read in a companion website here.
The full text can be downloaded in Word format here
Introduction - massacre old and new
Massacre during the Desmond Rebellion