A reinterpretation of the archaeology of the Nine Years' War in Ulster from a cultural perspective

The thesis challenges current narratives on the role and meaning of churches, crannogs and tower houses in the contemporary Ulster Gaelic landscape and society. It discusses for the first time evidence of Gaelic secular and military occupation of church buildings in sixteenthcentury Ulster. It identifies the role of crannogs within sixteenth-century Ulster Gaelic society and reveals a new archaeological site-type, the<br>crannog-bawn, from which crannogs were accessed and within which ceremonies of hospitality were initiated.

It examines tower houses as texts, arguing that they were not built primarily for defence but to help elites display messages of status and identity. The thesis places discussion of Gaelic elite sites within wider debates, showing how the study of Gaelic Ulster can contribute to archaeological discussion at an international level.