Recent decades have witnessed a continued interest among historians in Ireland's eighteenth-century penal laws. Earlier broad surveys of the laws and their impact have given way to case studies that have highlighted the varied experiences of individual families, with many focusing on the strategies, whether legal or otherwise, that were utilised in attempts to circumvent these restrictions. Despite these advances, however, our understanding of the laws remains incomplete. This is particularly the case in relation to the gavelling clause within the 1704 popery act. This was one of Ireland's most infamous penal laws, yet it remains one of the least studied and least understood set of restrictions against Catholics. It is clear that the restrictions it placed on the sole inheritance of land could be circumvented in certain instances, but how exactly this was achieved without suffering prosecution requires further study. This article will advance our understanding of the gavelling clause through an in-depth examination of the law and its interpretation by Irish courts, which in turn will highlight the avenues that were open to Catholics in their attempts to either neutralise or evade the restrictions and other related legal provisions. This will demonstrate how successful circumvention did not depend on breaking the law per se, but instead relied upon loopholes in the law itself.

中文翻译：

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爱尔兰刑法下的天主教继承

近几十年来，历史学家对爱尔兰 18 世纪的刑法持续感兴趣。早期对法律及其影响的广泛调查已经让位于案例研究，这些案例研究强调了各个家庭的不同经历，其中许多关注的是试图规避这些限制的策略，无论是合法的还是其他的。然而，尽管取得了这些进步，我们对法律的理解仍然不完整。对于 1704 年教皇法案中的木槌条款，情况尤其如此。这是爱尔兰最臭名昭著的刑法之一，但它仍然是研究最少和了解最少的针对天主教徒的一系列限制之一。很明显，在某些情况下可以绕过它对土地唯一继承的限制，但究竟是如何在不被起诉的情况下做到这一点的，还需要进一步研究。本文将通过深入研究法律及其爱尔兰法院对其的解释来增进我们对敲槌条款的理解，这反过来将突出天主教徒试图中和或逃避限制和其他方面的途径相关法律规定。这将证明成功的规避并非取决于违反法律本身，而是取决于法律本身的漏洞。这反过来将突出天主教徒试图消除或逃避限制和其他相关法律规定的途径。这将证明成功的规避并非取决于违反法律本身，而是取决于法律本身的漏洞。这反过来将突出天主教徒试图消除或逃避限制和其他相关法律规定的途径。这将证明成功的规避并非取决于违反法律本身，而是取决于法律本身的漏洞。