愛爾蘭殖民地是指16世紀和17世紀英格蘭王國王室沒收愛爾蘭土地後再當地設立的殖民地。這些殖民地是英國殖民者殖民愛爾蘭的象徵,也是英國國王讓愛爾蘭盎格魯化的一種手段。愛爾蘭境內比較重要的殖民地建於1550年代至1620年代,其中最大的是阿爾斯特殖民地(英語:Plantation of Ulster)。殖民地建立後,在此基礎上形成了許多城鎮。[1]許多英國人和新教教徒在殖民地定居,這改變了愛爾蘭的人口結構。 [2]
^Padraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, pp. 5–6: "The Gaelic Irish and Old English were increasingly seen by outsiders and defined themselves, as undifferentiatedly Irish. ... By the 1630s, members of the Catholic elite, whatever their paternal ancestry, shared a common identity and set of political attitudes. ... Conversely, it is possible to speak of a contending Protestant/New English/British group. The term 'British' has validity because of its contemporary usage (in referring to grantees in the Ulster Plantation for example) and, especially, because it embraces, as it was designed to, both English and Scottish interests in Ireland...the consciousness of being a privileged minority in a hostile environment."