The purpose of this site is not to discuss the historical context of the Penal Laws or their enforcement, or their effect, but simply to make the raw material accessible to historians, legal scholars, students, and other interested people. The site contains "the text of those Penal Laws which were passed in Ireland during the reigns of William and Mary, William III, Anne, and George I and II, that is to say, from 1691 to 1760. In addition, the site contains certain English statutes relating to the status of Irish Catholics."