As I showed here a few months ago, Ireland was most definitely seen as part of the "new world" by British colonialists in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. More research has been done on this aspect of early modern Irish history than perhaps any other area (especially the analogies between English treatment of the native Irish and the native Americans). In particular this "new world"  has been extensively substantiated in the works of Nicholas Canny and D.B. Quinn.