Divisions between Irish
Roman Catholics and
Protestants played a major role in the
history of Ireland from the 16th century to the 20th century, especially during
Cromwell's conquest of Ireland,
Home Rule Crisis and
the Troubles. While religion broadly marks the delineation of these divisions, the contentions were primarily political and they were also related to access to power. For example, while the majority of Irish Catholics had an identity which was independent from Britain's identity and were excluded from power because they were Catholic, a number of the instigators of rebellions against British rule were actually
Protestant Irish nationalists, although most Irish Protestants opposed separatism. In the
Irish Rebellion of 1798, Catholics and
Presbyterians, who were not part of the
established Church of Ireland, found common cause. Irish Catholics are found in many countries around the world, especially in the
Anglosphere. Emigration exponentially increased due to the
Great Famine which lasted from 1845 to 1852. In the
United States,
anti-Irish sentiment and
anti-Catholicism was espoused by the
Know Nothing movement of the 1850s and other 19th-century anti-Catholic and anti-Irish organizations. By the 1960s, Irish Catholics were well established in the United States and today they are fully-integrated into mainstream American society with two Irish Catholic Presidents,
John F. Kennedy and
Joe Biden, having been elected. ==See also==