Formation , who claimed Ireland for the Papacy in 1155
Christianity in
Ireland is generally dated to the mid to late 5th century
AD, when the Romano-British cleric
Saint Patrick began his conversion mission, although the exact dates are disputed. Prior to the 12th century, the Irish church was independent of
Papal control, and governed by powerful
monasteries, rather than
bishops. While the
Kingdom of Dublin looked to the English
Diocese of Canterbury for guidance, in 1005 AD
Brian Ború made a large donation to the Monastery of Armagh and recognised its
Archbishop as
Primate of all Ireland in an attempt to secure his position as
High King of Ireland. Inspired by
Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair, reformist head of
Bangor Abbey, the 1111
Synod of Ráth Breasail sought to reduce the power of the monasteries by creating
Dioceses headed by bishops, as was common outside Ireland. Under the 1152
Synod of Kells, the Irish church received its own archbishops, rather than being subject to Canterbury. Under the
Laudabiliter in 1155, English-born
Pope Adrian IV granted
Henry II of England the
Lordship of Ireland in return for paying
tithes to Rome. His claim was based on the 4th-century
Donation of Constantine, which allegedly gave the Papacy religious control over all Christian territories in the western
Roman Empire. Its legality was disputed at the time, since Ireland had never been part of the empire, while the Donation itself was later exposed as a forgery. Since Ireland was now considered a
papal fief, its bishops were appointed by
Rome but generally adopted English
liturgy and saints, such as
Edward the Confessor, and
Thomas Becket. In 1536, the
Irish Parliament followed their English colleagues by accepting
Henry VIII of England as head of the church, rather than the Pope. This marks the founding of the reformed Church of Ireland, confirmed when Henry became
King of Ireland in 1541. Largely restricted to
Dublin, led by
Archbishop George Browne, it expanded under
Edward VI, until Catholicism was restored by his sister
Mary I in 1553. with
Thomas Becket; the 1155 intervention was the start of efforts to Anglicise the Irish church When
Elizabeth I of England became queen in 1558, only five bishops accepted her
Religious Settlement, and most of the Irish clergy had to be deposed. This was hampered by the church's relative poverty, while adapting to the changes of regime damaged the reputation of those who remained.
Hugh Curwen was
Dean of Hereford until 1555, when Mary made him
Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, before returning to the reformed church in 1558. Despite accusations of 'moral delinquency', he remained Archbishop and
Lord Chancellor until 1567, when he was appointed
Bishop of Oxford. The absence of Gaelic-speaking ministers led to the adoption of a gradualist policy, similar to that used in Catholic areas of Northern England. '
Occasional conformity' allowed the use of pre-Reformation rites, combined with acceptance of the established Church; this practice persisted in both England and Ireland well into the mid-18th century. Lack of
Irish Gaelic literature was another restriction; shortly before his death in 1585,
Nicholas Walsh began translation of the
New Testament. Continued by John Kearny and
Nehemiah Donnellan, it was finally printed in 1602 by
William Daniel, who also translated the
Book of Common Prayer, or BCP, in 1606. An Irish version of the Old Testament was published in 1685 by
Narcissus Marsh, but the revised BCP was not available until 1712.
17th century , Archbishop of Armagh At the beginning of the 17th century, most native Irish were Catholic, with Protestant settlers in
Ulster establishing an independent Presbyterian church. Largely confined to an English-speaking minority in
The Pale, the most important figure of the Church's development was Dublin-born theologian and historian,
James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh from 1625 to 1656. In 1615, the Church of Ireland drew up its own
confession of faith, similar to the English version, but more detailed, less ambiguous and often explicitly Calvinist. When the
Thirty-Nine Articles were formally adopted by the Irish church in 1634, Ussher ensured they were in addition to the Irish Articles; however, they were soon superseded by the Thirty Nine Articles, which remain in use to the present day. Under
Charles I, the Church of Ireland claimed to be the original and universal church, while the Papacy was an innovation, thus vesting it with the supremacy of
Apostolic succession. This argument was supported by Ussher, and Charles' former personal chaplain,
John Leslie, a key supporter of Caroline reforms in Scotland, appointed bishop of
Derry & Raphoe in 1633. During the 1641–1653
Irish Confederate Wars, nearly two-thirds of Ireland was controlled by the largely Catholic
Confederacy, and in 1644,
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini became
Papal Nuncio to Ireland. Irish Catholicism had developed greater tolerance for Protestants, while sharing their hostility to elaborate ritual. Rinuccini's insistence on following Roman liturgy, and attempts to re-introduce ceremonies such as
foot washing divided the Confederacy, and contributed to its rapid collapse in the 1649–1652
Cromwell's re-conquest of Ireland. acquitted, June 1688; a key factor in the removal of
James, five later became
Non-Jurors The church was re-established after the 1660
Restoration of Charles II and in January 1661, meetings by 'Papists, Presbyterians, Independents or separatists' were made illegal. In practice, the penal laws were loosely enforced and after 1666, Protestant
Dissenters and Catholics were allowed to resume their seats in the
Parliament of Ireland. In 1685, the Catholic
James II became king with considerable backing in all three kingdoms; this changed when his policies seemed to go beyond tolerance for Catholicism and into an attack on the established church. His prosecution of the
Seven Bishops in England for seditious libel in June 1688 destroyed his support base, while many felt James lost his right to govern by ignoring his
coronation Oath to maintain the primacy of the Protestant religion. This made oaths a high-profile issue, since ministers of the
national churches of England, Scotland and Ireland were required to swear allegiance to the ruling monarch. When the 1688
Glorious Revolution replaced James with his Protestant daughter and son-in-law,
Mary II and
William III, a minority felt bound by their previous oath and refused to swear another. This led to the
Non-Juring schism, although for the vast majority, this was a matter of personal conscience, rather than political support for James. The Irish church was less affected by this controversy, although the
Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh became a Non-Juror, as did a handful of the clergy, including
Jacobite propagandist
Charles Leslie. The
Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland is traditionally viewed as beginning in 1691 when the
Treaty of Limerick ended the
1689–1691 Williamite War. The Church re-established control and the 1697
Banishment Act expelled Catholic bishops and
regular clergy from Ireland, leaving only the so-called
secular clergy.
18th century In 1704, the
Test Act was extended to Ireland; this effectively restricted public office to members of the Church of Ireland and officially remained in place until the 1829
Catholic Relief Act. However, the practice of occasional conformity continued, while many Catholic gentry by-passed these restrictions by educating their sons as Protestants, their daughters as Catholics;
Edmund Burke, who was raised Church of Ireland but whose parents simultaneously raised his sister Juliana Catholic, is one example. It is estimated fewer than 15 – 20% of the Irish population were nominally members of the church, which remained a minority under pressure from both Catholics and Protestant Nonconformists. The
1719 Toleration Act allowed Nonconformists freedom of worship, while the Irish Parliament paid their ministers a small subsidy known as the 'regium donum.' Although willing to permit a degree of flexibility, like their English counterparts, Irish bishops viewed their status as the national church to be non-negotiable and used their seats in the
Irish House of Lords to enforce this. However, in 1725 Parliament passed the first in a series of 'temporary' Indemnity Acts, which allowed office holders to 'postpone' taking the oaths; the bishops were willing to approve these, since they could be repealed at any point. In the 17th century, religious and political beliefs were often assumed to be the same; thus Catholics were considered political subversives, simply because of their religion. During the 18th century, sectarian divisions were replaced by a growing sense of Irish autonomy; in 1749,
Bishop Berkeley issued an address to the Catholic clergy, urging them to work together with the church in the (Irish) national interest. After 1750, the government increasingly viewed Catholic emancipation as a way to reduce the power of Protestant nationalists like the
United Irishmen; this had potential implications for the church since the requirement non-church members pay tithes was deeply resented. The movement ended after the
1798 Rebellion and Ireland's incorporation with Britain.
19th to 20th centuries Following the legal union of Ireland and the
Kingdom of Great Britain by the
Act of Union 1800, the Church of Ireland was also united with the Church of England to form the
United Church of England and Ireland. At the same time, one archbishop and three bishops from Ireland (selected by rotation) were given seats in the
House of Lords at Westminster, joining the two archbishops and twenty-four bishops from the Church of England. The Irish Church was over-staffed, with 22 bishops, including 4 archbishops, for an official membership of 852,000, less than that of the
Church of England's Diocese of Durham. The
Church Temporalities (Ireland) Act 1833 (
3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 37) reduced these to 12, as well as making financial changes. Part of a series of reforms by the
1830–1834 Whig government that included the
Reform Act 1832, it caused deep political splits. The implications of government legislating church governance was a contributory factor in the
Oxford Movement and had wide repercussions for the Anglican Communion. Another source of resentment was the funding of the Church by
tithes imposed on all Irish subjects, even though the majority were not members. This led to anomalies like the incumbent of a living near Bessborough, who in 1833 was receiving £1,000 per year, despite the fact the parish had no Protestants or even a church. The "
Tithe War" of 1831–36 led to their replacement by the
tithe rent charge but they did not entirely disappear until the
Irish Church Act 1869. The Act ended the Church's status as a state organisation; its bishops were removed from the House of Lords and its property transferred to the government. Compensation was paid but in the immediate aftermath, parishes faced great difficulty in local financing after the loss of rent-generating lands and buildings. ==Governance==