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15 Power, wealth and Catholic identity in Ireland, 1850–1900

Abstract

Catholics with money can be a rare sight in Irish history, a sort of mythical, unlikely creature. This chapter examines the reasons for the binary impulse in Irish historiography, confining its analysis to the second half of the nineteenth century. It argues for a more nuanced treatment of the whole spectrum of Irish Catholic wealth and for a considered reappraisal of the role played by the richest Catholic families in Irish society in this period. The chapter highlights the importance of education in relation to Catholic social mobility in the period. The temptation for historians interested in the dynamics of Irish Catholic power and wealth is to focus almost exclusively on the secular clergy. Historians of Irish education have tended to concentrate much more on the provision of elementary education and, to date, there exists no large-scale examination of elite education in Ireland.

Abstract

Catholics with money can be a rare sight in Irish history, a sort of mythical, unlikely creature. This chapter examines the reasons for the binary impulse in Irish historiography, confining its analysis to the second half of the nineteenth century. It argues for a more nuanced treatment of the whole spectrum of Irish Catholic wealth and for a considered reappraisal of the role played by the richest Catholic families in Irish society in this period. The chapter highlights the importance of education in relation to Catholic social mobility in the period. The temptation for historians interested in the dynamics of Irish Catholic power and wealth is to focus almost exclusively on the secular clergy. Historians of Irish education have tended to concentrate much more on the provision of elementary education and, to date, there exists no large-scale examination of elite education in Ireland.

Chapters in this book

  1. Front matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Notes on contributors vii
  4. Acknowledgements xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Part I The Celts, Catholicism and the middle ages
  7. 1 Gaelic and Catholic in the early middle ages 21
  8. 2 Island of saints and scholars 32
  9. 3 The devotional landscape of medieval Irish cultural Catholicism inter hibernicos et inter anglicos c.1200–c.1550 62
  10. Part II Early modern struggles
  11. 4 Irish political Catholicism from the 1530s to 1660 77
  12. 5 The ‘absenting of the bishop of Armagh’ 92
  13. 6 Henry Fitzsimon, the Irish Jesuits and Catholic identity in the early modern period 110
  14. 7 Gaelic Catholicism and the Ulster plantation 124
  15. Part III Identity formation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
  16. 8 Irish-language sources for Irish Catholic identity since the early modern period 139
  17. 9 The penal laws against Irish Catholics 154
  18. Part IV Culture, women and the American diaspora
  19. 10 Irish Catholic culture in the nineteenth century 171
  20. 11 The voices of Catholic women in Ireland, 1800–1921 199
  21. 12 Irish diaspora Catholicism in North America 211
  22. Part V English Catholics and Irish identity
  23. 13 Brethren in Christ 231
  24. 14 The ‘greening’ of Cardinal Manning 243
  25. Part VI Faith, wealth and Catholic Unionism
  26. 15 Power, wealth and Catholic identity in Ireland, 1850–1900 259
  27. 16 The Esmonde family of Co. Wexford and Catholic loyalty 274
  28. 17 Catholic Unionism 292
  29. Part VII Contemporary expressions of Catholic and Irish identity
  30. 18 Identity and political fragmentation in independent Ireland, 1923–83 307
  31. 19 Secular prayers 321
  32. 20 Catholic-Christian identity and modern Irish poetry 333
  33. 21 Northern Catholics and the early years of the Troubles 345
  34. 22 Irish identity and the future of Catholicism 362
  35. Index 377
Irish Catholic identities
This chapter is in the book Irish Catholic identities
https://doi.org/10.7765/9780719098376.00026

Chapters in this book

  1. Front matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Notes on contributors vii
  4. Acknowledgements xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Part I The Celts, Catholicism and the middle ages
  7. 1 Gaelic and Catholic in the early middle ages 21
  8. 2 Island of saints and scholars 32
  9. 3 The devotional landscape of medieval Irish cultural Catholicism inter hibernicos et inter anglicos c.1200–c.1550 62
  10. Part II Early modern struggles
  11. 4 Irish political Catholicism from the 1530s to 1660 77
  12. 5 The ‘absenting of the bishop of Armagh’ 92
  13. 6 Henry Fitzsimon, the Irish Jesuits and Catholic identity in the early modern period 110
  14. 7 Gaelic Catholicism and the Ulster plantation 124
  15. Part III Identity formation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
  16. 8 Irish-language sources for Irish Catholic identity since the early modern period 139
  17. 9 The penal laws against Irish Catholics 154
  18. Part IV Culture, women and the American diaspora
  19. 10 Irish Catholic culture in the nineteenth century 171
  20. 11 The voices of Catholic women in Ireland, 1800–1921 199
  21. 12 Irish diaspora Catholicism in North America 211
  22. Part V English Catholics and Irish identity
  23. 13 Brethren in Christ 231
  24. 14 The ‘greening’ of Cardinal Manning 243
  25. Part VI Faith, wealth and Catholic Unionism
  26. 15 Power, wealth and Catholic identity in Ireland, 1850–1900 259
  27. 16 The Esmonde family of Co. Wexford and Catholic loyalty 274
  28. 17 Catholic Unionism 292
  29. Part VII Contemporary expressions of Catholic and Irish identity
  30. 18 Identity and political fragmentation in independent Ireland, 1923–83 307
  31. 19 Secular prayers 321
  32. 20 Catholic-Christian identity and modern Irish poetry 333
  33. 21 Northern Catholics and the early years of the Troubles 345
  34. 22 Irish identity and the future of Catholicism 362
  35. Index 377
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