Why did Catholicism surivive and flourish in sixteenth and seventeenth century Ireland? (1540-1690)

Catholicism in Ireland from 1540-1690

The Irish descended form the Celts . Druidism was their religion . The Catholicism of Ireland only began with St . Patrick in the year 462 . He was already sixty when he took on the mission of spreading Christianity He was so successful that that no blood was shed and no martyrs were made in the conversion of Ireland

Over the years , foreigners tried to conquer and possess Ireland such as the Norse and Norman-English invaders . Thus , from the twelfth century on , there were Normans , Norsemen and Celts living alongside

each other on the island . The Irish were able to convert some of the Viking invaders into Christianity while with the Normans , they already had the Catholic faith in common . However , this bond was broken about four hundred years later during the Reformation when many Normans joined the Church of England under the Tudors

Many harsh laws were made in the endeavor to make all Ireland join the English Church . The native Irish had already been outlawed by race and now they were outlawed on account of race and religion . They did not have their own laws nor did they have the protection of the new English laws . Sheriffs and juries were Norman things and these only meant punishment for the native Irish who struggled to keep their own language and laws

It was in 1533 that Henry VIII of England established the English Church in retaliation against the refusal of the Catholic Church to grant him a marriage annulment so he can marry Anne Boleyn . He soon had himself declared Head of the Church of England and this applied to all who held office in church or state who likewise had to declare him as such . The vast majority of Irishmen opposed this idea . 1

Henry 's father had already shown a predilection against Ireland . For one , he decided to rule Ireland completely from England . Even old Norman families who held government positions in Ireland were wiped out . When under Henry VIII , abbeys began to be wrecked , the Irish people were shocked for these places were centers of learning , hospitality and religion . Treasures dating from the time of St . Patrick were publicly destroyed and the Irish found themselves entrenched in a long battle to keep their old Faith . To combat them , an English colony was established in Ireland . The abbey lands were given to these new lords . These were all mandated by the Irish Parliament of 1536 or otherwise known as the Reformation Parliament .2

However , it must be noted that despite all these policies and changes against the native Irish , these had little practical impact on the religious affairs of the general majority . While undoubtedly extremely popular , religious spirituality was guided by the local priests rather than the formal church . Hence , while the Irish were faithful to the Catholic faith , they wear not as faithful to the Pope . Moreover , Ireland was not entirely under the control of the English monarchy and there were few zealots in...