Irish-American History

Lesson 2: Seeds of discontent

In this section of the Course , I want to highlight the political situation as it existed in terms of Establishment's attitude to both Catholics and Dissenters ; those not belonging to to the Established Church.

Seeds of Discontent

Just as all despotic systems attempt to reduce the effectiveness of potential troublemakers, Oliver Cromwell weakened the Catholic population in Ireland by deporting thousands of the intellectuals, teachers and children to the West Indies. Catholics made up three quarters of the population of the country at the end of the 17th Century. Barely 3 years after the signing of the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, which guaranteed that ‘ The Irish in Ireland should , in their lives , liberties and property be equally protected’ and ‘protected in the free and unfettered exercise of their religion’ the first of the Penal Laws was enacted.

The Act for the Better Securing of the Government against Papists: Stated that no Papist could have any ‘gun , pistol , or sword , or any other weapon of offence or defence , under penalty of fine , imprisonment , pillory (locking one’s head and hands in a wooden rack for public ridicule) , or public whipping’. It further stated that a magistrate could legally enter the house of any Irish person at any time of day or night to search for such weapons. This was shortly followed in 1697 with the Act for Banishing all Papists exercising any ecclesiastical jurisdiction , and regulars of the Popish clergy , out of this Kingdom. Also known as the ‘Bishop’s Banishment Act ‘, this required that all Catholic clergy were to leave Ireland by May 1st 1698 , under penalty of transportation for life. It further stated that if any such clergy returned to Ireland , they would be hanged , drawn and quartered.

These were just the beginning of the Penal Laws , which were designed to eliminate totally the ‘untrustworthy majority’ , by attacking their education , religion and property rights. By so doing , the intention was to keep them poor and powerless and eventually eliminate Catholicism altogether. In the words of Professor Lecky , in his History of Ireland in the 18th Century , the object of the Penal Laws was threefold:
1. To deprive the Catholics of all civil life
2. To reduce them to a condition of most extreme and brutal ignorance.
3. To disassociate them from the soil