The Origins of Sectarianism in Early Modern Ireland
Ireland is riven by sectarian hatred. This simple assumption provides a powerful explanation for the bitterness and violence which has so dominated Irish history. Most notably, the troubles in Northern Ireland have provided fertile ground for scholars from all disciplines to argue about and explore ways in which religious division fueled the descent into hostility and disorder. In much of this literature, however, sectarianism is seen as, somehow, a 'given' in Irish history, an inevitable product of the clash of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, something which sprang fully formed into existence in the sixteenth century. In this book leading historians provide a detailed analysis of the ways in which rival confessions were developed in early modern Ireland, the extent to which the Irish people were indeed divided into two religious camps by the mid-seventeenth century, and also their surprising ability to transcend such stark divisions.
- Leading historians examine a formative period in Irish history
- An accessible, academic introduction to issues of sectarianism, religious division, and hatred which still remain of crucial importance in Northern Ireland today
- Brings together important new research on early modern Ireland
Reviews & endorsements
Review of the hardback: 'This is a most welcome collection that adds new and refreshing insights into the complex and many-layered history of Ireland in this period.' Contemporary Review
Review of the hardback: 'Unexpected but illuminating comparisons are made with, for example, Transylvania and the Balkans … Welcome, too, is the use of European intellectual currents - Weber and Durkheim - to comprehend Irish experiences … ideas of sectarianism and confessionalisation originated among scholars seeking to make better sense of what happened in Germany … same forces animating and sometimes dividing the post-Tridentine Church agitated Ireland … the collection, mining rich materials, offers much to ponder.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Product details
October 2012Paperback
9781107407787
260 pages
229 × 152 × 14 mm
0.35kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Living together, living apart: sectarianism in early modern Ireland Alan Ford
- 2. Confessionalization in Ireland: periodisation and character, 1534–1649 Ute Lotz-Heumann
- 3. Protestant prelates or godly pastors? The dilemma of the early Stuart episcopate John McCafferty
- 4. 'In imitation of that holy patron of prelates the blessed St Charles': Episcopal activity in Ireland and the formation of a confessional identity, 1618–53 Tadhg Ó Hannracháin
- 5. A haven of popery: English Catholic migration to Ireland in the age of plantations David Edwards
- 6. The Irish historical renaissance and the shaping of Protestant history Alan Ford
- 7. Religion, culture and the bardic elite in early modern Ireland Marc Caball
- 8. The political and religious thought of Florence Conry and Hugh McCaughwell MÃcheál MacCraith
- 9. Sectarianism: division and dissent in Irish Catholicism Brian Jackson
- 10. Concluding reflection: confronting violence of the Irish reformations John Morrill.