In England at this time in the 1600s and 1700s, there was tension between the traditional Catholics and the people who adopted the Reformed rules and doctrines according to the Geneva based Lutheran reformer John Calvin (1509-1564). Calvin’s followers were known as Puritans who were opposed to any agreement with Roman Catholics.
“The Reformation was the religious side of the general political and military repression of Ireland in the 16th century. This time of colonisation meant much distress for the Native Irish and the Anglo-Norman alike.” (Maurice Kiely, Irish Catholic 25-06-26)
“If Ireland was to become a political extension of England, it would also have to become a religious extension. It was inevitable that the Henrician Reformation would be extended to the lordship of Ireland.” (John Gibney, A short History of Ireland p15)
After the defeat at the battle of Kinsale in 1603 many of the leaders left Ireland in 1607 in what became known as the ‘Flight of the Earls’. Irish leaders like O’Neill(Earl of Tyrone), O’Donnell and Maguire -who led the Irish rebellion against the English invasion in the 9 Years War(1594-1603) between England and Ireland sought refuge in Spain probably hoping to raise a strong enough army to return and defeat the English power that had taken over their land with the Plantation of Ulster.
As well as their hope and intention of recovering their lands these leaders adhered to the traditional Catholic church and were determined to resist all attempts to replace the Roman Catholic faith with the Anglican church.
The English set about ending the power and influence of the Catholic leaders in the years after the 1641 rebellion. They introduced laws to reduce their power and their ownership of the land and handed it over to English and Scottish planters. This would explaiin the radical decision of the Bishop of clogher to take leadership of the Irish army aftere the death of Eoghan Rua O’Neill when no other leader could be agreed upon. The Catholic church faced a diffcult situation and feared for survival.
The Penal Laws (known also as the Recusancy laws) were introduced by the English parliament in the late 1600s to put an end to Irish resistance to the English takeover of Ireland which had begun under Henry 8th. The Penal laws were enacted following the Jacobite Williamite war (1689-91). They were totally against the spirit of the settlement at the Treaty of Limerick in 1691.
The first law forbade Catholics and Dissenters from holding arms of any kind. Then laws were introduced to prevent them from owning a horse worth more than £5 (cavalry) to sit in parliament Catholics had to deny the Pope’s authority. They introduced a ‘Sacramental test’ which declared that all who sat in parliament had to take Communion in the established Anglican Church. Thus Catholics and Dissenting Protestants were excluded from parliament. Catholics and Dissenters were forced to pay tithes to the Church of Ireland.
In 1728 Catholics were forbidden to vote. Only 5% of Protestant males qualified to vote.
Many countries in northern Europe had already had introduced laws compelling all males in positions of power and authority to practice the religion of the monarch. In Ireland 80 per cent of the Population was Catholic who remained loyal to Rome. 10 percent were Anglican and 10 percent were Dissenters. Some laws were aimed specifically at Catholics to prevent them becoming too powerful. They were forbidden to buy land and were obliged in their wills to divide their land among all in the family so that any large estates would be broken up.
In 1703 the share of land owned by Catholics was 14%. By the 1770s that share was reduced to 5%. In 1641 Catholics owned 59% of the land which was already a big reduction on what they owned in the 1500s. Over those 200 years all had changed –changed utterly to coin a phrase!
Catholics were barred from learned professions. They could not take leases for longer than 31 years, whereas Protestant leases could last for 3 generations.
With the introduction of these Penal laws the population was politically divided between Catholics and Anglicans. With the formation of the Orange order in 1795 and the relaxing of laws against Dissenters many of whom either emigrated to the USA or were persuaded to join the Orange Order the population of Ireland was beginning to be divided into the two tribes we have in the north east of Ireland today.
The Partition of Ireland by the British government in 1920-21which was based on the unionist demands to remain in the UK further deepened the division between Catholics and Protestants in the new artificial north-eastern statelet. The only possibility of reconciliation is when that undemocratic partition is removed and the people living on this small island are free to live and work together for a better and more prosperous future for all.
Thanks to John Gibney, A short History of Ireland, and Maurice Kiely article in Irish Catholic 25 June 2026 and Dr Eamonn ÓCiardha.
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