Irish Beliefs
A brief summary of the worship and religious history of Ireland.
Pre-Christian Beliefs of Ireland
Relatively little is known about the pre-Christian faith of Ireland. Surviving information on the subject was mostly filtered through its first literate classes, Christian monks who had little respect for its beliefs. What is known, however, that the people of ancient Ireland followed a faith similar to other forms of Celtic Polytheism. They revered many gods and goddesses, most of whom were tied to nature. Humans made offerings to the gods and interpreted their signs through a class of druidic priests, who filled many roles in Irish society.
The Irish pantheon is mainly known today through surviving mythology. The Tuatha de Danann, once gods and goddesses, were transformed through Christianity into legendary heroes and the Fair Folk or Good Neighbors, now popularly called fairies. Among their ranks are Danu, the Dagda, Lugh of the Long Arm, Brigid, Manannan, and the Morrigan. Lore surrounding the Fair Folk emphasizes their alien morality and the danger of offending or even interacting with them. The older faith, while all but extinguished in the medieval era, has seen a resurgence through modern reconstruction.
St. Patrick and the Christian Conversion
Christianity reached Ireland through the Roman conquest of Britain. Conversion is widely credited to St. Patrick, though a missionary named Palladius preceded him. Patrick, a man of Roman Britain, came to Ireland as a missionary in 432. His efforts met with success among the nobility and common people, and the religion gained a foothold on the island. Its people built monasteries and churches, which grew to be centers of arts and learning in the wake of Rome. When Britain was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons, Irish missionaries began traveling abroad to convert them.
One important figure from this era is Saint Columba, or Columbkille. He is credited with the founding of dozens of monasteries and churches in Ireland. Columbkille also led missions to Scotland to convert the native Picts. He, St. Patrick, and St. Brigid are remembered as the patron saints of Ireland. St. Brigid of Kildare, who may be an extension of the Celtic goddess, was the founder of several convents and a successful missionary within Ireland.
Medieval Ireland and the Irish Church
Over the next few centuries, the faith of the druids passed out of memory. What was left survived through the writings of monks and the customs of peasants. The Celtic Church helped to preserve Christianity in Europe after Rome’s decline, but it grew out of step with Roman doctrine. Priests and monks, for example, were allowed to take wiAves. As the Papacy grew powerful once more, it sought to bring the worshippers of Ireland back to its standards. In the 12th century, Pope Adrian IV blessed Henry II’s invasion of Ireland with this goal in mind. New reforms came to the island, including monasteries and churches built by foreign orders.
Ireland and the Protestant Reformation
Now staunchly Catholic, Ireland soon found itself facing another religious conversion. In 1532, English monarch Henry VIII broke with Rome to form his own Anglican Church. While England and Scotland wrestled with a series of Catholic and Protestant leaders, the Irish for the most part refused to abandon Rome. This led to a series of discriminatory laws, rebellions, and the gradual marginalization of native Irish Catholics. The Protestants who settled land once owned by Catholics were primarily immigrants from England and Scotland. This created religious, ethnic, and political tensions in Ireland that have shaped its course to the present day. Protestantism is mainly concentrated in the north and east regions of the island. The Irish branch of the Anglican Church is known as the Church of Ireland.
Modern Belief in Ireland
After centuries of strife, modern Ireland is now divided between two states. Northern Ireland was born out of the majority Protestant counties once settled through Plantation. Its primary religion today is Roman Catholicism. The Republic of Ireland is also majority Catholic. The influence of the Church remained strong throughout the 20th century. In recent decades, however, the nation of Ireland has passed legislation conflicting with Catholic doctrine, including the legalization of birth control, divorce, gay marriage, and abortion. Additionally, immigrants from other countries have brought many new religions to the island. The current religious demographics of Ireland are estimated as follows:
Roman Catholic: 78.3%
None: 9.8%
Church of Ireland: 2.7%
Other Christian: 1.6%
Orthodox: 1.3%
Muslim: 1.3%
Other: 2.4%
Unspecified: 2.6% (2016 est.)
References
Hegarty, Neil. The Story of Ireland: A History of the Irish People. Macmillan. 2012.
Hollis, Daniel Webster. The History of Ireland. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2011.
Joyce, Patrick Weston. A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland. Longmans, Green, and Co. 1908.
Ranelagh, John O'Beirne. A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. 2012.
Serhan, Yasmeen. “A 'Quiet Revolution' Comes to Ireland.” The Atlantic, The Atlantic Monthly Group, 26 May 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/05/a-quiet-revolution-comes-to-ireland/561347/.
“The World Factbook: Ireland.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 24 Oct. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ei.html.
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