Letters of the Catholic Poor
Poverty in Independent Ireland, 1920–1940

A pioneering new 'history from below' of Irish poverty told through the letters of the Catholic poor in Independent Ireland.

Lindsey Earner-Byrne (Author)

9781107179912, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 January 2017

296 pages, 8 b/w illus.
23.5 x 16 x 2 cm, 0.55 kg

'This is one of the best Irish history books of the last decade, broadening our understanding of social and cultural history.' Georgina Laragy, The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies

This innovative study of poverty in Independent Ireland between 1920 and 1940 is the first to place the poor at its core by exploring their own words and letters. Written to the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, their correspondence represents one of the few traces in history of Irish experiences of poverty, and collectively they illuminate the lives of so many during the foundation decades of the Irish state. This book keeps the human element central, so often lost when the framework of history is policy, institutions and legislation. It explores how ideas of charity, faith, gender, character and social status were deployed in these poverty narratives and examines the impact of poverty on the lives of these writers and the survival strategies they employed. Finally, it considers the role of priests in vetting and vouching for the poor and, in so doing, perpetuating the discriminating culture of charity.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The social setting: 'is this a civilized country?'
2. Artefacts of poverty: 'I crave your holy pardon for writing'
3. The 'poor' make their case: 'surely they are worth helping'
4. Hidden poverty: 'I bear my poverty in silence'
5. The cost of poverty: 'to live or rather exist'
6. Vetting and vouching: 'it would be a charity to help him'
Conclusion: 'peopling the past'
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church [HRCC7], Social & cultural history [HBTB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], British & Irish history [HBJD1]