The Origins of Sectarianism in Early Modern Ireland

In this book leading Irish historians examine the origins of sectarian division in early modern Ireland.

Alan Ford (Edited by), John McCafferty (Edited by)

9781107407787, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 October 2012

260 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.35 kg

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

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.

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 Mícheál MacCraith
9. Sectarianism: division and dissent in Irish Catholicism Brian Jackson
10. Concluding reflection: confronting violence of the Irish reformations John Morrill.

Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP], History of religion [HRAX], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], British & Irish history [HBJD1]