Irish Catholics is a term used to describe people of Roman Catholic background who are Irish or of Irish descent.
The term is of note due to Irish immigration to many countries of the English speaking world, particularly as a result of the Irish Famine in the 1840s - 1850s, following which the population declined by over half in the following century (from approx. over 8 million to just over 4 million) due to the pattern of immigration begun then. The term has currency in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These nations had, or have, a majority of Protestants; thus, both aspects - being Catholic, and being Irish - at times separated them from the mainstream culture. In the United States, hostility to both these aspects was expressed through the Know-Nothing movement and Nativism in general.
The term can also relate to a period when Catholicism in Ireland was somewhat divergent from the "Roman" church. Though mostly reconciled with the Synod of Cashel in 1172, some elements unique within the practice of Catholicism and Catholic culture remained in Ireland.
'Irish Catholic' is also used to distinguish Catholic inhabitants of Ireland from the Ulster-Scots and the Anglo-Irish, and the North American descendants of Irish Catholic emigrants from the Scots-Irish. It does not necessarily refer to religion, as there are many Irish Catholics who belong to other faiths or, indeed, no faith at all (such as Eamonn McCann).
The Irish Catholic is also the name of a popular newspaper in Ireland published for lay people.
See also
- Irish diaspora
- Saint Patrick's Day
- Anti-Catholicism
- Irish American
- Irish Australian
- Irish Canadian
- Irish Scots
- Roman Catholicism in Ireland
- D. P. Moran
- Nativists
- Know-Nothings
- Father Ted
External links
- Library of Congress
- The Irish Catholic Diaspora in America, describes the book ISBN 0-8132-0896-3
- On Irish Catholics of Australia
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Last updated on Thursday July 03, 2008 at 13:19:55 PDT (GMT -0700)
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