Anti-Catholic discrimination in Ireland

For centuries, Ireland has been the victim of England’s conquering ambitions. A phenomenon that has existed since the 12th century with the Norman Invasions, and which has unfortunately been perpetuated over nearly 700 years of history!
This confrontation was not only territorial, but also religious, pitting the Protestant English against the strongly Catholic Irish. A situation which led the English to pursue a policy of anti-Catholic discrimination, the better to assert their ancestry on Irish soil.

A look back at this difficult period, which took its toll on the Irish Catholic community… whether in the 1800s or during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

A look back at anti-Catholic persecution in Ireland

Maneuvers put in place as early as the 19th century

The UK has long beenanti-Catholic towards the Irish. It’s a phenomenon that’s easy to explain, if you go back in history to 1534, when King Henry VIII decided to break with the Catholic Church and become head of the Anglican Church.

From then on, the country demanded that its population convert to Protestantism, renouncing Catholicism.

For greater persuasiveness, in 1701 the Kingdom promulgated the Catholic Exclusion Act of 1701. It prohibits people of faith other than that of the Church of England from holding the office of King or Queen of the United Kingdom, which in practice means that Catholics are barred from power.

This phenomenon continued over the centuries, even on the Emerald Isle, when the Kingdom of England, already established in Ireland, implemented an aggressive policy of territorial occupation.

Their strategy is simple: weaken the Irish to gain power over the territory. Thus, over the centuries, the English took over Irish lands, had the Irish cultivate the fields themselves for derisory wages, administered local life and introduced laws to the detriment of the local population practicing the Catholic religion.

Irish Catholics were banned from the 1700-1800s:

to vote,
to run for the Irish Parliament,
to enter Trinity College University in Dublin,
to have a horse,
to own weapons,
etc…

Repressive measures, decided by the British to suppress the rights of the Irish, and relegate them to the rank of second-class citizens. It’s a ploy that has angered the Irish, who feel despised in their own country, and deprived of their most basic civil rights. Plunged into deep poverty, they are deprived of any prospect of social advancement. A perfect ploy for the British, who intend to establish their long-term power on the Emerald Isle.

Fortunately, Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847), an Irish lawyer of the time, fought in the years that followed to gradually regain civil rights for Irish Catholics. A complex struggle, alternating successes and failures, which in the long term enabled Irish Catholics to regain their rights.

Although not a complete success, it was a first step towards the Irish nationalist movement.

Segregation between Catholic and Protestant communities, still measured in Northern Ireland in the 20th and 21st centuries

Although history has allowed the creation of an Irish Free State (the Irish Republic), Northern Ireland is still considered a British province.

This geopolitical situation is still the result of centuries of conflict between the British and the Irish. Yet the religious question is still a sensitive one in the region. Northern Ireland is a region divided between the Catholic community (the majority) and the Protestant minority. ( According to the 2011 census, 48.4% of the population were Catholics, 39.8% Protestants and 11.6% members of another religion or no religion).

One need only look at the recurring tensions between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods, whether in Belfast or Derry. In fact, some Northern Irish towns are characterized by a marked separation between predominantly Catholic and predominantly Protestant residential areas.

These towns usually witness scenes of outbursts, with each community provoking the enemy on the other side.

The Orangemen (English Protestants), for example, like to commemorate a historic English victory over the Irish by marching past Catholic quarters. A provocation that often degenerates into a pitched battle between the two communities!

Likewise, Catholics and Protestants alike hold annual “bonfires” in the middle of town, where they set fire to mountains of crates several meters high. Flags were even burned, contributing to the escalation of tensions.

Although tensions have eased since the Good Friday Accords of 1998, they are still palpable, and such outbursts can still occur.