Freedom and the Fifth Commandment: Catholic priests and political violence in Ireland, 1919–21

Freedom and the Fifth Commandment: Catholic priests and political violence in Ireland, 1919–21
ISBN-10
1526117983
ISBN-13
9781526117984
Category
History
Pages
304
Language
English
Published
2016-09-30
Publisher
Manchester University Press
Author
Brian Heffernan

Description

The guerilla war waged between the IRA and the crown forces between 1919 and 1921 was a pivotal episode in the modern history of Ireland. This book addresses the War of Independence from a new perspective by focusing on the attitude of a powerful social elite: the Catholic clergy. The close relationship between Irish nationalism and Catholicism was put to the test when a pugnacious new republicanism emerged after the 1916 Easter rising. When the IRA and the crown forces became involved in a guerilla war between 1919 and 1921, priests had to define their position anew. Using a wealth of source material, much of it newly available, this book assesses the clergy’s response to political violence. It describes how the image of shared victimhood at the hands of the British helped to contain tensions between the clergy and the republican movement, and shows how the links between Catholicism and Irish nationalism were sustained.

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