Protestantism in the Republic of Ireland
Protestants who are born in Northern Ireland are British and / or Irish depending on their political identity and whether they choose to exercise their right to claim Irish citizenship on the same basis as anywhere else on the island of Ireland (while there is a strong correlation between nationalism and nominal religion, with Protestants more likely to be pro-Union with the UK, this should not be overstated).
The parts of Ireland where the number of Protestants were of higher proportion was closely related to the plantations that occurred throughout the 16th and 17th centuries and the areas where British influence was strongest.
[2] • The end of World War I saw the de-industrialisation of Dublin and migration of skilled Protestant workers seeking work.
[4] After the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Protestant population declined sharply, reasons for which included: • The end of the union between Ireland and Great Britain.
especially from the British civil service[2][5][7] • According to the Church of Ireland Gazette: Protestants "have a wholly disproportionate number of old people compared with young, in comparison to Roman Catholics".
[8] It also meant that Irish was compulsory for roles in the civil service,[8][9] which resulted in "the continuing emigration of young Protestants in search of jobs", with the requirement seen as "disguised discrimination" by some.
• The influence of the Roman Catholic Church on government policy, such as: the banning of divorce and contraception; censorship of films and books; and in the education system.
[10] The zenith of this anti-British, Roman Catholic and Gaelic ethos came about after the 1932 election,[9] exemplified by the newly elected Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, who refused to change or compromise on his views of a united Ireland that emphasised Gaelic and Roman Catholic values.
[9] Cosgrove writes that Protestant children were treated fairly and at times given preferential treatment in the education system.
[10] The Mayo Library Committee, mostly composed of prominent local Roman Catholics including a bishop, originally said that she had inadequate knowledge of Irish for the role.
[10] Despite the government standing its ground on the appointment, a boycott of the library resulted in W. T. Cosgrave, President of the Executive Council, and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam, Thomas Gilmartin, coming to an agreement to transfer Dunbar-Harrison from Mayo library to a post in Dublin in January 1932.
[2] Areas where the Protestant minority was strongest tended to see the least decline, primary examples being the three Ulster counties that became part of the Free State: Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan.
[1] This emigration affected the Free State economy as Protestants formed a significant part of its commercial and cultural activities.
[15] One notable convert was the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Dr. Dermot Dunne, who was formerly a Catholic cleric.
[17] In regards to immigration, of the 137,048 people from the three main Protestant denominations (Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist) to declare their country of birth, only 94,889 (69.2%) stated the Republic.
[13] The following table shows the figures for the main Protestant denominations in what is now the Republic of Ireland from 1901 to 2011:[13][14][18][19] In comparison, the number of Catholics increased from 3,681,446 to 3,861,335.
