Rogues Among Rebels: Entanglements between Irish Catholics and the Fishermen’s Protective Union of Newfoundland by Liam Michael O’Flaherty M.A. (Political Science), University of British Columbia, 2008 B.A. (Honours), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2006 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Liam Michael O’Flaherty, 2017 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2017 Approval Name: Liam Michael O’Flaherty Degree: Master of Arts Title: Rogues Among Rebels: Entanglements between Irish Catholics and the Fishermen’s Protective Union of Newfoundland Examining Committee: Chair: Elise Chenier Professor Willeen Keough Senior Supervisor Professor Mark Leier Supervisor Professor Lynne Marks External Examiner Associate Professor Department of History University of Victoria Date Defended/Approved: August 24, 2017 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This thesis explores the relationship between Newfoundland’s Irish Catholics and the largely English-Protestant backed Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU) in the early twentieth century. The rise of the FPU ushered in a new era of class politics. But fishermen were divided in their support for the union; Irish-Catholic fishermen have long been seen as at the periphery—or entirely outside—of the FPU’s fold. Appeals to ethno- religious unity among Irish Catholics contributed to their ambivalence about or opposition to the union. Yet, many Irish Catholics chose to support the FPU. In fact, the historical record shows Irish Catholics demonstrating a range of attitudes towards the union: some joined and remained, some joined and then left, and others rejected the union altogether. Far from being beholden to the whims of clerics, political elites, or the structural dictates of the economy and of region, Irish-Catholic fishermen made their own decisions about membership. Nevertheless, the pressures of class and ethno-religious solidarities mediated their decisions to engage with the union. This thesis uses a combination of newspaper sources, church correspondence, oral histories, censuses, and election data to unearth the history of Irish Catholics’ complex relationship with the FPU, and argues that this relationship is an example of the entanglements of ethnicity and class in pre-Confederation Newfoundland. Keywords: Newfoundland; ethnicity; religion; unions; class; fisheries; Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU) iv Acknowledgements The first person I met at SFU History was Ruth Anderson, graduate program assistant, on a sunny day in the summer of 2012. She was a diplomat for the department, and, along with the other staff members, helped create the vibrant community that I found. Mark Leier, Elise Chenier, Mary-Ellen Kelm, Jack Little, Emily O’Brien, Roxanne Panchasi, Aaron Windel, Sarah Walshaw, Jen Spear, Allan Seager, and John-Henry Harter have all taught me or provided me with help, supervision, or advice in one capacity or another along the way. Willeen Keough has been an exceptional supervisor, mentor, and friend. Everyone in the graduate community at SFU History has left an indelible impression on me for which I will forever be thankful. Jennifer Chutter and Andrea Samoil require a special thank you for having provided extensive feedback. Thank you also to Abby Rolston, Ivan Drury, Adam Bielka, Stephanie Porowski, Bruce Dyck, JP Pry, Gisele Dubeau, and Alice Huang, each of whom provided feedback on early drafts. Maddie Knickerbocker, Lorelei Lester, Simone Hanebaum, Katie Hearn, Sukhjit Chohan, Neal Adolph, Eryk Martin, Candice Klein, Grant Gillies, Scott Bursey, Sarah Inglis, Arlen Wiesenthal, Khash Hemmati, and Aali Mirjat: thank you for your friendship. Leah Wiener and Leigha Smith: thank you for the after class debriefings in my first semester. Scott Eaton: thank you for the discussions on Newfoundland and Labrador history. Joseph Tilley, thank you for the books. Scholars and others outside of SFU History who helped in various ways include Sean Cadigan, Patrick O’Flaherty, Marjorie Doyle, Barbara Neis, Benjamin Nyblade, Skip Fischer, Jeff Webb, Terry Bishop-Stirling, Paul Kopas, J.K. Hiller, Peter Hall, Pamela Stern, and John Fitzgerald. Without a doubt, this thesis would not be possible without Mel Baker’s expertise, encouragement, and insights. Various archival and library staff members, and other folks in the community have helped guide the way at various stages of this process. They include: Rebecca Dowson, Sonny Wong, Dave Chokroun, and Donald Taylor at SFU Library; Linda White, v Joan Ritcey and others at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies; all of the staff at the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador; Sister Brenda Phelan at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Falls; Jean Hillier of St. Michael & All Angels Parish, St. John’s; Sharon Bailey at the Fogo Island Marine Interpretive Centre; Don Johnson and Edith Samson at the Sir William Ford Coaker Heritage Foundation; Kory Penney at the Maritime History Archive; Lisa Wilson, formerly of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador; Jean Hillier at the St. Michael & All Angels Parish in St. John’s; Roy and Christine Dwyer of Tilting; Andrea Hyde with the Legislative Library at the House of Assembly; Father David Joy of St. Patrick’s Parish, Tilting; Rene Estrada at the Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s; Mary Shortall with the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour; and Darryl Johnson with the town council of Trinity Bay North. Most of the pertinent documents from the Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese have been digitized and made available by the Maritime History Archive. This thesis is indebted to the people at both archives who did the work that made those documents publicly available. Their doing so helped inspire this research, and has made public an important aspect of Newfoundland and Labrador’s past. The online exhibit is available at https://www.mun.ca/mha/fpu/index.html, and this thesis is heavily indebted to it. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) have helped by way of funding, as have the Cook Conference and William and Jane Saywell scholarships, and other awards. Thank you to Karen O’Leary and Suzanne Browne at Memorial University for ISER-related assistance. Finally, thank you to my friends and family. vi Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................... iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures .................................................................................................................... x List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Background of the FPU and the “Catholic Question” .............................................. 3 Historiography ......................................................................................................... 8 Political history approaches .............................................................................. 8 Historical materialist approaches .................................................................... 10 Ethnicity and Catholic–FPU relationships ............................................................. 14 Sources and methods ........................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2: Intra-ethnic Entanglements among Irish Catholics on the Southern Avalon Peninsula, 1908–1909 ............................................... 22 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 22 Anti-secret society sentiment in the Newfoundland Catholic Church .................... 23 Clerical and other elites begin to take notice of the FPU ...................................... 26 Archbishop M.F. Howley and the Salmonier council enter the fray ....................... 31 Howley’s circular letter of March 31, 1909 ............................................................ 41 The aftermath of Howley’s circular letter ............................................................... 48 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 51 Chapter 3: Inter-ethnic Entanglements in the Building of the Union ...................... 53 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 53 The formative years .............................................................................................. 55 The inaugural