most important.' Before the famine, Dingle, in County Kerry and Achill, in feature of the Rockite Mayo, had become famous as areas in Insurrection that began in which evangelical ministers of the west Limerick in 1821 was experienced a period of revitalization. The Established Church had succeeded in the capacity for religious growth of missionary activity among the converting considerable numbers of tensions in the community different Protestant denominations during catholic^.^ During this period too, the to be reflected in violence. This paper will the early nineteenth century was due to a Established Church also found converts in examine the cause of this sectarian reorganization of the Established Church west Limerick, where concerted efforts tension in west Limerick in the pre-famine and new interest in missionary efforts in were made at Abbeyfeale, Askeaton and decades and the influence thereon of Ireland. During these years a large Ballingar~y.~ agrarian protest, the campaign for number of societies was formed dedicated At the beginning of the nineteenth Catholic Emancipation, the Tithe War and to the task of promoting the conversion of century the Church of Ireland was a the religious fervour of the 'Second Irish Catholics. The Hibernian Bible largely ineffective and poorly administered Reformation'. In the early nineteenth Society (1806), the Irish Society for body. The general conduct of the century organized religion played a major Promoting the Education of the Native Protestant clergy in the discharge of their part in the life of the country to a degree Irish through the Medium of Their Own duties was very often less than satis- that was rarely seen in previous decades. Language (1818) and the Scripture factory. Particularly in rural districts the Protestant and Catholic churches Readers' Society (1822) were among the lower clergy of the Established Church Map of'Couniy Limerick showing placcs mcntiotled in the text. LImerick City % 0 Patrickswell CL 0 V ~bbeyfeale Dotted lin~shows division ofwest and east Limerick. or------- mls 10 Postcard showing Ballingarry Church of Ireland church, 1950s (Limerick Museum) failed to reside in the parishes to which Bible Society was formed as an auxiliary to converted to Protestantism and a week they were appointed, more often than not the Hibernian Bible Society. The main later that 'a respectable gentleman and a neglecting them completely. The Rev. focus of Protestant evangelism was the lady' recanted their Catholic faith at William Ashe was rector of Glin parish, reading of the bible and evangelists saw Shanagolden Protestant church.7 where he was resident, but he was also themselves as bringing the 'word of God' Due to a lack of primary sources we rector of the parish of Grange over twenty to the population. A Hibernian Bible have little information on the 'Second miles away. A better example of this Society had been active in previous years Reformation' in the years that followed. unsatisfactory state of affairs was the Rev. in Limerick City, but it was only from 1827 Local newspapers showed little interest in John Warburton, who was rector of three that the society's attention turned to the Protestant conversion attempts following separate parishes in west Limerick, county in general and Askeaton in the initial efforts in 1827. The State of the namely Nantinan, Morgans and Loghill, particular. Social conditions were poor in Country Papers contain correspondence yet he resided in County Kildare.4 The Askeaton, as the town was described from members of the elite, who only first two decades of the nineteenth century in August 1827 as having 150 cabins reported on matters of particular interest witnessed a general reorganization and a occupied by 'unemployed and hungry to themselves such as attacks on property tightening up of ecclesiastical discipline. paupers.' One of the secretaries of the and the stealing of arms. In 1839 In the late eighteenth - early nineteenth West Limerick Bible Society was the Rev. Protestant evangelists switched their century generous government grants to Richard Murray, who was also the rector missionary efforts to Ballingarry, when the the Board of First Fruits were used to a of Askeaton. Offering food and employ- Rev. George Gough Gubbins was sent large extent to build new churches. ment and funded by £1,200 from the there from Dingle to establish a new Limerick shared in this church building Board of First Fruits, the early efforts of Protestant c~lony.~The success of this boom. In the west of the county (covering the Established Church at Askeaton mission is not known. However, we have an area of 1,304 square kilometres), proved successful, with thirty-six people some information on the conversion effort, new churches were built or rebuilt at converting to Protestantism. Protestant as in 1849 the Rev. Daniel Foley visited the Killaliathan, Loghill and Abbeyfeale in farmers from the Askeaton area employed Ballingarry colony, where he encountered 1812; Glin and Shanagolden in 1815; three of the converts, with three others opposition from the local Catholic Nantinan 1817; Ballingarry and Rathronan employed at Birdhill, Co. Tipperary, population at an early stage, in the form of 1820; Kilscannel and Chapelrussell 1822 Bruree and Newcastle, County Limerick. pulling down the posters announcing his and Rathkeale 1831. Further building was Another eight were employed at Askeaton sermon. The Rev. Foley also visited undertaken in the construction of Glebe Glebe House. The combined income of Askeaton, where the Rev. Maxwell had Houses at Askeaton and Rathronan in the fourteen employed was fifty-four succeeded the Rev. Murray. If he is to be 1827. This outward display, together with shillings a week, a payment that must believed, an overflowing congregation, an increase in numbers attending the have increased the standard of living of three-fourths Roman Catholic, heard his Established Church's religious services in the converts quite considerably, for during sermon in a chapel that was so crowded the 1822-24 period due to the large these years the price in labour in west both inside and out that people clambered numbers of soldiers and police brought Limerick was between six and eight pence up the windows on the outside and into the district during the Rockite a day.6 During 1827 claims of conversions requested the Rev. Foley to speak loudly Insurrection, gave the appearance of a to Protestantism were reported from other so he could be heard. Later Rev. Foley reinvigorated Protestant church in west towns in west Limerick: in May at the visited Pallaskenry, where he gave his Limerick.5 church of Ballingarry it was claimed that sermon in both English and Irish, taking Following the harvest failure of 1826, two Roman Catholics conformed to the cognizance of 'the great interest' the local Protestant missionaries began conversion Protestant religion. At Newcastle on the population showed when he spoke in their efforts in west Limerick. At a meeting at same day it was stated that 'a very native tongue. A visit to Abbeyfeale Rathkeale in March 1827, a West Limerick intelligent man, of the name of Reidy' was followed, where the Rev. Edward Norman claimed to minister to a congregation 'exclusively of converts from the Church of R~me.'~Efforts were also made by the Established Church to in the district schools offering an elementary education, free to all who were prepared to accept the religious instruction that accompanied it. By 1835 the London Hibernian Society had set up schools at Chapelrussell in Pallaskenry, Kilcornan and two schools in Rathkeale. In the late 1830s a London Hibernian School was set up in Askeaton between the Protestant Church and the Glebe House.lO The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland at the beginning of the nineteenth century suffered from problems very similar to its established rival. Problems included the general laxity of ecclesiastical discipline, particularly among priests. In the mid- eighteenth century at Saint Munchin's parish in Limerick City, it was alleged that the parish priest, Patrick Scanlan, had fathered children with two different women.ll The early decades of the thirty-six converts at least twenty fell away so pleased at the efforts of Michael nineteenth century, however, brought 'when they found nothing could be gained Fitzgerald at Askeaton that the title of dramatic change. Reforms were intro- from a change of creed'. He went on to Archdeacon was revived and conferred on duced, the management of individual state that the Rev. Murray could not 'boast him and he was transferred to Ballingarry parishes was closely regulated and priests of a single convert who was not at the in 1837.18 All in all, Rev. Foley's optimistic were required to preach regularly. As a commencement of their acquaintance a report in 1849 on Protestant evangelical consequence of these reforms, the miserable pauper'. He claimed that the efforts seems not to be the most trust- number of priests in Limerick diocese conversions were only temporary and the worthy. His claim that Roman Catholics increased from fifty-two in 1800 to ninety- converts 'may for a time prefer freely attended the reading of scriptures at seven in 1835. This gave a return of one Protestantism to hunger, nakedness and the Protestant school at Askeaton and that priest to 2,539 Catholics in Limerick beggary' and counter-claimed that two the local Catholic school failed, with the diocese, the highest ratio in Munster.12 As Protestants at Askeaton had become teacher resigning, should therefore be well as reorganization in administration, Catholics and that at Rathkeale 'two highly viewed with caution. The impact of the the pre-famine period witnessed a major educated and enlightened Protestants' had Established Church education efforts drive to build village chapels. There can conformed to the Catholic faith.