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Drawing on archival material and oral testimony of former students, this paper examines the lives and experiences of women in Catholic primary teacher training colleges in Ireland in the period 1922–1974. It commences with a brief overview of the historical context in which these colleges emerged, situating their development within the socio-political and cultural context of the emerging Free State and the changing primary school curriculum. Residential and single-sex, the paper argues that the colleges promoted a gendered ideology and culture of femininity which mirrored the conservative, nationalistic and ultramontane agenda of post-Independence Ireland. Paradoxically, while this often led to a limited, anti-intellectual experience and a hegemonic framing of women teachers' professionalism, many graduates used their new-found professional status as teachers to embrace high-profile leadership roles in twentieth-century Ireland, often in male-dominated fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the partition of Ireland and the foundation of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State, Belfast and Dublin had become capital cities of two new states. For those struggling on the margins, however, this new-found statehood held little practical value. Through a close reading of 'poverty letters' written to political and religious leaders, this article explores how people articulated their need as they sought assistance and tried to define their understanding of poverty and its impact. By employing a comparative lens, it approaches these letters as social spaces in which people drew on wider cultural and political anxieties and motifs to perform belonging and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study sets the psychological type profile and temperament of 190 Catholic priests serving in England, Wales, and Ireland alongside the profile of 1,298 Catholic priests reported by Ruppart in 1985. In the current study 68% of priests preferred introversion, 61% preferred sensing, 53% preferred feeling, and 84% preferred judging, confirming the findings of other recent studies of Catholic priests in Australia and Italy of a trend towards introversion, sensing, and judging, and away from feeling. In the current study 55% presented as Epimethean Temperament (SJ) and 21% as Apollonian Temperament (NF), also confirming other recent studies that report a move toward the SJ temperament and away from the NF temperament. The implications of these findings are discussed for the expression and experience of ministry within the Catholic Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical commentary on the literature addresses the relationship between Roman Catholicism and professional social work in the Republic of Ireland. The context is a series of highly publicized clerical-abuse scandals and controversies associated with institutional segregation. Focused commentary operates in two phases across six subthemes. Thereafter application of a dynamic model of social work progresses insights from the former review toward learning for practitioners moving forward. It is concluded that sensitivity to the implications of tragedies and controversies for survivors and their families remains an ethical imperative in Irish social work practice. Within this, sensitivity that goes beyond rhetoric and sentiment to achieve a meaningfully sensitive approach to practice is most needed and will be strongest when operationalized within set parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moral and practical regulation of sexuality and associated risk has been in some ways traditionally bound by Catholic religious doctrine in the Republic of Ireland. Over the last century, however, the emergence of professional social work as a state risk management strategy around sexuality is evident. This tallies with the disrepute of the Church following high-profile abuse scandals and publicized tragedies tied to institutional segregation. This paper presents theoretically informed critical commentary, through uptake of the Foucauldian notion of discourse. It concludes that critique of the regulation of sexuality, should be qualified on three counts. Firstly, tensions between Catholicism and social work remain. Secondly, wariness towards the operation of power is requisite. Thirdly, both that which is said, and unsaid, enlightens present debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article overviews the contemporary context for teaching Religious Education (RE) in Ireland and profiles changing religious demographics in an increasingly secular context. It presents the findings of a two-year mixed-methods study undertaken in two third-level Catholic colleges in Ireland, investigating four hundred third-level Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students' perceptions of the religiously unaffiliated. The research data reveals the complexity and ambivalence of ITE students' attitudes to teaching RE in primary schools in a rapidly changing Irish society where one in ten is religiously unaffiliated (Central Statistics Office, 2017). Several challenges emerge for ITE students as they begin teaching RE in Ireland's denominational primary school context. The religious and convictional perspectives of the sample group are profiled and findings reveal that participants' personal worldviews impact on their understandings of their future professional roles as religious educators. Data from this mixed methods research suggest that while ITE students view the teaching of RE as an important professional duty, a disconnect between their own personal beliefs and the curricular content they are required to teach in sacramental RE programmes in Catholic primary schools creates a climate of ambivalence and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Irish religious landscape is changing. Census data reveal that the percentage of those who identify as Catholic is in steady decline, while the proportion of those with no religion continues to rise. Christian religious practice in Ireland is also decreasing, especially among young people. Catholic schools, once the dominant provider of second level education, are now in a minority. This changing landscape has influenced Religious Education in second level schools. It is now an optional subject, and the historic tradition of denominational, confessional Religious Education has given way to an approach designed to be inclusive of students of all faith and none. Yet the surrounding discourse is unsupported by the perspectives of Religious Education teachers. This study attempts to address this knowledge gap by investigating their views and experiences, particularly with regard to inclusion. Results indicate that teachers are concerned about 'religious students'. Whereas new to the Irish context, this reflects international research which suggests that in a rapidly secularising society, those who continue to practise any faith, especially the once-majority faith, are vulnerable. Findings signpost evidence of this, with RE teachers most concerned about the bullying of Catholic students and least concerned about the bullying of atheists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines some of the legacy of the Irish education pioneer Nano Nagle, foundress of the Presentation congregation of nuns. The congregation spread rapidly in the nineteenth century, not only in Ireland but also in Newfoundland, India, England, Tasmania, Australia and continental North America. This year, Presentation schools globally mark the tercentenary of Nagle's birth, and it is therefore timely to consider approaches to writing about her life and her contribution to education. The article discusses existing biographical studies of Nagle and argues that a more nuanced study of this educator and her legacy is possible, through the careful and systematic use of convent archives and oral histories. The article considers how such research can offer new perspectives on the agency and innovation of individual teaching Sisters, and on ways in which these women became resilient and adaptable, in order to function effectively within a patriarchal Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As locations of a distinctively Catholic faith, Mass Rocks are important historical, ritual and counter-cultural sites that present a tangible connection to Ireland's rich heritage for contemporary society. Recent authors have begun to fill a gap in published literature yet few go beyond traditional assumptions. This paper offers a more contemporary approach to the study of Mass Rocks based on extensive field research in county Cork. It argues for the introduction of new and innovative classifications that expand the accepted archaeological definition and proposes a set of criteria for the more robust verification of potential sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the connection between issues of security, finance and the army in Ireland in the years 1714-16. The death of Queen Anne and succession of the first Hanoverian monarch, George I, in August 1714, offered renewed hope to the supporters of the jacobite cause in Ireland, Scotland, England and beyond. However, the threat of a Stuart restoration by force of arms served to galvanise the efforts of government in both England and Ireland in support of the Hanoverian succession, though the necessary military preparations and precautions resulted in increased public expenditure. In Ireland, the government's need to find new sources of revenue meant that parliament would have to be convened, which, in turn, necessitated compliance with a series of constitutional practices which had evolved since the 1690s in relation to Poynings' Law and supply legislation. Yet, despite a threatened jacobite invasion, factional political manœuvring, as ever, demanded compromise, though, ultimately, the wholly protestant Irish parliament took the necessary precautions to secure Ireland for the new Hanoverian regime by voting new taxes and facilitating the creation of a national debt in order to raise new regiments for the army. The coalescing of the issues of security, finance and the army thereby led to innovations in Irish parliamentary and financial practice which were to become key components of the constitutional framework in Ireland until legislative independence in 1782. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an account of the actions and achievements, i.e. the ‘contribution’, of the Ireland Province of the Vincentian Congregation, known officially as ‘the Congregation of the Mission’, in respect of Catholic education in Ireland and England. The approach is, first, to outline the motives and intentions of the Vincentian fathers, i.e. their practical understanding of their ‘mission’, especially in education. Given the title of the Congregation, the word ‘mission’ obviously plays a big part in their thinking. We will proceed by focussing on the three principal and longstanding kinds of Vincentian educational involvement: secondary education, priestly formation and teacher training. Finally, the article will further examine the mission intentions of the Vincentians and the consequences of their actions in order to discern what, in the end – and as lack of new vocations is obliging them to hand on their educational institutions to other agencies – may be their lasting contribution to Catholic education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is the aim of this paper to investigate the experience of Basque exiles that came to Ireland during the Second World War to flee General Franco and his post-civil war repression. Many of these exiles previously occupied senior political and military positions in the Republican administration and were now forced to live in exile far away from Spain and their families. They escaped to Ireland because it was a democratic, friendly and Catholic nation, yet none of these men were idle. They continued the fight against international fascism from abroad. This article also details the exhaustive efforts Franco's fascist representative in Dublin employed to force the Irish authorities to extradite these dissidents back to Spain to face imprisonment and possible execution. The research for this article has been gathered from archival investigations in the diplomatic files of Madrid and Dublin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A body of scholarship on the history of the lives of Catholic teaching sisters has thrown up various challenges to educational historians. One challenge can be posed by asking how teaching sisters were able to go on to take up leadership positions. This is prompted by the observation that a particular body of literature for the period 1940–1965 indicating that they underwent a strict ‘formation’ regimen intended to prepare them for total obedience to their superiors, inculcate in them a non-questioning attitude and deprive them of opportunities to take initiative, how then were they able to go on to take up leadership positions? The paper outlines the results of an oral history project which addressed this apparent paradox in the case of a group of women who worked as sister principals in Ireland. The results suggest they had a significant amount of freedom and room for questioning and initiative, and that this stood them in good stead when they went on to become sister principals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article addresses the writing and politics of Charles O'Conor, grandson of the noted antiquarian and founder of the Catholic Committee, Charles O'Conor of Belangare, who as librarian to George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, Marquis of Buckinghamshire, at Stowe played a crucial role in articulating Irish Catholic responses to the 1801 Act of Union. The paper argues O'Conor represented a Catholic perspective that felt an historic compromise between the political authority of the British constitution and the religious authority of the Catholic Church was possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article will offer an historical perspective on the origins of institutionalised care for children in Ireland during 1914 to 2000; the relevant period of inquiry for the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) (2009a), commonly known in Ireland as the Ryan Report. This includes an account of the concerns and extent of the abuse of children and the responses to a number of these concerns. The article presents a socio-cultural analysis of how and why the Irish Roman Catholic Church (IRCC) during the 20th century perpetuated the abuse of children in the care of its institutions. The rise of Ireland's new state of independence, following release from British rule, saw the emergence of a new power for the IRCC, in addition to a reinforced sexual morality for the people. The culture of honour towards the Church and its agents, together with the collusion of state agents themselves, permeates testimonies of victims and survivors in the CICA (2009c) inquiry. The article considers the power and control of this ecclesiastical authority, its relation to state affairs, governance over family life and particularly its impact on children. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages Cultures of obedience and the unchallenged power of religious institutions may compromise the safety and wellbeing of children., Deficit thinking in public debates on child clerical abuse needs to shift to a more enlightened and progressive understanding of the problem. Properly resourced and managed staff providing institutional care for children is critical in meeting their sometimes complex needs, or simply, to ensure that staff have a kind disposition to children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse found that members of Catholic congregations in Ireland abused children in institutions which they ran on behalf of the State for much of the 20th century. Drawing from Erich Fromm's moral psychology, it is argued that members took out the suppression of their individual freedom in hostility towards the children and themselves through forms of submissive and authoritarian behaviour. This is seen as one probable explanation which affected some members. The reason members suppressed their freedom was to find psychological security through embracing a Catholic theology which emphasised self-abnegation. Poor economic and social conditions are also seen as factors which contributed to members not developing a healthy relation to their own freedom. The article concludes that those who work in caring professions need to have security in their own freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article tackles the cultural programs belonging to these to two artists, who ultimately had in mind the same goal, namely that of promoting Irish identity and the idea of Ireland, even though their approaches were wholly different. Yeats had in mind the formation of an Irish national identity which could stand apart from an English one. This identity would have at its roots the Celtic tradition, transmitted to people by an elite group of poets. And since a nation must have a language of its own, this would be Irish-Gaelic, which he considered to be the true language of Ireland. Joyce desired as well for the Irish to be a people in their own right, but he saw Irish-Gaelic as a language that had played out its purpose. He considered that the best course of action for the people of Ireland would be to view themselves openly and honestly and to build the country up in line with the modern, cosmopolitan Western Europe contemporary to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how stereotypes of Irish drunkenness were linked to the formation of Irish Catholic identity in Liverpool. It shows how judicial statistics produced a moral geography of drunkenness that encouraged the scrutinising of Irish cultural practices precisely because drunkenness was conceived as a public problem. The issue of drunkenness was connected to broader questions of loyalty and citizenship. This article pays particular attention to the response of church leaders, for whom curbing Irish drunkenness was seen as a way to remake the Irish in Liverpool. Against that moral geography of Irish drunkenness, I argue that the emergence of a Catholic Total Abstinence League offers a unique way to explore the politics of drink and the tensions around questions of loyalty and community formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will focus on the development of Irish and Ulster-British nationalisms through examining five factors that had the greatest impact on the creation and growth of these nationalisms: the geographic and topographic setting; demographic changes; sociocultural factors; economic and class factors; and the impact of the colonial power. The article will show that nationalism is driven by variables that originate from broader processes extending beyond the national group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]