Irish Catholic

This article is about the cultural group. For the newspaper, see The Irish Catholic.
Irish Catholics

Total population
4.6 million Roman Catholics in Ireland
Unknown number of Roman Catholics of full or partial Irish ethnicity. Heavy concentrations in the Eastern and Central United States, and Canada
Regions with significant populations
Republic of Ireland 3,861,335
Northern Ireland 738,033
Languages
Irish, English
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Irish people

Irish Catholics are people who are Roman Catholic and Irish.

Divisions between Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants played a major role in the history of Ireland from the 16th to the 20th century, especially the Home Rule Crisis and the Troubles. While religion broadly marks the delineation of these divisions, the contentions were primarily political and related to access to power. For example, while the majority of Irish Catholics saw themselves as having an identity independent of Britain and were excluded from power, a number of the instigators in rebellions against British rule were in fact Protestant Irish nationalists, although most Irish Protestants opposed separatism. In the Irish Rebellion of 1798 Catholics and Presbyterians, who were not part of the established Church of Ireland, found common cause.

Irish Catholics are found in many countries around the world, especially in the English-speaking world. Emigration following the Famine in the late 1840s saw the population drop from over 8 million to just over 4 million. In the United States, hostility to Irish Catholics was expressed through the Know Nothings and Nativist movement.

See also

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