:An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism

Abstract

Alan Ford and John McCafferty (eds), The Origins of Sectarianism in Early Modern Ireland, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. ix + 249, hb. £50.00, ISBN: 978-0-521-837-552.'Ireland is riven by sectarian hatred.' This sweeping, but regrettably accurate statement sets agenda for a collection of essays that seeks to explore an area of Irish history that has previously been 'under-researched', 'that period when Protestants and Catholics began to live apart and create parallel communities, institutions, cultures and histories' (p. 3).In his eloquent introductory chapter Alan Ford chooses not to summarise succeeding articles but to explore some of themes that dominate in period that Ireland became confessionally aware, late-sixteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries. Thus he looks at issues of periodisation and terminology and provides an interesting if brief analysis of opposing trend to book's stated subject matter: giving a few glimpses of ability of some early modern Irish people to 'live together' in relative peace. Ute-Lotz Heumann's article imports recent German historiographical frameworks of confessionalisation and periodisation and successfully applies them to Irish context. Whilst she and Ford are at variance over which term, 'confessionalisation' or 'sectarianism', is more appropriate, they provide sound arguments for each and improve range and quality of interpretive frameworks available to us.David Edwards and Brian Jackson both look at development, organisation and internal workings of Catholic communities in early-modern Ireland. Edwards's ground-breaking essay on link between Catholicism and plantation offers a corrective view to commonly held assumption that New English meant Protestant. By highlighting influx of Catholic migrants from England and Scotland throughout period and especially during plantations, which after 1580 were assumed to be completely Protestant, Edwards shows overriding power of religion in forming communities between people of differing and often antagonistic ethnic stock. Thus many New English Catholics went, just a couple of generations from English conquerors to Catholic rebels' (p. 101). As he notes, marriage bonds, political and military alliances were made between New English Catholic settlers and native Irish and Anglo-Irish Catholics resulting in groups being almost 'as one ... in fearing worst as the Puritan faction grew in strength after Wentworth's downfall' (p. 123). Jackson's micro-historical account of a well-known dispute in Drogheda in 1618 shows internal rivalries and disputes within Irish Counter-Reformation Catholicism and undermines commonly held view that it was 'vigorous, rigorous and aggressive: a coherent ideology propagated with missionary fervour' (p. 203). Instead he details bitter and damaging disputes between Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits over power and influence in town. These two essays in particular remind us not to treat confessions or ethnic blocks as clearly defined and defining parameters in our research. Sectarianism arose not only between two confessions, but as John Morrill notes in his concluding chapter, in 'mutual recrimination amongst Protestants and Catholics' (p. 233).John McCafferty's and Tadhg O'Hannrachain's articles complement each other well, pointing out contrasting experiences and effectiveness of two rival Irish episcopates. So whereas Protestant Lewis Jones was proposed for see of Dromore so that 'in that vast country [there will be] at least some show of a church' (p. 60), during 1640s Irish Catholic hierarchy 'had evolved as a genuinely national body representing ... all four provinces of island' (p. 81). Reading essays together highlights in particular differing emphasis two churches placed on native Irish dimension. Though James I and a handful of clerics encouraged use of Irish language in early years, propagation of faith in native tongue soon lost impetus. …