DBWI: Ireland stays (mostly) Catholic

Basically, thinking about a scenario where the Church of England still breaks away from Rome under Henry VIII, and Ireland stays under English hegemony, but for some reason the Church is much less successful in rooting out Catholicism in Ireland, like how the Poles generally stayed Catholic under Prussian rule.

Obviously a 100% Catholic Ireland is not plausible - given the huge advantages of converting, some people surely would, plus there'd probably be more of an influx of English people to cement their control over the island. But let's imagine Ireland ends up with a Protestant elite ruling over a still largely Catholic peasantry. How would things play out from there?
 
Basically, thinking about a scenario where the Church of England still breaks away from Rome under Henry VIII, and Ireland stays under English hegemony, but for some reason the Church is much less successful in rooting out Catholicism in Ireland, like how the Poles generally stayed Catholic under Prussian rule.

Obviously a 100% Catholic Ireland is not plausible - given the huge advantages of converting, some people surely would, plus there'd probably be more of an influx of English people to cement their control over the island. But let's imagine Ireland ends up with a Protestant elite ruling over a still largely Catholic peasantry. How would things play out from there?

Perhaps you haven't read Alberic Stirling's novels, my friend. ;)

In any case, Ireland is still largely Catholic(though many Catholic Irishmen did flee to North America, including to what is now Canada, where I live.), and England is still largely Protestant(many Catholics do live in and around Manchester, Bristol and London, though, Irishmen, French, and some Italians in particular.).

I can think of one scenario, though: If Ireland gets invaded for whatever reason, and if they are beaten particularly badly, then you may see some English nobles making themselves at home.
 
In any case, Ireland is still largely Catholic(though many Catholic Irishmen did flee to North America, including to what is now Canada, where I live.), and England is still largely Protestant(many Catholics do live in and around Manchester, Bristol and London, though, Irishmen, French, and some Italians in particular.).

OOC: The implied OTL is that in the 16th and 17th centuries, Ireland mostly converted to Protestantism to the same extent that England, Scotland and Wales did.
 
OOC: The implied OTL is that in the 16th and 17th centuries, Ireland mostly converted to Protestantism to the same extent that England, Scotland and Wales did.

OOC: Most of Ireland, though? I can see this happening in Ulster, yeah, but not quite the rest of Ireland, though.

Also, welcome to AH.com. :)
 
OOC: Most of Ireland, though? I can see this happening in Ulster, yeah, but not quite the rest of Ireland, though.

Also, welcome to AH.com. :)

OOC: His post is pretty clear, Ireland is mostly Protestant in this scenario so I'm going to ignore your post.

I think the best bet would be to have an English dominated Church of Ireland. Edward VI's policy of hunting down any suitably Irish convert and giving him a bishopric was what really started the conversion ball rolling, coupled with him reigning long enough and stably enough to make the policy stick. Maybe have him die early and the throne pass to someone else who continues Henry VIII's policy of appointing English bishops who would have little traction with the locals. Here's another idea, how could you prevent the post 1800 Catholic revival which took their numbers from 5% of the population to the 15% in a very short span of time.
 
This would definitely add a nasty religious edge to the Irish independence movements of the 19th century. It might also be much easier for them to get aid from the Catholic Bourbons. So, we're looking at a much more radical, foreign-backed Irish independence movement, with a smattering of Protestants caught in the mix. Sounds like a good recipe for reenacting the Iberian Wars in the British Isles to me.
 
Ireland remaining Catholic is pretty ASB. I mean with England dominating them as they did. If they somehow came under strong influence from France or Spain. Im not saying England loses them in a war or anything. But if maybe more trade was brought into the island, but that would really only effect the port towns.

Also, can you imagine what the in flighting would be like? Imagine a perfect 50/50 divide. It would be worse than the "Issues" in OTL 1980s
 
Hmm, a Protestant upper class ruling over catholic peasants. Would they be actual peasants or more factory workers? This would depend on the industrialisation of Ireland in the ATL. Also what would be the ratio of Catholics to Protestants? If the conditions were right, There might be a social revolution. I don't think the UK would allow this to happen.
 
Actually, I think you could set Protestantism back quite a bit simply by failing to translate the bible into Irish Gaelic and perform the rite in it. Mass in their own tongue was a huge selling point in the conversion of the Irish; if the choice is between the old Catholic rite in Latin or the new English rite in English, a lot fewer Irishmen would see a reason to change.
 
Hmm, a Protestant upper class ruling over catholic peasants. Would they be actual peasants or more factory workers? This would depend on the industrialisation of Ireland in the ATL. Also what would be the ratio of Catholics to Protestants? If the conditions were right, There might be a social revolution. I don't think the UK would allow this to happen.

Well, peasants at the time of the Reformation. But later on, good question. Maybe it would have interfered with industrialisation, either through religious turmoil or because the Protestant landlords were already making so much profit from agriculture that they didn't see the point in investing in other things.

Also, perhaps the much harsher nature of English rule over the centuries would have a negative effect on Irish demographics - possibly through outright genocide, but more likely from poverty, and later through emigration. That would affect the Catholic/Protestant ratio and also the excess supply of labour for industrialisation. Maybe Ireland would end up with only 10-15 million people instead of 25 million.
 
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