Irish Celtic Church remains independent

What if the Irish Celtic Church was never taken over by the Roman Catholic Church. Instead it was able to continue to development as an independent organisation right up until the present day.

How would this effect Christianity in Europe, not to mention the Roman Catholic Church?

What would an independent Irish Celtic Church look like?

And how could Ireland, let alone the British Isles, be effected?

Discuss
 
Hmm, the first POD I can think of is the decision at the Synod of Whidbey goes the other way, in favor of the Irish. Even then, it'd be difficult, as the Irish church still considered itself very much in union with Rome.

One possiblitly I can think of is that in 1155, Pope Adrian V (the only English pope) gave Henry II permission to go on a crusade of sorts to Ireland to curb "ecclestiastical errors" there. Fortunately, Henry was rather busy at that moment, so it never happened.

Assuming he did, and that the Irish managed to unite long enough to drive him off, probably using partisan tactics, they would then at the very least be very ticked with Rome. More in likely they'd view Pope Adrian as an English puppet (which he was, sort of), and try to elect an anti-pope, or maybe elevate the Arch-bishop of Armagh, then the leading religious head of the country (as much as there was one_.
 
A major threat to the Irish Celtic Church, or for that matter any Celtic Church is Norman expansionism. The Normans would be Roman Catholics and thus not brook any heretical church having too much power and influence on their manor. They would do what they did in Outremer: take over the churches and put their people in charge as bishops, etc.

The first to go would be the English Celtic Church in northern followed by the Welsh Celtic Church during the reign of Edward I. The Scots would take a battering of Normanisation that was commenced by David I. It is possible that either Bruce or Comyn would attempt to rally support by siding with the Scottish Celtic Church. Then again, that would the civil war into a religious one and split the nation.

The Irish Celtic Church could probably hold out the longest leaving the Irish today split into Celtics, Catholics and Protestants (modern modern era Scottish immigrants).
 
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