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Irish Diaspora Museum - Thematic Displays Saints and Missionaries
Sub Themes: Religion and Faith. Visitor Goal: The visitor understands the crucial role that faith and religion played in leading tens of thousands of Irish people into exile over the last 1,500 years. Focus Personalities: St Colmcille, Luke Wadding,William Makemie, Mary Martin. Content: Those who left for reasons of faith and religion, including the generations of missionaries who traveled all over the world, their impact, etc. The Middle Ages: Until recent decade's religion was universally regarded as a core, defining characteristic of Irish worldwide identity. Beginning in the middle of the 6th century with St. Colmcille, a string of Irish monks founded a plethora of monasteries whose impact as centres of spirituality and learning across the continent was immense. Although the Vikings eventually disturbed the flow of monks from Ireland, the Irish ‘saints and scholars' played a crucial role in the struggle to liberate Europe from the Dark Ages that followed the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Reformation and Counter-Reformation: The decision by Henry VIII to break with Rome in 1534 led in time to a complete reshaping of religious practice in Ireland. The introduction of the Protestant Reformation added new impetus to the Tudor conquest. The eventual defeat of the Gaelic Irish led thousands of Irish men to leave Ireland to serve in the armies of Catholic states across Europe. Even Old English Catholics sent their children to continental schools to be educated. The rebellion of 1641 and the Williamite Wars of the 1690s created an on-going situation in which Irishmen sought their fortune in the service of France, Spain and Portugal. They came to be known as the ‘Wild Geese'. These traditions of military service and of priests and young men being educated abroad continued into the 18th century and the era of the Penal Laws. The Presbyterians: From the end of the 17th century Ulster Presbyterians, seeking the freedom to practice their religion without hindrance, began emigrating to North America. The 18th-century Penal Laws, directed in the first instance against Catholics, also targeted ‘Dissenters'. William Makemie from Donegal became the first Moderator of the American Presbyterian Church. The Scotch - Irish seem to have embraced the notion of settling the New World. Right up to the Great Famine, Protestants, particularly Presbyterians, made up the biggest proportion of Irish people emigrating to America. A Christian Diaspora: Mass emigration from Ireland generated the greatest Christian Diaspora in history. Religious emissaries were trained in large numbers and sent across the world to minister to these communities. Anti - Catholicism was a powerful force in Britain, the United States, Canada and even Australia. In time the Irish had a profound influence on the character of the Catholic Church in both America and Australia. The 19th and 20th centuries also witnessed Irish Protestant and Catholic missions to Africa, China, Southeast Asia and South America. Pastors, nuns, priests, brothers and lay people brought education, health care and Christianity to communities in the most remote parts of the globe. More recently, missionaries have been radicalised by their experiences overseas and have brought this radicalism back home. As a result many of the most radical human rights voices in contemporary Ireland are religious. |
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