THE CHURCHES IN IRELAND

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22331, 19 February 1938, Page 14

THE CHURCHES IN IRELAND

Protestantism In The Free State GENEROSITY OF NEW GOVERNMENT (SPECIALLY WRITTEN FOR THE PRESS.) [By A. H. ACHESON] The Church of Ireland is my own Church. I was reared in it and served in the ministry. Since I had come to New Zealand events in Ireland had marched apace. A new era had dawned. How had the Church come through the crisis? What place did she occupy in the new Ireland? The population of Ireland is, in round numbers, 4,500,000, about 3.250.000 in the Free State and 1.250.000 in the North. On a religious basis, 75 per cent, are Roman Catholics; about 500,000 Church of Ireland and somewhat fewer Presbyterians. A few districts have devoted bodies of Methodists and Quakers. About 83 per cent, of the Church of Iceland live in the “Six Counties”; the remaining 164,000 are scattered over every county in Ireland, but mostly round Dublin. In Northern Ireland, the three churches are nearly equal in numbers, with the Presbyterian in a slight majority, but wielding a decidedly strong influence. In the North I found little change in the tenor of church life. It still throbs with the stirring, robust vigour I had known. There has been considerable building. The Belfast Cathedral has advanced a stage further towards completion and several handsome new churches have_been erected in the new growing suburbs. Funds are coming in generously for more building and development to meet growing needs. It was Southern Ireland T was specially interested to see. The political changes of recent years have changed its face. Politics are too closely interwoven with religion in Ireland; how would these changes react on the Church? The political changes which are now an accomplished fact had been feared and fought over a long period. The Church of Ireland was, speaking generally, Unionist, desiring the maintenance of the status quo with' England. Loyalty was largely conceived of as a political slogan, and the Union Jack a party emblem. The Protestant minority were regarded as “The English Garrison.” The Protestants feared that under Home Rule their population would decline and ultimately vanish. They feared that their educational facilities would disappear and their educational endowments be diverted to “national education,” which would mean Nationalist education or Roman Catholic education. There would be discrimination agamst them in Government appointments and probably by private employers. They would have to emigrate. Such were the vague fears in many minds.- I was anxious to see if they were justified. But I found for the most part they had been groundless. In the South Certainly the Church of Ireland in the South and West is decreasing in numbers, in some places so rapidly as to have almost disappeared. But the causes are as much, if nOt more, social than religious. I spent a week-end with .a cousin who is a rector in Mayo. He has a district that once comprised three separate parishes. Now he has 54 parishioners all told, and several of them are elderly with apparently no one to take their place when they die. The younger ones have gone to seek work elsewhere. This parish is by no means exceptional. The future of the Church of Ireland, in these parts would seem to be extinction. In country towns there have been a few officials of the Government, banks, etc., to keep the Church going, but these are likely to de--crease. * On the other hand, I was told that the rate of decrease had been checked, and in the larger towns this may be so, I was told of Protestants taking over leases of Government land and buying out businesses in Galway. But I could not discover if these were exceptions or straws which show the set of the tide. Effect of Decline on Schools This natural decline has had its inevitable effect on the schools. Under -the ol<J regime primary schools were built and managed by the churches and' the teachers inspected ;and paid by the State. When th fc Free State was established there were about 600 Protestant schools in it. Of these 100 have been closed and others must share the saipe fate. There has, however, been no pressure or victimisation. The Education Department provide transport for Protestant children to other schools when the numbers on roll fall below eight and do not justify a school being kept open. “We have been treated more than generously,” was the verdict of one headmaster, and this opinion was endorsed by others with whom I discussed the matter. There seems to have been the most scrupulous fairness and the department has met difficulties more than halfway. Further, my schoolmaster friend told me that he was satisfied there would be no discrimination on religious grounds against any of his pupils if they wanted a career in the Civil .Service. There might be on political grounds; whether one supported Mr de Valera or Mr Cosgrave might weigh! But his chief disadvantage was the language test. Protestant schools, as a general rule, are satisfied with the minimum amount of Irish and that counts against them in examinations. Mutual Appreciation The greatest difference I noticed was the way the two parties had got to know one another. And with this knowledge ha& come more respect and appreciation of each other’s good qualities. Some of the older generation still hold aloof, but the younger ones are friends. While it was a surprise to many Protestants to find with what fairness and generosity they have been treated in educational ' matter's, it was equally a surprise to Roman Catholics’ to find' thal J Protestants were

not “The English Garrison,” but Irishmen ready to co-operate loyally in building up the new-born State. Of course there ' always have been Protestants prominent in the Nationalist movement from Isaac Butt and Parnell to *Mr Blythe, a member of Mr Cosgrave’s Cabinet; they make an impressive list. When the Irish Free State raised its first internal loan, the representative body of the Church of Ireland invested £250,000. That action had a great influence. The new Government was quick to appreciate the gesture and was glad to recognise that there was such a well-organised body of opinion who had faith in the future of Ireland. The old teaching of respect for properly constituted law and order, which formerly meant loyalty to England, was now transferred to the new, but properly constituted, Government. To have such a solid core of opinion was a very steadying influence during the troublous times. The Protestant population is only 7 per cent, of the population of the Free State, but they have an influence far greater than the proportion of their members.

Mr Fred Rea, one of the younger leaders in Ireland has written; “The present is a day not of defeat but of opportunity for Protestantism. In the South the tendericy is to take quite the opposite view. We have lost heavily in numbers, prestige, and power. . . In reality what it has meant has been the end of an epoch. Since the Reformation, Protestantism has been identified with the State in an association which has constantly embarrassed its witness. . . . Who is to say that we are not the freer for our loss?”