The Catholic Church & the Irish Civil War

Despite the omnipresence of the Catholic Church in Irish society, our picture of its role during the revolutionary era remains incomplete. While the Catholic Church became one of the most important pro-Treaty organisations in the country, some individual clerics and religious offered support to the anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War. This conference will explore important themes relating to the role of the Catholic Church during the Civil War era, including, but not limited to, the position of the Irish Catholic hierarchy in respect of political and military developments, the role of religious orders in the conflict, interactions between church personnel and the laity, how the conflict was remembered and articulated in testimonies by civil war veterans, as well as the circulation of news about the war beyond Irish boarders. Bringing together national and international scholars, this public conference will showcase new and emerging research in this underexplored dimension of the Irish Civil War experience. Organised by the Catholic Historical Society of Ireland and hosted by St Patrick’s campus, DCU, the conference will take place on Saturday 23 September 2023.

Registration fee: €40 waged: €35 unwaged (including light lunch) payable on the day.

Enquiries:

Dr Bronagh Ann McShane (Catholic Historical Society of Ireland Conference Secretary), [email protected]

The Catholic Church & the Irish Civil War

Catholic Historical Society of Ireland Annual Conference

23 September 2023

St Patrick’s Campus, DCU

Seamus Heaney Theatre, G114

09.15 ¬- Registration

9.45 - Welcome (Prof. Daire Keogh, President, Dublin City University)

Session 1

10.00 – 12.00

Dr Daithí Ó Corráin (Dublin City University)

‘Praying for deliverance from disunion, anarchy and ruin: The Roman Catholic hierarchy and the Irish Civil War’

Mr Michael Loughman (Dublin City University)

‘The Ryans of Tomcoole and the Irish Civil War: A Catholic family at war’

Dr Brian Kirby (Irish Capuchin Archives)

‘Rebels’ priests: The Capuchin friars and the Civil War’

12.00 – 12.45: Lunch

Session 2

12.45 – 14.15

Prof. Oliver P. Rafferty, S.J. (Boston College)

‘Archbishop Edward Byrne of Dublin and the Civil War’

Dr Leeann Lane (Dublin City University)

‘‘I am Your Grace, a devoted child of our Holy Church’: The Civil War hunger strikes of Mary MacSwiney’

14.15 – 14.45: Coffee Break

Session 3

14.45 – 16.15

Dr Brian Heffernan (KU Leuven)

‘Redefining the political role of Catholicism after the Great War: The Irish Civil War in the European Catholic press’

Dr Síobhra Aiken (Queen’s University Belfast)

‘‘Spiritual wounds’: Trauma and faith in early Civil War testimonies’

16.15 – 17.15

Roundtable: The Catholic Church and the Irish Civil War

Contributors: Dr Mary Harris (University of Galway), Prof. Margaret O’Callaghan (Queen’s University Belfast) and Prof. Oliver P. Rafferty, S.J. (Boston College)

Closing Remarks (Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh)

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Host or Publisher Catholic Historical Society of Ireland