Irish Catholics

Irish Roman Catholics
Total population
4.6 million (Ireland)
55-60 million (notably in Canada and the Eastern and Central United States)
Regions with significant populations
Republic of Ireland Republic of Ireland4,000,000
Northern Ireland750,000
United States United States~20,000,000
Canada Canada5,000,000
United Kingdom United Kingdom370,000
Australia Australia7,000,000
Argentina Argentina500,000-1,000,000
New Zealand New Zealand (especially in Te Tai Poutini)600,000
France France15,000
Languages
English (Irish, American, Canadian, British, Australian and New Zealander), Irish (primarily Ireland), Spanish (Argentine and Mexican) and French (Canadian French, Metropolitan French)
Religion
Catholic Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Irish people, Irish diaspora, Irish Travellers, Irish Americans, Irish Canadians, Irish Australians, Irish New Zealanders, Irish Britons, Irish Argentines, Irish Mexicans, Irish French

Irish Catholics (Irish: Caitlicigh na hÉireann) are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens, plus over 7 million Irish Australians, of whom around 67% adhere to Catholicism.

Overview and history

Divisions between Irish Roman Catholics and Irish Protestants played a major role in the history of Ireland from the 16th century to the 20th century, especially during the Home Rule Crisis and the Troubles. While religion broadly marks the delineation of these divisions, the contentions were primarily political and they were also related to access to power. For example, while the majority of Irish Catholics had an identity which was independent from Britain's identity and were excluded from power because they were Catholic, a number of the instigators of rebellions against British rule were actually Protestant Irish nationalists, although most Irish Protestants opposed separatism. In the Irish Rebellion of 1798, Catholics and Presbyterians, who were not part of the established Church of Ireland, found common cause.

Irish Catholics are found in many countries around the world, especially in the Anglosphere. Emigration exponentially increased due to the Great Famine which lasted from 1845 to 1852. In the United States, anti-Irish sentiment and anti-Catholicism was espoused by the Know Nothing movement of the 1850s and other 19th-century anti-Catholic and anti-Irish organizations. By the 20th century, Irish Catholics were well established in the United States and today they are fully-integrated into mainstream American society.

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-12-05 15:15 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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