THE PROTESTANT MISSION IN CONNEMARA 1838 - 1947.

The establishment of Protestant missions in Connemara during the Famine saved the lives of thousands. The poverty-stricken and starving flocked to their schools and religious services to obtain food, although the Irish Church Missions interpreted these vast attendances as proof of devout conversions. Within a few years, bible schools and Protestant churches staffed by hundreds of mission agents sprang up throughout Connemara. The Catholic clergy, aghast at the threat to their flock, responded with an aggressive campaign against the mission, their most effective tactic being the total ostracism of converts. The population became polarised into those associated with the mission and those who stayed away. In reality, the peasant population of Connemara were pawns in the struggle for supremacy between the Catholic and Protestant Churches. This book details their experiences, and explains why most returned to the Church of Rome.

Author Bio
 
Miriam Moffit Originally from County Mayo, Miriam was awarded a PhD in 2006 from NUI Maynooth for a study of the Society for Irish Church Missions to the Roman Catholics. She has MAs in three history-related areas: Local History (NUI Maynooth), Church History (University of Nottingham) and Religion, Identity and Conflict (Queens University Belfast). She teaches Church History in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth and in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, Dublin.