by Joe Power
Mr Doherty from Kilkee wrote:
I feel it a duty to protest against the false charges of intolerance made by unionist speakers in Ulster and elsewhere against Irish Catholics. I am a Protestant living in West Clare, which has a population of 98% Catholic, yet, this community, intensely Catholic as it is, has elected me for six years as a member of Kilkee Town Commissioners. In one of the contests for this body, I was elected at the head of the poll. A greater honour still has been conferred by unanimously electing me for the fourth time, chairman of Kilkee Town Commissioners, the only Protestant member of that body.
Never have I known a Protestant to be injured in person, property, position or repute because of his religion. It is a vile slander of Irish Catholics to accuse them of intolerance and I challenge the accusers to prove their charge, even by one solitary case of intolerance.
I ask my co-religionists in the west and south of Ireland to come out manfully and condemn these wicked slanders of our Catholic fellow countrymen. We have lived without religious differences amongst Catholics and they have always treated us with respect. I certainly think it is a duty of every self-respecting Protestant to speak out now and put an end to a campaign of malice against a generous and kindly Catholic people.
About a week later, Mr Green emphatically stated that he had never experienced sectarianism in Clare either:
I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without again vindicating the high reputation for toleration and friendliness enjoyed by my Catholic neighbours in this county. This has been markedly evidenced last month in my election to Kilrush Urban Council at the head of the poll by a substantial majority … as a matter of fact religion is rarely mentioned here except by Protestants … Religious intolerance is a thing with which, during my ten years sojourn here, I have never met. In conclusion, there never was a greater scandal against the Catholics of the south (so far as Clare is concerned at any rate), than the charge of religious persecution.2
Despite these assertions of religious toleration in Clare and that the Protestant minority should not fear the prospect of Home Rule, the matter was again raised in controversial circumstances in April and May 1914 when Canon S.C. Armstrong, rector of Kilrush, wrote an article that was published in the April edition of the Howth Parish Magazine, dealing with the life and work of a Church of Ireland clergyman in the west of Ireland. In this article Canon Armstrong stated that the local branch of the AOH in Kilrush had shown ‘open hostility’ towards the Protestants of the town. It is worth quoting the article in full as it gives a Protestant perspective on life in West Clare in 1914 as a Church of Ireland minister. He outlines the challenges facing the declining Protestant community and their fears of ‘Rome rule’:
Kilrush Parish County Clare
I have been asked to write a short article for your magazine dealing with the life and work of a clergyman in the west of Ireland. I trust that these few particulars may prove interesting, though they are necessarily contracted so that they do not take too much available space. I should have liked to have said something of this neighbourhood, and especially of the river.
‘Rose cloud and purple cloud
Purple cloud and rose,
Kerry shore and Clare shore,
Where the river flows –
Trembling in purple twilight
Paling as the daylight goes;
Golden burst of rain cloud,
Low rocks and golden sky,
Flats of shining seaweed,
And a wild bird’s cry;
Slowly as the river widens
One black sail goes drifting by.’
(By AVC in Irish Gardening)
But I must forbear, County Clare has attained a most unenviable reputation for murders and outrages, but I am glad to say this western portion is remarkably peaceable. There are wicked and lawless people in every community, but the inhabitants of Kilrush and neighbourhood are, as a rule, orderly and well behaved. There is no open display of religious animosity, except on the part of a few extremists – such as the members of the AOH.
The Roman Catholics, who number over 98% of the population, treat us courteously. A Protestant clergyman is never insulted in the back streets of Kilrush. Many of our people live in isolated situations, surrounded by Roman Catholic neighbours, but they are not molested in any way on account of their religion. The better class in the town are very friendly and many of them are extremely liberal-minded. For instance, they like to help the annual feast and Christmas tree for our school children. They give donations and come to the entertainment. Some even attend our missionary sales and spend their money freely.
I have seen large numbers of well-behaved and attentive Roman Catholics in our church at a funeral service. Notwithstanding this friendly and liberal spirit, to which I gladly testify, it is natural and inevitable that our small Protestant community should feel isolated, and especially in the case with those of us who have lived in other places where numbers were more equal. It is hard for those who live surrounded by their co-religionists to realise the depressing effects of this.
The ‘atmosphere’ is intensely Roman Catholic and there is a deeply-rooted conviction in the minds of our people that, had Rome the power, it would fare badly with us. To the Church of Rome we are heretics, and she has always taken a rough and ready way with them.
Our parish church is a handsome modern building one hundred years old. In the churchyard are the ruins of a very ancient one. Thanks to the zeal and energy of my predecessor, Canon Hyde, the internal appointments are all that could be desired and there are three very beautiful stained glass windows erected to the memory of members of the Vandeleur family. But, alas, while there is seating for 300, we count 49 a fair congregation. About 30 years ago the parishioners numbered about twice as many as now and the dwindling process goes on year by year.
Our school is always a matter of great anxiety to us. We find it very difficult to keep up the necessary average attendance of ten. If a coastguard or a policeman, who had children attending our school, is removed, we have to use all possible influence in high quarters to try and get another with a family sent in his place. Then, when there are elder boys, the parson has sometimes to turn schoolmaster in order to teach them subjects outside the National School Board curriculum, or else they are sent to the Christian Brothers School.
I look upon the school as vital to our small western parishes. Without a school in which our children can be trained in church doctrine and principles, a parish is humanly speaking doomed. Even if no direct attempt is made to influence their faith, the mere fact of our children associating day by day with overwhelming numbers of Roman Catholic companions is necessarily most injurious.
Not only has the parson sometimes to turn schoolmaster, but he has often to start a marriage bureau. Our church in the west has lost heavily in years gone by from mixed marriages. The children of such unions are almost invariably brought up Roman Catholics. The pressure brought to bear upon the Protestant parent is tremendous, so strong to be resisted in nearly every case. If our church families are not to die out, the young people must marry in their own faith. Rarely, where numbers are so small, can suitable mates be found in the parish. Some of us think it our duty to communicate our wants in this line to our brother clergy and to try and bring about suitable introductions with a view to matrimony. Such ‘marriages of convenience’ may be sadly wanting in that romantic process called ‘falling in love at first sight’, but are they not contracted in the very highest circles, and have we not a happy precedent in the happy union of Rebekah and Isaac? I have known such marriages turn out (seemingly), quite as satisfactory as others which have given Cupid a lot of archery practice.
There is an old saying: ‘it is better to wear out than to rust out’. The clergyman in the small country parish has light work in comparison with his city brother. He is in no danger of ‘wearing out’; if he wants to keep fit, he must guard against the insidious attacks of the ‘rusting’ process. Work in a large parish mus
t be done systematically and regularly. In the small one there is the temptation to put off to tomorrow what can be done today, and so what can be done any day is in danger of being left undone. In the large parish there is always the stimulus of co-workers and intellectual discourse. In the small one the clergyman enjoys few or none of these great advantages, and must fight against deadly lethargy. The two positions differ widely in many respects, but it is a deep truth that every job has its compensations.
The thought is all sustaining. The ‘few sheep in the wilderness’ are precious in the eyes of the Chief Shepherd, and if the pastor in whose charge they have been placed but strive to tend them faithfully, he will, in due time, receive his Master’s ‘well done’ and enter into the joy of his Lord.’
S.C. Armstrong (Canon)
(NB the editor of the Howth Parish Magazine, the Revd Mr Powell, added that the Parish of Kilrush had, for the past two years, received half of the Collection for Poor Parishes at the Harvest Collection in Howth.)
This published article was brought to the attention of the AOH in Kilrush and Canon Armstrong was forced to publish a retraction of what he had written and to apologise for making the false allegation, which, he said, ‘was not founded on fact’.3
Another insight into religious tolerance in Clare was published in late July 1914, describing a visit to Ennis by a body of English trade unionists on Tuesday 19 May:
We visited Ennis, Co. Clare and we found here Protestant children attending Catholic schools in preference to the National Schools. It was also pointed out to us that the most successful businessmen in Ennis were Protestants, which goes to show that religious bigotry or intolerance does not exist in Clare. In fact two Protestant farmers had written to the Ennis papers a few months ago and stated that they knew of no ill-feeling between Catholics and Protestants.
I also visited Mr Scott, Presbyterian minister, and he said that he received nothing but kindness from his fellow townsmen and the priests were amongst his best friends. He also spoke of the prosperity of the Protestants in the district.
I visited Fr Hogan, Catholic priest and he stated that if he wished to influence the people in politics, they would take no notice of him, and this I know to be true. He also told me that they had been the friends of the peasant class, who were being oppressed by the landlords.
Mr Capon, secretary to the Oddfellows Club, told our delegation that the priests told the people not to join the Oddfellows Club, as it was a secret society. When I mentioned this to Fr Hogan, he stoutly denied such statements, ‘as they all knew that the Oddfellows were no such thing’.
Mr-----, a unionist, told us at a meeting in the evening that he would not mind being represented by a nationalist, if they would only put forward capable men and not drunkards incapable of governing themselves. It had been repeatedly stated to us that the priests would deal out punishment to their flock if they did not vote as they told them, and I asked at this meeting what the punishment consisted of, but the answer I got was that there was no such thing. It was rather significant that this was the only meeting during our tour that the Catholics were not misrepresented and abused, because there happened to be a prominent Catholic landowner and lawyer amongst the unionists present.
Our representative waited on Mr Capon in reference to the statement attributed to him to the effect ‘that the priests told their people not to join the Oddfellows Club, as it was a secret society’; and having discussed the question was given the following written answer by Mr Capon:
‘I could not say, but my opinion was that there were a certain number of priests in the county who had an idea in their heads that the Oddfellows were a secret society, and therefore, if these gentlemen had that idea, what might you expect from other people?
I was further asked how long I had been in this county, and I told them on and on since 1885, and I gave them a description of the way in which I was treated, but they have not had the decency to report that, as it would appear too good for them.’4
(Note, as mentioned above, Mr Capon, a Protestant had been in business in Ennis for fifteen years and most of his customers were Catholic. Furthermore, he had been elected to Ennis Urban District Council for nine years.)
Sport and Social Life
Despite these fears, deep-rooted convictions and reservations of the unionist community in County Clare, the social life of the gentry was carried on as before; with hunt balls and other social gatherings. The County Clare Hunt Ball was ‘a glittering social occasion’ held at the Courthouse, Ennis, attracting over seventy couples, who danced almost until dawn. On the day after the ball, members of the Clare Hounds held a meet at Buncraggy, where they had ‘a capital day chasing hares from Buncraggy to Island McGrath and back after a brilliant hunt of one hour and twenty minutes’. Another high society social occasion at that time was the New Years’ Eve dance held at Moyriesk, the home of Mrs R.H. Crowe. The guests included the elite of the county and many army officers from Cork, Limerick and Galway as well as from Clare.5
Another ball was organised by the AOH at the Courthouse, Ennis, in February 1914, which was also a great social occasion for the Catholic community of the county. Other Christmas and New Year dances were held in places such as St Michael’s Hall, Kilmihil and at Kilkee and Kilrush.
The Clare Hunt at Buncraggy, 16 November 1911.
Photos by A. Holmes, courtesy of the late James McMahon and David Browne)
The sporting traditions of the county carried on as usual, with a wide variety of sports being played. Chief among these sports were the country pursuits of hunting, fishing and fowling. Race meetings were held at Ennis, Quilty, Miltown Malbay and Lahinch, which were usually held during the summer holidays, while the Clare Hunt annual point-to-point was held at Clonmoney, Newmarket-on-Fergus, at Easter. Besides these, there were agricultural shows at the County Agricultural Show in Ennis held on 15 August and at Kildysart in mid-September, along with a horticultural show held at Ennis in June.
There were coursing clubs at Ennis – Clare Castle, Cooraclare, Miltown Malbay and at Newmarket-on-Fergus. Lahinch was the premier golf club, where the South of Ireland Championship was held. Besides this there were clubs at Ennis, Spanish Point, Kilkee and Killaloe. There were several soccer clubs in the county, mainly based in Ennis, associated with British garrisons, police and transport companies. Athletics meetings were held at Clare Castle, the Ennis Showgrounds and at places such as Corifin and Scarriff.
Sports clubs such as tennis, cricket and hockey clubs were scattered throughout the county. These sports clubs, like golf, catered for the middle and upper class groups in society and so had a relatively high Protestant membership.
The salmon fishing season opened on 1 March 1914. Fishing conditions on that day were not good as ‘the weather was wet and cold and the water was high’. The honour of catching the first salmon on the River Fergus went to John Kerin, who caught a 9lb 8oz specimen. The following anglers, mostly local gentlemen, had the following catches: M. Kennedy, 9lb10oz; M. Stacpoole, 9lb; F.N. Studdert, 11lbs 9oz; and W.F. Crowe, 11lbs.
GAA clubs were established in every parish in the county and besides the county competitions, occasional hurling tournaments were held, such as at Clare Castle on 1 March, which was held to raise funds for the local Land and Labour Band, which was founded in 1902. Another sports meeting was promoted at Clare Castle in April under GAA rules for the purpose of paying off the debt on the curate’s house. Among the events was the tug-of-war championship of Clare. However, the sporting highlight of the year undoubtedly was that the Clare Senior Hurling team won the All-Ireland title for the first time in September 1914.6
Fowling was regularly carried on at a couple of estates in the county, such as at Lord Inchiquin’s at Dromoland and at Mr Stacpoole’s of Eden Vale. This sport was also carried on in the Tottenham estate on Mount Callan and on the Broadford Hills. The sport was usually engaged in by the estate owners and their friends among the gentry. The season extended from November until Fe
bruary each year, with several shoots before and after Christmas. The records of shooting at Eden Vale for the 1913-14 season show that there were four shoots, with an average gun-line of six guns; and there were total bags of 231 pheasants and 116 woodcock.7
Clare All-Ireland hurling champions, 1914. (Courtesy of John Power)
There was, however, significant interruption of all major sporting events in the county that year when an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the country forced the cancellation of all sporting events between 16 March and 28 April. This highly contagious bovine disease also had a significant impact upon the farming economy during this time, with all fairs and markets being cancelled.8
The Gaelic League was revived in the county when a meeting, chaired by Revd A. Clancy, PP, was held at the town hall in Ennis on 14 February. Later in the year a huge Feis an Chlair was held at Ennis in July to promote Irish music, song, and dance in the county. This cultural event attracted huge crowds.9
One exciting new source of entertainment was started in Ennis in January 1914, when a company took a five-year lease of the town hall for the purpose of showing films. The weekly or bi-weekly black and white silent movies at the town hall became a major addition to the cultural attractions of the town of Ennis. Besides films, the local people were able to watch newsreels, with scenes of news items broadcast by Pathé News. Most of the new movies were of American or British origin and some were later deemed to be controversial and immoral. The silent movies were dubbed with subtitles to explain the subject matter, and later, live piano music was provided to add to the dramatic effect. Besides the new cinema there were occasional travelling cinemas in Ennis at this time. For instance in April there was a ‘Picturechrome’ at Keane’s Yard, Ennis, with nightly shows during the week at 8 p.m. Admission costs ranged between 1s 6d and 3d.10