The Evangelical Campaign in Dingle and West Kerry 1825-45
The work of the Church of Ireland evangelicals in West Kerry between 1825 and 1845 was widely hailed as a model of a successful missionary campaign; it evoked, however, a passionate reaction from local Catholic priests. The missionaries wished to entice the Irish-speaking people of the Dingle peninsula away from what they saw as superstition and enthralment to Rome, while priests objected to what they saw as inducements offered to Catholics to convert. As new mission schools and churches were built, the war of words between clergymen of both persuasions was fomented by rival newspapers, reaching a climax in a notorious libel case of March 1845.
In this study, Bryan MacMahon gives a comprehensive overview of the origins and progress of the conversion campaign and the responses to it. The narrative brings the personalities involved into vivid focus and records the long-lost voices and values of those on both sides of the bitter divide.
I have studied genealogy for some years with a special interest in West Kerry. This book has given me an extra insight into the time of my husband's great-grandparents in Ventry and that of my own as Coastguards in Ballydavid. My only frustration is that I have no way to contact the author....maybe his intention is to keep his research on this book to himself. To conclude ...thank you for such an interesting book. Well recommended.
I have studied genealogy for some years with a special interest in West Kerry. This book has given me an extra insight into the time of my husband's great-grandparents in Ventry and that of my own as Coastguards in Ballydavid. My only frustration is that I have no way to contact the author....maybe his intention is to keep his research on this book to himself. To conclude ...thank you for such an interesting book. Well recommended.
