Buried Lives: The Protestants of Southern Ireland

by Robin Bury

Overview

The early twentieth century saw the transformation of the southern Irish Protestants from a once strong people into an isolated, pacified community. Their influence, status and numbers had all but disappeared by the end of the civil war in 1923 and they were to form a quiescent minority up to modern times. This book tells the tale of this transformation and their forced adaptation, exploring the lasting effect that it had on both the Protestant community and the wider Irish society and investigating how Protestants in southern Ireland view their place in the Republic today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750965705
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	02/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	969,760
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

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Buried Lives

The Protestants of Southern Ireland

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By Robin Bury

The History Press

Copyright © 2017 Robin Bury
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7509-6570-5

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CHAPTER 1

The Protestant Exodus

What happened to the Protestant minority in the 26 counties of Ireland during the period of revolutionary violence and civil war between 1919 and 1923? We know one thing that is indisputable. There was a dramatic, unprecedented decrease in their numbers between the censuses of 1911 and 1926. Between 1891 and 1901, the Protestant population had decreased by 7.1 per cent and between 1901 and 1911 by 4.8 per cent. However, there was a 33 per cent collapse in the Protestant population of the 26 counties that became the Irish Free State between 1911 and 1926. In 1911, Protestants in these counties numbered 327,179; 10.4 per cent of the population of 3,139,688. By 1926, they made up 7.4 per cent of the population, numbering 220,723, of which 164,215 were members of the Church of Ireland, 32,429 Presbyterians, 10,663 Methodists and 13,416 others. The total decline in Protestant numbers was 106,456. During this period, Roman Catholic numbers remained almost static, falling by just 2.2 per cent in the island. In Northern Ireland, the combined number of Protestant denominations rose by 2 per cent.

In effect, the southern Protestant people suffered a very serious decline in numbers from 1919 to 1923. There was exceptional emigration, particularly during the civil war in 1922. 'Although no reliable figures are available the tendency is clear ... unionists of all shapes and sizes were leaving the south of Ireland in 1922 because of the troubles.' Also, their 'political strength and unity evaporated in the south in 1922' and 'the renewed violence of Irish life completed this disintegration. It did so in three ways. It weakened Anglo-Ireland numerically. It shattered the confidence of those who remained in Ireland and undermined their determination to continue distinctive political activity. Lastly, the disorder reacted upon the provisional government's attitude to southern unionists' claims for a powerful Senate.'

Research undertaken by historians has been handicapped by a lack of available data to fully explain the reasons for this sharp decline in numbers. Historians do agree on one thing: the decline was exceptional. According to Patrick Buckland:

Some families died out but part of the decrease must have been the result of emigration. The ordinary rate of emigration must not be forgotten, but it is reasonable to assume that the quality of life for southern unionists before and after the Treaty increased the ordinary rate of emigration and accounts largely for the decline of the Protestant population.

Peter Hart wrote that this was 'the only example of the mass displacement of a native ethnic group within the British Isles since the seventeenth century'. Hart believes that the widespread attacks on Protestants both before and after the Anglo-Irish truce led to a major exodus and were largely, though not entirely, inspired by sectarian motives, which were 'embedded in the vocabulary and the syntax of the Irish revolution'. There is no doubt that many loyalists left the 26 counties during the violence and turmoil in the period 1920–23. There was a mini refugee crisis in London. The Southern Irish Loyalists Relief Association was formed in July 1922 and had interviewed 9,400 refugees by 1928, assisting many with clothing, accommodation and loans. Many were Catholic members of the RIC, which had been disbanded in 1922. This exodus was at its most dramatic between 1922 and 1923, the time of the civil war.

Kent Fedorowich wrote about this exodus:

Equally important was the plight of the isolated and beleaguered Protestant community in the southern 26 counties whose population declined by 34 per cent between 1911 and 1926. This included 20,000 refugees who fled to the United Kingdom in 1922 to find sanctuary from continuous and sometimes violent nationalist persecution.

Enda Delaney points out that 'the decline in [Protestant] numbers was a process initiated before the advent of Irish independence in 1921–22'. This is true, as was the decline in the Catholic population. Between 1861 and 1911, the decline in the number of Protestants was 30.2 per cent and Catholic decline 28.5 per cent. The difference was 1.7 per cent, but given the higher growth rate in the Catholic population, it could be argued that Protestant emigration was lower than Catholic. Furthermore, the Protestant percentage of the population was much the same as it was in 1861, so comparative decline, from whatever cause, was small. Not so from 1911 to 1926. The sharp rate of decline of Protestant numbers, particularly between 1921 and 1923, is remarkable compared to previous rates of decline, as Hart points out. Delaney does, however, conclude that 'at the very least over 60,000 Protestants who were not directly connected with the British administration left southern Ireland between 1911 and 1926'. I would suggest that the figure is closer to 80,000, considering that the total decrease 1911–1926 was 107,000 and ' ... only about one fourth of this decrease can be attributed to the withdrawal of the British Army and the disbandment of the Police Forces and the emigration of their dependents.' In other words, some 27,000 of the decrease of 107,000 were people in the British forces and police.

But how many Protestants left willingly and how many constituted an enforced outflow from the 26 counties? It is impossible to establish the precise number of Protestants who were the subject of an enforced outflow during this period, as statistical information is not available. Nor is it possible to know how many left for 'normal' reasons associated with seeking employment and new opportunities, as they had done for a hundred years before 1926. However, we can make a reasonably credible estimate based on the limited available statistics. It seems certain that there was an exceptional major exodus of Protestants who left for reasons associated with intimidation, fear and concern about being unwanted in the new State. Kurt Bowen points out that ' ... the newly dominant culture of the majority created a sense of unease and marginality among the Irish Anglicans ...'

Looking at the available statistical information, we know that the number of Protestants in the British Army, Navy and Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in 1911 in the 26 counties amounted to 21,422 with at most 8,000 dependents. The figure for dependents is based on the 1926 census estimate that of 100 men in the forces, 37 were dependents based on 'the known proportion for Dublin city', but we have to consider that outside Dublin and other cities, the number of dependents is likely to have been lower, as numbers of eligible Protestant women were lower than in Dublin. Also, 'many [British soldiers] were married to Catholic women, with Catholic children'. Let us therefore estimate that at most 30 per cent, not 37 per cent, of the 21,422 Protestants in the armed forces were Protestant dependents, namely 6,420. We then arrive at a total of 21,422 plus 6,420, or approximately 28,000 Protestants, who left with the Forces and RIC. We can take it that some civil servants left after the Treaty. There was a total decline in Protestant civil service numbers of about 733 between 1911 and 1926. Of these perhaps 200 were born outside Ireland and returned to their countries post independence, with dependents making a total of 300. But it has to be said this is a tentative figure as no statistical information is available to inform us how many civil servants left the Free State 1922–26.

How many Protestants fell in the First World War? Some 27,400 people from the island fell, according to the Registrar General. However, the figure of about 40,000 has been put forward by Kevin Myers in his recently published book Ireland's Great War. Sexton and O'Leary estimate that 'about one half of the total was from the counties of the Republic'. Deducing that 13,700 fell from the 26 counties and that a third were 'from the minority religious communities this suggests a war deaths figure of about 5,000'. I would argue, however, that this figure errs substantially on the high side. If over a third of those who fell from the 26 counties were Protestants, this is disproportionately high in relation to the 10 per cent of Protestants making up the population of the 26 counties. There is no evidence that Protestants enlisted in much greater numbers than other religious groups except in urban areas. Also, on a pro rata basis, it is likely that there were 7,200 Protestant fatalities from the island out of the 27,400 total (there were 1.16 million Protestants on the island of a total population of 4.4 million) and 66 per cent were 6 county Protestants. A figure of 2,800 southern Protestant fatalities seems realistic, and this may err on the high side. Ian d'Alton has asked in relation to the Protestants who fell: 'how many of these who served died? We don't know, but applying an average fatality rate to the participation number gives a figure of some 1700.' This is much lower than the figure given by Sexton and O'Leary but is probably too low in relation to the national average. Let us take a figure of 2,800.

Some 28,000 Protestants left with the British forces and administration, and at most 2,800 fell in the Great War, leaving approximately 75,000. Of this 75,000, we need to know how many were voluntary emigrants, but these statistics are not available. We know that Protestants emigrated voluntarily from 1901 to 1911, as they had done during the previous decade. There was a decrease in Church of Ireland Protestants of 7.9 per cent from 1891 to 1901 and 5.6 per cent between 1901 and 1911. So we can say the Church of Ireland population decreased by an average of 6.7 per cent in these two decades and the average for other religions was similar, namely 5.9 per cent. If we apply this 6.7 per cent figure to the total number of Protestants, excluding the British forces and Protestants of the RIC and Dublin Metropolitan Police, in 1911, namely 300,000, we get a decrease of 20,100. However, the intercensal period 1911–26 was a fifteen-year one, not the normal ten-year period, so account must be taken of an extra five years. The Great War accounts for four of these years when emigration figures are not available but we can state normal emigration was not possible and of those who enlisted, almost all who did not fall would have returned. Perhaps we can add 4,000 emigrants for the years 1914–18 and this is likely to be on the high side. A figure of 24,100 seems realistic for emigrants from 1911–1926.

The number of Protestants in 1911 was 327,000. Of these, some 28,000 left with the British Forces, 2,800 fell in the First World War and perhaps 300 civil servants born outside Ireland left with dependents after 1921, giving a total of 31,100. Add 24,100 who left as emigrants based on the percentage who emigrated 1891 to 1911 and this gives a total of 55,200.

We do not know how many Protestants died in the influenza epidemic of 1918–19. Based on correspondence with Ida Milne, who has recently written a PhD on this subject, a total of perhaps as many as 1,400 Protestants died in this epidemic. This must be a rough estimate, as Dr Milne made clear, because the religions of those who died are not given.

Lastly, the question of natural increase has been raised by various historians, most recently – and controversially – by David Fitzpatrick, who argued that 'if any campaign of "ethnic cleansing" was attempted, its demographic impact was fairly minor', and 'the inexorable decline of southern Protestantism was mainly self-inflicted'. Fitzpatrick attributes the main cause of the Protestant decrease in numbers (he uses the word 'malaise') to 'low fertility and nuptiality, exacerbated by losses through mixed marriage and conversion'. However, the evidence he produces does not seem to substantiate these arguments. The reports of the Irish Registrar General, 1923–27 show the marriage rate for Protestants was higher in 1920 than in 1913 and then fell rapidly. His study is based on the Methodists, who were only a small section of the Protestant population. Eugenio Biagini, in his review of Fitzpatrick's book Descendancy Review: The Decline of Irish Protestantism, questioned the conclusion 'that Protestant demographic decline had little to do with violence, or the threat of violence or other forms of sectarian behaviour by the Catholic majority. This may work for the Methodists, but Fitzpatrick does not convincingly establish whether their experience was representative of the Protestant community as a whole.' Biagini finds Fitzpatrick's conclusions 'somewhat startling' and points out that Brian Walker, when 'working with evidence from both Anglican and "nonconformist" communities ... reach[es] different conclusions.' This was also the case with R.B. McDowell, Kent Fedorowich (see above), Patrick Buckland and Andrew Bielenberg, who probably underestimated the number of Protestants who were involuntary emigrants, as Biagini points out.

Fitzpatrick gives statistics that need challenging. He quotes a total of 1,953 deaths amongst Methodist members between 1911 and 1926. In the 1911 census, quoted by Fitzpatrick, there were 2,520 Methodists under the age of 9 in the 26 counties in 1911. That translates into some 3,300 to 3,500 Methodists under the age of 16 in 1911. To suggest that 3,300 young Methodists in 1911 were not sufficient on their own to keep natural change neutral or positive is hardly credible. In the words of Don:

His infertility case seems to depend on such a migration occurring if net outward migration is not to be considered the major factor of Methodist decline. But he presents no evidence to quantify how much inward Methodist migration there was and how it might have been distributed between the five triennia. His inward migrant numbers are hidden in his 'new membership' totals, but he does not break that total down into the various sources of new membership – e.g. young Methodists graduating to full membership, immigrants, conversions from other faiths.

It is unlikely that many foreign Methodists viewed Ireland as an attractive place to go and live in the 1919–23 period. If there was inward migration of Methodists during 1911–26, it is more likely to have occurred in the 1911–14 period. But such an idea might undermine Fitzpatrick's argument about emigration then being higher before the First World War than in the violent revolutionary period and with it his argument about the limited effect of violence on migration.

Similarly, we do not know what the balance was between conversions from and defections to other faiths. So, based on his own evidence, or lack of it, his plumping for infertility seems somewhat premature. It seems that most of Fitzpatrick's extra recruits were from free association with Episcopalians, and this free association does not tally with his multiplier of 20 to estimate all Protestant behaviour from the behaviour of Methodists.

The reality is that from 1920–23, there was an exodus of Church of Ireland members induced by intimidation, fear of both loss of identity and being ostracized in an independent Irish state that was Anglophobic. The United Empire Loyalists in the USA at the end of the eighteenth century were in a similar situation, many leaving to go to Canada and Britain rather than remain in an independent USA. So with many southern Irish Protestants who left for new lives in countries which shared their allegiances. The synods of the Church of Ireland in this period make this clear, as do the protests by various bishops and the Church of Ireland Gazette. Examples of these statements and concern will be given in the next chapter.

Protestant civilian decline, the sum of emigration and natural decline, was 6.5 per cent between 1901 and 1911. As emigration was not negative in this period, natural decline was in the order of 5 per 1,000 or less. So for natural decline to be the major reason for the decline of Protestants between 1911 and 1926, it would have had to jump from its usual 5 per 1,000 to 14 per 1,000 per annum. From 1936 to 1971, the natural decline was between 5.5 and 3.3 per 1,000. So if fertility was the main issue between 1911 and 1926, birth rates would have had to decrease to around a quarter of their usual level from 12 to 13 to 3 or 4 per 1,000 per annum. This is highly unlikely. Even if they had, this could not have led so quickly to such a large natural decrease. Also, Kurt Bowen points out that the decline in Anglican numbers post-1926 'was largely due to emigration' and that their fertility rate was not low compared to European countries and America' in 1946, when comparative figures became available.

(Continues...)

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Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgements,
Preface,
1 The Protestant Exodus,
2 Personal Stories: 1919 to 1923,
3 A Chain of Bonfires,
4 Low-Intensity Unhappiness,
5 Grabbing their Children,
6 Some Protestant Voices,
7 Some Donegal Voices,
8 The Triumph of Intolerance,
Epilogue,
Appendix,
Notes,
Bibliography,