The Catholic Union was a political organisation in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the 1870s. It was the brainchild of Paul Cullen,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

and future Irish cardinal. He created it in 1872 to link growing public interest in politics and

Irish nationalism Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

with a Catholic agenda. It was his second attempt to create a Church-orientated political party, following the collapse and failure of his first such organisation, the National Association.

Policy aims

The Catholic Union set itself three goals to achieve: # disestablishment of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

; # the creation of a Catholic university; # moderate

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

in Ireland.

History

The Catholic Union failed as an organisation, however. It was overshadowed by a number of other organisations; from the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

and

Isaac Butt Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist parti ...

's ''Home Government Association'', a precursor of his later ''

Home Rule League The Home Rule League (1873–1882), sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was an Irish political party which campaigned for home rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, until it was replaced by the Irish Parliam ...

'', to the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

parties. The diminutive power of the Catholic Union was shown in the 1874 general election. Whereas the Conservatives won 32 seats, the Liberal Party 12 (down from 65) and the Home Rule League 59, the Union won nothing, with a supporter on

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

unable even to get a seconder for his motion on

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

. Though all three aims of the Catholic Union were achieved, they were achieved through the actions of others. The Catholic Union's irrelevance was shown when the Catholic Bishops went behind its own back to negotiate with Liberal

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

on the education issue. The Catholic Union rapidly disintegrated, with members drifting away within a short time of its foundation. The organisation disappeared completely in the late 1870s. Its failure, along with the failure of Catholic Church-created or supported parties and candidates, notably the disastrous failure of the Bishop of Kerry's candidate in a

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

by-election in 1872 (who was defeated when Kerry Catholics voted for a Protestant Home Ruler despite condemnation from the bishop), and the collapse in the campaign of one of Cullen's supporters in Meath in the 1874 general election (where the candidate was forced to humiliatingly pull out through lack of support), indicated the limits on the political influence of the Roman Catholic Church in late 19th-century Ireland.

References

Sources

*Joe Lee, ''The Modernisation of Irish Society'' (Gill History of Ireland Series 10, Gill and Macmillan, 1973) 1872 establishments in Ireland All-Ireland political parties Conservative parties in Ireland Defunct political parties in Ireland Irish nationalist parties Political parties established in 1872 Political parties in pre-partition Ireland Political parties disestablished in 1876 1876 disestablishments in Ireland {{Ireland-party-stub