The Maynooth Grant was a cash grant from the British government to a Catholic seminary in Ireland. In 1845, the Conservative Prime Minister,

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, sought to improve the relationship between Catholic Ireland and Protestant Britain by increasing the annual grant from the British government to

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

, a Catholic seminary in Ireland in dilapidated condition. It aroused a major political controversy in the 1840s, reflecting the anti-Irish and anti-Catholic feelings of the British Protestants.

Background

The Maynooth College Act 1795 founded a Catholic seminary in Maynooth, Ireland. It was named St Patrick's College and is often simply called Maynooth College. The college was funded by the British government. The grant given to the college was £8,000 annually. The rate stayed the same from 1809 to 1845, when Peel proposed it be increased to £26,000 annually.

Overview

The Position of the Premier (Peel and the Maynooth Grant)

Peel made the proposal to increase government funding to Maynooth College in 1845. Under his proposal, the seminary would receive upwards of £26,000 annually and a grant of £30,000 for repairs. Peel's colleagues warned repeatedly that it was politically dangerous for the Party, but Peel felt he had to do it lest Ireland explode. Peel realized that there was agitation in Ireland to repeal the union in 1843. Catholic clergy were active and Peel hoped to win over their support and separate them from popular nationalism. Conservatives led by the Ultra-Tory Anglican faction, were outraged that the Prime Minister would finance a Catholic seminary. They mounted a firestorm of vituperative opposition.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

supported Peel: "I am sure poor Peel ought to be ''blessed'' by all Catholics for the many and noble ways in which he stands forth to protect and do good for poor Ireland. But the bigotry, the wicked and blind passion it brings forth is quite dreadful, and I blush for Protestantism!" In 1849, she and Prince Albert made a point of visiting the seminary on their visit to Ireland. In 1845, John Plumptre, member of Parliament for

East Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe sku ...

and an opponent of the Grant, issued an address, saying:

As you value His favour, as you deprecate His frown, as your hearts and your altars are dear to you; as you would retain and enjoy for yourselves, and transmit to your children, the blessings and privileges which belong to you as Protestants, I beseech you to oppose, with all zeal and firmness, with all temperance and calmness, with all loyal attachment to your Sovereign--with all union among yourselves--with all charity towards all men--with all prayer and supplication towards God--this fresh inroad about to be made upon your consciences,--this new and deep wound to your highest and holiest feelings.

This is strong evidence of the moral implications of the issue in Parliament. The

Anti-Maynooth Conference Anti-Maynooth Conference was a conference hosted in London in May 1845 by Conservatives, evangelical Anglicans and the Protestant Association to campaign against the Maynooth Grant and British State funding of the Roman Catholic Maynooth College. ...

was held in London with over 1000 delegates from England and Ireland and more than a million signatures were collected to oppose the grant. Also contributing to the political unrest was a group known as the "Voluntaryists," who were also opposed to the grant. Their issue with it was not, however, over any sort of religious difference. They opposed the idea of the government granting money to any private institution of higher education, and so were upset about the Maynooth Grant. The 1845 Maynooth bill (

Maynooth College Act 1845 The Maynooth College Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. 25) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. St Patrick's College, Maynooth was established by the Maynooth College Act 1795 as a seminary for Ireland's Catholic priests. The British gove ...

,(8 and 9 Vic., c.25)), was carried by 323 to 176 votes. Together with the

repeal of the Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They we ...

, it split Peel's Tories, eventually leading to the creation of the modern Liberal and Conservative parties:

William 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 ...

had previously opposed the Maynooth grant in his book ''The State in its Relations with the Church'' in 1838 that a Protestant country should not pay money to other churches, and confusingly resigned from the government when the proposed increase conflicted with his earlier principles while still voting for it in Commons;

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...

maintained his opposition on constitutional and political grounds, breaking with his

Young England {{about, the Conservative political group, imaginary military society, Edward Oxford Young England was a Victorian era political group with a political message based on an idealised feudalism: an absolute monarch and a strong Established Church, ...

colleagues to gain reactionary Tory support against Peel. While the grant was controversial, and weakened Peel's government, it set a precedent, and within three years, government support was being given to Catholic schools in England.

Background

Overview

References

Further reading

Primary sources