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An Ríoghacht (, Irish for "The Kingdom"), also called the League of the Kingship of Christ, was a conservative Catholic group in Ireland, founded in 1926 by Fr Edward Cahill, Professor of Church History and Lecturer in Sociology at the Milltown Park Institute, Dublin.


Development

The group was established in mid 1926, with Cahill writing to Archbishop
Edward Joseph Byrne Edward Joseph Byrne (10 May 1872 – 9 February 1940) was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dublin from 1921 until his death in 1940. Early life and education Byrne was born in Dublin to Edward and Eleanor (n� ...
in October 1926 to inform him that his organisation had been in existence for some months and to announce the formation of a Provisional Committee featuring Sir Joseph Glynn,
George Gavan Duffy George Gavan Duffy (21 October 1882 – 10 June 1951) was an Irish politician, barrister and judge who served as President of the High Court from 1946 to 1951, a Judge of the High Court from 1936 to 1951 and Minister for Foreign Affairs from ...
, prominent judge Michael J. Lennon, J. Durnin, Patrick Waldron and three priests.Maurice Curtis, ''A Challenge to Democracy: Militant Catholicism in Modern Ireland'', The History Press Ireland, 2010, p. 55 The new organisation attracted some prominent members, including the economist Berthon Waters, the publisher Eoin O'Keefe, Peter O'Loghlen TD, Gabriel Fallon a critic and Maurice Moynihan and O.J. Redmond, two senior members of the civil service. At lower levels the organisation established branches across Ireland, with six branches established in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, two each in
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and
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
and one each in
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
,
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...
,
Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...
and
Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...
. The organisation had several hundred members at any given time although it did not retain membership, rather instructing those who joined in the intricacies of
Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...
, before encouraging them to go off and spread what they had learned either independently or as members of other more community-based Catholic societies. Between 1935 and 1939 the group ran high-profile Summer Schools to promote their aims and teachings. It did not however seek a mass membership, preferring an elitist structure and seeking to attract only those in positions of influence to its ranks.


Aims and campaigns

The object of this society was to ensure the use of Catholic Social Teaching, and embed Catholic doctrine in the legal structure, in the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
. Fr Cahill viewed with great apprehension the power of international Freemasonry, Communism and Jewry.David S Wyman, Charles H Rozenzveig: The World Reacts to the Holocaust. p. 648 The society organised public meetings three or four times a year, published pamphlets on current topics and attempted to produce a weekly paper to further its ideals. Cahill strongly supported a rural basis for Ireland and used An Ríoghacht to further this aim. In 1928 he devised a "Scheme for Social Re-construction" which was to set up "Catholic Agricultural Colonies" that would, he argued, attract people away from the twin pulls of city life and emigration. He argued that ruralism would both encourage Irish
autarky Autarky is the characteristic of self-sufficiency, usually applied to societies, communities, states, and their economic systems. Autarky as an ideology or economic approach has been attempted by a range of political ideologies and movement ...
, which the group advocated, as well as a decent and wholesome lifestyle that would become the hallmark of Ireland internationally. The group also became active in support of cinema censorship, issuing a statement to the ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' in 1935 to indicate that it was taking over leadership of the issue from the moribund Irish Vigilance Association. As a result of their campaign the Irish government imposed heavy tariffs on the import of 35mm film and eventually helped to established, with Church support, the National Film Institute.


Banking Commission

The group sent a delegation to provide evidence to the Banking Commission of 1934–1938 to advocate their monetary reform aims. Their submissions mostly focused on their support for the replacement of private banking with a single National Bank of Ireland and for control of fiduciary policy to be taken away from politicians and given over to professional economists attached to this bank. The criticisms that An Ríoghacht levelled at the eventual report by the commission, would go on to form the basis of the economic policy of
Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed var ...
, with
Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Republican activist, politician, and diplomat who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff o ...
having been close to members of An Ríoghacht. An Ríoghacht entered into a print battle with Edward Coyne over the issue, with Coyne accusing the movement of purposefully twisting papal encyclicals to support their views, with An Ríoghacht countering that the policies they advocated had been the same as those used by the Estado Novo which, they contended, had transformed a backward and impoverished
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
into a successful country. The influential Fr. Denis Fahey also came out in support of An Ríoghacht, endorsing their arguments in the Knights of Saint Columbanus journal ''Hibernia''. In August 1938 Cahill was a keynote speaker at a
Muintir na Tíre Muintir na Tíre (, meaning "People of the Country") is a national Irish voluntary organisation that promotes community and rural development. Canon John Hayes founded the organisation in 1937. Past presidents *Canon John Hayes Founder: 19 ...
event and he used the occasion to attack the lack of attention afforded to the An Ríoghacht-backed Commission minority report, suggesting that it was part of a deliberate attempt to bring about the destruction of Irish agriculture. The speech was made at a point when Cahill's superiors in the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
were having major concerns about his stern criticism of the government, with issues also raised about Cahill's competence as an economist and even his mental state. Eventually Cahill was ordered to be silent on the issue of monetary reform and he did not publicly raise the issue again before his 1941 death.Curtis, ''A Challenge to Democracy'', p. 154


Post-Cahill

An Ríoghacht continued to exist for around twenty years after Cahill's death and continued to be an influential organisation for much of that time. As well as the influence of their ideas on Clann na Poblachta, George Gavan Duffy became President of the High Court in 1946 and in this role had a profound influence on Article 40 of the
Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...
, which he interpreted as an extension of Catholic teaching. The organisation formed the basis of Fr. Denis Fahey's Maria Duce, a right-wing, anti-Semitic organisation, with much of its membership trained by An Ríoghacht. Under the presidency of Brian J McCaffrey the movement was involved in a number of conservative campaigns in the 1950s, such as actively supporting members of the Waterford District Football League who were attempting to force the
Republic of Ireland national football team The Republic of Ireland Men's national football team () represents the Republic of Ireland in men's international Association football, football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). The team made their debut at the Ir ...
to pull out of a match with their counterparts from Yugoslavia on the grounds that they did not wish to associate with communists. However the influence of the group was on the wane and by the early 1960s it had disappeared altogether.Curtis, ''A Challenge to Democracy'', p. 193


See also

* Maria Duce * Lia Fáil (political party)


References


External links


The Ireland of Edward Cahill (1868–1941): a liberal or a Christian state?
at
History Ireland ''History Ireland'' is a magazine with a focus on the history of Ireland. The first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1993. It went full-colour in 2004 and since 2005 it is published bi-monthly. It features articles by a range of writers ...

A failed quest for a Catholic Ireland
at IrishCatholic.ie {{DEFAULTSORT:An Rioghacht Conservatism in Ireland Politics of the Republic of Ireland History of Catholicism in Ireland Christian organizations established in 1926 Catholic organizations established in the 20th century