The Bible War in Ireland

"The clearest and most comprehensive account yet of this crucial episode in modern Irish history. Its breadth and richness, socially and culturally as well as chronologically and geographically, are striking."-Niall O'Ciosain, author of Print and Popular Culture in Ireland 1750-1850 "Whelan's lively and balanced study adds significantly to our understanding of the [Irish evangelical] movement. It is based on extensive research . . . and an impressive knowledge of the personalities and events."-Stewart J. Brown, The American Historical Review "Persuasive and elegantly written."-History: Reviews of New Books

At the end of the eighteenth century, an evangelical movement gained enormous popularity at all levels of Irish society. Initially driven by the enthusiasm and commitment of Methodists and Dissenters, it quickly gained ascendancy in the Church of Ireland, where its unique blend of moral improvement and conservative piety appealed to those threatened by the democratic revolution and the demands of the Catholic population for political equality. The Bible War in Ireland identifies this evangelical movement as the origin of Ireland's Protestant "Second Reformation" in the 1820s. This effort, in turn, helped provoke a revolution in political consciousness among the Catholic population, setting the stage for the emergence of the Catholic Church as a leading player in the Irish political arena. Extensively researched, Irene Whelan's book puts forward a uniquely challenging interpretation of the origins of religious and political polarization in Ireland. Copublished with Lilliput Press, Dublin. The Wisconsin edition is for sale only in North America. "Essential reading for anyone interested in the emergence of an Irish Catholic identity in the nineteenth century and in Protestant-Catholic relations in that period not only in Ireland but in the Anglophone world."--Thomas Bartlett, The Catholic Historical Review