The guerilla war waged between the IRA and the crown forces was a pivotal episode in the modern history of Ireland. This book addresses the War of Independence from a new perspective by focusing on the attitude of a powerful elite. The Catholic clergy.
The close relationship between Irish nationalism and Catholicism was put to the test when a pugnacious new republicanism emerged after the 1916 Easter rising. When the IRA and the crown forces became involved in a guerilla war between 1919 and 1921, Priests had to define their position anew. This book assesses the clergy’s response to political violence.
It describes how the image of shared victimhood at the hands of the British helped to contain tensions between the clergy and the republican movement .
The author shows how the links between Catholicism and Irish nationalism were sustained.