The catholic parish, the catholic chapel and village development in Ireland

Authors

  • Kevin Whelan University College, Dublin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55650/igj.1983.747

Abstract

The Catholic Church in Ireland underwent profound transformations in the early modern period. Among the most significant of these was the need to reconstruct its parish network and to provide places of worship for its adherents. This reconstruction and rebuilding phase was largely compressed into the 1780–1860 period and gave rise to a radically new parish framework which was adapted to the demographic, social and economic conditions of that time. Chapels were also constructed in large numbers and their sites were determined by the attitudes of landlords, the wealth of the local Catholic community and the sponsorship of prominent Catholic families. The diffusion of chapel building shows pronounced regional biases. Associated with this reinvigorated parish and chapel network was the development of new villages, for which the chapel acted as a nucleus and focus. The term chapel-village is used to describe them and their economic, social and morphological characteristics are examined. Their distribution reveals marked regionalisation on both the micro and the macro scales, related to historical, cultural, economic and social factors.

Published

2016-12-21

How to Cite

Whelan, K. (2016). The catholic parish, the catholic chapel and village development in Ireland. Irish Geography, 16(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.55650/igj.1983.747

Issue

Section

Original Articles

URN

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