The Tithe War in Ireland (1831-36) refers to a series of periodic skirmishes and violent incidents connected to resistance to the obligation of Roman Catholics in Ireland to pay tithes for the upkeep of the Anglican Clergy. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a religious organization. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ...

Background

The payment of tithes was an obligation on those working the land to pay an annual tithe of 10% of the value of certain types of agricultural produce for the upkeep of the church. On the introduction of the Penal Laws from the 1600s, these payments went to the Anglican (Episcopal) Church of Ireland, despite the fact that the vast majority of the population were Roman Catholic. Despite Daniel O’Connell’s achievement of having most remaining Penal Laws repealed in 1829 (Catholic Emancipation), the obligation to pay tithes remained. More often than not, tithes were collected in the form of goods, especially livestock, as opposed to payment of monies, as little cash was available in the countryside. A tithe (from Old English teogoþa tenth) is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a (usually) voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a Jewish or Christian religious organization. ... The Penal laws in Ireland refers to a series of laws imposed under British rule that sought to discriminate against the majority native Catholic population but also against Protestant dissenters in favour of the established Church of Ireland which recognised the English monarchy as its spiritual head. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Daniel OConnell Daniel OConnell (August 6, 1776 – May 15, 1847), known as The Liberator or The Emancipator, was Irelands predominant politician in the first half of the nineteenth century. ... Catholic Emancipation was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the Penal Laws. ...

There had been a campaign of largely peaceful resistance to collection since 1829 and it soon had a financial effect on the Anglican Clergy, who began in 1831 to record lists of defaulters. These lists of “Tithe Defaulters” identified almost 30,000 individuals, with heavy concentrations of non-payers in counties Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford. The lists were passed on to the Irish Constabulary, which had been established in 1822 to take over functions of the militia. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... Wexford (Irish: Loch Garman) is the county town of County Wexford in the Republic of Ireland. ... The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was one of Irelands two police forces in the early twentieth century, alongside the Dublin Metropolitan Police. ... Lexington Minuteman representing militia minuteman John Parker Militia is the activity of one or more citizens organized to provide defense or paramilitary service, or those engaged in such activity. ...

The "War" 1831-36

The first clash of the Tithe war took place on 3 March 1831 in Graiguenamanagh, county Kilkenny when a force of 120 armed police forcibly took possession of cattle belonging to a Roman Catholic priest, in lieu of Tithes. He had, with the approval of his bishop, organised people to resist Tithe collection; his example soon spread, and shortly afterwards, in Bunclody, county Wexford, a crowd resisting the seizure of cattle was fired upon by the Constabulary, resulting in twelve deaths and twenty fatally wounded. This massacre caused people to organise their resistance with agreed signals such as warning the community of the approach of police by the ringing of chapel bells. Such a warning resulted on 14 December 1831 in an ambush of a detachment of 40 police at Carrickshock in County Kilkenny; they were routed by the forewarned inhabitants and had 19 of their number killed, including their Chief Constable. March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Graiguenamanagh (Gráig na Manach in Irish) is a town in County Kilkenny, Ireland. ... Bunclody is a small town on the Wexford / Carlow border in Ireland, the bulk of which is in Wexford. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

The British Government poured troops into the country, fearing a repeat of the 1798 uprising with tithe defaulters cast as potential rebels and Daniel O’Connell’s Repeal Movement feared as its Trojan Horse. Taking stock of the continuing resistance, it compiled a list of 242 homicides, 1,179 robberies, 401 burglaries, 568 burnings, 280 cases of cattle-maiming, 161 assaults, 203 riots and 723 attacks on property directly attributed to tithe-enforcement in 1831, but continued its policy of enforcing payment. The “war” came to a head in 1835 with the Rathcormack massacre, County Cork, when military and police killed 17 and wounded some 30 more in an attempt to collect a tithe of 40 shillings from a widow. The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (Éirí Amach 1798 in Irish), or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally, was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against the British dominated Kingdom of Ireland. ... Repeal was a demand by Irish nationalist leader Daniel OConnell for the repeal of the 1801 Act of Union which had merged the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... // For other uses, see Trojan Horse (disambiguation). ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Cork Code: C (CK proposed) Area: 7,457 km² Population (2006) 480,909 (including City of Cork); 361,766 (without Cork City) Website: www. ... The shilling was a British coin first issued in 1548 for Henry VIII, although arguably the testoon issued about 1487 for Henry VII was the first shilling. ...

Outcome

The British Government was alarmed by several aspects of this massacre: by the fact that the order to fire was given by a Clergyman, by the pittance involved in relation to the bloodshed, and by the fact that the people had withstood several volleys and at least one charge by the troops without breaking. Finding the task of collection and the associated outrages an increasing strain, one official lamenting that “it cost a shilling to collect tuppence”^{[citation needed]}, collections were suspended and a Tithes Commutation Act was introduced in 1839, which reduced the amount payable by about a quarter and made the remainder payable to landlords who would in turn, pass payment onto the Clergy. This partial relief and elimination of provocative manner of collection ended the uprising, but Catholics were still required to pay towards the upkeep of the Church of Ireland until its final disestablishment in 1869. A landlord, is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called the tenant. ... See also civil religion. ...