Politics, interdenominational relations and education in the public ministry of Bishop James Doyle of Kildare and Leighlin, 1786–1834

Thomas McGrath

Bishop James Doyle of Kildare and Leighlin (J.K.L) is regarded by many as the outstanding Irish bishop of the nineteenth century. This new book and its companion volume unravel and reveal the complex and brilliant strands of Doyle’s career; they constitute a significant contribution to the historiography of nineteenth-century Ireland and English.

Doyle enjoyed an international reputation as an advocate of the rights of Catholics and as an advocate of the rights of Catholics and Ireland. This book examines in depth Doyle’s intellectual and political contribution to contemporary Irish and Englihs public life. As a fearless political prelate he elevated the image of the traditionally cautious and low-profile hierarchy. No other Catholic clergyman or member of the Episcopal bench as was politically aggressive or as remarkably productive in terms of publications across the whole range of Irish public affairs. Doyle’s many publications contributed to debate on all the great issues of his day. His writing constitutes some of the finest polemic of nineteenth-century Ireland.

Doyle’s fundamental role in the struggle for Catholic Emancipation and the issues of repeal, reform and poor law, post-Emancipation are discussed. The nature of Doyle’s important and strained relationship with O’Connell is one of the central themes of this work. Interdenominational relations, the New Reformation of the 1820s and the Tithe War of the early 1830s are analysed in the context of Doyle’s position as he most consequential and prolific Catholic Church spokesman of his time. The new departure in education: the foundation of the national system of education in 1831 and the demise of the Kildare Place Society are considered from the perspective of Doyle’s major contribution as the leading Irish educational theorist. Doyle’s advanced views on the education of Catholic and Protestant children together and on the re-union of the Catholic and Protestant churches are among the highlights of this incisive book.

The author’s companion volume is published under the title of Religious Renewal and Reform in the Pastoral Ministry of Bishop James Doyle of Kildare and Leighlin, 1786–1834.

Dr Thomas McGrath is a member of a farming family of Ballingarry in County Tipperary. He holds doctorates in History and Education and he lectures in Ecclesiastical History at Maynooth University.