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Anglo-Irish was a term used historically to describe middle and upper class inhabitants of Ireland who were the descendants and successors of the Protestant AscendancyThe Anglo-Irish, Fidelma Maguire, University College Cork, mostly belonging to the Anglican Church of Ireland or to a lesser extent one of the English dissenting churches, such as the Methodist church. It was not usually applied to Presbyterians, most of whom were of Scottish descent and were identified as Ulster-Scots or Ulstermen.

Anglo-Irish is also used to describe formal contacts, negotiations, and treaties between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Some examples of this usage are the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, and the Anglo-Irish Summits (as meetings between the British and Irish prime ministers are usually called).

The Anglo-Irish social class

The "Anglo-Irish" landed elite replaced the Old English and Gaelic Irish Catholic aristocracies in the course of the 17th century as the ruling class in Ireland. At this time, they were usually called the "New English" to distinguish them from the Catholic "Old English," who were descendants of medieval Hiberno-Norman settlers. Under the Penal Laws that were in force between the 17th and 19th centuries, Roman Catholics in Ireland were barred from public office, military service, membership in the Irish Parliament, and from entering professions such as law and medicine. The lands of the old Catholic elite were largely confiscated in the Plantations of Ireland and their rights to inherit landed property were severely restricted. Those who converted to Protestantism were usually able to keep or regain their lost property.

The term "Anglo-Irish" was often applied to the anglicised Protestants who therefore made up the Irish professional and landed classes. A number of them became famous as poets or writers, including Jonathan Swift, Bishop Berkeley, Oliver Goldsmith, Laurence Sterne, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, C.S. Lewis and Bernard Shaw. Some, such as Edmund Burke, played an important role in British politics, while others, such as William Rowan Hamilton, G.G. Stokes, and Ernest Walton, were distinguished scientists. The Anglo-Irish were also represented among the senior officers of the British Army by men such as Field Marshal Lord Roberts, first honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards regiment, who spent most of his career in India, and Field Marshal Lord Gough who served under Wellington in the Peninsular War before rising to prominence by commanding the British army fighting the first Opium War in China. Field Marshal Lord Montgomery's family came from County Donegal, although he was born in London and his father was the Anglican Bishop of Tasmania.

The Anglo-Irish were often of Irish or mixed Irish-British ancestry and usually identified themselves as Irish despite adopting many English customs. The more successful among them often spent their careers in Great Britain or in some part of the British Empire. In this sense, "Anglo-Irish" identified a social class. Playwright Brendan Behan, a staunch Irish Republican, famously defined an Anglo-Irishman as "a Protestant with a horse."

The term is no longer commonly used in this way since southern Irish Protestants, or Protestants of the Republic of Ireland as a group have been largely assimilated into Irish society and are no longer distinctive.

Anglo-Irish peers

After the Flight of the Earls in 1607 and the Plantations of Ireland, the peerage of Ireland was composed mostly of Protestant families of British origin. One leading Anglo-Irish peer described his experience as one of the 'Anglo-Irish' as being regarded as Irish in England, English in Ireland and not accepted fully as belonging to either. However, such divisions are no longer as prevalent in Ireland, where Anglo-Irish peers have played a prominent role in modern Irish affairs.

Among the most prominent Anglo-Irish peers are:

The Duke of Wellington is reputed to have denied being Irish by stating that "being born in a stable does not make one a horse."Quoted, for instance, in Neillands, Robin, Wellington and Napoleon: Clash of Arms, Barnes & Noble Books, 2002, p. 32.

A number of Anglo-Irish peers have been appointed by Presidents of Ireland to serve on their advisory Council of State. Some were also considered possible candidates for presidents of Ireland, including:

See also

Further reading

  • Peter Berresford Ellis, Erin's Blood Royal: The Gaelic Noble Dynasties of Ireland ISBN 0094786003

Notes

External links

Anglo-Irish | Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom | Ethnic groups in Ireland | History of the United Kingdom | Ireland

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Anglo-Irish".

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