Penal Laws in Ireland
The Penal Laws were introduced into Ireland in the year 1695, disenfranchising nonconformists in favour of the minority established Church of Ireland. Though the laws also affected adherents of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (who were concentrated in Ulster), their principal victims were members of the Catholic Church, meaning over three quarters of the population. These laws included:
- Education Act 1695
- Banishment Act 1697
- Registration Act 1704
- Popery Act 1704 and 1709
- Disenfranchising Act 1728
The laws were eventually repealed largely due to Irish political agitation organised under Daniel O'Connell in the 1820s, but effects of the laws in terms of sectarianism between Catholics and Protestants can still be seen, particularly in Northern Ireland, today.
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