Tithe War - Background

Background

Tithe payment was an obligation on those working the land to pay ten per cent of the value of certain types of agricultural produce for the upkeep of the clergy and maintenance of the assets of the Church. After the Reformation in Ireland, the assets of the Church were appropriated by the British Crown and allocated to the new state Church. The majority who remained loyal to the old religion were then obliged to make tithe payments which were directed away from their local Roman Catholic parish to the established state church. This increased the financial burden upon subsistence farmers as they were, at the same time, voluntarily supporting the construction or purchase of new premises to replace in some measure the appropriated Church assets. The new state church was not supported by the majority of the population, seventy five percent of whom continued to adhere to Roman Catholicism.

Emancipation for Catholics was a core promise during the campaign for implementation of the Act of Union in 1801. The King however, refused to keep Pitt (the younger)'s promises which had secured the passage of the legislation through the Irish Parliament. Not until 1829 did the Wellington government finally succeed in passing the Catholic Emancipation Act in the teeth of defiant royal opposition. However, the obligation to pay tithes remained, causing much resentment. Roman Catholic clerical establishments in Ireland had refused government offers of tithe sharing with the established church, fearing U.K. government regulation and control.

The tithe burden lay directly on the shoulders of tenant farmers. More often than not, tithes were paid in the form of produce or livestock. In 1830, given the system of benefices in the Anglican system, almost half the clergy were not resident in their assigned rectories and parishes. These issues, more often than not, were inflamed by the senior Irish Roman Catholic clergy who were now dependent on voluntary contributions due to the discontinuation of the Maynooth grant. Incensed farmers vehemently resisted paying for the support of two clerical establishments. Aided and abetted by many of the Roman Catholic bishops and clergy, they began a campaign of non-payment.

After Emancipation, an organized campaign of resistance to collection began. It was sufficiently successful to have a serious financial effect on the welfare of established church clergy. In 1831 the government compiled lists of defaulters and issued collection orders for the seizure of goods and chattels (mostly stock). Spasmodic violence broke out in various parts of Ireland, particularly in counties Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford. The Irish Constabulary, established in 1822, attempted to enforce the orders of seizures. At markets and fairs, the constabulary often seized stock and produce which oftentimes resulted in violent resistance.

A campaign of passive resistance was proposed by Patrick "Patt" Lalor (1781-1856, a farmer of Tenakill, Queen's County, who later served as a repeal MP (1832-5). He declared at a public meeting in February 1831 in Maryborough that "...he would never again pay tithes; that he would violate no law; that the tithe men might take his property, and offer it for sale; but his countrymen, he was proud to say, respected him, and he thought that none of them would buy or bid for it if exposed for sale. The declaration was received by the meeting in various ways: by many with surprise and astonishment; by others with consternation and dismay, but by a vast majority with tremendous cheering." Lalor held true to his word and did not resist the confiscation of 20 sheep from his farm, but was able to ensure no buyers appeared at subsequent auctions.