Kinsella Blog- History- Mandated Church Tithes and Resistance in Kilkenny 1823-1871


They were poor, very poor. The weather had been bad, the crops uncertain, and while a great deal of food from Ireland was still exported to England, the local farmers who toiled the fields subsisted on mostly potatoes and buttermilk. 

But in a classic example of getting blood out of a turnip, in 1823 the Protestant lead government made a new law to extract money from them. Every farmer would be required to pay a 10% cash tithe, based on the quality of their land and the price of corn, to support the church. But it did not support the local Catholic Church which they attended in Kilnaspic. This tithe supported the vicars and churches of the official Irish state church- the Protestant Church of Ireland. Naturally, there was great resentment against this unfair tax.


In 1829, there was some hope. The Roman Catholic Relief Act was passed. Led by Daniel O'Conner, and supported by the Marquess Wellesley (Hugh Allen's neighbor) this did away with the remaining Penal Laws of Cromwellian times. Catholics could now be represented in Irish government with members allowed seats in Parliament. Catholic farmers hoped this would be the end to Protestant Tithes. But the removal of tithes were not included in the Act.

                                                                 Illustrated London News, 21 May 1881 from 

By 1830 and 1831, there were protests, also supported by the Catholic clergy and large wealthy farmers in the area. In places, the unpopular civilian tithe collectors were attacked and chased away by the angry farmers, resulting in police enforcement of the tithes, including seizure of livestock or property if the money was not paid. 

In March, 1831, 120 officers came to Graiguenamanagh, Kilkenny to confiscate the cattle of a Roman Catholic priest- and the priest himself organized the locals to assist him in resisting. The officers backed off, and no one was injured. In Mooncoin it is said that thousands of people assembled for a meeting against paying the tithe.  Things turned increasingly violent- in 1831 protesters killed a dozen policemen in Carrickshock.

Battle of Carrickshock- Cassell's Illustrated History of England, Vol VII-1895

Some people claimed that they did not dare pay for fear that dissenters would kill them or would burn their home. A list was kept in 1831 of Tithe Defaulters- those who did not pay the hated tax. 

It is possible that a John Kinsella listed in the 1831 defaulters in a nearby parish might be our John Kinsella- but we do know that our John Kinsella, along with Denis, and James Kinsella, all of Kileaveroon, were shown in the Title Applotment Book of 1833- which listed how much each should pay toward the Tithe.


"Ireland Tithe Applotment Books, 1814-1855." Database with Images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2016. Public Record Office, Dublin.

 We can see that in 1833 John Kinsella farmed 28 acres, and was charged a tax of 1 pound 9 1/2 pence to support the protestant Church of Ireland vicar and rectory. He likely also paid 10% to his own Catholic parish. 

By 1838 the tithe was changed to a Tithe Rent Charge which was put on the landlords. Of course what happened was that the landlords just raised the tenant's rent to include this charge. But this was apparently less odious to the tenants than a direct charge, and protests ceased. 

It was decades after our ancestors left Ireland before the tithes ceased- in 1869 the Protestant Church of Ireland lost its status as the official state church of Ireland and the tithes had ceased by 1871.

 

Resources and more reading:

https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/tithe-applotment-books.html





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