Keeping the Faith: The Role of the Irish House during the Penal Era and beyond

Despite widespread acceptance of the impact of the Penal Laws on Irish society, authors have focused on the more secular parts of society, tending to dismiss the religious aspect of Penal legislation as something of a ‘sideline’ to the main event and discounting vital dimensions such as faith and belief. Whilst there has been a shift towards an appreciation of the diverse nature of religious change during this period, few authors have attempted to discuss the link between persecution and the retention of Catholicism. This paper explores the role played by the Irish home in articulating Catholic identity throughout the Penal era and asks what this domestic space can tell us about the Catholic communities of the period. It analyses how this domestic space helped to reflect and reinforce very separate and different Catholic identities as religious communities were forced to create new spaces for worship and ritual, search for precedents and develop their own concepts of how space should be apportioned and organised. The paper concludes that Irish homes became the vessels of a sacred force that played a crucial role in maintaining Catholic identity and ensuring the survival of the Catholic faith. In an era of rapid cultural change, the Irish home continues to reflect, and help reconstruct, contemporary Irish identity whilst also providing a tangible and experiential connection to Irish heritage and tradition.