|
UNDER CONSTRUCTION Ireland Ireland is the most westerly and smaller of the two major islands making up the British Isles. It is separated from England by St. George's Channel and the Irish Sea, and from Scotland by a narrow passage, the North Channel. English is the dominant language but Irish (Gaelic) is also spoken there. In 1840 there were about 8 million people in Ireland, however the population diminished because of the internal strife, the potato famine, and high numbers of emigration. Population statistics for Ireland were 6,574,000 in 1850; 5,789,000 in 1860; 5,412,000 in 1870, 5,174,000 in 1880; 4,706,000 in 1890 and 4,425,00 in 1900. The Roman Catholic church has been the primary church of most of Ireland with the Church of England being the primary religion in Northern Ireland. There has been much friction between these two religions and fight for political control, especially in the 20th century. Overview of the Irish Mission 1840-1867, 1884-1930 Although the first missionaries arrived in England in 1837, it was not until 1840 before missionary work began in Ireland. Reuben Hedlock made a visit to Ireland in May 1840, followed in July of that year by Apostle John Taylor and two local missionaries James McGuffin and William Black. They taught people in Newry (where James McGuffin had some friends), Lisburn, and "Four Towns of Ballymacraech", southwest of Belfast in County Down. On 28 Jul John Taylor addressed over 600 people in Newry. The first person baptized in Ireland was Thomas Tait in Four Towns of Ballymacraech on 31 Jul 1840 in a lake called Loughbrickland. Later in 1840 Theodore Curtis, an American missionary, went to Hillsborough in this same part of Ireland where he was able to organize the first branch of the church with 20 members by the end of 1840. Through the efforts of Elder David Wilkie in 1841 a second branch was organized in County Down in the community of Crawfordsburn with 22 members. By May 1842 there was a total of 71 members in Ireland in these two branches in County Down. In 1842 and during the famine of 1845-1847 many of these members emigrated. Missionary work continued in Northern Ireland in the vicinity of Belfast. In 1847 there were four branches here with a total of 40 members: Belfast, Hyde Park, Crawfordsburn, and Hillsborough. Two more branches were organized the following year, also near Belfast: Kilachy and Lisburn. Growth of the church was slow in Ireland compared to England and Wales. Poverty was common in Ireland and most of the farmers were tenants on their farms. If they were to allow missionaries to preach in their homes, villages, or join the church, they would take chances of being evicted or discriminated by their landlords. In 1850 a branch of the church was organized further south in the city of Dublin. By 1856 there were 58 members of the church in the Dublin Conference. The church in Ireland was centered around Belfast and Dublin for many years with a conference in each city. In 1852 there were 152 members in the Belfast Conference and 33 in the Dublin Conference. Membership in Ireland increased to nearly 300 in 1856 which was the high point. In 1857 the missionaries were recalled to Utah. After 1857 several of the members emigrated and the church membership in Ireland shrank. In Jan 1862 Elder Jacob G. Bigler reported the conditions of the Irish mission. At that time the members in Ireland were widely scattered with only one traveling elder in the entire Irish Mission. The whole mission contained about 100 members. In 1867 the two conferences which made up the Irish Mission (Belfast and Dublin) were discontinued and Ireland became part of the British Mission. At that time there were about 100 members in Ireland. During this period missionaries occasionally visited the members in Ireland, but not a lot of missionary work was done there. In 1884 the Irish Mission was organized again. Two branches at Belfast and Dublin were built up. At an annual Irish conference held in Dublin, President Samuel H. Cornaby and sixteen traveling elders of the Irish mission were in attendance. By 1915 there were 328 members of the church in Ireland. In 1924 two conferences were organized one in Northern Ireland and the other in the Free State of Ireland. In 1930 there were two branches in Ulster (Belfast and Londonderry), and one in the Free State (Dublin).
|
Ireland, (ROI and NI) 
