Far from the homes of their fathers : Irish Catholics in St. John's, Newfoundland, 1840-86

• Main Author: Lambert, Carolyn
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/9184/; https://research.library.mun.ca/9184/1/Lambert_Carolyn.pdf

Despite being the first substantial Irish Catholic settlement in British North America, little work has been done on the Irish Catholic community in St. John's, Newfoundland in the second half of the nineteenth century. Much of what has been written by historians has focused on the migrant generation, their settlement patterns and adaptation. There is little understanding of the development of the multigenerational Irish ethnic group after 1840. This study addresses this lacuna, examining the Irish Catholic ethnic group in St. John's between 1840 and 1886. There are many reasons to undertake such a case study. St. John's was not only the political, economic and social center of the colony, it was also the most populous area with the largest number of Irish Catholics. It provides an opportunity to study the evolution of an Irish Catholic group that was unique in North America in that it formed the majority of the city's population during that period. Demographically, St. John's was also distinctive because Catholics were counterbalanced by a Protestant population that was of English rather than Irish descent. This makes the context of study different from other urban areas of British North America, where Catholics formed a minority and Irish Protestants formed a large portion of the population. Lack of large-scale Irish migration to Newfoundland after the 1830s allows for an examination of the development of a Catholic group that was established in the pre-Famine period and that was majority Newfoundland-born by 1857. -- As the first detailed account of Irish Catholics in St. John's between 1840 and 1886, this study chronicles their political, religious and social evolution through an examination of the Catholic Church, education, associations, politics and support for Irish nationalism. As a community study viewed through the lens of ethnicity, it traces the evolution of the identity of the multi-generational community. The findings are placed within the context of the wider North American diaspora to illuminate ...