@marcmulholland.bsky.social
All in your Xmas book, 'At the Rising of the Moon': www.kennys.ie/shop/at-the-...
At the Rising of the Moon: The Peasantry and Ireland from the Tudor Conquest to the fall of Landlordism
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December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
All in your Xmas book, 'At the Rising of the Moon': www.kennys.ie/shop/at-the-...
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Devout yet pragmatic, the peasantry accepted Church authority without surrendering politics. Their moral psychology leaned toward manichaeism: as one woman recalled of a cruel stepmother, “I couldn’t like her body… but I still pray for her soul, for the soul is innocent.”
Devout yet pragmatic, the peasantry accepted Church authority without surrendering politics. Their moral psychology leaned toward manichaeism: as one woman recalled of a cruel stepmother, “I couldn’t like her body… but I still pray for her soul, for the soul is innocent.”
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
12/
Devout yet pragmatic, the peasantry accepted Church authority without surrendering politics. Their moral psychology leaned toward manichaeism: as one woman recalled of a cruel stepmother, “I couldn’t like her body… but I still pray for her soul, for the soul is innocent.”
Devout yet pragmatic, the peasantry accepted Church authority without surrendering politics. Their moral psychology leaned toward manichaeism: as one woman recalled of a cruel stepmother, “I couldn’t like her body… but I still pray for her soul, for the soul is innocent.”
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Christmas Eve midnight Masses were once raucous and drunken; pilgrimages (“patterns”) mixed devotion with matchmaking, sport, and trade. Hill gatherings echoed older, semi-pagan festivals like Lughnasa and Bealtaine.
Christmas Eve midnight Masses were once raucous and drunken; pilgrimages (“patterns”) mixed devotion with matchmaking, sport, and trade. Hill gatherings echoed older, semi-pagan festivals like Lughnasa and Bealtaine.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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Christmas Eve midnight Masses were once raucous and drunken; pilgrimages (“patterns”) mixed devotion with matchmaking, sport, and trade. Hill gatherings echoed older, semi-pagan festivals like Lughnasa and Bealtaine.
Christmas Eve midnight Masses were once raucous and drunken; pilgrimages (“patterns”) mixed devotion with matchmaking, sport, and trade. Hill gatherings echoed older, semi-pagan festivals like Lughnasa and Bealtaine.
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Outdoor Masses doubled as markets: tobacco, candles, soap, potash. Young men flirted from the back; older men debated politics. Indoor chapels—long, thatched, chimneyless—were scarcely quieter, full of gossip and anecdotes.
Outdoor Masses doubled as markets: tobacco, candles, soap, potash. Young men flirted from the back; older men debated politics. Indoor chapels—long, thatched, chimneyless—were scarcely quieter, full of gossip and anecdotes.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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Outdoor Masses doubled as markets: tobacco, candles, soap, potash. Young men flirted from the back; older men debated politics. Indoor chapels—long, thatched, chimneyless—were scarcely quieter, full of gossip and anecdotes.
Outdoor Masses doubled as markets: tobacco, candles, soap, potash. Young men flirted from the back; older men debated politics. Indoor chapels—long, thatched, chimneyless—were scarcely quieter, full of gossip and anecdotes.
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In peasant Ireland, “fun and religion” mixed freely. A priest who raced through Mass was popular. The drama of the ritual itself entertained, even when Irish-speaking congregations did not fully understand the Latin words.
In peasant Ireland, “fun and religion” mixed freely. A priest who raced through Mass was popular. The drama of the ritual itself entertained, even when Irish-speaking congregations did not fully understand the Latin words.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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In peasant Ireland, “fun and religion” mixed freely. A priest who raced through Mass was popular. The drama of the ritual itself entertained, even when Irish-speaking congregations did not fully understand the Latin words.
In peasant Ireland, “fun and religion” mixed freely. A priest who raced through Mass was popular. The drama of the ritual itself entertained, even when Irish-speaking congregations did not fully understand the Latin words.
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Payments for such services—questin—were competitive among those who could afford it, even drawing contributions from Protestant neighbours at rites of passage. Yet fees were broadly scaled to means; the poorest paid little.
Payments for such services—questin—were competitive among those who could afford it, even drawing contributions from Protestant neighbours at rites of passage. Yet fees were broadly scaled to means; the poorest paid little.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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Payments for such services—questin—were competitive among those who could afford it, even drawing contributions from Protestant neighbours at rites of passage. Yet fees were broadly scaled to means; the poorest paid little.
Payments for such services—questin—were competitive among those who could afford it, even drawing contributions from Protestant neighbours at rites of passage. Yet fees were broadly scaled to means; the poorest paid little.
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This was the psychological source of clerical authority. At sickness and death, kindness weighs heaviest. As Carleton noted, priests knit themselves into popular affection through these scenes, often displaying “shining… noble instances of Christian virtue.”
This was the psychological source of clerical authority. At sickness and death, kindness weighs heaviest. As Carleton noted, priests knit themselves into popular affection through these scenes, often displaying “shining… noble instances of Christian virtue.”
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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This was the psychological source of clerical authority. At sickness and death, kindness weighs heaviest. As Carleton noted, priests knit themselves into popular affection through these scenes, often displaying “shining… noble instances of Christian virtue.”
This was the psychological source of clerical authority. At sickness and death, kindness weighs heaviest. As Carleton noted, priests knit themselves into popular affection through these scenes, often displaying “shining… noble instances of Christian virtue.”
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In “wild regions,” many peasants paid little heed to religion until death approached. But then the priest was indispensable—summoned without fail to the sickbed, where his presence was deeply valued.
In “wild regions,” many peasants paid little heed to religion until death approached. But then the priest was indispensable—summoned without fail to the sickbed, where his presence was deeply valued.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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In “wild regions,” many peasants paid little heed to religion until death approached. But then the priest was indispensable—summoned without fail to the sickbed, where his presence was deeply valued.
In “wild regions,” many peasants paid little heed to religion until death approached. But then the priest was indispensable—summoned without fail to the sickbed, where his presence was deeply valued.
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So much so that a Maynooth student in 1826 defined the middle class as those who could secure their children a post more lucrative than a priest’s—a striking benchmark of status.
So much so that a Maynooth student in 1826 defined the middle class as those who could secure their children a post more lucrative than a priest’s—a striking benchmark of status.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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So much so that a Maynooth student in 1826 defined the middle class as those who could secure their children a post more lucrative than a priest’s—a striking benchmark of status.
So much so that a Maynooth student in 1826 defined the middle class as those who could secure their children a post more lucrative than a priest’s—a striking benchmark of status.
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For peasant families, however, the priesthood (along with clerk or schoolmaster) marked escape from manual labour. If a boy was “cute at his larnin’,” parents sought to set him apart. This was the summit of popular social ambition.
For peasant families, however, the priesthood (along with clerk or schoolmaster) marked escape from manual labour. If a boy was “cute at his larnin’,” parents sought to set him apart. This was the summit of popular social ambition.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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For peasant families, however, the priesthood (along with clerk or schoolmaster) marked escape from manual labour. If a boy was “cute at his larnin’,” parents sought to set him apart. This was the summit of popular social ambition.
For peasant families, however, the priesthood (along with clerk or schoolmaster) marked escape from manual labour. If a boy was “cute at his larnin’,” parents sought to set him apart. This was the summit of popular social ambition.
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From the Protestant gentry’s perspective, this closeness showed. Frances Cobbe remembered pre-Famine priests as unmistakably peasant in appearance—“coarse mouth and jaw”—only lacking the beards that softened their lay brethren.
From the Protestant gentry’s perspective, this closeness showed. Frances Cobbe remembered pre-Famine priests as unmistakably peasant in appearance—“coarse mouth and jaw”—only lacking the beards that softened their lay brethren.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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From the Protestant gentry’s perspective, this closeness showed. Frances Cobbe remembered pre-Famine priests as unmistakably peasant in appearance—“coarse mouth and jaw”—only lacking the beards that softened their lay brethren.
From the Protestant gentry’s perspective, this closeness showed. Frances Cobbe remembered pre-Famine priests as unmistakably peasant in appearance—“coarse mouth and jaw”—only lacking the beards that softened their lay brethren.
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Yet priests were not distant elites. Many were close to the land and its labour. One parishioner recalled digging potatoes alongside Father Pether only a few years earlier: “an excellent spadesman he was.”
Yet priests were not distant elites. Many were close to the land and its labour. One parishioner recalled digging potatoes alongside Father Pether only a few years earlier: “an excellent spadesman he was.”
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
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Yet priests were not distant elites. Many were close to the land and its labour. One parishioner recalled digging potatoes alongside Father Pether only a few years earlier: “an excellent spadesman he was.”
Yet priests were not distant elites. Many were close to the land and its labour. One parishioner recalled digging potatoes alongside Father Pether only a few years earlier: “an excellent spadesman he was.”
1/
In Catholic districts, priests and curates were respected community figures, just as ministers and their wives were in Protestant areas. Respect was ritualised: Catholics doffed hats—or, hatless at labour, caught their forelocks and bowed in veneration.
In Catholic districts, priests and curates were respected community figures, just as ministers and their wives were in Protestant areas. Respect was ritualised: Catholics doffed hats—or, hatless at labour, caught their forelocks and bowed in veneration.
December 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
1/
In Catholic districts, priests and curates were respected community figures, just as ministers and their wives were in Protestant areas. Respect was ritualised: Catholics doffed hats—or, hatless at labour, caught their forelocks and bowed in veneration.
In Catholic districts, priests and curates were respected community figures, just as ministers and their wives were in Protestant areas. Respect was ritualised: Catholics doffed hats—or, hatless at labour, caught their forelocks and bowed in veneration.
15/ Fairs, dances, and sports—hurling, football, even early cricket—filled social life; events sometimes sparked faction fights and drew police suspicion.
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
15/ Fairs, dances, and sports—hurling, football, even early cricket—filled social life; events sometimes sparked faction fights and drew police suspicion.
14/ Work was accompanied by singing; state military bands sounded to them like “a sow grunting to her offspring.”
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
14/ Work was accompanied by singing; state military bands sounded to them like “a sow grunting to her offspring.”
13/ Irish music lived in peasant cabins, not elite halls. Collectors like Petrie went to cottages to find authentic melodies.
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
13/ Irish music lived in peasant cabins, not elite halls. Collectors like Petrie went to cottages to find authentic melodies.
12/ Women visited neighbours to spin and talk; lovers followed; songs, tales, music, and dancing mitigated labour with pleasure.
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
12/ Women visited neighbours to spin and talk; lovers followed; songs, tales, music, and dancing mitigated labour with pleasure.
11/ Cabins were social spaces inside and outside: yards and doorfronts hosted constant visiting, chatting, treating, and community gatherings.
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
11/ Cabins were social spaces inside and outside: yards and doorfronts hosted constant visiting, chatting, treating, and community gatherings.
10/ Peasants cultivated an appearance of poverty; signs of comfort risked landlords raising rents. “Tenants went in rags to pay the rent.”
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
10/ Peasants cultivated an appearance of poverty; signs of comfort risked landlords raising rents. “Tenants went in rags to pay the rent.”
9/ Many Irish kept pigs roaming freely—even indoors. Some defended it: all dirt can be cleaned except “moral dirt.”
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
9/ Many Irish kept pigs roaming freely—even indoors. Some defended it: all dirt can be cleaned except “moral dirt.”
8/ To outsiders the “hovels” looked horrific, but locals emphasized their comfort: warm, well-thatched, snug, practical, suited to the climate.
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
8/ To outsiders the “hovels” looked horrific, but locals emphasized their comfort: warm, well-thatched, snug, practical, suited to the climate.
7/ Housing was extremely simple: timber scarce; cabins built from mud, straw, thatch, often by families themselves, with makeshift wind-breaks.
December 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM
7/ Housing was extremely simple: timber scarce; cabins built from mud, straw, thatch, often by families themselves, with makeshift wind-breaks.