The Diocese of Lismore, 1801–69

Robert MacCarthy

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The diocese of Lismore covers not only most of Co. Waterford, but also a substantial part of Co. Tipperary - (e.g. Cahir & Clonmel), in fact the area of the ancient territory of the Deise. This short book covers the diocese in the last phase of the establishment – from the union to disestablishment; it gives a snapshot of all that W.E. Gladstone thought was wrong with the Church of Ireland and also shows the efforts which the established church made to cope with the rising tide of resurgent Roman Catholicism. The study summarizes the small number of mostly town located churches with which the church entered the 19th century and goes on to describe and explain the wave of rural church building which was such a feature of the 19th century history of the establishment. There are chapters on the bishops and the clergy; both nepotism and non-residence are fully explored, while the administrative history of the cathedral is the subject of another chapter.
Although the architecture of the churches is referred to, this is primarily an administrative history which aims to show how the Church of Ireland operated on the ground in a not un-typical area of southern Ireland.

Robert MacCarthy was born in the diocese of Lismore. He is the dean of St Patrick’s cathedral. His books include A short history of the Church of Ireland (2002) How shall they hear? ( 2003) and Preached at St Patrick’s (2004).