Irish DivisionsSource AThe Catholic Church provided Catholic immigrants with a social life. Catholic charities like the St Vincent De Paul also helped those in need. Mass provided them with familiarity in a foreign land. Of course, not all Irish immigrants were Catholic.

1. Why was the Catholic Church so important to Irish immigrants?

Use the source and your own knowledge.(5 marks)

Today we will…

• Explain why there were divisions between Irish immigrants

• Identify the organisations which highlighted these divisions

• Old firm rivalry is not a modern issue – goes back years

• Catholic/Protestant tension was the main division between Irish settlers

• Irish Protestants came from Ulster

• Irish Catholics usually came from other provinces (although some came from Ulster i.e. Donegal)

Irish Protestants• They seemed to find it

easier to fit into Scotland

• Many were descended from Scots who went to Ulster in 17th century

• They had Scottish sounding surnames

• They were Protestant, as were most Scots

• Many were skilled workers

• A 19th century movement to allow Ireland to govern itself

• Irish Catholics did not want to be British

• Ulster Protestants were proud to be British

• This meant they had more in common with Scots

Home Rule

• Celtic fans started to wave the Tricolour, showing support for Home Rule

• Rangers fans waved the Union Jack to show they supported Britain

• Red Hand of Ulster also

Orange Order• Set up in Ireland

during 18th century to defend the Protestant Religion and British Rule

• Named after King William of Orange

• William had replaced a Catholic King James

• Irish brought Order to Scotland

• Increased in numbers

• By 1914 ¼ of Orange Order branches were in Glasgow

• Often violence towards Catholics

• Walks often went through Catholic areas

• 1875 Partick – violence between Order and Catholics who were at Home Rule meeting

Orange Walk in Glasgow

Other divisions• Catholic Irish and

Protestant Irish would often fight amongst their views on their homeland

• Many shipbuilders in the Clyde had Orangemen and Rangers fans as foremen (supervisors)

• They stopped Catholic job applications

• Catholic building firms did the same with Protestant applications

• There were some Protestant political parties who received a lot of support which heightened tension between different Irish immigrants

• Scottish Protestant League (SPL) in Glasgow and Protestant Action (PA) in Edinburgh won a third of the votes in local council elections during Depression years

More issues in Ireland

• After Sinn Fein won most Irish parliamentary seats in Ireland Civil War broke out in Ireland

• British Army v IRA• IRA supporters in

Scotland sent money• Sinn Fein groups set

up in Scotland• Protestants

supported the British Army

Masonic LodgeMasonic Lodge• This ‘fraternity’ grew in

Scotland after 18th century

• Its membership was Protestant because the Catholic Church was firmly against it

• Catholics believed its principles were against the Catholic Church

• More middle class than Orange Order

• Secretive society