A history of the Church of Ireland 1691 - 1996

The comprehensive volume traces the experience of the Church of Ireland from the 1690s: as the Established Church until 1870, and through 125 years as an independent Irish institution. Beginning with the vigorous life of the Church after the Williamite Wars, the author describes the long Georgian century, assesses the 'English interest' in the Church, its role in Irish society and its relations with other denominations. He examines both the extent to which the Caroline tradition persisted in the Georgian era, and the Church's parlous condition in the late eighteenth century after that influence waned. He explores often neglected facets of Georgian Church life: its distinctive architecture and energetic church building, its theology and lay-directed charity, its Episcopal and clerical personalities, and its relations with Methodism. Finally, he explores the great recovery around the Act of Union (1800) and the influences of reforming bishops and evangelical revival.