Searching for Subject Matter
That the history of the Republic of Ireland is intwined with Catholicism is a truism that barely merits repeat. The country’s constitution, written in 1937, was influenced greatly by the now-disgraced Archbishop of Dublin John Charles McQuaid; a prelude to the near-total stranglehold of power the church would hold on Irish society for decades to come.
Irish Press. (date unknown) Available at: https://mnutty.medium.com/the-big-one-lily-7ee298f2e8ad (Accessed: 15 May 2023).
Perhaps the most outward showing of the Irish people’s ardent faith occurred in 1979 upon the visit of Pope John Paul II to the country. Over 1.25 million* people attended his mass in Dublin’s Phoenix park, the highpoint of a papal visit marked by a zealous fervour extreme in its devotion. More than ostentatious pageantry, the visit is highlighted by many as a leading to the notorious ‘pro-life’ eight amendment to the constitution in 1983. This is to say nothing of the, as yet undiscovered, ongoing abuse scandals that darkened parishes up and down the country.
Irish Foreign Ministry. (2014) The visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in September 1979. (Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryLwmb-15dc)
Flash forward nearly four decades and the papal visit of Pope Francis presented a marked contrast. The relative emptiness of Phoenix park betraying a widespread indifference and, in parts, outright hostility towards the church. Against the backdrop of the Mother and Baby Home scandal and a successful campaign to repeal the eight amendment, the visit underlined the churches weakened position and the Republic’s progressive transformation.
Surely, one could not wish for a more potent metaphor of the subject of my enquiry. Particularly given the large volumes of promotional garb, souvenirs, and tat that went along with both visits.
* This was a third of the country’s population at the time.