Description:
This volume, in honour of the great historian Emmet Larkin, is organized around the two themes that have shaped his work on the Catholic Church in modern Ireland--the role of the church in the creation of the modern Irish state, and the role of the church in defining a distinctive Irish national identity through the "devotional revolution". The various chapters explore different themes--political, social, ecclesiastical, and literary--but are united by their common engagement with aspects of Larkin's work on Irish culture and consciousness between the late eighteenth century and the present.
Brief description:
Stewart J. Brown is Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Edinburgh. He has lectured widely in Europe, China, Australia, India, and the USA, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Review Quotes:
"These essays by scholars from the United States, Scotland, and Ireland honor Emmet Larkin, the well-known historian of 19th-century Ireland. Five essays deal with the 'implications of Larkin's 'Devotional Revolution' thesis, which argues that it was only in the mid-19th century that the church made 'practising Catholics' of the Irish people.' Six essays deal with 'issues arising out of Larkins' "Church, State and Nation" thesis which suggests that several decades before an Irish state achieved de jure independence, the church had entered into a "concordat" with a de facto irish state.' Also included are a memoir and a bibliography of the honoree." --Theology Digest