The Priest and the Agent: Social Drama and Class Consciousness in the West of Ireland

Abstract

On the morning of 4 April 1877, estate agent Arthur Brooke drove his carriage up to the gate of Cashel Farm, the residence of John Magroarty in Carrick, a small market town in the mountainous hinterland of southwest Donegal. Brooke had brought sheriff McCrory along with him, but his bailiffs emerged from their nearby homes a bit more reluctantly than usual. It was clear to Brooke that tenant Magroarty would not submit mildly to the impending eviction, for, although warned of the sheriff's intention several days earlier, he had not budged a parcel and a large crowd was gathering to witness the proceedings. Agent Brooke had never been so loath to perform his duty, for Magroarty was not the average evictee. He was the owner of several cows and was a reliable and even “improving tenant.” Most of all, however, he was the parish priest. It was Father Magroarty Brooke and his henchmen had come to toss into the streets of Carrick.

Encounters with Popular Pasts

“…However, Irish Catholics-who exist as minorities in an Anglo-British milieu, and who count among the most devoted to Pio-are generally more receptive to forms that reveal the wealth and strength of the cult, and the Church in general (cf. Taylor 1985Taylor , 1990. One Irish man said, "Somebody might disagree with the amount of money that was spent on Piano's basilica because there's so much poverty in the world-but in Ireland, in times past, there was poverty and famine.…”

Cultural exclusion and rural poverty in Ireland and Russia

“…In Ireland, regulated participation in church‐based networks structures material opportunities for local people (McDonagh, 2001). Shared belonging to religious institutions brings financial benefits and access to employment opportunities (Taylor 1985) through the church‐supported networks of Irish colleges and mna tí , women providing accommodation for students learning Irish:…”