1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910163909003321

Autore

Earner-Byrne Lindsey

Titolo

Letters of the Catholic poor : poverty in independent Ireland, 1920-1940 / / Lindsey Earner-Byrne, University College Dublin

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2017

ISBN

1-316-84399-8

1-316-84591-5

1-316-84623-7

1-316-84119-7

1-316-84655-5

1-316-84783-7

1-316-84687-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 284 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

305.5/690922417

Soggetti

Poor - Ireland - History - 20th century

Poor - Ireland - Dublin - History - 20th century

Poverty - Ireland - History - 20th century

Poor - Ireland

Catholics - Ireland

Charity - Social aspects - Ireland - History - 20th century

Ireland Social conditions 1922-1973 Sources

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 31 Jan 2017).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Editorial Rubric -- Introduction: A history of the experience of poverty : "It is hard to state my case in writing" -- The Social Setting : "Is this a Civilized Country?" -- Artefacts of Poverty : "I Crave your Holy Pardon for Writing" -- The "Poor" Make their Case : "Surely they are Worth Helping" -- Hidden Poverty : "I bear my Poverty in Silence" -- The Cost of Poverty : "To Live or Rather Exist" -- Vetting and Vouching : "It would be a Charity to Help Him" -- Conclusion: "Peopling the Past".

Sommario/riassunto

This innovative study of poverty in Independent Ireland between 1920 and 1940 is the first to place the poor at its core by exploring their own words and letters. Written to the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, their



correspondence represents one of the few traces in history of Irish experiences of poverty, and collectively they illuminate the lives of so many during the foundation decades of the Irish state. This book keeps the human element central, so often lost when the framework of history is policy, institutions and legislation. It explores how ideas of charity, faith, gender, character and social status were deployed in these poverty narratives and examines the impact of poverty on the lives of these writers and the survival strategies they employed. Finally, it considers the role of priests in vetting and vouching for the poor and, in so doing, perpetuating the discriminating culture of charity.