Ireland's Tithe War and the Church Reform of 1833

In the 1830s, Ireland exploded into a violent, decentralized rebellion over an ancient tax: the tithe. While most history focuses on Daniel O'Connell's grand political campaigns, this episode dives into the lesser-known Tithe War (1830–1838) — a grassroots uprising of tenant farmers refusing to pay the compulsory tax that supported the Protestant Church of Ireland, even though the vast majority of Irish were Catholic. Lucas and Luna explore the brutal 'tithe proctors' and police baton charges at Carrickshock and Castlepollard, the rise of the 'Tithe Defaulters' and the secret societies that enforced resistance, and the unlikely alliance that pushed through the Church Temporalities Act of 1833, which finally reformed the church establishment. Along the way, they meet figures like Bishop James Doyle (J.K.L.), the firebrand preacher who rallied the faithful, and the lesser-known Reverend Francis Austen, whose own diocese split over the crisis. This is the story of how ordinary farmers, not just politicians, forced the British Empire to rethink its grip on Ireland. #TitheWar #Ireland #ChurchTemporalitiesAct #Carrickshock #JamesDoyle #Castlepollard #ChurchOfIreland #ProtestantAscendancy #TenantFarmers #1830s #GrassrootsResistance #SecretSocieties #BritishEmpire #ReligiousReform #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast #IrishHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo