Popery Act
 | |
| Long title | An Act to prevent the further Growth of Popery |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2 Ann c.6 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 1703 |
| Repealed | 1829 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 |
Status: Repealed | |
An Act to prevent the further Growth of Popery (commonly known as the Popery Act or the Gavelkind Act.[1]) was an Act of the Parliament of Ireland passed in 1703 and amended in 1709, one of a series of Penal Laws against Roman Catholics.
Although the law established a different inheritance rule for Roman Catholics, compared to Protestants, it did so, superficially at least, on reasonable grounds. Traditional Irish law used Gavelkind as the inheritance rule - in which an estate would be divided equally among a dead man's sons; by contrast, England had come to use male primogeniture as the main inheritance principle - with the eldest son receiving the entire estate. The Gavelkind Act, simply enforced the traditional Irish law on Roman Catholics, and the English law on Protestants.
However, if the eldest son of a Roman Catholic family converted to the Protestant faith, he would no longer have to share his father's estate with his siblings (by Gavelkind), but could instead keep all of it for himself (by primogeniture). Thus the law had the effect of reducing the size - and influence - of Roman Catholic landed estates; this was that Act's ulterior motive[1]
Its citation is 2 Ann c.6.
Catholic land holdings:
- 1688: 25% of land
- 1704: 14% of land
- 1776: 5% of land
Sir Toby Butler, the former Solicitor General for Ireland, and a Roman Catholic, made a celebrated speech at the bar of the Irish House of Commons denouncing the Act as being "against the laws of God and man...against the rules of reason and justice". Other eminent Catholic lawyers like Stephen Rice also denounced the measure, but to no avail.
References
See also
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