Solitary and Wild

The centenary commemorations of the signing of the 1912 Ulster Solemn League and Covenant have provided opportunities to revisit and reassess the wider context and some of the protagonists of this event, which set the stage for the Irish Revolution. Among the characters who have been rediscovered, one of the most interesting is Frederick MacNeice, a controversial Protestant church leader who opposed Edward Carson’s policy. In 1912 Frederick MacNeice was rector of Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, and was to spend the rest of his career in the North. However, in terms of background and formative experiences, he was a Southerner. He had been brought up in Connemara, where his parents worked with the Irish Church Missions to Roman Catholics. On Omey Island, where they were stationed, Protestantism enjoyed an unusually good reputation among the Catholic peasantry, making many converts, who for several decades ‘remained a fortress against priestly aggression’ (p. 33)

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology · Covenant · Fortress (chess · Irish · League · Protestantism · Theology · Classics · History · Irish and British Studies · Philosophy