Irish Catholic Chaplains in the British Army during the Second World War

  • Richard Burke

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

Not previously researched as an entity or in their entirety, this thesis examines Irish Catholic priests who enlisted as emergency chaplains in Britain’s army during the Second World War. To study their ecclesiastical composition, motives for enlisting and chaplaincy ministry, a total of 203 were identified as Irish among the full complement of 679 wartime army Catholic chaplains. This is substantially more than hitherto suggested. They were divided almost equally between the secular and regular clergy categories.

The study challenges existing scholarship by demonstrating that, although the Irish government placed no restrictions on their enlistment, the foundation of the Irish Free State (or Éire) in 1922, its wartime policy of neutrality and the Irish Catholic hierarchy’s support for that policy had a detrimental effect on the enlistment of secular priests attached to Irish dioceses. Hence, notwithstanding that most Irish dioceses had a surplus of clergy, many allowed to minister temporarily in British dioceses, this study shows that Irish bishops passively discouraged the direct enlistment of their diocesan clergy in Britain’s army. Thus, less than one-quarter of Irish secular clergy chaplains were from Irish dioceses, while three-quarters were ordained for dioceses in Britain or overseas. The superiors of regular clergy institutes in Ireland responded much more positively. While the wartime need for chaplains was always acute, this study adds to current understanding by showing that the British army’s Catholic chaplaincy authorities themselves contributed to that need by their prejudices towards certain clergy sectors.

Whereas their Irish Catholic, schooling and social identities were significant influences in their entering the priesthood, this work establishes that their ecclesiastical identities were foundational to most Irish priests’ chaplaincy enlistment. It further determines that a predisposition towards chaplaincy service was influenced by such factors as the legacy of Irish Catholic chaplaincy service from the First World War, the tradition of chaplaincy service in the Jesuit Order, their pastoral circumstances prior to enlistment, the war’s disruption to international travel, and the influence of significant church authority figures. Irish missionaries in West Africa considered their enlistment in Britain’s indigenous colonial army as a continuation of their missionary work. While their chaplaincy service was appreciated and commended, this work concludes that inadequate chaplaincy training and the demands of Catholic theology placed immense expectations on their army ministry. Consequently, many suffered post-traumatic stress disorder in their later lives.
Date of Award8 Jan 2024
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University of Roehampton
SupervisorTed Vallance (Director of Studies) & Richard Keogh (Director of Studies)

Keywords

  • Irish
  • Second World War
  • Catholic Clergy
  • British Army
  • Catholic Church
  • Army Chaplains

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