Ireland
Date Entered: 2005
Major Ministries: Church planting
Country Profile
Population: 4,517,800
The majority of Ireland’s almost 4 million inhabitants are a mixture of Celtic and English heritage. English is the language most commonly used with Gaelic spoken mainly in the areas located along the western seaboard.
Historically agricultural, it has suffered high unemployment with the loss of its youth to immigration. These conditions were reversed during the robust Irish expansion during the 1990s. Positive external factors, favorable demographics, a competitive tax system, and a low cost and well educated labor force have succeeded in attracting a new high technology investment in Ireland.
Though the Republic of Ireland is 119th out of 191 countries in terms of population, it is 27th in terms of gross domestic product per capita. The economy is now cooling off a bit but this prosperity has been unprecedented in the history of the country and not without its social implications.
Whereas Northern Ireland is one of Europe’s most evangelized countries and a strong missionary sending nation, the Republic of Ireland has well under 1% evangelicals. As an example, the Association of Baptist Churches in the north have 95 churches while the south has only 15 with well over double the population!
Christianity was introduced into Ireland in the 5th century. The preaching of St. Patrick and others led to the founding of monasteries that became the famous centers of culture and learning in Europe. St. Patrick’s confession, filled with Scripture and a passion to preach the gospel to the pagan, the Irish know nothing of popes, worship of saints, purgatory nor masses. Irish monks were famous for preaching the gospel in Europe. The 11th and 12th centuries were an age of renaissance and progress in Ireland. It was also the time when powerful efforts were made to bring the church more fully into line with Roman orthodoxy.
During this same period, England’s political involvement began which would dominate Ireland’s history for succeeding centuries. Ireland faired poorly in the battles for succession of the English kings and suffered particularly under Oliver Cromwell. He promoted protestant colonization with large-scale confiscation of land and banishment of former Catholic owners to poor areas of the countries. To this day the Bible and Protestantism are associated with political oppression . Daniel O’Connell started a mass political movement that succeeded in forcing the London parliament to grant Catholics emancipation in 1829, removing virtually all forms of discrimination against them. In 1921 the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed and the Island was partitioned. Twenty-six counties gained independence as the Irish free state. Six Ulster counties, granted their own Parliament in Belfast, remained part of the United Kingdom.
The twenty-six counties in the south and northwest—approximately 80% of the island—(the Irish free state) became the Republic of Ireland in 1949.
The youth represent those who have been the most responsive group to the gospel and 50% of the population of Ireland is under 30 years old. ABWE’s ministry in Ireland is based on a partnership with a national group of Irish Baptist Churches.