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Irish History Podcast

Polygamy, the Pope or Politics. Why was 19th century Ireland so hostile to Mormonism?

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

History, Interviews, War Of Independence, Ireland, Norman Invasion, Vikings, Great Famine, Great Hunger, Irish History

4.71.8K Ratings

🗓️ 31 January 2024

⏱️ 38 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the mid 19th century Mormonism was one of the fastest growing religions in the world. However when Mormon missionaries arrived in Ireland in 1840 they failed to establish a foothold. Over time Ireland gained a reputation as the most hostile country on earth for Mormons.


This podcast explores why this was the case. The answer is the complexities of Irish identity, our relationship with Catholicism and scandals surrounding the 19th century Mormon practice of polygamy.


The show starts however with the bizarre story of a 19th century Irish conman who played a role in getting the church off the ground in the 1830s.


Sources.

If you are interested in exploring more about the history of Mormonism I would recommend the podcast Mormon Stories has an extensive back catalogue. https://www.mormonstories.org


Brent Barlow’s PhD thesis on the history of Mormonism is extremely useful - https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4503/


The website https://sites.google.com/site/patrickhenrymcguire2 is an excellent resource on the Irish born Mormon Patrick McGuire


Irish Mormons- Reconciling identity in Global Mormonism by Hazel O’Brien is analysis of contemporary Mormonism. https://www.google.ie/books/edition/Irish_Mormons/WbW7EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0


Support the show and get my exclusive series on the outbreak of the Troubles

Patreon.com/irishpodcast


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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and anything that's connected is also vulnerable.

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and how government and business are working together to meet the challenge.

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0:52.6

Government's future frontiers,

0:54.1

be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts,

0:57.0

so you don't miss an episode. In the 19th century, Ireland was considered the most hostile country on earth for Mormons.

1:11.8

Despite repeated efforts, the Church would fail to establish a foothold

1:15.8

on the island and the reasons behind this are very dia and intriguing. In this episode

1:22.2

I'm going to delve into the history of

1:24.0

Mormonism and Mormonism in Ireland in particular. It's a largely forgotten history but

1:29.5

it's an expiration of Irish identity or complex relationship with the Catholic Church, but also the scandals that have dogged Mormonism, notably the practice of polygamy in the 19th century where Mormon men married multiple wives.

1:47.0

Hello and welcome to the Irish History Podcast, my name is Finn Duwire.

1:57.0

Now before we start today's show, I just want to flag that next week the exclusive

2:01.2

supporters series on the outbreak of the troubles begins.

2:04.8

Starting on Thursdays episodes will be released fortnightly exclusively

2:09.7

for the show supporters on Patreon and A-Cast Plus.

...

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