Penal law

In the most general sense, penal is the body of laws that are enforced by the State in its own name and impose penalties for their violation, as opposed to civil law that seeks to redress private wrongs. This usage is synonymous with criminal law and is covered in that article.

In Irish history

In Ireland these laws were also in force, where they had a pronounced effect, disenfranchising the majority of the Irish population who were Roman Catholic or Presbyterian in favour of the much smaller Church of Ireland. Though the laws affected adherents of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (who were concentrated in Ulster), its principal victims were members of the Roman Catholic Church, which was the religion of over three quarters of the people on the island, and the faith of the overwhelming majority of the "mere Irish" (in contemporary English, 'mere' meant 'pure' or 'fully').

Related Topics:
Ireland - Roman Catholic - Presbyterian - Church of Ireland - Presbyterian Church in Ireland - Ulster - Roman Catholic Church

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Among the discriminations faced by victims of the Penal Laws were:

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• Exclusion from membership in either the Parliament of Ireland or the Parliament of Great Britain;
• Exclusion from voting;
• Severe property restrictions, notably
• The ability of any man to take over a relation's property by converting to the Church of Ireland
• Prohibition on owning a horse valued at over £5 (in order to keep horses suitable for military activity out of the majority's hands)

The Penal Laws were gradually repealed at the end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century, due in large part to Daniel O'Connell, after the laws were repealed he became known as 'The Emancipator'. However the hated obligation of all working people to pay tithes to the Church of Ireland, irrespective of their religion, remained and resulted in a violent campaign of non-payment known as the Tithe War. This burden remained until the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in 1869.

Related Topics:
Daniel O'Connell - Tithes - Church of Ireland - Tithe War

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According to the "Act to prevent the further growth of popery", the Irish were also prohibited:

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• intermarriage
• converting from Protestantism
• the custom of going to France (a Catholic country) to be educated
• buying their own land
• custody of orphans
• inheriting Protestant land

These laws were in reality a tool of political as opposed to religious repression and were intended make the native Catholic population powerless and easy to control, there was never any real intent to convert the population to Anglicanism, although this occurred sporadically, especially among the gentry.

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