This latest book by Tarquin Blake documents eighty abandoned Church of Ireland churches, preserving a record of fragile religious ruins. Their history, dating back to early Christianity in Ireland, paints a stark portrait of a Protestant aristocracy and a Catholic majority. Under the 1801 Act of Union, the Church of Ireland was united with the Church of England. Following this about GBP1 million ( 100 million in today's money) was spent building over 700 Protestant churches. The Church of Ireland was the Established Church and Protestantism the official religion. Most Irish resented the Church of Ireland, a minority church controlled by Englishmen, unsympathetic and friends of the landlords. As Protestant congregations declined in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries an attempt was made to keep churches open by uniting parishes. Eventually non-existent congregations forced closure of many churches. Valuables were removed, churches deconsecrated and abandoned. Blake's haunting images of crumbling ruins and history of the churches tell another fascinating story of troubled times.
