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About 94% of the people of Ireland are Roman Catholics, and less than 4% are Protestants. Protestant groups include the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and the Presbyterian and Methodist denominations. Freedom of worship is guaranteed by the constitution.
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| This is the Abbey on the Isle of Iona, a long-time center of Christianity in the Celtic Isles. |
| Agency | Year Began | Personnel from the U.S. expected to serve: | |||
| 4+ Yrs | 2-4 Yrs | 1-2 Yrs | 2 Mo- 1 Yr | ||
| Assemblies of God Foreign Msns | 1978 | 10 | 8 | - | - |
| Baptist Bible Fellowship Intl | 4 | - | - | - | |
| Baptist International Missions | 1978 | 10 | - | - | - |
| Baptist Mid-Missions | 1978 | 6 | - | - | - |
| Baptist World Mission | 2 | - | - | - | |
| BCM International, Inc | 1964 | 4 | - | - | - |
| Bible Christian Union, Inc | 1978 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Biblical Ministries Worldwide | 1975 | 11 | - | - | - |
| Brethren Assemblies | 12 | - | - | - | |
| Campus Crusade for Christ Intl | 1972 | 1 | - | - | - |
| CBFMS (Conservative Bapt FMB) | 1991 | 2 | - | - | - |
| Child Evangelism Fellowship | 1951 | - | - | - | - |
| Christian Churches/Chs of Christ | 1988 | 4 | - | - | - |
| Christian Printing Mission | - | - | - | 2 | |
| Church of the Nazarene Wld Msn | 2 | - | - | - | |
| Churches of Christ | 6 | - | - | - | |
| European Christian Mission | 1 | - | - | - | |
| Evangelical Mennonite Church | 1989 | 2 | - | - | - |
| Global Outreach Mission | 1965 | 15 | - | - | - |
| Greater Europe Mission | 1974 | 17 | 3 | - | - |
| Intl Fellowship Evang Students | 1990 | - | - | 2 | - |
| Ireland Outreach International | 1981 | 4 | - | 3 | - |
| Mennonite Board of Missions | 1987 | 2 | - | - | - |
| Mennonite Central Committee | 1978 | 3 | 2 | - | - |
| Mission to the World | 2 | - | - | - | |
| Missionary Revival Crusade | - | - | - | - | |
| Presbyterian Church (USA) | 2 | - | - | - | |
| Seventh-day Adventists | 1898 | 4 | - | - | - |
| UFM International | 11 | - | - | - | |
| United Methodist Church | 2 | - | - | - | |
| World Baptist Fellowship Msn | 1961 | 2 | - | - | - |
| World Harvest Mission | 1985 | 3 | - | - | - |
| World Vision International | 1975 | - | - | - | - |
| Youth With A Mission (YWAM) | 1973 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Totals | 146 | 13 | 5 | 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The most famous Christian missionary ever in Ireland is of course St. Patrick. Though he was Catholic, he did indeed bring the message of Christ to the Celtic Isles, and for that they will be forever indebted to him.
PATRICK OF IRELAND (17 MARCH c461)
Patrick was born about 390, in southwest Britain, somewhere between the Severn and the Clyde rivers,
son of a deacon and grandson of a priest. When about sixteen years old, he was kidnapped by Irish
pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. Until this time, he had, by his own account, cared nothing for God,
but now he turned to God for help. After six years, he either escaped or was freed, made his way to a
port 200 miles away, and there persuaded some sailors to take him onto their ship. He returned to his
family much changed, and began to prepare for the priesthood, and to study the Bible.
Around 435, Patrick was commissioned, perhaps by bishops in Gaul and perhaps by the Pope, to go to Ireland as a bishop and missionary. Four years earlier another bishop, Palladius, had gone to Ireland to preach, but he was no longer there (my sources disagree on whether he had died, or had become discouraged and left Ireland to preach in Scotland). Patrick made his headquarters at Armagh in the North, where he built a school, and had the protection of the local monarch. From this base he made extensive missionary journeys, with considerable success. To say that he single-handedly turned Ireland from a pagan to a Christian country is an exaggeration, but is not far from the truth.
Almost everything we know about him comes from his own writings, available in English in the
ANCIENT CHRISTIAN WRITERS series. He has left us an autobiography (called the CONFESSIO),
a LETTER TO COROTICUS in which he denounces the slave trade and rebukes the British chieftain
Coroticus for taking part in it, and the LORICA (or "Breastplate" a poem of disputed authorship
traditionally attributed to Patrick), a work that has been called "part prayer, part anthem, and part
incantation."
"Ireland, Republic of," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.
At this point I'd like to make mention of the fact that religion is a very political issue in Ireland. Northern Ireland is a Catholic area, and southern Ireland is a Protestant area. To proclaim oneself Catholic is to align oneself with the political beliefs, prejudices, and goals of Northern Ireland. Likewise, to be Protestant is to be with the south. The titles themselves actually have almost nothing to do with religion. This must be kept in mind when asking the religion of an Irishman. He'll not be telling you his religious beliefs, but rather his political beliefs.
I found very little concerning religion and missions in Ireland on the Internet. On the 25th of May there will be an event called
March for Jesus in Belfast. It appears to be fairly ecumenical, but was by far the most significant thing on the Internet concerning either religion or missions.