The Catholic Defence Association was an organisation founded in 1851 to defend the rights of Irish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

tenant farmers. The first meeting held at the

Mechanics' Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult edu ...

, Dublin was chaired by

Lord Gormanston Viscount Gormanston is a noble title, created in 1478, held by the Anglo-Irish Preston family since the Middle Ages. The oldest vicomital title in the British Isles, Lord Gormanston is accorded the style of Premier Viscount of Ireland. Desc ...

, with MPs

William Keogh William Nicholas Keogh PC (1817– 30 September 1878) was an unpopular and controversial Irish politician and judge, whose name became a byword in Ireland for betraying one's political principles. Background He was born in Galway, son of Wil ...

, George Henry Moore and

John Sadleir John Sadleir (1813 – 17 February 1856) was an Irish financier and politician, who became notorious as a political turncoat, and committed suicide after the failure of his financial speculations. He served as the model for several fictiona ...

on the platform.The Manchester Guardian, ''IRELAND'', 22 October 1851 Moore owned 5000 ha (50 km²) in Mayo, and 40 ha in County Roscommon. In 1852 Henry Wilberforce became Secretary, living in Ireland for two or three years. As Secretary he engaged in a correspondence on

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

proselytizing which was published as ''Proselytism in Ireland: the Catholic Defence Association versus the Irish Church Missions on the charge of bribery and intimidation; a correspondence between the Rev. Alex Dallas and the Rev. Henry Wilberforce'' (1852).

References

Irish agrarian protest societies {{Ireland-org-stub