Baptists are Irish People

They are at home in the homeland of the Irish. They feel happy to identify with the heritage of St. Patrick, especially his own confession of faith in Christ.

"I cannot hide the gift of God which He gave me in the land of my captivity. There I sought him and there I found Him. I am convinced He kept me from all evil because of His Spirit who lives in me and works in me to this very day... Whether I receive good or ill, I return thanks equally to God, who taught me to trust Him unreservedly".

(Patrick, in his own words - translated by Joseph Duffy pp25-6)

In the modern world there is a deep desire among Baptist people to live out their faith within their native culture. They can draw on many historical experiences to enable them to be true to Christ and faithful to their Irish roots.

Although a small number of churches they were actively involved in the education and relief work at the time of the Great Famine.

The Baptist Irish Society, founded in 1814, was responsible for up to 100 schools in the 19th century with between 8,000 and 10,000 pupils. In some areas of Munster and Connacht they pioneered teaching in the Irish language and claimed to be "the only society teaching exclusively through Irish who haven taken this precise and exclusive ground", even when encountering such hostility "from the prejudices against the Irish language amongst the friends of education in Ireland".

At one stage there were 16 day schools in Ballina and Sligo district containing 1,380 children who repeated 3,475 chapters of Holy Scripture in the course of a year.

Baptists suffered much during the Famine and the churches lost up to 3,000 members through death and emigration.

Charles Hardcastle, pastor at Waterford, and his wife both died in 1847/48, while busily engaged in caring for the starving people. There was much grief throughout the city and the Catholic and Protestant residents contributed #400 for the relief of their four children. In Cork there was extensive involvement through soup kitchens and at one stage was chronicled "a daily relief to about 2,000 people without regard to sect or party".

Ballina church in Co Mayo grew to almost 100 members and during the Great Hunger leased a 136 acre farm which employed 20 labourers and supported a large number families plenary inspiration, sole and all sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures.