Rome as Part of the Irish North Atlantic Experience, 1770–1830

Abstract

Was it really true that so many Irish “intriguings monks” in Rome had such a negative influence over the Roman curia, and in particular over the high officials of Propaganda Fide? This essay focuses on the Irish Franciscans of St. Isidore’s, the Dominicans of Collegio San Clemente, and the Augustinians of Collegio San Matteo, and contains some remarks on the Collegio Urbano. The essay shows that the Irish were indeed numerous and had a significant influence over Propaganda Fide and the Roman bureaucracy in general. The years spent in Rome made them fully Roman, or at least hyphenated Roman—as we would describe them today—from the point of view of their language as well as their familiarity with Roman ways and rites. Then, the issue was not such much about ethnic origin, but about the extent of their Romanization.