Deirdre Raftery , Teresa Ball and Loreto Education: Convents and the Colonial World 1794–1875, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2022, pp. 211, €40.00, ISBN: 9781846829765

Abstract

were some cases, however, of High Church clergy refusing burial to dissenting parishioners and, to some degree, the growth in licensed burial grounds following the 1689 Act, gave them grounds for such exclusion, but these disputes were probably the exception and often brought criticism from other Anglican clergy. As we know from northern parishes Anglican clergy were often willing to connive at, or at least turn a blind eye to, burials of their Catholic parishioners in the churchyard, even with the presence of a priest on occasion. Furthermore a funeral gave the family of the deceased the opportunity to demonstrate their public affirmation of loyalty to the state and their commitment and generosity to their neighbours by the provision of hospitality and even charity on the day of the funeral, as did the Catholic Salvin family at Durham soon after the accession of George I. Dr Brown has provided a rich narrative and a finely nuanced argument welding together diverse strands in recent historiography into a major contribution to lively field of historical debate to religious, social and political historians, as well as those concerned with shifts in cultural practices. There is much to be pondered in this excellent book.