Did 19th Century Irish immigrants use CoE churches?

[Burto]

Hi,
My 4xGreat Grandparents were Irish and settled near Birmingham around 1830-1838. My 4x Great Grandfather was from Balla, County Mayo (not sure about my 4xGreat Grandmother's birth place other than Ireland) so I thought they would be Catholic but they baptised their three children in CoE churches. Could this be because there were no Catholic churches nearby? Thanks

[iluleah]

Depends on where near Birmingham they settled however there were RC/non conformist churches https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WAR/Birmingham/nonconform

[Burto]

Depends on where near Birmingham they settled however there were RC/non conformist churches https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WAR/Birmingham/nonconform

Coventry, Hampton in Arden and finally Birmingham

[Maiden Stone]

One or both parents might have been Church of Ireland.
Have you found a baptism in Balla for your 4xGGF?
Methodists in Ireland used Church of Ireland until early 19thC.
Some Catholics in England continued to marry in C. of E. even after 1837 when they were able to marry in a Catholic church (with a registrar in attendance).
Some C. of E. curates kept records of births or baptisms of Catholic babies during 18th century when penal laws against Catholics were in force. Most of those penal laws had been repealed by 1830.

[medpat]

My gt gt grandparents had 1 child in Ireland and 2 in UK. They baptised their English born children at St Pat's and all lived their lives very close to St Patrick's RC Church Walsall. All 3 children then married in C of E churches to C of E partners and their children were baptised C of E.

[Taylor94]

One of my Irish ancestors was baptised Catholic in Ireland, baptised her children in Church of Ireland and then one of her daughters when in England married an Englishman in Church of England but baptised children in the local catholic priory and then the children seem to have married all Church of England, despite being listed as Catholic on poorhouse records.
Seems they moved about between denominations.

[Maiden Stone]

Taylor94 reply #5.
 England and Ireland had different marriage laws for much of 19th century.
Catholics in England had to marry in an Anglican church until 1837 although after Catholic Relief Acts in late 18thC. they were allowed an additional religious ceremony in a Catholic chapel if they wished. After 1837 Catholics in England had options: 1. marry in a Catholic chapel with a registrar attending to oversee the legal parts of the ceremony; 2. marry in a registry office (they could have a separate R.C. religious ceremony in their chapel if they wanted); 3. marry in C. of E.,   
Two Catholics marrying in Ireland could have a legally valid marriage in a Catholic church in 19th century. A marriage  between a Catholic and a member of the Church of Ireland in a Catholic church wasn't legally valid. A spouse could abandon such a marriage and marry someone else without committing bigamy. A "mixed marriage" between R.C. & C. of I. had to happen in C. of I. to be legal until civil marriages were introduced in Ireland in 1845. A Catholic priest who conducted a marriage ceremony in which one party was C. of I. was committing a crime according to the penal laws against Catholics in Ireland and England. The punishment was reduced by a Catholic Relief Act in late 18th century. A priest in Ireland was arrested for the offence around 1830.
Some R.C. priests in Ireland and England erred on the side of caution and either refused to conduct a wedding between an Anglican & a Catholic or advised them to marry in C. of I. / C. of E. to ensure legality.

The Catholic Church accepted as canonically valid a marriage of a Catholic conducted according to the local civil law until 1909, when it required a Catholic to marry in the presence of a Catholic priest.

Re. baptisms. There was a custom in some places that sons of a "mixed marriage" were baptised in the father's denomination and daughters in the mother's. An Irish study based on 1901 & 1911 census showed that children were more likely to join their mother's denomination than their father's and even more so if a mother was R.C.
When were your ancestor's children born? Some Catholics in Ireland converted during the Great Famine. Evangelist groups were providing food relief. Those who converted at the time were referred to by their fellow Catholics as "taking the soup". Some re-joined the Catholic church later.
 
   

[Taylor94]

Thanks for that Maiden Stone, I didn't know that.

I have James Callaghan, A revenue policeman of Boyle, Roscommon marrying (Not sure if they ever married but Catherine is using his name) at some point before 1832 to Catherine Martin. I have Catherine as baptised Catholic in 1816 Elphin, Ireland and I don't know James's baptism but his brother was baptised 1810 St Chad, Catholic church in Lancashire, so I assume he was Catholic as well. James and Catherine baptised their children in Church of Ireland, Boyle, Roscommon in the early/mid 1830s before coming to England in about 1839/1840.
Their daughter Cecelia was born in England 1841 although I don't have a baptism just a birth cert record. Celia married Anglican 1860 and her children were baptised in the local catholic priory in the 1860s, I cant find all their baptisms though. Her children are listed as Catholic on poorhouse/workhouse records in the 1870s but they all marry Anglican as far as I can tell after.

[Burto]

Taylor94 reply #5.
 England and Ireland had different marriage laws for much of 19th century.
Catholics in England had to marry in an Anglican church until 1837 although after Catholic Relief Acts in late 18thC. they were allowed an additional religious ceremony in a Catholic chapel if they wished. After 1837 Catholics in England had options: 1. marry in a Catholic chapel with a registrar attending to oversee the legal parts of the ceremony; 2. marry in a registry office (they could have a separate R.C. religious ceremony in their chapel if they wanted); 3. marry in C. of E.,   
Two Catholics marrying in Ireland could have a legally valid marriage in a Catholic church in 19th century. A marriage  between a Catholic and a member of the Church of Ireland in a Catholic church wasn't legally valid. A spouse could abandon such a marriage and marry someone else without committing bigamy. A "mixed marriage" between R.C. & C. of I. had to happen in C. of I. to be legal until civil marriages were introduced in Ireland in 1845. A Catholic priest who conducted a marriage ceremony in which one party was C. of I. was committing a crime according to the penal laws against Catholics in Ireland and England. The punishment was reduced by a Catholic Relief Act in late 18th century. A priest in Ireland was arrested for the offence around 1830.
Some R.C. priests in Ireland and England erred on the side of caution and either refused to conduct a wedding between an Anglican & a Catholic or advised them to marry in C. of I. / C. of E. to ensure legality.

The Catholic Church accepted as canonically valid a marriage of a Catholic conducted according to the local civil law until 1909, when it required a Catholic to marry in the presence of a Catholic priest.

Re. baptisms. There was a custom in some places that sons of a "mixed marriage" were baptised in the father's denomination and daughters in the mother's. An Irish study based on 1901 & 1911 census showed that children were more likely to join their mother's denomination than their father's and even more so if a mother was R.C.
When were your ancestor's children born? Some Catholics in Ireland converted during the Great Famine. Evangelist groups were providing food relief. Those who converted at the time were referred to by their fellow Catholics as "taking the soup". Some re-joined the Catholic church later.
 
 

So is it possible that a Catholic woman might marry a CoI man and then "become" CoI and baptise their children in CoE churches?! The time frame I'm looking at is marriage in 1828 (which was in Corfu no idea of denomination) and then their children were born 1838-1843 in England?