Charitable Organisations and Charity Policy in Ireland

Ireland has a long history of charity and charitable giving rooted in a strong religious tradition. In the late 1700s, Protestant philanthropy helped to alleviate the physical and medical needs of the impoverished working classes. Beginning in 1770, the incremental waning of the Penal laws enabled the growth of Catholic charities. Following Catholic emancipation in 1829, greater Catholic clergy involvement in charitable activity emerged with religious involvement in philanthropy becoming more formalized in Irish society. In the late 19th century, religious charities provided many essential services in the fields of health care, education and social welfare. In the 20th century, many of these voluntary organizations partnered with the state to provide these services on its behalf while receiving its funded support. Research studies describe the Irish as a generous nation. Over the past ten years, the World Giving Index (CAF, 2019), drawn primarily from Gallup’s World View World Poll data, has ranked Ireland consistently in the top five in the global league of donors in terms of the percentage of people who donate money, volunteer time or help strangers.