If.*FH md. $r.nrydyr ffic Sm hJ on My Hfi r ryoud ly d,0 crthollc ehurch, They were alro eon:cloun of the throir thrt proictytlEm iored to the wellbeing of the foith of lrinh clstholies, In defenee oi thct'felth, there like-mindecl Cotholics suecceded in *rclclrcnning the religioun cnd Boeisl inequitiq of the poor, through cstablishing alternative, cothotic-bascd charitobte anrl educational institutions that matched and exceeded, perhaps, the eclucstion and temporal relief offered by the ICM and government-run institutions. The eonvergion of Connemara and conflict between Paul Cullen and John MacHale MIRIAM MOFFITT In the decades following the Famine, the catholic church in Ireland was divided into opposing factions centred on paul culen, the Rome-educated, ultramon- lane archbishop of Armagh and Dublin, and John MacHale, the Maynooth-educated, archbishop of ruam. Both men impacted considerably on the church, although cullen was arguabry more influential. cullen,s education and temperament, along with his total obedience and loyarty to the Holy see, and his-reluctance to support popurar cathoric agitation contrasted with MacHale,s disinclination towards Roman authority ,rrJ hi, support for popular political movements't These men had worked as allies during Cuflen,s tenure as rector of the Irish college in Rome, striving to diminish British interference in the catholic church in Ireland but, following cunen's appointment as archbishop of Armagh in December r84g, they soon came to oppose each other on almost every matter. I Tension between cullen and MacHale regarding proselytism should be viewed alongside their other conflicts, as these men opposed each other in matters of politics, education and ecclesiasticar power. This pap"., however, will explain how MacHale's unwillingness to address directry the threat posed by prosely- tizing missions in connemara strengthened cullen's hand in the ea.ry ig5os, and allowed him undermine his opponent's reputation in Rome by repeatedly drawing attention to the extent of proselytism in Tuam. It is clear, however, that even from the outset, MacHale and his clergy fought a determined and often vicious battle, using somewhat unorthodox methods. The Roman catholic church in Ireland was predictably alarmed when the society for Irish church Missions ro the Roman Catholics 1icl,l;, established an ambitious and aggressive proselytizing campaign in Famine-ravaged west- Galway in r 846. The location of the ICM's first mission in west-Galwa! reflecred a careful and judicious choice. The severity of the Famine in connema.a, coupred r Patrick J' Corish, 'Cardinal Cullen and Archbishop MacHale,, Irish Ecclesiastical Recorcl, gr Ggsg),4o7. 23r