Ministers' money facts for kids

Ministers' money was a special tax that people living in certain towns in Ireland had to pay. This money was used to support the local minister of the Church of Ireland. It started in 1665, was changed a bit in 1827, and finally stopped in 1857.

The towns where this tax was collected included Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda, Kilkenny, Clonmel, and Kinsale.

What Was Ministers' Money?

Ministers' money was like a small fee on houses. It was a tax of up to one shilling for every pound (which is about 5%) of a property's value. This value was decided by special people chosen by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, who was like the King's representative. The highest value a property could be taxed on was £60.

Local church officials called Churchwardens collected this money. They collected it four times a year on specific days: Christmas, Lady Day (March 25th), St John's Day (June 24th), and Michaelmas (September 29th).

In Dublin, a law from 1723 said that the same property value could be used for both ministers' money and another local tax called "cess." Cess was used for public projects and helping the poor. Because of this, people often talked about cess rates based on how much ministers' money was paid.

Why Was Ministers' Money Unpopular?

Ministers' money was not liked by many people for a few reasons:

• It was unfair: It was a regressive tax, meaning it took a larger percentage of income from poorer people than from richer people.
• It was only in Catholic towns: This tax was only collected in towns where most people were Catholic. Many felt it was unfair to pay for a Protestant church when they were Catholic.
• Old property values: The value of properties used for the tax was not updated very often. This meant some people might be paying based on an old value, even if their property had lost value or if they had improved it.

In the countryside, a similar tax called tithes caused a lot of anger. This led to the Tithe War in the 1830s. Eventually, the Tithe Commutation Act 1838 changed tithes into "tithe-rentcharges," which were easier to manage. However, this change did not apply to ministers' money.

Efforts to Abolish the Tax

Many people tried to get rid of ministers' money.

• In 1838, a famous politician named Daniel O'Connell suggested linking ministers' money to the Irish Poor Law, but his idea was not used.
• In 1848, a special committee in the British Parliament said the tax should be stopped.
• Members of Parliament (MPs) like Francis Murphy (in 1842 and 1844) and William Trant Fagan (six times between 1847 and 1854) proposed motions to end the tax.
• In 1846, people from Cork sent a petition (a formal request) to the House of Lords asking for the tax to be abolished.

How the Tax Was Abolished

In 1854, Sir John Young, who was the Chief Secretary for Ireland, introduced a new law. This law reduced the tax by one-quarter. It also made local town councils (borough corporations or town commissioners) responsible for collecting the money, instead of the ministers.

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners of Ireland then sent the money from the town councils to the ministers. They also made up the missing one-quarter from their own funds.

Finally, in 1857, William Fagan and Francis Beamish introduced a private member's bill (a law proposed by an individual MP, not the government). This bill was successful! It replaced ministers' money with direct payments to ministers from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

Some people in the Church of Ireland were unhappy with this new law. They felt it was like taking away church property. They also worried it was a step towards the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland, which meant the church would no longer be the official state church. This eventually happened with the Irish Church Act 1869.