The following [excerpt] is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.
During the infamous Tithe War of 1831-38, all Irish occupants of land were required to pay an annual tithe (or religious tax) of 10% of the agricultural produce generated by that holding. This money was demanded from all landholders, irrespective of their religion, and was paid directly to the official state church, the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church of Ireland...
As you might expect, the predominantly Catholic population did not appreciate a tax that was to be paid to the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church. In 1831 many people refused to pay this tithe, and so started the Tithe War, which was fiercest in the southeast.... Those who refused to pay the tithes had much more personal information collected than did those who paid. The CD contains all personal details from the original files, as well as copious information about the parishes that the people resided in. The people most affected by the Tithe War are precisely those most affected by emigration and the famine in the next generation...
Surviving records cover 232 parishes in Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow. [1]
Kilkenny 35 (30 Bowe, 3 Boe, 1 Bow, 1 Bowes)
Laois 1 (1 Bowe)
Tipperary 8 (3 Bowe, 3 Bow, 2 Bowes)
Waterford 2 (1 Bowe, 1 Bowes)
Wexford 7 (2 Bowe, 4 Boe, 1 Bow)
The specific results are contained in a Tithe Defaulters spreadsheet.
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1. Dick Eastman, "CD-ROM The 1831 Tithe Defaulters," Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, 10 July 2011; e-newsletter, archived (http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2004/07/cdrom_the_1831_.html: accessed 10 July 2011.