TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury

disruption, and political frustration that enables these seeds to sprout and grow quickl y to full
hcight. 30
Moores places the issue of sectarianism In New Zealand into a larger perspective by
mentioning nineteenth-century middle class liberalism. This liberalism included a strand of
militant Protestantism and this contributed to sectarian tension. While down playing the
extent of sectarianism, Moores did state that "for a time in the early twentieth century,
sectarian and ethnic tensions came to playa major role in New Zealand life and politics")l
Sectarianism has been evident throughout New Zealand's history but during the late
nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, sectarianism was an obvious feature in the political
and social scenes. Both Moores)and O'Connors)focus on the P.P.A. emphasized Protestant
sectarianism and thus down played the contribution of Catholics to the tensions. Through
his study on Moran, Laracy emphasized Moran's suspicion of Protestants. This proves that
both sides added fuel to religious tensions through their prejudices and suspicions.
The next significant contribution to the research on the Irish in New Zealand was
Neil Yaney's thesis which highlighted the differences between Irish Catholics and the
French Priests on the West Coast. 32 Although Yaney deals with the Irish more in terms of
the Catholic Church he does reach the conclusion that there was very little theological
difference between the Irish and French priests but that in the political arena the Irish were
much more active. The issue of Home Rule was a notable example. An important feature
about Yaney's thesis was that it was a critique of Davis' work. Yaney felt that Davis relied
too much on the New Zealand Tablet for information and took the rhetoric of it and Moran
too seriously. Yaney sought to counter-balance this by his use of other archival resources.
10
3DJ;arold S. Moores, The Rise of the Protestant Political Association: Sectarianism in N.Z. during
World War I', University of Auckland, M.A., 1966, p. 6. See also Max Satchell, 'Pulpit Politics: The
Protestant Political Association in Dunedin from 1917 to 1922', University of Otago, B.A. (Hons),
1983.
3 IIbid., p. IS.
32Neil Yaney, The Dual Tradition, Irish Catholics and French Priests in New Zealand: The West Coast
Experience, 1865- 19\0', University of Canterbury, M.A ., 1