Conclusion

Summary

This conclusion begins by showing how money and religion had become intertwined in the minds of many Irish Catholics by the end of the period under review, by way of a row that erupted over the design of new coinage in the new Irish Free State. It goes on to argue that the book’s findings have implications for understanding of the Church’s place in the wider economy, for how power operated in the relationship between Church and laity, and for our understanding of the roles played by the laity in the so-called ‘devotional revolution’. It finally argues that a more intimate portrait of the Catholic population has been achieved through the book’s focus on their everyday financial transactions with their Church.