4 - Canonicity and Radical Evangelicalism: The Case of Thomas Kelly

Summary

The Early Printed Books collection of the Library of Trinity College Dublin holds copies of some of the many versions and editions of hymnbooks produced by Dublin evangelical clergyman and secessionist Thomas Kelly (1769–1854). Among its holdings is a copy of the sixth edition (1826) of Kelly's Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture which is inscribed ‘For Lady Powerscourt’. Theodosia Wingfield, Lady Powerscourt was the widow of the fifth Viscount Powerscourt, the chatelaine of the great Powerscourt estate in County Wicklow, and a person of definite significance in Irish society. At first glance, such a personage might seem an unlikely recipient for the gift of a small volume of hymns, written by an enthusiastic evangelical who had seceded from the established church, and established a denomination of his own. The fact that the gift was perfectly chosen, and eminently suitable is an indication of the extent of the impact that radical evangelicalism was having on the shape of Irish society. This chapter will outline this impact by examining the contents of this and other volumes, considering the significance of the hymns written and published by Kelly.

That the close of the eighteenth century was a time of unprecedented social upheaval is an historical truism. Revolutions in France and America, armed uprising in Ireland and increased social unrest in England seemed to be the harbingers of a cataclysmic reordering of established society. The world, it appeared, was changing, violently and irrevocably. And this social transformation was echoed in a far-reaching religious transformation. As evangelicalism began to prosper, the assumptions that had underpinned generations of religious life were vigorously questioned.