Quakers in Ireland

The Quakers have been in Ireland since the mid-17th century and in their fourth century here they remain strong in spirit and social commitment. Today, around 1,600 Quakers live in Ireland: 500 in Leinster, mostly in Dublin, another 200 in Munster, and about 900 in the North. The only province of Ireland where the Quakers failed to settle was Connacht; they never had a meeting house further west than Moate, Co. Westmeath

The first Quaker, who arrived in Ireland from the north of England, was William Edmundson. He came to Antrim in 1653 shortly after the movement had been founded. Edmundson quickly moved to Lurgan, Co Armagh, where the following year, the first Quaker meeting house in Ireland was established. Fox himself came to Ireland in 1669.ln Ireland, the newly arrived Quakers often faced persecution, but they persisted and were eventually accepted. One of the best known early Quakers here was William Penn, who came here in 1666 to manage his father's estates in east Cork.

More at   http://www.catholicireland.net/pages/index.php?nd=47&art=622

Irish Friends  http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/home/