Reopening of St Andrew’s Cathedral

The eagerly awaited reopening of St Andrew’s Cathedral next month is perhaps a good point for us to reflect on the history of the Cathedral. There seems to be an impression given that the Cathedral was built for and by Catholics from the Highlands.

I would have to question the historical accuracy of the claim that Catholics from the Highlands,
‘ helped swell Catholic numbers in the city and made the case for the building of St Andrew’s Cathedral in 1816.’ (Archbishop article in Herald prior to the Papal visit)
By looking at various Historical sources it is obvious that this is not the case. Handley in his monumental work , ‘ The Irish in Scotland’ p127 states with reference to St Andrew’s,
‘ It was the work of Rev. Andrew Scott, who courageously began its erection
in 1814 for his vast Irish flock and in spite of the industrial depression that
hit the city just at that time was able through the generosity of his congregation
to complete the building in 1816.’

Indeed Rev, later Bishop, Andrew Scott himself made clear that since 1795 there had been very few Scottish Catholics residing in Glasgow and in any one year the number of children born of Scottish parents did not amount to even twenty.
Below are Bishop Scott’s figures for Baptisms from 20th May 1795 to 1st January 1834.

Baptisms 1795 – 1834 Total – 20,981

The reason for the small number of Highland Catholics is quite easy to explain, most went to Canada or America. The case of the MacDonalds illustrates the point and also explains why Bishop Scott mentioned 1795 as a significant date.
Before 1795 the majority of the Catholics in Glasgow were of Highland stock .Mass had been celebrated from 1776 onwards by Bishop Hay and Bishop Geddes in a clandestine manner, first in High St, and later at the foot of the Saltmarket.
In the 1780’s a large colony of MacDonalds of Glengarry, on their way to America were forced to seek shelter from inclement weather and stayed on to work in the Glasgow Mills of the Monteith family. A priest from their native area joined them in 1792.Many of the MacDonalds left the city to join the regiment of Glengarry Fencibles in 1794.
In 1795 the remainder of this group, left Glasgow , along with clan members from Glengarry and sailed for America. They were accompanied by their pastor, Father Alexander MacDonald.
Thus ended the influence of the Scottish Highland Catholics in the city, their place was now taken by the Irish who arrived in greater numbers and had a much more dramatic effect on the city of Glasgow.
This point of how few Highland Catholics were in Glasgow is further reinforced by Cooney,
‘ In 1788 …..though only 20 Catholics mostly Highlanders were
living in that city.’ (Cooney 1982 p.13)

Professor Tom Devine has stated that,
‘Until the arrival of the Irish the membership of the Scottish Catholic Church made up less than 1%of the Scottish Population.’

In J.M.Bradley’s Ethnic and Religious Identity in Modern Scotland’we read

‘…….in 1805, the then priest Andrew Scott arrived in Glasgow
from the North of Scotland, the city’s only Priest had under him
450 parishioners.’

And again the same point is reinforced by Professor Tom Gallagher,

‘In 1805, when Andrew Scott came to the city, where he found
himself the only priest, he had 450 parishioners but, in less
than 5 years, the Irish had swelled the numbers to well over 3000.’

a. Professor T. Gallagher, ‘Glasgow the Uneasy Peace p.11
b. Also mentioned in Catholic Historical Review, L111,1967 p.3

It is safe to assume from Bishop Scott’s statement regarding Baptisms that the vast majority of the 450 souls were Irish. Even if the 450 souls (of 1805) were not Irish it is clear that by 1810 the Irish were by far the majority of the congregation backing Handleys findings that the Cathedral was built for a ‘ vast Irish flock’.
The contribution of the Irish to the reestablishment and development of the Church in Scotland is continually downplayed.

‘In Scotland the small numbers of ….., Lithuanian and Italian
migrants ( no more than 30,000 in all before 1945 ) paled into
insignificance alongside the massive Irish presence, especially
in the west-central part of the country.’

T.M. Devine The Scottish Nation,1700 – 2007,pp.507 – 522
I thought the Mass at Bellahouston was a missed opportunity for the Church to publicly and proudly mention the Irish contribution to the church here. The Holy Fathers words in Gaelic could also have been.
‘in recognition of the huge contribution by the people from Ireland to reviving
the faith in post-Reformation Glasgow..’
It would also have been a way to acknowledge the work of the 1,327 Irish born priests who gave 20,000 years of service between them to the Church in Scotland and built 208 parishes.
I write this letter to appeal to you on behalf of the poor people who arrived on these shores in the 18th and 19th centuries to acknowledge their work in rebuilding the Church in Scotland. These people were extremely poor financially but spiritually rich with the faith passed down from St Patrick, Columcille and Bridget. They gave from their small earnings to build schools and churches and in many cases a whole welfare system to care for their needy. It is unjust that they have been swept from the pages of history. The Irish community continues to make a very significant impact on the Church with the three new recently ordained priests all coming from the Irish community.
I trust that when the Cathedral reopens the history booklets will reflect the true story of the building of the Cathedral and not diminish the part played by the Irish.

Yours Sincerely
Patrick Mc Aleer