Unionism, nationalism and the Scottish Catholic Periphery, 1850-1930

This article investigates the relationship between nationalism, unionism and Catholicism between 1850 and 1930 and proposes that ideas about the Scottish nation and national identity had a strong connection with the re-emergence and development of Catholicism. The presence of a large Irish-born and Irish-descended Catholic population meant that although there was a peripheral sensitivity to Ireland and an intellectual curiosity with Home Rule, indigenous Catholics remained deeply committed to the Scottish nation within the British state.