Why did no one try to convert Ireland to Protestantism?

[Faeelin]

A question, inspired by a nationalist Irish coworker.

Why was there never an attempt by England to force the Irish to convert to Anglicism (Irishism? A Church of Ireland?) You had the Ulster plantations, but those weren't quite the same thing; that was an attempt at settlement, not an attempt to break Irish culture.

Or was there an attempt, and it was just so unsuccessful that there's no trace of it today?

[DGuller]

England didn't have any missionaries, its innovative slider was too high.

[Scipio]

The Ulster Plantation was about it.  Cromwell pretty much ruined the chance of conversion, anyway.

[garbon]

Wilie has an article about half-hearted attempts.

[Martinus]

I thought that the entire Orangist movement was about it, no? The fact is that where missionary activity is closely correlated with imperialistic colonisation/occupation, it is rarely effective, as the local church is seen / acts as a supporter of local nationalism as well. This is the same reason why Poland never really managed to convert Ukraine (or, during the brief sojourn there, Russia) to Catholicism, while itself staying Catholic during being partitioned between three powers, out of which only one was Catholic, and the other two were Orthodox and Protestant, respectively.

[Josephus]

England didn't have any missionaries, its innovative slider was too high.

[CountDeMoney]

God would not allow it.

[Viking]

Cause nobody cared. The "natives" were illiterate, irrelevant and subjugated. There were substantial numbers of protestant Irishmen and to the whole world as well as the Irish elites the natives were merely wallowing in backward Catholicism and once improved they would convert to civilized religion. Their Catholicism was just as relevant as any Englishman's Catholicism - it was a social, economic and political stigma. The great Irish revolts were usually led and organized by Presbyterians rather than Catholics (viz Wolf Tone). It's not until the Romantic Nationalism of the 1800's and the Emancipation Debates in England that Catholicism becomes associated with Irish Nationalism.

In short English tolerance (their innovative slider) which didn't much differentiate between an English Catholic (to be despised and ignored as much as possible) and an Irish Catholic.

[Sheilbh]

I'll have more when I get home from work. But a Church of Ireland was established (in all senses of the word) and oddly enough a number od great nationalists, like Yeats, came from it.

[garbon]

I'll have more when I get home from work. But a Church of Ireland was established (in all senses of the word) and oddly enough a number od great nationalists, like Yeats, came from it.

Yep.  Here's the brief wiki article I mentioned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_in_Ireland

[Admiral Yi]

Are there any examples of attempts by Protestants to convert Catholics, or vice versa?

[ulmont]

Are there any examples of attempts by Protestants to convert Catholics, or vice versa?

Elaborate.

[Neil]

Because not even the Christian god wants the Irish.

[Admiral Yi]

Are there any examples of attempts by Protestants to convert Catholics, or vice versa?

Elaborate.

Elaborate what?

[The Brain]

Are there any examples of attempts by Protestants to convert Catholics, or vice versa?

Elaborate.

Elaborate what?

On what you wrote.