Maria Steen’s brave failure proves Catholicism in Ireland isn't finished yet

Within a matter of mere decades, the Emerald Isle has shifted from a state synonymous with devotional – at least – Catholicism, to one that flaunts its progressive credentials on the international stage, showing little reverence for the religion of its ancestors.

That is surely one of the reasons – if not the reason – why Maria Steen’s recent bid to become Ireland’s next president drew so much attention over in Ireland; here was someone unashamed of her Catholic faith and to a great extent popular with large swathes of the public for her uncompromising positions on matters of morality and religion.

Steen’s emergence as a popular presidential prospect, albeit one who was sidelined by the establishment, gives hope of a country falling back in love with the forgotten faith of its forebears.

The establishment elites like to paint Ireland as a liberal utopia, unshackled from the supposedly oppressive Catholicism of yesteryear. And, admittedly, they have good cause to believe it to be so. Mass attendance has steadily declined since the 1970s and has never recovered; Covid compounded the drop off in Sunday worship with up to a 40 per cent decrease in Mass attendance since the pandemic.

Even the cultural Catholicism of the Irish seems to be diminishing, with Catholic weddings decreasing from over 60 per cent of marriages a decade ago to only 35 per cent in 2023. And there’s no denying the depressing significance of a mostly Catholic population being the first country to approve same-sex marriage through a national popular vote as Ireland did in 2015, followed by Ireland’s approving of a constitutional amendment in 2018 that removed pro-life safeguards.

It’s easy to see how the liberal establishment thinks Ireland is too cool for church.

But despite Steen not quite making the ballot for the Irish presidential election – which raises separate questions about the democratic deficit at the heart of the process for how someone does make the ballot – the wide public support she garnered suggests that traditional Catholic values still hold a place in an ever liberal Irish state.

Indeed, if Steen, a homeschooling mother of five, who is renowned for her pro-life, pro-family and pro-traditional marriage views, can fare as well as she did, the Catholic values Steen represents cannot be so anathema to the public consciousness.  

Some would like us to believe it not to be so. Irish politician Michael McDowell suggests: “As a liberal, I feel that [Steen’s] election would have been a step backwards for the Ireland I believe in.” But Steen’s popularity rebukes the idea that the cultural conservatism of Catholic Ireland is as misplaced and inappropriate as folks like McDowell like to tout.

After all, when asked last year to vote on an amendment to the constitution, which would have effectively erased the state’s (long-neglected) obligations to women in the home, the Irish people saw sense and firmly rejected such a daft amendment. The wave of liberal secularism can only sweep so far.

Granted, there is still a big gap between disenfranchised conservatives pushing back and a full-scale Catholic revival – but there is more than one glimmer of hope in the Emerald Isle. At an Easter Vigil Mass in Dublin this year, a record high number of adults were baptised into the Catholic faith. Not to mention that last year, 21 men began studying for the priesthood – the highest number in over a decade.

In the wider Catholic sphere, initiatives like Mater Dei Academy and Mater Dei Education fill a vacuum in the Catholic education landscape by providing an authentic Catholic curriculum to help form the minds and souls of Ireland’s young people.

Of course, these may be drops in the ocean compared with the tidal wave of liberal, progressive values sweeping across mainstream society. But from small seeds can grow great shoots.

And Ireland knows all too well about punching above its weight when it comes to cultural and religious influence. It was Ireland, after all, that helped preserve the treasures of Christianity during the Dark Ages.

The monks and monasteries of Ireland of today might not spur the next revival of Christianity – but perhaps its homeschooling mother of five will.

Steen, at least, has given a credible voice to the cause of Catholic inspired social conservatism. Let’s hope this is just the start of something better to come.

RELATED: A lost chance for Ireland: the cynical scuppering of Maria Steen’s candidacy

Photo: Maria Steen (screenshot from mariasteen.ie)