Religious conflict in Ireland has had a long history. This course offers a case study of religious conflict in the copper-mining community of Bunmahon, Co. Waterford. By the time an English evangelical clergyman, Rev. David Alfred Doudney, came to the area in 1847 intense exploitation of its copper resources had begun. Depression in the industry followed by famine spurred Doudney to initiate educational and industrial establishments to help the poor and deprived of the area, children particularly. He espoused self-reliance and enterprises which were considered to have positive effects. These initiatives brought him into conflict with Catholic clergy who suspected him of engaging in proselytism. Doudney was more interested in encouraging a more vital Christianity in opposition to the nominalism he found around him whether among Catholics or Protestants, rather than in forced religions conversion. However, such a distinction was unclear at popular level. In the rising tensions that ensued and against the backdrop of a suspected suicide, Doudney was the object of bigoted opposition, a narrow xenophobia, and of threats to his life, that together forced his departure. Not without blemish himself for, characteristic of the Victorian age, he articulated a strong anti-Catholic rhetoric which he directed against the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church. The course is grounded in the economic, social, and religious context of the period, and provides fresh insights into interactions between Protestants and Catholics at a critical time for denominational relations in Ireland.