On October 23, 1662, the Parliament of Ireland passes an act ordering that October 23 be observed annually as a day of thanksgiving for what it describes as deliverance from the Irish Rebellion of 1641. This rebellion, which began on the same date in 1641, was led by Irish Catholics against English and Protestant rule, and it triggered widespread violence, massacres, and deepened sectarian divisions.
The 1641 Rising started with a planned coup by Irish gentry and military officers to end English domination, restore confiscated Catholic lands, and secure Irish self-government. It quickly escalated into the Irish Confederate Wars (1641–1653), part of the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The conflict saw large-scale expulsions and killings of Protestant settlers, especially in Ulster, and the creation of an alternative Catholic-led government in Kilkenny.
By 1662, the Parliament of Ireland’s act institutionalizes the memory of the uprising in a way that reinforces Protestant identity. For over a century, Protestant churches across Ireland hold annual services on October 23 to commemorate their survival and to frame the rebellion as evidence of Catholic disloyalty. This state-sponsored remembrance becomes a symbolic cornerstone of Protestant identity in Ireland throughout the 18th century.
The observance is formalized with a form of divine service to be used on the day, and notices are issued for congregations to gather for thanksgiving services. The act thus not only commemorates a historical event but also serves as a political and religious statement, embedding the memory of the 1641 Rising into the Protestant cultural and political consciousness of Ireland.
