Penal Laws (Ireland)

In Ireland, Penal Laws are a series of laws imposed in an attempt to force Irish Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters (such as Presbyterians) to accept the reformed denomination as defined by the English state established Anglican Church and practised by members of the Irish state established Church of Ireland. All remaining penal laws were finally repealed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (that is, before the separation of the Irish Free State) by the Government of Ireland Act 1920.