Popery Act
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act to prevent the further Growth of Popery |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2 Anne c. 6 (I) |
| Territorial extent | Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 4 March 1704 |
| Commencement | 13 August 1878 |
| Repealed | 13 August 1878 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1878 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
An Act to prevent the further Growth of Popery (2 Anne c. 6 (I); commonly known as the Popery Act or the Gavelkind Act) was an act of the Parliament of Ireland that was passed in 1704 designed to suppress Roman Catholicism in Ireland ("Popery"). William Edward Hartpole Lecky called it the most notorious of the Irish Penal Laws.
Inheritance in traditional Irish law used gavelkind, whereby an estate was divided equally among a dead man's sons. In contrast, English common law used male primogeniture, with the eldest son receiving the entire estate. The 1704 act enforced gavelkind for Catholics and primogeniture for Protestants.