Why Was Catholic Emancipation Such a Big Issue?

In Ireland there had been a long period of hostility and injustice towards Catholicism, the Church of England was funded by taxes which had to be paid by non-Angelicans, for instance non-conformists or Catholics and up until 1829 Catholics were not allowed to vote, sit in parliament or serve public office. The Corporation Act (1661) and the Test Act (1672) had imposed religious tests on all public officeholders, effectively excluding all Roman Catholics from taking any kind of position. within parliament and any who did not take the test were legally discriminated against.
The established church in Ireland was the Church of England but as the Roman Catholics were the majority within Ireland the Church of England felt severely threatened by them. It's response was to suppress the Roman Catholic people in Ireland with a series of laws and imposed taxes. …