parish vestry

parish vestry, meetings of parishioners to provide for the collection and expenditure of parochial rates. The Church of Ireland's status as an established church should in theory have made its parishes units of local government as well as ecclesiastical organization. In practice, with church members accounting for one in eight or less of the population, this was often not possible. In parts of Ulster, in some of the larger towns and cities, and in a few other areas, the parish vestry nevertheless became involved in a range of civil functions: the relief of poverty and the control of vagrants, the appointment of constables and provision for a night‐time watch, sanitary services, and the upkeep of roads. In some cases a distinction was maintained between the select vestry, consisting of ratepayers who were members of the Church of Ireland, which dealt with matters relating to the upkeep of the church and its staff, and the general vestry, which all ratepayers could attend, and which dealt with secular functions.