Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(usu. Anglo-Irish) a Protestant, as used by Roman Catholics.

1919		E. Dyson ‘The Single-Handed Team’ in ‘Hello, Soldier!’ 102: He’s Roman, I’m a sort of Proddy.
1924		Gippsland Times (Vic.) 15 Sept. 1/4: He isn’t bothered either by the ’Proddies’ or the ‘Mics’.
1959		I. & P. Opie Lore and Lang. of Schoolchildren (1977) 396: In Ireland, both north and south, Catholics are ‘Cathies’ and Protestants ‘Proddy-woddys’. In Staines Catholics are ‘Roman Candles’, and R.C. children call the Protestants ‘Old Proddy Dogs’.
1961		(con. 1930s) D. Behan Teems of Times and Happy Returns 56: All Protestants were rich and wore good clothes and didn’t play in the streets. They were sissies, and when fellas saw them [...] they used to shout ‘Proddie Dog’.
1964		J.A. Lee Shiner Slattery 16: The Catholics, no doubt, sang the same refrain to ‘Proddy Dog’.
1970		C. Brown Down All the Days 124: ‘Proddywhoddy, go home!’ they chanted! [...] ‘Bloody poxy Proddywhoddy!’.
1979		P. Adams Unspeakable Adams 189: PRODDY DOGS: State school children of both sexes. God did not love them enough to make them Catholics.
1985		B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 132: They are generally well-heeled Proddies who never had a convict in the family.
1986		(con. 1910s) P. O’Farrell Tell me, Sean O’Farrell 38: We would retaliate again: Proddy, Proddy on the wall / Proddy, Proddy, going to fall.
1989		H. Leonard Out After Dark 95: If they ask you, say you’re a Proddy-dog.
1993		R. Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha 13: He was a Protestant, a proddy, and he was older than us.
1994		F. Mac Anna Ship Inspector 156: Trust a proddie to come back from the dead.
2000		N. Griffiths Grits 124: Saw a tattered group uv crippled Proddies on a march.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl.
2009		P. McCabe Holy City 183: One wee tickle and, boys, the Proddy, didn’t she go and let out the scared light.
2009		P. Temple Truth 343: Not Catholic, are you?’ ‘No [...] Proddy dog. Lapsed.’.
2012		(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 134: The proddies and the papes [...] distilled fae the dregs ay European Christendom’s most blood-simple white tribes.