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Cornell University Library 
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 History of the Catholic archbishops of D 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 029 384 165 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
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HISTORY 
 
 CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOPS OF DUBLIN, 
 
 SINCE THE REFORMATION. 
 
 THE REV. DR. MOEAN, 
 
 VICE-RECTOR OF THE IRISH COLLEUE, ROME. 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 DUBLIN : 
 JAMES DUFFY, 15, WELLINGTON-QUAY; 
 
 LONDON: 22, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 1864. 
 
If 67 
 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 
 gritrfei» h« |. g[. O'ffoale * Son, 
 
 e <fe 7, GT. BRUNSWICK-ST. 
 
TO THE 
 
 VENERABLE CHAPTER AND THE CATHOLIC CLERGY, 
 
 Secular anb ^tgttlnr, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DIOCESE OF DUBLIN. 
 
 Having completed, after long and careful researches, the first 
 volume of the History of the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin 
 since the Reformation, I take the liberty of dedicating it to you, 
 as a proof of my profound respect and veneration for the 
 virtues and merits by which you are distinguished — virtues 
 and merits which may be considered as hereditary, having 
 been handed down to you by your illustrious predecessors in 
 the ministry, who laboured so assiduously for the preservation 
 of religion, and contributed so largely to the triumph of the 
 true faith in Ireland — thus securing for our country a name 
 glorious among the Catholic nations of the earth. 
 
 During the period treated of in the part of the first volume 
 now about to appear, the ancient Church of Dublin passed 
 through the most trying ordeal and suffered the severest perse- 
 cutions, whilst at the same time it was deprived of the protection 
 and guidance of legitimate chief pastors ; but through the zeal 
 and devotedness of the Metropolitan Chapter and Clergy, the 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 flock was preserved from the ravages of heresy and the poison 
 of error. 
 
 Intruded, in the year 1535, by Henry VIII., into the see of 
 St. Laurence, without canonical election or sanction, Dr. Brown, 
 previously an agent of Cranmer, and imbued with his heterodox 
 opinions, employed all his influence and energy for nearly 
 twenty years in laying waste and plundering the fold of Christ, 
 and in vain attempts to pervert the Catholics of Dublin. 
 
 His career of rapine and destruction having been brought to 
 an end, another Englishman, Hugh Curwin, though he had 
 previously given his adhesion to the usurped supremacy of 
 Henry VIII., was promoted to the metropolitan see of Leinster 
 by Queen Mary, in the delusive hope that he would contribute 
 to protect the true religion ; but after a short episcopate of about 
 three years, when Elizabeth came to the throne, that unhappy 
 man betrayed the trust placed in him, returned to the principles 
 which he had professed many years before, and preferring the 
 smiles of the court to the discharge of his solemn engagements, 
 fell away miserably from the faith. 
 
 When this apostate's unworthy conduct rendered it necessary 
 to translate him to an English reformed see, Elizabeth, in the 
 exercise of a power received from man, not from God, deputed 
 another Englishman, Dr. Loftus, one of her own favourites, to 
 establish the Reformation in Dublin — a task to which he devoted 
 himself for nearly forty years, manifesting in all his pro- 
 ceedings a spirit of avarice and rapacity, and a deeply-rooted 
 hatred of everything Irish and Catholic, and marking his career 
 by persecution and bloodshed, in a way sufficient to prove that 
 he was no minister of the Gospel of charity. 
 
 After a vacancy of almost seventy years, during which the 
 See of Dublin groaned under the usurped authority of the three 
 first Protestant bishops, who, without any spiritual jurisdiction, 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 and as mere government agents, enjoyed its temporalities, 
 Catholic prelates were again, through the paternal providence 
 of the Roman Pontiffs, appointed to govern the diocese ; but 
 such was the violence of persecution near the seat of govern- 
 ment, that for more than a century after the death of Elizabeth, 
 the canonically appointed archbishops died either in prison or 
 exile. 
 
 Whilst heathens had thus come into the inheritance of the 
 Lord, and denied His holy temple, and poured the blood of the 
 faithful as water round about Jerusalem, is it not a source of 
 great glory to the Chapter and Clergy of Dublin, that during 
 those sad times they watched over and defended their flocks 
 with heroic fortitude and self-sacrifice, and preserved them 
 from all the open and perfidious assaults of their enemies? 
 Though left without the watchful care and spiritual guidance of 
 a bishop, and deprived of every earthly possession, and subject 
 to the terror of the penal laws, with the sword always hanging 
 over their heads, nothing could make them flinch from duty, 
 or consent to obey man rather than God. In his correspondence 
 with the government, the great father of the Reformation in 
 Ireland, Dr. Brown, was repeatedly obliged to confess that he 
 scarcely found an adherent amongst the Chapter and Clergy of 
 Dublin, and that their courage and constancy rendered it im- 
 possible for him to carry out his views ; and, at a later period, 
 Dr. Loftus often declared that there was no chance of estab- 
 lishing Protestantism in your Metropolis except by stringent 
 penal laws and persecution. 
 
 Is it not also a glorious privilege of the children of St. Lau- 
 rence, that, whilst defending religion in their own district, they 
 contributed largely to its preservation in other dioceses? One 
 of the most heroic defenders of the faith in the days of Elizabeth, 
 was Dr. Leverous, dean of St. Patrick's, who, whilst retaining 
 
VI DEDICATION. 
 
 that dignity, governed the diocese of Kildare and preserved it 
 from the contagion of heresy. At the same period, a dean of 
 Christ's Church was bishop of the faithful Catholics of 
 Kerry; a priest of Dublin, holding a parish in that city, 
 governed the diocese of Leighlin; and, a little later, a vicar 
 of St. Mary's was apostolic administrator of the diocese of 
 Raphoe. 
 
 When the prayers of the faithful were at length heard, and 
 God, who commands the winds and the waves, and changes the 
 hearts of princes, had restored peace to the Irish Church, were 
 the Chapter and Clergy of Dublin found wanting to their ancient 
 traditions, or did they show themselves unworthy of their 
 glorious predecessors ? On the contrary, as soon as persecution 
 had ceased, they displayed the greatest energy in building up 
 the walls of Jerusalem, and collecting the scattered stones of 
 the sanctuary. How many beautiful churches now adorn your 
 city and diocese? How many schools have you established? 
 How many colleges, convents, and monasteries have sprung up 
 under your fostering care ? And, above all, what an impulse 
 have you not given to deeds of piety and charity, and to the 
 practice of every Christian virtue and good work ! 
 
 Besides, how many zealous missionaries have been sent from 
 among you to found or adorn new and distant churches ? Do 
 not the archiepiscopal sees of Baltimore, St. Louis, and Halifax, 
 and the episcopal sees of Toronto and Chicago in America; 
 of Capetown and Grahamstown in Africa; of Adelaide and 
 Queensland in Australia; and of Bombay, in Asia, owe an 
 immense debt of gratitude to Dublin for supplying them with 
 pastors, who have rendered great services to them in the past, 
 or are still toiling for their welfare ? amongst whom may be 
 mentioned one whose loss we had so lately to deplore, Dr. 
 Kenrick, the Archbishop of Baltimore, whose name will be 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 ever in benediction in the Church of God, and whose works 
 are a standing monument of his learning and piety. 
 
 Let me, then, conclude by again offering to you the work 
 in which I am engaged, and which is closely connected 
 with the history of the Chapter and Clergy of Dublin, 
 though principally directed to describe the lives of those 
 Prelates who presided over your diocese, and who fought the 
 good fight, and preserved the faith. I regret the work is not 
 more worthy of your acceptance. However, it contains many 
 facts that will serve to illustrate the origin of Protestantism, 
 and to show that it was propagated by violence, confiscation of 
 property, penal laws, and cruel persecutions, and that the 
 principal agents employed to establish it in Ireland, were men 
 remarkable for their avarice and rapacity, their cruelty and 
 immorality. What a contrast does its history present with that 
 of the early Christians, who propagated the faith of Christ by 
 prayer, by good works, by submitting to persecution, by deeds 
 of charity, and by returning good for evil ; not by force, or the 
 confiscation of the property of others, or the terror of cruel 
 laws ! What a contrast, also, between the conduct of the first 
 Reformers in Ireland and the lives of your predecessors, who, in 
 patience and suffering, preserved the lamp of faith during the 
 long night of persecution, and who edified the world by their 
 constancy and courage, and by the odour of their virtues, 
 handing down a glorious inheritance, which your piety and 
 zeal will, in turn, transmit, pure and unsullied, to future gene- 
 rations ! 
 
 In fine, I trust that the chronological series of the Irish 
 Catholic Bishops, during the reign of Elizabeth, given in the 
 Appendix to this Introduction, will convince the learned and 
 impartial Very Rev. Dr. Todd that he was mistaken when he 
 asserted, in his preface to the Life of St. Patrick, that in the 
 
Vlll DEDICATION. 
 
 sixteenth century " the original Irish Church, properly so 
 called, having merged into the Church of the English Pale, 
 adopted the Reformation." The most authentic records of 
 history which we have consulted, show that the general series 
 of Catholic Bishops was never interrupted in Ireland ; that the 
 Catholic Bishops of the Pale, as well as those of every other 
 part of the kingdom, were faithful to their trust, and " never 
 adopted the Reformation ;" and that the Protestant Bishops 
 who were intruded into Irish sees had no claim to apostolical 
 succession, and no right to episcopal jurisdiction, having derived 
 whatever powers they possessed from mere secular authority, 
 and from a most corrupt source, the despotic enactments of 
 Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth. Through the protection 
 of Heaven, and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin 
 and St. Patrick, the Catholic people of Ireland and their 
 clergy have always been faithful to their religion ; and confis- 
 cation of property and penal laws, and persecution, and the 
 sword, have been in vain employed to separate them from the 
 rock of Peter, and from the true faith, which overcometh the 
 world. 
 
 With profound respect, 
 
 I have the honour to be 
 
 Your very obedient servant, 
 
 P. F. MORAN. 
 
 Irish College, St. Agatha, Rome, 
 
 Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord, 1864. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOPS OF DUBLIN 
 
 SINCE THE REFORMATION. 
 
 TO THE READER. 
 
 The following introductory chapters may be found useful, 
 in preparing the reader for the perusal of the history of the 
 holy and illustrious Irish Catholic Archbishops who filled the 
 see of Dublin since the Reformation. In this introduction, 
 the first attempts to root out the ancient religion of Ireland, 
 the unworthy arts by which the Catholic Church was assailed, 
 and the evil effects of the Reformation, are briefly described, 
 and a sketch is given of the long and cruel persecutions which 
 our forefathers, emulating the constancy of the early Chris- 
 tians, so gloriously suffered for their faith, in the days of 
 Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth. The sad condition to which 
 the confiscation of Catholic property, the destruction of colleges 
 and monasteries, the dispersion of the clergy, violence and penal 
 laws — the offspring of a cruel and hypocritical despotism — 
 had reduced our country at that period, will explain why the 
 see of Dublin was so long deprived of pastors during the 
 sixteenth century. At the same time every Irish Catholic, 
 when considering the calamities which fell on our country in 
 
TO THE READER, 
 
 the unhappy days of the Reformation, cannot but be filled with 
 gratitude to God, for having preserved our ancient and vener- 
 able Church, from the destruction with which she was menaced 
 by so many powerful and perfidious enemies ; and having 
 protected her in a miraculous manner, through centuries of 
 darkness and desolation. The goodness of God, the power of 
 faith, that victory which overcometh the world, were never 
 more fully displayed than in the period to which we refer. 
 The introduction is divided into four chapters : — • 
 
 1. The first efforts of the English government to introduce 
 the Reformation into Ireland. 
 
 2. The appointment of Hugh Curwin to the see of Dublin, 
 and his apostacy. 
 
 3. Vacancy of the see after the apostacy of Curwin, and 
 how the diocese was administered until the end of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 4. Persecution of the Irish Catholics during the reign of 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 To these chapters we add an Appendix, containing an 
 account of the succession of the Catholic bishops in the 
 various sees of Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth. The 
 facts stated in this appendix will show, that the succession of 
 our Irish Catholic bishops has remained unbroken, that the 
 people of Ireland never abandoned the true faith, and that the 
 theories of Dr. Mant, and of Dr. Todd in his late life of St. 
 Patrick, on this subject, are without foundation. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT TO 
 INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 1. Mission of the Protestant Archbishop Dr. Browne to the Irish Catholics. — 
 2. Royal Supremacy sanctioned by Parliament, 1536-7. — 3. Other Acts of 
 Parliament in favour of the Reformation. — 4. Zeal of the Protestant Arch- 
 bishop in the same cause : Destruction of Crosses, Images, Relics, Church 
 Ornaments, and the Crozier of St. Patrick — 5. Suppression of Monasteries. — 
 6. Sufferings of Religious Orders. — 7. Other efforts of Government to pro- 
 mote the Reformation. — 8. Character of Reformers in Ireland. — 9. Refor- 
 mation fails in Ireland under Henry VIII. 
 
 1. — Mission of Doctor George Browne to the Irish Catholics. 
 
 An English Augustinian friar, by name George Browne, was 
 the individual chosen by Henry the Eighth to unfurl in Ireland 
 the standard of revolt against the authority of the Holy See. 
 Dr. Browne had been for many years a courtier of the English 
 monarch, and for some time before his advancement to the see 
 of Dublin, had held the lucrative post of confidential agent of 
 archbishop Cranmer. He, moreover, enjoyed the friendship 
 of lord Cromwell, and in 1534 formed part of a commission 
 specially destined to prepare the way in Ireland for the important 
 step of reformation, then contemplated by Henry. This com- 
 mission, indeed, was in many respects a complete failure ; never- 
 theless, it obtained one result, which was hailed by the courtiers 
 with all the joy of a glorious triumph — that, forsooth, the earl 
 of Ossory and his son, when entering on the government of 
 the counties of Kilkenny, Waterford, and Tipperary, in the 
 month of May, 1534, should consent to pledge themselves " to 
 resist the usurpation of the bishop of Rome," and assign, as the 
 cause of all the evils which then pressed heavily upon our 
 
FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 island, " the manner in which the Pope had exercised his 
 authority in filling up the Irish benefices."* 
 
 The vacancy of the archiepiscopal see of Dublin, caused by 
 the assassination of Dr. Allen, in July, 1534, presented a 
 favourable opportunity of testing what blessings might result to 
 our church, by setting aside the privilege of the Roman Pontiff, 
 and filling up the Irish sees by the sole authority of the English 
 crown. Accordingly, in the beginning of March, 1535, we 
 find Dr. Browne appointed by Henry to the diocese of Dublin ; 
 a few days later, without receiving any confirmation from Rome,t 
 he was consecrated by Cranmer, and, moreover, in compliance 
 with the schismatical act lately passed in the English parliament, 
 the new prelate received — not from the tombs of the apostles, 
 but from the archbishop of Canterbury^ — the pallium and 
 other insignia of his high dignity. 
 
 It is a great error of some writers to reckon Dr. Browne 
 amongst the Catholic successors of St. Laurence OToole.§ He 
 had no more claim to the title of Catholic archbishop of Dublin 
 than has Dr. Whately at the present day.|| Even Ussher, 
 in his sketch of the early career of Dr. Browne, attributes 
 his favour with the king to his having rejected the doctrines of 
 Rome ; and Dr. Mant describes him before his appointment to 
 the see of Dublin, as a man " whose mind was happily freed 
 from the thraldom of popery," whilst he adds, that " the arrival 
 of the archbishop in his diocese was the first step taken by the 
 reformation in Ireland."f 
 
 Were further evidence required on this head, we would find 
 it in the letter of king Henry to the archbishop on the 7th of 
 July, 1537, from which we give some extracts, as it clearly 
 
 * State Pap. See Haverty, ' ' History of Ireland, " page 360. 
 
 T Haverty, page 378, well remarks that Browne, at the time he was conse- 
 crated, was a professing Protestant. 
 
 J Harris's Ware, page 348. 
 
 § Dr. Browne himself, writing to Cromwell on 8th of January, 1538 (State 
 Pap,, vol. ii. p. 539), says, " it hath pleased his most excellent highness (the 
 king) through your good lordship's preferment, to make me under his grace, 
 a spiritual officer, and chief over the clergy ;" and again, " there is never an 
 archbishop nor bishop but myself, made by the king, but he is repelled even 
 now by provision." 
 
 || A MS. notice of our Irish bishops, written in 1579, and preserved in the 
 Vatican, describes the see of Dublin as vacant since the death of its archbishop 
 in the reign of Henry VIII. Per obitum epi. tempore Henrici Beois." 
 
 IF "Hist, of the Church of Ireland," vol. i. pp. Ill, 112. 
 
Chap.I. 2.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 5 
 
 traces the true source of the mission of this first English Pro- 
 testant bishop to the Irish church : — 
 
 " Right reverend father in God, trusty and well-beloved, we greet 
 you well, signifying unto you, that whereas before your promotion and 
 advancement to that order, dignity, and authority of an archbishop, you 
 showed an appearance of such entire zeal and affection, as well to the 
 setting forth and preaching the sincere word of God, and avoiding of 
 all superstition used against the honour of the same, as to employ 
 yourself always diligently, for your part, to procure the good further- 
 ance of any of our affairs, as much as in you lay, and might appear 
 to be to our contentment and satisfaction, that thinking your mind to 
 be so earnestly fixed upon the same that you would persevere and 
 continue still in that your good purpose : ... do then your 
 duty towards us in the advancement of our affairs there, and in the 
 signification hither, from time to time, of the state of the same, and 
 we shall put your former negligence in oblivion. If this will not 
 serve to induce you to it, but that you will still so persevere in your 
 fond folly and ungrateful ungentleness, that you cannot remember 
 what we have done, and how much above many others you be bound 
 in all the points before touched, to do your duty, let it sink into your 
 remembrance, that we be as able for the not doing thereof, to remove 
 you again and to put another man of more virtue and honesty in your 
 place, both for our discharge against God, and for the comfort of our 
 good subjects there, as we were at the beginning to prefer you, upon 
 hope that you would iu the same do your office, as to your profession, 
 and our opinion conceived of you, appertaineth." — (State Papers, vol. 
 ii. p. 465.) 
 
 2. — Hie Royal Supremacy receives the sanction of Parliament,. 1536-7. 
 
 Soon after his arrival in Ireland, Dr. Browne received a formal 
 letter from lord Cromwell, acquainting him with " the royal 
 will and pleasure of his majesty, that his subjects in Ireland, 
 even as those of England, should obey his commands in spiritual 
 matters as in temporal, and renounce their allegiance to the see 
 of Rome." At the same time a new commission was formed, and 
 the archbishop was appointed one of its chief members, for 
 carrying into effect his majesty's desires.* 
 
 The reply of the archbishop sets forth the difficulty of carry- 
 ing such a scheme into effect, on account of the devoted 
 
 * See "The Phoenix," or Collection of "Scarce and Valuable Pieces," 
 printed in London, 1707, vol. i. number 5. " The Life and Death of George 
 Browne," written by "Robert Ware. The same life is inserted in the English 
 edition of sir James Ware's Annals, between the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth. 
 
6 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [I.NTBOD. 
 
 attachment of our island- to the chair of Peter ; and suggests as 
 the only remedy, the convening of a new parliament. His letter 
 is as follows : — * 
 
 " 5Iy most Honoured Lord — Tour humble servant, receiving your 
 mandate as one of his highness's commission ers, hath endeavoured, 
 almost to the danger and hazard of his temporal life, to procure the 
 nobility and gentry of this nation to due obedience in owning of his 
 highness their supreme head, as well spiritual as temporal, and do find 
 much oppugning therein, especially by my brother Armagh,f who hath 
 been the main oppugner, and so hath withdrawn most of his suffragans 
 and clergy within his see and jurisdiction. He made a speech to 
 them, laying a curse on the people whosoever should own his high- 
 ness's supremacy, saying, that isle — as it is in their Irish chronicles, 
 insula sacra — belongs to none but the bishop of Eome, and that it 
 was the bishop of Eome that gave it to the king's ancestors. There 
 be two messengers, by the priests of Armagh and by that archbishop, 
 now lately sent to the bishop of Rome. Your lordship may inform his 
 highness that it is convenient to call a parliament in this nation, to pass 
 the supremacy by act ; for they do not much matter his highness's com- 
 mission, which your lordship sent us over. This island hath been 
 
 for a long time held in ignorance by the Romish orders 
 
 The common people of this isle are more zealous in their blindness 
 than the saints and martyrs were in truth, at the beginning of the 
 Gospel. I send to you, my very good lord, these things, that your 
 lordship and his highness may consult what is to be done. It is 
 feared O'Neill will be ordered by the bishop of Rome to oppose your 
 lordship's order from the king's highness ; for the natives are very much 
 in numbers within his powers. I do pray the Lord Christ to defend 
 your lordship from your enemies. — Dublin, 4th Hal. Dec, 1535." 
 
 The suggestion here made by Dr. Browne, that a parliament 
 should be held, to give a more solemn sanction to the innovations 
 in religion, was warmly approved of by the king; and prepa- 
 ratory to it, the lord deputy set out on a martial course, as it is 
 styled by sir John Davies, and a victorious circuit round about 
 the kingdom. Most of the Irish septs, weakened by intestine 
 troubles, and terrified by the imposing army now at the deputy's 
 command, hastened to meet him and make their submission to 
 the government. Matters being thus prepared, continues sir 
 John Davies, " he propounded and passed in parliament those 
 laws which made the great alteration in the state ecclesiastical." 
 
 * Phoenix, loc. cit. pag. 121 ; Rarleian Miscel.,etc. 
 f George Cromer, archbishop of Armagh. 
 
Chap. I. 2 ] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 7 
 
 The parliament was summoned in 1536, and the chief bill 
 presented for discussion enacted : 
 
 " That the king, his heirs and successors, should be the supreme 
 head on earth of the Church of Ireland, and should have power and 
 authority, from time to time, to visit, reform, restrain, and amend all 
 such errors, heresies, abuses, offences, contempts, and enormities, 
 whatsoever they be, which, by any manner, spiritual authority, or 
 jurisdiction, ought or may lawfully be reformed, restrained, or 
 amended, most to the pleasure of Almighty God, the increase of 
 virtue in Christ's religion, and for the conservation of peace, unity, 
 and tranquillity of this land of Ireland; any usage, custom, foreign 
 laws, foreign authority, prescription, etc., notwithstanding."* 
 
 Another bill withdrew all appeals in spiritual causes from the 
 tribunal of Rome, and vested them in the crown ; whilst other 
 acts were directly levelled against the authority of the Holy 
 See, declaring it an usurped authority, and forbidding all persons, 
 under penalty of praemunire, " to extol or maintain by writing, 
 or any act," the jurisdiction of the Holy Father within the 
 realm of Ireland. At the same time, the justices of the peace 
 received instructions to examine into all offences against this 
 act, as into " other offences against the king's peace." An oath 
 of supremacy was imposed on all ecclesiastical and lay officers, 
 and it was, in fine, declared that an obstinate refusal to take this 
 oath " should be punished as high treason. "f 
 
 Archbishop Browne was, of course, the active agent of the 
 government in seeking to engage the sanction of parliament for 
 these acts. His biographer has handed down the speech made 
 by him on this occasion, and we give it as an illustration of the 
 servility of this courtier, whilst we, at the same time, fully agree 
 with Dr. Mant (otherwise a panegyrist of the archbishop), that 
 it is more remarkable for brevity than for deep argument or 
 rhetorical display: — \ 
 
 " My lords and gentry of this his majesty's realm of Ireland, behold, 
 your obedience to your king is the observing of your God and Saviour 
 Christ ; for He, that High Priest of our souls, paid tribute to Csesar, 
 though no Christian. Greater honour then, surely, is due to your 
 prince, his highness the king, who is a Christian one. Rome and 
 her bishops, in the Fathers' days, acknowledged emperors, kings, 
 and princes to be supreme over their dominions — nay, Christ's own 
 
 * Irish Statut. 28th Henry VIII. chap. v. f lb. chap. vi. and xiii. 
 t Hist, of the Irish Ch. vol. i. p. 117- 
 
O FIKST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [ImitOP. 
 
 vicars — and it is as much to the bishop of Rome's shame to deny 
 what their precedent bishops owned ; therefore, his highness claims 
 but what he can justify the bishop Eleu therms gave to Lucius, the 
 first Christian king of the Britons ; so that I shall, without scruple, 
 vote his highness, king Henry, my supreme over ecclesiastick matters 
 as well as temporal, and head thereof even of both isles, England 
 and Ireland, and that without guilt of conscience or sin to God : and 
 he who will not pass this act, as I do, is no true subject to his 
 highness." 
 
 This flimsy reasoning, or we should rather say confusion of 
 ideas, by which he seeks to identify that temporal authority of 
 the civil ruler, which was ever sanctioned by the Redeemer and 
 the Church, with the spiritual power entrusted by Christ, only to 
 the anointed pastors of his sacred fold, did not produce its 
 desired effect. 
 
 There were in parliament two spiritual proctors from every 
 diocese : it was their special province, " upon such things of 
 learning as should happen in controversy," to declare what was 
 the doctrine agreeable to truth and to the teaching of the 
 Church ; and from time immemorial they enjoyed the right that 
 nothing contrary to their decision should be enacted in parlia- 
 ment. From this body now proceeded the chief opposition 
 to the act of supremacy. Looked up to by the nation as 
 the natural guardians for preserving untainted the purity of 
 faith, they, without a dissentient voice, rejected with disdain 
 the measures now proposed by the lord deputy. Moreover, 
 they could not be overcome by threats or by corruption, and 
 hence it became an object of anxious care to the court to 
 have these proctors excluded, without delay, from parliament. 
 On the 18th of May, 1537, lords Gray and Brabazon thus wrote 
 to lord Cromwell in England : — ■ 
 
 " Considering both the obstinacy of the spirituality used in this 
 session, and having remembered if the king's highness would send 
 any commissioners hither, we thought it good to have the parliament 
 open at his coming, to the intent, that the wilfulness of the spirituality 
 being refrained, things for the king's honour and profit, and the com- 
 mon weal of this land, now by them denied to be grauted, may then 
 pass accordingly. The frowardness and obstinacy of the proctors of 
 the clergy from the beginning of this parliament, and at this session, 
 both of them the bishops and abbots, hath been such, that we think 
 we can no less do than advertise your lordship thereof. . . Con- 
 
Chap. I. 3.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 9 
 
 sidering their obstinacy, we thought good to prorogue the parliament 
 for this time, and against the next sessions provide a remedy for them. 
 And, therefore, my lord, it were well done that some means be devised 
 whereby they may be brought to remember their duties better. 
 Except the means may be found that these proctors may be put from 
 voice in the parliament, there shall but few things pass for the king's 
 profit ; for, hitherto, have they showed themselves in nothing conform- 
 able."* 
 
 In accordance witli these wishes, an order was at once trans- 
 mitted to the commissioners, under the great seal of England, 
 declaring that the spiritual proctors should be allowed no vote 
 in parliament; and that their assent should nowise be requisite 
 for any act of the legislature.! 
 
 The voice of the spiritual pastors being thus hushed, and 
 many o: the Irish chieftains having retired in disgust from the 
 parliament, the act of supremacy was passed. It was boasted by 
 Henry's agents on the continent, that the Irish nation had re- 
 nounced the spiritual supremacy of Rome; but whatever may 
 be deemed the civil result of the above act, surely no impar- 
 tial observer will affirm that such an enactment of an English 
 parliament in Ireland, carried by despotism, can be in any way 
 referred to the representatives of the Irish nation. 
 
 3. — Other Acts of Parliament. 
 
 It is a remarkable coincidence that the same parliament that 
 thus sought to introduce the new reformed principles into Ire- 
 land, was also the first to enact that the king of England should 
 in future be styled king instead of lord of Ireland.^ This act 
 was especially pleasing to Henry, and was accompanied by 
 public demonstrations of joy in the Irish capital. A solemn " Te 
 Deum" was chanted in St. Patrick's Cathedral; bonfires were 
 made in the public squares ; wine, too, was set in the streets, and 
 banquets were offered to the citizens by the court officials : so 
 important a triumph was this deemed in promoting the cause of 
 their royal master. 
 
 Other acts regarding the spiritual administration were passed 
 in quick succession. The king being now head of the Church, 
 
 * State Papers, Henry VIII. vol. ii. p. 437. 
 f Irish Statute 28th Henry VIII. chap. xii. 
 % Ir. Stat. 33rd Henry VIII. ch. i. 
 
10 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inikod. 
 
 it was deemed necessary to secure to him a tribute from the 
 ecclesiastical property. Hence an act for first fruits declared 
 that " all persons nominated to any ecclesiastical preferment, 
 should pay to the king the profits for one year."* Another act 
 vested in him the first fruits of abbeys, priories, and hospitals ; 
 whilst another enacted that the twentieth part of the profit of all 
 spiritual benefices should be paid to the king for ever. 
 
 Even all this was not deemed enough to secure the spiritual 
 supremacy of Henry ; and hence another act prohibited the pay- 
 ment of Peter's Pence to the See of Rome, as well as the pro- 
 curing of dispensations and faculties from the same ecclesiastical 
 source ; whilst these faculties were in future to be granted only 
 by commissioners chosen by the king, who, in the wisdom of 
 the reformed court, should be the new spiritual guides of the Irish 
 people, instead of the successors of St. Peter. 
 
 It was so transparent that these enactments were repugnant 
 to the traditions and hereditary glory of the Irish nation, that the 
 parliament soon deemed it better to lay aside the mask, and wage 
 an open war against our national usages, and even against our 
 existence as a people. Thus we find one' act passed for en- 
 couraging " the English order, habit, and language," whilst it 
 prescribed that spiritual preferment should be given " only to 
 such as could speak English, unless after four proclamations in 
 the next market-town such could not be had." Should any 
 Irishman, perchance, be thus promoted to any benefice, there 
 was an oath imposed, "that he would endeavour to learn and 
 teach the English tongue to all and every being under his rule, 
 and to bid the beads in the English tongue, and preach the word 
 of God in English, if he can preach ; and to keep, or cause to be 
 kept, within his parish, a school to learn English, if any chil- 
 dren of his parish come to him to learn the same, taking for the 
 keeping of the same school such convenient stipend or salary as 
 in the same land is accustomably used to be taken. "f At the 
 same time a scheme was laid as diabolical as was ever planned by 
 the perverted ingenuity of man, for the utter extirpation of the 
 Irish. We transcribe it from the volume of state papers already 
 referred to: — 
 
 * Irish Stat. 28th Henry VIII. cli. viii. 
 t Irish Stat. Henry VIII. ch. xv. 
 
Chap. 1. 4] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 11 
 
 " The very living of the Irishry doth clearly consist in two things, and 
 take away the same from them, and they are past for ever to recover or 
 yet to annoy any subject in Ireland. Take first from them their corn 
 and as much as cannot be husbanded and had into the hands of such 
 as shall dwell and inhabit in their lands, to burn and destroy the same, so 
 as the Irishry shall not live thereupon ; and then to have their cattle 
 and beasts, which shall be hardest to come by; and yet with guides and 
 policy they be oft had and taken. And by reason that the several 
 armies, as I devised in my other paper, should proceed at once, it is not 
 possible for the said Irishry to put or flee their cattle from one country 
 into another, but that one of the armies shall come thereby; and admit- 
 ing the impossibility so that their cattle were saved, yet in the continu- 
 ance of one year, the same cattle shall be dead, destroyed, stolen, strayed 
 or eaten, by reason of the continual removing of them, going from one 
 wood to another, their lying out all the winter, their narrow pastures. 
 
 And then they (the Irishry) shall be without corn, 
 
 victuals or cattle, and thereof shall ensue the putting in effect all these 
 wars against them." 
 
 4. — Zealous Efforts of the Protestant Archbishop. — Destruction of Relics 
 and Church Ornaments. 
 
 We have already seen how the English monarch, by his letter 
 of the 7th July, 1537, sought to stimulate the zeal of the arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, reminding him of the mission he had received 
 from the crown, and recalling also to his memory how he who 
 had made him bishop of that see, could, with the same facility, 
 unmake Mm. 
 
 In his reply, Dr. Browne sketches his past zealous labours, 
 and declares his earnest desire to correspond faithfully with the 
 wishes of Henry : — 
 
 " May it please your most excellent highness to be advertised, that 
 on the 11th day of September I received your most gracious letters, 
 which, being perused, did not only cause me to take fruitful and 
 gracious monitions, but also made me to tremble in body for fear of 
 incurring your majesty's displeasure. And where your majesty 
 writeth unto me, I have not endeavoured myself in setting forth and 
 preaching the sincere word of God, avoiding all superstition used 
 against the honour of the same, I may signify unto your highness of 
 verity, that for my small abode here, there hath not these many 
 years any my predecessors so much exercised in declaring to the 
 people the only Gospel of Christ, persuading and inducing the hearers 
 unto the true meaning of the same, utterly despising the usurped 
 power of the bishop of Rome, being a thing not a little rooted among 
 the inhabitants here. Touching the second article in your grace's 
 
12 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [I.nteod. 
 
 letters concerning your majesty's affairs' here, I refer me to judgment 
 for the most part of your highness's council here, how in that behalf 
 I have used myself, being the first spiritual man that moved the 
 twentieth parts and first fruits, setting forth in what in me lay the like 
 first fruits of all monasteries being before not motioned. . . . . 
 Finally, certifying your majesty that I received your grace's other 
 letters, at this season to me addressed, on behalf of Edward Vaughan, 
 the queen's gracious servant, the contents whereof I have fully accom- 
 plished. Beseeching your highness of your most accustomed goodness 
 to accept this my rude letter, answerable even as I were personally 
 doing my duty, approaching on knees before your majesty, declaring 
 the certainty of all the premises, with acknowledging my ignorances, 
 desiring of God, that hour or minute I should prefix myself to declare 
 the Gospel of Christ, after any other sort than of my part most un- 
 worthy have heretofore done, before your majesty, in rebuking the 
 papistical power, or in any other point concerning the advancement 
 of your grace's affairs, should not be prompt to set forth benignly, 
 that the ground should open and swallow me." — (27th Sept. 1537, 
 State Pap. Henry VIII. vol. ii. pag. 512.) 
 
 But it was by his deeds still more than by his words that Dr. 
 Browne resolved to prove his devotion to the new doctrines ; 
 and hence with barbaric fury he set to work at once to demolish 
 the statues which adorned the interior of the cathedral church 
 of St. Patrick, and to deface and destroy the valuable paintings 
 and other rich ornaments of Christ's Church.* It was in a like 
 manner that the religious feelings of the natives were outraged 
 in other parts of the island. Thus, at Ballybogan, in the diocese 
 of Meath, a famous image of our Saviour on the cross, which 
 for centuries had been held in great veneration, was publicly 
 destroyed by fire. In Trim, there was a shrine of the Blessed 
 Virgin, to which the faithful resorted even from the remotest 
 parts of the island: its venerable statue representing the 
 " Mother of God," was now consigned to the flames, whilst the 
 votive offerings and rich ornaments which adorned it, were 
 plundered by the mis-named reformers. 
 
 It will not suffice to plead in palliation that these were acts 
 of individual barbarity, for which the government cannot be 
 held responsible: they were all done by the public ministers 
 of the English monarch; and to complete the work which was 
 thus so well begun, letters patent under the privy seal were 
 issued in 1539, nominating a commission, one of whose members 
 
 * Cox, i. 256 ; Mason's " St. Patrick's" ; Mant. i. 125. 
 
Chap. I. 4.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 13 
 
 was " George Browne, archbishop of Dublin," and which, in a 
 particular manner, was destined " to investigate, inquire, and 
 search out where, within the said land of Ireland, there were 
 any notable images or relics, at which the simple people of the 
 said lord the king were wont to meet together ; and that they 
 should break in pieces, deform, and bear away the same, and 
 thus with all things pertaining, annexed, and adjoined thereto, 
 they should utterly abolish them," so that nothing of that sort 
 " might thenceforth for ever be in use in the said land or 
 dominion of the aforesaid lord the king."* 
 
 Thus was a loose rein given to all such as might think fit to 
 plunder and pillage the monuments of the religion and piety of 
 our fathers. We shall mention only a few instances of their 
 sacrilegious Vandalism, which were especially execrated by 
 our Catholic people. In an excursion into the North, the 
 lord deputy converted the famous cathedral church of Down 
 into a stable, then destroyed it by fire, and defaced the monu- 
 ments of the patron saints of Erin, and it is supposed scattered 
 their relics. The same lord deputy rifled the abbey of Bally- 
 clare, and left neither chalice, cross, nor bell in it,f and on 
 another occasion seized and confiscated all the rich orna- 
 ments of the cathedral of Galway.J -But what most of all 
 excited the indignation of the island, was the destruction of the 
 crozier of St. Patrick, known in our annals as " the staff of 
 Jesus."§ In 1180, soon after the first invasion by the English, 
 it was carried away from Armagh, and for three hundred and 
 fifty years had been preserved with religious care in the cathe- 
 dral of Dublin, Now, however, at the hands of the ruthless 
 Vandals who assumed the name of reformers, it shared the same 
 fate as the other monuments of our nation and religion, and was 
 publicly consigned to the flames. 
 
 * "Public Records of Ireland," 1810-1815, PI. vi. ISTo. 3 ; Mant, i. 160. 
 
 t Cox, i. 265. % Hardiman's Galway, p. 239. 
 
 § Our apostle brought this crozier with him from Rome, and seems to have 
 inserted in it a portion of some wood hallowed by the touch of our blessed 
 Saviour during his mortal life : hence the Four Masters (ad. an. .1537) say 
 that "it was in the hand of Christ while he was among men." It was ever 
 held in the highest veneration in Ireland : and the holy disciple of St. Patrick, 
 St. Thassach, is commemorated as the first who adorned it with a precious 
 covering : "fuit primus qui baculum Jesu preetioso tegumento obcelavit." — See 
 " Obit, and Martyrol. of Christ Church," published by Royal Irish Acad. 
 1844, pref. xiii. seqq. 
 
14 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 This wholesale destruction of sacred images and relics would 
 now-a-days seem incredible, were it not minutely detailed by 
 our chief annalists. 
 
 Sir James Ware briefly states : — *" About this time, amongst 
 the famous images whereunto pilgrimages were made, the 
 statue of the Blessed Virgin was burned, f then kept at Trim, in 
 the abbey of the canons regular, and the gifts of the pilgrims 
 were taken away from thence. The image of Christ crucified, 
 in the abbey of Ballybogan, and St, Patrick's staff, in the 
 cathedral church of the Holy Trinity, at Dublin, which William, 
 the son of Aldeline, brought from Ardmagh, and gave it as a 
 gift to that church, in the year 1180, underwent the like fate." 
 
 There is in Trinity College, Dublin, another very ancient 
 manuscript volume of annals, which gives the following more 
 detailed narrative: — % 
 
 " The most miraculous image of Mary, which was at Baile-atha- 
 Trium, and which the Irish people had all honoured for a long time, 
 and at which were healed the blind, the deaf, the lame, and every 
 sort of disease, was burned by the Sassenachs. And the staff of 
 Jesus, which was in Dublin, and which wrought many wonders and 
 miracles in Ireland since the time of St. Patrick down to that period, 
 and which was in the hand of Christ himself, was burned by the Sas- 
 senachs in like manner. And not only that, but there was not a holy 
 
 * Annals of Henry VIII. page 99 
 
 t The destruction of the sacred image was soon followed by the suppression 
 of the monastery. On the 15th May, 1539, the royal commissioners arrived. 
 The ornaments of gold and silver, the crucifixes, chalices, and other altar- plate, 
 were seized on for royal use; the property in the monastery, valued at £1,861 
 15s. 2d., remunerated the plunderers, and the lands attached to the abbey 
 were distributed among the Reforming favorites. — Mant, loc. cit. pag. 162, and 
 Calendar of Pat Rolls, vol. i. pag. 64, seqq. §. 
 
 It was at the same time that the abbey of Navan was plundered : " the 
 image of the Blessed Virgin, so long held in veneration here, was torn from 
 her altar and indignantly destroyed. The gold and silver ornaments of the 
 church, — chalices, ciboriums, crucifixes, images, vestments, altar-plate and 
 altar-linen, — all were carried off to fill the coffers of Henry VIII., and to 
 enrich the worshippers of lay supremacy." — Cogan, "The Diocese of Meath," 
 vol. i. pag. 225. This sanctuary of Navan was a long-cherished place of pil- 
 grimage from every part of Ireland. The parliament held in Dublin in 1454, 
 ordered letters patent to be issued, granting protection to all, whether rebels or 
 others, who might be engaged in this pilgrimage. In the preamble to another 
 act of parliament, in 1400, a striking miracle is mentioned as having then 
 occurred before that shrine, whereby a Mr. Stackbolle, whose tongue had been 
 cut off, and his eyes put out, being, brought before the image of the Blessed 
 Virgin " was, by her grace, mediation, aud miraculous power, restored to 
 his sight and speech." — See Hardiman, " Stat, of Kilkenny," pag. 25 and 51, 
 published by I. A. S. in 1842. 
 
 % See " The Book of Obits and Martyrology of the Cathedral Church of the 
 Holy Trinity," printed by Royal Irish Acad. 1844. Intr. pag. xvi. 
 
Chap. 1. 4.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 1 5 
 
 cross, nor an image of Mary, nor other celebrated image in Ireland, 
 over which their power had reached, that they did not burn. Nor 
 was there one of the seven (religious) orders which came under their 
 power that they did not ruin." 
 
 The Four Masters (ad. an. 1537) give, however, the most 
 complete account of the Vandalism which desolated our country 
 through the impious rage of the English monarch: — 
 
 " A. heresy and a new error," they write, " broke out in England, 
 the effects of pride, vain-glory, avarice, sensual desire, and the preva- 
 lence of a variety of scientific and philosophical speculations, so that 
 the people of England went into opposition to the Pope and to Eome. 
 At the same time they followed a variety of opinions, and adopting the 
 old law of Moses after the manner of the Jewish people, they gave 
 the title of head of the church of God, during his reign, to the king. 
 There were enacted by the king and council new laws and statutes 
 after their own will. They ruined the orders who were permitted to 
 hold worldly possessions, viz., monks, canons regular, nuns, and 
 brethren of the cross ; and also the four mendicant orders, the Franciscans, 
 the Preachers, the Carmelites, and the Augustinians. The posses- 
 sions and livings of all these were taken up for the king. They broke 
 into the monasteries ; they sold their roofs and bells, so that there 
 was not a monastery from Arann of the Saints to the Iccian sea, that 
 was not broken and scattered, except only a few in Ireland, which 
 escaped the notice and attention of the English. They further burned 
 and broke the famous images, shrines, and relics of Ireland and Eng- 
 land. After that they burned, in like manner, the celebrated image 
 of Mary, which was at Ath-Truim, which used to perform wonders 
 and miracles, and at which were healed the blind, the deaf, the lame, 
 and the sufferers from all diseases, and the staff of Jesus, which was 
 in Dublin, performing miracles from the days of St. Patrick down to 
 that time, and which was in the hand of Christ whilst he was among 
 men. They also made archbishops and bishops for themselves ; and, 
 although great was the persecution of the Roman emperors against 
 the church, it is not probable that so great a persecution as this ever 
 came upon the world ; so that it is impossible to tell or narrate its 
 description, unless it should be told by him who saw it." 
 
 From these last words we may gather how general was the 
 storm let loose against the religious orders in Ireland. In the 
 districts subject to the English sway, few escaped its fury, and 
 the persecution continued unabated till the accession of queen 
 Mary. Even in the last year of king Edward's reign, we find 
 it mournfully commemorated by the same annalists, that " the 
 churches of Clonmacnoise were plundered, and there was not 
 left a bell, small or large, an image, an altar, a book, a gem, or 
 
16 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 even glass in the window, which was not carried off;" and they 
 add, " lamentable was this deed, the plundering of the city of 
 Kieran ." 
 
 5. — The Destruction of Monasteries. 
 
 Some modern writers have hazarded the assertion, that at the 
 
 period of Henry VIII.'s reformation, no blood was shed in 
 
 Ireland for the denial of the royal supremacy. Such a theory, 
 
 however, was unknown to our ancient annalists; and in the 
 
 passage just now cited, from the Four Masters, it is declared that 
 
 the fury of the pagan persecutors against the Christians was 
 
 surpassed by the rapacity and cruelty of Henry's agents: so 
 
 much so, that none could credit their excesses save those who 
 
 were eye-witnesses of them. Under the year 1540, the same 
 
 annalists mention one -particular instance, as it regarded their 
 
 own order: The guardian, they say, and some of the friars of 
 
 the Franciscan convent of Monaghan, were put to death in that 
 
 year, for having refused to acknowledge the spiritual supremacy 
 
 of the king ; and they add the simple, but momentous record, that 
 
 "the English, throughout every part of Ireland where their power 
 
 extended, were persecuting and banishing the religious orders." 
 
 The convents of the mendicant orders, however, were not 
 
 those that were most exposed to the rage of the reforming 
 
 monarch ; the wealthy abbeys and monasteries chiefly attracted 
 
 his attention, and felt the full violence of his rapacity. We shall 
 
 defer, however, to the next article the consideration of the special 
 
 sufferings to which some of these communities were subjected, 
 
 that we may proceed with greater order in detailing the deeds 
 
 of plunder of these so-called reformers. 
 
 It was in 1536 that the first grant of religious houses was 
 made to the king by the authority of the Irish parliament. This 
 grant comprised three hundred and seventy monasteries, whose 
 yearly value amounted to £32,000 ; whilst their moveables were 
 at the same time rated at £100,000.* In the following year, 
 by virtue of a commission under the great seal of England, eioht 
 abbeys were suppressed ; and in 1538, a further order was issued, 
 for the suppression of all the monasteries and abbeys. In many 
 instances, indeed, it was impossible to carry this decree into 
 
 * Loftus's MS. Marsh's Library, ap. Mant, loc. cit. i. 155. 
 
Chap. I. 5.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 17 
 
 immediate execution ; however, we find that before the close of 
 1539, no fewer than twenty-four monasteries of the highest class, 
 whose abbots and priors were entitled to a seat and suffrage in 
 parliament amongst the spiritual peers, were successfully sup- 
 pressed by the government.* Jn some cases, the superiors of 
 these religious houses surrendered without opposition the charge 
 entrusted unto them : but whenever they could not be induced 
 by threats or promises to resign their monasteries to the crown, 
 severer measures were resorted to ; and one instance is especially 
 recorded, of Manus O'Fihily, the last abbot of St. Mary's, 
 Thurles, who, on refusal to comply with the wishes of the 
 crown, was carried a prisoner to Dublin, and subjected to a long 
 and painful imprisonment.-|- 
 
 King Edward VI., in his proclamation of 6th of February, 
 1551, declares, that " his gracious father, king Henry of happy 
 memory, dissolved all priories, monasteries,! abbeys, and other 
 pretended religious houses in Ireland, as being but nurseries for 
 vice and luxury, more than for sacred learning," and because 
 their inmates persisted in keeping " the light of the Gospel from 
 his people." Were the refusal to embrace the newly-invented 
 tenets assigned as the motive for the suppression of these monas- 
 teries, we would not be disposed to quarrel with the royal 
 reasoning; but it is too ungenerous, after seizing on their pro- 
 perty and possessions, to endeavour to malign the character of 
 these sanctuaries of virtue and learning. The letter of the lord 
 deputy and council of Ireland, on receipt of the order for the sup- 
 pression of these monasteries, presents a far surer ground for 
 judging of the true character of these institutions. It is dated 
 21st May, 1539:— § 
 
 * Cox's History, etc. i. 260 ; ArcMall's Monastioon, page 169. 
 t Grose's Irish Antiquities, ii. 85. 
 
 % Marsham, though a Protestant, thus writes in his prefaoe'to Steven's Addit. 
 to Monastioon Anglic. : " Our monasteries have long since perished ; nor have 
 we any footsteps left of the piety of our aucestors, besides the battered walls 
 and deplorable ruins. We see, alas ! — we see the most august churches and 
 stupendous monuments, dedicated to the eternal God, than which nothing can 
 be now more defaced, under the specious pretence of superstition, — most 
 filthily defiled, and expecting utter destruction. Horses are stabled at the altar 
 of Christ, and the relics of martyrs are dug up." Another Protestant (Mr. 
 Denham) is not less severe in his strictures on English vandalism : 
 " Who sees those dismal heaps, but will demand, 
 What barb'rous invader sacked the land ? 
 But when he hears no Goth, no Turk did bring 
 
 This desolation, but a Christian king," etc (Cowper's Hill') 
 
 § State Papers, iii- page 130. 
 
18 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Intkod. 
 
 " May it please your honorable lordship to he advertised, that by the 
 report of Thomas Cusack and other, repaired lately out of the realm 
 of England into this land, it hath been openly bruited the king's 
 grace's pleasure to be, that all the monasteries within this land should 
 be suppressed, none to stand. Amongst which, for the common weal 
 of this said land, if it might stand with the king's most gracious 
 pleasure by your good lordship's advertisement, in our opinions it 
 were right expedient that six houses should stand and continue, 
 changing their clothing and rule into such sort and order as the king's 
 grace shall will them : which are named St. Mary's Abbey, ad- 
 joining to Dublin, a house of white monks; Christ's Church, a 
 house of canons, situated in the middle of the city of Dublin ; the 
 nunnery of Grace-Dieu, in the county of Dublin; Connall, in the 
 county of Kildare ; Kenleys and Jerpoint, in the county of Kilkenny. 
 For in these houses commonly, and in others such like, in default of 
 common inns, which are not in this island, the king's deputy and all 
 other his grace's council and officers, also Irishmen and others resort- 
 ing to the king's deputy in their quarters, is and hath been most 
 commonly lodged at the cost of the said houses. Also in them young 
 men and children, both gentlemen's children and others, both of 
 man kind and woman kind, be brought up in virtue, learning, and in 
 the English tongue and behaviour, to the great charge of the said 
 houses ; that is to say, the women kind of the whole Euglishrie of 
 this land for the most part, in the said nunnery, and the man kind in 
 the other said houses. And in the said house of St. Mary's Abbey 
 hath been the common resort of all such of reputation as hath re- 
 paired hither out of England. And in Christ's Church, parliaments, 
 councils, and the common resorte in term-time for definitions of all 
 matters by judges and learned men is, for the most part, used. Also 
 at every hosting, rode and journey, the said houses, at their proper 
 costs, findeth as many men of war as they are appointed by the king's 
 deputy. And if they were suppressed, the profit of them should 
 scarcely find so many men of war, according to the rate of the king's 
 wages, as they now standing do find and hath found, over and besides 
 the yearly payment both of subsidy, also the twentieth part of their 
 small revenue, with also their first fruits, at every change of their 
 
 head rulers Notwithstanding, the lord chancellor, 
 
 the archbishop of Dublin, and Mr. Brabazon, under-treasurer, for that 
 they were named to be commissioners for the suppression, did forbear 
 with us to subscribe this letter, although they thought and agreed as 
 is aforesaid. Wherefore, in discharge of our duties to the king's 
 majesty, we declare here this our opinion in the premises to your 
 honorable lordship, etc. 
 
 "Written at Dublin, the 21st day of May, 1539. 
 " Your lordship's most bounden, 
 
 Leonard Gray, 
 
 James Butler, 
 
 Gerald Aylmer, justice. 
 
 Thomas Luttrell, justice. 
 Thomas Howth, justice." 
 
Chap. I. 13.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 19 
 
 This letter fully corroborates the plea put forward by the 
 abbot of St. Mary's, when petitioning to be exempt from the 
 order for suppression : " Verily, we be but stewards and pur- 
 veyors to other men's uses for the king's honour, keeping 
 hospitality, and many poor men, scholars, and orphans."* 
 
 The true motive which stimulated the monarch to the sup- 
 pression of these institutions, besides the hatred for their 
 inmates, whom he regarded as the chief opponents to his 
 iniquitious designs, was his own rapacity, and the desire to 
 appropriate the treasures with which the piety of the faithful 
 had enriched these institutions. Even Dr. Mant does not deny 
 that this was the mainspring of the royal movements-t Some 
 of the chief co-operators seem to have been stimulated by a like 
 impulse. Thus we find the lord chancellor Allen endeavour- 
 ing to secure for himself the monastery of Thomas-court, near 
 Dublin,]; though he failed in his suit, and that venerable abbey 
 became a prey to Sir Thomas Brabazon, the then vice-treasurer. 
 Even archbishop Browne sought to obtain for himself and 
 family a share of the religious plunder. On the first rumour of 
 the commission, he wrote to lord Cromwell, soliciting " a very 
 poor house of friars," as he describes it, " named the New Abbey, 
 which lay very commodious for him by Ballymore."§ This 
 monastery, however, had already been given away, and what 
 especially provoked the displeasure of the archbishop, had been 
 bestowed upon an Irishman. \\ He next solicited a grant of the 
 nunnery of Grace-Dieu; but here too his suit was fruitless; 
 though Dr. Browne was the leading agent of the government 
 in confiscating these religious houses, yet there were others 
 more active to seize upon them as their prey. 
 
 By a special order of the king,*! all the gold and silver plate, 
 
 * Cambren. Evers., ii. 545, note. f Hist, of Ir., eh. i. 183. 
 
 t State Pap. He assigned as his chief reason, ' ' that he had no house in 
 Dublin," and that thereby he "would be better able to serve the king." 
 
 § State Papers, No. cexxvi. 
 
 || State Papers. "lam clene despatched of any pleasures there, and the 
 profeite thereof gyven to an Irishman, so that I am compted an unworthie 
 parson." 
 
 If Act 28th Henry VIII., chap 16. In Shirley's "Original Letters," p. 31, we 
 find the following order from the lord protector Somerset (1549, 6th January) 
 to the dean of St. Patrick's, ' ' for the better furniture of the mint, being 
 advertised that one thousand ounces of plate of crosses, and such like things, 
 remaineth in the hands of you, the dean of St. Patrick's, we have thought 
 
20 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Intkod. 
 
 with the jewels and principal ornaments, also the lead and bells, 
 were reserved for the crown ; the lands and other property were 
 put up for sale, or privately bestowed on the minions of the 
 monarch. Amongst the records of this spoliation, there is one 
 of £326 2s. lid. " for the price of divers pieces of gold and 
 silver, and also of certain precious stones set in gold and silver, 
 and of silver ornaments and other things upon divers images, 
 pictures, and reliques in the late monasteries, priories, cathedral 
 and parish churches, and other places within the said land of 
 Ireland lately destroyed, broken," etc. Another item of the 
 sale presents £20, " being the price of 1,000 lbs. weight of 
 wax, manufactured into candles, tapers, images, and pictures.'' 
 From thirty-nine monasteries, arose a sum of £1710 2s., " the 
 price of divers vases, jewels, and ornaments of gold and silver, 
 and bells, and the utensils, and household stuff." The property 
 in the monastery of Melifont was sold for £141 ; that of the 
 monastery of Kells, for £191; of the abbey of the Blessed 
 Virgin, at Trim, for £186 ; of the monastery of St. Mary's, near 
 Dublin, for £385. The house of the Carmelites in Kildare 
 brought only £1 ; whilst that of the Dominicans in Kilkenny 
 was disposed of for £57. We find an item of £3 7s. 6d. " for 
 the price of divers silver or holy crosses, in the late abbeys of 
 Kilcooly and Innislannagh." An account is also given of sun- 
 dry bells, belonging to the different monasteries, and of one in 
 particular it is said : " Nor do we render any price for a bell, apper- 
 taining to the late house of brothers at Clane, inasmuch as said 
 bell came into the lands of lord Leonard Gray, so that no pro- 
 duce in respect thereof came to our hands, as we say upon our 
 oaths."* 
 
 This suppression, however, of religious houses was far from 
 being universal, as it embraced only such districts as were sub- 
 ject to, or under the influence of the crown of England ; and 
 sir John Davies, writing during the reign of James I., remarks 
 in particular as to " the abbeys and convents in Tyrone, Tyr- 
 
 good to require you to deliver the same to the hands of Agard, the king's 
 majesty's officer of the mint there, indenting with him for the receipt of the 
 same, to be employed to his majesty's use as by him shall be thought most for 
 his highness' commodity ; and for the safe keeping of it hitherto by you the 
 dean, his majesty, of his liberality, by our advices, is pleased to allow to you 
 the sum of £20 in ready money." 
 
 * Extract from Roll in Record-Office, Dublin, ap. Mant, vol. i. p. 161. seq. 
 
Chap. I. 6.] TO INTKODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 21 
 
 connell, and Fermanagh," that though " they were dissolved in 
 the 33rd of king Henry VIII., yet they were never surveyed, 
 nor reduced into charge, but were continually possessed by the 
 religious persons until his present majesty that now is came to 
 the crown." 
 
 The destruction of the monasteries was followed by the sup- 
 pression of the collegiate church of St. Patrick, in Dublin. 
 For some years a plan had been laid by the archbishop to secure 
 this boon for his majesty, and Cromwell had received £60 for 
 lending his aid to the intrigue.* The instructions sent from 
 London, on the 25th May, 1547, ordering the suppression of 
 the collegiate church, and the transmission of its plate and 
 ornaments to the English mint, have been printed by Shirley ; 
 and we copy here the preamble of these instructions, as it serves 
 to illustrate the undying devotion of the Irish people to their 
 glorious apostle : " Touching St. Patrick," it says, " it appeareth 
 that the people of that realm have a great confidence in the 
 said St. Patrick, taking him for their chief patron under Christ : 
 the king's majesty's pleasure, with the advice of me, the lord 
 protector, and the rest of his majesty's privy council, is, that as 
 well for that superstitious opinion of the common people as for 
 sundry other considerations you shall accordingly," etc. — (Orig. 
 Lett. p. 1.) 
 
 6. — Some particular Instances of the Sufferings of the Religious Orders. 
 
 The celebrated annalist of the Trinitarian Order, Father 
 Domingo Lopez, will be be our guide in this article. His 
 history of the order in Irelandf was compiled from the original 
 letters transmitted, at the period of which we speak, to the 
 superiors of the central house of the order in Spain ; and hence 
 his narrative presents all the vividness and interest of a contem- 
 porary record. In the first pages he informs us, that the emis- 
 saries of Antiochus of old did not rage with greater fury against 
 
 * See Moore's " History of Ireland," vol. iii. p. 297- 
 
 t The title of this very rare work is ' ' Noticias Historioas de las tres floren- 
 tissimas Prorincias del celeste orden de la ssma. Trinidad, " etc. by Fr. Domingo 
 Lopez, 1 vol. 4to, Madrid, 1714- His fourth part, entitled "History of the 
 Martyrs in Ireland during the reign of Henry VlII." runs through about 100 
 pages. 
 
22 
 
 FIEST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Introd. 
 
 the Jews, than did the agents of Henry in Ireland against Irish 
 Catholics ; plundering the churches and monasteries, despoiling 
 the sacred shrines and exterminating the religious orders. Not 
 only in England but even in France, and Germany, and Swit- 
 zerland, schismatical agents were sought out — adepts in the arts 
 of plunder and confiscation ; in every town the prisons were 
 filled with the most worthy Catholics ; the name of homicide 
 or robber was less odious to the government than that of papist; 
 and to insult the clergy, and outrage the sacred ceremonies of 
 religion, was the surest means to merit the favour of the court. 
 
 Many of the religious houses were totally destroyed, and their 
 inmates put to death in a thousand different ways. In some 
 monasteries, however, the religious were allowed to continue ; 
 but being deprived of all they possessed, hunger and thirst was 
 to them a lengthened martyrdom: such was the vigilance of 
 their persecutors, that oftentimes they could not procure even 
 bread and water for their sustenance. The nuns, too, were ex- 
 posed to manifold sufferings, which they endured with unex- 
 ampled heroism; without raiment and without food, the only 
 prayer they breathed was for perseverance, and faith, and 
 courage to sustain them in the martyrdom that awaited them. 
 
 The relics and bodies of saints which were religiously pre- 
 served in the Catholic churches and sanctuaries were scattered 
 and destroyed; the sacred vestments were profaned ; the statues 
 were mutilated, and those of wood were hewn in pieces and cast 
 into the flames ; the paintings were torn in shreds and thrown 
 upon the streets ; in a word, every outrage that malice or ingenuity 
 eould devise, was heaped upon our holy religion by these agents 
 of the English schism. 
 
 Atharee. — The convent of Atharee, which was reckoned the 
 oldest foundation of the Trinitarian Order in Ireland, received 
 the summons in 1539 to take the oath of supremacy and sur- 
 render its property to the crown. Father Eobert, a man of 
 learning and virtue, was the superior of the convent, and having 
 received intelligence of the storm which was gathering against 
 his order, he assembled the forty-two religious who formed the 
 community of Atharee, and announcing to them the impious 
 designs of Henry, declared that the king was now an avowed 
 heretic, and only sought to make them his associates in the guilt 
 
Chap. I. C] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 23 
 
 of schism. All the community shared the sentiments of the 
 worthy superior, and avowed their readiness to lay down their 
 lives, and to sacrifice all that they possessed, sooner than deny their 
 faith or renounce their spiritual allegiance to the Holy See. 
 Nor was this a mere empty boast — a set form of idle words. 
 The religious set to work at once to distribute amongst the poor 
 all the provisions and clothing that were in the convent, and 
 all the sacred vessels and ornaments for the altar were con- 
 cealed in various places, so that when at length the agents of 
 the government arrived, they could not find even a wooden 
 crucifix on which to vent their impious rage. Three times 
 summoned before the magistrate, Father Robert was immoveable 
 in rejecting the proferred honours of the court, and in declaring 
 his devoted attachment to the Catholic faith. ' None,' he said, 
 ' had ever sought to propagate their religious tenets by the 
 sword except the pagan emperors in the early ages, and 
 Mahomet in later times. As for himself and community they 
 were resolved that no violence should move them from the prin- 
 ciples of truth: they recognized no head of the Catholic Church 
 save the Vicar of Jesus Christ ; and as for the king of England, 
 they regarded him not even as a member of that holy Church, 
 but as head of the synagogue of Satan.' At these words of 
 the venerable father, an heretical officer drew his sword, and 
 with one blow severed his head from his body. The other 
 agents of the court were at once let loose against the unoffend- 
 ing community. As the public prison was full of other victims, 
 the religious were dragged to confinement in private houses : 
 there many died of the injuries and maltreatment which they 
 received ; some too, were secretly murdered, whilst others were 
 publicly hanged in the market-place. It was on the 12th and 
 13th of February, 1539, that these happy fathers thus attained 
 their eternal crown. 
 
 Dublin. — The Trinitarian convent in Dublin was the chief 
 house of the order in Ireland ; the building was large and orna- 
 mental, and the community numbered no fewer than fifty religious. 
 On the first intelligence of the king's iniquitous designs, a 
 meeting of the superiors of the various houses of the order was 
 convened in Dublin. Father Patrick Humbert was then pro- 
 vincial, and presided on the occasion ; the ex-provincial, Father 
 
24 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 Theobald, also assisted ; and besides the local superiors, several 
 other members remarkable for their learning and sanctity were 
 also present, and amongst them we find the names of Father 
 Thaddeus O'Brien, from Kilkenny; F. John Hogan and F. 
 William Hurley. In fact, as an eye-witness, who compiled a 
 narrative of the subsequent events, records, this assembly might 
 well be said to represent the whole Irish Church, such was the 
 learning, and authority, and sanctity of those who composed it. 
 
 The chapter being assembled, all gave their opinion on the 
 momentous subject for which they were convened, and all de- 
 clared themselves ready to lay down their lives, in defence of 
 their holy religion and of the authority of the Holy See, whilst 
 they stigmatized as heretical and impious the innovations of 
 the English king. During their conference the news was re- 
 ceived of the fate of their brethren of Atharee ; they all at once 
 returned thanks to God, and father Theobald exclaimed in holy 
 joy: " The most Holy Trinity has blessed our order with this 
 happy commencement, and thus given us a pledge that its 
 blessing will accompany us even to the end." Before separating 
 all signed the profession of Catholic faith, and addressed an 
 exhortation to the faithful, not to allow themselves to be led 
 astray by deceitful reasonings and seduced into the abyss of 
 schism. 
 
 It was on Saturday, the 24th of February, that the royal 
 agents arrived in Dublin to enforce the oath of supremacy and 
 expel the religious from their possessions. The following 
 morning saw the exhortation of the Trinitarian fathers posted 
 in all the public squares and other places of resort. The pro- 
 vincial and father Theobald, moreover, went about fearlessly 
 addressing the people and combating the schismatical decrees, 
 till the former fell transpierced by a musket ball, whilst a hired 
 band seized upon the latter and dragged him through the 
 streets. The good father expressed his joy in being found 
 worthy to thus suffer for the Catholic faith, and he repeated his 
 exhortations, till at length a stroke from a hatchet terminated 
 his existence. Even his body was treated with all possible 
 insult by the heretical agents; but the Catholics, during the 
 night, gathered together his scattered members and' secretly 
 interred them. The other religious were the next day obliged 
 
Chap. I. 6.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 25 
 
 to seek their safety by flight, and wheresoever discovered, 
 they were treated with the like cruelty and ferocity. 
 
 Limerick- — The Trinitarian convent of Limerick was dedi- 
 cated under the invocation of the Holy Cross, and numbered 
 forty-five religious amongst its inmates. Cornelius O'Neil, a 
 member of the order, who, in preceding years, had acted as 
 provincial, and discharged many other important offices, was at 
 this time suffragan or coadjutor to the aged and feeble bishop of 
 Limerick.* He belonged to the princely family of Tyrone, and 
 was remarkable for his zeal and abstinence and charity: all that 
 he had from his family possessions he made the patrimony of 
 the poor ; for he regarded the riches of faith as his own true 
 inheritance. Seeing the tendency of the counsels of the king, 
 he convoked the religious of his community and said to them : 
 " The beginnings which we witness cannot lead to a happy end : 
 the king and kingdom of England have abandoned the Church, 
 and we are in danger of heresy being introduced amongst us, 
 unless God, by his omnipotent arm, protect us." He then 
 counselled them to prepare for all extremities, and to dispose of 
 everything appertaining to the monastery, especially of the gold 
 and silver vases of the sanctuary, lest they should be profaned 
 by the heretical enemies of our holy religion. In like manner 
 the good bishop warned the other religious orders and the 
 secular clergy of the impending dangers. When he received 
 intelligence of the destruction of the other convents, and of the 
 sufferings of the religious, he, in union with the members of his 
 order, solemnly intoned the " Te Deum," and fervently prayed 
 that the most Holy Trinity would grant to them the heroic 
 fortitude of their martyred brethren. • 
 
 On the morning of St. John's feast, 24th June, 1539, the holy 
 bishop preached in his cathedral to an overflowing congregation: 
 indeed the whole city had assembled to hear the word of life 
 from the lips of their saintly pastor. He took that opportunity 
 to denounce the threatened innovations: " The royal com- 
 mands (he said) are based on heresy: the king and his coun- 
 sellors, and those who follow him in his perverse designs, are 
 anathematized and cut off from the tree of life;" and he added 
 
 * For Dr. Coyn, bishop of Limerick, see Ware's Bishops, pag. 510; and 
 Shirley, " Original Letters," pag. 47. 
 
26 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [lNTKOD. 
 
 that lie himself now anathematized anew and excommunicated 
 any of his flock who should thus renounce the saving doctrines 
 of the Catholic faith. The emissaries of the crown, who feared 
 to insult the loved bishop in the presence of his flock, sought 
 him in the evening of that day at his private residence, ordering 
 him to comply with the king's decree, otherwise threatening 
 him with instant death. The venerable prelate, throwing him- 
 self upon his knees, and with eyes uplifted to heaven, exclaimed : 
 " Oh, Lord ! on this morning I offered to thee on the altar the 
 unbloody sacrifice of the Body of my Saviour: grant that I 
 ma,j now offer to thy greater honour and glory the sacrifice of 
 my own life;" and then turning towards a painting of the Holy 
 Trinity which was suspended in his room, he scarce had time 
 to pronounce the ejaculation " Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, 
 miserere nobis," when, by a blow of a sword, his head was 
 severed from his body.* The monastery was then pillaged, and 
 the monks heroically shared the fate of their chief pastor. Thus 
 were new members added to the heavenly choir of martyrs on 
 24th and 25th of June, 1539. 
 
 The other convents of the order in Cork, Kilkenny, Kildare, 
 Ross, Dundalk, Galway, Cashel, etc.f showed the same fortitude: 
 all were plundered of whatever riches they possessed; and there 
 was not one of them but was adorned with the palm of martyr- 
 dom. So universal, indeed, was the ruin that fell upon this 
 religious order, that all vestiges of it disappear from the subse- 
 quent history of our Church. 
 
 We shall conclude this sketch of the sufferings of these reli- 
 gious, with an extract from a letter written by a Dominican 
 father in 1547 : after commemorating the heroic death of some 
 Trinitarian fathers in Mullingar, he adds: "Never in the time 
 of Nero, or Diocletian, or the other enemies of the Christian 
 name, was a more fiery persecution witnessed than now raged 
 against our Church; its agents seem to have laid aside all huma- 
 nity, and to have transformed themselves into beasts, or rather 
 into demons.''^ 
 
 * There was another martyr of the same family, Arthur O'Neil, also a 
 member of the Trinitarian Order ; he preached the faith in Chaldea and Asia 
 Minor, and was martyred there in 1282. 
 
 T See a very imperfect list of the houses of the Trinitarian Order in DeBurgo : 
 Hib. Dominic, page 739. 
 
 t Ap. Lopez, page 186. 
 
CHAP. I. 7.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 27 
 
 Many of the monasteries referred to were well provided with 
 books and manuscripts, but all were pillaged and destroyed; 
 oftentimes even the material edifice was not spared : and Henry 
 was fond of employing the proverbial phrase, " If the nests 
 remain, the birds will soon be back to dwell in them."* 
 
 7. — Further Efforts of the Government to promote the New Reformation. 
 
 On the 12th of December, 1538, the Irish council, in reply 
 to a letter of the lord privy seal, declares, that " touching your 
 lordship's advertisement for the setting forth of the word of 
 God, abolishing of the bishop of Rome's authority, etc., we have 
 well begun therein already, and to our power shall persevere 
 with all industry and diligence." 
 
 In pursuance of this promise, the archbishop of Dublin, with 
 the lord chancellor and some other members of the council, 
 set out soon after on a military-religious visitation of four 
 counties, viz. — Carlow, Wexford, Waterford, and Tipperary. 
 A narrative of their progress was transmitted to England on 18th 
 January, 1539, from which it will suffice to select a few extracts :t 
 
 " We resorted first to Carlow, where the lord James Butler kept his 
 Christmas ; and there being very well entertained, from thence we went 
 to Kilkenny, where we were no less entertained by the earl of Ormond. 
 There on New Year's Day the archbishop of Dublin preached the word 
 of God, having very good audience, and published the king's injunc- 
 tions, and the king's translation of the Pater Noster, Ave Maria, the 
 articles of faith, and Ten Commandments in English : divers papers 
 whereof we delivered to the bishop and other prelates of the diocese, 
 commanding them to do the like throughout their jurisdictions. The 
 Saturday following we repaired to Ross, which town having been here- 
 tofore one of the best towns of this land ; being also situated in the best 
 place of those parts for subduing of the Kavanaghs, is in manner utterly 
 decayed and waste, by reason of the continual war and annoyance of the 
 Kavanaghs, which cannot be helped whilst the Kavanaghs remain 
 unreformed. There the morning after, the said archbishop preached : 
 
 * ' ' Constat multa monasteria f uisse ornatissinia et opulentissima quae omnia 
 impius iste (Henrious) diripuit, vastavit et solo aequavit : nee Bibliothecis vel 
 ullis litterarum antiquitatis monumentis aut sanctorum Eeliquiis pepercit, illud 
 barbarum nsurpans dictum, corvorum nidos esse penitus disttirbandos ne postea 
 iterum ad cohabitandum convolarent." (Disputatio Apologet. etc. by Con. 
 O'Mahony, Prancfort, 1645.) 
 
 t State Papers, vol. iii. pp. 108-116. 
 
28 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Intkod. 
 
 that night we went to Wexford, where the same archbishop preached on 
 the Epiphauy day, having a great audience, and publishing the said 
 injunctions. The Saturday following the Epiphany we came to Water- 
 ford, where the mayor and his brethren during our abode both well 
 entertained us, and used themselves obediently in conforming them- 
 selves to our orders and directions. There, the Sunday, my lord of 
 Dublin preached, having a very great audience, where also we published 
 the king's injunctions. The day following we kept the sessions there, 
 both for the city and the shire, where was put to execution four felons, 
 accompanied with another, a friar, whom among the residue, we 
 commanded to be hanged in his habit, and so to remain upon the 
 gallows for a mirror to all his brethren to live truly. 
 
 " At the writing hereof, we are at Clonmel, where we keep sessions 
 this day; and on Sunday the archbishop of Dublin will preach here, in 
 the presence of all the bishops of Munster, who, upon our commandment, 
 have repaired hither for the most part already." 
 
 All the efforts of the government and its emissaries were 
 employed to render these sessions at Clonmel the beginning of 
 a new era in the cause of reformation. Every prelate through- 
 out Ireland who was devoted to the English monarch, and every 
 bishop who, despite of the canonical appointment, had been 
 intruded into the Irish sees, was summoned to attend ; and the 
 members of the Irish council were able to boast in their letter 
 of 8th February, 1539,* that two archbishops and eight bishops 
 graced the meeting by their presence, and took the oath of the 
 king's supremacy. Who these prelates were, is not mentioned; 
 and this silence seems to imply that but few, if any, of the 
 canonically-appointed bishops could be numbered amongst them. 
 The archbishops were probably Dr. Browne of Dublin, and Dr. 
 Bodkin of Tuarn. This latter prelate had been intruded into 
 that see by the authority of Henry, in 1537,f and whilst the 
 canonically-appointed archbishop, Dr. Arthur O'Farrell, $ (or 
 O'Frighi), was obliged to feed his flock in poverty and in disguise, 
 Dr. Bodkin continued, during the reigns of Henry and Edward, 
 
 * State Papers, vol. iii. p. 117. 
 
 f Harris's Ware, page 615 : his app. was on the 15th February, 1536, styl. 
 vet., i. e., 1537- 
 
 I Acta Consist, ex Archiv. Vatic, ad an. 1538. The statement of Hardi- 
 man, " Iar-Connaught," page 228, that Dr. Bodkin admitted the king's 
 supremacy, is correct ; the subsequent assertion, however, that "in the reign 
 of Elizabeth he again conformed to the religion of the state," is utterly 
 erroneous. "We shall have to speak more at length o£ this archbishop in the 
 lite o£ "Hugh Curwiu," next chapter. 
 
Chap. 1. 7.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 29 
 
 to hold the temporalities of the see. The bishops bore, probably, 
 a similar character. We only know for certain that one of them, 
 for various misdemeanours, was deposed by the lord deputy, as 
 Dr. Browne bitterly laments, in a letter addressed to the lord 
 privy seal, a few days after the meeting in Clonmel, from which, 
 too, we may glean that that prelate was bishop " in O'Brene's 
 country ;" and another, Dr. Nangle of Clonfert, could never even 
 obtain possession of the temporalities of his see, through the 
 opposition of M' William, a chieftain of that district, who, in 
 the words of Dr. Browne, being " a naughty traitorous person," 
 supported the bishop appointed by Rome ; and when Nangle 
 showed to him the king's " broad seal" for his appointment to 
 that see, the Irish chieftain avowed his contempt for such a 
 royal nomination, and " threw 1 it away and vilepended the 
 same."* 
 
 We cannot, therefore, be surprized that this assemblage of 
 prelates did not suffice for the zeal of Dr. Browne. Writing to 
 lord Cromwell, on the 16th of February, the same year, he 
 makes known his determination to travel " as far as any English 
 can be understood," in order to preach the king's supremacy : 
 his charity even embraced the uncouth inhabitants who were 
 unacquainted with the English language; and hence he " pro- 
 vided a suffragan named Dr. Nangle, bishop of Clonfert," to 
 set forth " the word of God and our prince's cause," in the 
 inharmonious accents of the Irish tongue.f The subsequent 
 letters of Dr. Browne are, however, silent as to any such perilous 
 journey amongst the wild natives of our island; and it is pro- 
 bable that, deterred by the tale of Dr. Nangle, he did not 
 venture at any later period to seek a premature martyrdom 
 beyond the precincts of the English pale. 
 
 On Easter day, 1551, the liturgy was solemnly read for the 
 first time in the English tongue in Christ's Church cathedral, 
 and the archbishop on that occasion took for his text the words 
 of the royal psalmist: "Open my eyes that I may see the 
 wonders of thy law." The order of Edward VI., with which 
 Dr. Browne thus earnestly complied, set forth that " his father 
 of happy memory thought it most fit and convenient for the 
 
 * State Papers, vol. iii. page 122. f State Papers, loo. cit. page 122. 
 
30 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 preservation of the souls and bodies of his subjects, that the 
 Holy Scriptures should be translated, printed, and placed in all 
 parish churches within his dominions;"* and hence he now, 
 "for the general benefit of his well-beloved subjects' under- 
 standings, whenever assembled either to pray or to hear prayers 
 read, that they may the better join therein, in unity of hearts 
 and voice, caused the liturgy to be translated into our mother 
 tongue of this realm. "f 
 
 It is difficult to conceive anything more ludicrous than that 
 the facilitating of the liturgy to the Irish people should be 
 thus assigned as the motive for translating it into the English 
 tongue, and for commanding the use of its English version in 
 all the churches throughout the kingdom. We shall see here- 
 after how even during Elizabeth's reign, not one in a thousand 
 of the Irish people could understand "the English jargon," as 
 it was styled, and how this happy ignorance was an insuperable 
 barrier to the spread of the contagion of heresy. For the present, 
 one instance will suffice. It was precisely at this period that 
 Dr. Cranmer of Canterbury was busily employed in procuring 
 a bishop for the see of Armagh. At length his choice was 
 made ; but to his surprise, the elected prelate declined the 
 proffered dignity, assigning the unanswerable reason, "If he 
 went thither, he would have no auditors ', for the "people understood 
 no English!'\ 
 
 Dr. Browne had been from the commencement the main- 
 spring of the Protestant movement, and the energy which he 
 displayed in introducing the English liturgy crowned all his 
 merits in the royal cause. As his reward, the grateful king 
 and council of England, by a decree of 20th October, 1551, 
 declared the see of Armagh deprived of the primacy of all 
 Ireland, whilst that high dignity was now annexed to the see of 
 Dublin for ever. 
 
 From the first years of his episcopate, this had been the fond 
 object of Browne's ambition, and in all probability he would 
 
 * Phoenix, vol. i. page 128. t Ibid. 
 
 X Mant, loc. cit. i. 215. So persuaded was the government of the utter 
 uselessness of the English liturgy in Ireland, that it was endeavouring at this 
 very time to procure for the Irish parish churches a Latin translation of the 
 communion service. See Shirley's "Original Letters," page 47; Letter of 
 the lord deputy to Mr. secretary Cecil, 19th January, 1551. 
 
Chap. I. 7.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 31 
 
 have attained it ten years earlier, were it not for the momentary 
 weakness and pliancy of the archbishop of Armagh. Dr. 
 Cromer, an Englishman* had been advanced to the primatial 
 see at the nomination of the king in 1522. On the first efforts 
 of Henry to introduce schism into the Irish Church, none 
 displayed greater courage than the primate in asserting the 
 Catholic doctrine, and upholding the supremacy of the successors 
 of St. Peter. When the act of royal supremacy received the 
 sanction of parliament, he indignantly withdrew from the metro- 
 polis, and having convened the suffragans and chief clergy of 
 the province, he exhorted them to resist the progress of inno- 
 vation, and to preserve unsullied the glorious title of the holy 
 isle, by which Ireland was celebrated for so many centuries; 
 and in conjunction with them he pronounced anathema against 
 all who should swerve from the due allegiance to the Holy See 
 and acknowledge the spiritual supremacy of the crown. f 
 During all this time Father Gillebride, or Brigidian, superior 
 of the order of Trinitarians in Armagh, was his intimate friend; 
 and nothing of any moment was undertaken without his counsel. 
 By degrees, however, a deaf ear was turned to the counsels of 
 the good father ; and whilst the archbishop was alarmed at the 
 growing confederation of the Irish chieftains, the example of 
 his countrymen in England, and affection for the monarch, to 
 whom he was indebted for the primatial see, deadened the 
 ardour of his faith and slackened the vigour with which he 
 hitherto had opposed the schismatical acts of Henry. This 
 weakness of Dr. Cromer, whilst it marred the designs of Browne, 
 awakened the alarm of Rome. In the consistory of 13th of July, 
 1539, sentence of suspension from all exercise of primatial juris- 
 diction was promulgated against him, till such time as he should 
 purge himself of the suspicion of heresy; and in the interim, 
 Robert Wauchop was, on the same day, appointed apostolic 
 administrator of the see of Armagh 4 From the fact of no sub- 
 
 * Ware, Harris, etc. See Flanagan, "British and Irish History," pag. 435. 
 
 t See Stuart's "Historical Memoirs," etc. pag. 229 seqq. 
 
 X Acta Consistorialia in Archiv. Vallicell. The supposition that Dr. 
 Wauchop was blindfrom his youth, is wholly devoid of foundation. The German 
 witticism, " Scotus eoecus oculatis Germanis," on which some writers place 
 too much reliance, only implies that he was suffering from weakness of sight ; 
 and the consistorial acts expressly declare the same : ' ' debilitatem visus 
 patientem." 
 
32 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Introd. 
 
 sequent sentence being pronounced against him, we may con- 
 clude that Cromer voluntarily resigned his archiepiscopal charge ; 
 and before the close of 1540, we find Dr. Wauchop elevated to 
 the dignity of archbishop of Armagh* 
 
 It was only in December, 1543, that Dr. Dowdall was intruded 
 by Henry into the primatial sect It was expected that thus 
 appointed, he would be pliant to the monarch's wishes; but to 
 the surprise of the court, soon after his episcopal consecration 
 he put himself at the head of the orthodox party, and during 
 the following years laboured incessantly in defence of the 
 Catholic faith. His crowning offence was his opposition to the 
 introduction of the new liturgy in 1550. Sir Anthony St. 
 Leger, the viceroy, convoked the prelates, and notified to them 
 the king's command, that the English liturgy should be used 
 in all their churches. Dr. Dowdall opposed this innovation in 
 strong and energetic language, and his opposition happily 
 resulted in complete success. Of all his suffragans only the 
 Protestant Staples accepted the royal order ;$ and whilst the 
 profane innovators were everywhere received with universal 
 execration, Dowdall's name became a theme of eulogy, and was 
 hailed with benediction throughout the whole island. From 
 that day his doom was decreed : the see of Armagh was declared 
 by the king and council deprived of the primacy, and this first 
 dignity of our church was awarded to Dr. Browne, the foremost 
 champion of the royal cause. Dr. Dowdall was at once sub- 
 jected to innumerable vexations, which in 1552 obliged him at 
 length to seek a refuge on the continent.§ On the 10th of 
 November, 1551, Dr. Wauchop had passed to his eternal reward: 
 and the unanimous voice of the Irish Catholics solicited the 
 appointment of Dowdall, now a confessor for the faith, as his 
 
 * Epis. Cochlaei to Wauchop in Nov. 1540 : in Arehiv. Secret. Vatican. 
 
 t Harris's Ware, p. 91. 
 
 J It reflects great honour on our Church, that the only prelates who united 
 with Bro wne and Staples in introducing the new liturgy, were Robert Travers 
 of Leighlin, and Thomas Lancaster of Kildare, both of whom had been 
 intruded by the court into their respective sees about six months before. 
 Ware's Bishops, also Reid's Hist, of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, vol. 
 i. pp. 30-1, who adds Dr. Coyn of Limerick ; but in this he errs. — See Shirley, 
 loc. cit. pp. 47-8. 
 
 § Without any sentence of deposition against Dowdall, Hugh Goodaere was 
 appointed archbishop of Armagh, by order of Edward VI., on 28th October, 
 1552. 
 
Chip. I. 7.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 33 
 
 successor in the primatial see. This voice was heard in Rome, 
 and on the 1st of March, 1553, Dr. Dowdall was proposed in 
 consistory as successor to the deceased archbishop of Armagh.* 
 Thus did he merit, by his constancy in the true faith, and by 
 his sufferings for the Catholic cause, to be absolved from the 
 guilt of schism, and advanced to the primacy of our church; 
 whilst with the death of Edward, on the 6th July, 1553, even 
 the civil primacy of Dr. Browne came to a dishonoured close. 
 
 From the brief sketch which we have now presented of the 
 efforts of the English government to destroy the Catholic Church 
 in Ireland, it results, that to the unflinching constancy of our 
 bishops we are mainly indebted for the preservation in all its purity 
 of the faith of our fathers. At the first commencement of the 
 reformation some of the Irish seeswere filledby Henry's nominees, 
 who were devoted to his interests, and pliant to his will. How- 
 ever, before danger became imminent, these had passed away, 
 and thanks to the watchful vigilance of Rome, new shepherds 
 were appointed to tend the Redeemer's flock and guard our faith- 
 ful people from the poisoned pastures presented to them. Thus, 
 for instance, within the three years from 1538 to 1541, at 
 least sixteen bishops were appointed by the Holy See to the 
 vacant dioceses of Ireland. " Protestant historians, indeed, have 
 sought to consign to oblivion the names of these great and holy 
 men who thus, despite privations and persecutions, handed down 
 to us the sacred deposit of faith; but it is the duty of Irish 
 
 * Our historians, both Catholic and Protestant, seem to have heen hitherto 
 persuaded that it was at the request of queen Mary, Dr. Dowdall was 
 recognized in the see of Armagh. However, we learn from the con- 
 sistorial acts that it was far otherwise. During the year 1552 the friends 
 of Ireland in Rome more than once solicited his appointment ; and in 
 the consistory of 23rd January, 1553, cardinal Maffei, to whom the matter 
 had been referred, solemnly proposed his nomination to Armagh. The 
 Vatican Registry of that consistory thus notices this nomination: "Pro- 
 posuit Ecclesiam Armachanam Primatialem Hibernias, vacantem per obitum 
 Roberti, pro eo qui alias absque provisione sedis apostolicse in illius regimine 
 se immiscuerat et fuit remissum negotium ad proximum consistorium." The 
 Registry of the Vallicellian Archives gives his nomination in almost the 
 identical words. It being a matter of universal importance, cardinal Maffei 
 received instructions to submit all the documents connected with the case to 
 the cardinals then present in Rome, and in the mean time the Holy Father 
 deferred his decision till he should receive their counsel. At length, on the 
 1st of March, 1553, his appointment to Armagh is thus registered : "Cardinali 
 Maffei referente providit (sua sanctitas) eccleske Armacanaa de persona 
 Georgii Dowdall prioris prioratus de Atrio Dei ordinis cruciferorum, 
 Armacanae dioecesis, cum retentione dicti prioratus : ipsumque illi in archie- 
 pum. praafecit." 
 
 D 
 
34 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT [Inthod. 
 
 Catholics to revere their memory, and treasure up the example 
 of virtue and heroism which their lives present to us. 
 
 8. — Character of the Reformers. 
 
 The report of the commissioners appointed in 1538 to in- 
 quire into the state of the kingdom, would suffice to convince 
 every impartial reader, that all the new apostles who were sent 
 by king Henry to propagate his reformation in Ireland, were 
 not models of perfection or masters of virtue. In it* complaints 
 are made of undue fees being exacted by the bishops and their 
 officials; many of the reformed clergy are charged with extor- 
 tion for baptisms, marriages, and other ecclesiastical functions. 
 Some, too, are accused of taking portion-cause ; that is, of 
 seizing (after a man's death) on his best apparel, sword and 
 knife, or of levying a tax on the property that was bequeathed. 
 More revolting to the piety of the Irish people was the newly- 
 imported theory, of the reformed clergy receiving the fruits of 
 benefices, though they no longer performed the sacred functions 
 for which such benefices were founded ; and from Clonmel the 
 charge was especially insisted on, that the new teachers took to 
 themselves wives; and often, too, had children, without even the 
 semblance of lawful wedlock. 
 
 The Catholic clergy of Ireland have ever been remarkable for 
 the special lustre of their chastity. The contrary vice soon 
 became a characteristic mark of the reformers, so that as early 
 as 1542, the king deemed it necessary to thus write to the lord 
 deputy: "We think it meet, that seeing we have passed here 
 the act for the continency of the clergy, you should, in like 
 manner, follow, or at least upon consideration of the state of 
 the country, cause such a reasonable plan to be devised as may 
 be to the avoiding of that sin, and to the advancement of the 
 honest name and fame of our clergy of that realm."f 
 
 As regards the general fruit of the reformed tenets through- 
 out Ireland, we may form some idea of it from the letter of Dr. 
 Browne to the king, on the 28th of February, 1545: " Most 
 gracious prince," he writes, " here reigneth insatiable ambition, 
 here reigneth continual coin and livery, and callid extortion 
 
 * State Papers, part 3rd, page 510. t State Pap., vol. iii. page 428. 
 
Chap. I. 8.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 35 
 
 I beseech God to preserve your grace, and to save all 
 
 your English subjects from the trial of this country: expertus 
 loquor."* Five years later, sir Anthony St. Leger writes, (Sep- 
 tember 27th, 1550) lamenting the universal decay of piety and 
 religion : immorality, he says, everywhere prevails ; the ministers 
 are insulted, and divine service itself has ceased ; and he con- 
 denses bis opinion, as to the progress m.ade by the reforming 
 agents, in the pithy sentence : " I never saw the land so far out 
 of good order.'f 
 
 The instructions, too, which accompanied the proclamation of 
 Henry, as king of Ireland, reveal to us some important features 
 of the ecclesiastical administration of the province of Munster : 
 church dignities and benefices, we are told, were held by persons 
 who had no ecclesiastical orders, and never resided in their 
 cure ; sometimes mere boys were advanced to church prefer- 
 ments, and even some of the episcopal body were found not to 
 exercise their jurisdiction "according to the law of God and 
 the canons. "J 
 
 More than once, indeed, the lord deputy was obliged to com- 
 plain of the transgressions and indifference of the reformed 
 bishops. Thus, on 15th March, 1551, sir James Croft (lord 
 deputy) writes to Cecil : " The bishops, as I find, be negligent, 
 and few learned, and none of any good zeal, as it seemeth."§ 
 Another lord deputy, as we have seen, as early as 1539 found 
 it necessary, on his own authority, to depose one of the bishops 
 lately appointed by the crown ; whilst the bishop appointed to 
 the see of Leighlin by Edward VI. is described by a local 
 annalist as " cruel, covetous, and vexing his clergy ."|| 
 
 The three leading agents, however, of the English court in 
 reforming our Irish church, were Dr. Browne of Dublin, Dr. 
 Staples of Meath, and Dr. Bale of Ossory. As regards Dr. 
 Browne, we have already seen how Henry, in his letter of 7th 
 July, 1537, speaks of his lightness of behaviour, the elation of his 
 mind in -pride, and of all virtue and honesty being banished from 
 him. Twelve months later he seems not to have made much 
 
 * State Papers, yoJ.iii. p. 557. 
 
 t See the orig. lett. in Shirley, loc. cit., pp. 41-2. 
 
 t Cox, i. 270.1 § Shirley, Orig. Lett. pp. 63-4. 
 
 || Dowling'a Annals, edit. E.T.A. 1849, p. 38. 
 
36 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Imkod. 
 
 progress in the path of virtue,* if we can give credence to the 
 contemporary Protestant bishop of Meath, who writes to lord 
 St. Leger, on 17th June, 1538 :f " I have written unto you, by 
 John Plunkett, much of my trouble by the bishop of Dublin, 
 and the occasion of the same. He now boasteth himself to 
 rule all the clergy under our sovereign lord, and he hath given 
 a taste of his good demeanour, that every honest man is not 
 only weary thereof, but reckoneth that pride and arrogance 
 hath ravished him from the right remembrance of himself. I 
 doubt not but you shall hear from others the specialities at 
 large, from such as be indifferent; for surely he hath handled 
 me and my poor friends for my sake most cruelly, so far as he 
 might." As to his subsequent career, we have no direct source 
 of information; but perhaps we may justly infer that his life 
 was not one of the most edifying, from the words of the Pro- 
 testant bishop of Ossory, who tells us, that on his seeking to 
 reform the corrupt morals of some of his ministers in 1553, 
 " they would at no hand obey, alleging for their vain and idle 
 excuse, the lewd example of the archbishop of Dublin, who was 
 alivays slack in things pertaining to God's glory."% And the 
 same writer, in his own coarse strain, subsequently accuses him 
 of " drunkenness and gluttony," and calls him an epicurious 
 archbishop, a brockish swine, and a dissembling proselyte. 
 
 The character of Dr. Staples seems to have borne the same 
 stamp as that of Dr. Browne. The editors of the " State Papers" 
 inform us, that the king sent an admonition to Staples identical 
 with that sent to the archbishop of Dublin ; and Dr. Browne 
 himself, writing to a member of the council, on 15th of April, 
 1538,§ speaks of Dr. Staples as having preached without any 
 honest shame, and in such a manner " as I think the three- 
 mouthed Cerberus of hell could not have uttered it more 
 viperiously." 
 
 * " As for teaching and preaching, these were utterly neglected, indeed 
 not so much as thought of, unless occasionally, as when the chancellor once 
 exclaimed, ' How should men know their duties when they shall not hear 
 teaching or preaching from one end of the year to the other.'" — Liber. Mun. 
 Hib. part i. p. 37. 
 
 t State Papers, iii. p. 29. 
 
 {Bale's Vocacyon, p. 414, reprinted in Harl. Misc., vol. vi. In Shirley, p. 
 18, are given articles of accusation against Dr. Browne, written in 1548. One 
 of them accuses the archbishop of making alienations, etc., of most of his bishopric 
 to his children and others. § State Papers, vol. iii. p. 1. 
 
Chat. I. 9.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 37 
 
 The bishop of Ossory has not found many eulogists even 
 amongst his brother reformers; and Dr. Mant confesses that 
 " with an uncommon warmth of temperament, he allowed him- 
 self the use of an unbecoming coarseness, and even grossness of 
 expression."* The people of Kilkenny seem to have been soon 
 tired of his ministrations; and his flight from that city on the 
 accession of queen Mary, is one of the most remarkable events 
 in the history of the restoration of the Catholic religion. Even 
 during the reign of Elizabeth he did not venture to revisit the 
 former scene of his labours, — so persuaded was he of the utter 
 absence of sympathy and respect for him amongst its inhabi- 
 tants. He retired to Canterbury, and died there in obscurity 
 in 1563.t 
 
 9 — The Reformation of Henry, a failure in Ireland. 
 
 From a cursory glance at some of the passages cited in the 
 preceding pages, from the reports of Dr. Browne, and other 
 English agents in Ireland, the reader might, perhaps, conclude 
 that our island joyously embraced the boon of the English 
 reformation. The Protestant archbishop, indeed, more than 
 once depicted, in glowing colours, the happy fruits of his zeal in 
 propagating the new tenets in Ireland. Yet all this was a mere 
 delusion, — the commencement of that mighty delusion which, for 
 three hundred years, the Protestant establishment has continued 
 to be in Ireland. Whilst the reformed doctrines remained un- 
 heard-of in most of the Irish districts, innumerable records of 
 the period attest that, even within the pale, but little progress 
 was made in the work of proselytism. Hence, our task in this 
 article will be an easy one, and it will suffice to quote some 
 passages from these records, to illustrate the true extent of the 
 reformation in our Irish church. 
 
 A private letter of Browne to Cromwell, on 8th of January, 
 15384 thus describes the opposition made by the clergy, especi- 
 ally in the diocese of Dublin : 
 
 "It may please your lordship to be advertised, that within these 
 
 * Hist, of Ir. Ch., i. 226. 
 
 t The reader will find many curious facts connected with this unworthy 
 individual in Harris's Ware, p. 417 ; Brennan's " Eccles. Hist." vol. ii. p. 99. 
 X State Paper, vol. ii. page 539. 
 
08 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [IiiTROD. 
 
 parts of Ireland, which grieveth me very sore, — yea, and that within 
 the diocese of Dublin and province of the same, where the king's power 
 ought to be best known, where it hath pleased his most excellent 
 highness to make me a spiritual officer, and chief over the clergy ; yet 
 neither by gentle exhortation, evangelical instruction — neither by oaths 
 solemnly taken, nor yet by threats of sharp correction, can I persuade or 
 induce any, either religious or secular, since my coming over, once to 
 preach the word of God, or the just title of our most illustrious prince 
 .... There is never an archbishop nor bishop, but myself, made by the 
 king, but he is repelled even now by provision ; again, for all that ever I 
 could do, might I not make them once, but as I send mine own servants 
 to do it, to cancel out of the canon of the Mass, or other books, the 
 name of the bishop of Rome, whereby your lordship may perceive that 
 my authority is little regarded." 
 
 About trie same time, a king's justiciary, named White, 
 made an inspection of the counties of Wexford, Waterford, 
 Kilkenny, and Tipperary, and in his report to the lord privy 
 seal,* he declares that he found but one city (Kilkenny) and 
 one gentleman, lord Butler, who had embraced the reformation, 
 whilst all the people were imbued with " an evil and erroneous 
 opinion of the king's most noble grace, and of all those that 
 under his majority, be the setters forth of the true word of God." 
 Whether the remark, as far as regards Kilkenny, be true, will 
 be illustrated hereafter by the fact of the expulsion of the Pro- 
 testant bishop Bale from the precincts of that fine old Catholic 
 city. 
 
 Many of the letters of Dr. Browne are written in a most 
 desponding strain. Thus, we have already seen how in his 
 letter to lord Cromwell, on 28th November, 1535, he described 
 the Irish natives, as " more zealous in their blindness than the 
 saints and martyrs" of the early church; and again, on 29th 
 March, 1538, he writes to the same: " the people of this nation 
 
 be zealous, yet blind and unknowing The country folk 
 
 here much hate your lordship, and despitefully call you, in their 
 
 Irish tongue, the blacksmith's son Rome hath great 
 
 favour for this nation, purposely to oppose his highness; there- 
 fore my hope is lost, yet my zeal is to do according to your 
 lordship's orders."! On the 8th May, same year, he laments the 
 disobedience of a prebendary of St. Patrick's who, when ordered 
 to read the new set form of prayers, " thought scorn to read them" 
 
 * State Papers, vol. ii., page 562. t Phoenix, loc. cit., pp. 123-4. 
 
CHAr. 1. 0.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 39 
 
 and he adds: " they be, in a manner, all at the same point with 
 me. There are twenty-eight of them, and yet scarce one that 
 favoureth God's word."* 
 
 Subsequently he informs the lord privy seal of the union in 
 opposition to the reformation, which had sprung up between 
 those of English descent and the old Irish race. " It is observed 
 (he says) that ever since his highness's ancestors had this nation 
 in possession, the old natives have been craving foreign powers 
 to assist and rule them; and now both English race and Irish 
 begin to oppose your lordship's orders, and to lay aside their 
 national old quarrels,t which I fear will, if anything will, cause 
 a foreigner to invade this nation. — (Cox's Hib. Anglic, vol. i. 
 pp. 256-258 ; Macarias Excid., edit, by Royal Ir. Acad., 1850, 
 page 288). 
 
 Even as late as 19th May, 1540, he laments the indocility of 
 our country, in refusing to adopt the newly-fashioned creed: 
 " I trust the time of amendment be at hand ; howbeit, since ever 
 I heard the name of Ireland first, the country was never farther 
 out of order ."J 
 
 Other leading members of the government, from time to 
 time, betrayed the same despondency regarding the Irish 
 people. Thus, Agard writes to Cromwell on 5th April, 1538. § 
 " Here as yet the blood of Christ is clean blotted out of all 
 men's hearts .... except it be the archbishop of Dublin, and 
 my good lord Butler, the master of the rolls, Mr. Treasurer, and 
 one or two more, which are of a small reputation ; here is else 
 none, from the highest to the lowest, who may abide the hearing 
 of God's word, spiritual, as they call them, nor temporal, and 
 
 * State Papers, vol. iii. page 6. 
 
 t This confederacy threatened for awhile the complete annihilation of the 
 English power. Robert Cowley writes to Cromwell on 8th September, 1539 : 
 "There never was seen in Ireland so great a host of Irishmen and Scots," the 
 motive of it being, he adds, that "they considered the king a heretic ;" and 
 this spirit, too, he says, pervaded the English pale. (State Papers, vol. iii. page 
 145.) On the 18th January, 1540, the lord deputy Gray informed the king that 
 the detestable traitors, young Gerald, O'Neil, O'Donel, the pretended Earl of Desmond, 
 O'Srene, 0'Conor, and O'Mulmoy had well nigh subdued the whole country " to 
 the supremacy of the pope." (Ibid, page 148.) See farther details of this con- 
 federacy in the "The Earls of Kildare," by the marquis of Kildare : Dublin 
 1858, page 180-1. 
 
 I State Papers, vol. iii. page 308. In another letter (Ibid, page 35) Dr. 
 Browne laments that many who outwardly " feigned themselves maintainers 
 of the gospel, have it not inwardly in their hearts." 
 
 § State Papers, vol. ii. page 569. 
 
40 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 especially they that here rule all, that is, the temporal lawyers 
 who have the king's fee." 
 
 Cowley writes, the same year (19th July), in a like strain:* 
 " Sorry I am to hear such abuses ; praying God that the employ- 
 ment of the king's treasure exhausted, and all his grace's resource 
 in Ireland do not work to the confusion of the king's true sub- 
 jects More sorry am I to hear how the papistical sect springs 
 
 up and spreads abroad, infecting the land pestiferously." 
 
 Some years later (in 1548) Dr. Staples, the Protestant bishop of 
 Meath, writing to the secretary of the lord deputy ,f thus depicts 
 the sentiments of the people of his own diocese regarding his 
 evangelical ministrations: " One gentlewoman to whom I did 
 christen a child, which beareth my name, came in great alarm 
 to a friend of mine, desiring how she might find means to 
 change her child's name: and he asked her why, and she said: 
 because I would not have him bear the name of an heretic. A 
 gentleman, dwelling nigh unto me, forbade his wife, who 
 would have sent her child to be confirmed by me, so to do ; 
 saying, his child should not be confirmed by him that denied 
 the sacrament of the altar. A friend of mine, rehearsing at the 
 market that I would preach the next Sunday at Navan, divers 
 answered they would not come there lest they should learn to 
 be heretics. One of our lawyers declared to a multitude that 
 it was a great pity that I was not burned ; for I preached 
 heresy. ... A beneficed man, of mine own promotion, came 
 unto me weeping, and desired me that he might declare his 
 mind unto me without my displeasure : I said I was well con- 
 tent. My lord, said he, before you went last to Dublin, you 
 were the best beloved man in your diocese, and now you are 
 the worst beloved that ever came here. I asked why. Why, 
 said he, for you have taken open part with the state — that 
 false heretick, and preached against the sacrament of the altar, 
 and deny saints, and will make us worse than Jews; wherefore 
 if the country could, they would eat you: and he besought me 
 to take heed of myself, for he feared more than he durst tell 
 me. He said, you have more curses than you have hairs in 
 your head, and I advise you not to preach at Navan, as I hear 
 you intend to do," etc. 
 
 * State Papers, vol. iii. page 50. t Shirley, " Original Letters," p. 22. 
 
Chap 1. 9.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IEELAKD. 41 
 
 This is a faithful picture of how little sympathy there ex- 
 isted, at the close of Henry's reign, and during the first years of 
 Edward's government, between the people of Ireland and the 
 heretical clergy. The violent attempts made by Bale and others 
 in the following years, only served to awaken the ardour of the 
 Catholic population, and even Dr. Mant confesses, that during 
 the reign of Edward, no progress was made in the reformation ; 
 partly, as he says, on account of the timidity of counsels during 
 the kings minority, and partly (or, we would rather say, wholly) 
 through the intractable temper of the people, and their inveterate 
 attachment to the Church of Rome* Were further evidence 
 required, we would find it in the letter of the lord deputy St. 
 Leger, who writes from Dublin on 5th December, 1550 :f — 
 " Now as touching the bishopric void, it shall be well done 
 some honest man be placed therein for the advancement of 
 religion, which, although it hath been here much talked of these 
 two or three years past, yet hath it been smally set forth in deed; 
 and, perchance, if the disposition of men here were thoroughly 
 known, it would be thought a thing not easy to be brought to 
 pass.'"! 
 
 There were some indeed who took the oath of allegiance, but 
 as yet this was regarded by many as only an acknowledgment 
 of fealty to their monarch : it was supposed by the natives not 
 to involve the denial of any doctrine of faith, and it was ex- 
 plained by the court, as we have already seen in the words of 
 Dr. Browne, that it only granted to Henry what many other 
 Catholic and sainted kings had exacted from their subjects. 
 Perhaps many of those who thus offered their allegiance never 
 even enquired into the precise terms of the oath ; but when it 
 was proposed to abandon the Catholic Church, and renounce 
 their affection for the see of Peter, we have sufficiently shown 
 that such proposals were rejected with disdain, and that the 
 Irish people remained immoveably attached to the faith of their 
 fathers. 
 
 . The rejoicing with which they hailed the accession of queen 
 
 * Hist, of Ir. Ch. vol. i. p. 228. t Shirley, p. 45-6. 
 
 J In Shirley (remarks on Letter the 7th), is cited a passage from some 
 interrogatories made by the government in 1548, with the answers received : 
 ' ' How is the word of God set forth in this realm ? (answer) the decides (that 
 is, not at alt). How many friar-houses and others remain using the old Papist 
 sorte ? (answer) all Munster, Tkomcmd [ Connaught, and Ulster" 
 
42 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 Mary, and the restoration of the Catholic worship, is of itself a 
 sure guarantee of their unswerving devotedness to the ancient 
 faith. It was on the 31st of August, 1553, that the clergy of 
 Kilkenny resolved to restore the cathedral of St. Canice to 
 Catholic worship. Dr. Bale, the most violent of the reformers, 
 was the Protestant bishop, and Ormond was his patron. The 
 death of the king had not as yet been publicly proclaimed, still 
 the people would brook no delay. " To the utter contempt of 
 king and council of England," as Bale himself writes, they 
 rang all the bells in the fine old cathedral and parish churches; 
 in the exuberance of their joy, " they flung up their caps to 
 the battlements of the great temple ;" a solemn procession was 
 formed ; once more the canons walked forth " with their capes, 
 candlesticks, holy water, crosses, and censers;" the litany was 
 intoned, and the hearts of the citizens were cheered with the 
 oft-repeated Catholic anthem, " Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis."* 
 The Protestant bishop himself was treated with every oppro- 
 brium, and obliged to fly in disgrace to the stronghold of puri- 
 tanism-t And yet this was not the first time that Bale had 
 witnessed the enthusiasm of the good people of Kilkenny in 
 the cause of their time-honoured faith. Six months before, 
 when, on his first appointment, he publicly proclaimed the tenets 
 of king Edward, a tumult at once ensued : " five of his atten- 
 dants were slain before his face, and he himself was obliged to 
 shut himself up from the fury of the populace within the iron 
 gates of his castle, from which critical situation he was relieved 
 only by the civil magistrate at the head of 500 soldiers."^: 
 
 The same spirit was everywhere manifested throughout the 
 kingdom ; especially in those parts where Catholic devotions 
 had been for awhile prescribed by the government, festive 
 rejoicings marked the triumph of their sacred cause. Nowhere 
 do we find the slightest trace of any opposition to the recogni- 
 tion of the Holy See. In fact, saye the writer just now referred 
 to, " on the accession of Mary to the throne, so little had been 
 
 * Bale's Vocacyon, ap. Mant, i. 232. 
 
 t White, in his Apology — "Joannem Baleum Anglura . . . noluernut 
 Hiberni recipere, sed ut catholieos eorum auimos decebat, cum ignominia 
 exulare coegerunt et confugere ad Calvinismi arcem et metropolim. Genevam." 
 — p 47. 
 
 t Liber. Mun. Hib., part i. p. 37- 
 
Chap. II. 1.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 43 
 
 done in the advancement of the reformation, that there was 
 little or nothing to undo. She issued a license for the celebra- 
 tion of Mass in Ireland, where no other service was or hadbeen 
 celebrated worth mentioning, and where no other supreme 
 head had been ever in earnest acknowledged but the pope."* 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 APPOINTMENT OF HUGH CURWIN TO THE SEE OF DUBLIN— 
 HIS ACTS AND APOSTACY. 
 
 1. Early Life of Dr. Curwin. — 2. Chief Events of his Episcopate. — 3. His 
 apostaey and translation to Oxford. — 4. Constancy of the Irish in their 
 faith. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance that the only Englishman 
 who, since the sad era of the reformation, was elevated to the 
 see of St. Laurence O'Toole, should be, at the same time, the 
 only bishop on its long roll of sainted names who dishonoured 
 it by a vile apostaey. 
 
 1. — Early Life of Dr. Curwin. 
 
 Hugh Curwin was a native of Westmoreland, in England, and 
 boasted a high lineage from the earls of Northumberland. He 
 enjoyed a fair literary fame, was doctor of laws, dean of Here- 
 ford, and, according to some of his biographers, archdeacon of 
 Oxford. In matters of religion, however, he made worldly 
 utility the rule of his conscience ; hence, during four succes- 
 sive reigns, he fashioned his creed according to the tenets of 
 his royal patrons, and his character was well sketched by Strype, 
 when he styled him a compiler in all reigns* 
 
 The first question by which Curwin acquired notoriety, and 
 won the favor of Henry VIII., was that of the king's marriage 
 
 * Lib. Mun. Hih., part i. p. 37- t Life of Cranmer, p. 54. 
 
44 FIRST EFFORTS OF TEE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Intbod. 
 
 •with Anne Boleyn. Corrupt though the court of the English 
 monarch was at this period, yet exemplary priests were not 
 wanting, who boldly admonished him of his crimes, and de- 
 nounced his violation of God's law. In 1533 a Franciscan 
 friar named Peto, " a simple man," writes Stowe, " but very 
 devout," preached before the king at Greenwich, and took for 
 his text the words of the prophet: "Even where the dogs 
 licked the blood of Naboth, even there shall the dogs lick 
 thy blood also, O King." Amongst other things he did not fear 
 to address the following words to the proud monarch : " I am that 
 Micheas whom thou wilt hate, because I must tell thee truly 
 that this marriage is unlawful ; and I know I shall eat the bread 
 of affliction, and drink the water of sorrow ; yet, because the 
 Lord hath put it into my mouth, I must speak it." 
 
 On the following Sunday, the courtiers deemed it expedient 
 that the favourite tenets of the king should be eulogized in a 
 strain equally bold and impressive, and Hugh Curwin was the 
 orator chosen for the occasion. The fact of his having been 
 thus selected, sufficiently proves what an ardent advocate he had 
 shown himself of Henry's divorce. Nevertheless, the discourse 
 of this favorite orator was the occasion of an additional mortifi- 
 cation to the court party. Curwin, indeed, used the severest 
 language in regard of Peto and his preaching; he styled him " a 
 slanderer, a rebel, and a traitor," and used other most oppro- 
 brious epithets, adding, that no subject should speak so audaci- 
 ously to princes. Having said much on that head, and in 
 commendation of the king's marriage, he concluded, raising his 
 voice, and exclaiming, " I speak to thee Peto, who makest thy- 
 self Micheas, that thou mayst speak evil of kings, but now thou 
 art not to be found, being fled for fear and shame, as being 
 unable to answer my arguments." The orator well knew that 
 Peto was absent ; for the superior of his order, suspecting that a 
 storm was impending over the «courageous friar, sent him to 
 assist at a meeting of the clergy, which had been convened at 
 Canterbury. But in the assembly addressed by Dr. Curwin, 
 there was present a companion of Peto, equally zealous in the 
 cause of truth, and equally heedless of the monarch's indignation. 
 His name was Elstow, and standing in the rood loft, he, in a 
 loud voice, thus addressed the preacher: 
 
Chap. II. 1.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 4 5 
 
 " Good sir, yon know that Father Peto, as he was commanded, is 
 now gone to a provincial council holden at Canterbury, and not fled 
 for fear of you, for to-morrow he will return again : in the meantime 
 I am here, as another Micheas, and will lay down my life to prove all 
 these things true which he hath taught out of the Holy Scripture ; and 
 to this combat I challenge thee, before God and all equal judges ; even 
 thee, Curwin, I say, who art one of the four hundred prophets, into 
 whom the spirit of lyeing is entered, and seekest by adultery to estab- 
 lish succession, betraying the king into endless perdition ; more for thy 
 own vain glory and hope of promotion, than for discharge of thy clogged 
 conscience and the king's salvation." 
 
 The fearless Franciscan continued in this strain till the king, in 
 a rage, commanded him to be silent. 
 
 Whilst new dignities were marked out to reward Curwin for 
 his servility, the two friars, Peto and Elstow, were cast into 
 prison. This punishment, however, only served to complete 
 their triumph ; and so fearless were they when summoned 
 before the council, that on the earl of Essex telling them 
 " they deserved to be put into a sack and thrown into the 
 Thames," Elstow smiling replied: " Threaten these things to 
 rich and dainty folk, who are clothed in purple, fare delici- 
 ously, and have their chief hope in this world; for we esteem 
 them not, but are joyful that in the discharge of our duties we 
 are driven hence; and with thanks to God, we know that the 
 way to heaven is as short by water as by land, and therefore we 
 care not which way we go." * 
 
 On the question of supremacy Dr. Curwin was not less 
 devoted to the crown ; and he even publicly preached in favour 
 of it.f It was also known that king Henry was warmly attached, 
 through conviction or through pride, to the " Corporal pre- 
 sence," as the Catholic doctrine of the Blessed Eucharist was 
 then called ; and hence this tenet found an ardent supporter in 
 our aspirant to court favour. Indeed, so zealous was he on this 
 head that the death of Frith, for teaching the contrary heretical 
 doctrine, was commonly laid at his door. 
 
 On the accession of queen Mary, the sentiments of Dr. Curwin 
 were completely reformed on the questions of the royal supre- 
 
 * See Ellis's " Original Letters Illustrative of English History," ii. 41-2. 
 and Edinb. Rev. January, 1825, p. 434. 
 t Strype, " Life of Parker," vol. i. p. 508. 
 j See Mant, " Hist, of Oh. in Ireland," p. 239. 
 
46 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod 
 
 macy and divorce; and so enthusiastic was the convert in 
 defending the orthodox tenets, that he was at once appointed 
 chaplain to her majesty. The see of Dublin was soon after 
 deemed a fit promotion to reward his zeal, and on the 22nd of 
 February, 1555, the royal license was issued to the cathedral 
 chapter of Dublin, to proceed to his election as archbishop. 
 This mandate, however, was preceded by a special letter from 
 the queen, under her privy signet, and dated the 18th of 
 February, being signed, moreover, with her own hand, " Marye, 
 the queene."* 
 
 This nomination of Dr. Curwin having been confirmed by the 
 Holy See on the 15th of June, 1555,t he was consecrated in St. 
 Paul's Cathedral, London, on the 8th of September the same 
 year, and a few days later was appointed by her majesty lord 
 chancellor of Ireland. Dr. Curwin without delay hastened 
 to his new charge,^ and on the 15th of the same month we find 
 the following commendatory letter addressed to the dean and 
 chapter of Christ's Church : 
 
 "MARY, THE QUEEN. 
 
 " Trusty and Well-beloved, — We greet you well : and forasmuch 
 as the right reverend father in God, our right-trusty and well-beloved 
 councillor, the archbishop of Dublin, being lately chosen for that see, 
 repaireth speedily to that our realm of Ireland, as well to reside upon 
 the cure of his bishopric, which now of long hath been destitute of a 
 Catholic bishop, as also to occupy the office of our high chancellor of 
 that our realm : although we have good hopes that ye will in all things 
 of yourselves carry yourselves towards him as becometh you ; yet to 
 the intent he might govern the clergy committed unto him, to the 
 
 * Harris's Ware ; also, Mant, loc. cit. 
 
 t See De Burgo "Hib. Dom." p. 817, whose assertion as to Curwin's ap- 
 pointment having been confirmed by the pope, rests on two unanswerable 
 arguments : viz., its being published in consistory on the 15th June, 1555 ; 
 and the pope's bull of appointment having emanated on the same day. In 
 some lists Dr. Curwin is omitted, probably on account of his subsequent apos- 
 tacy. For further evidence see next note. 
 
 I The royal order to the lord chancellor from Greenwich, on 13th Sept. 
 1555, for the restitution of the temporalities of the archbishopric, thus begins : 
 " Whereas we have received from our holy Father the pope a bull, herein 
 enclosed, by which you shall clearly understand that his Holiness, upon our re- 
 commendation, hath preferred unto the archbishopric of Dublin, in Ireland, our 
 trusty and well-beloved chaplain, Hugh Curwin, whereupon he hath done unto 
 us his homage and fealty," etc.—" Calendar of the Patent and Close Rolls of 
 Chancery in Ireland." Edited by James Morrin. Dublin, 1861 ; vol. i. 
 p. 339. 
 
CHAP. II. 2.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 47 
 
 honour of Almighty God, we have thought fit to require and charge 
 that for your part ye reverently receive him, honour and humbly obey 
 him in all things as appertained to the duties tending to God's glory, 
 our honour, and the common weal of that our realm, whereby ye shall 
 please God and do us acceptable service. 
 
 "Given under our signet at our manor of Greenwich, the 15th day 
 of September, in the third year of our reign." 
 
 2. — Chief Events of Dr. Curwin' s Episcopate. 
 
 On his appointment to the see of Dublin, Dr. Curwin applied 
 himself without delay to restore the ancient religion in all its 
 splendour; and amongst his first acts we find recorded that he 
 replaced in Christ Church the marble statue of our Saviour, 
 which the Protestant bishop Browne had, some years before, 
 caused to be thrown down and mutilated. 
 
 The first sermons of the archbishop won for him the applause 
 of his Irish auditory. There is yet preserved amongst Ware's 
 MSS. a contemporary letter which thus records the impression 
 that was made by his inaugural discourse : 
 
 " May it please your lordship to be advertised that the archbishop 
 of Dublin did preach his first sermon that he made in this land, the 
 Sunday after St. Andrew, in Christ Church in Dublin, and did set 
 forth the word of God in his sermon, sincerely and after such a sort, 
 that those men that be learned and unlearned, both do give him as 
 high praise as I have heard given to any one man ; so that those men 
 that favour the word of God are very glad of him, and prayeth for him 
 so to continue."* 
 
 In 1556 Dr. Curwin convened a provincial council in Dublin, 
 and in it many salutary laws were enacted regarding the due 
 administration of the sacraments, and the observance of Catholic 
 discipline.f One of its fruits was witnessed on the 2nd of July, 
 that year, on the occasion of the solemn inauguration of the 
 new lord deputy, when, to the great annoyance of the English 
 Protestants, the Catholic ritual was carried out in all its splen- 
 
 * Ware's MSS. vol. 75, p. 180 ; ex Collect to Dr. George Carew, Lambeth 
 MSS., lib. No. 602. pug. 136 ; apud. Mant, vol. i. p. 240. 
 
 t Loftus MS. Marsh's Lib. This MS. is "a collection of annals, unfinished ; 
 intended probably as the materials of a work never published." It does not 
 preserve the decrees that were enacted, but merely records the fact of the 
 synod being held. We are indebted for these particulars to Rev. Dr. Todd, 
 vice-president of the E,oyal Irish Academy. 
 
48 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT (TsTEOD. 
 
 dour. Sir Anthony St. Leger, who had continued even after 
 the death of Edward VI. to hold the viceregal authority in 
 Ireland, had of late given displeasure to the queen by some 
 satirical verses which he composed attacking the Catholic faith, 
 and Thomas RatclifFe, viscount Fitzwalter, subsequently made 
 earl of Sussex, was appointed his successor. The 2nd of July 
 was the day fixed for taking public possession of his high office ; 
 he proceeded to St. Patrick's Cathedral with a noble retinue ; 
 the archbishop arrayed in pontificals, and the clergy dressed in 
 rich copes, were assembled at the church portals to receive him ; 
 immediately on entering he knelt beneath a rich canopy of 
 state, and having been incensed, he kissed the cross, and re- 
 ceived the blessing of the archbishop, after which he proceeded 
 towards the high altar, where he continued kneeling whilst the 
 hymn Te Deurn was sung. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament 
 was then given by Dr. Curwin, after which the deputy arose 
 from his place, proceeded to the foot of the altar, and having 
 knelt there for a little while and taken the usual oath of office 
 (Cox, i. 303), he made an offering of a piece of gold, and sub- 
 sequently dined in state with the archbishop-* 
 
 The new lord deputy on coming to Ireland, received special 
 instructions from her majesty to annul the heretical and penal 
 acts of the preceding reign, and restore the Catholic religion to 
 all its privileges ; for instance, the first article required the 
 deputy and council, " by their example, and all good means 
 possible, to advance the honour of God and the Catholic faith, 
 to set forth the honor and dignity of the pope's holiness, and 
 See apostolic of Rome, and, from time to time, to be ready with 
 their aid and secular force, at the request of all spiritual 
 ministers and ordinaries, there to punish and repress all heretics, 
 and Lollards, and their damnable sects, opinions, and errors, and 
 to assist the commissioners of the legate, cardinal Pole, when 
 visiting the clergy in Ireland."! 
 
 The Irish parliament met in Dublin on the 1st of June, 
 1557, and its first care was to receive the bull of Paul IV., 
 which was transmitted through cardinal Pole, and conveyed 
 pardon and forgiveness to all of the temporality and spirituality 
 of her majesty's dominions who had swerved from the obedience 
 
 * Mason's St. Patrick's, p. 163. t Ap. Mant, i. 2-i3. 
 
Chap. II. 2.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 49 
 
 of the apostolic see, and fallen away from the unity of Christ's 
 Church. The preamble of the act of parliament relates that 
 this bull — 
 
 " Having been delivered by the lord deputy to archbishop Curwin, 
 was, by hiin, devoutly and reverently received and read upon his knees 
 in open parliament, deliberately and distinctly in an high voice. And 
 the lords spiritual and temporal and the commons, in the name of them- 
 selves particularly, and also of the whole body of the realm, hearing 
 the same, embraced it right reverently, and humbly kneeling upon their 
 knees and yielding thanks, had Te Deum solemnly sung. And further, 
 for a due proof of their repentance, they immediately proceeded to 
 abrogate and repeal all the acts and statutes made in parliament since 
 the twentieth year of king Henry VIII., against the See apostolical of 
 Rome, according to the tenor and effect of the said bull."* 
 
 The same act of parliament declares that much false and 
 erroneous doctrine had been taught and preached by heretical 
 innovators during the two preceding reigns; and thanks are 
 rendered to Providence for having raised up their royal majes- 
 ties " preserved by God's goodness from the common infection 
 aforesaid." The title of supreme head of the church was sub- 
 sequently pronounced not to be justly attributed to any king or 
 civil governor; it was moreover declared, that the bulls and 
 dispensations from Rome should be allowed to be put in execu- 
 tion; and it was ordained that such authority, pre-eminence, 
 and jurisdiction should be enjoyed by the Holy Father, as was 
 due to his supremacy, and was enjoyed by him in the twentieth 
 year of the reign of the king, her majesty's father, within this 
 her realm of Ireland, and other her dominions." 
 
 Another act was passed, giving civil sanction to the enact- 
 ments of the ecclesiastical authorities, that thus they might be the 
 better able to guard their flocks from erroneous and heretical 
 teachers. Moreover, it was decreed that the first fruits paid to the 
 crown on all ecclesiastical benefices, as well as the yearly tithes, 
 should not in future be exacted. The rectories, glebe lands, and 
 all other spiritual and ecclesiastical emoluments, which had been 
 seized on by the crown during the two preceding reigns, were 
 restored to the ecclesiastical authorities, with a proviso, however, 
 that this act should not extend to, or affect in any way such 
 
 * 3 & 4 Philip & Mary, cap. viii. 
 
50 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Intbop. 
 
 grants of ecclesiastical property as had been made by trie crown 
 to private individuals, or to any public or civil corporations; 
 thus, indeed, rendering null and nugatory the restitution of 
 ecclesiastical property which was set forth in the act itself. 
 
 The government, however, did not take this step without 
 consulting the Holy See. It was well known in the Roman 
 court that the possession of church lands and other church pro- 
 perty presented a main obstacle to the reunion of the English 
 gentry with the Catholic Church ; and hence, with a desire to 
 facilitate their conversion, and thus procure a spiritual blessing 
 for that straying portion of his fold, the Holy Father had des- 
 tined cardinal Pole as his legate to England and Ireland, and 
 authorised him, by special bull, to alienate such property and 
 lands as had already passed into the hands of the laity ; and the 
 present act of the Irish parliament merely re-echoed the senti- 
 ments of this concession of the Holy See. 
 
 The decree of cardinal Pole, conveying the dispensation of 
 the Holy Father, was dated " from Lambeth, the 6th of May, 
 1557." The Holy Father, he says, was moved to make these 
 concessions by the testimony of many authoritative and prudent 
 persons, who declared that such a dispensation would mainly 
 contribute to preserve that unity of faith which was already 
 happily avowed by their sovereign, and " from which depended 
 the salvation of souls redeemed by the precious blood of Christ." 
 All such as had shared in the plunder of the church property 
 were then declared to be absolved by apostolic authority ; all 
 foundations of schools and collegiate or cathedral churches made 
 by the crown during the period of schism were confirmed ; mar- 
 riages contracted during the same interval, and null through 
 defect of dispensation from the Holy See, were convalidated ; 
 and, in a word, all concessions made or privileges granted, 
 during the two preceding reigns, in virtue of the assumed au- 
 thority of the spiritual supremacy of the crown, were legalized 
 and sanctioned; and in particular the holders of ecclesiastical 
 property were confirmed in the possession of their respective 
 portions, and in such a manner that no future councils, whether 
 provincial or general — no decrees of the Roman pontiffs, or 
 other ecclesiastical authority, should in any way molest them or 
 subject them to any censures whatsoever. Those, however, 
 
Chap. II. 2.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 5 1 
 
 into whose hands the sacred vessels of the altar might, perhaps, 
 have come, are reminded of the severe judgment of God which 
 fell upon the impious Balthasar; and hence they are exhorted 
 to restore them to the churches from which they had been 
 taken, — or, at least, to have them devoted to the divine service 
 in some other place of Catholic worship. In fine, the possessors 
 of such vicarages and lands as were destined for the mainte- 
 nance of the parochial clergy, are exhorted to be mindful of 
 the responsibility which rested upon their souls, that such clergy 
 should have due and befitting means for their support, that thus 
 they might be able to devote themselves to their sacred calling, 
 and fulfil the duties imposed upon them.* 
 
 The Irish parliament, as we have seen, added its civil sanc- 
 tion to this dispensation of the cardinal legate ; and, moreover, 
 enacted the penalties of praemunire against all such as should 
 impugn or oppose it. It also decreed that all churches to which 
 the care of souls was annexed, and which hitherto had been 
 subject to lay patronage, should be free and exempt from all 
 such bonds, and be subject solely to the authority of the bishop 
 or other ecclesiastical ordinary.f 
 
 That cardinal Pole, acting as papal legate to our Irish Church, 
 should have held many investigations regarding the abuses 
 which then prevailed, there can be but little room for doubt; 
 and three documents connected with his legation which are 
 preserved in the Vatican archives, throw some light on this 
 period of our history.^ 
 
 The first document regards the appointment of William 
 Walsh to the see of Meath. He was a native of the diocese, 
 and having been, for many years, a member of the Cistercian 
 Order, was enabled, by apostolic dispensation, to embrace the 
 institute of the canons regular; and in 1554, when advanced to 
 the see of Meath, he was professor of theology, and famed for 
 
 * See in Appendix the original bulla dispensationh of cardinal Pole. It is 
 painful to find, the facta of history so sadly distorted as in the following extract 
 from the editor of " The Life and Times of Sir P. Carew": "His (cardinal 
 Pole's) chief concern, in conjunction with the queen, was to obtain restitution 
 of the vast amount of property which had been wrested from the Church; but 
 this being chiefly in the hands of the most powerful nobles, very great difficul- 
 ties attended it, and neither of them lived long enough to accomplish the 
 design." London, 1857 ; p. Ixxviii. 
 
 t Ibid. t Ex Archiv. Vatican. Secret. 
 
52 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Ihteod 
 
 piety and learning. Some years before, Dr. Walsh had visited 
 Rome, and whilst there, lived as chaplain in the palace of 
 cardinal Pole, and at the suggestion of his eminence, his name 
 was now presented by the crown for the vacant see of Meath. 
 This see was regarded as appertaining to the order of canons 
 regular, and as the " Relation" continues, " though situated in 
 Ireland is looked on as an English see; and the kings of 
 England are accustomed to write for the appointment of its 
 bishop, as they do for the dioceses of England. The see is, at 
 present, wholly impoverished, in consequence of its property 
 having been plundered during the period of schism." Dr. 
 Walsh was, at the same time, prior of Duleek and Colpe, which 
 belonged to the canons regular, and whose revenue of £214 
 sterling, had passed into lay hands; he was also rector of 
 Luxseudy in the diocese of Meath, whose revenue of £40 
 sterling was yet peaceably enjoyed by the ecclesiastical incum- 
 bent.* 
 
 The second document contains an investigation concerning 
 Dr. Christopher Bodkin, bishop of Kilmacduagh, who was 
 nominated by the crown to the see of Tuam. This investi- 
 gation was held at Lambeth, on the 18th of September, 1555; 
 but no decision resulted from it, as the canonically-appointed 
 archbishop, Dr. Arthur O'Frighi, was not represented at it. 
 Rev. Peter Wall, archdeacon of Kilmacduagh, was the chief 
 witness examined on the occasion; and from his evidence we 
 glean many particulars regarding the diocese of Tuam. " The 
 city of Tuam (says the Relatio) was, at one time, large and 
 populous; but it is now in ruins, unfortified, and almost uninha- 
 bited. The river Chorcha flows through its centre; in its 
 western segment is situated the cathedral church, dedicated 
 under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, which is a suffi- 
 ciently large and ornamental edifice." This cathedral is further 
 described as having "a high altar and two minor altars; 
 a choir with the books necessary for chanting the divine 
 
 * For further particulars, see Harris' Ware, who correctly places his death in 
 1577. Henriquez m his Menologium Cistereiens, as also in his Fasciculus Sancto- 
 rum, etc., gives an interesting life of this holy bishop. "We shall have occasion 
 to dwell on his sufferings during the reigD of Elizabeth, in a subsequent 
 chapter. See also the valuable history of ' ' The Diocese of Meath," by the Rev. 
 A. Cogan, vol. i. p. 104, seqq. 
 
Chap. II. 2.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 53 
 
 office; a baptistery, a sacristy — being, moreover, sufficiently 
 furnished with crucifixes, chalices, patenas (altar-cloths), vest- 
 ments, and other sacred ornaments ; it has a cemetery attached, 
 and a belfry which is in ruins; there are three dignitaries, 
 a dean, archdeacon, and provost, and ten or twelve canons. 
 The diocese is sufficiently large ; but its inhabitants are, for the 
 most part, rude and untamed (sylvestres et indomitos) ; it has 
 another cathedral church, named Anaghduagh, attached to it 
 for many years." As regards the vacancy of the see, the de- 
 ponent attests, that it was vacant for many years since the death 
 of Thomas O'Molaly, the last Catholic bishop — on whose demise 
 Dr. Christopher Bodkin, who had been appointed by the Holy 
 See bishop of Kilmacduagh,* intruded himself into the see of 
 Tuam, being confirmed by the authority of king Henry, and he 
 still retains its possession, together with the see of Kilmacduagh. 
 Being asked whether there was any other claimant for the see 
 of Tuam, the same witness replied, that " Arthur O'Frighi, 
 a native of Ulster, claimed it by appointment from the Holy 
 See, as he (the witness) had been informed by the said 
 Arthur."! As to Dr. Bodkin, it is added that he was about 
 fifty years of age, of a noble family, and remarkable for the 
 morality and sanctity of his life, being also well versed in 
 theology and canon law, to which he had applied himself in 
 the university of Oxford ; he was, moreover, a stern defender 
 of orthodoxy, and an enemy of the heretics, and more through 
 fear than depravity of intention, contracted the guilt of schism. 
 The city itself, it is added, was wholly free from all danger or 
 suspicion of heresy4 This evidence of Rev. Peter Wall was 
 
 * He was consecrated bishop of Kilmacduagh, at Marseilles, November 4, 
 1534.' He was subsequently appointed archbishop of Tuam, by the English 
 monarch, on the 13th of February, 1537, but was not recognized by E,ome. 
 Notwithstanding his schismatieal appointment, he remained devoted to the 
 Catholic faith. On his submission to the Holy See, he was aUowed by cardinal 
 Pole to continue in the a dmin istration of the temporalities of the see of Tuam, 
 with the tight of succession on the demise of Dr. O'Frighi. 
 
 t This Arthur was, indeed, for many years after, true archbishop of Tuam, 
 as we learn from a letter of David Wolf, 12th October, 1561 : he was a canon 
 of Kaphoe, and appointed to Tuam in 1538. — (Acta Consistorialia in Archiv. 
 Vatic.) 
 
 t There is a note added to the document which would impair a little the 
 favorable testimony of this witness, in regard of Dr. Bodkin : " Ipse (Petrus 
 Wall) fuit familiaris dicti Christophori et ab eo obtinuit archidiaconatum 
 Eeeke. Duacensis. " His evidence, however, is fully corroborated in every par- 
 
5 i FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [IninoD. 
 
 corroborated by the testimony of Donald Doign, a Tuam priest, 
 and of Maurice Macrai, a priest of Kilmacduagh. 
 
 The third document presents a similar investigation, held on 
 the 14th of October the same year, regarding the diocese of 
 Anaghduagh (Anachduanen.), which was supposed to be united 
 to the metropolitical see of Tuam. We glean from it that the 
 city of Anaghduagh was small, and unfortified, — being situated 
 at the distance of four or five miles from the city of Tuam ; 
 there was a small cathedral church in it, dedicated under the 
 invocation of St. Brandan. This church had still a dean and 
 archdeacon, and some canons, who, however, did not reside 
 there; in fact, it was altogether abandoned, and only one Mass 
 was celebrated in it on the days of obligation: " there is a belfry 
 attached to it, and a cemetery ; it has only one chalice and one 
 vestment; the diocese itself is small, and situated in a dangerous 
 and uncivilized country." 
 
 That these districts, which were as yet almost wholly exempt 
 from English rule, should be styled barbarian by English 
 authority, is intelligible enough ; but the fact that the cathedral 
 churches, even in those remote dioceses, had been plundered and 
 had fallen into decay, sufficiently attests with what fury the agents 
 of the English court had assailed, throughout the whole king- 
 dom, the time-honoured monuments of the faith of our fathers. 
 We have a further confirmation of their vandalic fury in the 
 commission which was issued on the 3rd of December, 1556, 
 addressed to the archbishop of Dublin, with the deans of Christ's 
 Church and St. Patrick's, and some others who were authorized 
 " to report on all lands and tenements, all sacred plate, bells, and 
 other utensils, as well as all sums of money which had lately 
 belonged to the churches or chapels of the diocese of Dublin ; 
 and to inquire into the present state of such churches, and if 
 ruinous or in decay, to investigate by whose fault they had 
 become so." 
 
 The Catholic faith was now fully restored, not only in its 
 
 ticular by the letter of David "Wolf already referred to, with the exception of 
 the motive which is said to have impelled Dr. Bodkin to throw himself into 
 the arms of the schismatical party. From Wolf's letter it is clear, that Dr. 
 Bodkin was not merely impelled by fear to accept, but much rather impelled by 
 ambition to solicit, from Henry that dignity which had been refused by the 
 Holy See. 
 
Chap. II. 2.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 55 
 
 sacred ritual, but also in its civil power and influence, throughout 
 the whole extent of the kingdom : nevertheless, we do not meet 
 with one single case of persecution against those who professed 
 the Protestant tenets. So well known, indeed, were the senti- 
 ments of toleration of the Irish Catholics, that when many- 
 Protestant families of England found themselves subjected to 
 local disabilities or persecution, they fled for refuge to Dublin 
 and other parts of Ireland, and continued there to pursue unmo- 
 lested the practices of their peculiar creeds. Dr. Leland records 
 that, " the assertors of the reformation who had not fled from 
 this kingdom, were, by the lenity of the Irish government, 
 
 suffered to sink into obscurity and neglect Several 
 
 English families, friends to the reformation, fled into Ireland, 
 and there enjoyed their opinions and worship in privacy, without 
 notice or molestation."* Taylor, too, confesses that " the restora- 
 tion of the old religion was effected without violence ; no perse- 
 cution of the Protestants was attempted, and several of the 
 English .... found a safe retreat among the Catholics of 
 Ireland. It is but justice to this maligned body to add, that on 
 three occasions of their obtaining the upper hand, they never 
 injured a single person in life or limb for professing a religion 
 different from their own, .... as they showed, in the reigu of 
 Mary — in the wars from 1641 to 1648 — and during the brief 
 triumph of James II."t Mr. William Parnell gratefully 
 acknowledges, in like manner, that " though the religious 
 feelings of the Irish Catholics, and their feelings as men, had 
 been treated with very little ceremony during the two preceding 
 reigns, they made a wise and moderate use of their ascendancy. 
 They entertained no resentment for the past ; they laid no plans 
 
 for future domination Such was the general spirit of 
 
 toleration, that many English families, friends to the reforma- 
 tion, took refuge in Ireland, and there enjoyed their opinions 
 and worship without molestation.''^ The editor of the Liber 
 Munerum Hibernise, also writes of Mary's reign : " There was 
 no persecution of the Protestants in Ireland by fire or torture, 
 in this reign. In truth, the reformation not having been sown 
 
 * Hist, of Ireland, book 3rd. , ch. viii. 
 
 t Hist, of the Civil Wars in Ireland, vol. i., page 169. 
 
 J Historical Apology, page 35, sea,. 
 
56 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [ImnOD. 
 
 in Ireland, there was no occasion to water it by the blood 
 of martyrs: insomuch, that several English families, friends 
 to the reformation, withdrew into Ireland as into a secure 
 asylum."* 
 
 These first years of Dr. Curwin's episcopate were a period of 
 comparative peace and tranquillity. But though the govern- 
 ment had restored the Catholic religion, yet in some districts, 
 the local authorities that remained unchanged, continued their 
 petty vexations and persecutions against the Catholic clergy. 
 As regards Dr. Curwin himself, would to heaven, that a veil 
 could be drawn to close his history with the death of queen 
 Mary ! for his career during her reign had been unsullied by 
 those vices that marked his subsequent years, and made him an 
 object of reproach and shame, even to the Protestant sectaries 
 whose communion he embraced. 
 
 3. — Apostacy of Dr. Curwin and Ms subsequent Career. 
 
 On the 17th of November, 1558, queen Mary died, and it 
 was soon necessary for our archbishop to choose between the 
 smiles of her successor, and the poverty and persecutions to 
 which the Catholics were subjected. Dr. Curwin did not long 
 deliberate, and true to his earlier courtier habits, resolved with- 
 out delay to accommodate his conscience and conduct so as to 
 suit the fancy of Elizabeth. His history as archbishop of 
 Dublin is thus brought to a close ; but the documents connected 
 with his subsequent career, record some particulars which merit 
 the reader's attention, and illustrate the condition of the Irish 
 Church at this period. 
 
 The constancy of the dean of his cathedral church presents 
 a striking contrast with the base apostacy of the archbishop. 
 
 * Lib. Munerum vol. i. part i. page 38. It reflects but little credit on Dr. Mant 
 that though he was obliged to confess that " several English Protestants fled 
 into Ireland from Cheshire, and bringing with them their families, goods, and 
 chattels, lived in Dublin, and became citizens of that city ;" yet he has not 
 the fairness to acknowledge the forbearance of the Irish Catholics, and 
 endeavours to explain the peace and quiet which was enjoyed by the Protestants 
 by their own "wisdom and caution" in concealing their religion. But if such 
 was their wisdom and caution, why, we may ask, did they not remain at home 
 with their goods and cliattels in Cheshire ? 
 
Chap. II. 3.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 57 
 
 Thomas Leverous had been appointed dean of St. Patrick's, 
 Dublin, in 1554, and by special privilege continued to hold 
 that dignity even after his consecration as bishop of Kildare.* 
 When the earl of Kildare and his five uncles were treacherously 
 seized on in 1535, and sent to England to be soon after led to 
 the scaffold, the only hope of the Geraldine family, the youthful 
 Gerald, half-brother to the earl, was saved by his faithful tutor, 
 Dr. Leverous. The youth was lying ill at Donore, in the 
 county of Kildare, but " his nurse immediately committed him 
 to the care of his tutor, Thomas Leverous, a priest and foster- 
 brother of his father, who carefully conveyed him in a large 
 basket into OfFaly, to his sister, lady Mary O'Connor. There he 
 remained until he had perfectly recovered, when he was removed 
 first to O'Dun's country, and after three months, to Thomond, 
 where he was under the care of his cousin, James Delahoide, 
 eldest son of Walter Delahoide of Moyglare."t During the 
 five years that Gerald continued in Ireland, travelling from 
 district to district, and ever varying his disguise, Leverous 
 was with him, his faithful guardian and preceptor. The 
 lord deputy and the English agents employed every art 
 and stratagem, and offered every inducement that could allure 
 the Irish chieftains to surrender or betray the wished-for 
 prize ; but all were " so affectionate to the Geraldines"| that 
 not one traitor was found in the Irish ranks. Dr. Leverous 
 was also mainly instrumental in organizing that confederacy 
 of the Irish chieftains which, in 1537 and 1540, well nigh 
 brought to ruin the power of king Henry in Ireland. The 
 despatches of that time declare, that " never was such a 
 combination seen in Ireland,"§ and whilst the English com- 
 manders pourtray their own alarms and their treacherous designs, 
 they also record the interesting fact, that the Irish confederates 
 had appealed to arms to defend " the supremacy of the pope 
 and the Geraldines."|| About the middle of March, 1540, the 
 young Geraldine, " dressed in a saffron-colored shirt, and bare- 
 
 * He was nominated by the crown to that vacant see on the 1st of March, 
 1555, and was confirmed by the Holy See on 3rd August, the same year. 
 
 t See " The Earls of Kildare and their Ancestors, from 1057 to 1773," by 
 the marquis of Kildare. Second edition. Dublin, 1858, pag. 170. 
 
 t St. Pap., vol. iii., pag. 148. 
 
 § State Pap. vol. iii., pag. 145. || Ibid. pag. 148. 
 
58 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Inteod. 
 
 headed, like one of the wild Irish,"* and accompanied only by 
 Leverous and two attendants, set sail from Donegal Bay, and 
 " safely arrived at St. Malo, where he was hospitably received 
 by the governor, Mons. de Cha^eaubriand."t So great was the 
 reverence and affection of the young earl for his faithful tutor, 
 that at the slightest word of rebuke, he used to tremble through 
 fear of displeasing him.f The intrigues of the English king 
 soon obliged the young Geraldine to fly from France, and sub- 
 sequently too from Flanders, and take refuge in Rome, where 
 " he was treated with the greatest affection ;"§ and sharer of all 
 his perils and sufferings, was the worthy provost of Kildare- 
 In Rome, Dr. Leverous became acquainted with cardinal Pole, 
 and pursued his studies there from 1543 till 1548, when he 
 returned again to England, still the guardian and guide of the 
 Geraldine. 
 
 In 1551 we meet with a characteristic letter of the lord deputy, 
 sir James Crofts, in which that Protestant nobleman writes to 
 the English court, suggesting the appointment of Leverous to 
 either of the vacant sees of Cashel or Ossory, declaring that " for 
 learning, discretion, and (in outward appearance) for good 
 living, he is the meetest man in this realm, and best able to 
 preach both in the English and the Irish tongue." And he 
 adds : " for as much as he was thought an offender for convey - 
 inc the lord Garrett out of the realm, and notwithstanding since 
 had his pardon, I dare not become a suitor for him, although, as 
 I have said, I know no man so meet ; I heard him preach such 
 a sermon as, in my simple opinion, I did not hear in many 
 years."|| Dr. Leverous, however, was not the flexible character 
 required by the English courtiers; and it was only in 1555, on 
 the expulsion of the Protestant bishop from Kildare, that he 
 was advanced to his native^ diocese. When on the accession. 
 
 * Despatch of one of the English continental spies from Rennes, 22nd May 
 1540 : in St. Pap., vol. iii. pag. 211. 
 
 t " The Earls of KM.," pag. 182. 
 
 | St. Pap. vol. iii., pag. 211, and another letter from Rouen to Henry VIII., 
 on 6th Sept., 1541, ibid, pag, 281. 
 
 § "Earls of Kild," pag. 193. For many further particulars regarding the 
 young earl and Dr. Leverous, see Stanihurst, "Hist Anglicana," vol. i., page 
 245, seq. 
 
 || Shirley's " Original Letters," etc., pag. 61-2. 
 
 "U The nomination of Dr. Leverous received the sanction of the Holy See on 
 the 3rd of August, 1555 ; the bull of his appointment, however, did not reach 
 
Chap II. 3.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 59 
 
 of Elizabeth lie was summoned to take the oath of allegiance, 
 both spiritual and temporal, he heroically refused to comply with 
 the injunctions of the lord deputy, and avowed his determina- 
 tion to risk every earthly prospect, sooner than renounce his faith. 
 His interview with the deputy is thus described by Mr. Mason, 
 in his history of St. Patrick's Cathedral : — The lord deputy asked 
 him why he refused to take an oath which had already been 
 taken by so many illustrious men. The bishop made answer, 
 that all ecclesiastical jurisdiction was derived from Christ: and 
 since the divine founder of the Church did not deem it fit to 
 confer ecclesiastical authority even on the most privileged of 
 women, His own blessed Mother, how could it be believed that 
 supremacy and the primacy of ecclesiastical authority should, in 
 future ages, be delegated to anyone of that sex? He added, 
 that according to the command of the apostle, no woman should 
 presume to speak authoritatively in the Church, much less 
 should she preside and rule there ; and to confirm this opinion, 
 he adduced authorities from St. Chrysostom and Tertullian, and 
 other early writers. The deputy, abandoning this line of argu- 
 ment, then represented to him that if he refused to comply, he 
 must be deprived of all his revenues; to which the worthy 
 bishop replied, in the words of the sacred text: " What shall it 
 profit a man to gain the whole world, if he lose his own 
 soul?"* 
 
 The threat was soon put .in execution; and whilst govern- 
 ment honours were heaped on those worthless men who sacrificed 
 their consciences to the whims of Elizabeth, Dr. Leverous " was 
 dispossessed of his temporalities, and compelled to fly the country. 
 He sojourned some time inf or near Limerick, where he taught 
 school. He afterwards returned, visited his destitute flock, and 
 in a little time closed a most pious and apostolic life, in an 
 
 Ireland till the 19th of December, through the illness of the person to whom it 
 was entrusted. " In the Auditor-General's office (says Mason) there is a petition 
 of Dr. Leverous praying to be allowed the main profits of his see from the date of 
 the pope's bull — which profits are stated to be forty-four pounds per annum. 
 His petition was granted, as appears by the order, which is dated the 15th of 
 February." — Hist, of St. Patrick's, pag. 162. 
 
 * See Analecta, by Dr. Koothe of Ossory, and other authorities in Mason's 
 Hist. loc. cit. 
 
 t His first school was at Adare, and one of his ushers in that hallowed loca- 
 lity was Richard Creagh, who in a few years was promoted to the archbishopric 
 of Armagh. — Mason, "Hist, of St. Patrick's," page 160, seq. 
 
60 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Intkod. 
 
 obscure hut at Naas.* We are further informed by Ware, that 
 he died about the year 1577, in the eightieth year of his age, 
 and was buried at Naas, in the parish church of St. David. 
 
 One of the chief instructions given to the lord deputy, on being 
 sent into Ireland, was, " to set up the worship of God as it was 
 in England."! To carry this design into execution, a parlia- 
 ment was convened in January, 1560, and the following statutes 
 were published, to regulate the future government and worship 
 of the Established Church in Ireland. The first act declares 
 " restored to the crown the ancient jurisdiction over the state, 
 ecclesiastical and spiritual ."J The oath of supremacy was 
 ordered to be taken by all ecclesiastical persons, officers, and 
 ministers ; and forfeiture of office was the penalty for refusing it. 
 To maintain or defend foreign jurisdiction, was pronounced an 
 offence for which an ecclesiastic should, the first time, lose all 
 his benefices ; the second time, incur the penalty of praemunire, 
 and the third time, be adjudged to suffer the penalties of high 
 treason. 
 
 Another statute decreed " the uniformity of common prayer 
 and service in the church and in the administration of the 
 sacraments." In the first year of Edward VI. the Book of 
 Common Prayer had been introduced into Ireland, and it 
 remained unchanged during the remainder of his reign, although 
 in England it was subjected to many variations. It was now intro- 
 duced again, not according to its former Irish model, but according 
 to its latest English fashion, with certain further alterations and 
 additions, and thus remodelled, it was ordered to be used in all 
 the cathedral and parish churches of the kingdom. All minis- 
 ters " who should refuse to use it, or should use any other form, 
 or speak or preach in derogation of it," were mulcted for the 
 first offence, with the forfeiture of a year's profit of benefice and 
 six months' imprisonment ; for the second offence, with impri- 
 sonment for one year and deprivation ; and for the third offence, 
 with imprisonment for life. This same statute commanded " all 
 persons to resort to the parish churches on all Sundays and 
 Holidays, and there to abide orderly during the service, 
 
 * These words are taken from a MS. memorandum written by Eight Rev. 
 Dr. Doyle, bp. of K. and L., and kindly communicated by his worthy successor 
 the present bishop of that see. 
 
 t Cox. i. 313. I 2 Elizab. chap. i. 
 
Chai-. II. 3.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 61 
 
 on pain of trie censures of the Church, and twelve-pence, 
 to be levied by the churchwardens, for the use of the poor." 
 As, however, not one in a thousand, even within the pale, 
 could appreciate the service of the " common prayer," it 
 was deemed necessary to derogate from what the reformers 
 had more than once proclaimed to be required by God's law, 
 and considering the peculiar circumstances of Ireland, it was 
 declared lawful not to celebrate in the vulgar tongue, but 
 " to say and use the matins, even-song, celebration of the 
 Lord's supper, and administration of each of the sacraments, 
 and all their common and open prayer, in the Latin lan- 
 guage."* This device of the government theologians had, in 
 part, its desired effect ; for many of the Irish Catholics, seeing the 
 Latin liturgy yet preserved, which was everywhere regarded as 
 a sure sign of the Catholic faith, continued for awhile to frequent 
 the parish churches, reciting their rosaries and performing their 
 usual Catholic devotions. The sheep's clothing, however, could 
 not long conceal the iniquitous designs of the new ministers ; 
 and when the mistake was discovered, the churches were left 
 desolate, and the faithful people sought in the glens and moun- 
 tain caverns their own true pastors, to receive from them the 
 sacraments of life. 
 
 As to Dr. Curwin, one of his first cares after bowing to the 
 decrees of Elizabeth, was to remove the statues and other orna- 
 ments with which he himself had formerly adorned the cathe- 
 dral and parochial churches. Even the beautiful fresco-paintings 
 were effaced; and amongst the MSS. of Marsh's library we find 
 a record, that " orders were sent to newly paint the walls of St. 
 Patrick's, and instead of pictures, to place passages of Scripture 
 thereon."f Like instructions were sent to the other churches 
 and in particular the dean of Christ's Church was commanded 
 " to remove all popish relics and images, and to paint and whiten 
 it anew, effacing from the walls all paintings and other such 
 remains of popery ;" orders which were without delay carried 
 into execution. $ 
 
 In 1564 Dr. Curwin actively opposed a project for converting 
 
 * Act of Parliament, 2nd Eliz., c. ii. ; Leland's History of Ireland, ii 225 • 
 Mant, i. 260. 
 
 t See Mant, i. 253. t Md. p. 2G5. 
 
62 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Intbod. 
 
 the church of St. Patrick into a university ; assigning for such 
 opposition, the following characteristic reasons: 1. "The notion 
 of the change cometh from certain greedy persons, who have 
 repaired out of this realm to the court, who look more for their 
 own gain than any profit of the country, thinking that at the 
 dissolving thereof, they may have the prebends to farm at a low 
 price, as divers of them have already boasted there." 2. " In 
 this realm of Ireland, a university will be of small profit ; for 
 here there are no promotions to be bestowed upon clerks that 
 are learned, which, however, would be a matter of necessity." 
 3. " An university here will be unprofitable ; for the Irish 
 enemy, under colour of study, would send their friends hither, 
 who would learn the secrets of the country, and advertise them 
 thereof, so that the Irish rebels should by them know the secrets 
 of the English pale." 4. " The prebends are parish churches, 
 having cure of souls, and therefore have to be bestowed on 
 elderly men, and not on young scholars: the whole profit of 
 them standeth in tithes, without any temporal land, which at 
 present, as corn is extremely dear, are worth something ; but if 
 the price of corn shall fall, they would be of too small a value 
 to help any number of scholars." 5. " Moreover, the change of 
 the church would be a destruction to the archbishop here, who 
 hath not one benefice within the English pale to bestow upon 
 learned men, but only the prebends of St. Patrick's, which are 
 only twenty -three in number; so that if they be altered, he 
 shall not be able to have one learned man to preach God's word 
 in his diocese."* 
 
 To Protestant writers of the present day, one of the most 
 important events of Dr. Curwin's career was the consecration of 
 Adam Loftus, who in 1562 was oppointed by her majesty arch- 
 bishop of Armagh. This act derives its importance from the 
 validity which it seems to impart to the Protestant ordinations 
 of the Irish Church ; and hence it is chosen by them as the link 
 which preserved apostolical succession in the Protestant hierarchy 
 of this kingdom.! It would be foreign to these pages to examine 
 
 * The original letter of Curwin is given in Shirley's " Collection," etc. pp. 
 151-153. ' 
 
 t See Mant, loc. cit. 269, 270 ; Harris's Ware, p. 94. 
 
Chap. II. 3.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 63 
 
 whether valid ordination would of itself suffice to preserve un- 
 broken the apostolical succession : it certainly did not suffice to 
 preserve such apostolical succession in the churches of Apolli- 
 naris and Nestorius. There is, however, something altogether 
 mysterious about the election of Dr. Loftus to the see of Armagh. 
 His early ordination as priest is subject to grave doubts. Whilst 
 yet at Cambridge, it was the comeliness of his person and his 
 graceful address, that won for him the favour of Elizabeth; and he 
 was only in his twenty-eighth year, when he was appointed by her 
 to the see of Armagh* He was at first nominated by her majesty 
 for that see in November, 1561, but for some secret cause, she 
 again suspended that nomination.! At the urgent solicitation of 
 the earl of Sussex, she renewed her nomination in the following 
 year, and sent an order to the chapter of Armagh to proceed to 
 his election. There is preserved, however, a letter of the lord 
 deputy and council of Ireland to queen Elizabeth, on Sep- 
 tember 2nd, 1562, in which they complain that the chapter 
 could by no means be assembled ; they were all' adherents of 
 Shane O'Neil, and neither argument nor threat could induce 
 them to proceed to the election of the queen's nominee.^ The 
 remedy, however, was in the hands of her majesty, and 
 consequently we find him consecrated by virtue of her sole 
 authority on 2nd of March, 1563. There is no record of his 
 earlier ordination : the fact of his being dean of St. Patrick's 
 during Elizabeth's reign, does not imply any such ordination ;§ 
 
 * Harris's Ware, loc. cit. t Shirley's Orig. Lett., pp. 91-100. 
 
 J Shirley's "Orig. Lett.," pag. 119, 121. Perhaps the true reason why the 
 canons refused to assemble for the election of an archbishop was, that the 
 see was not vacant, as an archbishop had already been canonically appointed 
 by the Holy See. 
 
 § We are informed by Mason (see also Shirley, pag. 299), in his Hist, of St. 
 Patrick's (pag. 170), that, in 1568, Robert Weston, though no ecclesiastic, yet 
 was dean of St. Patrick's ; and at the same time another of the prebendaries 
 was a layman. These facts remained unnoticed till an investigation was held 
 in that .year, when both acknowledged they were laymen, but pleaded that 
 they had received a dispensation from the archbishop of Canterbury. They 
 were both allowed to continue in their prebends. This promotion to the 
 episcopate, without previous ordination, may seem strange at the present 
 day. However, it was more a matter of course in the reign of Elizabeth. 
 Thus, in the genealogical account of the O'Donnellans, published by O'Do- 
 novan in I.A.S., 1843, it is said of Dr. Nehemias O'Donnellan, who was 
 consecrated Protestant archbishop of Tuam on May 18th, 1595, " though he 
 never was in holy orders, he was called archbishop of Tuam.'''' — Ibid. pag. 171. The 
 fact seems to be, that many of those who were thus appointed to the episcopate, 
 
64 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Ihteod. 
 
 and the well-known sentiments that then swayed the court and 
 the Protestant bishops of England, must make the rational 
 inquirer hesitate, before he recognizes Dr. Loftus as a person 
 capable of receiving the true episcopal consecration.* 
 
 The history of the removal of Dr. Curwin to the see of 
 Oxford, and the causes which led to it, throw some light on 
 the condition of the Established Church in Ireland at this 
 period. Strype, in his life of archbishop Parker, tells us that 
 he met with a letter written about 1562, by Adam Loftus (who 
 a little while before had been appointed to the see of Armagh) 
 and addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury, wherein Dr. 
 Loftus " hinted how his grace of Canterbury had promised to 
 aid him in all church causes of Ireland, especially for removing 
 the archbishop of Dublin ;" and Strype adds, that Dr. Curwin 
 " was, as described by the archbishop of Armagh, a known 
 enemy, and labouring under open crimes, which although he 
 shamed not to do, I am (said that archbishop) almost ashamed 
 to mention."! From this passage Dr. Mant justly concludes 
 that " archbishop Curwin's character suffered under some heavy 
 moral imputations, as we have already seen his unsteadiness as 
 to religion.''^ 
 
 Indeed these accusations against Dr. Curwin were more than 
 once repeated. As early as November 2nd, 1560, he himself 
 petitioned to be translated to an English see,§ setting forth as 
 his claim, that " no man of his coat" had been more devoted to 
 
 looked on their appointment as a mere money-mating speculation, and a 
 mere concern of civil government. Thus we read in Lynch's MS. History 
 of the Irish Church, when speaking of the famous bishop of Achonry, Dr. 
 Eugene O'Hart: "Id etiam commodi ex episcopatibus Achadensi et AUadensi, 
 Eugenio O'Conor, ab Elizabetha regina collatis hausit ut ab ilia sede sua 
 minime motus f uerit, ut pote cui arcto amicitise nexu ante religionis mutationem 
 devinctus fuerat, sed 180 marcarum censu veteri sodali quotannis persoluto 
 quietem sibi et functiones episcopales intra suae diaeceseos fines obeundi potes- 
 tatem comparavit : et alter ille Eugenius ideo tantum a fide descivit ut se 
 fluxis et caducis divitiis et voluptatibus expleret." 
 
 * To theologians, of course, one great reason for rejee ing the validity of the 
 Protestant ordinations, even in Ireland, is the insufficiency of the form used 
 in the Protestant ritual. For the subject viewed in this light, we refer the 
 reader to the essays of Dr. Lingard, Kenrick, Perrone, and others. Dr. Mant 
 evidently betrays some anxiety on the question, when he writes that the 
 Protestant succession of bishops through Dr. Loftus is unquestioned and 
 unquestionable, and protected against all exceptions, even from the Papists 
 themselves.— Hist, of the Church of Irel. London, 1840, vol. i., pag. 270. 
 
 t Strype's Life of Parker, i. 221. J Mant. loc. cit., pag. 282. 
 
 § Shirley, loc. cit., pag. 94. 
 
Chap. II. S.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 65 
 
 the crown, whether in England or in Ireland. This translation, 
 however, was not accorded to him, and we next meet with a 
 letter in her majesty's name (Oct. 15, 1563) proposing to him to 
 resign his archbishopric and chancellorship, and offering him 
 as compensation £200 per annum for the remainder of his life.* 
 To this proposal Dr. Curwin replied on the 3rd of April follow- 
 ing, and while he hints that her majesty, " upon sinister informa- 
 tion, hath conceived some dislike" for himself and his doings,f 
 he renews his suit for an English bishopric, " where, I trust," 
 he adds, " I should recover better health than I have had in 
 this realm ;" and, in fine, he prays that at least such benefices 
 would be granted to him as would equal his revenue in Dublin, 
 and thus enable him to keep his old servants, who were English- 
 men, and to continue the hospitality which he had ever kept 
 since his ecclesiastical promotion, and which he ivould be loath to 
 give over in Ids latter days.% Not obtaining these favours, he 
 says, " the evil-disposed would have cause to conceive or 
 report that for my evil deserts or lack of due service I was 
 thought worthy to lose these offices ; and especially the arch- 
 bishopric, the leaving whereof, and not receiving another, shall 
 engender slander against me, that I was deprived of it." No 
 change, however, was made for the moment, and it was only on 
 the 28th of March, 1566, that his translation to Oxford was 
 announced to the lord deputy, which was at length carried into 
 effect in the following year. The letter which Dr. Curwin on 
 this occasion addressed to the chief secretary in England is, 
 indeed, a characteristic one: he asks, as a further favor, that he 
 might leave Dublin before the following winter, and " in such 
 time as he might provide fire for the winter and hay for his 
 horses," and he suggests that his successor should be appointed 
 without delay, " for, if the see stand vacant, much of the lands 
 will be pilfered away by Irishmen, and the houses spoiled."§ 
 
 A little before this translation was confirmed by the crown, 
 Dr. Brady gave a rather low character of the archbishop, 
 praying for his recall, as being an old unprofitable workman ;\ 
 
 * Shirley, loc. cit. pag. 124-5. + Ibid. pag. 144. 
 
 X Loc. cit. p 147- 
 
 § Shirley, loc cit. p. 248-9 : from a letter of the lord deputy (Ibid. p. 250) we 
 learn that Dr. Curwin made a further petition to be allowed the preceding half- 
 year's rent of Oxford. || Ibid. pag. 201, letter of June 23, 1565. 
 
G6 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [IntroD. 
 
 and elsewhere lie had styled him a disguised dissembler, number- 
 ing him amongst the dumb dogs who neither teach nor feed any 
 save themselves. Even Dr. Loftus was not less severe, and 
 besides the letter already cited in the extract from Strype, he 
 again wrote on October 8th, 1565, urging Dr. Curwin's re- 
 moval, as being unfit and unwilling to further any business of 
 the new reformation;* and when this removal was delayed, be 
 again wrote on October 5th, 1 5Go : " I beseech your honor, for 
 Jesus Christ's sake, that my suit in regard of the church of 
 Dublin may be so furthered, that it may be finished with the 
 expedition which the cause reqnireth : it is much that I desire, 
 and yet no more than the case demands ; for when he (Dr. 
 Curwin) neither does good in preaching nor reforming his 
 diocese himself,- — -when he placeth in the sufficient livings for 
 able preachers, those that he never saw and never come there, 
 open enemies, and such as for want of learning are never able, 
 even if they had the will, to do the church any good, — when in 
 open judgment (loath I am to say it, and I say it only con- 
 strainedly), when, I say, in open judgment, he will swear 
 terribly, and that not once or twice, I beseech your honor, 
 is it not time, and more than time, that such a one be removed? 
 and yet, I spare him, I assure your honor, that you may under- 
 stand how far I am from maligning him." (Ibid. pag. 275). 
 
 4. — The Irish remain devoted to the Catholic Faith. 
 
 It has been often asserted that the act of parliament to which 
 we have already referred, implies an official renunciation of the 
 authority of the Holy See by the representatives of the Irish 
 nation. Such a statement, however, is wholly irreconcileable 
 with the true facts of the case,f and the enactments of that par- 
 liament can in nowise be indentified with the wishes of Ireland. 
 The official list of the members summoned to parliament in 
 1559-60, has been recently published by the Irish Archaeo- 
 logical Society 4 More than two-thirds of the upper house are 
 
 * Ibid. pag. 226. 
 
 t See an able article on this subject in "Pvambler," Jan. 1853, entitled 
 "A chapter in the History of the lief, of Ireland," from the pen of my 
 lamented friend, Br Kelly, Prof, of Ec. Hist. , Maynooth. 
 
 J "Tracts relating to Ireland," vol ii , pag., 135. 
 
Chap. II. 4.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 67 
 
 known to have continued for many years attached to the 
 Catholic faith;* and amongst them were many who endured 
 severe persecutions on account of their devotedness to that 
 sacred cause. The lower house consisted of comparatively kw 
 members. No county in Ulster was allowed a representative, 
 and only one of its borough-towns, viz., Carrickfergus, had the 
 privilege of a voice in parliament. From all Connaught there 
 was likewise no county member, and only two boroughs, viz., 
 Galway and Athenry, were represented in it. From Munster 
 there were but twenty members, whilst from a portion of 
 Leinster the remaining fifty members were summoned to 
 parliament. In a word, only those districts were allowed a 
 representative, which were most subject to government control; 
 and the decision of a parliament thus constituted was surely not 
 the voice of the Irish nation. 
 
 Though the members of such a parliament would naturally 
 be supposed to-be pliant to the wishes of Elizabeth, yet the 
 majority made no secret of their resolution to refuse their 
 sanction to the English penal code. This was a moment of 
 perilous anxiety for the lord deputy. He had received 
 positive instructions from her majesty to have these laws passed 
 in parliament^ and nothing remained to him but to have 
 recourse to stratagem to ensure the approving smiles of the 
 imperious monarch. 
 
 " The blame of these outrages on religion (writes the learned 
 author of Camb?*ensis inversus) must not be charged against all 
 the members elected to serve in that parliament. The deputy 
 is recorded to have employed violence, and the speaker 
 
 * The editor of The Life and Times of Sir P. Carew, 1857, pag. lxxxviii, 
 acknowledges that " most of the temporal lords were firmly attached to the 
 Boinish communion." He adds, however, the bishops were not so zealous or 
 steadfast in their faith : they had accepted every phase of religion which had 
 been presented to them, and with the exception of two, Meath and Kildare, 
 they made no difficulty on the present occasion." This latter statement is 
 wholly inconsistent (1.), with what the same writer adds (pag. lxxxix.) : "It 
 was found impossible to enforce the new laws ; the clergy refused to conform, 
 abandoned their cures, and none could be found to supply their places ;" (2.) 
 with the report of the government commission of 1564, which describes the 
 bishops as being, with the exceptiou of two, all opposed to the new tenets — 
 Shirley, pag. 140 ; safe also other documents in preface. 
 
 t Lib. Munerum Hib. vol. i, part 4th, page 113, letter of Eliz. 18th 
 Oct., 1559 
 
68 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Ikthod. 
 
 treachery. Finding that there was a very thin attendance of 
 members on a certain day* and that the benches were almost 
 untenanted, except by a few who were already resolved to 
 abolish the old creed, he delivered an elaborate and specious 
 harangue for the abrogation of the Catholic faith, and is said to 
 have carried with him the votes of the house. I have been 
 informed that it was previously announced in the house that 
 parliament would not sit on that very day ; but, in the mean 
 time, a private summons was sent to those who were well known 
 to be favourable to the new creed. ''f 
 
 Another writer, father George Dillon, who, in 1650, full of 
 years, died a martyr of charity while assisting those stricken with 
 the plague in Waterford, adds some further particulars: " In 1560, 
 (he says) James Stanihursl, lord of Corduff, who was speaker of 
 the lower house of parliament, by sending private summons to 
 some, without any intimation to the more respectable Irish, 
 succeeded in carrying the penal law by surprise. . . . As soon 
 as the matter was discovered, in the next full meeting of parlia- 
 ment there was a general protest against the fraud, injustice, 
 and deliberate treachery of the proceeding. But the lord 
 deputy and others having solemnly sworn that the law would 
 never be carried into execution, the remonstrants were 
 caught in the dexterous snare, and consented that the enactment 
 should remain on the statute-book. "J The learned bishop of 
 Ossory, Dr. Roothe, also attests these facts; and he further 
 informs us that the delegates of the Irish parliament to king 
 James in 1613, declared to the English monarch that the penal 
 
 * From the official lists in Tracts, &c, published by R. I Academy, as also 
 fox and Liber Mun. Hib., we learn that the parliament was prorogued from 
 1 1th January to 1st February, 1560 ; as the 1st February was the Feast-day of 
 St. Brigid, the patroness of Ireland, we can easily understand how the ortho- 
 dox members might have absented themselves, and how it could have been 
 hinted to them that no public business would be transacted on that day. 
 
 t Vol iii., page 19. I)r Roothe in his Analecta, page 387, corroborates this 
 statement; and he also says of the same speaker of the parliament: "His 
 enormous wealth passed out of his family, with his grandson, who not only 
 squandered away the wages of his grandfather's guilt, but ran through the old 
 patrimonial inheritance." 
 
 J "Rationes etMotiva," etc, page 87; Oamb. Evers , loc. cit. page 21-3. 
 Curry, in his " Historical Review." book 2nd, chap iii. remarks that these 
 penal acts "were well known to have been imposed upoiuthe nation by force 
 or fraud, though under the plausible appearance of parliamentary sanction." 
 
Chap. II. 4] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 69 
 
 statutes of 1560 were passed in the fraudulent manner we have 
 described. 
 
 The government, however, soon resolved that these enact- 
 ments should not remain without effect: and we find commis- 
 sioners to inquire into the state of the Irish church appointed 
 for the county of Westmeath in May, 1561 ; for the province of 
 Armagh, including Meath, in December the same year, and for 
 the whole kingdom in October, 1564.* From a report made to 
 the privy council by two of the head commissioners in 1564, f 
 we learn what little progress had been made in the work of 
 reformation: they state that so devoted were the people to the 
 old religion, that scarcely could they be induced even to listen 
 to the new tenets; they say, however, that they must not be 
 despaired of, as the inhabitants were naturally inclined to observe 
 the laws, whilst the judges and lawyers were disposed to execute 
 the enactments made in regard of religion ; yet they conclude, 
 we thought good that they meddle not with the simple multitude 
 for the present, but with one or two boasting mass-men (priests) in 
 every shi?*e.$ 
 
 - In the " instructions" sent by the government to the lord 
 deputy (July 4th, 1565) the country is represented as unre- 
 formed, and as yet in its primitive, barbarous, and savage state: 
 ie, refusing to accept the laws and adopt the usages which 
 were established in 1560.§ 
 
 One of these enactments commanded that 'the oath of supre- 
 macy should be taken by all who were assumed to the various 
 civil offices throughout the kingdom. So far, however, were the 
 Irish cities and towns from complying with this injunction, that 
 throughout the whole of Elizabeth's reign they retained the old 
 Catholic oath, which, indeed, was a full profession of Catholic 
 faith and condemnatory of all heresies and schisms. It is thus 
 Peter Lombard writes in 1601: "The cities and towns, and 
 other civic communities never consented either to receive that 
 oath, or to require it from those who were elected to the magis- 
 tracy and other offices. Nay, as regards religion, no other oath 
 
 * " Liber Mun. Hib." vol. i. part. 2nd, pp. 181-2. 
 t Published by Shirley in " Oiig. Lett." p. 130. 
 + Ibid, p. 140. 
 § Shirley, loc. cit. 206-213. 
 
70 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [IkTKOD. 
 
 is ever taken in these towns but the oath of the olden Catholic 
 time?, in rejection and detestation of all heresies and heretics ; 
 so that it is more opposed to the English monarchs and their 
 religion than in any way favorable to them."* So determined 
 indeed was the opposition made by the Irish boroughs to the 
 oath of supremacy, that when some over-zealous ministers of the 
 crown sought to enforce it in Cork and other places, they were 
 rebuked by the court for their indiscretion. f 
 
 Another of the so-called parliamentary enactments prescribed, 
 under penalty of fine, attendance at the Protestant service 4 As 
 we have already remarked, such attendance was for the great 
 mass of the population wholly impracticable. The Protestant 
 ritual prescribed the service in the vulgar tongue; and whilst 
 even the Bible§ and Book of Common Prayer were not as yet 
 translated into the Irish language, the English tongue was wholly 
 unintelligible to the people, except in some districts of Louth, 
 Dublin, Meath, and Kildare.|| A concession was, however, made 
 
 * De Regno Hib. (MS ) chap. 20. — " Ad hsec, quamvis prophanum de quo 
 paulo antea juramentum de profitenda et eredenda suprema dictorum reg- 
 um auetoritate, cum in temporalibus turn id spiritualibus sic praescriptum ac 
 praceptum esset ab eorundem conciliis, tanquam quod deberet exigi ab omni- 
 bus qui in Hibernia ad officia publica assumeventur ; tamen civitates hie, 
 oppida, aliseque communitates juramentum istud suscipere nunquam volue- 
 runt, nee ab iis prtestari quos ad magistratum aliaque officia eligunt et assu- 
 munt. Imo quoad religionis eausam non aliud in iis prsestatur juramentum 
 quam olim Catholico tempore exigi solebat in abnegationem et detestation em 
 hicreseos et hsereticorum omnium ac proinde quod revera iisdem regibus, 
 eorumque religioni adversatur potius quam ullo modo favet." — (Pet. Lomb. 
 De Reg. Hib. cap. 20.) 
 
 t See an instance in Camb. Evers, vol 1, pag. 32, note. Other instances 
 occur in Hib. Pacata. 
 
 % Lord Clare, in his famous speech on the union, justly styles the enforcing 
 of the new liturgy a solecism in legislation, and adds: " In the body of the act, 
 by which the use of the English liturgy and a strict conformity to it was enjoined 
 under severe penalties, a clause is introduced, reciting that English ministers 
 could not be found to serve in Irish churches ; that the Irish people did not 
 understand the English language ; that the church -service could not be cele- 
 brated in Irish. And what is the reme.ly ? If the minister of the Gospel 
 cannot speak E7iglish, he may celebrate the church-service in the Latin 
 tongue." 
 
 § The first Prot. Bible in Irish was printed in 1603. 
 
 || Even in Kildare, however, but little progress had been as yet made in the 
 English language, if we can credit the testimony of Dr. Craik, the Protestant 
 bishop of that see. This prelate was appointed by Elizabeth in August, 1560, 
 and as Shirley remarks, was "chiefly remarkable for the very imprudent 
 exchanges which he made of the see-lands." (Orig. Letters, p. 95) Ware 
 also writes that he reduced "the very ancient see of Kildare to a shameful 
 poverty." (Harris's Ware's Bishops, p. 391.) And Harris adds, that in the 
 short time of his episcopate " he did more mischief to his see, than his sue- 
 
Chat. II. 4 ] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 71 
 
 in the sequel to the act, permitting the service to be continued 
 in Latin wheresoever the English language was not understood ; 
 and some of the uninstructed faithful being entrapped by this 
 artifice, continued for awhile to frequent the parochial churches, 
 imagining that no deviation had been made from the ancient 
 liturgy. Some, even of the most ignorant (writes Peter 
 Lombard) " guided by the unction of the Holy Ghost more than 
 by any other motive; withdrew themselves at once from this 
 Protestant service. But very many continued to flock thither 
 as usual in the Catholic times, in such a manner, however, that 
 they used no religious symbols, save those which proclaimed 
 their Catholic faith, bringing with them, and using in the 
 churches, the crucifix, with the image of our Saviour, the 
 prayers and beads of the Blessed Virgin, the litanies and pictures 
 
 cessors have been ever able to repair." (Ibid.) As early as April, 1561, he 
 thus wrote to lord Bobert Dudley : "As yon were the instrument of this my 
 continual and daily torment (I mean of my preferment unto a bishopric in such 
 place in Ireland, where neither I can preach unto the people, nor the people 
 understand me), I pray that you will be the like instrument unto the queen's 
 majesty, that I may be exonerated and unburdened of the same ; for there is 
 not a preacher to assist me in setting forth of God's word." (Shirley Orig. 
 Letts, pp. 95-6. ) It is indeed a remarkable fact, how little root the English 
 language had taken, even within the districts of the pale. As early as 1367, 
 in the famous statute of Kilkenny, the Irish language was interdicted to all 
 "the English, or Irish living among the English," under the penalty of forfei- 
 ture of "lands and tenements" (Tracts, etc., Eoyal Irish Acad., vol. ii. part 
 2nd, p. 13) ; and this severe enactment was renewed in each successive parlia- 
 ment till 1495, when it was at length repealed. Under Henry VIII. it was 
 again re-enacted in 1537, but in vain; for the Celtic tongue, year by year, 
 irresistibly encroached upon the English quarters, till at length, as Stanihurst 
 writes in 1575, it was free denizened in the English pale, and took such deep root, that 
 the body which was before whole and sound, became by little and little in a manner 
 wholly pulrified. (Description of Ireland, p. 4 ) In 1537 it had also been enacted 
 that no benefice should be given to a person that spoke Irish only, until pro- 
 clamation was made for four days in the nearest market town for an English- 
 speaking candidate; nevertheless, Sydney reported in 1576, that out of the one 
 hundred-and-two vicars of the diocese of Meath, there were only eighteen that 
 spoke English. The author of Cambrensis Eversus (i. 191) writes in 1660 that 
 the Irish language is that "which all of us to this day drink in on our mother's 
 breasts Except the inhabitants of Dublin, Drogheda, and Wexford, and their 
 immediate vicinities, the only knowledge we have of English is what we learn 
 in schools." Erom this it would appear that Wexford was an exceptional 
 town ; however, Stanihurst tells us that at his time (1575) the Wexfordians, 
 who formerly spoke no Irish, " had so acquainted themselves with the Irish 
 language, that they have made a mingle-mangle, or gallimanfrie, of both the 
 languages;" and he adds, that an English commissioner who was sent over to 
 Wexford, congratulated himself on his rapid progress in the Irish, because he 
 was able to understand odd words and sentences of the Wexford peasants ; he 
 thought "Ihey had prattled Irish all the while they jangled English." (Descrip. 
 of Ireland, p. 4.) 
 
72 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT [Isthod 
 
 of the saints ; and no sooner did they learn that it was unlawful 
 to frequent these churches and assist at such service, than they 
 at once avoided and execrated it, so much so, that to the 
 present day (1601), throughout all Ireland, wheresoever the 
 heretical or schisraatical service is performed, none are found to 
 assist at it, except some foreigners partly from England and 
 partly from other countries ; and so, too, the Protestant minis- 
 ters, of whom the most part is from England ; but any that are 
 Irish, make no secret of their having accepted this ministry, not 
 through any affection for the new tenets, but solely that they may 
 be relieved in their distress."* 
 
 The fine for non-attendance at the parish church, seems to 
 have been at intervals more severely exacted in Dublin than 
 elsewhere; but when the people were thus compelled to be 
 present at the Protestant service, they made it a matter of amuse- 
 ment and diversion, so that no doubt should remain as to the 
 motives which compelled them to attend there. Thus Sussex 
 writes on the 22nd of July, 1562, in a most mournful strain: 
 " Our religion is so abused, as the papists rejoice; the neutrals 
 do not mislike changes, and the few zealous professors lament 
 the lack of piety. The people without discipline, and utterly 
 void of (the Protestant) religion, came to divine service as to a 
 May-game." f O'Sullevan Beare commemorates some facts 
 which would alone suffice to justify these laments of the lord 
 deputy; sometimes, he tells us, the peasants would pour out all 
 the wine from the communion cup, and allow it to run down 
 through their long flowing beards ; sometimes the bread which 
 they received would be flung from one to another ; and some- 
 times such shouts and cries were raised by the unwilling 
 assistants, that the minister could not proceed with the service 
 till the hostile auditors were expelled from the parish church. t 
 Even the Anglo-Irish of the pale, though employed by the 
 government as civil and military officers, could not be induced 
 to assist at the Protestant service ; and captain Thomas Lee, the 
 notorious agent of Elizabeth, wrote to her majesty in 1594, 
 detailing, indeed, his hopes in regard of the earl of Tyrone 
 (hopes which were very soon blighted by the Irish chieftain), but 
 
 *De Regno Hib. (MS.) cap. xx. f Shirley, Orig. Lett. pag. 17. 
 
 J Hist. Oath. Coinp., lib. iv. cap. 27. pag. 134 5. 
 
Chap. II. 4.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 73 
 
 adding, that the pale's-men, " as soon as they have brought the 
 lord deputy to the church door, depart as if they were wild 
 cats."* 
 
 In 1566, the lord deputy, together with Dr. Curwin and the 
 other members of the privy council in Ireland, forwarded to her 
 majesty a report on the state of the Irish church, in which 
 they virtually confess that outside of the three dioceses of 
 Armagh, Meath and Dublin, the reformed doctrines were almost 
 unknown, whilst even in these three dioceses, but little progress 
 had as yet been made. 
 
 " We can no less than (as truth is) declare for the archbishops of 
 Dublin and Armagh, and the bishop of Meath, that they are diligent in 
 the functions of their pastoral offices, as well in often and fruitfully 
 preaching of God's glory and true Christian religion themselves, as also 
 in the earnest calling on the and looking to the other pastors and minis- 
 ters within their provinces and dioceses to do the like; and are earnest 
 and careful exhorters and overseers over the residue under their charge, 
 to reduce them by all good means out of error and contempt of godli- 
 ness unto right belief and true devotion ; and likewise on the part of 
 me, her majesty's deputy, with the rest of her council here, our best 
 endeavour, by God's grace, hath been and shall be, both by good 
 example and earnestness, and by all other good means, to maintain and 
 further the same, there and throughout all this realm universally. 
 Although, for all this, it goeth slowly forward both within their said 
 three dioceses, by reason of Popery being inveterated and leavened in the 
 people's hearts, and in want of livings sufficient for the support of 
 well-chosen and learned curates amongst them; besides the decay of the 
 chancels ; and also of the churches universally in ruin, and some wholly 
 down ; and out of their said dioceses, in the remote parts of Munster, 
 Connaught and others, the Irish countries and borders thereof, although 
 the commissioners for the ecclesiastical causes have travelled with some 
 of the bishops and other ministers residing in the civil and nearer 
 parts, order cannot yet so well be taken with the residue, until the 
 countries be first brought into more civil and dutiful obedience. "f 
 
 To be convinced of the utter disregard with which the Pro- 
 testant tenets were received in Ireland, we shall now examine 
 how far they penetrated even amongst the natives of these three 
 model dioceses of Dublin, Meath, and Armagh. 
 
 * O'Flaherty's West Connaught, published by E. I. Academy, 1846, pag. 
 395, not. f. 
 
 f Shirley, loc. cit. p. 233, seqi}. 
 
74 FIRST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT Otrod. 
 
 And first, as regards Dublin, we learn from Adam Loftus of 
 Armagh, that Dr. Curwin but seldom attempted to preach the 
 new* tenets; that the clergy who held the benefices were open 
 enemies ;t that the canons of the cathedral church, who were 
 moreover parochial clergy,^ were old bottles, and therefore, not 
 suited for the new wine of Protestantism ; and hence are styled 
 by the bishop of Meath " a sort of dumb dogs, the living 
 enemies of the truth and of the setters forth thereof, neither 
 teaching nor feeding save themselves ;" and, he adds, that 
 speaking generally of them, from the bishop to the smallest 
 canon, they were nothing more than disguised dissemblers.^ It 
 cannot therefore surprise us to find the ecclesiastical commis- 
 sioners, in 1562, requesting the privy council of England to 
 devise some plan how the pretenders that will not be reformed 
 may be compelled by law to adopt the new tenets. || They 
 proposed, indeed, that a special commission should be appointed 
 to visit St. Patrick's, and another to visit Christ's Church ; but 
 the privy council thought it more prudent for the present not 
 to grant these commissions, and in 1565 we still find Cecil 
 lamenting that St. Patrick's served only for lurking papists. % 
 Hence, too, the lord deputy Sydney solemnly avowed that it was 
 absurd to think of extending the reformation to the remainder 
 of the kingdom, whilst Dublin itself remained unreformed. 
 
 As to Armagh, the ardent Loftus had, indeed, the desire to 
 promote the cause of his royal patron; but alas for his success! 
 his lot was cast in the territory of Shane O'Neil. It was, indeed, 
 preposterous to expect that an established bishop could make a 
 successful inroad in that territory, whilst its chieftain defied the 
 power of the English monarch, and who, even when pledging 
 his fealty to her, treated with derision the reformed creed.** 
 
 * Shirley, loc. cit., pag 275. t Ibid. pag. 275 1 Ibid. 152, coll. 158. 
 
 § Dr. Brady's lett , 10th Jan., 1651, ap. Shirley, ibid. pag. 161, seqq. 
 
 ■ || Ibid, pag 141. 11 Ibid, pag 1G0. 
 
 ** When he went to England in 15C2, to ratify his treaty with Elizabeth, he 
 was attended by a guard of gallowglasses, richly attired in the costume of the 
 country, "armed with the battle-axe, their heads bare, their hair flowing on 
 their shoulders, their linen vests dyed with saffron, with long and open sleeves, 
 and surcharged with short military harness." (Camden ad. an. 1562.) The 
 courtiers styled him in derision, a cousinto St. Patrick. He was at all events 
 remarkable for his charity : ' ' Sitting at meat, before he put one morsel into 
 his mouth, he used to slice a portion above the daily alms, and send it to 
 some beggar at his gate, saying, it was meet to serve Christ first." — Campion, 
 Historie, etc., (printed in 1570) pag. 189. 
 
Chap. II. i.] TO INTRODUCE PROTESTANTISM INTO IRELAND. 
 
 75 
 
 Hence we cannot be surprised that Loftus himself, when peti- 
 tioning to be relieved of the intolerable burden of the diocese of 
 Armagh, employs the pitiful argument, that forsooth " it was 
 neither worth anything to him, nor was he able to do any good in 
 it, as it (ay altogether among the Irish."* 
 
 In fine, as to the diocese of Meath, the devotedness of its 
 saintly bishop, Dr. Walsh, to the Catholic cause is well known, 
 and merited for him the sentence of deprivation, and a painful 
 imprisonment of many years. The Protestant primate in 1565, 
 whilst describing his abhorrence of the oath of supremacy adds: 
 " he is one of great credit among his countrymen, and upon 
 whom, as regards matters of religion, they wholly depend."! 
 Even the Protestant bishop of Meath details in a letter of March 
 14th, 1564, the complete failure which had as yet attended his 
 attempts to reform the district in which his lot was cast: "Oh, 
 what a sea of troubles have I entered, into ! (he thus writes) 
 storms arising on every side ; the ungodly lawyers are not only 
 sworn enemies to the truth, but also for lack of due execution 
 of law, the overthrowers of the country; the ragged clergy are 
 stubborn and ignorantly blind, so there is left little hope of their 
 amendment ; the simple multitude is, through continual ignorance, 
 hardly to be won, so that I find angustice undique.'t He was not 
 however, without some hope that his own zealous exertions would 
 in a short time be crowned with more complete success; " for my 
 own diligence I would rather others should speak, than myself; 
 and yet this far I dare presume, by God's help, to do as much 
 good as any other that could be sent hither; for a great number 
 of the simple people, and especially where I was born, are greedy 
 hearers, and such as I trust will be nnfeignedly won.''§ Within 
 twelve months, however, all these fond hopes had vanished, and 
 he again writes on the 16th May, 1565, that he was only able 
 to hold his ground at all in the diocese, by keeping an open house 
 for all visitors and a good table for his guests : " I am at this 
 present very poor, charged with a great house, driven to large 
 expenses, or else infamy and discredit; for these people will have 
 
 * Shirley, pag. t Ibid. pag. 220. { Ibid. pag. 135-6. 
 
 § Ibid. pag. lo6. This letter of Dr. Brady seems to have given the tone to the 
 Protestant missionary reports which for three centuries have from year to year 
 been transmitted to the meeting-houses and Gospel societies of England. 
 
76 TIHST EFFORTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT, ETC. [Istroo. 
 
 the one or the other; I mean, they will either eat my meat and 
 drink, or else myself: and that I may speak of it without vaunt 
 or comparison, I feed as many continually as any bishop in 
 England doth, and have not as yet provision towards the same; 
 and to do otherwise I cannot, unless I should utterly discredit 
 both myself and my doctrine, which both maketh me to have 
 often a heavy heart and an empty purse ; and to help me for- 
 ward to more grief, I am presently compelled to go into the earl 
 of Desmond's country, leaving my own business and functions 
 behind me undone, to my great charges and some hazard, 
 amongst so untamed a people. . . To say anything further of 
 the state at this present I will not, only this — all things waxeth 
 rather worse than otherwise; and as I said before, I fear me, 
 without some speedy redress, the whole body will be so sick, as 
 it shall with difficulty recover, so badly are men here disposed."* 
 In one respect alone, the government enactments seem not 
 to have been fruitless, forsooth, in the prohibition of public 
 Catholic worship. Hatred of the holy sacrifice of the Massf 
 was, indeed, a chief passion of the religious innovators of the 
 period: and it was assuredly a great triumph for Satan, that 
 its public solemn celebration should be for awhile interdicted 
 in our island. The parish churches were seized on; and, 
 according to the unvarying reports of the lord deputy, very 
 soon fell into decay. These sacred edifices, built by the piety 
 and the voluntary offerings of our forefathers, were soon dese- 
 crated : sometimes taxes were imposed upon the people to keep 
 them in repair for an alien worship, but, for the most part, roof- 
 less and pillaged, they remained scattered throughout the ran»e 
 of the English pale, as monuments of the violence which was 
 offered in the name of reformation to the church of our sainted 
 isle. 
 
 * Shirley, loo. oit. pag. 187-191. 
 
 T "I defy James Fitzmaurice to deny that I did not except my duty to the 
 queen in all my dealiugs with him, and refused to consent to the bringing in 
 of Spaniards, and the putting up of the Mass, which things James (Fitzmaurice) 
 was earnest with me for." — Letter of sir Edmond Butler to the earl of Ormond 
 23rd of August, 1569, from St. Paps, off., published in app. to Life and Times 
 of Sir P. Carew, p. 226. 
 
Chap. III. 1.] VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN. 77 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN AFTER THE APOSTACY OF 
 CURWIN, AND HOW THE DIOCESE WAS ADMINISTERED 
 UNTIL THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 1. Father D. Wolf, S.J.--2. Iiev. T. Newman, R. J. White.— 3. Donaldns 
 Dublinensis. — 4. Sketch of Irish Character and Customs. 
 
 1.— Father David Wolf, S.J. 
 
 One of the most remarkable men who, during the first years of 
 Elizabeth's reign, laboured in our Irish church to gather 
 together the scattered stones of the sanctuary, was father David 
 Wolf,* a member of the order of St. Ignatius. A native of 
 Limerick, he spent seven years in Rome imbibing the full spirit 
 of his order, under the immediate guidance of its holy founder 
 and St. Francis Borgia; and in August, 1560, f he was sent by the 
 Holy See, with all the privileges of apostolic commissary, to con- 
 firm his countrymen in the faith, amidst the impending persecu- 
 tions of Elizabeth. His chief care was to propose learned and 
 zealous men to fill the vacant sees of our island ; and the names of 
 Richard Creagh of Armagh \\ Donald M'Conghail of Raphoe, 
 Eugene O'Hart of Achonry, Maurice M'Bryan of Emly, to omit 
 many others, are a sure guarantee of the fidelity with which 
 he fulfilled this charge. 
 
 Father Wolf resided, for the most part, in his native diocese ; 
 but his jurisdiction extended to the whole island, and we find 
 him incidentally referred to in contemporary records, as visitim* 
 the district of Tyrone, and again, as travelling through various 
 dioceses of Connaught and Ulster. The English agents were 
 filled with alarm at the presence in the country of one who, by 
 
 * The sketch of Father Wolf's life given by Dr. Oliver in his " Collections," 
 p. 270, might serve as an admirable illustration of the utter darkness which has 
 so long prevailed in regard of the ecclesiastical history of our Irish Church. 
 
 f See for these and many other particulars the examination of Dr. Creaoh, 
 archbishop of Armagh, ap. Shirley, loc. cit. p. 171, seqq. 
 
 I See in appendix an interesting inedited paper, presented in 1563 to the 
 cardinal protector of Ireland, and proposing various individuals for the vacant 
 see of Armagh. 
 
78 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [IxTltoD. 
 
 public acclamation, received the title of papal nuncio; and 
 when in 1561, pope Pius IV. invited queen Elizabeth to 
 send her representatives to the council of Trent, she absolutely- 
 refused, assigning as one of the chief reasons for her displeasure, 
 that " an Irishman (father Wolf) had been sent from Rome to 
 Ireland to excite there disaffection against her crown."* So 
 watchful were the agents of the English government in pursuit 
 of the Jesuit father, that he was for several years unable to enter 
 within the limits of the pale; and we find him, when delegating 
 his jurisdiction for Dublin and its vicinity to father Newman, in 
 1563, affirming that so many were the dangers which beset his 
 journey thither, that he feared to visit that district.! 
 
 Amongst the papers of the secret archives of the Vatican 
 there is one which was presented in 1560 to the cardinal pro- 
 tector of Ireland, and which sketches the course to be pursued 
 by the agents of the Holy See, whilst performing the visitation 
 of our island. A few extracts will suffice to prove how full of 
 responsibility and peril was the mission entrusted to the disciple 
 of St. Ignatius. " His first care shall be to visit the Catholic 
 leaders, and especially the four chief princes of the kingdom, to 
 commend in the name of his holiness their unflinching constancy 
 and zeal, and to encourage them to persevere in the defence of 
 the Catholic faith." The bishops also were to be visited: " to see 
 if they resided in their dioceses and instructed their flocks ; if 
 they were attentive to the due decorum of the sacred edifices, 
 and vigilant in selecting zealous and worthy ministers for the 
 altar." As to the clergy, he was to inquire into their manner 
 of administering the sacraments, and to afford them every aid, 
 especially in administering the holy sacraments of confession 
 and communion, in preaching the word of truth, and in exhorting 
 their Catholic flocks to lead holy and Christian lives. Should 
 any heretical minister be found, the agent of Rome was to guard 
 the people against the contagion of his errors, and above all, to 
 seek in the spirit of charity, to bring him back to the paths of 
 truth. " He must also seek to establish grammar schools, 
 supplying them with Catholic masters, and thus remedy the 
 great ignorance of the natives: admonishing the parents to send 
 
 * Laderchi in Cuntinuat. Anna!. Baronii, ad. an. 1561. 
 f Shirley, loc. cit. p 129. 
 
Chap. III. 1.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CUIiVIN. 79 
 
 their children to these schools, that thus they may be instructed 
 in literature and morality, and at the same time acquire a meet 
 knowledge of the saving truths of faith." If possible, some 
 monasteries were to be established, and exact discipline main- 
 tained; hospitals, too, were to be founded, and other places of 
 refuge and succour for the poor. 
 
 For these things, and for whatsoever else might be done, no 
 reward or recompense, even in the name of alms, was to be 
 received; the salvation of souls alone was to be the moving- 
 spring, and the reward of every fatigue. Should the glory of 
 God and the interests of religion require it, life itself was to be 
 risked; but in this the laws of Christian prudence were to be 
 observed, and all undue temerity to be shunned. In fine, the 
 Holy See was to be made acquainted with the real state of the 
 Irish church, the losses sustained by the Catholic faith, — the 
 perils to which religion was exposed, and the most opportune 
 aid and succours were to be pointed out that could be granted to 
 sustain the faithful in the dangers to which they were exposed.* 
 
 The course traced out* in these " instructions" was exactly 
 pursued by father Wolf, and before the close of this chapter, we 
 shall have occasion to cite some of his letters, which, whilst they 
 disclose precious details regarding the condition of our island, 
 clearly demonstrate how indefatigable he was in his labours, 
 and how unceasingly he struggled to restore our suffering 
 church to its primitive comeliness and fervour. 
 
 One of the chief wants of Ireland at this period was a place 
 of untainted instruction for Catholic youth. The monastic 
 schools had been swept away by the persecution of Henry 
 VIII., and now, in such districts as were accessible to the 
 English arms, no mere Irishman or Catholic could, without 
 risking liberty or life, seek to instruct his fellow-countrymen in 
 the rudiments of literature and religion. To meet this want, a 
 " brief" was addressed by the Holy Father on the 31st of May, 
 1564, to the newly-consecrated primate, Dr. Richard Creao-h, 
 and to father David Wolf/f empowering them to erect schools 
 wheresoever they should deem fit throughout the kingdom of 
 Ireland, and communicating to such schools all the privileges of 
 
 * See Appendix to this chapter, 
 t Ex. Archiv. Colleg. Hib. Romje. 
 
80 
 
 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [IsTItc.D. 
 
 an university ; whilst, at the same time, it was declared that 
 these schools were necessary for the establishment of due order, 
 and for the maintenance of the Catholic faith. Neither Dr. 
 Creagh, however, nor father Wolf, was allowed sufficient time 
 to carry into effect the wise designs of Rome. The history of 
 Dr. Creagh's imprisonment is well known. Father Wolf shared 
 in his sufferings, being loaded with chains, and thrown into the 
 dungeons of Dublin Castle. On the 13th of March, 1568, a 
 letter was despatched from Rome to the nuncio in Madrid, 
 instructing him to employ all the papal influence at that court, 
 to procure, through the mediation of the Spanish monarch, the 
 liberation of these two ecclesiastics, whose labours in the sacred 
 cause of religion had already won for them the applause of the 
 whole Christian world. 
 
 "We have been informed," thus writes the sainted pontiff, Pius V., 
 " that our venerable brother, the archbishop of Armagh, who, as you are 
 aware, is primate of Ireland, has been arrested by the English and cast 
 into prison in the tower of London; and that our beloved son David, 
 of the society of Jesus, is also closely confined by the same English in 
 the city of Dublin, both of them being treated with the greatest severity. 
 Their sufferings overwhelm us with affliction, on account of their singular 
 merits and of their zeal for the Catholic faith. And, as it is our desire 
 and our duty to succour them as far as is in our power, we know of no 
 other means for doing so, than that our dearest son, his Catholic majesty, 
 should employ his authority with the English queen in their behalf. 
 You, therefore, will use every endeavour with his majesty to this effect, 
 and you will urge, and request, and solicit in our name, his letters to 
 his ambassador and to the queen, to obtain the liberation of these 
 prisoners. Than which favour none other could be at present more 
 acceptable to us. 
 
 "Given in Eome, at St. Peter's, under the seal of the Fisherman, this 
 13th day of March, 1568."* 
 
 The mediation of the Spanish court, however, was without 
 effect; and father David was detained in the closest custody till 
 1572, when he happily made his escape from Dublin Castle 
 and, accompanied by sir Rice Corbally and the son of James 
 Fitzmaurice, took refuge in Spain. Sir Peter Carew, writinw 
 to the privy council in England on 6th February, 1573, charac- 
 teristically remarks: " James Fitzmaurice hath sent his son with 
 one David Wolf, an arrant traitor, into Spain, to practise his 
 
 * 
 
 * See orig. in appendix. 
 
Chap. III. 1.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CURWIN. 81 
 
 old devices."* He soon, however, returned to the former field 
 of his labours, and in 1575, we find him engaged once more in 
 visitino- and consoling the Catholics of Ireland. t We shall con- 
 clude our notice of this indefatigable and holy man with the 
 words of the author of Cambrensis Eversus: " I saw a dispen- 
 sation granted by David Wolf, of Limerick, to Richard Lynch, 
 a citizen of Galway, grandfather to Nicholas Lynch, provincial 
 of the Irish Dominicans, who died at Rome about twenty years 
 ago, deeply regretted by his friends. The dispensation was 
 signed David Wolf, apostolic nuncio.'t Orlandini speaks of him 
 in his history of the society of Jesus : " I have learned that he 
 was a man of extraordinary piety, who fearlessly denounced 
 crime whenever it was committed. When the whole country 
 was embroiled in war, he took refuge in the castle of Clunoan, 
 on the borders of Thomond, and of the county of Galway ;§ 
 but when he heard that its occupants lived by plunder, he 
 scrupled to take any nourishment from them, and soon after 
 sickened and died."|| 
 
 We have no precise record of the year in which he died ; but 
 it seems to have been in 1578, as no mention is made of him in 
 the detailed correspondence of 1579 and the following years, 
 during the eventful period of the second Desmond war. The 
 name, David Wolf sacerdos Hibemus, occurs for the last time 
 in a list transmitted by the Spanish nuncio to Rome, on 3rd 
 June, 1578 ;^[ and from this list we learn, that he was then living 
 in Lisbon, supported by the generous contributions of the Holy 
 See. 
 
 * Life and Times of sir Peter Carew, pag. 290, appendix H. In a note on 
 the above passage the editor, John Maclean, Esq., says : " of sir Davy Wolf 
 (priest) it is stated in a letter of the state paper office, indorsed as having 
 been received on the 13th October, 1572, ' He that foreswore himself and fled 
 from Dublin is gone to Spain, and carried the sou of James Eitzmaurice with 
 him, accompauied by sir Puce Corbally.' " 
 
 t Lett, of James Fitzmaurice from St. Malo, 1576, 31st January. 
 
 f Perhaps when returning a second time to Ireland he received the title of 
 nuncio ; it is probable, however, that he was only commissary. He was com- 
 monly styled nuncio, even on his first arrival, though he was certainly at that 
 time only commissary apostolic. 
 
 § Now Cluain Dubhain or Clonoan, an old castle close to the boundary of the 
 county Galway, and not far from Roekvale, in the parish of Kilkeedy, barony 
 of Inchiquin, county Clare. 
 
 || Camb. Evers., vol. ii., pag. 735. T Ex. Archiv. Seer. Vatican. 
 
82 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [Intkod. 
 
 t 
 
 2.— Rev. T. Newman ; Rev. J. White. 
 
 The diocese of Dublin was widowed of its chief pastor for 
 many years ; but during that interval the Holy ^ See, with 
 watchful vigilance, ceased not to provide for its spiritual wants. 
 As we have seen, David Wolf was destined to our island in 
 1560. Soon after his arrival, we find him delegating his apos- 
 tolic faculties for Dublin and its vicinity to a worthy priest of 
 that diocese named Thadeus Newman — authorizing him to 
 absolve from all censures which the faithful might have incurred, 
 and to reconcile to the bosom of Holy Church all those who, 
 by choice, had been led astray into the paths of heresy or schism. 
 The letter, by which he delegates this authority, is dated from 
 Limerick, and thus begins : 
 
 " David Wolf, a priest of the Society of Jesus and commissary of 
 our most holy father pope Pius IV., to the most illustrious princes, 
 and to the whole kingdom of Ireland, to our well-beloved in Christ, 
 Thadeus, priest of the diocese of Dublin, health in him who is true 
 health. As it is not possible for me, on account of the dangers which 
 beset the journey, to visit, in accordance with the commission entrusted 
 to me by the Holy See, those districts in which you reside ; and as 
 those who may stand in need of the apostolic indult are impeded from 
 coming hither, by the wars and contentions and mutual jealousies of the 
 oppressors of this nation, and violators of all justice ; it has seemed 
 proper to commit all my faculties to you, whom I regard as a faithful 
 minister of the altar, and well suited to discharge this office."* 
 
 No sooner was father Wolf removed from the theatre of his 
 earthly labours than another Irish priest, Rev. John White, was 
 sent to our island by Gregory XIII. , with the most exten- 
 sive faculties for all the dioceses of Ireland. The brief of his 
 appointment is dated the 4th of November, 1578, and in it he is 
 described as well versed in sacred literature, and as one who, by 
 his integrity and virtues, had earned the esteem and confidence 
 of the Holy See. His jurisdiction was not limited to the power 
 of absolving from the excommunication attached to the guilt 
 of heresy, and in all other cases reserved to the pontiff, but 
 extended, moreover, to dispensations in marriages contracted 
 
 * See the original in Shirley, loe. oit. p. 12S-129. 
 
Chap. III. 2.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CUR WIN. 83 
 
 within the prohibited degrees, — the abuse of which marriages, 
 " in consequence of the disturbed and licentious condition of the 
 times," is described as " prevalent in some districts."* 
 
 Even the bishops of other dioceses in Ireland were more than 
 once commissioned by Rome to assist the faithful of Dublin in 
 their spiritual wants. Thus, the archbishop of Armagh, Dr. 
 Richard Creagh, received faculties for the entire province of 
 Dublin as well as for that of Armagh, on the 10th of April, 
 1575 ; and on the 8th of the same month, similar faculties for 
 his own diocese, as also for Dublin, had been granted to Dr. 
 William Walsh, the heroic bishop of Meath. Lest, however, 
 either of these briefs should perchance not have effect, through 
 the imprisonment or other vexations to which these prelates 
 were subjected, another brief was expedited on the same 10th 
 of April, 1575, addressed to Dr. Edmund Tanner, bishop 01 
 Cork and Cloyne, authorizing him to absolve from all reserved 
 cases, etc., not only in his own diocese, but also " in his native 
 province of Dublin. "t 
 
 Owing to these wise arrangements of the Holy See, and to the 
 untiring zeal of the priesthood, the diocese of Dublin remained 
 immoveably attached to the Catholic cause, and notwithstanding 
 the long vacancy of the see, and though its emoluments were 
 all seized on by an alien clergy, and every art which court 
 policy could devise was employed, to undermine the devotedness 
 of its faithful people to the religion of their fathers, neverthe- 
 less, we find that their fidelity was a theme of eulogy in Rome 
 in 1579, and a Vatican manuscript of that year, whilst sketch- 
 ing the various sees of Ireland, says that Dublin, though vacant 
 for many years, and now held by an heretical bishop, yet 
 remains unabated in its ardour for the Catholic cause: " perstat 
 tota civitas in religione Catholica."J 
 
 * See the original from Archiv. Secret. Brevium, in appendix. 
 f The above dates are taken from the original briefs in Archiv. Secret. 
 Brev. Bomae. 
 I Ex Archiv. Seer. Vatic. 
 
8 1 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN IInteod. 
 
 3. — Donaldus Dublinensis. 
 
 That an archbishop named Donaldus, or Donagh, was the 
 immediate predecessor of Matthew de Oviedo in the diocese of 
 Dublin, there can be but little doubt; he is, in fact, expressly 
 commemorated as such in the bull* by which Dr. Oviedo wag 
 appointed to that see. With the exception of the name, nothing 
 can be affirmed with certainty regarding this prelate; and all 
 the details of his episcopate are involved in utter obscurity. 
 This however, cannot surprize us, when we reflect that the acts 
 of most of the other bishops of our Irish church at this period, 
 have been consigned to a like oblivion. 
 
 Without venturing beyond the limits of conjecture, we may, 
 perhaps, be permitted to suggest, that this Donaldus was the 
 justly-celebrated Dr. M'Conghaill, for many years bishop of 
 Raphoe, and that the year 1587 or 1588 was the date of his 
 appointment to the see of Dublin. The period of momentary 
 tranquillityf which our church enjoyed between 1585 and 1589, 
 gave an opportunity to the Holy See of nominating a bishop to 
 this vacant diocese ;% and it is more than probable that in 
 choosing a successor for St. Laurence O'Toole, the Holy See 
 lent a willing ear to the petition often repeated in the cor- 
 respondence of that period, that, forsooth, those only should be 
 advanced to the chief dignities of our church who had borne 
 the brunt of the persecution^ and faithfully resided amidst the 
 
 * "Ecolesia Dublinensis cui bona? memorize Donaldus. archiepus Dublinensis 
 dum viveret prasidebat, per obitum dicti Donaldi archiepi. qui extra 
 Eomanam curiam debitum nature persolvit, pastoris solatio destituta," etc.— 
 (Bulla Clementis VIII. 3 Nonas Maij, 1600, ex Arehiv Secret. Brevium.) 
 
 t The violence of the persecution from 1590 to 1599, precludes the supposi- 
 tion of a bishop being appointed to Dublin during that interval. Moreover 
 from the Vatican list of 1579 we learn, that no bishop had been appointed to 
 it during the first years of Elizabeth's reign ; and from a letter of the bishop 
 of Killaloe, 29th October, 1584 (in which, speaking of the bishops appointed 
 during the preceding years, he omits ail mention of Dublin), we may conclude 
 that the archbishop had not been appointed before that date. 
 
 I Thus, in 1587 we find a bishop appointed to the see of Leighlm, the con- 
 dition of which diocese was somewhat similar to that of Dublin.^From a letter 
 of two Jesuit fathers, dated Paris, 4th June, 1584, (ap. Theiner Continuat. 
 Baronii, vol. iii. p. 818), we learn that the Holy See had lately begun to delibe- 
 rate on the appointment of a bishop for Dublin. 
 
 § We only know of one other bishop in Ireland of the name Donaldus or 
 Domatus, about this period: he was bishop of Killala in 1578; beinc subse- 
 quently transferred to Down and Connor. He died bishop of that see°in 1582. 
 
Chap. IIJ. 8.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CURWIN. 85 
 
 flocks entrusted to their care.* The translation of bishops, even 
 to sees in different provinces, was not unfrequent at this 
 period:! we shall have occasion to remark hereafter how the 
 second in succession from Donaldus, in the diocese of Dublin, 
 Dr. Eugene Matthews, was, in a similar manner, transferred 
 from Clogher to that archiepiscopal see : and the death of Dr. 
 McConghail, in 15894 probably before he was able even to take 
 possession of his new diocese, will sufficiently explain the silence 
 of our Irish records regarding this worthy occupant of the see of 
 Dublin. 
 
 Donald McConghail was a priest of the diocese of Raphoe, 
 and after visiting the eternal city in 1560, was for many months 
 the constant companion of the apostolic delegate, father David 
 Wolf, in the visitation of various districts of Ireland. Before 
 the close of 1561, he was deputed a second time on a special 
 mission to the central see of the Catholic world. He was, at 
 the same time, bearer of an important letter from Wolf to the 
 cardinal protector of Ireland, in which most interesting details 
 are given of the actual condition of the Irish church, and of 
 some individuals who were destined in after times to be num- 
 bered amongst the brightest ornaments of our country. We 
 have already had occasion more than once to refer to this 
 letter, and we now present it in full to the reader: — 
 
 " May the true peace and love of our Redeemer be in our hearts. 
 
 " I addressed a letter a few days ago, through sir William Neon, to 
 your excellency, on the state of the church in this district of Munster; 
 but now I deem it better to send in person the bearer of this letter, 
 Donald M'Gomghaill, to give full details to you, as he was the companion 
 of my journey through Ireland ; and as he is a man of judgment, well 
 acquainted with the circumstances of this country, having also (as I will 
 just now mention) some other particular business there. 
 
 "This Donald being my companion in Connaught, we saw there 
 (though we did not visit them) the archbishop of Tuam and the bishop 
 of Glonfert, who in the ways of this world are good and honest men. 
 
 * It was for the same motive, that in the same year 1587 the bishop of 
 Ardagh, Dr. Edmund Magauran, was transferred to the archiepiscopal see of 
 Armagh. 
 
 t We have just referred in a preceding note, to the translation of Douatus, 
 bishop of Killala, to Down aud Connor. His predecessor in the see of 
 Killala, Dr. Raymond O'Gallagher, was translated in 1569 to the diocese of 
 Derry. 
 
 J Annals of the Four Masters. 
 
86 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN /[INIBOB 
 
 Both of them have taken the oath of allegiance to the queen, as I have 
 already written about others in Munster. The archbishop's name is 
 Christopher Botteghin (Bodkin), who acquired the archbishoprick (as 
 everyone says) by force of arms and royal authority ; he himself would 
 not make any statement as to his appointment, merely declaring that 
 cardinal Pole of happy memory made an agreement between him and a 
 certain Arthur O'Frehir, who is the true and legitimate archbishop, and 
 is still living, though expelled from the bishopric by the aforesaid Dr. 
 Christopher. This same Dr. Botteghin holds the arch- diocese of Tuam, 
 with the dioceses of Kilmacduagh, Enaghduagh, and Mayo, which last 
 two sees have, as he asserts, been long attached to the see of Tuam ; 
 others, however, assert the contrary, and state that he, on his own 
 authority and by permission of the crown, united them to Tuam toge- 
 ther with Kilmacduagh. He told me that the aforesaid Arthur resigned 
 the see into his hands : and, indeed, if the Holy See would accept his 
 resignation, Dr. Botteghin would seem to me much better suited for the 
 government of the diocese than Dr. Arthur ; for he is skilled in admi- 
 nistration, and has great influence with the gentry of the district. In 
 fact, the church of Tuam was for three hundred years used as a fortress 
 by the gentry, without the holy sacrifice or the divine office, till he took 
 it by force out of their hands, with a great risk of his own life : so that 
 where formerly horses and other animals were kept, now Mass is cele- 
 brated, and he himself usually assists in choir every day, although there 
 are not more than twenty or thirty houses in that district of Tnam. 
 His morality is unimpeached, and he is well liked by everyone, even by 
 those adversaries who had formerly possession of the church. 
 
 " A certain Malachy O'Molony, canon of Kilmacduagh, has granted 
 some forged dispensations, as your excellency will see from the annexed 
 copy, in which he alleges the approbation and sanction of Dr. Botteghin, 
 who however has solemnly assured me that he never saw or approved of 
 such a rescript ; so that the said Malachy is a forger of apostolic letters. 
 When cited before the archbishop, he refused to present himself; and I 
 wish to know how I am to manage in his regard, as he is contumacious, 
 and has no authentic rescript for his assumed authority. 
 
 " Bernard O'Huyghin, bishop of Elphin, has resigned his bishopric in 
 favour of a Dominican father, the prior of Sligo, named Andrew Crean, 
 a man of piety and sanctity, who is moreover held in great esteem by 
 the laity, not so much for his learning as for his amiability and holiness. 
 TRe said Bernard was a good and religious man as regarded himself, 
 but he was not acceptable to the people ; and seeing that he was losing 
 the temporalities of the see through the dislike which the laity had con- 
 ceived for him, he chose father Andrew, who is beloved by everyone, 
 that thus all that was lost might be regained. This father now proceeds 
 to Rome, with the permission of his provincial, to obtain that see, bear- 
 ing with him the resignation of Dr. O'Huyghin. He asked me for testi- 
 monial letters ; and though personally I know but little about him, I can 
 attest the fame for virtue which he enjoys throughout the whole island. 
 
 " Father Andrew is accompanied by another religious of the same 
 
Chap. III. 3.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CUKWIN. 87 
 
 order, named Owen, or Eugene O'Harty, — a great preacher, of exemplary 
 life, and full of zeal for the glory of God : he lived for about' eight 
 years in Paris ; and I am of opinion (though he knows nothing of it, and 
 goes thither on a quite different errand) that he would be a person well 
 suited for a bishopric. And should anything happen to father Andrew 
 (for accidents are the common lot of all), father Eugene would be a 
 good substitute, although the present bishop did not resign in his favour. 
 Should it please God, however, to preserve father Andrew aud appoint 
 him to the see of Elphin, his companion might be appointed to the see 
 of Achonry, which diocese has remained vacant since the demise of 
 Cormac O'Coyn of happy memory, of the order of St. Francis. The 
 cathedral church of Achonry is at present used as a fortress by the 
 gentry of the neighbourhood, and does not retain one vestige of the 
 semblance of religion ; and I am convinced that the aforesaid Eugene, 
 by his good example and holy life, and with the aid of his friends, would 
 be able to take back that church, and act with it as Dr. Christopher did 
 in Tuam. 
 
 " The bearer of this letter, Donald M'Gomghail, was my companion 
 in the district of Connaught, and there is no one in Ireland who is 
 better able to give you accurate information about everything ; where- 
 fore I send him to Rome for a twofold purpose — 1. to give you intel- 
 ligence about myself, as well as about the bishops and archbishops, etc. ; 
 and 2. that as the bishop of Raphoe has lately been taken away from 
 us, I know of no one better suited to be his successor ; he is very 
 learned, according to the style of literature of this country, and he is 
 beloved by every one ; he moreover spent some time in Rome last 
 year. 
 
 " About fourteen persons have started from Ireland without anj' 
 letters from me, to procure that bishopric ; amongst them is the dean of 
 Raphoe, a man who, as I have been informed by trustworthy persons, 
 is far better skilled in the sword than in the cross. I pray your excel- 
 lency not to give credence to him, should he plead ignorance of my 
 coming to Ireland ; for there is not an individual in the whole country, 
 whether heretic or Catholic, that has not heard of my mission hither, in 
 , consequence of a notification which I caused to be published in every 
 part of the island. As the vessel is now about to start, I will say no 
 more, but recommend these three travellers to your excellency, as well 
 as sir William Neon, whom I already sent thither, praying God to pre- 
 serve your excellency in health of body and mind, to His own greater 
 glory and to the great advantage of this afflicted country. 
 
 "From Limerick, the 12th of October, 1561. 
 
 " Your excellency's unworthy servant, 
 
 " David Wolf."* 
 
 The following day father Wolf gave to Donald and his com- 
 panions another introductory letter, thinking that, perhaps, on 
 
 * See appendix. 
 
OO VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [Iktbod. 
 
 arriving in France, they might with sufficient safety be able to 
 consign to the courier the letter just cited: — 
 
 " The bearers of this note (he says) are the same about, whom I wrote 
 in my letter of yesterday, and in order that they may be able to despatch 
 that letter by the courier, I gave them also the present lines, praying 
 your excellency to receive them as persons recommended by me. The 
 name of the secular priest is Donald Macgongaill ; he is a man well 
 versed in the affairs of this nation, and I wish your excellency would 
 command him, in virtue of holy obedience, to make known to you how 
 Donatus, archbishop of Armagh, and the other prelates of this country, 
 deport themselves. His companions are Andrew O'Creayn and Eugene 
 O'Hart, whom I have already recommended to you, and whom I now 
 recommend anew. 1 will add no more, as I leave everything in the 
 hands of Donald. May our blessed Saviour grant me his true love, 
 and preserve your excellency in health of body and mind."* 
 
 This recommendation of Wolf was not without effect, and 
 the 28th of January, 1562, saw Andrew Crean,f Eugene 
 0'Hart,t and Donald Maccongail§ appointed to three important 
 sees in Ireland. Before their departure from Rome they received 
 the episcopal consecration, and we next meet two of them, Dr. 
 M'Conghaill andDr. O'Hart, in company withThomasO'Herlihy, 
 bishop of Ross, entering the town of Trent on 25th May, 1562, 
 to take part in the deliberations of the ecumenical council, 
 which was then holding its sittings there. The votes of these 
 three bishops are occasionally recorded in the history of that 
 great synod. Thus, on the question as to the expediency 
 of allowing communion under both kinds to the laity, the bishop 
 of Achonry voted in the affirmative, adding the clause, however, 
 that he remitted the matter to the Pope's discretion ; whilst the 
 bishops of Ross and Raphoe gave the question a direct negative. 
 On the sacrament of holy orders their votes and reasoning were 
 
 * This letter is dated 13th October, 1561, from Pilchua, which, however, is 
 written in a most illegible hand, and probably is a mistake of the copyist for 
 Kilchree. 
 
 t De Burgo erroneously writes this name Xerea (Hib. Dom pag. 486). He 
 was a Dominican, and belonged to the convent of Sligo. He was appointed 
 bishop of Elphin on 28th January, 1562. DeBurgo also errs in making Dr. 
 O'Hart prior of Sligo at this period ; it appears from the letter of Wolf that 
 that office was held by Dr. Crean. 
 
 % Appointed eod. die. bishop of Achonry, vacant by the death of Cormac 
 O'Coyn, O.S.F. 
 
 § Appointed eod. die. bishop of Raphoe, vacant by the death of Arthur 
 'Gallagher, who died in 1561. 
 
CHAP. III. 3.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CUR WIN. 89 
 
 deemed of much importance, and the abuses to which they 
 occasionally refer, throw much light on the condition of our 
 church. For instance, they lament that many persons when 
 nominated to benefices neglected to receive ordination, whilst, 
 nevertheless, they seized on the fruits and revenues attached to 
 these benefices; and also that too many bishops were appointed, 
 receiving their title in partibus infidelium, and hence often 
 occasioned annoyance to the bishops in whose sees they resided. 
 This latter abuse is easily illustrated from other contemporary 
 documents. The Annals of the Four Masters at this very period 
 commemorate a bishop apparently without any see, and living 
 in the diocese of Raphoe ;* and a letter of Cognosius Magyir of 
 Fermanagh, on 28th March, 1568, mentions that there were 
 then two bishops in Clogher, and at the same time the apostate 
 Miles Magrath was seeking to intrude himself as a third claimant 
 for that see.f 
 
 In the metrical catalogue of the bishops who assisted at the 
 council of Trent, Donald M'Gonghaill receives the epithet of 
 " the just," whilst he is at the same time described as in the 
 flower of his age, and adorned with the comeliness of every 
 pastoral virtue. $ On the close of the synod in 1563, no bishops 
 were more punctual than the representatives of Ireland, in 
 complying with the decree of residence ; they hastened to their 
 respective flocks, and though at the risk of their lives, unflinch- 
 ingly persevered in ruling the dioceses entrusted to them. Of 
 the details of Dr. Donald's subsequent episcopate, but little has 
 been handed down to us. Towards the close of 1568, or the 
 beginning of 1569, § a provincial synod was held in the province 
 of Armagh, for the purpose of promulgating the decrees of the 
 council of Trent, but being impeded by the wars, the bishops of 
 Raphoe and Derry were unable to be present at it.fl About 
 the same time the bishop of Derry died, and amongst the papers 
 
 * Annals, etc., pag. 1929. | Ex. Archiv. Secret. Vatic. 
 
 J "Post hos, tres juvenes quos frigida Hibernia legat, 
 Eugenium, Thomamque bonos, justumque Donaldum, 
 Omnes ornatos ingens virtutibus orbia, 
 Misit ut hanc scabiem tollant morbumque malignum, 
 Sacratis omnes induti tempora mitris. " 
 § Letter of Richard Creagh from prison, in Arch. Sec. Vat. written in 1569. 
 || Lett, of Rich. Armagh: ut sup. " Rapotensis et Darensis non iverunt ad 
 concilium provinciate propter bella." 
 
90 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [Iktbod. 
 
 of cardinal Morone in 1569, there is a note to the effect, that 
 whilst Cornelius O'Cervallan was recommended as his successor 
 by David Wolf, another, styled the Abbot Magonias (perhaps 
 Magennis) was recommended by the bishops of Kilmore and 
 Raphoe, as also by the chapter of Derry. The next incident we 
 find connected with our worthy bishop is, that faculties were 
 granted to him on the 4th of May, 1575; it was also for many 
 years the traditional record of the northern clergy, that he 
 assisted at a provincial council which was held in the diocese of 
 Clogher about the year 1587,* in which further arrangements 
 were made regarding the Tridentine disciplinary canons. The 
 names of the prelates who assisted at this synod would shed lustre 
 on even the most august assembly. The bishop of Achonry, 
 though from a different province, was present at it, and three, 
 at least, of the provincial members were destined to add new 
 glory to our church, by sealing with their blood the testimony of 
 their faith. 
 
 The Annals of the Four Masters record the death of Dr. 
 M'Conghail on the 29th of September, 1589. On the summit of 
 a hill which rises above the harbour of Killybegs, in the county 
 Donegal, and beside a moss-grown cemetery, there stands a ruin, 
 which tradition marks out as the oratory which our holy bishop 
 was accustomed to visit, to perform his devotions and offer the 
 holy sacrifice for his flock ; and the same tradition records, that 
 in the adjoining cemetery repose his venerable remains. No 
 monument, indeed, adorns his place of burial ; but the proudest 
 monument to his memory is the living tradition of his virtues, 
 which, throughout the length and breadth of Ireland, despite 
 the variations of three hundred years, remains unchanged to the 
 present day. 
 
 was translated to Armagh, 1st of July, 1587, and was not appointed to the see 
 of Ardagh till about 15S5. The synod must consequently have been held 
 between these two dates. 
 
 * All that can be said with certainty is, that it was held between 1582 and 
 1589. Dr. O'Devany, bishop of Down and Connor, who assisted at it, was not 
 appointed till 1582 ; and Dr. M 'Conghaill, who was also present, died in 15S9. 
 The only record of this synod known to exist, and transcribed by Dr. Hugh 
 Coghlan about 1649, is mutilated in the date of the synod. See some particu- 
 lars connected with this synod in " Appendix Consultationis Provincialis 
 (1614)" published in collection on "Irish Church History, " pag. 139. Wehad 
 written thus far, when we discovered some additional data for determiniug the 
 year in which this synod was held. The bishop of Ardagh, who assisted at it, 
 
Chap. III. 4.] AFTER THE AP0STACY OF CUHWIN. 91 
 
 4. — A Sketch of Irish Character and Customs at this period. 
 
 We are indebted to the interest taken by foreign courts in 
 the struggle of the Irish Catholics against the persecuting 
 tyranny of Elizabeth for two important narratives, detailing 
 the chief physical and social features of our country. One of 
 them was written by a Spaniard who had taken part in the 
 expedition to aid the Geraldines, in 1579: he had spent six 
 months in visiting various districts of the island, and in 1581, 
 his narrative, which principally regards the social life and 
 customs of the natives, was presented to the Holy See. The 
 other narrative was written about six years later, by an 
 exiled Irish bishop then present at the papal court. He 
 dwells for the most part on the physical resources of the 
 country, and shows what an important bulwark of the Catholic 
 cause Ireland would be, were it preserved from the assaults of 
 the English heretics: 
 
 " The Manners and Customs of the Irish, especially in the 
 Desmond Territory.* 
 
 1. " Money is rarely used in this country, and purchases are for the 
 most part made by exchange of goods. 
 
 2. " If you except the port towns, there are no hotels or lodging- 
 houses to be found in the island. Every traveller sets up in the first 
 house he meets, and, there, is provided with whatsoever he desires, 
 gratuitously. 
 
 3. " Table is not usually laid until evening, but in the meantime 
 drink is not denied to travellers. 
 
 4. " There are eight sorts of draughts: beer made of barley and 
 water, milk, whey, wine, broth, mead,f usquebagh, and spring water. 
 
 * See the original in appendix ; it was presented to the Holy See in 1581, 
 and is now published for the first time from the Archiv. Secret. Vatican. 
 There is a second, but very inaccurate MS. copy of it in the Vatican library. 
 
 t This drink was generally made of honey and milk : Ireland was remark- 
 able, as we shall just now see, for its abundance of honey. Peter Lombard 
 (Comment, c. 8) writes : " Quorumdam opinio fuit insulam hanc expertem esse 
 mellis atque cera. . . . Sed hie reclamat prorsus experientia qua constat in 
 tanta abundantia apes hie mellificas esse ut non solum in alveariis sed et in 
 aliis obviis vasis, in cavatis arborum truneis, et in cavernis terra3 favos 
 reponant distentissimos." 
 
92 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [Iktrod. 
 
 5. "The men wrap themselves up in mantles: the women wear 
 large linen wide-spreading honnets. The knives which are used at 
 table are so long, that they exceed even their daggers in size. 
 
 6. " The more honourable person sits in the centre ; the next in 
 dignity sits at his right, and so on in order until the range of seats is 
 filled. All sit facing towards the entrance-door : that thus, they say, 
 they may be always ready to repel the attacks of their enemies. 
 
 7. " They are so firmly attached to the Catholic faith, that they seem 
 never to have given ear to the heretics. They arise at midnight for 
 prayer and meditation, to which some devote an entire hour, others 
 half an hour : the fires are always lit at the same time. 
 
 8. " Their language has a great affinity with the Chaldaic and 
 Hebrew : many of the letters are aspirated, whence it happens that the 
 words seem different when written, and when pronounced. 
 
 9. " At the Lord's Prayer in the Mass, they arise, and remain stand- 
 ing during its recital. 
 
 10. " The men salute each other with a kiss : the women also salute 
 each other in the same manner. 
 
 11. "On Wednesdays they abstain from flesh-meats; on Fridays, 
 from white-meats and milk. 
 
 12. "Although they are devoid of all polite training, they neverthe- 
 less treat each other with such kindness and urbanity, that during six 
 months, I did not see even the soldiers come once to blows : this spirit 
 of concord seems to extend to the horses and dogs, wherefore, 1 am 
 disposed to refer it all to the mildness of the climate and temperature. 
 
 13. " The climate is so mild, that they enjoy almost a perpetual 
 spring ; and herbage is never wanting for the flocks of sheep and the 
 herds of cattle. 
 
 14. " No poisonous animals are found in Ireland : there are neither 
 snakes, nor vipers, nor toads.* 
 
 15. " They eat a great deal when food can be found; but they also 
 fast with alacrity for two or even three days. 
 
 * In a life of Marianus Sootus, written by an Irish monk of Eatisbon in the 
 twelfth century, Ireland is thus described : ' ' Dulce solum natalis patriae, 
 solum omni genere serpentum ac universis vermibus nocivis sequestratum, 
 montes et eolles et valles et saltus venatibus aptos, amcemissima fluminum 
 
 fluenta, et virides terras, in puris fontibus amnes," etc Ap. Bollandist. Feb. 
 
 9th, page 361-6. Bede also writes (lib. 1, Hist. Ang. cap. i.) : "Nullmnin 
 Hibernia reptile videri solet, nullus vivere serpens valet ; nam soepe illo de 
 Britannia allati serpentes mox ut proximante terris navigio, odore illius aeris 
 attraetifuerint, intereunt. Quin potius omnia pame quae de eadem insula sunt, 
 contra venenum valent. Benique vidimus quibusdam a serpente percussis, 
 rasa folia codicum qui de Hibernia fuerunt, ipsam rasuram aqua? immissam 
 ac potui datam, talibus protinus vim veneui grassantis, totum inflati 
 corporis absumpsisse ac sedasse tumorem." Peter Lombard (loc. cit. cap. 9 ), 
 speaking of the Irish timber, adds : "Ad domus quoque asdificandas cum in 
 Angliam turn in alias regiones solebant exportari quia prater alia commoda 
 ubicumque venenatse sunt aranese manent semper munda (ligna), et immunia 
 ab earum telis, ex ilia nimirum praerogativa qua quaecumque ex Hibernia adfe- 
 runtur, contra venenata cuncta valent." 
 
Chap. III. 4.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CUR WIN. 93 
 
 16. "They show an inviolable fidelity to their chiefs, at whose dis- 
 cretion they make peace or Mar. 
 
 17. " In battle each one follows his own natural ardour, and rushes 
 on the ranks of the enemy without paying attention to the course pursued 
 by his companions. 
 
 18. " In swiftness, they equal and sometimes surpass the horses. 
 
 19. " They freely seat themselves on hay, or straw, or grass; but 
 they avoid the hard ground and benches. 
 
 20. " They mount their horses, seizing them by the left ear, and 
 using nothing to support their feet. 
 
 21. " They use no leggings, and never even make them. 
 
 22. " The nobility are clothed in garments made of skin and adorned 
 with various colours. 
 
 23. " They cultivate sacred poetry* with great assiduity ; they do 
 not undertake to compose verses on sacred subjects, except after fasting 
 and prayer. When important negociations have to be made, the bards 
 are always chosen as the negociators. 
 
 24. " At meals, before the thanksgiving is made, the bishop or priests 
 who may be present make an exhortation, and all listen to it with great 
 attention." 
 
 The second narrative, though dwelling chiefly on the mate- 
 rial features of our island, is not less interesting. It is as follows : 
 
 " Discourse! on the kingdom of Ireland, and on the number of 
 troops that will be necessary for its re-conquest, addressed to 
 pope Gregory XIII. 
 
 " The kingdom of Ireland is almost equal in size to England, when 
 considered as separated from Scotland, which is smaller than either of 
 the other two islands. 
 
 " It abounds in corn and cattle, in} wool and , in flesh 
 
 * Peter Lombard, in his " Commentarius de Regno Hib." cap. 12, writes : 
 " Musica delectantur et poesi. Ad militiam maxime sunt affeeti, et ad earn 
 cum prirnis quibusque apti nationibus utpote animosi, fortes, expediti, patientes 
 laboris, et inedias, appetentes gloria? et capacissimi cum totius discipline mili- 
 taris turn usus atque exercitii armorum omnis generis. Scientias seu liberales 
 disciplinas multum amant et viros eruditos plurimum honoraut. Sunt etiam 
 passim acutis praediti ingeniis et ubi commoditatem ad id nacti addicunt se 
 libenter studiis, diligenter eis insistent, proniores vero ad ea feruntur studiorum 
 sive sciential genera iu quibus ingenii acumen, quam alia mentis vis exercet se 
 et exerit. 
 
 t This discourse was written in Italian, and is now published for the first 
 time from Biblioth. Vatic. Codex Urbinus, 854, fog. 408, et seqq; see the orig. 
 in appendix. In the translations, some irrelevant passages are omitted. 
 
 J Iu a letter of John Hooker to Sir Peter Carew, on 26th May, 1568, we 
 find the following interesting description of the fertility of the barony of 
 Idrone, of which, forsooth, that adventurer had resolved to deprive the rightful 
 
94 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [Ixtkod. 
 
 and in fish, both of the sea and of fresh water,* — in milk and honey, 
 of which there is such an abundance to be found, even in the woods 
 and where the bee-hives are not cared, that the inhabitants make use of 
 
 ' ' The soyle and countrie of that baronny is very large and great, and yn all 
 Europa not a more plesaimt, sweter, or frutefuller Lande ; the same beiuge 
 referted with all thinges necessary e for man yn any respecte, servinge for 
 pleasure or neede, for huntinge the stagge, the hare, the fox, the wolff, for 
 your pleasure at will ; for hawkinge with all kyndes of hawkes, at partridge, 
 rayle, fesaunt, crene, byttern, and a nomber of other fouies, as micne as can 
 be wished and desyred : for fyshinge there is as miche as any freshewater can 
 geve ; the seas are somewhat dystaunte from this countrie of Hydron, but yet, 
 on the one side, a goodly river called the Barro fieateth through the whole 
 countrie, and this so serveth the countrie, that upon it they do conveighe all 
 their comodyties and marehaundyses from the seas or from Waterford even to 
 the house of Laghlyn. " ("The Life and Times of Sir Peter Carew, Bart.," 
 by John Maclean, Esq., London, 1857, pag. 198, from the MSS. of Lambeth 
 Palace.) 
 
 * Venerable Bede styles Ireland, " Dives lactis et mellis insula nee vinearum 
 expers ; piscium volucrumque sed et cervorum venatu iusignis. " (Hist. Ang. 
 lib. i. cap. 1.) Peter Lombard, in his " Commentarius," devotes the entire 
 sixth chapter to the salubrity of the island. He writes as follows: — " Salu- 
 britatem hujus regionis, multa sunt quae probant et insigniter commendant, 
 sed potissimum haa quinque dotes : 1. temperies cceli perpetua : 2. aquarum 
 puritas et preestantia : 3. eiborum omnis generis et prajsertim carnium atque 
 piscium suavitas : 4. morborum paucitas, raritas, et levitas : 5. Prserogativa 
 singularis contra venena et venenata cuncta animantia." His remark on the 
 purity of the waters is especially interesting : — "Sunt illse hie purissimae et 
 clarissima? idque non in fontium tantum primis scatebris atque rivis sed in 
 ipsis quoque laeubus imo in fluminibus donee eaa misceantur cum refluxu 
 maris. Sunt etiam praeter id quod gustu delectabiles, adeo virtute prastantes 
 ut plurimae sint quae ad preestandas sanitates plurimum valeant. Quae virtus ut 
 in nonnullia eoncedenda est inesse a naturali earum excellentia, ita et quibusdam 
 non est dubitandum earn impertitam atque impetratam per merita sanctorum 
 hujus regionis a quibus proinde eae suas olim acceptas nomenclaturas etiamnum 
 hodie immutatas retinent." As to the food, he adds : — "Quod ad eiborum 
 spectat suavitatem testantur exteri et nominatim Angli, qui hie aliquando 
 commorati, carnes atque etiam pisces in Hibernia multo esse delicatiores et 
 suaviores quam sint in ipsa Anglia ; unde solent curiosius indagare, cum 
 primum hue adveniunt an id a natura inditum an vero arte aliqua sit 
 inductum. " In the seventh chapter he speaks of the Irish fisheries ; and with 
 very few changes, his words woidd be applicable to the present day: — "In 
 mari, quacumque Hiberniam alluit, in portibus ejus et in sinubus, in fluviis et 
 in laeubus tanta est varietas et abundantia piscium et qnidem omni anni 
 tempore, quantam vel nulla alia habet Europa? regio vel certe non cum ea 
 commoditate qua hinc velut ex praecipuo quodam Europe vivario aliis ejus 
 regionibus ubertas ista communicari possit, si talis esset rerurn administratio 
 qualis deberet merito, cum ad ipsam ditandam insulam, turn ad commodandum 
 externis uationibus. Quin etiam modo uteumque administrentur res, praster- 
 quamquod indigenis ubi aliqualis saltern industria adhibetur, semper sit pro- 
 visum abunde de piscibus, etiam magna effertur copia ad externas quasdam 
 regiones, partim per Hibernos sed praeeipue per mercatores Anglise. Quae 
 quidem, exclusis mercatoribus et piscatoribus aliarum nationum, suia dum- 
 taxat subditis reservat jus et potestatem hie piscandi. Unde videre est per 
 omne anni tempus passim in Hibernian portibus et asstuariis innumeros pisca- 
 tores Anglos, quod hie quam in Anglia experiantur piscationem, uti copiosiorem 
 sine comparatione ita et multo utifiorem etiam expensis omnibus quas fachmt 
 in rationem adduetis." 
 
Chap. III. 4.] AFTER THE APOSTACY OF CURWIN. 
 
 05 
 
 wax and honey according as they want it, and pay no further attention 
 to it. 
 
 "There are mines of gold, silver, copper, and lead. Iron is found in 
 
 all parts of the island.* There is also an abundance of lakes and rivers. 
 
 " It has a peculiar breed of horses, which are not too high of stature, 
 
 but are swift, and not unlike the Spanish horses. | It yields also the 
 
 same articles of produce which are yielded by England. 
 
 "There is a superabundance of hawks and falcons, which are of a 
 superior quality, and are highly esteemed in France. 
 
 " In winter the cold is not so severe as it is in England. No sort of 
 serpents or obnoxious animals — not even a spider is to be found there, 
 so much so, that its clay is carried into England and Scotland as a 
 remedy against serpents. 
 
 " The Reasons why the Irish are the Natural Enemies of England: 
 
 " The first and chief reason is the difference of religion. 
 
 " The second is, that the English kings have, contrary to every right 
 and justice, usurped the title of kings of Ireland 
 
 " The third is, that the English crown has tyrannized over our 
 island, seeking only its own aggrandizement, without paying any atten- 
 tion to the interests of the natives ; and entrusting the government to 
 English agents, who use the most tyrannical means to enrich them- 
 selves, transporting its produce into England, taxing the people contrary 
 to its laws and ancient privileges, maintaining wars and domestic strife 
 amongst the inhabitants, and, in a word, satiating their blood with the 
 very blood and bowels of the natives. 
 
 * Peter Lombard, loc. cit. cap. 9, gives the following important testimony 
 regarding the mines of Ireland: — "Sunt hio et quidem eopiose mineralia 
 plurima et argentum vivum, alumen, vitreolum, sulphur : immo et metalla in 
 suo quoque genere admodum prsestantia. . . . Et ferrum quidem facili 
 opera eruitur et coquitur ab iis etiam qui metallorum parum sunt periti, et 
 nihilominus probatur tarn excellens ut non aliud in Europa magis sit durabile. 
 Alia metalla uonnisi tecte adhue et parte sunt attacta. Attamen sic teutata 
 ut possit id sufficere ad judicium de eorum prsestantia et abundantia. Verum 
 ne magis innotescaut vel explorentur cavet diligenter et advigilat Concilium 
 Angliaa : in quo cum aliquando fuisset propositum de fodinis in Hibernia 
 indagandis, opposuit se acerrime quidam e primis Proceribus qui aliquando in 
 Hibernia rebus prasfuit, tauquam non expediret ullo modo statui immo saluti 
 Angliae ut in lucem veuiret et notitiam potentioris cujuspiam nationis quauti 
 essent a uatura in fodinis Hibernise reconditi thesauri. De his quacumque 
 ego hie adduco, aceepi pro certissimis partim a pvaefectis fodinarum in Anglia 
 qui et Hiberniam aliquando studiose perlustraruut, partim ab aliis qui per- 
 noverunt intime qusecumque in Concilio Angliae de iisdem sunt proposita." 
 
 t The Irish horses were celebrated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 
 Munster, in his " Cosmographia" (lib. ii.), says : " Gignit Hibernia multos 
 equos qui graviter incedunt, studentque velut data opera mollem facere 
 gressum, ne insidenti molestiam ullam iuferant." Jovius also states that the 
 Irish horses were often bestowed as presents by the nobility of France and 
 Spain ; and adds the curious fact : "ex hoc genere duodecim candoris eximii, 
 purpura et argenteis habenis exornatos in pompa sunrmorum pontificum sessore 
 vacuos duci videmus." — (In lib. de Regionib. in Descript. Hiberuise.) 
 
96 VACANCY OF THE SEE OF DUBLIN [Introd. 
 
 " The fourth is, that no schools or academies are allowed in Ireland, 
 the English being desirous to keep the people in ignorance, lest they 
 should learn the difference between liberty and slavery, and knowing 
 well that the inhabitants are warlike and courageous, and capable of 
 supporting every fatigue, they fear lest they should be instructed in the 
 art of war. For the same reason they never allowed artists to settle 
 there, lest the inhabitants, by learning how to avail themselves of the 
 natural resources of the country, might become rich and powerful, and 
 shake off the foreign yoke ; for it yields abundance of metal for every 
 sort of armour, and for the munitions of war. 
 
 " As to the troops that will be necessary for the conquest of the 
 kingdom, it is certain that as the eyes of England are now opened to 
 the importance of the island, greater forces will be required than here- 
 tofore. Considering, however, the importance of the enterprize, and the 
 increase of the Catholic faith, the expense will be but trifling ; and I 
 think that with five thousand well-armed troops, such an end may easily 
 be attained. 
 
 " There can be no difficulty in disembarking the troops ; there are 
 so many ports in the island that it would be impossible for the enemy 
 to occupy them all.* There are many of the Irish chieftains both in 
 Rome and Spain, who are excellently acquainted with the country. 
 
 "As regards the good will of the inhabitants, were it merely for the 
 motive of religion, all would unite themselves at once with any Catholic 
 power, and still more so with the Roman pontiff. 
 
 " The queen of England is so occupied with the war in Flanders, and 
 other wars abroad, as well as with the guerillas of the Irish chiefs at 
 home, that it will be impossible for her to send an army to oppose the 
 invading troops ; and as to the cities which she at present occupies, 
 the citizens, being all Catholics, will hail with delight the friendly 
 troops, and shake off the tyrannical yoke of the English. And even 
 should it not be so, there is not a single city in the whole kingdom 
 which could resist for four days against a battery of four pieces of 
 cannon. ... In fine, the conquest being thus most easily accomplished, 
 not only will new power and glory be obtained, but the Irish nation 
 being the most devoted to the Holy See, the most firmly rooted in the 
 attachment to the Catholic faith, and the 'greatest enemy of all heretics, 
 especially of the English, it will be a perpetual bulwark against all the 
 heretics of the west, and serve as a bridle to check those of England 
 and Scotland." 
 
 * Tacitus (in Vit. Jul. Agric.) says of his time : " Quod HiberniEe quam 
 Britannia melius aditus portusque per eommercia et negotiatores cogniti." 
 Peter Lombard (loo. eit. c. xi.) also writes: " Plurimi sunt et optimi portus 
 qui nimirum et accessum habent faeilem et fidam praebent stationem adeo 
 quidem ut in ista etiam parte Hibernia longe Britanniam superet." 
 
CllAr. IV. 1.] PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS. 
 
 97 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 •PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS DURINQ 
 THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 1. General View of this Persecution.— 2. Sufferings of the Irish Church. — 3. 
 Devastation of the Country. — 4. Famine which ensued. — 5. Examples to 
 Illustrate the Persecution of Elizabeth. — 6. Constancy of the Irish 
 Catholics. — 7. Condition of the Protestant Church in the time of Elizabeth. 
 
 1. — General View of the Persecution. 
 
 Few penal laws were enacted by the Irish parliament during 
 the reign of Elizabeth. In its first meetings, indeed (1559), an 
 effort was made by the government to lay the foundations of a 
 penal code, on which an ample superstructure might subse- 
 quently be raised. Not only was spiritual supremacy, as enjoyed 
 by Henry VIII. and Edward VI., restored to the crown, and 
 all the acts of queen Mary in favour of the Catholic religion 
 repealed, but it was further commanded, that all officers and 
 ministers, whether lay or ecclesiastical, should, on pain of for- 
 feiture, take the oath <of supremacy ; that all persons in any way 
 maintaining the spiritual supremacy of the Holy See, should 
 forfeit, for the first offence, all his estates, real and personal (or be 
 imprisoned for one year, if not worth £20), incur a praemunire 
 for the second offence, and become guilty of high treason for the 
 third offence; that the use of the book of Common Prayer, 
 instead of the Roman Catholic liturgy, should be enforced as 
 in England ; that any clergyman who refused to use the book 
 of Common Prayer in his church, or who used any other form 
 of worship, rite, ceremony, or celebration of the Lord's Supper, 
 openly or privately, than was laid down in the said book of 
 Common Prayer, should, for the first offence, forfeit one year's 
 income, and be imprisoned for six months ; for the second offence 
 be deprived of office, and suffer imprisonment at pleasure; and 
 for the third offence, be imprisoned for life; that every person 
 should resort to the established church and attend the new 
 
 H 
 
98 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intbod. 
 
 service, under pain of ecclesiastical censures, and of the for- 
 feiture of twelve pence for every offence, to be levied by the 
 church-wardens, by the distress of the lands or chattels of the 
 defaulter; that the first fruits and twentieths of all church 
 revenues should be given to the crown, and that the old form of 
 conge cVelire should be superseded by the letters patent of the 
 crown, by which, in future, all collations to vacant sees should 
 be made.* 
 
 It was only by a stratagem, however, that the wishes of the 
 queen, in regard of these penal laws, received the sanction of the 
 commons ; and the promise of the viceroy that they would not 
 be put in execution, made them for some years remain as a 
 dead letter on the statute-book. Other enactments, embodying 
 the cruel code that was enforced in England, were proposed in 
 1585; but the Catholic party in parliament was successful in 
 its opposition, and the agents of persecution were never able to 
 palliate their cruelty, by appealing to the acts of the Irish 
 legislature. 
 
 Some English writers dwell with complacency on this lenity 
 of the government, and extol the mildness with which the new 
 religion was sought to be enforced in Ireland ; and whilst they 
 acknowledge that torrents of blood were poured out in England 
 by the intolerant bigotry of Elizabeth, they have not hesitated 
 to affirm, that Ireland was wholly free from such scenes of perse- 
 cution, and that our Catholics were allowed peaceably to pursue 
 the dictates of their own conscience. And yet, whosoever im- 
 partially considers the contemporary monuments of our history, 
 must be convinced, that a bitter unremitted persecution was at 
 this period carried on in Ireland against the Catholic faith; that 
 the agents of the government pursued, in regard of the Irish 
 Catholics, the same sanguinary code which had been enacted in 
 England ; and that every torture which their malicious inge- 
 nuity could devise, was inflicted with impunity on the natives of 
 our island. 
 
 One of the most learned men to whom Ireland gave birth in the 
 sixteenth century, was Peter Lombard, archbishop of Armagh. 
 
 * Liber Mun. Bib. statnt. 1 Elizab. chap. i. 2. This act of parliament ia 
 given in full, with interesting notes, in the " Analecta" of Dr. Roothe, the 
 learned bishop of Ossory. 
 
Chap. IV. 1.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 99 
 
 Educated in his early youth at Oxford, he ever cherished a 
 warm sympathy for the English nation, which he more than 
 once takes occasion to eulogize in his celebrated " Comment- 
 arius de Regno Hiberniae." This work was written in the year 
 1600, and Ave adopt the following calm and unimpassioned 
 words with which it sketches the ordeal of persecutions to which 
 our country was subjected during Elizabeth's reign : — 
 
 " I shall present .(he says), arranged under certain heads, a sketch of 
 the persecution which was begun, indeed, under Henry the Eighth, was 
 continued under Edward the Sixth, but raged with special fury under 
 Elizabeth ; for during her reign, whatsoever means could be devised 
 to seduce the Irish Catholics from the faith and their allegiance to the 
 Apostolic See, whether by force or fraud, by threats of torments or the 
 seductions of the world, were eagerly carried into execution. 
 
 1. " And, first, as to the sanctuary and the ornaments of religion : 
 no country was more enriched with noble monasteries, many of which 
 were opulent, and able, at all times, to give meet hospitality to the 
 richest noblemen of the island. These, wheresoever the sway of the 
 English monarchy extended, were plundered and destroyed; their pro- 
 perty, whether sacred or domestic, was pillaged and dissipated ; their 
 revenues were seized by the crown, and the sites themselves were 
 either abandoned to ruin or applied to profane purposes. The same, 
 indeed, must also be said of many of the Catholic churches, whilst in 
 others, the sacred worship of God being abolished, and the monuments 
 and relics of Christ and His saints being desecrated, the schismatical 
 and heretical rites were introduced. 
 
 2. " As to persons : it was first prescribed and commanded, that all 
 who were assumed to public offices should take the oath of abjuration, 
 which was drawn up through hatred of the Apostolic See, and declared 
 that supreme power and authority, as well in spirituals as in temporals, 
 in Ireland as in England, belonged to the aforesaid kings of England, 
 as heads of the church. Should any, through unwillingness to take 
 this oath, decline such offices and honours, they, by the very fact, in- 
 curred the royal displeasure. And should it happen, as it often indeed 
 occurs, that this oath was tendered to individuals for the purpose of 
 testing their faith, by refusing it, they incurred the penalties of high 
 treason. 
 
 3. " As it was well known that the Irish revered men of learning 
 and eloquence, it was resolved, the more effectually to inculcate the 
 royal tenets, to send to Ireland those ministers who were most dis- 
 tinguished in England and Scotland for their ability and eloquence. 
 Such were Goodman, the leader of the Calvinists in England, who, 
 moreover, during Mary's reign had published a treatise against female 
 government; Cartwright, distinguished amongst the Puritans; Jansons, 
 famed for his preaching ; Burchley, so zealous in preaching, that besides 
 his sermon on the Lord's day, he also added every week two catechetical 
 
100 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [I.MitOD. 
 
 discourses; Brady, a bishop of the Anglican tenets; Meade, known for 
 the vehemence of his sermons ; Oraik, a Scotchman^made bishop of 
 Kildare, also a famous preacher, etc. 
 
 4. " In various parts of the island there were excellent literary- 
 schools, the rectors or masters of which being Catholics, instructed the 
 youth not only in science, but also in Catholic doctrine and morality ; 
 in some, too, there was a class of exposition of the Catholic catechism : 
 now, all these schools, under various pretexts, are subjected to vexation 
 and oppression, and most of them have been wholly swept away. 
 
 o. "To provide instruction for the natives, and to display a greater 
 earnestness in its regard than had hitherto beeen shown (for often had 
 the erection of an university been in vain solicited from the crown), a 
 most ample and splendid college was erected a few years ago in the 
 vicinity of Dublin, by royal decree, but at the expense of the inhabi- 
 tants, in which it is commanded that all liberal arts shall be taught by 
 heretical teachers. As such heretical masters, however, could not be 
 found in Ireland, they were sent thither from England ; and the better 
 to establish and propagate their teaching, they received the mission to 
 preach the evangelical doctrines in Dublin, and were directed, moreover, 
 to exact the oath of the queen's supremacy, in all ecclesiastical matters, 
 from the students whom they should educate. 
 
 6. " That they might the more freely persecute the Catholics, as if, 
 not for religion's sake, but for the violation of the civil laws, some 
 statutes were enacted, not iudeed in Ireland, but in the parliament of 
 England, so full of cruelty and folly, that the mere practices of Catholic 
 piety are declared to be civil and capital crimes, and some of them, too, 
 equivalent to high treason ; for instance, to celebrate or assist at the 
 adorable sacrifice of the altar — to refuse to assist at the schismatical and 
 heretical rites — to have in your possession or be bearers of missals, 
 breviaries, offices of the Blessed Virgin, agnus Deis, crosses, beads, 
 medals blessed by the Roman pontiff — to make a confession of sins, 
 or to absolve from them — and especially to reconcile anyone to the 
 Catholic Church. Forsooth, our English legislators imitated in this the 
 princes and satraps of the Medes and Persians, who being desirous to 
 achieve the ruin of Daniel, and seeing that they could find no pretext 
 except in his observance of the law of God, devised a royal statute, 
 which enacted that anyone found praying to any God or man, except 
 the king, should be cast into the lion's den. 
 
 Although these laws and statutes were not only not received but were 
 even rejected in the Irish parliament, still oftentimes were they carried 
 into execution with far more unbridled cruelty in Ireland than in Eng- 
 land;* and those members of the clergy or laity who conciliated the 
 
 * Ranke cites a contemporary Italian discourse on Irelaud, in which the 
 government of Elizabeth in that country is described as most tyrannical, ' ' as 
 she abandoned it to the care of ministers who, to ensure their own aggrandize- 
 ment, employed every art, no matter how tyrauuicaJ, and sought to maintain 
 wars and dissensions amongst the natives themselves. " In the Codex Urbinus, 
 
Chap. IV. 1.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 101 
 
 popular reverence and esteem by their learning, piety, orders, dignity, 
 rank, and virtue, were persecuted with imprisonment, torture, and most 
 cruel deaths ; which sufferings of our people, were they made known to 
 the world (and in his own good time God will surely make them known), 
 it would at once be seen how our island is not only adorned with the 
 early glory of its confessors, but is still more decorated by the heroic 
 fortitude of its martyrs." 
 
 But whilst the emissaries of Elizabeth thus revelled in every 
 excess against the Catholics of our island, the government itself 
 cannot be reputed blameless: in fact, it not only* co-operated 
 with them in their guilt, but, moreover, spurred them on to the 
 most cruel deeds of Vandalism and persecution. The commis- 
 sioners who a few years later presented to James I. the remon- 
 strance of the Irish Catholics, expressly laid the blame of all 
 their sufferings at the door of Elizabeth ;f and, indeed, the pro- 
 clamation of the queen, signed the 18th of October, 1591, is 
 more than sufficient to justify their accusations.^ One of the 
 articles of this proclamation commanded all the natives of Ireland 
 
 Vat. Libr. 854, pag. 231, there is a " Disoorso sopra l'lnghilterra," in which 
 we read "II rammemorare gli atti empj et crudeli da lei usati coutro la vera 
 religione et contro i ministri di quella et contro i seguaci non si puS far senza 
 spargere lagrime o senza eccitarle in altri." 
 
 * The cruelty of the English agents was well known at the court ; and 
 Elizabeth herself was on one occasion heard to say, that she feared the same 
 reproach, on account of the disorders in Ireland, which had been formerly 
 made by Bato to Tiberius — "It is you, you ! that are to blame for these 
 disorders; who have committed your flocks, not to shepherds, but to wolves." 
 — Hibernia Pacata. 
 
 t See this remonstrance in full in O'Sullevan, loc. cit. pag. 317, seqq. 
 
 J Carve, a coeval writer, thus describes the cruel rage of Elizabeth against 
 the Catholics : — j' Sine mora certos commissarios destiuavit ad omnia ccenobia 
 a Maria Regina viris Ecclesiasticis coDcessa supprimenda : insuper omnes ima- 
 gines ex Ecclesiis ejici imperavit, omnes quoque Catholicam fidem profitentes 
 vel eidem addictos acerbissimis tormentis enecari : nee miuori atrocitate et 
 conamine in Hibernia gessit, omnem politiam, civilitatem, urbanitatem ab- 
 legando, omnia saera prof anando," etc. — (Lyra, pag. 117.) This writer was 
 born in 1590, and studied at P. White's school in Kilkenny. He frequently 
 commemorates "immanem Elizabeths in Catholicos Hibernian persecutionem 
 et tyrannidem ;" "execrandam htereticoram sarvitiam;" "sacerdotes ac reli- 
 giosos ad nefandas ac immanes neces rapi," etc. — (pag. 121,etseqq.) In "Ire- 
 land's Case Briefly Stated," printed in 1695, pag. 7, we read— "The Spanish 
 cloud (the armada) was no sooner dispersed, than Q. Elizabeth resolved to fall 
 upon the Irish with all the severity imaginable, in order to force her pretended 
 . reformation upon them. First, she prosecuted some on pretence of having 
 relieved a few Spaniards cast by stress of weather upon the coast of Ireland ; 
 then she ordered others to be seized on for having harboured Catholic bishops, 
 priests, and friars ; and a great many more were questioned for having been 
 at Mass, or not come to the Protestant meetings, as they were enjoined by the 
 said pretended acts of parliament." 
 
102 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intkod. 
 
 to make a return to the government of the priests and religious 
 who within fourteen months had visited their houses ; whilst 
 another enacted the penalties of high treason against all who 
 for the future should be found to harbour or relieve them.* 
 The proclamation was accompanied with a series of secret 
 instructions, communicating full inquisitorial powers to the 
 ecclesiastical commissioners to search out, and punish with the 
 utmost rigour, all who should attempt to violate its enactments/!" 
 
 We have seen how, under various pretences, Catholic schools 
 were proscribed throughout our island. From other sources we 
 further learn, that the newly-appointed Protestant bishops re- 
 ceived special orders to carry out that scheme, and to found 
 heretical schools in their respective districts.} A little later this 
 system of prosely tism attained its perfection, when parents were 
 commanded to send their children to these schools, under pain 
 of forfeiture of their property and other severe penalties.§ 
 
 It is to the same unprincipled schemes of persecution that 
 we are indebted for the destruction of most of the monumental 
 records of our history. Dr. Lynch, in his " Cambrensis 
 Eversus," attests that " the English laboured with Vandal 
 earnestness in plundering our Irish documents ;"|| and again he 
 writes: " It is a fact well authenticated by the testimony of the 
 last generation, that while Ireland was wasted by the flames of 
 war, the queen's troops, wherever they were quartered through 
 the country, rifled the houses of friends and foes indiscrimi- 
 nately, and carried off all Irish manuscripts; it was not through 
 any fancy of their own that they did so, but they seem to 
 have had orders to that effect; and when these soldiers were 
 called in to garrison the towns, large leaves of these manuscripts 
 were distributed by them to schoolboys to make covers for their 
 books, or cut up in the tailor's shop to make measures for 
 clothes,"! Dr. David Roothe, writing in 1614, is equally ex- 
 plicit in attesting this Vandalism of the English governors: " if 
 any members of the government," he says, " received intelli- 
 
 * The proclamation is given by Dominiok de flosario, loe. cit. pag. 144-S- 
 
 f See Appendix to Dom. de Pvosario, loc. cit. pag. 235, seqq. 
 
 J " Irish Statutes," p. 346, 12 Eliz. c. i. 
 
 § See Havdiman, " Iar-C'onnaught," pag. 420. 
 
 || Vol. i. page 3 35, edited by Celtic Society in 1S49. 
 
 II Ibid, page 337. 
 
Chap. IV. 2.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 103 
 
 gence of a fragment of manuscript history being in the posses- 
 sion of a private individual, it was at once either begged or 
 bought; but if neither money nor entreaty was strong enough 
 to obtain it, then threats and commands immediately followed, 
 
 which it would imperil one's life to resist Far the most 
 
 active in this trade of hunting out in all quarters, and carrying 
 away or destroying ancient books, especially in the province of 
 Minister, of which he was president, was sir George Carew. 
 He took from the noble family of the M'Carthys a most ancient 
 manuscript volume. But the course pursued by this president 
 in one province, had been already adopted throughout Ireland 
 by sir Henry Sydney and preceding governors, who swept away 
 in one mass everything that they could lay hands on ; so that 
 one of their most special instructions, when deputed to govern 
 this island, would appear to have been, to annihilate with 
 the most unsparing hand every monument of the history of 
 Ireland."* 
 
 2 Sufferings of the Irish Catholics under Elizabeth. 
 
 The statutes of 1559 were not destined to remain very long 
 a dead letter; and one of their first fruits was witnessed in 1563, 
 when the earl of Essex, the then viceroy, issued a proclama- 
 tion,f by which all priests, secular and regular, were inter- 
 dicted either to hold assemblies or to take up their abode in the 
 city of Dublin. This proclamation was further accompanied 
 with a republication of the former edict, by which various fines 
 and penalties (as mentioned above) were enacted against those 
 who, on Sundays and festival days, should absent themselves 
 from the Protestant service; and, as Ware informs us, these 
 fines were exacted with the greatest rigour. 
 
 The priests and religious — the shepherds of the flock — were, 
 as it was natural to expect, the first to experience the fury of 
 the storm. Wheresoever the English agents penetrated, the 
 clergy had to fly for safety to the mountain recesses; the 
 churches were desecrated, and the altars overthrown; and those 
 hypocritical reformers (to use the words of Leland), " under 
 pretence of obeying the order of the state, seized on all the 
 
 * "Analecta," pag. 557-9. t Ware's Annals of Eliz., an. 15G3. 
 
104 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Istrod. 
 
 most valuable furniture of the churches, which they exposed to 
 sale without decency or reserve."* A few instances of the 
 desecration of holy places will suffice. In 1595, the governor 
 of Sligo, George Bingham, setting sail around Tyrconnell, 
 entered Lough Swilly and plundered the defenceless nuns of 
 the Carmelite convent of Rathmullan, which was situated on 
 the banks of the lake, and was known as St. Mary's Abbey ; 
 the ruthless despoiler carried off the vestments, chalices, and 
 other valuable articles of the abbey .f In the following year 
 the convent of Kilconnell, belonging to the Franciscans, was 
 made a barrack for the English soldiers ; the church became a 
 stable for their cavalry ; and the very tombs were rifled by the 
 soldiery, who hoped to find some treasure concealed there.J A 
 few years earlier, the Franciscan monastery and church of 
 Kilchree were also pillaged: the statues and paintings were 
 demolished; the sacred utensils were broken to pieces and 
 carried off: and the annalist of the order especially laments the 
 destruction of a rich figure of the crucifixion, exquisitely worked 
 and adorned with beautiful medallions of the Evangelists, which 
 were wrought in silver and gold. At the same time a body of 
 English soldiers entered the church of Timoleague, and not 
 content with demolishing the stained glass windows which 
 adorned it, tore to flitters the pictures for which the church 
 was famed : the people entreated and prayed to have them pre- 
 served, but all was in vain, for destruction had been vowed 
 against all the monuments of Catholic piety and devotion. In 
 like manner, the monastery of Multifarnam was burned to the 
 ground; and when re-built, plundered a second time by the 
 heretical troops. The convent of Donegal, however, was parti- 
 cularly remarkable for the richness of its sacred ornaments: " In 
 the year 1600 (writes Mooney) there were forty friars in that 
 house ; and the divine praises were celebrated with solemn chant 
 by night and by day. I myself was sacristan, and I had 
 entrusted to my charge forty suits of vestments, many of them of 
 cloth of gold and silver — some interwoven and brocaded 
 with gold — all the remainder silk. There were also sixteen 
 
 * Hist., vol. ii. pag. 274. 
 
 t Miscellany of Celtic Society for 1849, edited by O'Donovan, pag. 223. 
 
 j: Mooney'a Hist., MS., of the Franc. Ord. 
 
■Cu\r. IV. 2.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 105 
 
 large silver chalices, all of which, two only excepted, were 
 washed with gold ; nor should I forget two rich ciboriums for the 
 Blessed Sacrament, which were inlaid with precious stones."* 
 This far-famed monastery, however, soon became a garrison of 
 the English soldiery ;t the entire of the sacred furniture was 
 seized on by Lambert, the governor of Gonnaught; the chalices 
 were profanely used as drinking cups, and the rich vestments 
 were torn into shreds and employed for the profanest uses4 But 
 it is not necessary to pursue these individual instances. 
 
 " Everywhere," writes Henriqnez, " the heretics profaned the 
 sacred churches, demolished the altars, consigned to the flames the 
 holy images, and devoted to profane purposes the chalices and other 
 ornaments of divine worship. Not a day passed without being 
 marked by some cruel martyrdom : the nobles were despoiled of their 
 wealth and possessions ; the poor overwhelmed with affliction ; the 
 natives banished into foreign lands ; the priests were compelled to 
 wander about from place to place, or were thrown into prison. 
 The religious dared not to appear in public, and no one could attempt 
 to preach the Catholic faith or defend the supremacy of the Holy See. 
 It was not sufficient for the enemies of our faith to persecute the Catho- 
 lics in the cities and towns, they followed them moreover to the woods 
 and mountains, like hungry lions pursuing the flock of Christ. Their 
 diabolical cruelty was still more displayed in the destruction of the 
 numerous and richly-adorned monasteries, which the munificence of the 
 nobility had erected and endowed in former times, that their inmates 
 might devote themselves wholly to the praises and service of God ; 
 but the heretics pulled down the churches, destroyed the edifices by fire, 
 murdered the servants of God, profaned the sacred places, and made 
 the houses of prayer become dens of thieves. They were earthly para- 
 dises — they now became the abode of demons ; for the voice of prayer 
 was substituted blasphemy, and instead of the daily sacrifice of thanks- 
 giving, nought was witnessed hut abominations and crimes." 
 
 He then particularizes the sufferings to which his own Cis- 
 tercian Order was subjected — 
 
 "Some," he says, "fall of affliction and misery, fled from the 
 sword which impended over them ; others were murdered or burnt 
 
 * MS. Hist. loo. cit. 
 
 t Soon after the powder magazine exploded, blowing to atoms many hun- 
 dreds of the garrison, and completing the ruin of both convent and church. 
 
 Ibid; and also the Annals of the Four Masters ad. an. 1601 • O'Sullev Hist 
 Cath. pag. 221. 
 
 I "Supellex ilia fuit prasdje Olivero Lamberto gubernatori Connacia; ex 
 parte hffireticorum qui calices in cyphos profanos convertit et vestes sacras in 
 diversos profanos nans oonvertendoa scindi et dilacerari curavit."- Mooney loc, 
 cit. 
 
106 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [IHTEOD- 
 
 to death in their convents ; all the monasteries were levelled to the 
 ground ; the virgins who, from their youth, had consecrated themselves 
 to God, were driven from their convents, and compelled to wander in 
 hunger through the woods and mountains. The heretics were the more 
 eager in the pursuit of our religious, as our monasteries were numerous 
 and rich ; and in a short time all were completely destroyed."* 
 
 The same writer gives an extract from a letter addressed to 
 himself by an Irish exile, from Compostella, the 3rd of April, 
 1617, describing the persecution to which the Cistercian fathers 
 had been subjected in Elizabeth's reign: — 
 
 " Whilst the diabolical rage of the heretics destroyed the churches 
 and monasteries, and profaned them with sacrilegious hands, the con- 
 stancy of the Cistercians, in offering up their lives for Christ's sake, 
 was most remarkable, and deserving of all praise ; and as many of 
 their sacred houses were scattered through the country, so innumerable 
 monks of that order, by martyrdom, attained their heavenly crown. "f 
 
 It would not be difficult to multiply these extracts from 
 coeval writers, who, without a dissentient voice, agree in 
 attesting the rigour of the persecution waged against the Irish 
 priesthood. We shall be content, however, with one passage 
 
 * Henriquez, p. 358 : — "Templa profanabant haeretici, altaria demoliebantur, 
 sanctorum imagines comburebant, et calices, et ornamenta cultui divino dicata 
 profanis usibus applioabant. Nullus abibat dies quo aliquem martyrio non 
 afficerent, nobiles divitiis et possessionibus spoliando, pauperes affligendo, et 
 incolas in exilium ablegando. Sacerdotes sedem mutarant et fugerant vel 
 carceribus mancipati erant. Religiosi in nullius eonspeotum venire audebant, 
 denique nullus fere erat qui Catholicam fidem protiteri auderet et summi 
 Pontificis auctoritatem propugnaret. Non satis erat fidei inimicis se Catholicos 
 in urbibus persecutos esse, nisi et in desertis et vagis montibus ut famelici 
 leones inquirerent oves Cbristi. Deinde diabolicam suam crudelitatem etiam 
 in multis et sumptuosis monasteries ostenderunt quae Principes in regno illo 
 dum Keligio vigeret, exstruxerant, et Catholici dotarant ut in eis diversarum 
 religionmn et institutorura Keligiosi Deum laudarent et servirent. Evertebant 
 templa, exurebant asdificia, servos Dei trucidabant, et profanabant loea sacra, 
 et domus orationis in speluncas latronum commutabant : paradisi illi terrestres 
 fiunt inferni, voces laudationis iD blasphetnias vertuntur, et in locum sacri- 
 ficiorum quas quotidie offerebantur succedebant abominationes et peccata." 
 . . . ' ' Aliqui gladium qui eis minabatur f ugiebant dolorum et miseriarum 
 pleni : aliqui trucidabantur et comburebantur, omnia monasteria solo aequa- 
 bantur. Virgines quaj ab ineunte actate se Deo voverant claustra relinquentes 
 per devia vagabantur et montes et valles absconditas petebant. Haeretici tanto 
 magis rabiem in monasteria nostra ostenderunt, quo erant plura numero et 
 ditiora et brevi tempore £ere diruerunt. " 
 
 t Henriquez, loc. cit. : — " Dum in principio maledieti sehismatis, perfida et 
 diaboUca haereticorum furia templa et monasteria erueret et sacrilega manu 
 profanaret, notabilis fuit semperque laudanda eorum constantia in vitas pro 
 Christo amissione. Et quia multaa hujus ordinis sacrse aedes reperiebantur, 
 innumeri quoque monachi martyrio co3lestem arcem petiere." 
 
Chap. IV. 2.] DUIUNG THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 107 
 
 from the famous Dominican writer Dominick de Rosario, who 
 thus addresses his Catholic countrymen : — 
 
 " Your religion made your enemies crucify you. Divesting them- 
 selves of humanity, and disregarding God's anger, the rage of these 
 heretics (who may be likened to famished lions) exhausted itself on our 
 holy edifices. The priests of the Lord were stoned in the public 
 thoroughfares, and their tonsured heads were made targets for those 
 wretches to aim at. Some of these priests had their brains beaten out, 
 their bodies dashed to earth, trodden under foot, and bruised by kicks 
 and blows. Some had the nails of their fingers torn out by the roots, 
 whilst others actually saw their entrails protrude and their flesh ripped 
 and torn by combs of iron. How shall I describe such scenes ? They 
 were stoned — they ivere cut asunder — they were tempted — they were put 
 to death by the sword. But, praised be God ! they were true to their 
 faith. These persecutors excelled in malice — their cruelty surpassed 
 its ordinary character, and their ferocity shrank not from the most 
 appalling crimes."* 
 
 He then adds several instances, some of which we shall have 
 occasion to refer to in a subsequent article. 
 
 Florimond Raimond, writing in France in the beginning of the 
 seventeenth century, gives many details of the sufferings of our 
 Catholics, which he had received, he says, " from forty Irish 
 priests, who at that time (1600) had been exiled for the faith, 
 and landed at Bourdeaux." Eight years earlier (1592), Ware 
 tells us that " eleven priests and Jesuits were seized in Con- 
 naught and Minister and brought up to Dublin ;" of only one 
 of them, Rev. Michael Fitzsimmons, the son of an alderman of 
 Dublin, is the martyrdom recorded by this Protestant annalist ; 
 we can have, however, but little doubt as to the fate of the 
 other ten. The names of many of these worthy confessors are 
 preserved to us by Curry, in his " Review of the Civil Wars in 
 Ireland." In the reign of Elizabeth, he writes : — 
 
 "Among many other Roman Catholic bishops and priests, there were 
 put to death for the exercise of their function in Ireland, Glaby O'Boyle, 
 abbot of Boyle, of the diocese of Elphin, and Owen O'Mulkereu, abbot 
 of the monastery of the Holy Trinity, in that diocese, hanged and 
 quartered by lord Gray, in 1580 ; John Stephens, for saying Mass for 
 Teague MacHugh, was hanged and quartered by lord Burroughs, in 
 
 * ur 
 
 'The Geraldines," printed originally in 1655, translated by Rev C P 
 Meehan, and reprinted in 1847, Dublin, Duffy, pag. 138. 
 
108 PERSECUTION OF THE IUISH CATHOLICS [Iktgod. 
 
 1597; Thady O'Boyle, guardian of the monastery of Donegal, was 
 slain by the English in his own monastery ; six friars were slain in the 
 monastery of Moynihigan ; John O'Calyhor aud Bryan O'Trevor, of the 
 order of St. Bernard, were slain in their own monastery, de Sancta 
 Maria, in Ulster ; as also, Felimy O'Hara, a lay-brother; so was Eneas 
 Penny, parish priest of Killagh, slain at the altar, in his parish church 
 there ; Cahall McGoran, Rory O'Donellan, Peter O'Quillan, Patrick 
 O'Kenna, George Power, vicar-general of the diocese of Ossory; Andrew 
 Stritch, of Limerick, Bryan O'Muirihirtagh, vicar-general of the diocese 
 of Clonfert; Dorohow O'Molony of Thomond, John Kelly of Louth, 
 Stephen Patrick of Annaly, John Pillis, friar, Rory McHenlen, Tirrilagh 
 Mclnisky, a lay brother. All those that come after Eneas Penny, 
 together with Walter Farnan, priest, died in the castle of Dublin, either 
 through hard usage and restraint, or the violence of torture."* 
 
 All these outrages of the government and its agents were well 
 condensed by the heroic chieftain of Tirconncll, when, having 
 arrested an English captain named Willis, he set him at liberty, 
 desiring him to acquaint Elizabeth that " her emissaries in Ire- 
 land acted iniquitously towards the natives: seeking impiously 
 to corrupt the Catholic faith — torturing with barbarous and in- 
 human cruelty our sacred bishops and priests — imprisoning and 
 cutting off without mercy the Catholic nobility — in fine, sub- 
 stituting everywhere iniquity for the rule of justice."f The 
 same motives impelled the Leinster chiefs to appeal to arms ; 
 " they could no longer endure," says O'Sullevan, " that the 
 sacrifice of the Mass and the holy Sacraments were interdicted 
 to them — that their priests were proscribed, and cast into prison 
 or led to execution — that their churches were contaminated by 
 heretical rites, and they themselves subjected to an incessant 
 persecution ."J 
 
 We might suppose that Dr. Adam Loftus, Protestant arch- 
 bishop of Armagh, should at least, as minister of the Gospel, be 
 exempt from the common contagion of persecuting fury ; and 
 yet, during the whole forty years that he enjoyed the richest 
 benefices of our island, he was a main stimulus to English 
 bigotry, ever seeking for new penal enactments against the 
 Catholic faith. In his first report to the queen, dated May the 
 17th, 1565, after describing the nobility of the pale as all 
 
 * See O'Connell's Memoirs, etc., p. 127-8. 
 t O'Sullevan's Hist. Cath. p. 156. 
 t Ibid. p. 111. 
 
Chap. IV. 2.] DUEIKG THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 109 
 
 devoted to the ancient creed, he adds: " Whereupon I was once 
 
 in mind (for that they be so linked together in friendship and 
 
 alliance, one with another, that we shall never be able to correct 
 
 them by the ordinary course of the statute) to come upon every 
 
 one of them with a good round fine and sum of money, to be 
 
 paid to your majesty's use, and to bind them in sure bonds and 
 
 recognisances ever hereafter dutifully to observe your majesty's 
 
 most godly laws and injunctions. But ... I thought fit not to 
 
 deal any further with them until yoar majesty's pleasure was 
 
 therein specially known, which I humbly crave, with as much 
 
 expedition as conveniently may be. And verily, in my opinion, 
 
 if they were once brought to some good order and dutiful 
 
 obedience to your majesty's laws, and, indeed, somewhat 
 
 sharply dealt withal now, it should be no small furtherance 
 
 to your majesty's proceedings, and their example should be 
 
 a great cause to bring the rest and meaner sort to a godly 
 
 reformation."* 
 
 Twenty-five eventful years rolled on ; Dr. Loftus had been, 
 at his own request, translated from Armagh to Dublin, and 
 many of the highest offices of the state had been entrusted to 
 him ; nevertheless, his spirit of intolerance and bigotry remained 
 unchanged. In the State Paper Office is preserved a letter 
 which he addressed, on 22nd of September, 1590, to lord 
 Burghley, detailing (as is endorsed on the letter itself)' " the 
 causes of the general decay" of the Protestant religion in Ire- 
 land, and " how the same may be remedied." Most pitiful, 
 indeed, are the laments which he pours out for the wide-spread 
 abandonment of the Protestant tenets ; and, in conclusion, he 
 suggests : " It may be easily remedied, without any danger, and 
 with great gain to her majesty, if the ecclesiastical commission 
 be put in force ; for this people are but poor, and fear to be 
 fined; if liberty be left to myself and such commissioners as are 
 well affected in religion, to imprison and fine all such as are 
 obstinate and disobedient, and if they persist, beinw men of 
 ability to bear their own expenses, to send them into England, 
 for example's sake, I have no doubt but within a short time 
 they will be reduced to good conformity. If it be objected that 
 
 * Shirley, " Original Letters," etc., p. 194, seqq. 
 
110 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intp.od 
 
 this severe course may perhaps breed some stirs, I assure your 
 lordship there is no dread of any such matter, for they are but 
 beggars, and if once they perceive a thorough resolution to deal 
 roundly with them, they will both yield and conform them- 
 selves; and this course of reformation, the sooner it is begun 
 the better it will prosper ; and the longer it is deferred, the more 
 dangerous it will be."* Seven years later he counsels, indeed, 
 peace and lenity; for the judgment of God had fallen on the 
 heretical soldiery, and yet whilst communicating this counsel, 
 he betrays his truculent spirit, and how his only aim was to 
 compass the destruction of our country : " The captains die," 
 he writes, "the soldiers die,| the army daily groweth weaker; 
 treasure, victuals, and munition are consumed ; the rebels are 
 increased and grown insolent. ... I see no other course for 
 this cursed country but pacification, until hereafter when the 
 fury is passed, her majesty may with more convenience correct 
 the heads of these traitors?t 
 
 Dr. Loftus, however, was not the only member of the Pro- 
 testant episcopate who displayed this excess of persecuting 
 bigotry. The bishop of Ferns imitated his example : " he 
 assailed the church dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the" 
 town of Caislean Ilisi (writes O'Sullevan Beare), and having 
 despoiled the statues of the Blessed Virgin and St John, 
 which'were there held in high veneration by the people, of all 
 their rich offerings and ornaments, he caused them to be pulled 
 down from the altar by his English satellites. Not satisfied with 
 this, he resolved to have severe penalties inflicted on the Irish 
 Catholics who refused to aid him in this impious enterprise. 
 But before he could execute this design, he himself paid the 
 penalty of his wickedness : being seized with violent pains, and 
 raging as a madman, he beat his huge body against the ground, 
 till death completed his sufferings." — Hist. Cath. pag. 138. 
 
 Matthew Sheyn, the reformed bishop of Cork, was also re- 
 markable for his ferocity, and amongst his other deeds, it is 
 
 * From State Paper Office. 
 
 f This statement is repeated by O'Sullevan, p. 178 : " Armachas presidium, 
 ingens pedieulorum vis rodet, plagaque multos extinguit, ueque diu post fames 
 invadit." 
 
 J Letter of 18th October, 1597, in State Paper Oflioe. 
 
Chap. IV. 2.] DU1UNG THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. Ill 
 
 recorded, that in 1578 he caused the statue of St. Dominick, 
 which was held in high veneration by the citizens of Cork, to 
 be thrown down, and contemptuously dragged through the 
 streets, and then burned in " the high cross" of the city* 
 
 Sir John Perrot has justly been styled one of the most mild 
 and lenient of the lord deputies at this period ; and the favor 
 which he showed the Irish Catholics was one of the chief accu- 
 sations that subsequently led him to the tower. And yet, many 
 of sir John's deeds shared the fanatical spirit of persecution 
 which then prevailed. Thus we find it recorded by his pane- 
 gyrist, that his troop having pursued a party of the natives, he 
 cut off fifty heads, and bringing them home in triumph, arranged 
 them as a trophy around the cross, in the square of Kilmallock.t 
 In his "last will and testament," written in prison, after sentence 
 of death being passed against him, he declares that " he abhors 
 the Mass," and calls God to witness that he " never favored 
 friars or such kind of vermin ; but suppressed more monasteries 
 and friars during his government of the land of Ireland, than 
 was done by all the governors before in thirty years."}: Earlier 
 in his career (1582), when desired by her majesty to make a 
 statement as to the best means of subduing the natives, he 
 replied, that " as St. Patrick was more familiar with the people 
 generally than Christ, he proposed that the reformation should 
 begin from God, that friars, monks, Jesuits, priests, nuns, and 
 such like vermin, who openly uphold the papacy, should be 
 executed by martial law."§ Such were the principles that guided 
 this merciful viceroy ; and yet, so lenient was his administration 
 in comparison with that of the other agents of the crown, that 
 all classes of the nation viewed as a calamity his removal from 
 amongst them, and in crowds accompanied him to the sea- 
 shore- || 
 
 There were, however, many agents of the English crown to 
 whom religious bigotry only served as a cloak for their rapacity 
 
 * Smith "The ancient and present state of the county and city of Cork " 
 vol. ii. pag. 50. 
 
 t "The History of sir John Perrott," written about the close of Elizabeth's 
 reigu, and printed from the original MS. in London, 1728, pa» 52. A rare 
 and valuable tract for the history of that period. 
 " £ Ibid. Append, vi. pag. 311. 
 
 § " Government of Ireland under sir John Perrot," lett. to the queen, pag. 4. 
 
 II Ibid. ; also Annals of the Four Masters, etc. 
 
112 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Istrod. 
 
 and corruption, and they saw in the royal supremacy the shortest 
 road to wealth, as it justified, in the eyes of the law, the plunder 
 of the Irish Catholics, and the confiscation of their property. 
 " The penal laws of Protestants," writes the learned archbishop 
 of Dublin, Dr. Peter Talbot, " are written with bloody characters ; 
 all their courts are stained with the innocent and noble blood of 
 many learned and loyal subjects, only because they would not 
 take an oath against their conscience, and abjure the faith of 
 
 their Christian ancestor? The oaths of supremacy, 
 
 allegiance, and abjuration, are like so many nets cast out by 
 Protestants to fish estates in troubled consciences — a far differ- 
 ent method from that of the apostles, who were fishers of men 
 and not of estates."* And he again speaks of the cruelties thus 
 perpetrated " by public magistrates, under the color of law and 
 pretext of peace of the land; the starving and racking of so 
 many innocent, worthy, learned persons; the tearing out of 
 hearts and bowels in the public view, upon suborned testi- 
 monies of base, vagabond, perjured catchpoles, hired to swear 
 what they and their hirers knew to be false, and all the world 
 saw to be void of all signs of truth. "f 
 
 The viceroy Fitzwilliam, was, amongst others, remarkable for 
 his rapacity and cruelty. He farmed out the shires and captain- 
 cies to the highest bidders ; and these, in return, seized on the 
 natives with impunity, demanding large sums or tracts of land 
 for their ransom, and when this was refused, the usual revenge 
 was, to torture the prisoners by frying the soles of their feet in 
 seething butter and brimstone. One of those who fled from this 
 tyranny of Fitzwilliam, was Bryan na Murtha O'Rorke, a north- 
 ern chieftain, remarkable for the comeliness of his person, as 
 well as for the firmness and nobility of his demeanour.J He took 
 refuge with king James in Scotland, but was soon after treache- 
 rously surrendered to Elizabeth : he understood no English, and 
 his only petition to the queen was, that he might be executed 
 after the Irish fashion. When led to the scaffold, the apostate 
 archbishop of Cashel, Miler Magrath, was sent to induce him to 
 
 * "The Politician's Catechism," chap, x., printed at Antwerp, in 1658. 
 t Ibid. pag. 95. 
 
 t See for the facts here stated, and many other particulars regarding this 
 heroic chieftain, O'Donovan's " Four Masters," vol. vi pag. 197. 
 
Chap. IV. 2] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 113 
 
 conform to the established creed ; but in reply, the heroic chief- 
 tain reproved Magrath for his vile apostacy, and told him to take 
 a lesson from his fortitude, and return to the bosom of the holy 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 A curious declaration of the government of Ireland, presented 
 by captain Lee to the queen in 1594, details many instances of 
 the cruel excesses thus committed against the natives ; one will 
 suffice for us: " It is well proved that in one of your majesty's 
 shires, there lived an Irishman peaceably and quietly, as a good 
 subject, many years together, whereby he grew unto great 
 wealth ; which his landlord thirsting after, and desirous to move 
 him from his land, entered into practice with the sheriff of the 
 shire to despatch this simple man, and divide his goods between 
 them; they sent one of his own servants for him, and 
 he coming with his servant, they presently took his man, 
 who was their messenger, and hanged him ; and keeping the 
 master prisoner, went immediately to his dwelling and shared 
 his substance between them, turning his wife and many children 
 to begging. They then carried him to the castle of Dublin, 
 where he lay by for two or three terms, and having no matter 
 objected against him whereupon to be tried by law, they, by 
 their credit and countenance, being both English gentlemen, 
 informed the lord deputy so hardly of him, as that without in- 
 dictment or trial they executed him."* He then gives several 
 other similar instances of barbarity, and adds : " These principal 
 instruments, as the lord deputy and they who have been his 
 assistants in these dishonest practices, have not only used these 
 bad means against those poor remote and savage people, but 
 have done all their endeavour to discomfort and discredit your 
 majesty's best servitors. . . I fear that they who liked that hard 
 course, and have been practicers of the same, will inform your 
 majesty that those people are so bad as it is no matter of con- 
 science to cut them off any way howsoever." 
 
 This contemporary officer also refers to the massacre of Mul- 
 laghmast, for which it would be difficult to seek a parallel, even 
 
 * The original of this tract is preserved in Trinity College, Dublin ; it is 
 printed in " Desiderata curiosa Hibernica," vol. ii. p. 91 ; also in appendix to 
 Dr. Curry's " Civil Wars in Ireland ;" and again in " Historical Memoirs," by 
 the same author, append. 33rd. p- 265, seqq. 
 
114 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [INIHOB. 
 
 in the annals of Indian warfare. The chief families of Leix 
 and Offaly were invited in the queen's name to assemble there, 
 and about four hundred obeyed the summons* Francis Cosby 
 and Robert Hartpool were the English officers in command,! 
 and no sooner were the natives assembled in the great rath, than 
 they were encompassed by a treble line of the government 
 soldiers, and the slopes of Mullaghmast soon streamed with their 
 blood. Not even to one was mercy shown ; and this atrocious 
 deed was perpetrated with the cognizance and approval of the 
 viceroy. J 
 
 It seemed to be a matter of strife amongst the English officers 
 who should exceed in barbarity and cruelty. We have already 
 seen the arts to which Fitzwilliam's agents had recourse. Of 
 another it is recorded that he tied his victim to a may-pole, and 
 then punched out his eyes with his thumbs. § Others made it 
 their sport to catch infants on the point of their swords and whirl 
 them in the air.|| But, perhaps, the palm of savage barbarity 
 should be awarded to Cosby, of whom we have just now spoken, 
 and whose heartless cruelty is thus commemorated by O'Sullevan 
 Beare: "Francis Cosby, the deputy of, Leix, with his son 
 Alexander, raged with indescribable fury against the Catholics 
 of every class. . . He resided mostly in Stradbally. In front of 
 his house there grew a tree remarkable for its height and wide- 
 spreading branches. From these branches it was his amusement 
 to hang up, without any crime being imputed to them, not only 
 men, but women and children; and he was accustomed to mani- 
 fest special delight when, whilst the mothers were being 
 strangled, their infant babes were hanged from their long-flowing 
 locks."^[ Oh ! well had Hallam reason to remark, that the 
 sufferings of our country "had never been surpassed," not even 
 
 * Donovan's " Four Masters," vol. v. pp. 1695-6. 
 
 t "Annals" of Dowling, the contemporary Protestant chancellor of Leighlin, 
 ad. an. 1577. 
 
 J See the authorities just cited. Captain Lee especially commemorates the 
 last-mentioned fact : "This hath been by the consent and practice of the lord 
 deputy for the time being."— " Brief Declaration", etc, p. 267; see also 
 O'Sullevan Beare, " Hist. Oath. Gompend.," p. 99. 
 
 § Despatch of Calthorpe, the attorney-general, on 28th of March, 1598, St. 
 Pap. Office, London. 
 
 || O'Sullev. Beare, "Hist. Cath." pag. 238. 
 
 11 " Cum ex arbore fceminse laqueo strangulate dimittebantur, et simul ex 
 fftmiuarum longo crine iufantes liberi pendebant, amnio capiebat 'incredibilem 
 voluptatem." — Hist. Cath. pag. 99. 
 
Chap". fV. 2.] DUHING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 115 
 
 by those of the Jews in their destruction by Titus. Our own 
 great Dominican, father Dominic a Rosario, exclaims : " This 
 far-famed English queen has grown drunk on the blood of 
 Christ's martyrs ; and, like a tigress, she has hunted down our 
 Irish Catholics, exceeding in ferocity and wanton cruelty the 
 emperors of pagan Rome;"* and subsequently, after commemo- 
 rating the sufferings and torture to which English Catholics 
 were subjected, he adds: " But in Ireland the harvest of perse- 
 cution was still more abundant than in England, and God alone 
 can enumerate the number of martyrs whose blood was shed.''f 
 
 Some, perhaps, may suppose that these excesses were more 
 the effect of military law than of religious animosity. Yet it 
 was far otherwise. Love for the faith of their fathers was a 
 main motive which impelled the Irish natives to appeal to 
 arms, — and hatred of that same Catholic faith mainly contri- 
 buted to steel the hearts of the heretical enemy, and impel them 
 to unheard-of deeds of barbarism. When the earl of Desmond 
 was preparing for war in 1580, he thus addressed his soldiers: 
 " Our rulers, ever since they renounced the Catholic religion, 
 scorned to regard the nobles of this land, who have remained 
 
 true to their faith Before heaven, we are trampled on 
 
 by a gang of mailed marauders who hold us in contempt. Look 
 to the sacred order of our priesthood ; is it not despised by those 
 innovators, who have come amongst us to plunder and banish 
 the rightful owners from their time-hallowed possessions .... 
 Rights are despised, and liberty is a mere catch-word ; the 
 military command is committed to adventurers; the civil ad- 
 ministration is in the hands of spies, hirelings, and defamers; 
 but what is most deplorable of all, we are denied the right of 
 practising and professing our religion openly. Heresy is making 
 
 * " Hist, of the Geraldines," part 2nd, pag. .150. 
 
 t " Hist, of the Geraldines," part 2nd, pag. 159. Dr. Lombard, after citing, 
 in the words of Giraldus Cambrensis, the well-known reply of the archbishop 
 of Cashel as to Irish martyrs, adds : "Quod idipsum responsum esset etiam 
 prophetieum de hoc tempore ; siquidem Hibernia ut ita sit quod olim non alios 
 
 habuerit suae gentis martyres qnam qui in externis passi regionibus 
 
 tamen postremis hisce temporibus cum in Anglia turn in Hibernia pro confes- 
 sione Catholic* fidei, et sedis Apostolicas defendenda auctoritate Hiberni com- 
 plures mortem sunt perpessi ; quorum uti in martyrio prsecipua ietatis huj'us 
 probata fuit patientia et constantia, ita et post mortem, illorum prima gloria 
 miraculis scitur confirmata; quod ab aliis, vel alias, ut Deus volet, latiua 
 declarabitur "—Comment, cap. 20, in fine. 
 
116 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [IXTROD. 
 
 rapid encroachments, and we are called upon to do homage to 
 those base-born churls who, in the queen's name, mock and 
 spurn us." Twenty years later, the next who bore the honoured 
 title of earl of Desmond thus wrote to the king of Spain : " We 
 are of long time oppressed by the English nation ; their govern- 
 ment is such as Pharaoh himself never used the like ; for they 
 content not themselves with all temporal superiority, but by 
 cruelty desire our blood and perpetual destruction ; to blot out 
 the whole remembrance of our name, together with our old 
 Catholic religion, and to swear that the queen of England is 
 supreme head of the Church."* On the other hand, the exter- 
 mination of Popery was the war-cry of the English agents, and 
 the burden of their songs of exultation after victory. Eliza- 
 beth's hatred of Catholicity, says O'Sullevan, was well known 
 to every one; and "her agents and emissaries in Ireland sought 
 by their oppression of the Catholics to rival the cruelty of their 
 queen."f " They scarce ever gave quarter, (writes O'Conor), 
 and when they did, it was in order to satiate their revenge. 
 They massacred their prisoners in cold blood, as rebels and 
 idolaters: treaties, capitulations, the laws of nations, the rights 
 of war, were of no avail : they set fire to the towns and villages : 
 they destroyed the corn and cattle, and drove the inhabitants, 
 without distinction of sex or age, to feed on dockings and 
 nettles, like the beasts of the field."}: When Limerick sur- 
 rendered, the whole garrison, notwithstanding the plighted faith 
 of the English commander, were, by his orders, put to the 
 sword; and in his official despatch to the queen, he does not 
 hesitate to describe this success as a triumph of the Gospel. § 
 The massacre of the inhabitants of Dursey Island will serve as 
 another instance: "On the arrival of the heretical troops," 
 writes O'Sullevan, " many of the natives in alarm ran to the 
 chapel as a place of safety; others sought refuge in the caves; 
 some fled to the rocks, and some to the fortress, which was 
 defended only by a few armed men. This was at once sur- 
 
 * Letter of 14th March, 1599, in "Hibernia Pacata." 
 
 t "Hist. Oath.," pag. 124. 
 
 J " The History of the Irish Catholics," etc., p. 14. 
 
 § See, for particulars of this siege, the valuable notes of O'Donovan in Four 
 Masters, and other documents, which we refer to, in Life of Dr. Oviedo 
 sec. 1. 
 
Ch.\p. IV. 2.] DURING THE KEIGN OF ELIZABETH. 117 
 
 rounded, and then the English, according to their custom, per- 
 petrated a horrid deed of cruelty. The castle was reduced to 
 ruins, the chapel and houses were consigned to the flames, whilst 
 the disarmed garrison, with the whole multitude of the inhabi- 
 tants — the aged, and the young, and the females — were fired on 
 by the soldiery, smitten with their swords, and transfixed with 
 their lances. The survivors, bound with cords, were cast head- 
 long from the projecting rocks into the sea, and there over- 
 whelmed with a shower of shot and stones."* Such were the 
 scenes which were enacted throughout the whole length and 
 breadth of the kingdom. " It exceeds all belief," says O'Mahony, 
 " to what persecutions our Irish Catholics were subjected : many 
 of our bishops suffered death at the hands of the heretical 
 English, and all of them were obliged to seek their safety in 
 concealment or flight: very many priests, both secular and 
 religious, and innumerable individuals of both sexes, as well 
 nobles as plebeians, were also put to death — to say nothing' of 
 confiscation of property, exile, imprisonment, and other like 
 evils — all which our country suffered, as is known to heaven, 
 and as I myself have partly witnessed, and in part have learned 
 from the trustworthy evidence of others."! 
 
 We shall conclude this article with the sketch of the condition 
 of our island in 1589, as presented to us by O'Sullevan Beare, to 
 to whose authority we have already so often had occasion to refer : 
 
 " All alarm from the Irish chieftains having ceased, the persecution 
 was renewed with all its horrors ; a royal order was promulgated that 
 all should renounce the Catholic faith, yield up the priests, receive from 
 the heretical ministers the morality and tenets of the gospel, and assist 
 at their ceremonies on Sundays and Holidays; threats, and penalties, 
 and force were to be employed to enforce compliance. . . . This 
 excited universal alarm throughout the whole island. The natives 
 everywhere refused to he contaminated by the preaching and rites of the 
 heretics ; sometimes, too, they struck terror into the ministers by night 
 or by day ; the ministers, on the other hand, cited the Catholics before 
 the magistrates, and had them subjected to imprisonment and fines. 
 Every effort of the queen and her emissaries were hence directed to 
 
 * "Hisb. Cath.," p. 238; also, "Hibernia Pacata," p. 563; elsewhere, 
 O'Sullevan, p. 129, describes the English in Munster as "bai'bara feritate 
 humanum et Catholicum sanguinem sitientes." 
 
 t "Disput. Apolog.," printed in 1645, p. 113. 
 
118 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intkod. 
 
 despoil the Irish Catholics of their property, and exterminate them. 
 More than once did they attempt this, for they knew that not otherwise 
 could the Catholic religion be suppressed in our island, unless by the 
 extermination of those in whose hearts it was implanted; nor could 
 their heretical teachings be propagated whilst the natives were alive to 
 detest and execrate them."* 
 
 3. — Devastation of the Country. 
 
 A few extracts from the contemporary English authorities, 
 will suffice to present some idea of the sad desolation that fell 
 upon our country at this period. Hollingshed must be num- 
 bered amongst those writers whom none will accuse of par- 
 tiality to Ireland. Nevertheless, when describing the excursion 
 of the English troops into Munster, in 1579, he declares that 
 " they preyed and took all the cattle in the country, and such 
 people as they met they did, without mercy, put to the sword ; 
 by which means the whole country, having no cattle nor kine 
 left, the inhabitants were driven to such extremities, that they 
 were forced to die and perish for famine, or to die under the 
 sword."f He subsequently, more than once, describes the scenes 
 " of neither man, woman, nor child been spared, all being com- 
 mitted to the sword :"J and of the English commanders dividing 
 their armies into companies, that a3 they marched along they 
 might everywhere burn and destroy the country.§ The conse- 
 sequence of such wholesale ruin was what might naturally be 
 expected: " by reason," he adds, "the harvest was taken from 
 the natives, their cattle, in great number, preyed upon, and the 
 whole country spoiled and burnt; the poor people, who lived 
 only upon their labours, and were fed by their milch cows, were 
 so distressed, that they would follow after the goods which were 
 taken from them, and offer themselves and their wives and 
 children, rather to be slain by the army than to suffer the famine 
 wherewith they were now pinched."|| 
 
 Lord Gray was at this time commander of the English forces, 
 and amongst those who came to Ireland in his train, was the 
 far-famed Edmund Spencer. Kilcolman Castle, and its fair do- 
 mains, were a portion of the spoils that fell to the poet's lot ; and 
 
 * Hist. Cath. pag. 133-139. t vi. 427. J Ibid. pag. 430. 
 
 § Ibid. 430, 452. || Ibid. pag. 433. 
 
Chap. IV. 3.] DURING THE EEIGN OF ELIZABETH. 119 
 
 the sad scene of ruin which he depicts in his chief poem, is but 
 a faithful picture of what presented itself to his view, as he 
 thence scanned the once-smiling plains of Munster: — 
 
 " He, in his furie, all shall over-ronne, 
 
 And holy church with faithless hands.deface, 
 That thy sad people, utterly for-donne, 
 
 Shall, to the utmost mountains fly apace. 
 
 Was never so great waste in any place, 
 Nor so fowle outrage doen by living men ; 
 
 For all thy cities they shall sack and rase, 
 And the green grass that groweth they shall bren, 
 That even the wild beast shall die in starved den."* 
 
 Despite, however, the sad desolation and the smoking ruins 
 that thus enveloped our island, the same poet was elsewhere 
 forced to cry out: " sure it is yet a most beautiful and sweet 
 country as any is under heaven, being stored throughout with 
 many goodly rivers, replenished with all sorts of fish most 
 abundantly ; sprinkled with many very sweet islands and goodly 
 lakes, like little inland seas ; adorned with goodly woods 
 
 . besides the soil itself is most fertile, and lastly, the 
 heavens most mild and temperate. "t 
 
 In the work from which this passage is taken, Spencer 
 proposed to himself to develope a patent remedy to heal all the 
 ills of our suffering island ; and this remedy was nothing less 
 than to employ numerous bands of troops " to tread down all 
 that standeth before them, and lay on the ground all the stiff- 
 necked people of that land ;" and to insure the wished- for result, 
 he suggests that the war should be carried on not in summer but 
 in winter; " for then," he says, " the trees are bare and naked, 
 which use both to clothe and house the kerne ; the ground is cold 
 and wet, which useth to be his bedding ; the air is sharp and 
 bitter, to blow through his naked sides and legs ; the kine are 
 barren and without milk, which useth to be his only food, 
 neither if he kill them will they yield him flesh, nor if he keep 
 them will they give him food ; besides being all with calf, they 
 will, through much chasing and driving, cast all their calves and 
 lose their milk, which should relieve him the next summer."! 
 
 * Faerie Queene, book iii. eh. 3. t " State of Ireland," pag. 28-9. 
 $ Ibid. pag. 161, Dublin edit. 1809. 
 
& 
 
 120 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [ISTEOD. 
 
 This prescription did not rest on mere theory ; it was based upon 
 his own experience ; " the end," he continues, " will be very short, 
 although there should none of them fall by the sword, nor be 
 slain by the soldiery, yet being thus kept from manurance, and 
 their cattle from running abroad, by this hard restraint, they 
 would quickly consume themselves and devour one another. 
 The proof whereof I saw sufficiently exampled in these late 
 wars in Munster ; for notwithstanding that the same was a most 
 rich and plentiful country, full of corn and cattle, yet, ere one 
 year and a-half, they were brought to such wretchedness, as that 
 any stony heart would have rued the same. Out of every 
 corner of the woods and glens they came creeping forth upon 
 their hands, for their legs could not bear them; they looked like 
 anatomies of death; they spake like ghosts crying out of their 
 graves ; they did eat the dead carrions, happy where they could 
 find them, yea, and one another soon after, insomuch as the 
 very carcasses they spared not to scrape out of their graves ; and 
 if they found a plot of water-cresses or shamrocks, there they 
 flocked as to a feast for the time, yet not able to continue there 
 long withal, so that in a short space there were none almost 
 left, and a most populous and plentiful country was suddenly 
 left void of man and beast."* 
 
 A few years of peace and comparative tranquillity sufficed to 
 restore the province of Munster to its former abundance. 
 Towards the close of Elizabeth's reign, however, another storm 
 of destruction was let loose upon this fertile region, and once 
 more it was transformed into a barren wilderness and a dreary 
 waste. Fortunately a record of some of the scenes of ruthless 
 barbarism by which this ruin was effected, has been preserved 
 to us from the pen of sir George Carew, who himself was the 
 leader of the Vandal band. In the vicinity of Limerick, he tells 
 us, his troop having burned all the houses and corn, they 
 thence marched southward, " harassing the country and killing 
 all mankind that were found therein.'' Soon after they entered 
 the Arleaghe glens where, he adds, " we did the like, not 
 leaving behind us man or beast, corn or cattle. "f Some garri- 
 sons of Munster merited his special eulogy on account " of the 
 
 * State of Ireland, p. 166-7- t Pacata Hibernia, p. 189. 
 
Ciur. IV. 3.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 121 
 
 great services which they performed." Nor are we left in 
 ignorance as to the services which merited for them this eulogy : 
 one of these garrisons, he tells us, " left neither corn nor barn 
 nor house unburnt between Kinsale and Ross ;" whilst another 
 garrison " did the like between Ross and Bantry."*' 
 
 It hence can occasion but little wonder that, as Leland writes, 
 the whole southern province seemed " to be totally depopulated, 
 and, except within the cities, exhibited an hideous scene of famine 
 and desolation,''! so much so, indeed, that many of the English 
 settlers at length presented a remonstrance to her majesty, 
 declaring that such was the barbarity and tyranny of the lord 
 deputy, " that little was now left in Ireland for her majesty to 
 reign over but ashes and carcasses."! 
 
 An eminent contemporary writer, Peter Lombard, archbishop 
 of Armagh, who was himself a native of the southern province, 
 thus vividly describes the cruelty exercised by the English 
 soldiery, whilst carrying into execution the diabolical scheme of 
 devastation : — 
 
 " Unheard-of cruelties were committed on the inhabitants of Minister 
 by the English commanders. Great companies of these natives, men, 
 women, and children, were often forced into castles and other houses, 
 which were then set on fire ; and if any of them attempted to escape 
 from the flames, they were shot or stabbed by the soldiers who guarded 
 them. It was a diversion to these monsters of men to take up infants 
 en the points of their spears, and whirl them about in their agony ; 
 excusing their cruelty by saying, that if they were suffered to live they 
 would become popish rebels. Many of the women, too, were found 
 hanging on trees, with their children at their breasts strangled with 
 their mothers' hair."§ 
 
 As early as 1567, sir Henry Sydney, by order of the govern- 
 ment, set out on a visitation of Munster and Connaught, and his 
 report is little more than an unvarying tale of the frightful deso- 
 lation which everywhere presented itself. Describing Munster, 
 
 * Pacata Hibernia, pag. 645 ; see also pag. 6, 56, 60, 476, 138, 153, 517, 
 583, 661, etc. 
 
 t Hist, of IrL, book iv. chap. 3. 
 
 J Leland, loc. cit. chap. 2. Spencer also writes that a complaint was made 
 against the deputy "that he was a bloody man, and regarded not the life of 
 her majesty's subjects no more than dogs, but had wasted and consumed all, so 
 as now she had nothing almost left but to reign in their ashes."— State of Irel. 
 pag. 168-9. 
 
 § Comment, de Reg. Hib. 
 
122 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intbob. 
 
 he writes: " Like as I never was in a more pleasant country in 
 all my life, so I never saw a more waste and desolate land. . • . 
 Such horrible and lamentable spectacles are there to behold, as 
 the burning of villages, the ruin of churches, the wasting of such 
 as have been good towns and castles ; yea, the view of the bones 
 and skulls of the dead subjects, who, partly by murder, partly by 
 famine, have died in the fields, as in troth, hardly any Christian 
 with dry eyes could behold." From Munster* he proceeded to 
 Connaught, and found the same wide-spread utter desolation 
 everywhere ; and this, too, he says, not owing to the war, but 
 to the policy of the government, which " kept the people in 
 continual dissension;" and he adds: " so far hath that policy, or 
 rather lack of policy prevailed, as now albeit all that are alive 
 would become honest and live in quiet, yet are there not left 
 alive in these two provinces, the twentieth person necessary to 
 inhabit the same." As an instance, he writes of Athenry : 
 " The town is large and well walled, and it appeareth by matter 
 of record, there hath been in it three hundred good house- 
 holders: and since I knew this land there were twenty, and 
 now I find but four, and they poor, and whilst I write, ready 
 to leave the place. "j- 
 
 The province of Leinster had for some time enjoyed the 
 sweets of peace and abundance, but in the universal wreck of 
 our island, this prosperity could not be of long continuance. 
 " The Leinster rebels," writes Leland, " by driving the royalists 
 into their fortified towns, and living long without molestation, 
 had cultivated their lands, and established an unusual regularity 
 and plenty in their districts. But now they were exposed to 
 the most rueful havoc from the queen's forces. The soldiers, 
 encouraged by the example of their officers, everywhere cut 
 down the standing corn with their swords, and devised every 
 means to deprive the wretched inhabitants of all the necessaries 
 of life ; for, famine was judged the speediest and most effectual 
 
 * The Life of Sir John Perrot gives many further details of the ruin and 
 devastation of Munster, see pag. 56, etc. Writing from Dublin Castle, on 31st 
 January, 1585, he requests some provision for the troops in Munster, "where 
 there is not so much to be had as will serve for my own family, or yet to feed 
 my horses till the grass grows." — Ibid. pag. 304. 
 
 t "Letters and Memorials of State," published by Arthur Collins, London, 
 folio 1747, vol. i., pag. 89, seqq. 
 
Chap. IV. 3.] DU1UNG THE KEIGN OF ELIZABETH. 123 
 
 means of reducing them."* This statement of the Protestant 
 historian is confirmed by the secretary of the deputy, lord 
 Mountjoy, who states that when, towards the close of the cen- 
 tury, the English troops entered Leix, they found the land well 
 manured, the fields well fenced, the roads and pathways well 
 beaten, the towns populous, so that the invaders were struck 
 with amazement at the prosperity of " so barbarous inhabitants ;" 
 but, he continues " our captains, and by their example, the com- 
 mon soldiers, did cut down with their swords all the rebels' corn, 
 to the value of £10,000, and upwards, the only means by which 
 they were to live."f It was about the same time that lord 
 Mountjoy made another incursion into Offaly, where he pursued 
 the same ruthless policy, and devised a sort of harrows called 
 pracas, constructed with long pins, with which he tore up from 
 the roots all the unripe corn."J 
 
 As to Ulster, Leland informs us that " there too the English 
 commanders had recourse to devastation, in order to bring down 
 a famine on the country." " The governor of Carrickfergus, 
 sir Arthur Chichester, issued from his quarters, and for twenty 
 miles round, reduced the country to a desert. Sir Samuel 
 Bagnal, the governor of Newry, proceeded with the same seve- 
 rity, and laid waste all the adjacent lands. All the English 
 garrisons were daily employed in pillaging and wasting." He 
 adds that the inhabitants " were effectually prevented from 
 sowing and cultivating their lands. "§ 
 
 Ulster was indeed the province best guarded against devas- 
 tation ; and for many years the sword of O'Neil was an insuper- 
 able barrier to the advance of the English troops.|| In the 
 interval, however, from 1600 to 1603, the expedition of sir 
 
 * Hist. iv. 5. t Fynes Moryson, " Hist, of Irl." 
 
 J Annals of Four Masters, pag. 2187. § Hist, book iv. ch. v. 
 
 || Were it not for the energy and valour of O'Neil, the ruin of Ulster would 
 have been achieved at a much earlier date. Sir H. Sydney, describing Ulster 
 in 1575, states of the two best counties of the province (Down and Antrim) : — 
 "Lecale, much of the country waste ; Uuferin, or White's country, all waste 
 and desolate ; the Ardes much impoverished, but in good hope of recovery, for 
 there are many freeholders of English race of ancient habiting there ; county 
 of Clandeboy utterly disinhabited ; town of Knockfergus much decayed and 
 impoverished, no ploughs going at all, where before were many ; and great 
 store of kyne and cattle belonging to the town, now few or none left ; church 
 and houses, saving castles, burned; the inhabitants fled, not above five 
 householders of any countenance left remaining." — Sydney, Papers, vol. 
 p. 76, seqq. 
 
124 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Istbod. 
 
 Henry Dowcra on one side, and lord Mountjoy on the 
 other, put an end to its peace and abundance. Dowcra wrote, 
 in 1614, an account of his excursion, which was published by 
 the Celtic Society in 1849. At every page he describes the 
 abundance and fertility of the country as his troops advanced, 
 and the ruin and desolation which marked their progress. 
 Entering O'Kane's country, he says, " we found it large and full 
 of houses and corn ; we divided ourselves, and set a compass 
 about, so as at night we met altogether, and encamped in the 
 midst of the country, each troop having fired the houses and 
 corn they met withal, which I never saw in more abundance."* 
 Having advanced towards Lough Neagh, and met with the 
 forces of sir Arthur Chichester, " ten days," he says, " I stayed 
 with his lordship in these parts, assisting him to waste and spoil 
 the country, which he endeavoured by all the means he could 
 possibly to do."t A little later, compendiating his services, he 
 requests the reader to hold in mind, that when he landed in 
 Ulster, on 16th May, 1600, " the country abounded with 
 houses, corn, cattle, and a people that had been bred up in 
 arms, and flushed with former victories;" but now, after his 
 expedition, only the English quarters " were replenished with 
 such corn and cattle as was left, and the rest desolate and 
 waste; the people upon it brought to desperate extremities, 
 and enjoying nothing but as fugitives and what they obtained 
 by stealth."J 
 
 * Miscel. of Celtic Soo. 1849, pag. 257- 
 
 f Ibid. 260. It was long before some of the Ulster towns recovered from 
 these devastations. In the " Memorial of the Life and Death of Bishop 
 Spottiswood" (appointed bishop of Clogher in 1621), the town of Clogher is 
 described as "an ancient city, decorated with two churches and a great 
 number of inhabitants ; but in the late wars it was utterly ruined, the 
 churches undermined and fired, the bishop's, and the abbot's, and the canons' 
 houses were demolished ; and at the bishop's coming to dwell there, there 
 were no more than ten or twelve poor people dwelling in cottages patched up 
 with skreas and wattles." — (pag. 66.) In the " Direction for the Plantation 
 of Ulster," by Blennerhassett (London, 1610), we read of Armagh ; — "How 
 exceedingly well standeth Armagh ; better seat for rich soil there cannot be ; 
 but so poor, as I do verily think all the household stuff in that city is not 
 worth £20." 
 
 X Ibid. pag. 271. O'Kane had for some time sided with the English against 
 O'Sfeil : on seeing the requital whioh he now received, "he shaked hands with 
 my lord Hugh (O'Neil), and bade the devil take all Englishmen, and as many 
 as put their trust in them." — (Dowcra's "Narrative," p. 277.) It is a remark- 
 able circumstance, that all the Irish chieftains who at any time sided with the 
 English, in the end breathed a similar prayer. Thus, Cormac M'Carthy 
 
Chap. IV. 8.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH: 125 
 
 Lord Mountjoy's expedition was crowned with a similar 
 result ; and writing to Cecil, he was able to boast that he had 
 succeeded, " by the grace of God, as near as he could, in utterly 
 wasting the country of Tyrone." 
 
 (Rib. Pacat. pag. 180) ; the Sugan Earl (ibid. pag. 72, 73, and 252) ; Tyrone 
 (ibid. p. 36, 233, 305-7, etc.) ; O'Sullevan (ibid. p. 409, 486), etc. 
 
 * The Irish Archaeological Society, in 1841, published a description of Ireland, 
 made in 1589, by Robert Payne, who was one of the English undertakers, 
 amongst whom were partitioned the 574,628 acres of the Desmond estates. 
 A few extracts from this " description" will serve to complete the sketch of 
 Irish character, as given in this article : 
 
 "Let not the reports of those that have spent all their own, discourage you 
 from Ireland, although they and such others, by bad dealings, have wrought 
 a general discredit to all Englishmen in this country, with whom the Irish are 
 unacqxiainted. 
 
 ' ' They will say there is great danger in travelling this country, and much 
 more to dwell there : yet are they freed from three of the greatest dangers : 
 first, they cannot meet in all that land any worse than themselves ; second, 
 they need not fear robbing, for they have not anything to lose ; third, they 
 are not like to run in debt, for there is none that will trust them. The greatest 
 matter which troubleth them is, they cannot get anything but by honest labour, 
 which they are altogether ignorant of 
 
 "The (Irish) people are of three sorts : the better sort, are very civil and 
 honestly given ; the most of them greatly inclined to husbandly, although, as 
 yet, uuskilful ; notwithstanding, many of them are rich in cattle ; some one 
 man there milketh one hundred kine, and two or three hundred ewes and 
 goats .... Although they never saw you before, they will make you the 
 best cheer their country yieldeth, for two or three days, and take not anything 
 in return. Most of them speak good English, and bring up their children to- 
 learning. I saw in a grammar school in Limerick, one hundred and sixty 
 
 scholars They keep their promise faithfully, and are more desirous of 
 
 peace than our Englishmen^ They are quick-witted, and are of good consti- 
 tution of body : nothing is more pleasing to them than to hear of good justices 
 being placed amongst them. They are obedient to the laws, so that you may 
 travel through all the land without any danger or injury from the very worst 
 Irish, and be greatly relieved by the best. 
 
 " The second sort, being least in number, are called kerns : they are warlike 
 men : most of them were slain in the late wars. 
 
 ' ' The third sort are a very idle people, not unlike our English beggars, yet, 
 for the most part, of pure complexion, and good constitution of body 
 
 "Although some undertakers of small judgment, have failed in their expected 
 crops, in consequence of their unskiful choice of ground, yet, assuredly, the com- 
 modities of the country are many more than either the people can well use or 
 I recite. Their soil, for the most part, is very fertile, and apt for wheat, rye, 
 barley, pease, beans, oats, etc., and all other grains and fruits that England in 
 any way doth yield. There is much good timber in many places, and of that 
 straightness, and so good to rive, that a single workman with an axe will cleave 
 a great oak to boards of less than one inch thick, fourteen inches broad, and, 
 fifteen feet in length : such a board there, is usually sold for two pence half- 
 penny A barrel of wheat, or a barrel of salt, containing three bushels 
 
 and a half of good Winchester measure, is sold there for four shillings ; malt, 
 pease, beans, for 2s. 8d. ; barley, for 2s, 4d. ; oats, for 20d. ; a fresh salmon 
 (worth in London 10s.) for Gd. ; twenty-four herrings, a fat hen, thirty eggs, * 
 fat pig, one pound of butter, or two gallons of new milk, for a penny ; a red 
 deer, without the skin, for 2s. 6d. ; a fat ox for 13s. 4d. ; a fat sheep for 18d. 
 There is great store of wild swans, cranes, pheasants, partridges, etc , and all 
 
126 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Iktrod. 
 
 4. — Famine which Ensued. 
 
 The devastating policy pursued by trie English troops was 
 destined to bear its natural fruit, and many of the passages 
 which we have cited, whilst they detail the ruin and desolation 
 that everywhere marked the progress of the English arms, 
 record at the same time the dire consequences of pestilence 
 and famine which completed the martyrdom of our suffering 
 people. 
 
 We closed the preceding article with the expedition of 
 Mountjoy into Ulster. We may now hear from sir John Davis 
 the result of that expedition: "The queen's army, under lord 
 Mountjoy, succeeded in breaking, and absolutely subduing, all. 
 the lords and chieftains of the Irishry. Whereupon the multi- 
 tude being brayed, as it were, in a mortar, with sword, famine, 
 and pestilence together, submitted themselves to the English 
 government."* The lord deputy himself, writing to Cecil and 
 the privy council in England in 1602, attests that in his march 
 through the northern districts, he " found everywhere men dead 
 of famine:" and he adds that some of his party had assured 
 bim " that between Tullaghoge and Toome, there lay unburied 
 one thousand dead, and that since our first coming this year to 
 the Blackwater, there were about three thousand starved in 
 Tyrone."! 
 
 The secretary of lord Mountjoy gives us some special details: 
 " Because I have often made mention formerly (he says) of our 
 destroying the rebels' corn and using all means to famish them, 
 let me now, by two or three examples, show the miserable 
 estate to which they were thereby reduced." He then cites 
 some dreadful examples: sir Arthur Chichester and other 
 officers, he says, witnessed the horrid spectacle of three children 
 
 other fowl, much more plentifully than in England. You may buy a dozen of 
 quails for 3d. ; a dozen of woodcocks for 4d. Oysters, etc., about the sea coasts 
 are to be had for the gathering, in great plenty. You may buy the best heifers, 
 with calves at their feet, for 20s. a-piece, which are nothing inferior to the Lin- 
 colnshire breed. — Tracts relating to Ireland. I. AS., 1841. 
 
 * Davies' "Historical Tracts" (Discovery of the True Cause, etc., first pub- 
 lished in 1612; reprinted, Dublin, 1787) p. 54. 
 
 t Ap. Fynes Moryson, p. 237. 
 
Chap. IV. 4.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 127 
 
 feeding on the flesh of their dead mother ;* and again, in the 
 vicinity of Newry, some old women were proved to have sub- 
 sisted on the flesh of children who were slain; in fact. " the 
 common sort of rebels were driven to unspeakable extremities, 
 beyond the records of any history that I ever read;" and he 
 adds, " no spectacle was more frequent in the ditches of towns, 
 and especially in the wasted countries, than to see multitudes of 
 these poor people dead, with their mouths all coloured green by 
 eating nettles, docks, and all things they could rend up above 
 the ground. "f 
 
 The province of Leinster had been mercilessly laid waste, 
 and the famine which ensued involved in one common ruin the 
 persecutors and those whom they persecuted. The Protestant 
 chancellor of Leighlm attests (Dowling's Annals, p. 41), that in 
 1575 " a great pestilence laid waste Wexford, Dublin, Naas, 
 Athy, Carlow and Leighlin-bridge, and the city of Dublin was 
 so depopulated by it, that the very streets and church porticoes 
 seemed changed to meadow-land." At the close of the century, 
 the same scene was renewed, as lord Burgh records, who, 
 writing to Cecil in 1597, declares: " It is lamentable to hear of, 
 but woful to behold, soldiers, citizens, villagers, and all sorts, 
 daily perish through famine ; so, as I write to you, the end is, 
 both the spoiler and the spoiled are in like calamities. "f 
 
 As Munster, however, was the district most involved in ruin 
 and desolation, so was it there that famine and pestilence dis- 
 played their full violence and exercised a wider sway. We 
 shall allow Hollingshed to present its details ; the simplicity and 
 quaintness of his narrative renders it the more impressive and 
 unimpeachable : 
 
 " As for the great companies of soldiers, gallowglasses, kerne, and 
 the common people who followed the rebellion, the numbers of them are 
 infinite whose blood the earth drank up, and whose carcasses the beasts 
 
 * Cox also mentions this fact. Speaking of the " service of devastation" 
 entrusted to the English soldiers, he writes : ' ' They performed that service 
 effectually, and brought the rebels to so low a condition, that they saw three 
 children eating the entrails of their dead mother, upon whose flesh they had 
 fed many days, and roasted it by a slow fire." — p. 449. 
 
 t Fynes Moryson, "Hist, of Irel," p. 272; see also Curry's "Historical 
 Review," pp. 26-27. 
 
 t State Pap. Off. London. 
 
128 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Isteod. 
 
 of the field and the ravening fowls of the air did consume and devour. 
 After this followed an extreme famine, and such whom the sword did 
 not destroy, the same did consume and eat out — very few or none re- 
 maining alive excepting such as were fled over into England ; and yet 
 the store in the towns was far spent and they in distress, albeit nothing 
 like in comparison to them who lived at large, for they were not only 
 driven to eat horses, dogs, and dead carrions, but also did devour the 
 carcasses of dead men, whereof there be sundry examples — namely, one 
 in the county of Cork, where, when a malefactor was executed to death 
 and his body left upon the gallows, certain poor people did secretly 
 come, took him down and did eat him ; likewise in the bay of Snier- 
 wick, the place which was first seasoned with this rebellion, there hap- 
 pened to be a ship there lost through foul weather, and all the men 
 being drowned were there cast on land. The common people who had 
 a long time lived on limpets, orewads, and such shell-fish as they could 
 find, and which were now spent, as soon as they saw these bodies, they 
 took them up and most greedily did eat and devour them, and not long 
 after, death and famine did eat and consume them. The land itself, 
 which before those wars was populous, well inhabited, and rich in all 
 the good blessings of God, being plenteous of corn, full of cattle, well 
 stored with fish and sundry other good commodities, is now become 
 waste and barren ; yielding no fruits, the pastures no cattle, the air 
 no birds; the seas, though full of fish, yet to them yielding nothing. 
 Finally, every way the curse of God was so great, and the land so 
 barren both of man and beast, that whosoever did travel from the one 
 end to the other of all Munster, even from Waterford to the head 
 of Smerwick, which is about six score miles, he would not meet any 
 man, woman, or child, saving in towns and cities, nor yet see any beast, 
 but the very wolves, the foxes, and other like ravening beasts, many of 
 them lay dead, being famished, and the residue gone elsewhere."* 
 
 Such was the sad destruction which had fallen on a country 
 blessed by Providence with smiling abundance and all the riches 
 of nature ; and well nigh was realized the barbarous project 
 which the persecutors had proposed to themselves, " to cut off, 
 forsooth, by pestilence and famine, the Catholics of Ireland 
 whom they could not slay by the sword."t 
 
 Mooney, who was an eye-witness of these scenes of misery, 
 attests, that so general was the devastation of the whole island, 
 that " in most parts you would travel forty miles through the 
 country without meeting any human creature, or even any ani- 
 
 * Hollingshed, vi. 459. 
 
 t O'Sullevan Beare, " Hist. Cath.," pag. 146. "Nee est pretereundum aliud 
 Protestantium stratagema qui Catholieornm agros, maneipia, segetes, araienta, 
 ferro flammaqne corrampebant, ut quos virtute superare non poteraiit, fame et 
 inedia vincerent." 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OP ELIZABETH. 129 
 
 mals except birds and wild beasts. Hence ensued so great a 
 famine, that men were sometimes known to eat human flesh, 
 though this was of rare occurrence ; a more common case was 
 their subsisting on horse-flesh. The farms were left untilled ; and 
 even in the districts which, being free from the ravages of war, 
 were well cultivated, all the produce was designedly destroyed 
 by fire by the enemy. I myself witnessed the English army 
 cutting down the corn with scythes in the month of July, when 
 as yet the ear was scarce shot out, intending by this means to 
 destroy the remnant of the natives by famine."* 
 
 We shall conclude this dismal tale of misery and woe with 
 the words of O'Sullevan Beare, who thus describes the state of 
 Ireland, in the last year of Elizabeth's reign: — 
 
 " All Ireland was devastated and reduced to ruin : an unparallelled 
 scarcity and famine pervaded everywhere. Nor was it man alone that 
 suffered ; the very beasts of the field were in many places swept away, 
 having nothing to subsist upon ; the wolves abandoning the hills and 
 woods, assailed and devoured the emaciated inhabitants. The dogs 
 rooted up from the graves the decaying corpses, and devoured even the 
 very bones of the deceased."t 
 
 5. — Some Examples to illustrate this Period of Persecution. 
 
 We have already had occasion to commemorate the appoint- 
 ment of Dr. William Walsh to the diocese of Meath : we now 
 recall his name, to record the fortitude and Christian heroism 
 which he displayed, in enduring a cruel imprisonment and exile 
 for the Catholic faith. 
 
 During the short period of his episcopate, he conciliated the 
 universal esteem of the Irish Catholics. " Acceptable to God," 
 says his biographer, " and pleasing to men, his whole life 
 breathed nothing but sanctity, and all his labours were directed 
 to promote the interests of the heavenly King."t He opposed, 
 
 * Hist., MS., Franciscan, pag. 93. 
 
 t "Hist. Cath.," pag. 261. We find recorded the following extraordinary 
 rise in the price of provisions in Dublin in 1602. Wheat rose from 36s. to £9 
 per quarter ; barley malt, from 10s. to 43s. per barrel ; oats, from 3s. id. to 
 2-ls. ; beef, from 26s. Sd. to £8 per carcase ; mutton, from 3s. to 26s., ditto ; 
 lamb, from Is. to 6s., ditto, &c. — See M Gregor's "History of Limerick," 1827, 
 vol. ii. pag. 218. 
 
 J Henriquez, in his " Fasciculus SS. Old. Cistercien." printed in folio at 
 
 K 
 
130 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Introd. 
 
 with dauntless courage, the attempted innovations of Elizabeth, 
 and whilst the storm of persecution was gathering around our 
 island, he was at the same time the consolation and refuge of 
 his immediate flock, and by his exhortations and the example 
 of his spotless life, a pillar of strength to the Catholics of the 
 whole kingdom. Hence he was at once marked out as their 
 victim by the agents of persecution. Ware merely commemo- 
 rates that Dr. Walsh was " very zealous for the Romish Church," 
 and that on the accession of Elizabeth he not only did not 
 assent to her innovations, but publicly impugned them, " for 
 which the lord lieutenant confined him," at the same time 
 soliciting further instructions from her majesty. An order to 
 place him under close arrest was the reply, and a few months 
 later he was deposed by royal authority, and deprived of the 
 temporalities of his see.* On the 13th of July, 1565, he was 
 brought into court before Dr. Loftus and the other ecclesiastical 
 commissioners, and sentenced by them to imprisonment in 
 Dublin Castle. The motives wbich led to this sentence are thus 
 stated by Dr. Loftus himself, in his letter to sir William Cecil, 
 16th July, 1565: "He refused the oath (of supremacy) and to 
 answer such articles as we required of him : and besides, ever 
 since the parliament he hath manifestly contemned and openly 
 showed himself to be a misliker of all the queen's majesty's pro- 
 ceedings : he openly protested before all the people the same 
 day he was before us, that he would never communicate or be 
 present (by his will) where the Protestant service should be 
 ministered ; for it was against his conscience and against God's 
 word."f 
 
 Brussels in 1624, devotes three whole chapters to the life of Dr. Walsh, which 
 he thus entitles : ' ' Gloriosum certamen B. Gulielmi Walshcei, Mouachi Cister- 
 ciensis in Hibernia, Episcopi Midensis et Martyfis," vol. ii. p. 362, seqq. The 
 other documents which we have consulted for this sketch of Dr. Walsh's 
 lengthened martyrdom, are the " Menologium Ordin. Cistercien.," by Henri- 
 quez ; also, a fragment of an Italian martyrology of the Cistercians, written 
 in the seventeenth century, and preserved in the Valicellian archives ; and three 
 letters of the holy bishop, which we were fortunate enough to discover in the 
 Vatican archives. The reader will find an interesting sketch of Dr. Walsh's 
 life in "The Diocese of Meath," etc., by Rev. A. Cogan, Dublin, 1862. 
 
 * Ware's " Annales Begn. Eliz.," 1560, and letter of Dr. Walsh, 5th July, 
 1573. J 
 
 t Shirley " Orig. Lett.," p. 220. The Protestant archbishop in the same 
 letter passes this eulogy on Dr. Walsh : " He is one of great credit amongst 
 his countrymen, and upon whom, as touching causes of religion, they wholly 
 depend." 
 
ClIAP.IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 131 
 
 As no pretext could be devised for leading him to the 
 scaffold, he once more received the culprit's chains, and was 
 re-conducted to his former prison;* this was " a subterraneous 
 dungeon, damp and noisome, — not a ray of light penetrated 
 thither; and for thirteen years this was his unvarying abode."t 
 During all that time his food was of the coarsest kind; and, 
 with the exception of rare intervals, when the intercession of 
 some influential friends obtained a momentary relaxation, 
 he was allowed no occupation that could cheer the tedium 
 of his imprisonment. In all this lengthened martyrdom, 
 prayer was his resource, and as he himself subsequently 
 avowed, he oftentimes passed whole days and nights over- 
 whelmed with heavenly consolations, so that his dungeon seemed 
 transformed into a paradise of delights. To preclude the possi- 
 bility of idleness, he procured a bed made of twisted cords, and 
 whensoever his mind was fatigued with prayer, he applied him- 
 self to untie these cords, and often was he well wearied with the 
 exertion before he could re-unite them to compose himself to 
 
 sleep.J 
 
 His persecutors, overcome by his constancy, and finding his 
 fervour in spiritual contemplation a continual reproach to their 
 own wickedness, at length, about Christmas 1572, connived at 
 his escape. Sailing from our shores, his only regret was to 
 abandon the field of his spiritual labours, and to leave his flock 
 defenceless amidst the many enemies that now compassed its 
 destruction. His friends had provided a ship bound for Bre- 
 tagne ; for sixteen days he was tossed on the waves by a violent 
 storm, and was at length driven in shipwreck on the coast of 
 France.J Weighed down with the infirmities which he con- 
 tracted in prison, and with the burden of more than sixty years, 
 he was compelled to remain for six months unknown and aban- 
 doned in Nantes § At length, receiving aid from the nuncio, he 
 proceeded to Paris, and thence to Spain. The closing years of 
 
 * " In tetrum caroerem," letter, 5th July, 1573. 
 
 t Fasciculus, etc., vol. ii. p. 363. { Fasciculus, pag. 364. 
 
 § "Industria et ope amicorum inde ereptus, reperta Brittanica navis oppor- 
 tunitate, in quam me conjeci, setatis plus quam sexagenarise aut valetudinis 
 nulla habita ratione, tutius ducens vitam vorticibus credere marinis quam 
 hostium Catholicae Religionis iterum experiri feritatem." — Lett, of 5th July, 
 1573. 
 
132 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [ICTHOD. 
 
 his life were spent in Alcala. A noble Spanish lady received 
 him into her house, and attended him as though he were an angel 
 from heaven. The sores which yet remained from his dungeon- 
 chains she kissed as the trophies of his martyrdom : she would 
 allow none but herself to wait on him, and on her knees she 
 usually dressed his wounds and ministered to his wants. From 
 this asylum of charity, thus providentially prepared for him, he 
 passed to the consent of the Cistercian fathers in the same 
 city, and there, on the 4th of January, 1577, he happily 
 closed his earthly life which, as many attested, he had never 
 sullied by any stain of mortal sin* His remains were placed in 
 the collegiate church of St. Secundinus; and he is still held in 
 veneration by his Cistercian brethren, as a holy martyr in the 
 cause of the Catholic faith. 
 
 Dermod O'Hurley is one of the most glorious names on the 
 roll of Irish martyrs. He was distinguished in the literary 
 circles of the age as a rhetorician and canonist. For four years 
 he taught philosophy in Louvain,| and subsequently held, with 
 great applause, the chair of canon law in Rheims. Proceeding 
 to Rome, his merits soon attracted the notice of Gregory XIII. , 
 and in 1580$ he was advanced to the metropolitan see of Cashel. 
 He was of imposing stature, writes O'Sullevan; noble in his de- 
 portment, and none more mild had ever held the crozier of St 
 Cormac. For a little while he tarried amidst the monuments 
 and sanctuaries of Rome, and then set out for his afflicted 
 church. From a peaceful sojourn in the Catholic lands of 
 Belgium, France, and Italy, his lot was now changed to a 
 province well nigh a desert waste, and still infested by marau- 
 ders, who were stimulated by a worse frenzy and fury than the 
 Iconoclasts of old. Burning with desire to trim the lamp of 
 faith, he hastened from district to district, " administered the 
 sacraments with incredible zeal, and imparted the doctrines of 
 salvation to his spiritual flock."§ In 1583, being beset on every 
 
 * " Con grandissima ragione fu questi stimato Martire e ricevuto per santo 
 come quello che in tutto il decorso di sua vita mai con peceato grave aveva 
 macchiata 1' inaocenza battesimale." — Martirolog. Cisterc. MS. 
 
 t " Postquam Lovanii docuit sublimia sensa humanse sophiae patris Aristo- 
 telis." — (Elogium Elegiac.) It ia by mistake that O'Sullevan reckons him among 
 the professors of canon law in Louvain. 
 
 t Ex. Act. Consist. § O'Sullevan'a Hist. Cath. pag. 124. 
 
Chap. IV 6.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 133 
 
 side by heretical spies, lie found it necessary to bend before the 
 storm of persecution, and seek a refuge in the castle of Shine, in 
 the county Meath. Here he for some time enjoyed a happy and 
 undisturbed retreat,— God so disposing to prepare him for the ter- 
 rible trial, in which he should so soon be called on to seal with his 
 blood the sacred truths which he taught. A singular circumstance, 
 minutely described by O'Sullevan, led to his arrest. One day the 
 lord chancellor, Robert Dillon, came on a visit to the castle of 
 Slane. During dinner, some heretics who were present, seized an 
 opportunity of charging the Catholics with the most revolting doc- 
 trines; and so licentious were their remarks, that the archbishop, 
 though in disguise, felt himself constrained to refute their calum- 
 nies. This he did with such grace, eloquence, and learning, as 
 filled the whole party with reverence and surprise. The chancel- 
 lor at once surmised that he was some distinguished personage sent 
 to our island to oppose the progress of heresy ; and on his return 
 to Dublin, informed the Protestant archbishop Loftus and sir 
 Henry Wallop, both of whom, as royal commissioners, governed 
 the kingdom in the absence of the viceroy. A troop was at once 
 sent to arrest the unknown stranger, but before their arrival, Dr. 
 O'Hurley had made his escape, and taken refuge in Carrick-on- 
 Suir. Thither he was tracked, and being soon arrested, was 
 hurried to the capital. Being asked if he were a priest, he 
 replied in the affirmative, and added, moreover, that he was an 
 archbishop. He was then " thrown into a dark and loathsome 
 prison, and kept there bound in chains till the Holy Thursday 
 of the following year" (1584),* when he was again summoned 
 before Loftus and Wallop. At first they received him kindly, 
 and sought by entreaty to induce him to subscribe the oath of 
 supremacy, and reject the spiritual authority of the Holy See; 
 they promised him, should he comply, not only a full pardon, 
 but, moreover, ecclesiastical preferments, and all the smiles of 
 court favour. " Dr. O'Hurley replied, that he had resolved 
 never to abandon, for any temporal reward, the Catholic Church, 
 the Vicar of Christ, and the true faith. The lords justices, seeing 
 that promises would not avail, had recourse to reasoning, and pro- 
 posed the usual arguments against the Catholic doctrines. The 
 
 * O'Sullevan, ibid. 
 
134 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Inieod. 
 
 archbishop smiled at their simplicity, and told them they should 
 blush to propose what they knew to be frivolous sophistry, to one 
 who had been educated in the first universities of the continent. 
 On hearing this, they were filled with rage. If arguments fail to 
 convince him, they said, we shall try other means to change his 
 purpose :"* they hoped thus to extort from him by torture, if 
 not a denial of his faith, at least a confession of some complicity 
 in treasonable designs.! 
 
 The torture to which he was subjected recalls the worst days 
 of Nero and Domitian: "the holy prelate being thrown on the 
 ground, was bound to the trunk of a large tree, with his hands 
 and body chained ; his legs were then forced into long boots { 
 (reaching above the knees) which were filled with salt, butter 
 oil, turpentine, and pitch; and thus encased, his limbs were 
 stretched on an iron grate, under which a fire was kindled, 
 causing a terrible and cruel agony. For an hour he was 
 subjected to this torture; as the pitch, oil, and other materials 
 boiled, not only did the skin fall off, but the flesh itself melted 
 away ; the muscles, veins, and arteries were gradually contracted, 
 and when the boots were pulled off, particles of the broiled flesh 
 being torn off with them, not a small portion of the bones was 
 left quite bare, presenting a horrid spectacle, which no words 
 can describe. Still the holy martyr, having his mind fixed on 
 God and holy things, never uttered a word of complaint, but 
 endured the dreadful torture with the greatest courage, main- 
 taining to the very end the same serene and tranquil countenance. 
 The tyrants had vainly thought to subdue his spirit by these 
 torments, but, at length, they ordered him to be again thrown 
 into his former dark and loathsome dungeon, for he was ready 
 to endure still greater suffering, if such could be devised.g In 
 prison no means were left untried to shake his constancy ; even 
 his sister was sent to induce him to alter his resolution, but he 
 reproached her for her temerity, and implored her to fall on her 
 
 * O'Sullevan, pag. 124. 
 
 t Roth. Analecta : also letter of Geoghegan, 4th June 1584 
 
 J The letter of Geoghegan, just referred to, calls 'them' leather boots: 
 
 «°r e <S ,L,, J?, - ? lUaloe describes them as ocreas plumbeas (letter of 
 Oct. 29th, 1584), that is, boots made of tin. 
 § O'Sullevan, pag. 125. 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 135 
 
 knees and ask forgiveness of God for this great crime.* A 
 worthy priest, named Mac Morris, skilled in medicine, found 
 access to the archbishop, and treated his wounds with such skill, 
 that in a few days his strength began to return. This made the 
 lords justices resolve on his immediate execution ; "and lest 
 there should be public excitement, or any attempt made to 
 rescue the archbishop, the soldiers were instructed to bring him 
 to the place of execution immediately at day-light, and to hang 
 him before any people could assemble. These orders were 
 strictly carried out; only two of the citizens followed the martyr, 
 together with a friend, who had watched over him with intense 
 anxiety from the first moment of his arrest. It is said that the 
 holy bishop, as he was led forth, seized the hand of this friend, 
 and pressing it closely, imprinted on it a red sign of the cross, 
 as a lasting token of his gratitude, and that this mark could 
 never be effaced "f At early dawn on Friday, the 6 th of May, 
 1584, Dr. O'Hurley, being in the sixty-fifth year of his age, 
 consummated his martyrdom, and his mangled remains were 
 deposited in the old church-yard of St. Kevin. % 
 
 One circumstance connected with the heroic constancy of 
 Dr. O'Hurley deserves to be specially commemorated. The 
 bishop of Ferns had wavered in his allegiance to the Holy Sec, 
 and hence, at this period, stood high in court favour. Witnes- 
 sing the triumph of Dr. O'Hurley, he was struck with remorse 
 for his own imbecility and criminal denial of his faith, § and 
 hastening to the lords justices, declared that he was sorry for 
 his past guilt, and now rejected with disdain the spiritual supre- 
 macy of Elizabeth : " he, too," writes the bishop of Killaloe in 
 October that same year, " is now confined in a most loathsome 
 dungeon, from which every ray of light is excluded."! 
 
 We shall conclude this sketch of Dr. O'Hurley 's martyrdom 
 with the words of his own suffragan bishop, who, in the letter 
 just referred to, thus attests the immoveable constancy of the 
 archbishop : " The archbishop of Cashel endured martyrdom in 
 Dublin with most glorious firmness and heroism ; and although 
 
 * Roth. Analecta. f O'Sullevan, pag. 126. J Rothe, loc. cit. 
 § Lettera di G-eoghegan, 4th of June, 1584 ; and letter of Cornelius Laonensis 
 from Lisbon, 29th October, 1584. 
 || Epist. , cit. 
 
1 36 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Introp. 
 
 subjected to the most dreadful torture, yet could never be in- 
 duced to subscribe to the iniquitous innovations of Elizabeth . . . 
 He died fearlessly and gloriously confessing his faith ; but what 
 afflicts me is, that our martyrs are no longer led publicly to ex- 
 ecution, but are put to death in private without the presence of 
 the people: it was thus the archbishop was executed by only 
 three soldiers, fearing lest he should exhort and inflame the 
 people to constancy in their Christian faith."* 
 
 With the archbishop of Cashel must be associated his com- 
 panion in suffering, Dr. Murtagh O'Brien, bishop of Emly.f 
 In the letter of Dr. Cornelius O'Mulrian just referred to, imme- 
 diately after the eulogy of the heroic martyr of Cashel, is added 
 a brief but pregnant commendation of Dr. O'Brien: " The bishop 
 of Emly," he says, " who is equally constant in the faith, is at 
 present confined in the Dublin dungeons ; they are now prepar- 
 ing for him, too, the tin boots, and intend to apply the fiery 
 ordeal as they did with the archbishop, that thus, if possible, 
 they may compel him to renounce his religion." This was on 
 the 29th of October, 1584. Of his subsequent sufferings no 
 record has been preserved ; but Mooney chronicles his death in 
 prison in the following year.lf 
 
 Dr. Thomas O'Herlihy was also rendered illustrious by his 
 sufferings in the cause of our holy faith. Of noble birth, and 
 remarkable for his virtue, he had been promoted to the see of 
 Ross on 17th of December, 1561. § He assisted, together with 
 the bishops of Raphoe and Achonry, at the last sessions of the 
 council of Trent, and in the acts of that oecumenical synod has 
 left the record of his prudence, and learning, and devotedness 
 to the Holy See. He thence hastened to console his persecuted 
 flock; "his labours were incredible," writes O'Sullevan, "in 
 preaching against heresy, administering the sacraments, and 
 
 * Letter of Dr. Cornelius O'Mulrian, loe. cit ex Arehiv. Secret. Vatican. 
 
 f The Gonsistorial Acts commemorate the appointment to the see of Emly 
 of D. Mavritii MacBrien, on 24th January, 1567. This was manifestly the same 
 bishop whose death is referred to in the text. 
 
 % MS. Hist, of the Francisc. " Denuo Moriartus O'Brien epus. Imolaeensis 
 Dublini mortuus est in earcere an. 1585" (page 95). The " Processus Marty- 
 rialis," also records his death in prison, but refers it to 1586. 
 
 § Ex Act. Consist. According to local tradition he was a native of the 
 parish of Kihnacalna, in the same diocese. 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 137 
 
 ordaining young levites for the service of the sanctuary."* 
 The agents of persecution marked him for their victim ; but for 
 some time searched for him in vain in all the recesses of his 
 diocese. He had taken refuge in a small island on the southern 
 coast, and was at length arrested there in the spring of 1571, 
 and delivered up to the newly-appointed viceroy, sir John 
 Perrot, who, without delay, transferred him to the prisons of 
 London Tower.f " Being brought before the court, he defended 
 his spiritual allegiance to Rome with great ability and learning, 
 and solved with ease the arguments which were proposed to 
 him. This, however, did not procure for him any relaxation in 
 his confinement ; and hence, when brought a second time into 
 court, he maintained a strict silence. On being repeatedly in- 
 terrogated as to the cause of this silence, he at length replied : 
 'If justice were to be the criterion of my cause, I should no 
 longer be in chains, having already established my innocence, 
 and cleared myself of every imputation of crime ; but as you are 
 resolved to be guided not by the dictates of equity and justice, 
 but by your own preconceived opinions, I thought it useless to 
 plead, knowing that it would be of no avail.'" He was then 
 reconducted to prison, and subjected to the most rigorous treat- 
 ment; weighed down with chains, he was compelled to endure 
 hunger and thirst, together with utter darkness in his fetid 
 dungeon ; vermin swarmed over his whole frame, and the em- 
 boldened mice gnawed away the very soles of his feet/'f It 
 was only after three years and seven months that some of the 
 southern princes, whom the English government was anxious to 
 conciliate, purchased his release. During the years which 
 intervened till his death in 1580,§ he enjoyed the confidence of 
 the Holy See, and in the fulness of his zeal and sanctity, he 
 exercised his sacred functions throughout the whole island. 
 The last trace we find of this venerable confessor is amidst the 
 Irish soldiers in the Desmond war, ministering to their spiritual 
 
 * Hist. Cath., pag. 109, seq. 
 
 t Rothe " Process. Martyr.," pag. 73. 
 
 t O'Sullevan, loc. oit., pag. 111. 
 
 § Ware, following the old computation, places his death in 1579. The date 
 in the text rests on the authority of Sanders. Both statements may be recon- 
 ciled by placing his death in the first three months of 1580. 
 
138 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [[ntkod. 
 
 wants, and together with the papal nuncio and the bishops of 
 Ardfert and Killaloe " sharing the perils of the camp."* 
 
 It was in prison, by the silent martyrdom of poison, that Dr. 
 Richard Creagh, archbishop of Armagh, triumphed over heresy. 
 More than once, being freed from his persecutors by a manifest 
 interposition of God, he applied himself to restore discipline, 
 and rekindle the fervour of our afflicted Church ; and when 
 once more he became a prey to his pursuers, he unceasingly 
 displayed, through every phase of suffering, an unvarying 
 devotedness to the Catholic faith. He was offered his liberty 
 and rewards, should he consent to consecrate the newly-patented 
 Protestant prelates ; but he replied that no earthly treasures would 
 ever induce him to lay his anointed hands upon them, or to concur 
 in their sin. When after his second arrest he was placed upon 
 his trial in Dublin, accused of high treason, he was acquitted by 
 the jury; but the jurors, for this sentence, were themselves con- 
 demned to pay heavy fines. This acquittal did not procure his 
 liberation. Being transferred to London, his enemies employed 
 the foulest arts to stain his character and procure sentence of 
 death against him. One of their stratagems recalls the efforts 
 of the Arians against the glorious champion of orthodoxy, St. 
 Athanasius. A damsel was suborned to accuse the holy bishop 
 of having offered insult to her. The time appointed for the 
 trial approached, and everything promised her a certain triumph : 
 so certain, indeed, were his iniquitous persecutors of over- 
 whelming their victim and the whole Catholic body with 
 confusion, that they procured a large number of the nobility 
 and gentry to assemble to witness his condemnation. On the 
 day of trial the prosecutrix boldly came forward and repeated 
 her tale of accusation ; but when told to identify the prisoner, 
 she was so struck by the saintly countenance of the venerable 
 prelate, that, filled with remorse, she seemed to have lost all con- 
 sciousness, and when at length she was able to proceed, she, in 
 presence of the assembled multitude, avowed that the accusation 
 was a mere concocted scheme ; that the prisoner had never even 
 touched the hem of her garments, and that she implored pardon 
 
 * Correspondence of Sanders in Archiv. Secret. Vatic, 1579 1580. See 
 fuller detail in first chapter of the history of the archbishops. 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE EEIGN OF ELIZABETH. 139 
 
 from Heaven for having co-operated so long in seeking to blacken 
 the character of so holy a man. For about eighteen years Dr. 
 Creagh was confined in a dark dungeon. What most afflicted 
 him was, that he was unable to offer up the holy sacrifice of the 
 Mass. In order to unite more and more in spirit with the holy 
 sacrifice as offered up throughout the whole Catholic world, he 
 procured a missal, and with the rush light which was brought 
 to him at his meals, he read a portion of the daily liturgy, leav- 
 ing his meal till the light should be consumed. The record of 
 his imprisonment, moreover, adds that he was accustomed to 
 ingeniously contrive, by means of a portion of his garments, and 
 the meat which he received, to form a sort of taper, thus adding 
 to his bodily privations, in order to prolong for a little while his 
 spiritual feast, and lay up a better store for heavenly contempla- 
 tion. The agents of the court seeing all their efforts fruitless, 
 and despairing of being ever able to overcome his constancy, at 
 length put him to death by poison, in London Tower, on the 
 14th of October, 1585.* 
 
 Dr. Patrick O'Hely, bishop of Mayo, together with his com- 
 panion, Cornelius O'Rorke, was led to the scaffold for the faith 
 during Elizabeth's reign. This holy bishop was a native of 
 Connaught, and from his youth was adorned with every virtue. 
 Having embraced the religious order of St. Francis, he proceeded 
 to Spain, and pursued his sacred studies with great applause in 
 the university of Alcala. In obedience to the command of the 
 minister-general of his order, he repaired to Rome in 1575, and 
 having resided for some time in the convent of Ara Coeli, in 
 that city, he was proposed for the vacant see of Mayo, in the con- 
 sistory of 25th June, 1576 ; and his nomination was confirmed 
 by the Holy Father in the consistory of 4th of July, the same 
 year.f Returning to Ireland, he was accompanied by Cornelius 
 O'Rorke, a Franciscan priest, who, though the eldest son of the 
 prince of Breffney, had abandoned all the pleasures of the world 
 to embrace a life of prayer and poverty. They encountered 
 many difficulties in their journey, but at length safely landed in 
 
 * Rothe, Analect. We reserve a lengthened notice of this glorious martyr 
 for the " Lives of the Archbishops of Armagh." 
 t Ex Act. Consist. 
 
140 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intuod. 
 
 Dingle, in the county Kerry. The heretical spies whom Drury, 
 the lord deputy, kept at this time stationed along the southern 
 coast of Ireland, soon recognized the venerable strangers. They 
 were, therefore, almost immediately on landing, arrested and 
 transmitted to Limerick, to be examined by Goulden, the 
 military commander of that district. By his orders the prelate 
 and his chaplain were loaded with chains and cast into the 
 public prison. Here they remained for some months, till the 
 arrival of sir William Drury in Kilmallock, before whom they 
 were conducted in the month of August, 1578. On being 
 examined, Patrick O'Hely confessed that they belonged to the 
 Franciscan Order, that he himself was bishop of Mayo, sent by 
 Gregory XIII. to guide and instruct his spiritual flock ; this, he 
 added, was the object of his mission, and the only motive of his 
 return to Ireland. " And do you dare," asked Drury, " to 
 defend the authority of the pope against the laws of the queen 
 and parliament?" "I repeat what I have said," replied the 
 bishop, " and I am ready, if necessary, to die for that sacred 
 truth." Father O'Horke replied in the same strain. Threats 
 and promises were unavailing to change their resolution ; and 
 they both joyfully received sentence to be first put to the 
 torture, and then to be strangled in the presence of the garrison. 
 These orders of Drury were executed with an uncommon de- 
 gree of barbarity. The two prisoners were first placed on the 
 rack: their arms and feet -were beaten with hammers; and 
 sharp iron points and needles were cruelly thrust under their 
 nails, which caused an extreme agony of suffering. For a con- 
 siderable time they were subjected to these torments, which the 
 holy confessors bore patiently for the love of Christ, mutually 
 exhorting each other to constancy and perseverance. At length 
 they were taken from the rack, and hanged from the branches 
 of a neighbouring tree. Their bodies were left suspended there 
 for fourteen days, and were used in the interim as a target by the 
 brutal soldiery. When the martyr-prelate was being hurried 
 away to execution, he turned to Drury and warned him that 
 before many days he himself should appear before the tribunal 
 of God, to answer for his crimes. On the fourteenth day after, 
 this unhappy man expired in great agony in Waterford, of a 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 141 
 
 distemper that baffled every remedy.* Tlie 22nd of August, 
 1578, was the day rendered illustrious by their martyrdom: by 
 the care of the earl of Desmond, their bodies were reverently laid 
 in the Franciscan convent of Clonmel ; whence, seventy years 
 later (in 1647), they were translated with solemnity, and depo- 
 sited, together with the implements of their torture, in the con- 
 vent of Askeaton.f * 
 
 As to the lower order of clergy, innumerable instances are 
 recorded by the contemporary writers, of those who laid down 
 their lives to seal the testimony of their faith. On one occasion, 
 no fewer than forty-two attained their crown.. It was intimated 
 in many districts of the southern province, in 1602, that such of 
 the clergy as presented themselves to the magistrates, would be 
 allowed to take their departure from the kingdom. Two Domi- 
 nican fathers, and forty others, for the most part Cistercians 
 and secular priests, availed themselves of the government pro- 
 posal. They were ordered to assemble at the island of Innis- 
 scattery, in the vicinity of Limerick, and on the appointed day 
 they were taken on board a war-vessel to sail for France No 
 sooner, however, had they put to sea than all were thrown over- 
 board. The captain and other officers were severely reprimanded 
 on their return to land : but this was a mere formality; for, the 
 captain showed to his friends the royal order he had received to 
 execute that horrid deed, and as a reward, the property of the 
 victims was divided between those officers.}: 
 
 About 1577, whilst Drury was lord deputy, Fergal Ward, a 
 
 * Dr. Talbot, archbishop of Dublin, in his " Politician's Catechism," writes : 
 " God's justice hath fallen visibly upon some of those judges who pronounced 
 sentence against the Catholics, even in this world, to the astonishment of many, 
 and repentance of very few. The memory of justice Glanville's strange wound 
 
 and death by an invisible hand, is yet fresh in Lincoln Drury, the 
 
 lord deputy of Ireland, was cited to appear before the throne of God's judg- 
 ment within the space of fifteen days, by the venerable bishop and martyr, 
 Patrick Ochely, of the order of St, Francis, whom he commanded to be put to 
 death for not taking the oath of supremacy ; and so it happened, for the four- 
 teenth day Drury died of so intolerable a disease, that he cried aloud, he was 
 tormented with all the pains of hell." 
 
 t All our annalists attest the heroic fortitude of these martyrs : O'Sullevan 
 loc. cit. pag. 104 ; Eothe, Analect. pag. 63 ; Theatre of Prot. etc., pag. 50 : 
 Bruodinloc. cit. pag. 437, seqq. : Arthur a Monasterio in Martirolog. Francisc. ; 
 Pomimcus a Rosario, etc. 
 
 t O'Heyn in "Epilog. Chronolog." Lovanii, 1706: pag. 18; Hibern. Do- 
 minic, pag. 559. 
 
142 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Inteod. 
 
 Franciscan, and a native of Donegal, was put to death in 
 Armagh. He was venerated by the people for the simplicity 
 of his life and his zeal for the salvation of souls. He travelled 
 at intervals throughout the whole province of Armagh, visiting 
 the scattered families who, in the mountainous districts, lived 
 without the comforts of the holy sacrifice, or the strengthening 
 graces of the sacraments. On one of these excursions he fell into 
 the hands of the soldiery, and being scourged with great barbarity, 
 was hanged from the branches of a tree with the cincture of his 
 own religious habit.* 
 
 The convent of Moyne, in Mayo, was rendered illustrious in 
 1577, by the heroism of father O'Dowd. The soldiers of Fitton 
 (then president of Connaught) had occupied that convent, and 
 some of their prisoners having made their confessions to that 
 courageous father, they seized on him, and by promises and 
 threats, sought to induce him to reveal to them the secrets 
 which he had heard. His refusal kindled their demoniac 
 ferocity, and binding the cord of his habit around his head, they 
 forced and screwed it till his eyes burst from their sockets. 
 Under this frightful torture he expired on the 9th of June, 
 attesting by his martyrdom the inviolability of the sacred sacra- 
 mental seal.t 
 
 In the following year the religious of the same convent were 
 informed of the approach of a party of English soldiers. They 
 at once sought elsewhere a refuge till the tempest should pass. 
 One venerable lay-brother, however, refused to quit the place, 
 alleging that they would not harm one so aged as he, and that 
 his presence in the chapel might induce them to spare that holy 
 place. When some time had elapsed, the friars returned to 
 Moyne. All was silent, the convent and chapel were plundered, 
 and on the steps of the altar lay the martyred O'Hara, bathed in 
 his blood. :f 
 
 John O'Lochran, Edmund Simmons, and Donat O'Rorke, were 
 members of the Franciscan convent of Down. A military com- 
 missioner named Britton, and his ravaging band, resolved to 
 fix their winter quarters in that ancient town. Their thirst for 
 
 * Synop. Prov. Franciscan, in Hib p. 66. 
 
 t Ibid. Also Mooney, Hist. MS. Ord. Francis. 
 
 | Mooney, loc. cit. 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 143 
 
 religious spoils soon impelled them to the convent; but the 
 sacred vessels had been concealed, and nobody could be found. 
 The three fathers mentioned above were their only prey. These 
 they first subjected to a variety of torture, and then, dragging 
 them to the adjoining garden, strangled them from the branches 
 of a large oak that overshadowed the sanctuary."* 
 
 Thaddeus Donald and John Hanly, on the 10th of August, 
 1580, received their palm. They had long laboured among the 
 suffering faithful along the south western coasts of our island. 
 When the convent of Bantry was seized by the English troops, 
 these holy men received the wished-for crown of martyrdom. 
 Being conducted to a high rock impending over the sea, they 
 were tied back to back and precipitated into the waves beneath.f 
 
 John O'Molloy, Cornelius Dogherty, and Walfrid Ferrall were 
 also Franciscans, and about 1588 fell victims to the malice of 
 the heretics. They spent eight years in administering the 
 consolations of religion throughout the mountainous districts of 
 Leinster. Many families of Carlow, Wicklow, and Wexford, 
 had been compelled to seek a refuge there from the fury of the 
 English troops. The good Franciscans shared in all their perils 
 travelling about from place to place by night, they visited the 
 sick, consoled the dying, and offered up the sacred mysteries. 
 Oftentimes the hard rock was their only bed; but they willingly 
 embraced nakedness, and hunger, and cold, to console their 
 afflicted brethren. In a remote district of the Queen's County 
 they were overtaken by a party of cavalry, bound hand and 
 foot, and conducted with every species of insult to the garrison 
 of Abbeyleix. Here they were flogged, and then put on the 
 rack; at length being strangled, embowelled, and quartered, 
 they happily yielded their souls to their Creator. J 
 
 Gelasius O'Cullenan was born of a noble family in Connaught, 
 and in his early years embraced the Cistercian Order. Having 
 completed his novitiate and sacred studies in Paris,§ the 
 monastery of Boyle was destined as the field of his labours- 
 On his arrival in Ireland he found that the monastery, with its 
 
 * Bruodin : Passio Mart. p. 440. 
 t Bruodin, loo. cit. pag 452. 
 X Ibid : also Synop. Prov. pag. 86- 
 
 §Henriquez Fasciculus, etc., part i. distinct. 27, chap. 1. He devotes three 
 chapters to the life of tEis Cistercian abbot. 
 
144 PERSECUTION OF THE IEISH CATHOLICS [Iktkod. 
 
 property, had been seized on by one of the neighbouring gentry, 
 who was sheltered in his usurpation by the edict of Elizabeth. 
 The abbot, nothing deterred by the penal enactments which he 
 knew impended over him, went boldly to the usurping noble- 
 man, and admonished him of the guilt which he incurred, and 
 the malediction of Heaven which he would assuredly draw down 
 upon his whole family. Moved by his exhortations, the noble- 
 man restored him to the full possession of the monastery and 
 lands ; and some time after, contemplating the holy life of its 
 inmates and the happy fruits of their zeal, and desirous to share 
 in their apostolate, he too renounced the world and embraced 
 their religious institute. In 1580, Gelasius, being in Dublin, 
 was arrested by order of the government, and together with 
 Hugh O'Mclkeran, another Cistercian father, was thrown into 
 the "public gaol. John O'Garvin,* then Protestant dean of 
 Christ's Church, was amongst those who assisted at his first inter- 
 rogatory, and having proposed many inducements to the abbot 
 "to abandon the Popish Sreed," Gelasius, in reply, reproved him 
 for preferring the deceitful vanities of this world to the lasting joys 
 of eternity," and exhorted him " to renounce the errors and in- 
 iquity of heresy by which he had hitherto warred against God; 
 and to make amends for the past, by joining with him in professing 
 the name of Christ, that he might thus become worthy to receive 
 a heavenly crown. "f The holy abbot and his companion were 
 then subjected to torture, and amongst their other sufferings, we 
 find it commemorated that their arms and legs were broken by re- 
 peated blows, and (ire was applied to their feet. The only words 
 of Gelasius during all this torture were: "though you should 
 offer me the princedom of England, I will not forfeit my eternal 
 reward." Sentence of death being passed against them, they 
 were led out with all possible ignominy to execution. They, 
 however, were filled with consolations; the sight of the joyous 
 sufferers excited the admiration of the assembled multitude, and 
 many even of the heretics declared that they were more like 
 angels than men. It was on the 21st of November, 1580, that 
 they were happily crowned with martyrdom. The garments 
 
 * He is styled Garvey by Ware and Mant ; he was soon after appointed 
 Protestant bishop of Kilmore. 
 
 t Henriquez, loe, cit. chap. ii. ; O'Sullevan, Hist. Cath. pag. 126. 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE KEIGST OF ELIZABETH. 145 
 
 ■which they wore, and the implements of their torture, were 
 eagerly purchased by the Catholics, and cherished by them with 
 religious veneration. Gelasius O'Cullenan is justly styled by 
 the annalist of his order, " Ordinis Cisterciensis decor, sseculi 
 nostri splendor et totius Hibernian gloria."* 
 
 About the same time the monastery of St. Mary of Maggio, 
 in the diocese of Limerick, became illustrious by the martyr- 
 dom of its holy inmates. An heretical band having entered 
 the adjoining country, spreading on every side devastation and 
 ruin, the monks of Maggio, forty in number, were in hourly 
 expectation of death. They resolved, however, not to fly from 
 the monastery, choosing rather to consummate their course in 
 the asylum which had been so long their happy abode. They, 
 therefore, assembled in choir, and having recited the morning 
 office, in silence and prayer awaited their executioners. The 
 heretical soldiers did not long delay ; on coming to the monas- 
 tery, they at first imagined that it had been abandoned — so 
 universal was the silence that reigned around it; and they 
 plundered it in every part. On arriving, however, at the 
 church, they found the forty religious kneeling around the altar, 
 unmoved, as if unconscious of the scenes of sacrilegious plunder 
 that were perpetrated around them, and wholly absorbed in 
 prayer. " Like hungry wolves, the heretics at once precipitated 
 themselves upon the defenceless religious. The cruelty and 
 ferocity of the soldiers was only surpassed by the meekness and 
 heavenly joy of the victims," and in a few instants forty names 
 were added to the long roll of our Irish saints. The vigil of 
 the Assumption was the day consecrated by their death. One 
 lay-brother of the monastery who had been absent for some time, 
 returned that evening, and found his former happy abode 
 reduced to a heap of smoking ruins, and entering the church he 
 found the altar and choir streaming with blood. Throwing 
 himself prostrate before' the mutilated statue of our Lady, he 
 poured forth his lamentations, that her monastery was no more, 
 and that her glorious festival, which should be then commenced, 
 would pass in sadness and silence. He had scarcely breathed 
 his prayer, when he heard the bells of the monastery to toll, 
 
 * Henriquez, loo. oit. chap. i. 
 
146 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Ikthod. 
 
 and lifting his head, he saw his martyred brethren, each taking 
 his accustomed seat: the abbot intoned the solemn vespers, and 
 the psalms were sung as was usual on their festive days. The 
 angels and the Queen of heaven joined their voices with those of 
 their now sainted companions; the enraptured lay- brother knew 
 not whether he had been assumed to heaven, or was still on 
 earth, till the office being completed, the vision ceased, and he 
 once more contemplated around him the mangled and bleeding 
 remains of the martyred religious.* Muriquez concludes his 
 narrative of their triumph with the impressive words: "Oh, 
 happy Ireland, that is enriched with the treasure of so many 
 martyrs ! oh, happy community, that sent forth so many inter- 
 cessors to the heavenly throne !" 
 
 The annalists of the Cistercian Order commemorate many 
 other instances of the heroism displayed by its Irish fathers, 
 in encountering all the torments that heretical fury could devise, 
 rather than betray their sacred character. Amongst them was 
 Nicholas Fitzgerald of Limerick, who, under lord Gray, being 
 discovered in a wood in which he had for some time concealed 
 himself, was loaded with chains, and transmitted to Dublin 
 Castle. There he was condemned to death, and for the faith 
 suffered with heroic constancy the penalty of treason. 
 
 But it is time to mention some few instances of the secular 
 clergy who nobly emulated the fortitude of the religious, and 
 by their sacred heroism, added new lustre to the cause of faith, 
 and won an imperishable fame for our " martyred isle." 
 
 Daniel O'Nielan was a priest of the diocese of Cloyne, and 
 endured a most peculiar martyrdom on the 28th of March, 1580. 
 He was a most apostolic man, full of attention to the wants of 
 the poor, and of solicitude for all his flock. He was no sooner 
 arrested and conducted under a military guard to Youghal, than 
 two wicked men, named Norris and Morgan, undertook the task 
 of his execution. They conducted him to the summit of Trinity 
 Tower, -and having fastened a rope around his waist and arms, 
 precipitated him from the battlements. The rope not being 
 
 * Henriquez, loc. cit. part ii. distinct. 37. This work was written in the 
 first years of the seventeenth century. The same martyrdom and miraculous 
 vision is recorded by Manriquez, in " Sanctoral Cisterc." printed in Valladolid, 
 1613, and also by the Irish Seminary of Seville, in " Persecut. Hibernic." 
 printed in 1619. 
 
Chap. IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 147 
 
 sufficiently strong to resist the shock, the holy man fell mangled 
 and almost lifeless to the ground. The fury of his executioners, 
 however, was not allayed : observing that life was not yet extinct, 
 they caused him to be dragged to a mill not far distant, where 
 they tied him to the water-wheel ; his lacerated body in a few 
 minutes was wholly disfigured, and scarcely retained the sem- 
 blance of human remains. 
 
 Maurice Scanlan, Philip O'Shea, and Daniel O'Hanrichan, 
 were three secular priests, and natives of Kerry. For more than 
 thirty years they had been indefatigable in their labours, in their 
 native county and the surrounding territory. It was in the 
 town of Lislaghton that they received the crown of martyrdom. 
 Whilst the country around was laid waste by the agents of perse- 
 cution, they hastened to the sanctuary to offer themselves as 
 victims for their suffering flock. They were soon discovered 
 there by the enemy, and immediately beheaded. The 6th of 
 April, 1580, was the day of their happy triumph. 
 
 Maurice Kinrehan, P.P. of Mullanahone, in Tipperary, in a 
 special manner attracted the rage of the heretics, and was com- 
 pelled to take shelter, together with numbers of his flock, on the 
 wild summits of Slievenamon. Rewards were more than once 
 offered for his arrest, and his parish was frequently scoured by 
 military parties, anxious to seize on their prey. At length, whilst 
 engaged in administering the last sacraments to a dying man, he 
 was overtaken by his pursuers, who at once hurried him towards 
 Clonmel. Before arriving in that town, the officer of the guard, 
 named Furrows, fearing lest the inhabitants might rescue the 
 venerable captive, gave orders to have him despatched: the 
 soldiers treated him with great brutality, and hewing his body 
 into fragments, scattered his mangled members along the high- 
 way, and brought his head as a trophy to the commander in 
 Clonmel* 
 
 The agents of persecution were not always so successful in 
 leading their intended victims to the scaffold. An amusino- 
 instance is recorded by O'Sullevan Beare. In a small town near 
 Drogheda the Protestant minister occasioned great annoyance 
 to the Catholics by his pursuit of their only priest, and by 
 
 * Bruudiu, loc. oit. ; also Aualecta. 
 
148 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intsod. 
 
 continually insisting on all the baptisms, and other sacred rites, 
 being performed in his presence. One of the chief Catholics 
 having died, they resolved on having the holy sacrifice offered 
 up, and then interring the corpse in the country farm-house that 
 served them for a chapel. The body of the deceased was 
 conducted thither at night and the grave was dug ; at morning's 
 dawn the priest commenced the holy sacrifice, at which none 
 but the women had assembled, the better to allay the suspicions 
 of their Protestant neighbours. The minister, however, had 
 been fully informed by his spies of all the arrangements that 
 were made, and, long before the arrival of the priest, had 
 concealed himself beneath the temporary altar. No sooner had 
 the priest raised the chalice at the communion, than, rushing 
 from his hiding place, he seized the chalice, and laying hold 
 also of the priest, told him that he was arrested by her majesty's 
 command. The assembled women could not brook this outrage, 
 and seizing on the minister, dragged him to the empty grave, 
 and throwing him headlong in, commenced to inter him, 
 heaping the clay and stones upon him. It was only when the 
 minister had solemnly called God to witness that he would never 
 more interfere with their sacred rites, that the priest's interces- 
 sion was effectual, and that the culprit was released from his 
 premature grave.* 
 
 The abbot of the Cistercian monastery called the White 
 Friars, in Donegal, was a member of the great family of 
 O'Donnell, and closely allied to its celebrated chieftain, Hugh 
 Ruadh. Having refused to surrender his monastery, it was 
 suppressed by the queen's commissioners ; the abbot himself 
 was proclaimed a traitor, and a reward offered for his head. 
 He fled to Iar-Connaught, and found a secure asylum at the foot 
 of Cnoc-a-Caillean hill, in the parish of Moynes, near the sea- 
 shore, where a martello tower now stands. It was only after a 
 long search that the abbot's retreat was discovered. Fourteen 
 persons undertook to apprehend him, and entered at night his 
 place of concealment. He was engaged in prayer, but was 
 instantly seized, and the captors only waited for the morning to 
 bear away the prisoner, and secure the promised reward. A 
 
 *Hist. Cath., pag. 135-6. 
 
Our. IV. 5.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 149 
 
 bold expedient suggested itself to the defenceless abbot. He 
 informed bis greedy captors that all he possessed was concealed 
 in the small uninhabited island of Cruaghnakeely, which he told 
 them was only at a short distance, and could be seen from the 
 shore. They readily consented to accompany him thither, sure 
 of his person, and expecting to find there the sacred plate of the 
 monastery. When they reached the island, he directed one of 
 the men to step on the rock, which formed its only landing- 
 place, and to lay hold of a rope which was attached to the bow 
 of the boat. This done, he placed himself at the bow, and, 
 with a setting-pole, kept the boat steady until all were safely 
 landed ; then slipping the rope and giving a sudden shove, the 
 ■water being very deep, he was in an instant out of reach, and 
 directed his course back, leaving the entire party of his pursuers 
 on that desolate island, where, being destitute of food and shel- 
 ter, they all miserably perished. On the summit of the island 
 are still to be seen some heaps of stones which, as tradition 
 records, were raised a few years after by the neighbouring 
 inhabitants to cover their remains* 
 
 Sometimes it was even an immediate interposition of 
 Providence that preserved the clergy to their devoted flocks. 
 Father Henry Fitzsimons relates how a gentleman named 
 Richard Bellings, living at Dunamore, about seven miles from 
 Dublin, was brought to trial in 1580 
 
 " By Robert Codes, a blood- thirsty monster, for having harboured 
 Patrick Nigram, a priest. At that very time the priest was concealed 
 in his house, and a band of soldiers was despatched to besiege and 
 examine it ; meanwhile the Blessed Virgin appeared to Mrs. Bellings, 
 and addressed to her the following words : Without a moment's delay 
 send for Nigram and place him in the lower cellar, where, by removing 
 a stone which is in the corner, he can descend a few steps farther down. 
 Though Mrs. Bellings heard these words repeated more than once, she 
 thought it was only a dream, and paid no attention to them. At last 
 the most august Queen of Heaven revealed herself in the most beautiful 
 form, and clothed with dazzling radiance, ordered her to instantly 
 execute the command which she received. Father Nigram was a man 
 of no ordinary piety, of spotless integrity, and always burning with an 
 ardent zeal for religion ; I made it my duty to visit him before his 
 death, and to get from his own lips the most accurate information on a 
 
 * Hardiman'a Iar-Connaught, published by I. A. Society, 1846., p. 102-3- 
 
150 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Ikthod. 
 
 matter about which I had already heard so much from different 
 quarters. On removing the stone he saw five or six steps which led 
 down to a small but convenient bed-chamber, twenty feet long and 
 twelve feet broad, and furnished with a neat bed and chair. He was 
 scarcely shut up in this cell when the priest-hunters arrived, and 
 searched every corner of the house, but all to no purpose ; for three 
 days they continued their toilsome search, and then departed, goaded 
 almost to madness by the loss of their expected prey. Nigram, who 
 during all this time had been favoured with the choicest consolations of 
 heaven, came forth from his subterraneous cell, and the passage, when 
 covered with the stone, could never afterwards be discovered ; even 
 after the most diligent search, not a trace of it could be found."* 
 
 6. — Constancy of the Irish Catholics. 
 
 In a former chapter,! we have seen how the smiles of court 
 favour did not suffice, in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, to 
 allure the Irish Catholics to embrace the tenets of the reformed 
 creed. It now becomes our task to examine how far penal 
 enactments and the terrors of the sword were successful in 
 alienating our people from the cherished doctrines of the 
 Catholic faith. We confidently assert, that the church of our 
 fathers shone with brighter lustre at the close, than at the be- 
 ginning of Elizabeth's reign ; and that the trials and persecutions 
 to which our clergy and people were subjected, only served to 
 render more dear to them the saving truths which they pro- 
 fessed, whilst the finger of the Most High once more renewed 
 in our island, that manifestation of His power which consoled 
 the early church — "sanguis martyrum semen Christianorum :" 
 " The blood of martyrs was the seed of Christians." 
 
 In 1590 " the general backwardness of the Protestant religion 
 in Ireland" became an anxious subject of consideration in the 
 privy council of her majesty, and letters were despatched to 
 the lord deputy, demanding an explanation of the reproachful 
 fact, that hitherto all the hopes of the reformers had been 
 blighted in our island. Dr. Adam Loftus, Protestant archbishop 
 of Dublin, and chancellor of Ireland, was commissioned to 
 
 * Consolatoria ad Hil>. Epiat. ad oalcem refutatioma. Rideri. pag. 93. 
 Cambrensis Eversus, vol. iii., p. 121. 
 t See chap. ii. 4. 
 
Chap. IV. 6.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 151 
 
 reply. This letter is dated the 22nd of September, 1590; and 
 whilst he acknowledges the fact, that the whole kingdom was 
 devoted to the Catholic faith, he excuses it by endeavouring to 
 cast its blame on his mortal enemy, the former lord deputy, 
 sir John Perrott. It is addressed to lord Burghley, and is as 
 follows :* — 
 
 " It may please your good lordship, — I have lately been made 
 partaker of your lordship's letter to my special good lord, the lord 
 deputy, wherein you lament the general corruption of this realm in the 
 cause of religion, and do wish his lordship and myself to enter into 
 some speedy consideration how the same may be remedied. I am 
 thereby emboldened, humbly craving your lordship's good acceptation, 
 both at large to discover unto you the means and degrees by which 
 this people are fallen into this general revolt, and to signify my opinion 
 how they may be reduced to better conformity. And looking back 
 unto the times past, I cannot forbear to inform your lordship of that 
 which in my experience I know to be true : that although there hath 
 been in this people a general disposition to popery, as to a thing 
 wherein they are misled from their cradle ; yet, this general recusancy 
 is of but six years' continuance at the most, and began in the second 
 year of sir John Perrott's government, in the beginning of the parlia- 
 ment holden by him. Before which time, I well remember and do 
 assure your lordship, there were not in the pale the number of twelve 
 recusant gentlemen of account ; but since then they have grown to such 
 obstinacy and boldness, that it is to be feared (if some speedy remedy 
 be not provided), upon pretence of religion, they will shake off all duty 
 and obedience. Before that time they were restrained by the ecclesi- 
 astical commission, and, howsoever they were affected inwardly in their 
 consciences, yet outwardly they showed great duty and obedience, in 
 resorting to service and sermons, and in receiving of the communion. 
 
 In the beginning of the parliament, sir Nicholas White, in the name of 
 his countrymen, moved sir John Perrott, with sundry reasons, before 
 the most of this council, to permit this people to have liberty of their 
 consciences, and the free use of their religion, wherein they had been 
 bred and brought up ; assuring sir John that granting that unto them, 
 they would not only condescend to the repeal of Poyning's Act, 
 but to any other reasonable motion which should be propounded 
 in the parliament. His good success with the lord deputy at 
 that time moved another of his country, one Edward Nugent, a 
 lawyer, to come into the lower house with a premeditated speech 
 in defence of the Mass and Eomish religion, declaring the good 
 success her majesty's progenitors had whilst they embraced the Mass 
 and the Catholic religion, as he termed it, and the bad success which 
 pursued the rejecting thereof. 
 
 * Extracted from State Paper Office, London. 
 
15i! PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Lnteod. 
 
 " By these encouragements, and by the bad example of some great 
 personages of credit in this state, this people hath ever since grown 
 to wonderful obstinacy, and therein do persist unto this day in- " 
 creasing in malice beyond all measure and utter detestation of 
 religion. When we, the bishop of Dublin, Meath, and a few others, 
 well affected, perceived this declination, being authorized by her 
 majesty's high commission for ecclesiastical causes, we assembled before 
 us the principal gentlemen, and such as we knew to be ringleaders in this 
 cause, seeking to draw them to better conformity ; but so soon as they 
 came before us, we were forbidden by the then lord deputy to deal with 
 them, who told us (but in truth never showed the same) that he had 
 received direction from their lordships that this people should not be 
 dealt with for matters of religion, and so we were restrained from pro- 
 ceeding any further. And presently it was bruited throughout the pale, 
 that her majesty's pleasure was that they should not be touched for 
 their religion, but should be permitted to use the same at their plea- 
 sure ; and so they did during the time of sir John's government, 
 wherein they took such heart and grew to such obstinacy, that now they 
 can hardly be reclaimed, the rather because those noblemen and prin- 
 cipal gentlemen, by their bad examples, do daily draw them backward 
 from the service of God established by her majesty. 
 
 " And sorry 1 am that, for the discharge of my duty, I must be forced 
 to note unto your lordship one particular man well known unto your 
 lordship, whose example doth of all others greatest hurt in the pale ; I 
 mean sir Luke Dillon, who, although he is both a most grave and wise 
 councillor, and of great experience in this state, yet his notorious recusancy 
 and wilful absenting of himself from the church these three or four years 
 past (being drawn to this backwardness by his son-in-law Mr. Rotohfort, 
 a most malicious and dangerous instrument, both against religion and this 
 government), is a special provocation, and means to draw the greatest 
 number of this people into that general corruption wherein they live. 
 For redress whereof your lordship hath most wisely considered that the 
 sword alone without the word is not sufficient. But yet I assure your 
 lordship their obstinacy now is such, that unless they be enforced, they 
 will not ever come to hear the word preached, as by experience we 
 observed at the time appointed by the lord deputy and council for a 
 general assembly of all the noblemen and gentlemen of every county, 
 after her majesty's good success against the Spaniard, to give God 
 thanks for the same ; at which time, notwithstanding, the sheriff 
 of every county did their duties with all diligence, and warned all 
 men to repair to the principal church in every county wherein order 
 was taken for public prayers and thanksgiving unto God, together with 
 a sermon to be preached by choice men in every diocese, yet very few 
 or none almost resorted thereunto ; but even in Dublin itself, the lawyers 
 in term-time took occasion to leave the town, on purpose to absent 
 themselves from that godly exercise, so betraying in themselves, besides 
 their corruption in religion, great want of duty and loyalty unto her 
 
Chap. IV. 6J DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 153 
 
 majesty, and giving just occasion unto us to conceive a doubtful opinion 
 of them. 
 
 " For preachers (God be thanked) my cathedral church aud those 
 civil dioceses here about are pretty well furnished ; but it is almost 
 a bootless labour for any man to preach in the country out of Dublin 
 for want of hearers, the people are grown to so general a revolt ; 
 which, nevertheless, is not so far gone but, in my opinion, it may be 
 easily remedied, without any danger and with great gain to her majesty, 
 if the ecclesiastical commission be restored and put in action ; for this 
 people are but poor and fear to be fined — if liberty be left to myself 
 and such commissioners as are well affected in religion to imprison and 
 fine all such as are obstinate and disobedient ; and if they persist, being 
 men of ability, to bear their own charges, to send them into England 
 for example sake. This course of reformation, the sooner it is begun 
 the better it will prosper ; and the longer it is deferred the more 
 dangerous will it be. All which I leave to your lordship's wise con- 
 sideration, and so most humbly craving pardon for my wonted bold- 
 ness, I commend your good lordship with my prayers to God's best 
 blessings. 
 
 " From Rathfernan, this 22nd Sept., 1590, 
 
 " Your lordship's humbly at command, 
 
 " Adam Dublinensis. 
 
 " To the Right Hon. my singular good Lord 
 the Lord Burghley, Lord Treasurer of 
 England." 
 
 We gladly accept the precious acknowledgements which this 
 letter of Dr. Loftus presents to us, that forsooth the Irish were 
 from their cradle devoted to the Holy See, and, beyond all 
 measure, displayed their utter detestation of the reformed church. 
 His secondary assertion, that all this had its origin only in 
 1584, will be but little credited by those who have read the 
 preceding chapters. It is, in fact, inconsistent with his own 
 letters, repugnant to the repeated declaration of the ecclesiastical 
 commissioners, and proved to be false by all the mass of evidence 
 as to the state of the Irish Church, which we presented to the 
 reader in the account of Dr. Curwin. 
 
 4. Whilst Dr. Loftus acknowledges the utter discomfiture of 
 Protestantism in our island, he seeks to attach its blame to his 
 own mortal enemy ; but sir John Perrott, though under sentence 
 of death, and imprisoned in the Tower, rebutted well this accu- 
 sation, declaring that he was more successful in suppressing 
 
154 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Iktkod. 
 
 religious houses, expelling the clergy from the kingdom, and 
 checking the growth of popery, than any of his predecessors.* 
 
 The documents connected with the Desmond war, prove that 
 the whole kingdom was then devoted to the ancient faith. 
 The description of Ireland presented to the Holy See in 1581, 
 represents the whole nation as Catholicf Dr. Sanders, a few 
 years earlier, commemorates our countrymen as distinguished 
 for their devotion to the Catholic faith, | and, as we have seen, 
 a Vatican MS. of 1579 speaks of the inhabitants, even of the 
 capital, as having, from the commencement of Elizabeth's reign, 
 unswervingly maintained their allegiance to the Holy See. 
 
 It would be easy to multiply citations from writers who attest 
 the devoted attachment of Ireland to the faith during the whole 
 period of Elizabeth's reign; we, however, shall be satisfied to 
 commemorate a few facts which, perhaps, are more eloquent 
 than words, in manifesting the religious sentiments of our people. 
 
 1. In the first year of Elizabeth, it was enacted that the oath 
 of supremacy should be taken by all who were assumed to any 
 civic office; nevertheless, throughout the long period of her 
 government, the cities and corporate towns everywhere rejected 
 the Protestant oath, and, in regard of religion, continued to use 
 the oath of the Catholic times, condemnatory of all heretics and 
 heresies.§ 
 
 2. Amongst the orders issued by sir John Perrott, preparatory 
 to the parliament of 1584-5, there was one which prohibited 
 any of its members from dressing in the Irish fashion. To 
 facilitate their assuming the English habit, the lord deputy 
 bestowed both gowns and cloaks of velvet and satin on any that 
 were unwilling to purchase them. One of the Irish chieftains 
 felt special reluctance to abandon the costume of his ancestors: 
 " The whole nation (said he) will be filled with laughter at an 
 O'Neil appearing in public dressed in English apparel." When 
 the lord deputy insisted on his complying, the chieftain soli- 
 cited that at least one favor might be granted to him, forsooth, 
 that a Protestant minister should accompany him dressed in 
 
 * See h i s ."^ s * w i? and testament," made in the Tower, 3rd May, 1592 : 
 History of sir John Perrott, pag. 30, seqq. 
 f See chap. iii. sec. 4. 
 
 t In his work, ' De Schism. Anglic.' written in 1579. 
 § Pet. Lomb. Comment, de Reg. Hib. ; see snpr. sec. 1. 
 
Cn.ir. IV. C.J DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 155 
 
 Irish garments ; for thus, he added, the mirth and amazement 
 of the multitude will be divided between us.* 
 
 3. One of the few who followed the attractions of this world, 
 and bowed to the spiritual headship of queen Elizabeth, was 
 Miler Magrath, bishop of Down and Connor. His royal mis- 
 tress sought by dignities and honors to silence the reproaches 
 of his conscience, and the archbishopric of Cashel and other 
 ecclesiastical preferments were heaped on him in profusion. So 
 far, however, was this change of spiritual allegiance from secur- 
 ing to him the sympathy and affection of his countrymen, that 
 he became an outcast amongst his own kindred, and an object 
 of abhorrence to all. In 1593 he addressed a letter to Cecil 
 lamenting his sad fate, an extract from which letter may serve 
 to illustrate our present subject: " I find myself so hardly 
 beset and overwhelmed with the general unbridled multitude 
 there (in Ireland), notorious Papists, and reconciled to the 
 Pope and the king of Spain, very few of them escaping the 
 whip of my censuring discoveries, that they all have joined 
 hearts and hands together, to overthrow and destroy my poor 
 self, well known to be, of that country birth, the only eye-sore 
 and chiefest preventer and detecter of all their mischievous 
 
 practices My case resting thus, what other remedy 
 
 might be left me in such an hourly-expected danger, remaining 
 safe neither in country nor town, at home nor abroad, no, not 
 in my church or chapter house, than for safe-guard of my poor 
 innocent life, thus infinitely and by infinite means sought after, 
 to appeal to the uncorrupted seat of justice and sanctuary of all 
 afflicted subjects, her majesty and honorable council?"! 
 
 4. The history of James, seventeenth earl of Desmond, affords 
 us another instance of the utter horror of the Irish people for all 
 who were infected with the reformed tenets. He had spent 
 well nigh thirty years as hostage and captive in the hands of 
 the English, and had imbibed, under their tuition, the Pro- 
 testant creed. Towards the close of this century, the English 
 power had well nigh been totally overthrown in the south of 
 Ireland, and its lord president Carew pitifully wrote to sir 
 
 * Life of sir John Perrott, p. 198-9. 
 
 t Miler Magrath to sir Robert Cecil, dated Loudon, June 8, 1593. St. 
 Pap. Office. 
 
156 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Ixtrod. 
 
 Robert Cecil, " whosoever knoweth this kingdom and the 
 people will confess, that to conquer the same and them by the 
 sword only, may be said to be impossible; and I do verily 
 believe, that all the treasure of England will be consumed in that 
 work, unless other additions of help be ministered unto it. The 
 fair way that I am in, towards the finishing of the heavy task 
 which I undergo, will, I am afraid, receive some speedy and 
 rough impediment, unless my advice, in sending of the young 
 Desmond hither, may be followed."* Cecil at once recom- 
 mended to her majesty the liberation of the earl; and in the 
 month of October, 1600, we find him in charge of trusty 
 English agentsf setting sail from Bristol for the Irish shores. 
 One scene alone of his Irish sojourn attracts our attention. It was 
 on a Saturday evening that he arrived in Kilmallock. At his 
 entry into the town, " there was a mighty concourse of people," 
 says sir George Carew, " insomuch that all the streets, doors, 
 and windows — yea, the very gutters and tops of the houses, 
 were so filled with them, as if they came to see one whom God 
 had sent to be that comfort and delight which their hearts and 
 souls most desired ; and they welcomed him with all the expres- 
 sions and signs of joy, every one throwing upon him wheat and 
 salt (an ancient ceremony used in that province), as a prediction 
 of future peace and plenty. That night the earl was invited to 
 supper to sir George Thornton's, who then kept his house in 
 Kilmallock ; and although the earl had a guard of soldiers, who 
 lined the way from his lodgings to sir George Thornton's house, 
 yet the confluence of people that flocked thither to see him was so 
 great, as in half an hour he could not make his passage through 
 the crowd ; and after supper he had the like encounters at his 
 return to his lodging. The next day being Sunday, the earl 
 went to church to hear Protestant service, and all the way his 
 country-people used loud and rude dehortations to keep him 
 from church, to which he lent a deaf ear ; but after service and 
 the sermon were ended, the earl coming forth from the church, 
 
 * St. Pap. Off., published in Dublin Review, August 1861, p. 516-7. 
 
 t The instructions given to these agents were, in case he was found not to 
 be of any service in Ireland, to take him off by poison, or otherwise hire ageDts 
 
 to swear counts of treason against him See letter of Cecil to Carew, Oct. 8, 
 
 1600, and the other documents from State Paper Office, in Dub, Rev. loc. cit. 
 p. 526. 
 
Chai\ IV. 6] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 157 
 
 was railed at and spat upon by those that before his going to 
 church were so desirous to see and salute him ; insomuch, that 
 after that public expression of his religion, the town was cleared 
 of that multitude of strangers, and the earl from thenceforward 
 might walk as quietly and freely in the town, as little in effect 
 followed or regarded, as any other private gentleman. This 
 true relation I make, that all men may observe how hateful our 
 religion and the professors thereof are to the ruder and ignorant 
 sort of people in that kingdom ; for, from thenceforward, none 
 of his father's followers, except some few of the meaner sort of 
 freeholders, resorted unto him. The truth is, his religion, being 
 a Protestant, was the only cause that bred this coyness in 
 them all; for, if he had been a Romish Catholic, the hearts 
 and knees of all degrees in the province would have bowed 
 unto him."? 
 
 5. In the close of Elizabeth's reign, captain George Flower, 
 commanding the English forces, " understanding that the castle 
 of Cloghan was guarded by the rebels, and that in the same 
 there was a Catholic priest lately come from Rome,'"! hastened 
 to assault it. He had in his hands as hostage Donnell Dorrogh, 
 brother of the commander of the fortress, and on their refusal 
 to surrender, he threatened to hang him in their sight; never- 
 theless, "to save the priest, whose life they tendered, they per- 
 severed obstinately not to yield ; whereupon captain Flower, in 
 their sight, hanged the commander's brother." Four days later, 
 the priest having been shifted away in safety, the garrison sur- 
 rendered as prisoners of war. Sir George Carew having com- 
 memorated this fact, adds: " I do relate this event to the end 
 the reader may the more clearly see in what reverence and 
 estimation these ignorant superstitious Irish do hold a popish 
 priest, in regard of whose safety the commander was content to 
 suffer his brother to perish."t 
 
 6. Scarce had the news of Elizabeth's death been whispered 
 through the cities of Ireland, than the inhabitants without delay 
 hastened to the cathedral and parochial churches, purified the 
 sanctuary, and restored the ancient worship in all its splendour. 
 The bells sent forth a joyous peal, solemn Te Deums were 
 
 » Pacata Hibernia, pp. 163-4. t Ibid. p. 648. J Ibid. p. 647. 
 
158 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Iktrod. 
 
 intoned, and the people once more exulted (though their j oy 
 was to be of short duration) in the uncontrolled display of their 
 Catholic feeling* 
 
 These facts must place in the boldest relief the devotedness 
 and affection for the ancient faith, cherished amidst so many 
 perils by the people of Ireland, during the whole period of 
 Elizabeth's reign. This, indeed, was so remarkable, that the 
 persecuting viceroy, sir Arthur Chichester, was heard repeatedly 
 to exclaim " that he knew not how this attachment to the 
 Catholic faith was so deeply rooted in the hearts of the Irish, 
 unless it were that the very soil was infected and the air tainted 
 with Popery ; for they obstinately prefer it to all things else — 
 to allegiance to their king, to respect for his ministers, to the 
 care of their own posterity, and to all their hopes and prospects."! 
 
 The example of the Catholics seems to have even exercised a 
 salutary influence on their persecutors, and it is recorded that 
 many of the Protestant families embraced the saving tenets of 
 our holy Church. "As soon as Protestant settlers fix their abode 
 in Ireland," writes the learned author of Cambrensis Eversus, 
 " they for the most part embrace Catholicity, or at least their chil- 
 dren renounce the heretical doctrines imbibed from their parents, 
 and enter the saving fold of the Catholic Church ;" and he adds, 
 regarding the constancy of our people during Elizabeth's reign : 
 
 * We shall have to commemorate this fact again in another chapter, when we 
 shall give the authorities for it in full. See, in the interim, Smith's History of 
 Cork, also History of Waterford, and Fitzgerald's History of Limerick, vol. ii. 
 p. 219, etc. 
 
 t Analecta, p. 203 ; Cambrensis Eversus, vol. ii. p. 605. Spenser, in 1596, 
 writes: "The natives of Ireland be all Papists by profession." (View, &c. 
 pag. 137.) McGeoghegan asserts, that during the reigns of Henry VIII., 
 Edward VI., Elizabeth, and James I. not sixty of the Irish embraced the Pro- 
 testant religion. (Histoire d'Irlande, vol. iii. pag. 422.) The Protestant bishop 
 of Ferns in 1612, in a report to the crown on the obstinacy of the Papists, 
 says, that having interrogated some of the poorer class "why they did not 
 forsake the Mass and come to our church, their answer was, that if they should 
 be of our religion, no popish merchant would employ them, being sailors ; no 
 popish landlord would let them any lands, being husbandmen ; nor set them 
 houses in tenantry, being artificers. As for the gentlemen and those of the 
 richer sort, I have always found them very obstinate, which hath proceeded 
 from the priests resorting unto their houses and company, and continually 
 hammering them upon their superstitious anvil." (Reports of Com. of Pub. Eec. 
 in Irel. vol. i, pag. 264.) Dr. Kearney, archbishop of Cashel in 1609, offi- 
 cially reported to the Holy See: " Vix millesimus quisque ex ipsa nalione 
 Hihernica labe hcereseon notatur. " 
 
Ckap. IV. 6.] DURING THE 11EIGN OF ELIZABETH. 1 59 
 
 " so deeply wag the Catholic faith rooted in their hearts, that 
 though the plebeians were transplanted, the rich severely taxed, 
 the gentry harassed, the nobles insulted, the cities and towns 
 despoiled of their rights and privileges, the whole nation trampled 
 on, the natives deprived of their offices, honors, and dignities, 
 wealth and honors monopolized by foreign professors of heresy, 
 and the resources of the country drained ; religion derided as 
 superstition, fidelity to God denounced as treason ; constancy in 
 the faith branded as obstinacy and rebellion ; yet, not all these, 
 nor any other engines of terror or ruin, nor smiles of concilia- 
 tion, could ever sever them from the fond embraces of the 
 Catholic Church."* 
 
 Dr. Roothe also attests the conversion of many of the English 
 to the Catholic faith. " Though the authority of the Pope," he 
 says, " was proscribed and condemned by all the public authori- 
 ties and tribunals; yet no violence could extinguish, nor fear 
 obliterate, the ardent attachment to the Vicar of Christ which 
 is deeply imprinted on the hearts of this people. Laws, discip- 
 line, and forms of government have been changed ; but where- 
 ever they interfered with religion, no violence or artifice could 
 induce the people to adopt them. Knavery was employed to 
 deceive, seduction to allure, insult to provoke, intrigue to solicit, 
 threats to terrify, rewards to conciliate. They oppress and they 
 promise; they chalk out their approach, and seize all the 
 avenues ; they ply both the mine and the battery, — all machines 
 are employed, but in vain ; they do not advance one inch ; and 
 they are rather converted to us than we to them. And this it 
 was that excited the admiration of that cunning statesman, the 
 pilot of English policy under Elizabeth, sir William Cecil, who, 
 filled with amazement at the immoveable constancy of the Irish, 
 declared that it was labour in vain to seek to unite Ireland with 
 the British Church, since the ministers who were sent to attain 
 that end not only were devoid of success, but were rather them- 
 selves converted by the Irish to the Catholic faith. "f 
 
 Dr. Lombard, archbishop of Armagh, gives some further 
 
 * Gambrensis Everaus, loc. cit., page 607- 
 t Aoalecta, p. 202, printed in 1617- 
 
160 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Introd. 
 
 interesting details as to the Catholic influence thus exercised on 
 the heretical agents by our suffering church :* 
 
 " Notwithstanding all the arts employed by the magistrates during 
 so many years, to lead the natives of Ireland to schism and heresy, the 
 Catholic spirit remains pure and untainted; and the few who were 
 seduced into the path of error, found themselves detested by none more 
 than by their own countrymen, and none pursued them with greater 
 enmity than those of their own families and kindred. . . . And here 
 we may reflect on the wonderful and merciful designs of Providence, 
 which so succoured our church in these days of its greatest trial, that 
 our people have become better instructed and more and more 
 constant in all that regards religion ;f nor has this progress been 
 confined to the knowledge of religion, — it extended also to the 
 practices of faith ; and many are not wanting at the present day, 
 who realize in their lives the continence and austerity of the early 
 saints. . . . The learned and eloquent -Scotch and English preachers 
 who were seut thither to avert the Catholics from the faith, after all 
 their pains and toil, reaped so small a harvest, or rather found their 
 hands so wholly empty, that on their return to England they often 
 publicly avowed in their sermons that they had wasted so many years 
 in useless labour in Ireland, without being able, as they said, to convert 
 those obstinate papists to the evangelical doctrines. Lest, however, 
 they might seem to have lost all charity for that people, they occasion- 
 ally, with all seriousness, exhorted their auditors to pray that the 
 Gospel light, which so happily illumined England, might be extended to 
 the benighted kingdom of Ireland, for God alone could realize that 
 end, in seeking which all humaii efforts had hitherto been employed in 
 vain. The professors, likewise, in the new university were so disap- 
 pointed in their projects, that very soon after their undertaking to 
 teach heresy in Dublin, their preaching was found to be so obnoxious 
 and odious to the citizens, that the very heretical magistrates, fearing 
 a tumult, found it necessary to impose silence on the preachers. And 
 when they commenced in like manner to exact the oath of spiritual 
 
 * Uommentarius, ete., cap. xx. The reader will hold in mind that this 
 work was written in the year 1600. 
 
 t In another place (cap. xii.), Dr. Lombard repeats this fact : "Quod ptEeci- 
 puam omnium meretur laudem et hoc maxime tempore consideratione summa, 
 immo et admiratione dignum est, hto passim omnes tametsi alioqmn educatione 
 et moribus alii ab aliis multum differentes, adeo sunt tenaces atque observantes 
 orthodox^ religionis ut cum ab annis jam compluribus nihil non tentatum sit 
 qua vi et fraude, qua timore hominum et amore mundi ut ad schisma et 
 haeresim abriperentur, tautum tamen abest ut hoc sit consequutum quod 
 potius et quidem occasione sumpta ex ipsa quam interea passi sunt oppositione 
 et oppressione longe melius nunc iustructi de dogmatis et mysteriis Catholicas 
 religionis, etiam multo constantiores sint effecti in ea retinenda immo auda- 
 ciores multo in eadem defendenda et asserenda." 
 
Chap. IV. C] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 161 
 
 supremacy from the youths that frequented their lectures, this was so 
 abhorred by the Irish, that though they anxiously desired instruction 
 for their children, yet they rather chose that they should remain in 
 ignorance, retaining the integrity of their faith, than that with litera- 
 ture they should imbibe the fatal corruption of heresy." 
 
 In 1597 father Henry Fitzsimons landed on our Irish shores. 
 He was a native of Dublin, and one of those whom the 
 example of the suffering Catholics brought back to the saving 
 fold. After more than twenty years incessant labour, he 
 published to the world a eulogy of our Irish Catholics, of which 
 any nation might be justly proud: He never witnessed (he 
 writes) greater tenacity of the ancient faith amidst so many 
 storms of persecution ; greater veneration for religion where pastors 
 were so few, and wolves so numerous and so ferocious ; or a 
 more -profound knowledge of the principles of faith, even when 
 , its teachers were banished, and all the aids of books and 
 instructions proscribed.* " It is almost incredible (he adds), but 
 yet a most indubious fact, that during full sixty years (i. e. from 
 the beginning of Elizabeth's reign) neither the most atrocious 
 penalties, nor the most tempting rewards, have been able to 
 seduce into the ranks of heresy more than two hundred persons 
 in that whole kingdom. f Who could ever anticipate that even 
 the lowest order of the people, most of them ignorant, would 
 renounce fortune, liberty, and life, rather than walk for one 
 instant in the council of the ungodly, or pursue the path of 
 sinners? .... Who could believe that the respectable 
 persons of every rank and sex would prefer the most pinching 
 poverty, in the cause of their holy faith, to the most splendid 
 fortune, granted as a reward of external conformity to the estab- 
 lished religion ?"J 
 
 We shall conclude this article with the words of Dr. Lynch, 
 who, after commemorating the trials of our people during 
 Elizabeth's persecution, writes: — 
 
 * This sentiment is repeated by O'Sullevan Beare, Historue Cath., pag. 133: 
 confer also pag. 139. 
 
 ■f All authorities agree as to the small number of the natives that embraced 
 the Protestant tenets. In a rare pamphlet — "Ireland's Case Briefly Stated" — 
 printed in 1695, pag. 6, it is stated: "Not one in five hundred of the natives 
 was then Protestant, or became so during queen Elizabeth's reign." 
 
 % '• Britannomachia Ministrorum," etc. lib. iii., pag. 332 ; printed at Douay 
 in 1614. 
 
 M 
 
162 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Tntrod. 
 
 " Of all the countries of Europe subject to heretical kings, there is 
 not one in which a greater number of subjects have persevered in the 
 old faith, and in obedience to the sovereign pontiff, than in Ireland. 
 Cardinal Bentivoglio has truly observed, that the Irish ivould seem to have 
 sucked in the Catholic faith with their mother' 's milk. In other countries 
 smitten with heresy, the majority followed the example of the king or 
 other governing power of the state, and renounced the old faith and the 
 supremacy of the pope ; but in Ireland, I do not hesitate to assert, 
 that not the tenth, nor the hundreth, no, nor the thousandth part, 
 revolted from the faith of their fathers to the camp of the heretics.* 
 Orlandinus might say, with perfect truth, that the Irish had preserved in 
 heart and soul the Catholic faith in all its integrity, mid the most devoted 
 ob dience to the Roman pontiff. And Bozius also : as far as we can 
 judge from history, not one of all the northern nations has been more con- 
 stant in the profession of the one faith. May I not then apply to the 
 Irish what Virgil sang regarding the Romans : — 
 
 Let others better mould the running mass 
 
 Of metals, and inform the breathing brass ; 
 
 And soften into flesh a marble face : 
 
 Plead better at the bar, describe the skies, 
 
 And when the stars descend, and when they rise: 
 
 But, Erin, be it thine, mark well, I pray, 
 
 Thy faith to hold, Christ's Vicar to obey."|- 
 
 * As a specimen how the constancy of our Catholics was esteemed on the 
 continent, we add an extract from " La Spada d'Orione," by Primo Damas- 
 chino, printed in Rome, 1680. After stating that the Catholics sought a refuge 
 on the mountain- tops, he continues, ' ' dalla f ermezza di quei monti apprendeano 
 essi ad essere immobili nella difesa della religione Romana, e dalla costanza di 
 essi fra gli urti delle tempeste et i patimenti dei ghiacci godeano d'imparare 
 quella imperturbabilita di cuore con cui doveano ricevere le persecuzioni della 
 Eresia," etc. 
 
 fCamb. Evers., vol. ii. pag. 613-5. translat., by Eev. Dr. M. Kelly, Dublin, 
 1848. 
 
 Since writing the above, the Hibernian Magazine (October, 1863) has pub- 
 lished an interesting document from the Public Kecord Office, London ; being a 
 letter addressed from Waterford, in 1585, to the Protestant archbishop of 
 Armagh, Dr. Long, by the schoolmaster who, a little while before, had been 
 sent thither to instruct the natives in both science and religion. We shall give 
 a few extracts to show what progress Protestantism had made in Ireland up 
 to that period : — 
 
 ' ' I wrote unto your honor of late, desiring an answer to satisfy me for two 
 especial causes, which moved me to write ; the one, that I understood that your 
 honor was offended with me ; the other was to desire your honor's assistance, 
 in this place where it pleased your honor to place me, against a number of 
 professed enemies of God and good men, although outwardly a few of them 
 make some hypocritical show, yet their lives, for the most part, show the con- 
 trary ; so that I have not seen nor heard of the like contempt of the word of 
 God, and manifest resistance of her majesty's proceedings, no not in the whole 
 island. ... 
 
 ' ' First, there is not one couple among twenty married according to her 
 majesty's injunctions, but handfasted only, or else married at home with a 
 Mass : then they never christen their children, but in their house, either with a 
 
Chap. IV. 7] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 163 
 
 7. — Condition of the Protestant Church. 
 
 To the consoling series of facts which we enumerated in the 
 last article, another series must now succeed quite different in 
 character, disclosing to us the features of the newly-intruded 
 church, which claimed the veneration and affections of our 
 Irish people. Whilst the sanctuaries of our fathers were laid 
 waste, and our holy religion was reviled as superstition and 
 
 mass-priest, or for want of him (which commonly the wealthiest of them do not 
 want), the women themselves christen. Their dead they bury not if they can 
 choose, but tumble them into the graves without any word of service or any 
 minister, the proof whereof I myself have seen very often even before the 
 school-door, to my great grief: and as for themselves altogether, they either 
 abuse the word, or absent themselves from the church, or when they come 
 there, they walk round about like mill-horses, shopping and changing and 
 making merchandize, and in such a manner, that they who are in the choir 
 and willing to hear, through their babbling, cannot hear a word ; and yet they 
 are not small fools, but even the chief persons of the city. . . . 
 
 " The ministers cry out that they are abused, deceived, despised, and almost 
 discomfited, and for this especially, that they being constrained to send up a 
 true certificate of such as frequented not the church, nor received communion, 
 their certificate was presently shown to their enemies, who returned home with 
 open jaws and foaming mouths, reviled the ministers with such opprobrious 
 terms as men of their profession use to do, that they, poor shepherds, for fear of 
 those brutish and savage lions, are almost afraid to come near the sheepfold. 
 It was little credit for him who showed it to them, for even they themselves 
 know what his drift is, forsooth either to be wrapped in a mantle, or cloaked 
 with a caddow, or made drunk with aqua-vitae. . . . 
 
 " Since my coming hither 1 had not above thirty seholars, which was no 
 small grief unto me, especially being sent hither by you : the cause why they 
 received me was rather for fear, than for any desire they had to have their 
 children instructed in the fear of God and knowledge of good letters, which I 
 soon perceived by them ; for within one month, most of them took away their 
 children from me, and sent them to other tutors in the town that were pro- 
 fessed Papists. . . . The reason they alleged why they took them away from me 
 was, that they did not profit in their studies ; neither did they indeed in 
 what they looked for ; for I constrained them to come to service, which they 
 could not abide, and whereat they muttered privately among themselves. . . . 
 
 " Whereas your honor persuaded me that I should find them such loving and 
 courteous people, I have found them clean contrary ; even the mayor himself, 
 
 of whom you made so great account, hath dealt but strangely with me As 
 
 for the sheriffs, they were the greatest enemies I had, and went about to dis- 
 grace me most. . . . They called a son of Peter Strange's, where I stop, 
 turncoat, traitor, and Protestant, because he used to go to the English service. 
 These speeches and far worse are in their children, but if your honor did but 
 dwell amongst their parents, to see their villainy in massing at home and mur- 
 muring at God's word in the church, I know you could not abide it ... . 
 For these aforesaid causes I thought good to give over the place and betake 
 myself to my country, where I hope to live with a quiet conscience ; for here I 
 could have no comfort, because there is not one professor of the Gospel to be 
 found among them, no not one. . . . 
 
 "The 13th of July, 1585. " Your honor's to command, 
 
 "John Shearman." 
 — Record Office, London, Ireland, Elizabeth, pag. 118. vol. i. 
 
161 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Inteod. 
 
 idolatry, it may be asked, were the reforming ministers angels 
 of light or of darkness? whilst the evangelical truths were on 
 their lips, did corruption fester in their hearts, or did the fruits 
 which they produced, reveal to the world the heavenly character 
 of the mission to which they pretended ? The chief Protestant 
 contemporary writers, who were best acquainted with the true 
 condition of the reformed church, will supply sufficient data to 
 enable the reader to reply to these important questions. 
 
 As early as the 22nd of July, 3 562, the lord deputy, the 
 earl of Sussex, wrote to sir William Cecil: "Our religion is so 
 abused, as the Papists rejoice ; the neuters do not mislike changes, 
 and the few zealous professors lament the lack of piety. . . The 
 ministers, for disability and greediness, be had in contempt, and 
 the wise fear more the impiety of the licentious professors than 
 the superstition of the erroneous Papists. These matters be so 
 far come that they be not, I think, to be helped by private 
 commissions, but rather by parliament, wherein limits in religion 
 and discipline may be appointed, with such severe orders for 
 punishment of the breakers thereof, as men may fear to go be- 
 yond or come short. God hold his hand over us, that our 
 licentious disorders and lack of religious hearts do not bring, in 
 the mean time, His wrath and revenge upon us."* 
 
 In 1565, the earl of Sussex was succeeded in the chief 
 government of Ireland by sir Henry Sidney, who, on his 
 arrival, found the kingdom " overwhelmed by the most deplo- 
 rable immorality and irreligion."| He summoned the privy 
 council, and invited them to deliberate on the condition of the 
 country. The following was the appalling result of their inves- 
 
 " The pale was overrun with thieves and robbers ; the countryman 
 so poor, that he hath neither horse, arms, nor victuals for himself; and 
 the soldiers so beggarly, that they could not live without oppressing the 
 subject: for want of discipline they were grown insolent, loose, and 
 idle. ... As for religion, there was but small appearance of it : the 
 churches uncovered and the clergy scattered ; and scarce the being of a 
 God known to those ignorant and barbarous people."]: 
 
 To prepare some remedy for such abuses, the lord deputy 
 
 * Shirley, ' ' Orig. Lett, " p. ] 17-18. | Mant, vol. i. p. 287. J Cox, i. p. 319. 
 
Chap. IV. 7.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 165 
 
 made a progress into Minister and Connaught, in 1568, and the 
 preamble of the act of parliament 11th Elizabeth, sess. 3, 
 chap, vi., records the results of his inquiries: — 
 
 " Whereas, the right hon. sir Henry Sidney, etc., hath in 
 his late progress into Munster and Connaught found, among 
 other experience, the great abuse of the clergy there, in admit- 
 ting of unworthy personages to ecclesiastical dignities which 
 hath neither lawfulness of birth, learning, English habit nor 
 English language, etc., getting into the said dignities either by 
 force, simony, friendship, or other corrupt means, to the great 
 overthrow of God's holy church, and the evil example of all 
 honest congregations :" then follows the act authorizing the 
 lord deputy to appoint for ten years, to all the ecclesiastical 
 benefices of these provinces, — the four cathedral churches ot 
 Waterford, Limerick, Cork, and Cashel, alone being excepted.* 
 
 This remedy does not seem to have produced the desired 
 result; and in April, 1576, we find the same sir Henry Sidney, 
 once more lord deputy, addressing another remonstrance to her 
 majesty, on the deplorable state of her Irish Church: — 
 
 "May it please your most excellent Majesty, — I have, in four 
 several discourses, addressed unto the lords of your highness's most 
 honorable council, certified them how I found this realm at my arrival 
 in the same, and what I have seen and understood by my travel those 
 six last months, in which I have passed through each province, and 
 have been in almost each county thereof- . . . And now, most honored 
 sovereign, I solely address to you, as to the' only sovereign salve-giver 
 to this your sore and sick realm, the lamentable state of the most 
 noble and principal limb thereof, the church I mean — as foul, deformed, 
 and as cruelly crushed as any other part thereof, only by your gracious 
 and religious order to be cured, or at least amended. I would not have 
 believed had I not, for a great part, viewed the same throughout the 
 whole realm." 
 
 After this general statement he descends to particulars, and 
 first to the diocese of Meath : — 
 
 " There are within this diocese two hundred and twenty-four parish- 
 churches, of which number one hundred and five are impropriated to 
 sundry possessions ; no parson or vicar resident upon any of them, 
 and a very simple or sorry curate for the most part appointed to serve 
 them ; among which number of curates, only eighteen were found able 
 to speak English, the rest being Irish ministers, or rather Irish rogues, 
 
 * Lib. Mun Hibemise, vol. ii. part 6, page 1 L 
 
166 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Ikteod. 
 
 having very little Latin, and less learning and civility. ... In 
 many places the very walls of the churches are thrown down ; very few 
 chancels covered ; windows or doors ruined or spoiled. There are 
 fifty-two other parish churches in the same diocese which have vicars 
 endowed upon them, better served and maintained than the others, yet 
 badly. There are fifty-two parish churches more, residue of the first 
 number of two hundred and twenty-four, which pertain to divers par- 
 ticular lords ; and these, though in better state than the others com- 
 monly, are yet far from well. 
 
 " If this be the state of the church in the best-peopled diocese, and 
 be3t-governed country of this your realm, as in truth it is, easy is it 
 for your majesty to conjecture in what case the rest is, where little or no 
 reformation either of religion or manners hath yet been planted and 
 continued among them ; yea, so profane and heathenish are some parts 
 of this your country become, as it hath been preached publicly before 
 me, that the sacrament of baptism is not used amongst them; and truly 
 I believe it. If I should write unto your majesty what spoil hath been, 
 and is of the archbishoprics, of which there are four, and of the 
 bishoprics, whereof there are above thirty, partly by the prelates 
 themselves, partly by the potentates, their noisome neighbours, I should 
 make too long a libel of this my letter. But your majesty may believe 
 it, that upon the face of the earth where Christ is professed, there is not 
 a church in so miserable a case." 
 
 The remedies which the lord deputy suggests are, first, the 
 repair of the churches; second, the sending of instructed minis- 
 ters, who should, moreover, be versed in the Irish language ; 
 and thirdly, an increased provision for the Protestant clergy. 
 He dwells especially on the second head, and prays her majesty 
 that if duly-instructed ministers cannot be had in England, they 
 be sought for in Scotland; he concludes with an additional 
 request : — 
 
 " I wish, and most humbly beseech your majesty, that there may be 
 three or four grave, learned, and venerable personages of the clergy 
 there, be sent hither,* who, in short space, being here, would sensibly 
 perceive the enormities of this overthrown church, and easily prescribe 
 orders for the repair and upholding of the same, which, I hope, God 
 would confirm. And I find no difficulty but that your officer here might 
 execute the same. Cause the bishops of that your realm to undertake 
 this apostleship, and that upon their own charges. They are rich 
 
 * We learn from the Protestant chancellor of Leighlin at this period, that 
 the visitation of our Irish Church by English dignitaries were not always pro- 
 ductive of much good : "Anno 1577. Georgius Ackworth, legum doctor, et 
 Robertus Garvey, legum baccalaureus, destinati ad clerum Hibernicum titulo 
 magistrorum ad facilitates pro reformatione cleri : sed Ecclesise potius pertur- 
 batio sequebatur."— Bowling's Annals, pag. 43, published by I. A. S. 
 
CllAP. IV. 7.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 167 
 
 enough ; and if either they be thankful to your majesty for your 
 immense bounty done to them, or zealous to increase the Christian flock, 
 they -will not refuse this honorable and religious travail ; and I will 
 undertake their guiding and guarding, honorably and safely, from place 
 to place."* 
 
 An able English. Protestant statesman (lord Grenville), after 
 citing some extracts from this letter of sir Henry Sidney, 
 remarks: " Such was the condition of a church which was half 
 a century before rich and flourishing, an object of reverence and 
 a source of consolation to the people. It was now despoiled of 
 its revenues ; the sacred edifices were in ruins ; the clergy were 
 either ignorant of the language of their flocks, or illiterate and 
 uncivilized intruders; and the only ritual permitted by the laws, 
 was one of which the people neither comprehended the language 
 nor believed the doctrines: and this was called establishing a 
 reformation." 
 
 Twenty years rolled on from the date of Sidney's letter; the 
 first generation of reformed preachers, we may suppose, had 
 passed away; yet their successors in the ministry presented pre- 
 cisely the same features to their friendly poet, Spencer; and the 
 only fruits which marked their ministry, were the spread amongst 
 their followers of immorality and irreligion. A little before 
 his death, in 1598, Edmund Spencer composed his "View of 
 the State of Ireland,'' in which he minutely sketches the charac- 
 ter of the Protestant clergy and their flocks: "The clergy 
 there," he says, " excepting the grave fathers which are in high 
 place about the state and some few others, are generally bad, 
 licentious, and most disordered." And he adds : " Whatever 
 disorders you see in the Church of England, you may find in 
 Ireland, and many more — namely, gross simony, greedy cove- 
 tousness, incontinence, careless sloth, and generally all disordered 
 life in the common clergyman. And, besides all these, they 
 have their particular enormities; for all Irish ministers that now 
 enjoy church livings are in a manner mere laymen, saving that 
 they have taken holy orders ; but otherwise they go and live like 
 laymen ; follow all kinds of husbandry and other wordly affairs, 
 
 * Sir H. Sydney's Letters and Memorials, vol. i. pag. 112. Dublin Castle, 
 28th of April, 1576. 
 
 t "Past and Present Policy of England towards Ireland" : London, 1845, 
 pag. 27- 
 
168 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Intbod. 
 
 as other Irishmen do. They neither read the Scriptures, nor 
 preach to the people, nor administer the communion. . . only 
 they take the tithes and offerings, and gather what fruit else 
 they may of their livings."* 
 
 In a strain of animated eloquence Spencer subsequently con- 
 trasts the zeal of the Catholic clergy with the conduct of the 
 reforming ministers: — 
 
 " It is a great wonder to see the odds between the zeal of Popish 
 priests and the ministers of the Gospel ; for they spare not to come out 
 of Spain, from Rome, and from Eheims, by long toil and dangerous 
 travelling hither, where they know peril of death awaiteth them, and 
 no rewards or riches are to be found, only to draw the people to the 
 Church of Rome : whereas some of our idle ministers, having a way for 
 credit and esteem thereby opened unto them without pains and without 
 peril, will neither for the same, nor any love of God, nor zeal of religion, 
 nor for all the good they may do by winning soids to God, be drawn 
 forth from their warm nests to look out into God's harvest."! 
 
 The material buildings do not seem to have been much better 
 than the officiating clergy. " The most part of the churches," 
 the same writer continues, " lie even with the ground.^ And 
 some that have been lately repaired, are so unhandsomely 
 patched and thatched, that men do even shun the places for the 
 uncomeliness thereof." 
 
 The above censures may be supposed, indeed, to principally 
 regard the lower order of the Protestant clergy. Carte, another 
 unbiassed witness, fully corroborates their evil fame: "The 
 clergy of the established church," he writes, " were generally 
 ignorant and unlearned, loose and irregular in their lives and 
 conversations, negligent of their cures, and very careless of 
 observing uniformity and decency in divine worship." 
 
 Even the bishops, however, seem to have been far from 
 models of perfection ; and the contemporary writers, of one 
 accord, describe them to us as mainly intent on plundering 
 
 * View, etc. pag. 139, 140. t Ibid, pag 254-5. 
 
 X The following preamble to a proclamation issued by sir John Perrott, 4th 
 March, 1584, furnishes another proof of the wretched state of the cathedral 
 and parish churches : ' ' Whereas, it appeareth unto us that churches and 
 chancels for the most part within this realm, are not only decayed, ruinated, 
 and broken down, but also, we find that free-schools, which are to he main- 
 tained and kept for the education and bringing up of youth in good literature, 
 are now, for the most part, not kept or maintained," etc. — Hardiman's Bardic 
 Rem. ii. 409. 
 
Chap. IV. 7.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 169 
 
 their respective sees, and enriching their own families. Between 
 1560 and 1564, Dr. Craik of Kildare succeeded in disposing 
 of most of the manors and lands belonging to his bishopric, thus, 
 says Ware, " reducing that very ancient see to a most shameful 
 poverty." Harris adds, that in the three years of his episcopate, 
 " he did more mischief to his see than his successors have been 
 ever able to repair."* Dr. Allen of Ferns, about the same time, 
 is described as committing many wastes on the lands of his see; 
 and Cavenagh of Leighlin left his diocese in so naked a condi- 
 tion, as to be scarce worth any one's acceptance-! 
 
 In 1574, sir John Perrott presented to her majesty a remon- 
 strance as to the evils prevalent in Munster, and their necessary 
 remedy. He suggests: "First of all, that her majesty should 
 write sharp letters to the archbishops and bishops of that 
 province, to deal more carefully in their several charges than 
 hitherto they have done, in setting forth of God's word in their 
 several dioceses." Of the Protestant archbishop of that province, 
 Dr. Miler Magrath, we have already had occasion to speak. 
 Towards the close of his episcopate, he received as coadjutor, 
 Dr. William Knight, who, however, in a short time, " having 
 excited the scorn and derision of the people" by his public 
 drunkenness, was obliged to fly to England. :£ One of his suf- 
 fragans, the Protestant bishop of Cloyne and Ross, was deprived 
 for public immorality.§ Dr. Middleton of Waterford, another 
 suffragan, was, at the same time, translated to St. David's, and 
 there degraded for the forgery of a will, as Harris writes, but as 
 Heylin informs us, " for many notable misdemeanours."|| Well, 
 indeed, did sir John Perrott call on her majesty to write an ex- 
 hortation to her southern bishops ! Dr. Adam Loftus, arch- 
 bishop of Armagh, in his report to the lords of the privy 
 council, June 10th, 1566, says: "Bishops have been sent to 
 occupy almost all the best posts in the land, of whose unableness 
 and untowardness, if it might do good, I would say more.' : ^[ On 
 
 * Harris's Ware, pag. 391. t Ibid. 446 and 462. J Harris's Ware, pag. 484. 
 
 § See official record in Gilbert's Hist, of Dublin, vol. i, pag. 114 : "propter 
 adulterium manifestum et confessum. 
 
 II See Harris loc. cit. pag. 538. A few years later, another Protestant bishop 
 of this see was publicly executed in Dublin, for crimes which the apostle for- 
 bids to be even heard on the lips of Christians. — See Harris, ibid., pag. 539-541 : 
 also Cambrensis Bversus, vol. ii. pag. 149. 
 
 f Shirley, Orig. Lett. pag. 256. 
 
170 PERSECUTION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS [Inteod, 
 
 the same day he wrote on this subject to sir William Cecil, de- 
 claring that " the people were much fleeced, and nothing at all 
 fed" by their spiritual pastors.* One instance, however, will 
 suffice to show what little influence was exercised by these 
 remonstrances, as regarded the nomination of reformed bishops 
 for our Irish sees. In 1566, the bishopric of Ferns was solicited 
 by several candidates. Dr. John Devereux had many recom- 
 mendations from persons of high station in court. On the 3rd 
 of September, 1566, Dr. Adam Loftus wrote to sir William 
 Cecil : " The bishopric of Ferns is presently void, and I fear 
 laboured for by one Devereux. An unfitter man cannot be : he 
 has been of late deprived of his deanery for confessed immor- 
 ality."! Nevertheless, a few days after the receipt of that letter 
 by her majesty's secretary, the patent was issued appointing Dr. 
 Devereux to that see. 
 
 Such were the men sent to reform the Church of the 
 Leverouses, the MacConghails, and the Creaghs. Spencer, so 
 often already referred to, further illustrates the mission of the 
 English prelates — 
 
 "They have their clergy," he says, "in such awe and subjection 
 under them, that they dare not complain of them, so as they may do to 
 them as they please; for they, knowing their own un worthiness and in- 
 capacity, and that they are therefore still removeable at their bishop's 
 will, yield what pleaseth him, and he taketh what he liketh ; yea, and 
 some of them whose dioceses are in remote parts, somewhat out of the 
 world's eye, do not at all bestow the benefices which are in their own 
 donation upon any, but keep them in their own hands, and set their own 
 servants and horse-boys to take up the tithes and fruits of them, with 
 which some of them purchase great lands, and build fair castles upon 
 the same, of which abuse, if any question be moved, they have a very 
 seemly colour and excuse, that they have no worthy ministers to bestow 
 them upon."J 
 
 And lest the reader might not understand what he meant by 
 this scarcity of worthy ministers, he adds — 
 
 " There are no sufficient English ministers sent over as might be 
 presented to any bishop for any living; but the most part of such English 
 as come over hither of themselves, are either unlearned or men of some 
 bad note, for which they have forsaken England." § 
 
 * Orig. Lett. p. 258. He elsewhere lamentably deplores "the miserable state 
 and condition of this poor church of Ireland." — Ibid. pag. 322 : letter of Loftus 
 to Cecil, 5th Dec. 1567- t Shirley, ib. p. 271. J View, etc., p. 104. 
 
 § Ibid. p. 111. Even in England the standard of the reforming ministers 
 
Chap. IV. 7.] DURING THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH. 171 
 
 A characteristic feature of the Protestant clergy of this period, 
 was the frenzy with which they hounded on their religious 
 brethren to deeds of cruel and barbarous ferocity. We have 
 already recorded this of Dr. Adam Loftus,* after his translation 
 to the see of Dublin. Matthew Sheyn of Cork, and his suc- 
 cessor, Dr. Lyons, might also be mentioned as examples. But 
 to vary our details, we shall rather cite the fact which is re- 
 corded of Hewson, Protestant minister of Swords, who fell 
 violently on a Catholic named Horris, a native of that town, 
 and having seized upon his crucifix, dragged it to the market- 
 place, where he hung it upon a gallows with words of blasphemy 
 written beneath. The Catholic preferred a complaint against 
 the minister to the secretary, sir Geoffry Fenton, and presented 
 the mutilated and defaced crucifix ; but sir Geoffrey only added 
 insult to his former injuries, and snatching the crucifix, trampled 
 it under foot, and moreover ordered Horris to be committed to 
 prison for having dared to utter such a complaint, f 
 
 was not very high. Strype, speaking of 1565, says, " the ignorance of the 
 ordinary sort of clergymen, curates, and such like, is commonly said to be 
 great about these times" (Life of Parker, vol. i. p. 258). Dr. Talbot, arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, in his Politician's Catechism, also writes : " As for their inferior 
 clergy, I will give you a brief catalogue, made by that famous Dr. Stapleton, 
 who lived in those times. ' And wherein I pray you, saith he, resteth a great 
 part of your new clergy, but in butchers, cooks, catchpoles, and cobblers ; 
 dyers, and dawbers, feflons carrying their mark in the hand, fishermen .... 
 potters, pothecaries, and porters of Billingsgate, pinners, pedlars, ruffling 
 ruffians, saddlers, sheremen and shepherds, tanners, tilers, tinkers, ' etc. This 
 rabble-rout of mean and infamous persons did cast so foul an aspersion upon 
 our Protestant clergy, that even to this day the most ordinary citizens think 
 their family disgracedVhen any of their nearest kindred become mini sters " — 
 Chap. 5. 
 
 * Dr. Loftus, for forty years, was the leading agent of the English crown in 
 Ireland. Harris writes of him that his character was " somewhat tarnished 
 by his excessive ambition and avarice ; for besides his promotions in the 
 church and his public employments in the state, he grasped at everything that 
 became void, either for himself or family" (loc. cit. p. 353). In May, 1572, her 
 majesty granted him a dispensation to hold with his archbishopric, any livings 
 not exceeding £100 per annum in value — a dispensation of which he so fully 
 availed himself, that the dean and chapter of Christ's Church, on making some 
 concession to him on the 28th August, 1578, obliged him to insert a clause, 
 promising not to become suitor to them for any further benefices. — See Monck 
 Mason's Hist, of St. Patrick's, and Harris loc. cit. 
 
 t "Theatre of Protestant and Catholic Pieligion," p. 117- The same work 
 gives us another instance of the impious cruelty of sir G. Fenton : " he did set 
 a poor fellow on the pillory in Dublin, with the picture of Christ about 
 his neck, for having carried the same before a dead friend at a funeral." — 
 P. 118. 
 
§|pbk to tjie preceding |ntrohutioit, 
 
 SHOWING HOW" THE EPISCOPAL SUCCESSION OP THE CATHO- 
 LIC CHURCH OP IRELAND.WAS PRESERVED DUPING ELIZA- 
 BETH'S REIGN. 
 
 1. Statement of Dr. Todd and other Protestant "writers, that in the sixteenth 
 century the Irish Church merged into the Reformation. — 2. Dr. Mant 
 attempts to prove statistically that the Irish Hierarchy adopted the Tenets 
 of the Reformation. — 3. Dr. Mant, in his enumeration of the Irish sees, 
 omits three. — i. Armagh not vacant, as supposed by Dr. Mant. — 5. Seven 
 sees, supposed by Dr. Mant to be vacant, not so. — 6. Two Catholics deprived, 
 but unjustly; one apostate removed. — 7. Eleven sees vacated by death, two 
 by resignation ; how they retained the Catholic succession.— 8. Two sees 
 vacated by resignation. — 9. Dr. Mant's opinions, regarding four other sees, 
 examined. — 10. Conclusion. 
 
 1. — Statement of Dr. Todd and other Protestants, that in the sixteenth 
 century, the Irish Church merged into the Reformation. 
 
 Many modern Protestant writers have endeavoured to persuade 
 their readers, that on the revolt of Elizabeth from spiritual alle- 
 giance to the See of Rome, the Irish bishops and clergy, with 
 scarce a dissentient voice, approved of her majesty's resolve, and 
 gladly severed the sacred bonds that united them with the Vicar 
 of Christ.* 
 
 Dr. James Henthqrn Todd is the latest exponent of this 
 singular theory. In the preface to his life of " St. Patrick, 
 Apostle of Ireland"* he thus writes: "It was necessary in 
 order to correct some popular mistakes, to draw attention 
 to the fact, that from the eleventh century to the reforma- 
 tion, there were two churches in Ireland, each ignoring as 
 far as it could the existence of the other ; and that since the 
 reformation, a third church has sprung up, deriving its succession 
 from a foreign source ; whilst the original Irish Church, properly 
 so called, having merged into the church of the English pale, 
 has adopted the reformation, and lost in a great measure its 
 hold upon the descendants of the native tribes."t Thus, 
 then, the mere Irish Church, which was long in opposition 
 
 * Dublin, 1864 + Preface iii-iv. 
 
Par. I.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 173 
 
 to the church of the English pale, combined with it in embrac- 
 ing the reformed creed. 
 
 This theory, indeed, can scarcely be reconciled with what 
 the same learned writer attests in his subsequent narrative: 
 "It is highly probable," he writes (pag. 242), "that had the 
 reformation been presented to the Irish people in a Gaelic 
 dress and in the Gaelic language, it would have been accepted 
 without difficulty ; but, unfortunately, the reverse was the case. 
 The reformation was almost studiously brought into Ireland in 
 ostentatious connection with the church of the pale and the 
 English colonists ; it was planted on the basis of puritanism and 
 iconoclastic outrage; and to this day the influence of that 
 unhappy mistake continues to destroy the usefulness, and to 
 paralyze the energies of the Irish (Protestant) clergy. The 
 reformed doctrines were regarded by the oppressed and degraded 
 natives of Ireland as essentially English ; and, accordingly, they 
 were rejected without examination, and spurned with the detes- 
 tation and abhorrence with which the English, and everything 
 coming from England, were, as a matter of course, received." 
 Lest, however, some inexperienced reader might suppose that 
 there was a contradiction in these statements, Dr. Todd remarks 
 in the same page: "When the Anglo-Irish Church accepted 
 the reformation, the ' mere Irish' clergy were found to have 
 become practically extinct."* 
 
 The sketch of the persecutions suffered by the Catholics of 
 Ireland for. their faith, which we have just now presented to 
 the reader, should suffice to prove how erroneous are the state- 
 ments thus advanced by this learned writer. It is not true 
 that the Anglo-Irish as a body, or as a church, accepted the 
 Elizabethan reformation ; and much less can that statement be 
 made in regard to the mere Irish. The mild beneficent govern- 
 ment of Elizabeth and her ministers, both clerical and lay, left no 
 means, indeed, untried to merge the mere Irish Church into the 
 newly -introduced establishment: finding, however, that this was 
 impossible, they had recourse to the sword and scaffold, that thus, 
 at least, they might render the mere Irish clergy practically extinct. 
 Like the early persecutors of the Christian name, we find the 
 agents of Elizabeth more than once exulting, whilst conveying to 
 
 * Ibid. p. 242. 
 
1'4 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [Pak. I. 
 
 tlieir ruler tlie announcement that a Popish bishop had been sub- 
 jected to torture or put to death ; and at other times they officially 
 proclaimed to the world, that the mere Irish priesthood was no 
 more. But the blood of Irish martyrs only served to fertilize 
 our church; its faithful clergy never failed; in poverty and 
 wretchedness and suffering, they went to the mountains and 
 bogs with their mere Irish flock. When a bishop was summoned 
 from their ranks by fatigue or martyrdom, another was ready 
 to assume his perilous post; and if, through the rage of the 
 persecutors, he could not receive the sacred imposition of hands 
 at home, he journeyed to Spain, or France, or Rome, and thence 
 returned with renewed energy to pursue his missionary career. 
 We shall just now present in detail the names of those mere Irish 
 bishops who, at this trying period, fearlessly trimmed the lamp 
 of faith in our island ; it will not be amiss, however first, to 
 briefly state some of the other theories which are put forward by 
 our adversaries, when labouring to explain how the Irish Church 
 became Protestant. 
 
 The late Protestant dean of Ardagh, in his " Ireland and Her 
 Church,"* recklessly asserts, that " the bishops, with the excep- 
 tion of two, and all the priests," embraced the reformation.-)- 
 Elsewhere he repeats: "As soon as the determination of the 
 queen was known in Ireland, the whole body of the Romish 
 priests abandoned their connection with Rome."J 
 
 Shirley, in his valuable " Original Letters and Papers," etc.,§ 
 with more reserve affirms, that " although from the distracted 
 state of the times, the reformation was necessarily very imper- 
 fectly carried out in Ireland, the true succession of bishops in 
 the (Protestant) Church was ever preserved, and that solely in 
 the line of prelates acknowledged by the state." \\ 
 
 The Hon. and Rev. A. Perceval, in " An Apology for the 
 Doctrine of Apostolical Succession," also states, that " at the 
 accession of queen Elizabeth, of all the Irish bishops, only two 
 were deprived, and two others resigned on account of their ad- 
 herence to the supremacy of the See of Rome. The rest con- 
 tinued in their sees ; and from them the bishops and clergy of 
 
 the Irish Church derive their orders This has never 
 
 been disputed." 
 
 * London, 1845. t P- 207. t P 205. § London, 1851. II Preface, viii 
 
Par. II.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 175 
 
 The anonymous author of " Historical Notices of peculiar 
 Tenets of the Church of Rome" still more explicitly affirms, that 
 " by the records of the Irish Church it appears, that when in the 
 reign of queen Elizabeth the Roman jurisdiction was renounced, 
 of all the Irish bishops only two, namely, Walsh bishop of 
 Clonard (it should be Meath), and Leverous bishop of Kildare, 
 suffered deprivation for their refusal to join in that renunciation. 
 Two others, Lacey bishop of Limerick, and Skiddy bishop of 
 Cork and Cloyne, resigned — the former in 1566, and the latter 
 in 1571, possibly from scruples on the same score.'' 
 
 2. — Dr. Mant attempts to prove statistically that the Irish Hierarchy 
 adopted the Tenets of the Reformation. 
 
 Dr. Mant, Protestant bishop of Down and Connor, has, how- 
 ever, far outstripped all these writers in the clear statement 
 which he has made of this Protestant theory. Only two bishops, 
 he says, remained devoted to the cause of Rome. Many years 
 after Elizabeth's accession to the throne, two others resigned 
 their charge, but this resignation had nothing to do with the su- 
 premacy of the Pope, and was just as if Protestant bishops were 
 now to resign their sees. Thus, of all the bishops except two, he 
 says, it may be confidently asserted, that they conformed to the 
 Protestant tenets.* Subsequently! he thus specifies his assertion 
 regarding each Irish diocese: — 
 
 " Of the twenty-eight bishoprics at the queen's accession, 
 there was vacant one (Armagh) ; those of which the occupants 
 are not known were seven (viz. : Kilmore, Dromore, Raphoe, 
 Derry, Kilfenoragh, Killala, and Achonry). Subsequently, 
 there were vacated by deprivation two (Kildare and Meath); by 
 translation, one (Dublin); by death, eleven (viz.: Clonmacnoise, 
 Ardagh, Ossory, Ferns, Leighlin, Cashel, Emly, Waterford, 
 Tuam, Elphin, and Clonfert) ; by resignation, two (viz. : Limerick 
 and Cork and Cloyne); by causes not recorded, four (viz.: 
 Clogher, Down and Connor, Ardfert and Killaloe)."i 
 
 Here, at least, the question is clearly stated, and the whole 
 controversy is reduced to certain heads, on each of which 
 
 * Hist, of Irish Church, London, 1840, chap. v. t Ap- No. 2. | lb. p. 743-4., 
 
176 
 
 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [Tab. Ill 
 
 we shall make a few remarks; and as Dr. Mant and the 
 other Protestant writers just mentioned restrict themselves 
 to mere historical statements, we shall keep ourselves within 
 the same limits, and not descend to doctrinal or polemical 
 discussions. The reader, however, must bear in mind, that 
 even if Dr. Mant's or Dr. Todd's assertions were founded on 
 fact, and that the legitimate occupants of the Irish see3 became 
 Protestants, or that Protestants were placed in those sees 
 when they were duly vacated, it would not follow that the 
 true hierarchical succession was maintained in the Protestant 
 Church. Every one versed in ecclesiastical history must know 
 that a bishop, such as Nestorius, by abandoning the true faith 
 and becoming a heretic, may forfeit all right to his see ; and that 
 other prelates, such as Photius, though intruded by the secular 
 power into the sanctuary, have no claim to rank among the 
 successors of the apostles, and never acquire any spiritual juris- 
 diction. According to the doctrine received from the earliest 
 ages by all Catholics, a bishop becoming a public heretic not 
 only loses all jurisdiction, but ceases to be a member of the 
 Church ; and also a bishop enjoying no other jurisdiction but 
 that which he derives from a temporal sovereign, such as queen 
 Elizabeth, or the empress Elizabeth of Russia, has no authority 
 to feed the flock of Christ, whose kingdom is not of this world. 
 But omitting these questions* we return to Dr. Mant. 
 
 3. — Dr. Mant, in his enumeration of Irish sees, omits three — Mayo, 
 Boss, and Kilmacduagh. 
 
 In the first place, it seems strange that this prelate should 
 completely pass over in silence three sees, viz.: Mayo, Ross, 
 and Kilmacduagh ; each of which had, at that time, its own 
 
 * We have been forced to pass over controversial topics in order to avoid 
 prolixity ; but we may here add, that in order to establish the legitimate suc- 
 cession of the Protestant bishops, the following points should be proved: — 1st 
 That queen Elizabeth had the right from God of nominating bishops and 
 giving them spiritual jurisdiction ; 2nd. That she had a right to deprive the 
 Pope of the power of nominating and confirming bishops which the universal 
 Church had recognized in him from the first dawn of Christianity; 3rd. That she 
 had the right of depriving bishops canonically appointed, though guilty of no 
 offence, of their spiritual powers, and appointing in their stead men publicly 
 professiug heresy ; 4th. That the men promoted to the Protestant episcopacy 
 had received the previous orders, and were capable of receiving episcopal con- 
 secration : 5th. That the ceremonial of consecration was valid, etc. 
 
PAR. III.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 177 
 
 bishop, and formed a distinct see. It cannot be that the 
 learned prelate was ignorant of their existence ; for in the 
 preceding pages of his history he more than once refers to these 
 dioceses. This silence seems to be a concession that, at least, 
 these three sees were then occupied by Catholic bishops whose 
 claims to the episcopal succession could not be controverted. 
 
 Mayo. — Eugene MacBreohan, a Carmelite, was appointed its 
 bishop on 21st of November, 1541. On his death, Dionysius 
 O'Dwyer, O.S.F., was appointed on 12th of February, 1574. 
 He died in the following year, and Patrick O'Hely, also a 
 Franciscan, was proposed for the see in the consistory of 25th 
 of June, 1576, and appointed on the 4th of July the same 
 year. Another bishop, Adam Magcaran (perhaps MacGauran), 
 was appointed to this see in the consistory of 29th July, 1585 ; 
 and the Consistorial Acts add, after registering his appointment, 
 the following note : " hie habuit orationem contra reginam 
 Anglise et ejus tyranidem et impietatem in ecclesias et Cathol- 
 icos tarn in Anglia quam in Hibernia, protestans se ha3C ipsa 
 coram Sanctitate sua, ad suae conscientiae exonerationem dixisse."* 
 
 Ross. — The bishops of Ross were not less attached to the 
 Catholic faith. The following are the entries of the Consistorial 
 Acts: " die 22, Januarii, 1554: providit Sanctitas S. Ecclesias Ros- 
 sensi in Hibernia, vacanti per obitum Dermitii Macary (perhaps 
 M'Carthy), de persona D. Mauritii O'Fihely, ord. FF. M.M., 
 et Theologias Professoris.'' 
 
 "Die 15, Martii, 1559, referente Revm. Dom. Card. Pacecho 
 fuit provisum Ecclesiae Rossensi in Hibernia per obitum bon. 
 mem. Mauritii O'Phihil (O'Fihely), pastoris solatio destitutae, de 
 persona R. D. Mauritii Hoga (another copy writes the name Ilae), 
 Presbyteri Hiberni." 
 
 On his death, Dr. Thomas O'Herlihy was appointed, as we 
 have already seen, on 17th December, 1561 ; and happily ter- 
 minated his glorious episcopate in 1579. Wadding, in his 
 Annals,f when describing the monastery of Kilchree, adds the 
 following tribute to the memory of this great bishop: " Ibidem 
 
 * Ex Actia Consist. In the extracts from the acts of the consistory, the 
 family names of our Irish bishops are often badly spelled, or mutilated. We 
 give them in their incorrect shape as we found them. The reader will easily 
 correct them 
 
 t Ad an. 1465, num. xx. 
 
 N 
 
178 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [PAJ!. IV. 
 
 (i. e. in the convent of Kilchree) sepultusest anno, 1579, Thomas 
 Hierlajus Epus. Rossensis post multas asrumnas pro fide Catho- 
 lica constantissime toleratas et vitam sanctissime peractam, mor- 
 tuus in Muscreana ditione." 
 
 Kilmacduagh. — Dr. Christopher Bodkin was consecrated 
 bishop of Kilmacduagh about the year 1534. Though he soon 
 after schismatically seized on the archi episcopal see of Tuam, he 
 was never recognized as archbishop by Rome. Considering the 
 peculiar circumstances of the times, and the many material ad- 
 vantages he had conferred on Tuam, he was allowed by cardi- 
 nal Pole to retain the temporal administration of the see, with 
 the right of succession on the death of the canonically-elected 
 archbishop, Dr. O'Frighi. However, the spiritual jurisdiction 
 of Dr. Bodkin extended only to the diocese of Kilmacduagh. 
 On his death, bishop Malachy of Killaloe petitioned to be 
 translated to this see ; this translation was sanctioned by the 
 Holy Father in the consistory of 22nd August, 1576, and Dr. 
 Malachy governed this diocese till after the accession of king 
 James. A letter of this prelate to the king of Spain, written in 
 1602, is given in Hibernia Facata, page 689. 
 
 4. — Armagh not vacant, as supposed hy Dr. Mant. 
 
 We now come to the see of Armagh, described as vacant 
 by Dr. Mant, and in which her majesty wished to perpetuate 
 the hierarchical succession, by the appointment of Dr. Adam 
 Loftus. It is true that Dr. Dowdall died on the 15th of August, 
 1558, before the accession of Elizabeth ; but it is not true that 
 the see was vacant when her majesty, on 30th of October, 1561, 
 wrote to the archbishop of Dublin, " commanding the consecra- 
 tion of Dr. Loftus."* The Catholic archbishop, Dr. Donatus 
 Fleming, was then actively engaged in attending to his spiritual 
 flock, having been appointed to the vacant see of Armagh, on 
 the 7th February, 1560.J Indeed, there seems to have been 
 some fatality about the Protestant appointments to Armagh. 
 The appointment of Dr. Dowdall had been schismatical ; but he 
 repented, and even before the death of Edward VI., was restored 
 
 * Shirley, 6rig. Lett. pag. 98. t Ex Act. Consist. 
 
Par. V.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 179 
 
 by Rome to the primatial dignity. The lord deputy wrote to 
 the king in 1551, to declare that the archbishop of Armagh 
 had " absented himself from his see, whereby the said bishopric 
 is void;"* and though Dr. Dowdall was still living, and had 
 never been deposed,f another archbishop, Dr. Hugh Goodacre, 
 was consecrated according to Edward's ritual, on 2nd February, 
 1553. The case of Dr. Loftus' appointment was somewhat 
 similar. Not only was the Catholic bishop in actual possession 
 of the see, but even her majesty found it necessary to do away 
 with the legal requirements for the election of his opponent. 
 Her majesty, indeed, wrote to the dean and chapter of Armagh, 
 recommending the election of Dr. Loftus ;$ but owing to " Shane 
 O'Neil's horsemen," and other reasons, no election was made ;§ 
 and so the archbishop was subsequently appointed without any 
 such election, and consecrated for the primatial see. 
 
 Even on the death of Dr. Fleming, the succession of Catholic 
 bishops was not interrupted; and the names of Richard Creagh, 
 Edmund Magauran, and Peter Lombard, are still embalmed in 
 the memory of the Irish people. 
 
 5. — Seven sees supposed by Dr. Mant to be vacant, which were not so. 
 
 The next class consists of those sees whose occupants are not 
 known. The fact of the bishops of these seven sees not being 
 known to Dr. Mant, or to the government of the day is, of 
 itself, sufficient proof that they did not sever the spiritual bonds 
 which bound them to Rome, nor bow to the divine supremacy of 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 In the see of Kilmore, Dr. John Mac Brady had been bishop 
 for many years during Henry's, and Edward's, and Mary's reign. 
 On his death, a successor was appointed, as usual, in the consis- 
 tory of 7th February, 1560, in the acts of which consistory we 
 read : " Referente Rmo. Dno. Joanne Hieronymo Cardinali 
 Morono sua Sanctitas providit Ecclesise Kilmorensi, in regno 
 Hibernise, vacanti per obitum Joannis Mac Brady, de persona 
 D. Odonis Ogenridan, Canonici Ecclesias Rapotensis, cum reten- 
 
 * See Shirley, loc. cit. pag. 50, seqq. t Harris' Ware's Bishops, pag. 91. 
 X Shirley, loc. cit. pag. 98. § Ibid. p. 120. 
 
180 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [Par V, 
 
 tione dicti canonicatus." On his death we find Dr. Richard 
 Mac Brady translated to this see from Ardagli, in the consistory 
 of 9th March, 1580; and though arrested in 1601, this holy 
 bishop survived queen Elizabeth, and died in 1607. Now, as 
 Dr. Mant and Ware acknowledge, the first Protestant bishop 
 was intruded into this see in 1585. 
 
 Dromore was united at this time with the see of Ardagh : and 
 in 1576 and 1585 we find bishops appointed to these united sees* 
 The first notice taken of it by the Protestant Church, seems to 
 have been in 1606, when, according to Ware, it was united 
 with the sees of Down and Connor. 
 
 As regards Raphoe, its bishop, on the accession of Elizabeth, 
 was Dr. Arthur O'Gallagher ; and on his death the celebrated 
 Dr. M'Conghail was appointed bishop on 28th January, 1562. 
 Before the close of 1589, he, too, passed to his eternal reward; 
 and in the consistory of 5th August, 1591, Niall O'Boyle was 
 appointed his successor.f This bishop was more than once ar- 
 rested and thrown into prison: he, however, outlived Elizabeth, 
 and died in 1611. George Montgomery was the first Protestant 
 bishop of this see, having been appointed by king James in 1605. 
 
 Derry had for its first Protestant bishop the last-named prelate 
 of Raphoe; for these two sees were united by royal authority, 
 and committed to the charge of this puritanical Scotchman, as Dr. 
 Mant informs us, in the year 1605. It had, however, during 
 all this time, its succession of Catholic bishops. Dr. Eugene 
 Magennis, who was appointed bishop in 1551, died in 1568, as 
 we learn from a letter of Dr. Creagh: and his successor was 
 appointed in the following year, being translated from the see of 
 Killala. Dr. Raymund O'Gallagher, who thus was appointed 
 to Derry, continued to govern his diocese till the close of 
 Elizabeth's reign, when he died a glorious martyr — " glorfosus 
 martyr occubuit," — as our annalists attest. 
 
 Kilfenoragh, too, maintained its succession of pastors. From 
 the consistorial acts we learn, that on the death of bishop 
 Maurice, the abbot John Bujala (Boyle) was appointed bishop, 
 
 * The Burgundian List, as printed in Dr. Renehan's Collections, etc., p. 273, 
 describes the see of Dromore as united with Armagh : this must be a mistake 
 of the copyist for Ardagh. 
 
 t Ex Act. Consist. 
 
P-Ut. V.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 181 
 
 on 21st November, 1541. Hugh MacLanchan, a Franciscan, 
 was his successor during the reign of Elizabeth* 
 
 Killala bad no Protestant bishop till 1591. It is no wonder, 
 indeed, that Dr. Mant should describe the bishops of these sees as 
 unknown. They at least knew nothing of Protestantism, but 
 they remained true to their religion and to their spiritual charge. 
 In the consistory of 6th November, 1545, the see being vacant 
 by the death of Dr. Barret, the young priest of Raphoe, Dr. 
 Raymund O'Gallagher was appointed its administrator: he was 
 consecrated its bishop in 1549. On his being translated to Derry, 
 Dr. Donatus O'Gallagher was appointed his successor in the see 
 of Killala, on 4th of September, 1570. This bishop, too, was 
 translated to Down and Connor in 1580, and had for his suc- 
 cessor a Franciscan, John Hubert, appointed bishop of Killala 
 in the consistory of 19th July, 1580. 
 
 Achonry. — Last, though certainly not least, under the score 
 of unknown bishops, is given the bishop of Achonry. The 
 letter of David Wolf, which we have already published,t sup- 
 plies us with sufficient information about this see. Dr. Cormac 
 O'Quinn was its bishop on the accession of Elizabeth. Eugene 
 O'Hart, his nephew, and a distinguished member of the order 
 of St. Dominick, was appointed his successor in the consistory of 
 28th January, 1562. He, too, outlived his persecutors, and 
 died in 1603. If this bishop was unknown to Dr. Mant, he 
 was not, however, unknown to the Protestant primate in 1585. 
 The following letter of Dr. John Long, Protestant archbishop 
 of Armagh, addressed to Walsingham, and dated June 4th, 1585, 
 is preserved in the Record Office, London, and betrays the 
 delusion of the zealous primate, that this holy bishop was about 
 being entrapped in the meshes of the Established Church: — 
 
 " Owen O'Hart, bishop of Achonry, being committed unto me by 
 the lord deputy to be conferred with, is brought, by the Lord's good 
 direction, to acknowledge his blindness, to prostrate himself before her 
 majesty, whom he afore agreed to accurse in religion: so persuaded, 1 
 doubt not but great good will ensue by his means. He has resigned 
 his bishopric, and no doubt void of all temporizing, is thoroughly 
 persuaded that the man of sin sitteth in Rome, under pretence of 
 the seat of God. I assure your honour, if we used not this people 
 
 * See Burgundian List, p. 275. t Page 85, 
 
182 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [Par. VI. 
 
 more for gain than for conscience, here would the Lord's work be 
 mightily prospered."* 
 
 The poor primate, however, notwithstanding all his pious 
 delusion, soon found he had mistaken the bishop of Achonry. 
 Hence, Eugene O'Conor was appointed to the united Protestant 
 see of Killala and Achonry, in 1591. Dr. O'Hart, having been 
 his old schoolfellow, visited him, and easily persuaded him to 
 accept 150 marks annually, and to leave to himself all the 
 spiritual work and the charge of the mere Irish of Achonry. f 
 
 G. — The two Catholic bishops of Kildare and Meath deprived, but 
 unjustly. One Apostate, Dr. Curwin, translated to England. 
 
 As regards the next class, we have no fault to find with 
 Dr. Mant's statement. Two bishops, and two only, had official 
 sentence of deprivation passed against them, whilst two Protes- 
 tant bishops Were, without delay, appointed to their sees. But 
 surely the time is now come when even Protestants should deny 
 that the spiritual authority of those legitimately appointed 
 bishops is dependant on the will of the sovereign, who wields 
 the sceptre of temporal rule. St. Peter, when in the Mamer- 
 tine, did not cease to be Vicar of Christ ; and the glorious bishops 
 of Kildare and Meath, though sentenced to imprisonment or 
 exile, did not lose one particle of their episcopal authority. 
 We have already seen how the illustrious martyr-bishop, Dr. 
 Walsh, displayed the fulness of Christian heroism during his 
 long imprisonment; and though the Protestant bishop was 
 appointed in 1563, yet was Dr. Walsh, till his death in 1578, 
 regarded as the bishop of Meath, not only by his own spiritual 
 flock, but by the Holy See and by the bishops of the Catholic 
 world, and whithersoever he went, he was welcomed as an angel 
 of God, as we mentioned in ch. iv. p. 131. 
 
 Dr. Leverous, too, as we have also seen, continued to exercise 
 his spiritual functions ; he risked his life and shared the perils 
 of his persecuted children, in order to break to thern the food 
 
 * Irish Correspond vol. 117, pag. 566. 
 
 t See the original passage of the MS. History of the Irish Church (preserved 
 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and written by Dr. John Lynch, archdeacon 
 of Killala), given above in note to chap. ii. § 3, pag. 64. 
 
Par. VII] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 183 
 
 of life, and instruct them in the saving truths of the Catholic 
 faith. The Protestant bishop, Alexander Craik, was intruded 
 into this see whilst Dr. Leverous was still living in 1560. 
 
 Only one bishop, Dr. Curwin, betrayed the sacred charge 
 entrusted to him, retaining at the same time the charge of the 
 diocese to which he had been canonically appointed ;* and such 
 was his sad career, that his patrons were at length obliged to 
 remove him to a more congenial soil, and allow him to enjoy 
 the sweets of domestic repose in the see of Oxford. It is also 
 remarkable, as we have already noticed in chapter the second, 
 that this bishop was the only Englishman that held at this 
 period the episcopal dignity in our Irish Church. 
 
 7. — Eleven Sees vacated by death. How they retained the Catholic 
 
 succession. 
 
 In order to keep within due limits, our remarks on the 
 bishops of the next class shall be but brief. They remained in 
 undisturbed possession of their sees till their death, and at the 
 same time continued unflinchingly attached to the Catholic 
 faith 
 
 The bishop of Clonmacnois, Dr. Peter Wall, of the order of 
 St. Dominick, was appointed in the consistory of 4th May, 
 1556, and continued undisturbed in the possession of his see 
 till his demise in 1568. The Burgundian List adds the remark, 
 that this diocese was, by the heretical government, annexed to 
 Meath, but that the Holy See had not sanctioned this annexation.! 
 
 Ardagh. — The first Protestant bishop was Lisach Ferral, ap- 
 pointed in 1583. The Catholic bishop, Patrick M'Mahon, was 
 
 * Of course, when Dr. Curwin apostatized, he lost all authority to govern 
 the flock of Christ. The see of Dublin, however, was not left without true 
 ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Father David Wolf, F. Newman, F. White, a 
 bishop named Donaldus, and occasionally the bishops of other dioceses, 
 were deputed by the Holy See to provide for the spiritual wants of the people 
 of Dublin. (See ante, p. 82. ) Though Curwin betrayed his Divine Master, 
 the clergy and people of Dublin were not seduced by his example. In the 
 midst of privations and persecutions they continued to cling to the rock of 
 Peter. The Protestant successors of Curwin were never the pastors of the 
 people of Dublin. After a widowhood of about forty years, Dublin received 
 again a bishop, and the same authority that first established the apostolical 
 succession in Ireland, through the mission of St. Patrick, restored the con- 
 nection with the mystic vine to the see of St. Laurence, and engrafted its 
 prelate» on the trunk of their holy Catholic predecessors. 
 
 t De Burgo, by an oversight, refers this bishop to the see of Cloyne. 
 
184 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [Pak VII. 
 
 appointed in consistory, 14th November, 1541.* On his 
 death, Dr. Richard MacBrady, O.S.F., was appointed bishop, 
 on 23rd January, 1576 ; and on his translation to Kilmore, Dr. 
 Edmund MacGauran was consecrated its bishop, who retained 
 its administration till his appointment to the primacy on 1st 
 July, 1587. 
 
 Ossory had for its bishop Dr. John Thonory, who was conse- 
 crated at Inisteague, about the 1st of January, 1554. He died 
 in 1567, and his successors are already well known from De 
 Burgo.f 
 
 Ferns received for its bishop, in the consistory of 30th March, 
 1541, Bernard O'Donell, O.S.F. On the 3rd of June following, 
 with the sanction of Rome, he exchanged sees with the bishop of 
 Elphin, Dr. Hubert Iseranen (sic) of the Cistercian Order. This 
 bishop, however, resigned the see of Ferns on the 5th May, 
 1542; on the same day Dermetius Fitzpatrick was appointed 
 his successor, and seems to have held the see till his death, when 
 Dr. Peter Power was appointed bishop in the consistory of 27th 
 April, 1582 : he died in 1587. 
 
 Leighlin. — Dr. Thomas O'Fihel, abbot of the monastery of 
 Mageo, who had been appointed bishop of Achonry, in the con- 
 sistory of 15th June, 1547, was transferred to Leighlin on 30th 
 August, 1555, " cum retentione Ecclesise Parochialis Debellyns, 
 Dublinensis Dicecesis."f He continued in undisturbed posses- 
 sion of his see till his death. The last Catholic bishop during 
 Elizabeth's reign, was Francis Ribera, who, after an episcopate of 
 eighteen years, died in Brussels in 1604. § The brief of his 
 appointment is dated 11th September, 1587. 
 
 Cashel and Emly. — The first Protestant occupant of these 
 sees was James M'Caghwell, who was appointed to Cashel by 
 letters patent of the 2nd October, 1567, || and in the following 
 year received the administration of Emly. Now the Catholic 
 archbishop of Cashel, Dr. Maurice Fitzgibbon, was appointed in 
 the consistory of 4th June, 1567; and the bishop of Emly, Dr. 
 Maurice MacBryan was appointed on the 24th of January, 1567. 
 Thus, both sees had their lawful bishops at the time of the in- 
 trusion of Dr. M'Caghwell. 
 
 * Ex Act. Consist. t Hib. Doin. pag. 505 (note). J Ex Act. Consist. 
 § Burgundian List and Consist. Acts. || Harris' Ware's Bishops, pag. 4S3. 
 
Par. VII.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 18 
 
 Waterforcl. — On the death of Dr. Walsh, Rev. John White 
 was appointed vicar-apostolic on the 4th of November, 1578. 
 Nicholas Fagan, and James White were his successors. 
 
 Tuam. — We have already seen how Arthur O'Frighi was 
 archbishop of Tuam on the accession of Elizabeth. His successor 
 was Nicholas Skerret, appointed in consistory of 1 7th October, 
 1580. Dr. Miler O'Higgins was the next archbishop, being 
 appointed in the consistory of 24th March, 1586. He died in 
 Flanders, on his return from Rome, in the beginning of 1591 ; 
 and on the 20th of March, the same year, he was succeeded by 
 Dr. James O'Hely, to whom the pallium was granted on the 5th 
 of April following.* During all this time the temporalities of 
 the see were administered by Dr. William Lahy, who was in- 
 truded into Tuam in 1573. 
 
 JElphin. — According to Ware and Dr. Mant, this see was 
 given in administration to Dr. De Burgo of Clonfert, in 1552, 
 and thus continued till the death of that bishop, in 1580. Dr. 
 De Burgo, however, renounced his schismatical administration 
 of this see on the accession of queen Mary. Its succession of 
 bishops was as follows : Dr. Bernard O'Donnell, O.S.F. held the 
 see only for a few months. On the 5th May, 1542, I find the 
 following entry in the Consistorial Acts : " SS. providit Ecclesise 
 Elfinensi in Hibernia vacanti per obitum quondam Bernardi, de 
 persona fr. Bernardi, presbyteri eremit. S. Augustini." This was 
 probably Bernard O'Higgins, who, according to Ware, was ap- 
 pointed by the pope bishop of Elphin before 1552. From the 
 letter of David Wolf, published in the preceding chapter, it 
 appears, that Dr. O'Higgins continued in his see till the accession 
 of Elizabeth. He resigned it in 1562, when Dr. O'Crean was 
 appointed. On the 28th January, 1562, the Consistorial Acts 
 record: "S.S. providit Ecclesias Elphinensi in Hibernia, vacanti 
 per resignationem Rev. D. Honoyghum (sic) ord. S Augustini Pro- 
 fessoris, de persona Dni. Andreas O'Crean, Hibernia ord. Prsed. 
 professoris, quern R. P. David presbyter, S.J. in Hibernia commo- 
 rans per suas litteras commendavit." Dr O'Crean assisted at the 
 council of Trent. His successor seems to have been Dermetius 
 O'Heily, who is described, in a Relatio of the archbishop of Dub- 
 
 * Ex Act. Consist. 
 
186 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [Pah. VIII. 
 
 lin, made in 1623, as being a bishop of Elphin, "qui obiit mar- 
 tyr tempore Elizabethse."* The last bishop of whom I find a 
 trace in Elizabeth's reign is Raymund Galvirius, as he is styled 
 in the Consistorial Acts. No Protestant bishop was appointed 
 till about 1582. 
 
 Clonfert. — Roland de Burgo was appointed by the Holy See 
 in 1538, and not only exercised the spiritual authority, but took 
 also possession of the temporalities, expelling the king's nominee/)" 
 Though he schismatically obtained the see of Elphin in 1551, 
 he was absolved by cardinal Pole on the accession of Mary. 
 His death is thus registered in the Annals of the Four Masters : 
 " Roland, the son of Redmond, the son of Ulick of Knocktua, 
 bishop of Clonfert, died, and the loss of this good man was the 
 cause of great lamentation in his own country ."J There can be no 
 doubt of his having remained a Catholic till his death. 
 
 8 — Two Sees vacated by resignation. 
 
 Dr. Mant reckons two sees vacated by resignation. This 
 word resignation, however, means only that the revenues were 
 appropriated by the crown. Thus we have seen above, that the 
 bishop of Achonry was said by Dr. Long to have resigned his 
 see ; and Ware states that Dr. O'Herlihy of Ross resigned in 
 1571; we have, however, already seen how the case really 
 stood. 
 
 Limerick. — The temporalities of this see were transferred by 
 the crown to William Casey, in 1571. Dr. Lacy, however, did 
 not cease to administer his spiritual charge. We find him peti- 
 tioning the Holy See for special faculties for his diocese in 1575 ; 
 and the same year we find the Holy See expediting these facul- 
 ties for " Hugo epus. Limericensis ;" and on account of the wants 
 of the Irish Church, these faculties are further granted to him for 
 the whole province of Cashel, " quamdiu ven. frater noster 
 archiepus. Cassellensis a sua dioecesi et ecclesia et universa pro- 
 vincia abfuerit."§ Indeed, so high was the esteem in which Dr. 
 Lacy was held in Rome, that he was selected by the Holy See 
 
 * Ex Arcliiv. S. Cong, de Prop. Fid. t State Papers, vol. iii. pag. 50. 
 Ad an. 1580. § Ex Secret. Brevium. 3 Maii, 1575. 
 
Par. IX.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 187 
 
 to recommend members of the Irish Church for the vacant sees. 
 The see of Limerick, in 1580, is described in a Vatican list 
 as vacant, " per obitum D. Ugonis Lacy in sua ecclesia 
 defuncti."* Thus, by the so-called resignation of Dr. Lacy, the 
 temporal possessions of the see were, indeed, merged in the 
 Established Church, but the hierarchical succession remained 
 unchanged, and both clergy and people continued attached to 
 the faith of their fathers. Dr. Lacy's successor, Dr. Cornelius 
 (Nachten), was appointed in 1581. 
 
 Cork and Cloyne. — On the resignation of Dr. Skiddy, in 1566, 
 the first Protestant bishop was not appointed till 1570, as Ware 
 and Dr. Mant inform us. Now the Catholicbishop was appointed 
 on 27th February, 1568, being the celebrated Nicholas Landes. 
 His successor was Dr. Edmund Tanner, appointed bishop on 
 the nones of November, 1574. He was a native of the province 
 of Leinster, and we find faculties granted to him by the Holy 
 See, not only for his own diocese, but also for the provinces of 
 Cashel and Dublin.f He was succeeded by Dermitius Graith, 
 on 11th October, 1580, and this holy bishop, whose memory 
 is still cherished in the south of Ireland, happily survived 
 Elizabeth, and governed his diocese aliquot annis sub Jacoho 
 rege.% 
 
 9. — Dr. Mants opinions, regarding four other sees, examined. 
 
 8. We have arrived at the last series of the Irish bishops, 
 those, forsooth, who, for various causes not recorded in history, 
 a few years after the accession of Elizabeth, are no longer 
 registered amongst the bishops of their respective sees. 
 
 Clogher. — Dr. Mant seems to have been acquainted only 
 with Dr. Odo O'Cervallan, who was appointed, he says, in 
 1542, and the time of whose death is not known. The first 
 Protestant bishop was Miler Magrath, who was appointed in 
 1570. Now in the consistory of 29th May, 1560, we find 
 the following note : — " S. S. providit ecclesiie Clocherensi in 
 Hibernia vacanti per obitum Mumothannas (sic) in Romanu 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Secret. Vatican. 
 
 t Ex Archiv. Secret. Brev. 10 April, 1575. 
 
 J Kelatio Arch. Dublinen. in 1023. 
 
188 APPENDIX TO INTKODUCTION'. [Par. IX. 
 
 curia defuncti de persona Dni. Cornelii Mercadell (perhaps 
 MaeCadel) cum retentione canonicatus," etc. We End, more- 
 over, that Miler Magrath, then bishop of Down and Connor, 
 petitioned the pope in 1568, to be translated to Clogher. Dr. 
 Creagh wrote against having this petition granted ; and then 
 that unfortunate man addressed his solicitations to Elizabeth, 
 who readily granted his translation in 1570. Other favours, 
 too, were heaped on him ; he was not only made archbishop of 
 Cashel, but he was allowed to hold together with it the bishop- 
 rics of Emly, Waterford, and Lismore, and subsequently Killala 
 and Achonry, as well as several rectories, etc., as may be seen 
 in Harris' Bishops. He had, however, the good fortune to 
 repent before his death, and to be received back into the Catho- 
 lic fold by Dr. Kearney, archbishop of Cashel. 
 
 Down and Connor. — Dr. John Merriman was the first Protes- 
 tant bishop of this see, as Dr. Mant informs us.* This bishop 
 was appointed by Elizabeth in 1568. Already in 1565, on the 
 fourth of the ides of October, Miler Magrath had been ap- 
 pointed Catholic bishop. Sentence of deposition was passed 
 against him towards the close of 1569.t Thus the first Protes- 
 tant bishop was certainly an intruder. As regards Dr. Magennis, 
 who was appointed to this see by Rome in 1541, he seems to 
 have died in 1564, as the Consistorial Acts describe the see, 
 in 1565, as vacant, " per obitum Eugenii Magnissii." 
 
 Ardfert. — James Fitzmaurice held this see from 1551 till his 
 death in 1583. We have already given some particulars about 
 this bishop, and the Four Masters, registering his death, style 
 him " a vessel full of wisdom." A successor seems to have been 
 appointed without delay, as I find the see described as one to 
 which a bishop might be appointed without danger. The only 
 other entry that I met with in the Consistorial Acts of this period 
 is as follows, on 5th August, 1591: " Fuit provisum Ecclesias 
 Ardfertensi, in regno Hiberniae, vacanti per obitum Jacobi Idorni 
 (sic), de persona Michaelis Gualterii (perhaps Fitz Walter), cum 
 dispensatione super eo quod non sit doctor; et cum dispensa- 
 tione etiam defectus oculi, quatenus opus sit, et cum retentione 
 Decanatus Templi Christi in civitate Dublinensi quousque 
 
 * History, etc. vol. i. p. 296. t Ex Archiv. Secret. "Vatic. 
 
Par. X.] APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. 189 
 
 adeptus fuerit possessionem pacificam ecclesia? Ardfertensis aut 
 majoris partis dioecesis." 
 
 Killaloe- — Terence O'Brien was bishop of this see till the year 
 1566, and Dr. Mant says he knows not what became of him 
 afterwards. The first Protestant bishop was appointed in 1570 
 to enjoy the temporalities of the see, but was not consecrated 
 till 1576* The appointment of the Catholic bishop is 
 registered on 10th January, 1571: " provisum fuit Ecclesias S. 
 Falani in provincia Cassellensi in Hibernia in persona Malachise, 
 nobilis et sacerdotis ejusdem Provincial" On the 22nd of Au- 
 gust, 1576, he was translated to Kilmacduagh. Dr. Cornelius 
 O'Mulrian was appointed his successor on the same day, and 
 lived till the year 1617. f 
 
 10. — Conclusion, 
 
 Thus, then, so far from the old clergy of Ireland having merged 
 into the reformation of Elizabeth, the succession of the Catholic 
 hierarchy remained unbroken. True, many of the bishops were 
 compelled to abandon the temporalities of their sees to the agents 
 of the reformation, still they continued faithful to their spiritual 
 charge: and surely Dr. Todd, and the other able writers whom 
 we have named above, will not affirm that the seizins on the 
 property which our fathers bequeathed for sacred Catholic pur- 
 poses, sufficed to merge these faithful bishops and their flocks in 
 the government establishment. In many dioceses, the crown 
 did not even attempt to appoint Protestant bishops: whilst in 
 the other dioceses where such bishops were appointed, they 
 are proved almost invariably to have been intruders — Catholic 
 bishops being already, by canonical authority, consecrated for 
 these sees, and ruling by the power and in the name of the Holy 
 Ghost, the spiritual flocks entrusted to them. As a matter of 
 fact, it results from the preceding pages, that the mere Irish re- 
 mained attached to the Catholic faith : with sacred discernment, 
 they viewed each Protestant bishop as a mere official of a 
 government which proscribed alike their name and their religion ; 
 
 * Ware. 
 
 t The Burgundian List gives his appointment on 22nd August, 1579, which 
 is merely an error of the copyist. 
 
190 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION. [Pae. X, 
 
 and though they were obliged to pay Protestant bishops as 
 agents of the crown, they took care not to seek for spiritual food 
 at their hands : indeed, it is quite evident, that neither the hier- 
 archy, whether mere Irish or Anglo-Irish of the pale, nor the 
 Irish people, merged into the so-called reformation. The theory, 
 therefore, proposed by Dr. Todd, that the present Catholic 
 Church of Ireland had its origin in the sixteenth century, being 
 founded at that period by emissaries from Spain, begging friars, 
 and foreign priests* has no foundation in truth, and is in direct 
 opposition to the genuine records of history, which prove that 
 the Catholics of Ireland, as a body, and their clergy, remained 
 devotedly attached to the chair of St. Peter, and that neither 
 penal laws, nor confiscation, nor exile, nor imprisonment, nor 
 the sword, nor the other violent and anti-Christian means em- 
 ployed to propagate Protestantism, could separate them from 
 the true fold of Jesus Christ, or induce them to adopt the false 
 teaching, or to imitate the corrupt morals of Henry and Eliza- 
 beth, of Cranmer and Brown, Curwin and Loftus, and other 
 worthy fathers of the Reformation. 
 
 * These are the words of Dr. Todd, St. Patr. p. 244. 
 
 END OF INTRODUCTION. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 First Efforts op the English Government to Introduce Protes- 
 tantism into Ireland, 
 
 1. Mission of the Protestant Archbishop, Dr. Browne, to the 
 Irish Catholics.— 2. Royal Supremacy sanctioned by Parlia- 
 ment, 1536-7 3. Other Acts of Parliament in favour of the 
 
 Reformation. — 4. Zeal of the Protestant Archbishop in the 
 same Cause : Destruction of Crosses, Images, Relics, Church 
 Ornaments, and the Crozier of St. Patrick. — 5. Suppression of 
 Monasteries. — 6. Sufferings of Religious Orders. — 7- Other 
 efforts of Government to promote the Reformation. — 8. Cha- 
 racter of the Reformers in Ireland. — 9. Reformation fails in 
 Ireland under Henry VIII. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Appointment op Hugh Curwin to the See of Dublin His Acts 
 
 and Apostacy, 43 
 
 1. Early Life of Dr. Curwin. — 2. Chief Events of His Episcopate. 
 — 3. His Apostacy. — 4. The Irish remain devoted to the Ca- 
 tholic Faith. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Vacancy op the See of Dublin after the Apostacy op Curwin, 
 and how the dlocese was administered until the end op the 
 Sixteenth Century, 77 
 
 1. Father David Wolf, S. X— 2. Rev. J. Newman, Rev. T. "White. 
 — 3. Donaldus Dublinensis. — 4. A Sketch of Irish Character 
 and Customs at this period. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Persecution op the Irish Catholics during the Reign op Eliza- 
 
 1. General View of this Persecution — 2. Sufferings of the Irish 
 Church.— 3. Devastation of the Country. — 4. Famine which 
 ensued. — 5. Examples to Illustrate the Persecution of Eliza- 
 beth. — 6. Constancy of the Irish Catholics — 7. Condition of 
 the Protestant Church in the time of Elizabeth. 
 
192 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Showing how the Episcopal Succession of the Catholic Church 
 
 op Ireland was Preserved during Elizabeth's Reign, . 172 
 
 1. Statement of Dr. Todd and other Protestant writers, that 
 in the Sixteenth Century the Irish Church merged into the 
 Reformation. — 2. Dr. Mant attempts to prove statistically that 
 the Irish Hierarchy adopted the Tenets of the Reformation. — 
 3. Dr. Mant, in his enumeration of the Irish Sees, omits three. 
 — 4. Armagh not vacant, as supposed by Dr Mant. — 5. Seven 
 Sees, supposed by Dr. Mant to be vacant, not so. — 6. Two 
 Catholics deprived, but unjustly ; one Apostate removed. — 7. 
 Eleven Sees vacated by death, two by resignation ; how they 
 retained the Catholic succession. — 8. Two Sees vacated by 
 Resignation.— 9. Dr. Mant's opinions regarding four other sees 
 examined. — 10. Conclusion. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOPS OF DUBLIN, 
 
 SINCE THE REFORMATION. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 1. Matthew de Oviedo, a native of Spain, and member of the Franciscan 
 Order— The Geraldine War in 1579.— 2. The War of Hugh O'Neil.— 3. 
 Particular events of Oviedo's episcopate, and persecutions of the Catholics 
 under James I, 
 
 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 
 
 After a" ■widowhood of more than half a century, the metro- 
 politan see of Leinster was at last to be consoled by the appoint- 
 ment of a chief pastor, in the person of Matthew de Oviedo. 
 This prelate, who, in 1600, was chosen to fill the vacant see 
 of Dublin, was a native of Spain, being born in the diocese of 
 Segovia, in Castile, and in his early years became a member 
 of the observant order of St. Francis. With the spirit of reli- 
 gious observance, he seems to have imbibed an enthusiastic 
 affection for Ireland, and he soon wholly devoted himself to 
 promote its interests. Salamanca was the place chosen for his 
 novitiate ; and side by side with him, within its study halls, sat 
 Florence Conroy, who, a few years later, was promoted to the 
 archiepiscopate of Tuam. At the period of which we treat, 
 Salamanca was renowned throughout Europe as a sanctuary of 
 piety and learning ; and an English contemporary writer observed, 
 that there " all kind of learning was, by most excellent men, 
 with incredible industry, professed." Many were the bright 
 
194 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. 7. 1. 
 
 ornaments of Spain which went forth from its halls ; and the 
 annalist of the Franciscan order numbers eleven of the com- 
 panions of Oviedo who were subsequently raised to the episcopal 
 dignity.* 
 
 We are unacquainted with the early fruits of the zealous 
 labours of Oviedo in the sacred ministry, and we meet with him, 
 for the first time, in 1579, on the renewal of the Geraldine war, 
 when his services were enlisted in the Spanish court in favour 
 of the Irish chieftains. 
 
 I.— The Geraldine War, 1579. 
 
 James Fitzmaurice, brother of the earl of Desmond, had long 
 solicited the aid of the Spanish monarch to achieve the indepen- 
 dence of the Irish nation, and free it from the intolerable yoke 
 of persecution and heresy to which it was then subjected. At 
 length, on the 17th of June, 1579, the first expedition sailed 
 from the port of Ferol, bearing with it a momentary aid and a 
 pledge of future more powerful succours. The bishops of Kil- 
 laloe and Ross shared the perils of this expedition ; Dr. Sanders, 
 too, accompanied it as Papal nuncio, having received, imme- 
 diately before his departure from Spain, as a token of the Sove- 
 reign Pontiff's favour, a gift of the silver altar-plate which had 
 belonged to the ill-fated Stukely ; and Matthew de Oviedo, who 
 is described in the official list as guardian of the Franciscan con- 
 vent of Toro, and commissary of his order, was chosen chaplain 
 of the army. 
 
 In the following year, a detailed narrative of the events of the 
 campaign which ensued was presented to the Roman court.t 
 
 "James Geraldine," it says, "sailed from a port called Ferol, in the 
 kingdom of Galicia, on the 17th of June, 1579, with the few troops 
 which he had gathered, having with him his own vessel, and three 
 Spanish chaluppes, which belonged to the port of St. Vincent, de lo 
 
 * Wadding, Annales Minorum, ad an. 1290 (torn. 2clus, pag. 583). Some 
 writers go too far when they say that these were all fellow-novices. One of the 
 number was Hugh M'Caghwell, archbishop of Armagh, who died in 1626, in 
 Ms 55th year ; he was consequently only eight years old in 1579, at which time 
 Oviedo had already, for some years, completed his novitiate, and was engaged 
 in the exercise of his missionary duties. 
 
 + The original is in Italian, and may be seen in the Appendix No. 1. 
 
Cu.vr. I.I.J MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 195 
 
 Barquere. On the way we captured three vessels, two of which were 
 English and the third French, which was immediately set free ; and on 
 the 16th of July we arrived in Ireland, at the port of Dingle, where we 
 arrested, amongst others, the chieftain of the district, who held in his 
 possession the fort known as the Golden Castle. At three leagues dis- 
 tance is the port of Smerwick, which we reached on the 1 8th of July, and 
 there we left our vessels. On the 2,5th two galleys joined us, carrying 
 one hundred fighting men : but, four days later, an English war vessel 
 captured our two ships, whilst the earl of Desmond marched to attack 
 us. That very night, however, John Geraldine, brother of the earl, 
 joined us, promising to live and die in defence of the Catholic faith. 
 Our commander learning the good dispositions of many of the chiefs of 
 those districts, dispatched the friar commissary, called Matthew Oviedo, 
 to Spain, to procure all that was necessary for the campaign, and in 
 company with James Geraldine, Dr. Sanders, and others, penetrated, 
 the following night, into the interior of the country, leaving a body of 
 Spaniards to guard the castle. The earl of Desmond was neither our 
 friend nor our enemy, and we freely traversed his territory. The viceroy 
 being informed of the coming of James Fitmaurice into these parts, 
 marched to attack us. We remained on the defensive ; and a gentleman 
 named David Barry having invited us to his territory, promising to 
 join us with all his followers, James Fitzmaurice set out in that direc- 
 tion. He was intercepted, however, by a body of the queen's forces, 
 consisting of two hundred swordsmen, sixteen cavalry, and three mus- 
 keteers. We were only thirty swordsmen, six cavalry, and three 
 musketeers, with captain Bertoui, of Faenza ; still we gained the victory, 
 killing six of their cavalry, and twelve others, whilst on our side none 
 but the general, James Fitzmaurice, was slain. John Geraldine* then 
 became our leader ; and a month later we gained another victory, in 
 which three of the English captains, eight of their cavalry, forty mus- 
 keteers, and more than a hundred others were slain, none being killed 
 on our side, and only the general and four others being wounded. It 
 was on the 18th of August that James Geraldine was slain, yet, on 
 account of our success, great numbers joined us, and after some days 
 the earl of Desmond also came to us with all his troops. Being thus 
 strengthened, we at once advanced to attack the enemy ; but as they 
 were prepared to receive us, and our musketeers were few, we could not 
 force their lines, and we were compelled to retire, leaving forty of our 
 men killed, amongst whom was one knight, and a medical doctor named 
 Allen.f There was no further skirmishing before my departure, but 
 
 * The Annals of the Four Masters present an interesting account of the ad- 
 ventures of John Geraldine at this period, how "he slept only upon couches 
 of stone, or on the earth. He drank of the pure cold streams, and that from 
 the palms of his hands, or from his shoes. His only cooking utensils were the 
 long twigs of the forest for dressing the flesh-meats carried away from his 
 enemies," etc. 
 
 t The English authorities falsely imagined that the Dr. Allen who was slain 
 was an ecclesiastic, and the famous Jesuit of that name. 
 
196 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [CnAr. j. ]. 
 
 both sides were busily engaged in preparing for battle. The earl of 
 Ormond had advanced towards the west, where my residence is, and 
 our general gave orders that all the castles should be levelled to the 
 ground, lest they should fall into the enemy's hands. On the 1 Oth of 
 March, earl Clancarthy, called Macarthymore, declared in our favour : 
 he has 4,000 fighting men. The two sons of the earl of Connaught 
 also took part with us, and invaded the territory of Ormond, obliging 
 him to leave his quarters, and hasten to defend his own territory. The 
 earl of Desmond was, however, unable to pursue him, his troops being 
 badly provided with fire-arms. These are the chief events that occurred 
 before my departure, which was on the 14th of March, on which day I 
 sailed from the port of Dingle. The general was then at Tralee, together 
 with his brothers, Dr. Sanders, and other religious ; the remainder of 
 the army was encamped in the adjoining districts. The following are 
 the names of the principal chieftains who have sided with us : — Gerald 
 Geraldine, the general, earl of Desmond ; John Geraldine, his brother ; 
 James Geraldine, also his brother ; Macarthymore, cousin of the earl ; 
 David Barry, the MacLiens, who are four brothers ; three sons of the 
 earl's brother, and baron MacMaurice." 
 
 The Papal nuncio, Sanders, writing to cardinal Como, in 
 Rome, on the 10th of October, 1579, gives some further details 
 connected with the first landing of the expedition, and states 
 that already one-fourth of all Ireland had declared in their favour, 
 and that there was no doubt but the whole island would be with 
 them if the promised assistance was forwarded without delay. 
 The Irish troops must have been exposed to much hardship, as 
 he states that he himself had been four times despoiled of all he 
 possessed, and scarcely had a sheet of paper on which to write to 
 his eminence.* 
 
 Many motives had, at first, induced the earl of Desmond to 
 assume the mask of indifference for the Catholic cause. He, 
 however, privately encouraged the leaders, and allowed his 
 retainers to join the Spanish ranks. At length, as he himself 
 writes, seeing how the English exulted in the death of James 
 Fitzmaurice, and how his own castles were assailed by them, 
 he could no longer curb his indignation; and though one of 
 his sons was yet a hostage in the hands of the government, he 
 
 * See hie letter in Appendix No. 2, with an extract from another letter of 
 the same to the nuncio in Portugal, 8th October, 1579. 
 
Chap. I. 1.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 197 
 
 resolved " to postpone everything to the service of God," and, 
 with his troops, marched to join the army of his brothers.* 
 
 For twelve months the war was carried on with ever-varying 
 success. Many particulars connected with it are preserved in 
 the histories of the period, and some additional facts are recorded 
 in the following extracts from Sanders' letters, transmitted to 
 Rome by the nuncio at the Spanish court, before the close of 
 1580:— 
 
 " The bishops of Killaloe,f Ardfert,}: and Ross,§ share in all the pri- 
 vations of the camp. John Lacy, with his troop, comprising cavalry 
 and infantry, passed from the enemy to the Catholic side, and levelled 
 his own castles to the ground, lest they should afford protection to the 
 enemy. The sons of the earl of Connaught have made known their 
 intention of joining us, and one of them declared that he was only pre- 
 vented from doing so by the danger impending over his father, who was 
 as yet detained a captive in the hands of the English. 
 
 " Dr. Sanders also writes, that during the Christmas time O'Neil and 
 O'Donel had made a great havoc of the enemy. That after the taking 
 of Jetal ( Youghal), in Clancarthy's country, much time was lost in nego- 
 tiations between John Geraldine and the earl of Clancarthy, who at 
 length agreed to a truce. That in the absence of the Irish chiefs, the 
 earl of Ormond, of the Butlers, the only Irish family hostile to the Ca- 
 tholic faith, invaded the territory of the Catholics, and carried away an 
 immense booty ; || the Catholics, however, soon after made an inroad 
 into his territory, and carried away an equal prey." 
 
 We have seen how father Matthew de Oviedo, on the 30th 
 of July, 1579, only fourteen days after his arrival on the Irish 
 coast, was dispatched on an embassy to the Spanish monarch, to 
 
 * See, in Appendix No. 3, an extract from letter of Desmond, transmitted by 
 the mmeio, in Madrid, to the card, secret, of state, in Eome. 
 
 t Dr. Cornelius O'Mulrian, who took a leading part in this expedition. He 
 died in 1617. 
 
 t James Fitzmauriee, who died a.d. 1583, before the close of the war. He 
 is styled by the Four Masters, a vessel full of ivisdom. This letter of Sanders 
 is the first published document that throws any light on the course taken by 
 this prelate in the Desmond war. Conf. O'Sullevan, Hist. Cath. Dublin edit, 
 pp. 120-1 in notis. 
 
 § Dr. Thomas O'Herlihy, a sketch of whose life we have given in a pre- 
 ceding chapter. 
 
 || See Haverty Hist, of Irl. pag. 420. "He seized a prey of 1,500 cows 
 belonging to the earl of Desmond, who had a narrow escape of falling, 
 together with his countess and Dr. Sanders, into the hands of the lord deputy, 
 having passed that way only about an hour before. Some of the vestments 
 and sacred vessels belonging to the legate were taken by the" soldiers." 
 
198 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 1. 
 
 make known the wants of the Irish chieftains, and to urge on 
 the expedition of the promised aid. The English agents, on 
 the other hand, being scattered through every port of Portugal 
 and Spain,* exerted all their influence to prevent it; and when 
 at last it sailed for the Irish coast, they contrived to have ap- 
 pointed to the command one whose heart was open to corruption, 
 and whose incapacity, or treachery, soon blasted all the hopes of 
 the Desmond chieftains. 
 
 On the 27th of August, 1580, the new expedition sailed from 
 the harbour of Santander, on the coast of Biscay, being under 
 the command of colonel Sebastian S. Jose\ and having on board 
 about 300 soldiers,! together with the heroic Franciscan father, 
 Oviedo. On the 13th of the following month they reached 
 the Irish shore, and landed their military stores in the port of 
 Smerwick.J 
 
 Oviedo was bearer of a letter of the Roman Pontiff, encourag- 
 ing the Irish chieftains to union, and bestowing on all who 
 should join the Catholic army the same indulgences that were 
 enjoyed by the Crusaders. It was as follows: — 
 
 " Gregory XIII. to the archbishops, bishops, and other prelates, as also 
 to the Catholic princes, earls, barons, clergy, nobles, and people of 
 Ireland, health and apostolic benediction : 
 
 " A few years ago we exhorted you by our letters, when you took up 
 arms to defend your liberties and rights, under the leadership of James 
 Geraldine, of happy memory, to be all of one mind, and to give a ready 
 and strenuous aid to that chieftain who, with inexpressible ardour, 
 desired to free you from that yoke which is imposed on you by the 
 English heretics ; and that you might the more promptly and effica- 
 ciously join with him in this enterprise, we conceded to all those who, 
 with due contrition, had confessed their sins, full pardon and remission, 
 and the same indulgence as was imparted by the Roman Pontiffs to those 
 who fought against the Turks for the recovery of the Holy Land, pro- 
 vided they should enrol themselves under the banners of the aforesaid 
 James, the champion and defender of the Catholic faith, or aid him by 
 
 * Letter of Sebast. S. Josii, 19th Jan. 1580, in Archiv. Sec. Vatic. 
 
 f The English accounts give the number as 700 ; Dr. Sanders, however, in 
 his letter of 9th January, 1581, states the number as 300. 
 
 I Letter of Alexander Bertoni, 27th December, 1580, and dispatch of the 
 nuucio to card. Como, in Archiv. Sec. Vatic. 
 
Chap. 1. 1.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 199 
 
 counsel, provisions, arms, or other things necessary for the sustenance 
 of his troops. Lately, however, we have learned, with the most pro- 
 found sorrow, that James fell in battle, bravely fighting for the faith, 
 and that our beloved aon, John Geraldine, has succeeded him, who has 
 already given heroic proofs of his devotion to the Catholic religion. We 
 therefore, with all possible affection, exhort, urge, and solicit each and 
 every one of you to unite with the said John, your commander, and aid 
 him and his army against the aforesaid heretics, as you would have 
 aided the aforesaid James, if he were living. We therefore impart the 
 above plenary indulgence to each and every one of you, provided you 
 shall first have confessed and communicated, and given aid, by every 
 means in your power, to the general-iu-chief, John, and, in case of his 
 demise, which God avert, to James, his brother, which concession shall 
 continue as long as the brothers John and James shall live and carry on 
 this war against the heretics, etc. Given at Rome the 13th day of 
 May, 1580, the eighth of our pontificate."* 
 
 One of the first acts of the Spanish commander, San Jose\ was 
 to reject the counsel of the Irish chieftains. On a neck of land 
 jutting out into the sea, and naturally fortified on every side by 
 the rocks, there remained the ruins of an ancient castle, from 
 which it derived its name of the Golden Fort. San Jose chose 
 this as the site of a fortress, and, without delay, set to work to 
 renew its walls and strengthen its position. It was in vain that 
 the Irish leaders represented to him the strength of the English 
 fleet, and the difficulty of introducing provisions into the fort ; 
 and at length finding him inflexible in his resolve, they united 
 with him some chosen troops, and left a faithful priest, named 
 Laurence Moore, to animate their courage and watch the move- 
 ments of the commander. Matthew de Oviedo seconded with 
 all his influence the remonstrance of the Irish leaders ; but seeing 
 that his representations were slighted by San Jose\ he quitted 
 the Spanish quarters, and, together with the bishop of Killaloe 
 and Dr. Sanders, joined the camp of the earl of Desmond.t 
 
 The services of our Franciscan father were soon required by 
 the Irish chieftains in another field of labour; and before the 
 
 * The original Latin letter, which we have somewhat abridged in the text, 
 may be seen in O'SuIlevan'a Hist. Cath. pp. 121-2. 
 
 t Documents were forwarded to Rome by San JosS, accusing Oviedo and 
 the bishop of Killaloe for having joined the Irish camp contrary to his express 
 orders. In Archiv. Sec. Vatic. 
 
200 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 1 
 
 close of October, 1580, he was once more sent on an embassy to 
 Spain, with instructions to proceed thence to Rome, and act as 
 representative of Ireland at the Papal court.* A letter of Dr. 
 Sanders, written to the Spanish nuncio on the 19th October 
 1580, whilst it registers some of the chief events that had oc- 
 curred up to that period, gives also some particulars connected 
 with the then contemplated mission of Oviedo: — ] 
 
 " On the 26th of July, whilst the earl of Clanrickard and baron Mac- 
 maurice abandoned our camp and joined the enemy, judging that we 
 had no hope of • success, the most noble baron of Baltinglass, James 
 Eustace, as alsoTieghe Mache (sic), and many others of the nobility, took 
 up arms for the faith in the vicinity of Dublin itself, which is the capital 
 of all Ireland. They displayed heroic courage, and gained some brilliant 
 victories over the enemy. John Geraldine came thence to our quarters, 
 to seek some pecuniary assistance to strengthen his party there. We 
 proposed the matter to colonel Sebastiano, who made kind promises, but 
 as yet gave him no money. I pray your excellency not to be unmindful 
 of John and his associates, who are well deserving of the Catholic 
 cause. 
 
 " John Geraldine sends his son, Thomas Geraldine, to Spain, in com- 
 pany with father Matthew (Oviedo): he is a boy of admirable talent 
 and excellent disposition, and he is sent thither by his father to receive 
 a suitable education. 
 
 " When I had written the above, John Geraldine came to inform me 
 that he was afraid to send his son, for the present, to Spain, on account 
 of the imminent risk which he would run in such a journey. 
 
 " This is only the third part of what I was anxious to write to yon ; 
 but as we fear lest the English may besiege our fortress by sea, we 
 hasten to send off father Matthew, whom the earl and John Geraldine 
 wish to act as nuncio with your excellency. 
 
 " The ships that will come thence with the army should make for the 
 port of Cork, for they will there be easily protected from the enemy. 
 The port of Limerick is not so safe, and it is thought it will be- occupied 
 by the English fleet." 
 
 Whilst Oviedo was engaged in discharging the mission en- 
 trusted to him, his countrymen in the Golden Fort met with a 
 
 * See Appendix No. 4. 
 
 ■f Ex Arohiv, Sec. Vatican, Inghilter. 1580. We learn, even from English 
 sources, the high esteem in which Oviedo was held in the Irisi camp. " And 
 there is in great estimation with them one frere Matthew Oviedo, whom they 
 call commissarms apostolicus." — Letter of the commons of Lixnaw to her Ma- 
 jesty's attorney and recorder of Limerick, the 27 th Sept. 1580. — St. Pap. Off. 
 London. 
 
Chap. I. l.J MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 201 
 
 mournful fate. The sad tale is easily told. In the beginning 
 of November, the earl of Ormond made a first attack on it with 
 1,500 men,* and was compelled to retreat, leaving many of his 
 dead around its ramparts. An English fleet, consisting of four- 
 teen vessels, seven of which were men of war,t soon after hove 
 in sight, whilst, at the same time, the viceroy, with a reinforce- 
 ment of 2,000 men, joined the besieging camp. The little gar- 
 rison, though hemmed in on every side, fought with heroic 
 determination ; every attach was repulsed and every breach re- 
 paired ; and the army of the Geraldines on the surrounding hills 
 was mustering all its strength to make a combined attack on the 
 English camp. However, the courage of San Jose 1 failed, and 
 he at once entered into treaty with the viceroy. We shall allow 
 Dr. Sanders to present to the reader the details of this negotia- 
 tion. We meet with only one redeeming feature in it, forsooth, 
 the heroism displayed in their martyrdom by three glorious 
 champions of the Catholic cause : — t 
 
 " The war which was carried on for the faith in Ireland, though 
 begun without any human aid, would have been very soon most happily 
 terminated, if the assistance which was promised to us within six 
 months, had come to us even within twelve months ; for all Ireland was 
 most desirous that the ancient faith should be restored, and, with the 
 aid which was promised, this end would without any difficulty have 
 been attained. But when a whole year had passed, and no succours 
 had as yet arrived, many of the chieftains, looking on our cause as 
 desperate, made their submission to the viceroy, so that none but the 
 Geraldine family remained in arms, at the head of which family is the 
 earl of Desmond. The enemy, on the other hand, was most powerful, 
 being in need of nothing, either by land or sea, to assail us. At length, 
 however, the most noble baron James Eustace, lord of Baltinglass, moved 
 by zeal for religion, united with the earl of Desmond, and still courage- 
 ously perseveres in the Catholic cause. 
 
 " Matters being so, after a year and about four months, three hundred 
 recruits were sent to us under the command of Sebastian de San Jose, 
 a most vile and wicked man, who, during the three past years, con- 
 
 * Letter of Bertoni, 27th Deo. 1580, in Archiv. Secret. Vatic : O'Sullevaii's 
 Hist. Cath. page 115. 
 
 t Bertoni, loc. cit. states that there were 250 pieces of brass artillery on board 
 the fleet : San Jose', in his defence, makes a similar statement. See Bertoni's 
 letter in Appendix No. 5. 
 
 X Letter of the 9th January, 1581. See Appendix No. 6. 
 
202 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 1. 
 
 tinually preyed upon the vitals of our sacred cause, being himself 
 avaricious and luxurious, and effeminate and arrogant : and hence his 
 arrival only increased more and more our difficulties. His first care was 
 to select a suitable site for a fortress, where his soldiers and his goods 
 would be secure. God allowed him fifty days, during which he was free 
 to perfect his designs. From his boasting, people would imagine that 
 he had brought four thousand men with him ;* but the enemy soon dis- 
 covered the reality, and the earl of Ormond advanced with some troops 
 to reconnoitre. Some of our soldiers went out to skirmish. There was 
 in the enemy's ranks one who far surpassed all his companions-in-arms, 
 by name Andrew Martin, ward of the castle of Mang. He having chosen 
 his ground, fired on our men with great skill, till he fell, being shot through 
 the head by one of our soldiers. The earl of Ormond finding that the 
 English fleet had not arrived, abandoned the fortress, and rejoined his 
 army. This gave great courage to our men, who now imagined that 
 the fortress was impregnable. In a few days, however, the queen's 
 fleet came in sight, whilst the viceroy advanced by land. On the 7th 
 of November, the lines were opened against the fortress, and the firing 
 continued till the evening of the eighth day. Then San Jose, more 
 solicitous about his life and pleasure than for the honour of God and 
 the holy cause, hoisted the white flag as a signal of wished-for peace : 
 the enemy rejoiced that an opportunity was thus given them of seizing 
 the fortress, for they had begun to give up all hope of entering it by 
 force. Captain Winckfield was sent by the viceroy to learn what con- 
 ditions were asked for by San Jose. By permission of the colouel, a 
 worthless man named Anthony Urtiago, who, for his cowardice, John 
 Geraldine had deprived of his commission and reduced to the ranks, was 
 sent to Winckfield, and then to the viceroy, Winckfield remaining as a 
 hostage in the fortress. The viceroy demanded that James Fitzgerald, 
 the most noble son of the earl of Desmond, should be surrendered to 
 him. To this the colonel assented, delivering him at once into his 
 hands. The same night San Jose himself went to the viceroy's camp : 
 he went, however, so adorned with golden rings and chains, and so 
 decked with trinkets, that one would suppose him to be victorious and 
 triumphant. He remained all that night with the viceroy, and received 
 from him a present of a steed fully equipped. They are said to have 
 agreed that two-thirds of all the property in the fortress should go to 
 the queen, and the remaining third to San 3os6, and that all the soldiers 
 should be free to return to Spain. On the morning of the ninth 
 day, the colonel returned to the fortress, declaring to the soldiers that 
 such was the enemy's strength that there was no hope of being able to 
 resist ; so that nothing remained for them but to be allowed to return 
 safely to Spain. The most holy priest, Laurence Moore, at once ad- 
 
 * This is confirmed by the Four Masters, who state that ' ' the fame of the 
 invasion was so great at first, that had they come to Limerick, Galway, or 
 Cork, these great towns would have been left wide open to them." 
 
CHAP. I. 1.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 203 
 
 dressed the colonel, exhorting him not to be unmindful of his duty to 
 God and to the Holy See, and to bravely defend the fortress which 
 they guarded for the cause of faith. God, he said, would not be want- 
 ing to them should they place their trust in Him, and devote themselves 
 to the discharge of their duties. His discourse was, however, despised : 
 for the Spanish soldiers were so little inflamed with military ardour, 
 that they were accustomed to use their swords as spits, and their hel- 
 mets as pots, when cooking their meat. The Irish who esteem nothing 
 more than their arms, and are continually engaged in polishing and 
 adorning them, seeing this practice of the Spaniards, held them in the 
 greatest contempt. There were a few of them, however, who were en- 
 raged at the determination of San Jose, and who even deliberated about 
 taking away his life : however, as the multitude thought of nothing 
 but of returning to Spain, their resolution was of no avail. 
 
 " At the request of the viceroy, the priest Laurence, Oliver Plunket, 
 and William Willick, an Englishman, were delivered into his hands : 
 to them the offer was made to be restored to liberty should they consent 
 to take the oath of allegiance to the queen ; but when they replied, 
 with one accord, that they were Catholics, and that, by the grace of 
 God, they would persevere in the faith, they were led off to a forge 
 of an ironsmith, and there their arms and legs were broken in three 
 different parts. During all that night and the following day they endured 
 that torment with invincible patience ; at length they were hanged, and 
 their bodies cut into fragments. Thus did they receive the palm of 
 martyrdom.* 
 
 " In the meantime, the colonel managed matters at his pleasure ; and 
 having shown to the soldiers the terms granted by the viceroy, all were 
 satisfied. The English were then allowed to enter into the fortress, 
 where there was great feasting and banqueting on that day. On the 
 tenth, the viceroy gave orders for all the war-materiel and other pro- 
 perty to be brought to the lower camp, to be there guarded by his men. 
 He then sent to the fortress three hundred soldiers, who were joyfully 
 received by the Biscayans ; and when they had feasted for a while, he gave 
 further orders that none of the Spaniards should bear arms, but deposit 
 them in a determined place. This being done, the viceroy called to 
 himself eighteen individuals, of whom thirteen were Italians and three 
 Spaniards, and taking from the colonel the paper of conditions which 
 
 * The martyrdom of these three holy men is substantially corroborated by 
 the letter of Sir Richard Bingham to Walsingham (St. Pap. Off.), in which he 
 states, that an Englishman who had waited on Dr. Sanders, Plunket, who 
 acted as interpreter, and an Irish priest, were reserved for special punishment — 
 ' ' their arms and legs were first broken, and they were then hanged on a gibbet 
 on the walls of the fort." Lord Grey, in his dispatch to the queen, betrays 
 how great a share religious animosity had in the subsequent cruel massacre. 
 He took care, he says, to call the pope " a detestable shaveling, the right 
 antichrist, and general ambitious tyrant over all principalities. — St. Pap. 
 Off. 
 
204 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 1. 
 
 had been agreed to, the English soldiers at once began the bloody 
 tragedy, massacreing all the remaining soldiers, not allowing one of them 
 to escape.* This is a brief narrative of the sad event. With how 
 far greater glory would these soldiers have laid down their lives fight- 
 ing for Christ and for the Catholic faith ! Our sins, however, merited 
 for us this chastisement ; now nothing remains but that abundant 
 supplies be, once for all, sent to us. Such succour, however, implies an 
 army of eight or ten thousand men ; and then, without delay, all Ireland 
 will be in our power. 
 
 " I thought it well to notify these things to your excellency, not 
 doubting but that, as usual, you will aid our cause as far as lies in your 
 power. It would have been, in fact, far better that this war was never 
 begun, than that now, in the middle of this conflict, we should be left 
 alone and abandoned." 
 
 The few unfortunate prisoners lingered a long time in con- 
 finement; and so universal was the disgust at the treachery of 
 the commander, San Jose, that for many months none could be 
 found to offer a ransom for his release. Accusations, too, were 
 formally presented against him before the Spanish court, and 
 amongst the chief of his accusers was our Franciscan father, 
 Matthew de Oviedo : — 
 
 " There is nothing I so ardently desire," writes Paul Justinian to 
 San Jose - , on the 9th May, 1581, " as to see you set at liberty, that you 
 may be able to plead your cause against Ciantu and Peter Ortis, on the 
 one hand, and against father Matthew de Oviedo on the other. They 
 have accused you of a thousand things which I could not well mention 
 here ; suffice it to say, that father Matthew has brought from Ireland a 
 thick volume of evidence against you."f 
 
 From this letter, it would appear that Oviedo again returned 
 to Ireland in 1581, and that he still continued the faithful friend 
 
 * All the English authorities confess the indiscriminate slaughter of the 
 garrison, and number the slain at 000. Sir Richard Bingham insinuates that 
 it took place without orders ; but the dispatch of lord Grey to the queen 
 places that point beyond all doubt. " Morning came," he writes, "and I pre- 
 sented my forces in battle before the fort. The colonel, with ten or twelve 
 of his chief gentlemen, came trailing their ensigns rolled up, and presented 
 them to me with their lives and the fort. ... I sent straight, certain 
 gentlemen, to see their weapons and armouries laid down, and to guard the 
 munition and victual then left from spoil : then put I in certain bands, who straight 
 fell to execution. There were 600 slain." No wonder that " Graia fides," Grey's 
 faith, should become proverbial, not only in Ireland, but even on the continent. 
 — O'Sullevan Hist. Gath. 
 
 t In Archiv. Sec. Vatic. This letter was written from Madrid to San Jose, 
 who was still detained in prison. 
 
ClJAr. I. 2.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 205 
 
 of the earl of Desmond. The treachery of San 3os6 was, 
 however, a death-blow to the hopes of the Geraldines; and if 
 they still prolonged the struggle, it was only in the hope that 
 new succours would be sent to them from the continent, and 
 further aid procured for the sacred cause in which they had 
 embarked.* The Spanish government, however, could send no 
 further succours; and at length, on the 11th of November, 1583, 
 the hopeless struggle was brought to a close by the assassination 
 of the noble earl of Desmond. More than once pardon had 
 been proffered to this heroic chieftain, should he consent to 
 surrender Dr. Sanders to the viceroy — a stipulation which he 
 indignantly spurned. Dr. Sanders, whilst life remained, con- 
 tinued to share the perils and fatigues of the Irish camp, till 
 at length, worn away by dysentery, he expired towards the 
 close of 1581.| In his last moments he was attended by his 
 companion in suffering, the bishop of Killaloe, and his body was 
 borne to the grave by four Irish knights, it being prohibited for 
 any others to attend, " lest perchance some person might be 
 found to betray his place of interment to the English enemy, 
 who were accustomed to vent their irreligious fury even against 
 the remains of the deceased."! 
 
 2.— The War of Hugh 0' Neil. 
 
 For some years Matthew de Oviedo seems to have devoted 
 himself to the unobtrusive discharge of his missionary duties in 
 Spain, till towards the close of the century, the voice of Ireland 
 once more summoned him from the cloister to guard her interests 
 in the Spanish court. Spain had, as yet, scarce recovered from 
 the dreadful shock of her shattered armada, when the victories 
 of the Blackwater,§ and the Curlieu mountains, and the repeated 
 
 * We give in the Appendix, No. 7, a letter of the earl of Desmond, dated 
 Aharlach, 23rd January, 1582, which shows what confidence that chieftain 
 placed in Oviedo, and how bitterly he felt the treachery of the foreign com- 
 mander. 
 
 t Annals of Four Masters, by O'Donovan, p. 1701. 
 
 % O'Sullevan's Hist. Cath. p. 121. 
 
 § Primo Damaschino in Spada D'Orione, printed in Rome, in 1680, says 
 that the destruction of Bagnal's army at the Blackwater, was hailed with 
 salvos of artillery from St. Angelo's — "fecero eco colle sue salve di allegrezza le 
 artiglierie di Roma." 
 
206 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chat. I. 2. 
 
 destruction of English armies by the united forces of O'Donel and 
 O'Neil, proved that Ireland was still a priceless ally of the Spanish 
 crown. Towards the close of 1599, the earl of Essex agreed 
 to an interview with O'Neil, and whilst a truce was concluded for 
 six weeks, the Irish chieftain demanded from the viceroy " that 
 the Catholic religion should be tolerated ; that the principal 
 officers of the state and the judges should be natives of Ireland; 
 that he himself, O'Donel, and James Fitzthomas Roe (whom 
 O'Neil had created earl of Desmond), should enjoy the lands of 
 their ancestors, and that half the army in Ireland should consist 
 of Irishmen."* A few days after this interview, two Spanish 
 vessels, under the command of Ferdinand de Barranova, and 
 having on board Matthew de Oviedo, arrived on the coast of 
 Ulster. The Franciscan was bearer of a letter of the reigning 
 pope to O'Neil, congratulating him on his victories, and 
 exhorting him to persevere in the glorious struggle, that thus 
 " the Catholic kingdom of Ireland might not be subject to the 
 yoke of heresy, nor the members of Christ have for their head 
 the iniquitous Elizabeth."! At the same time he presented to 
 the Irish chieftain, in the pontiff's name, a crown of phoenix 
 feathers ;t whilst from the Spanish monarch, Philip III., he 
 brought 22,000 crowns of gold, to assist him in his unparalleled 
 enterprises. 
 
 There was another more secret motive which impelled the 
 Spanish monarch to dispatch this trusty delegate to the Irish 
 shores : it was, that he might thus learn at length the true state 
 of the kingdom, the attitude of the queen's government in 
 regard to Ireland, and that of the Irish nation in regard to the 
 English crown. The Hibernia Pacata says, that he was sent 
 " to see and understand the state of the country."§ Many 
 English, scattered through the continental courts, though feign- 
 
 * Pet. Lomb. loo. cit. and Haverty's History of Ireland, p. 472. James 
 PitzThornas, the earl of Desmond, was commonly known as the sugane earl. 
 Cox says he was " the handsomest man of his time." 
 
 t Primo Damaschino, loe. cit. He adds, concerning Elizabeth, " che simile a 
 Medusa avea per sua corona le vipere dell' Eresia." 
 
 % We learn from Hoveden's Annals, that the son of Henry II. received, 
 on a former occasion, from the pontiff, as a token of his lordship over Ireland, 
 " a crown of peacock's feathers wreathed with gold." 
 
 § Pages 456-7. 
 
Chap. I. 2.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 207 
 
 ing a great devotion for the interests of Ireland, and for the 
 Catholic cause, had poisoned the minds of the Catholic princes 
 in reference to our island. The contemporary Irish authorities 
 bitterly complain of this. It will suffice to give the words of 
 Peter Lombard, archbishop of Armagh,* who, commemorating 
 the obstacles which had hitherto impeded the triumph of the 
 Catholic cause, says: — 
 
 " Qnintum est ex affectu non sincero vel cevte judicio minus solido 
 quorundam aliorum Anglican» nominatim nationis qui apud eosdem 
 principes vel auctoritatem aliquam consequuti vel se sponte ingerentes 
 ad informationem dandam tarn de hac quam de quibusdam aliis vicinis 
 regionibus, cum de ea imprimis adjuvanda faciliorem multo rationem 
 possent demonstrare id vel reticentes vel etiam deprimentes, alia con- 
 silia suggesserunt qiue principibus ipsis nimis sumptuosa, regionibus 
 istis noxia magis quam ittilia, ut taceam quod orbi Ohristiano non 
 satis etiam tuta." 
 
 For some months prosperity smiled on our long-suffering 
 island, and O'Neil availed himself of this momentary repose to 
 make a sort of royal progress through the southern districts, for 
 the purpose of uniting all the Irish chieftains in a compact con- 
 federation against the common enemy. It was one of his most 
 anxious cares that chief pastors should be provided for the 
 widowed sees of the Irish Church; and in unison with the 
 confederate chiefs, he addressed a letter to pope Clement, solicit- 
 ing the appointment of those bishops whose names they had 
 forwarded, with the sanction and under the guidance of the 
 aged bishop of Cork and Cloyne, the only bishop that still 
 survived in the province of Munster. This letter is dated " from 
 our Catholic camp, the 30th March, 1600," and in it the Irish 
 Catholics are declared to suffer more from the English heretics 
 than the Christians under the Turkish yoke, and that their 
 government was more tyrannical than that of Pharaoh of 
 old. 
 
 One of the prelates whose names had been thus forwarded by 
 the Irish princes to the Holy See, was Matthew de Oviedo; 
 and though the bull by which he was constituted successor of 
 
 * Comment, cap. xxi. t See Hib. Paeata, p. 309. 
 
 P 
 
208 
 
 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 2. 
 
 St. Laurence O'Toole, is dated the 7th of May, 1600,* yet the 
 Irish princes already styled him archbishop-elect of Dublin, as 
 appears from a fragment of O'Neil's letter to Florence M'Carthy, 
 on 2nd of May, 1600, which is preserved in the Hibernia 
 Pacata.f From this document we also learn, that our heroic 
 Franciscan had undertaken another journey to Ireland, bearer 
 of promises from the Spanish court, and destined in a special 
 manner to preserve the union which for some time had so 
 happily combined together the Irish princes. It was with the 
 same intent that the pontiff, about the same time, addressed 
 another letter to all -the confederate chieftains, renewing the in- 
 d ulgences which had formerly been granted during the Geraldine 
 war. In it he confirmed to Hugh of Tyrone the leadership of 
 the Catholic army, and moreover confirmed to him the title of 
 prince O'Neil, which, in the style of the Roman court at this 
 period, was usually granted only to independent sovereigns.^ 
 From February, 1600, till the same month in 1601, Oviedo 
 shared the perils of the Irish campaign. He seems to have 
 resided for the most part in the territory of Tyrone; and many 
 of his letters are still preserved which he thence addressed to 
 the southern chiefs, exhorting them to constancy and union. 
 One of these was addressed to the earl of Desmond, and bears 
 the date, Donegal, the 13th January, 1601: — 
 
 "My most honorable good Lord, — Having long desired a fit 
 opportunity to write unto you, I am rejoiced that it is at length 
 afforded rne by John of Desmond, that thus, through this most trust- 
 worthy and faithful messenger, I may open my mind to your lordship, 
 and at the same time make known to you that certain and undoubted 
 hope of aid will assuredly soon arrive. I would most willingly have 
 come to your lordship, and lately, indeed, I made an effort to do so, 
 but I was terrified by the northern chiefs, who assured me that I 
 would run imminent risk and danger in such a journey, unless I were 
 accompanied by an army to protect me. Were it not that I am now 
 through necessity compelled to return to Spain, I should have gone to 
 you with the aforesaid John ; but I hope that speedily and happily I 
 shall soon again return to you. In the meantime, I have omitted 
 
 * See Appendix No. 8. 
 
 t Page §06. It is described as a letter ' ' from Tyrone to Florence M'Carthy, 
 dated the second of May, 1600, wherein lie signifieth unto him of the arrival 
 of the pope's archbishop of Dublin, and of present aids from Spain," etc. 
 
 $ This bull is dated 18th April, 1600. See Hibernia Pacata, p. 664. 
 
Chap. I. 2.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 209 
 
 nothing that might tend to your profit, as well with his Catholic 
 majesty as with others ; which offices I will not fail to continue in 
 Spain. I therefore entreat your excellency to be of good courage, 
 together with all of your party, and to fight constantly and valiantly 
 for the faith and for the freedom of your country; for I am persuaded, 
 and know as a certainty, that the help of his Catholic majesty is now 
 coming, which, when it arrives, all things will be prosperous, and you 
 will be restored to your former security and liberty, in the enjoyment 
 of tranquillity and peace. May the Almighty preserve your lordship," 
 etc. 
 
 He addressed a similar letter to Florence M'Carthy, three 
 days later: — 
 
 " God is my witness," he writes, " that after my arrival in Ireland, 
 having knowledge of your ability and learning, I had an extreme 
 desire to see, communicate, and confer with so distinguished a person- 
 age, but the dangers of the journey would not permit me. I am now 
 departing into Spain, sorrowing that I have not visited those parts; 
 but I hope to return again shortly to this kingdom, and into those 
 parts to your satisfaction ; and be assured, that I will perform with 
 his majesty the office that a brother ought to do, that he may send 
 succours to you from Spain. By letter I can say no more, but leave 
 the rest until sight. May the Almighty have you in His keeping, 
 accordingto my desire! From Donegal, the 16th January, 1601."* 
 
 Before his departure for Spain, an assembly of northern 
 chieftains was held, and the archbishop was invited to take a part 
 in their deliberations. In the words of the English annalist, 
 " Tyrone, O'Donel, the Spanish archbishop, and all the chief 
 traitors of the country, were assembled in this council," and no 
 fewer than " sixteen Irish priests" are said to have assisted at 
 it.f The assembly was opened with due solemnity. The sacri- 
 fice of the Mass was offered up, and all present approached 
 the most holy sacrament The oath of association was then 
 renewed,} and the deliberations commenced. A letter from 
 Florence M'Carthy to Tyrone, declared that he was one with 
 them in spirit, though he had been obliged to make a truce 
 with the lord deputy : it would expire in May, and then he 
 should once more join his forces with them. The chief matter 
 
 * See Hib. Pacat. pp. 300-1. t Hib. Pac. pp. 282, 302. J Ibid, 
 
210 MATTHEW DE 0VJED0. [CllAr. I. 2. 
 
 of debate was the place to be selected for the landing of the 
 Spanish forces. It was unanimously resolved thatMunster was 
 the province to be first invaded. Many were of opinion that 
 Limerick was the city to which the expedition should be 
 directed: however, Florence M'Carthy, in his letters, repre- 
 sented Cork as the stronghold of the enemy, the seizing of 
 which would place all Munster in the power of the confederates. 
 This counsel was seconded by the archbishop, and was at 
 length adopted by the whole assembly.* 
 
 Their deliberations being concluded, the archbishop hastened, 
 without delay, to Spain, to urge on the so long promised fleet 
 and forces. It was in the month of February, 1601, that 
 Oviedo took his departure from the Irish coast. All his sacred 
 plate and other property, he entrusted to the care of the earl of 
 Tyrone.f He was, moreover, accompanied by the Spanish 
 admiral, Martin de la Cerda ;| and the earl's son, Henry, was 
 sent under their safe guidance, to be educated in the Spanish 
 court. § 
 
 No sooner was the Holy Father made acquainted with the 
 deliberations of the Ulster assembly, than he addressed to 
 O'Neil the following beautiful letter : — 
 
 " Beloved son, health and the apostolic blessing. Having learned as 
 well from your letters as from those which our beloved son, Peter Lom- 
 bard, your countryman, and provost of Cambray, presented to us, that 
 the confederation into which you and very many of the princes and 
 chief nobility of the kingdom have entered, is still, through the mercy of 
 God, preserved inviolate in the bonds of charity, and that you have 
 gained many victories over the English who deserted from our Church 
 and from, the Catholic faith, we were filled with exceeding joy, and we 
 returned thanks to God, the Father of mercies, for having yet preserved 
 in that kingdom so many thousands who never bent the knee to Baal. 
 These have not only rejected profane novelties and the impieties of 
 heresy, but, moreover, bravely combat for the inheritance of their 
 fathers, for the preservation and integrity of the faith, and for the 
 
 * Hib. Pacata, p. 319. 
 
 f " Leaving great store of plate and other riches, for a pledge behind him." 
 Hib. Pac. p. 281. 
 
 X Letter of Donogh M'Cormaok, 5th of January, 1601. 
 
 § This son of the earl of Tyrone was received with all honour by the 
 Spanish monarch, and had an allowance of two hundred ducats per month for 
 his support. Hib. Pac. p. 457; 
 
Chat. I. 2.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 211 
 
 maintenance of union with the Church, which alone is catholic and 
 apostolic, and outside of which there is no salvation. We extol the 
 singular piety and fortitude which you, beloved son, have displayed, as 
 well as those princes and all others who, being united and confederated 
 with you, refuse no dangers for the glory of God, and manifestly prove 
 themselves to be worthy children and successors of those heroes who, by 
 valour in war, and their devotion to the cause of religion, acquired an 
 immortal fame. Maintain, my sons, these sentiments, maintain this 
 union and concord, and God the all-powerful, the God of peace and 
 concord, will be with you, and will continue to prostrate your enemies 
 before you. As for us, we love and cherish, in the bowels of Jesus 
 Christ, your excellency, and all the others who are devoted to the 
 ancient faith, and who perpetuate the fame of their fathers ; we cease 
 not to pray to God for your felicity and safety, and we shall ever be 
 solicitous for your welfare, and, if necessity requires, we will gladly use 
 all influence in our power to induce the Catholic princes and sovereigns 
 to succour yourselves and your cause. It is also our intention to send 
 to you a special nuncio of this Holy See, over which, by divine disposi- 
 tion, we though unworthily preside, who will be a native of your kingdom, 
 pious, prudent, imbued with zeal for the glory of God, and approved of 
 by us, that thus he may prove the respect we entertain for you, and 
 may assist you in maintaining the so necessary and salutary union, as 
 well as in propagating the Catholic faith, and discharging all the other 
 offices which may promote the honour and worship of God. In the 
 meantime, we judged it proper to premit these letters, in order to attest 
 our love for you and for the whole kingdom, and thus, by our paternal affec- 
 tion, console you, who are our beloved children in Christ. As regards 
 Peter Lombard, whom you have constituted your orator and agent at 
 our court, we have cordially received him, and we will continue so to do. 
 To yourself, and to all those who are united with you in the defence of 
 the Catholic faith, we lovingly impart our apostolic blessing ; and we pray 
 God to send His angels as your protectors, to direct your pious efforts 
 by His heavenly grace, and to defend you by the right hand of His 
 omnipotence. Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, under the seal of the 
 fisherman, the 20th January, 1601."* 
 
 It was on .the 2nd of October, 1601, that Oviedo again 
 reached the Irish coast. As the fate of Ireland would have it, 
 the Spanish fleet was scattered by a storm, and it was with 
 difficulty that our archbishop, with the general Don John 
 D'Aquila and 2,500 men, landed in the harbo.ur of Kinsale. 
 Without delay, letters were sent to O'Neil and O'Donel, to urge 
 the speedy junction of their forces with the Spanish troops. 
 
 * The original of this letter is most incorrectly printed in Hib. Pac. page 
 667, seqq. 
 
212 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 2 
 
 " We have arrived in Kinsale," writes the archbishop, " with the 
 fleet and army of our king Philip : we expect, each hour, the arrival of 
 your excellencies : come, therefore, as expeditiously as you can, bring- 
 ing a supply of horses, of which we are especially in need. As we have 
 already written by another messenger, we now write no more. 
 Farewell. 
 
 " Fr. Matthew, archbishop of Dublin. 
 
 " 12th October, 1601." 
 
 A few days later an address to the Irish Catholics was pub- 
 lished in the name of Don John D'Aquila, in which it is declared 
 that the expedition was undertaken by apostolic authority. The 
 Irish Catholics are reminded that queen Elizabeth was an ex- 
 communicated sovereign, to whom they owed no allegiance or 
 submission; and it thus concludes: — 
 
 " You affirm that we Spaniards seek only to win the Trish to us by 
 allurements and fictitious flattery, that when we have thus drawn the 
 minds of simple men to us, we may afterwards subject them to a cruel 
 yoke, and show our cruel nature towards them. immortal God ! 
 who is there that is not astounded at your bitter and indescribable 
 cruelty, as well as at the effrontery which you display in these words ? 
 And who is there that doth not know the great cruelty which you Eng- 
 lish have exercised, and cease not still to exercise, towards the suffering 
 Irish ? You, I say, seek to take from their souls the Catholic faith, 
 which their fathers held, and in which consists eternal life. Truly 
 you are far more cruel than bears or lions, which take away the 
 temporal life, for you would deprive them of the eternal and spiritual 
 life. And who but the English enemy has demolished all the tempo- 
 ralities of this once most flourishing kingdom ? Look upon your 
 work, and be ashamed. Whereas, on the other hand, we, commiserating 
 the sad condition of the Catholics here, have left our own most sweet 
 and happy country, Spain, which abounds with all good things, 
 being moved by their cries which pierce the heavens, and have 
 reached the ears of the Pope and our king Philip. They, excited to 
 pity, have sent hither soldiers, silver, gold, and arms, with a most 
 liberal hand, not to exercise cruelty towards you, Irish Catholics, 
 but that you may be happily restored to your pristine felicity, and 
 that you may freely profess the Catholic faith. Therefore, most 
 beloved, seeing that what you have for so many years desired, and 
 solicited with prayers and tears, has been at length granted to you, and 
 that now, once more, the Pope, Christ's vicMr upon earth, doth command 
 you to take up arms for the defence of the faith, I admonish, exhort, 
 and beseech all of you, to whom these letters may come, to join us, as 
 soon as you possibly can, with your weapons and associates. Whosoever 
 
Chap. I. 2.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 
 
 213 
 
 shall do this, will find us ready for action, and we will communicate 
 unto them such means as we possess ; and whosoever, despising our 
 salutary counsel, shall attempt to do otherwise, and remain in the 
 obedience of the English, we will persecute him as an heretic and a 
 hateful enemy of the holy Church."* 
 
 In the meantime, however, the mainstay of the confederates 
 in the south, Florence M'Carthy, had been treacherously seized 
 on by the viceroy, and, together with the earl of Desmond, was 
 committed to the tower-t As for the Anglo-Irish nobility of 
 the province, they were more alarmed at the growing power of 
 the O'Neil than at the spread of the English authority, and 
 almost, without exception, ranged themselves under the banner 
 of the viceroy. Nevertheless, whilst the foreign auxiliaries acted 
 in unison with the Irish chieftains, all succeeded prosperously ; 
 but Don John soon quarrelled with them and with our^arch- 
 bishop, who, as of old, was sure to be always found on the side 
 of the Irish princes. What might have been effected by a 
 cordial- union between the natives and the Spaniards,5was seen 
 when a detachment of the Spanish forces, under vice-admiral 
 de Zubiaur, was attacked by the English at Castlehaven. 
 Zubiaur, without delay, invited the neighbouring Irislv chief- 
 tains to assist him. They cordially did so ; and in a few hours 
 their combined forces compelled the enemy to fly to their 
 vessels, leaving six hundred of their slain on the Irish coast. 
 
 So haughty, however, was the deportment of Don John, so 
 ill-conciliating in his deliberations, that few only of the Irish 
 associated with him. " None of account," writes the English 
 chronicler, "repaired to the Spaniards, except some dependents 
 of Florence M'Carthy. Don John offered six shillings per day 
 to every horseman among the Irish that would join his standard, 
 
 _ * Hib. Pacata. It is deserving of remark, that whilst O'Neil and O'Donel 
 m their earlier communications with the Spanish monarch, promised allegiance 
 to him* as to their sovereign (See Appendix No. 9), in the later documents 
 tney only regard the Spaniards as their allies in asserting their own rightful 
 
 t The Hib Pac. tells us that "there was no man of any account in all 
 Munster whom the president had not oftentimes laboured about the taking of 
 the reputed earl, promising very bountiful and liberal rewards to all who 
 would draw such a draught whereby he might be gotten alive or dead " 
 
214 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 2. 
 
 so that it is a wonder unto us that from present staggering they 
 fall not into flat defection,"* 
 
 For two months the Spanish troops were hemmed in by an 
 army of 15,000 English, yet they defended themselves with 
 heroic bravery. On the 31st of December, the united troops of 
 O'Neil and O'Donel arrived in sight of the castle, having 
 traversed the whole island in the 'midst of winter, in order to 
 relieve their allies. No fewer than 6,000| of the English 
 troops had already fallen victims around the ramparts of Kinsale, 
 and everything gave to the confederates the . assurance of a 
 certain victory. But English gold unlocked the secrets of the 
 Irish camp, and it is also feared corrupted the integrity of the 
 Spanish commander. When the combined attack on the 
 English camp was planned for the 3rd of January, 1602, the 
 English army, though in the dead of night, was already 
 drawn out in order of battle to receive them, whilst the Spanish 
 forces remained unmoved within the walls of the fortress. A 
 disastrous rout was the consequence ; and the immediate sur- 
 render of Kinsale blasted all the hopes of the Irish princes. 
 
 On board the Spanish fleet, in company with Oviedo, two 
 remarkable men had sailed for the shores of Ireland. One was 
 F. James Archer, an Irish Jesuit, and the other was Dominick 
 Collins, a lay-brother of the same order. Father Archer had 
 already laboured for some years on the Irish mission; and a 
 letter addressed to an agent of the Roman court in England, 
 about 1598, thus sketched his character: — 
 
 " Father Archer, alone, is a greater comfort to his Irish countrymen 
 than even a considerable reinforcement of troops. I am a witness 
 that his presence was almost more serviceable to the cause than any- 
 thing else ; for, at his nod, the hearts of men were united and bound 
 together, not only in the district of Berehaven and Munster, but in the 
 greater part of the whole kingdom. "J 
 
 One of the good father's letters, dated from the camp, the 
 10th of August, 1598, is still happily preserved. In it he 
 
 * Moryson's Itinerary, p. 136. 
 
 t Letter of Carew, 11th August, 1602, Hib. Paeata, p. 631. 
 
 J Oliver's Collections, etc. p. 232. 
 
CirAF. I. 2.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 215 
 
 describes the intense anxiety of the government to apprehend 
 him, insomuch " that he was obliged to live for the most part in 
 the woods and hiding-places ;" still he never ceased from exer- 
 cising his sacred ministry. 2,000 general confessions, and the 
 reconciliation of many to the Catholic Church, had been his 
 spiritual harvest. Fellow-labourers, he adds, are wanting, and 
 yet the nobility of the northern as well as of the southern districts 
 are most anxious for a supply.* The English writers accuse 
 him of having concerted the plan for the arrest of the earl of ' 
 Ormond, in 1600.f He, indeed, assisted at the conference with 
 that nobleman ; and the Irish writers assign as the occasion of 
 the earl's arrest, the threatening violence of the gestures which 
 he used towards the aged father. Towards the close of that 
 year, father Archer visited Rome ; but when the expedition was 
 prepared for Ireland, he was again to be found at his post of 
 danger. 
 
 The career of Dominick Collins had been marked by far 
 different traits. He had served for many years as captain in both 
 the French and Spanish armies, but at length renounced the 
 world to ensure his salvation, as a lay-brother, in the order of 
 St. Ignatius. Even after the surrender of Kinsale, he threw him- 
 self into the castle of Dunboy; and when it, too, was taken by 
 storm, no threats or promises could induce him to renounce his 
 institute, or abjure the Catholic faith; and at length, on the 
 3rd October, 1602, he was led from Cork to his native town, 
 Youghal, by order of the lord deputy, and there executed, 
 " imparting, by his constancy, great edification to all the faithful, 
 whilst the whole city of Cork accompanied him with its tears."$ 
 O'Sullevan Beare gives a few additional particulars connected 
 with his martydom: " He was first assailed by the reasonings 
 of the Protestant ministers, and then great rewards and ecclesi- 
 astical dignities were offered to him, should he embrace the 
 tenets of Anglicanism. On his rejecting these things with 
 disdain, he was dragged at a horse's tail to the place of execu- 
 
 * Oliver's Collections. t Hib. Pac. p. 44, seqq. 
 
 { Letter from Dublin, 26th February, 1603 ; also, Hib. Pacata, pp. 577-8. 
 Drews, in his Fasti, and O'Sullevan Beare, assign the 31st of October as the 
 day of his martyrdom. 
 
216 MATTHEW DE 0VIED0. [Chap. 1. 2. 
 
 tion; and whilst he was still hanging from the gibbet, the 
 soldiers transfixed his breast with their weapons." 
 
 But to return to our narrative: about the time that the 
 disastrous battle of Kinsale was fought in the south^Oviedo had 
 set sail from the northern coast, for the purpose of soliciting 
 aid of men and arms from the Spanish court; and in a few 
 days later the following letter, addressed to him by the duke of 
 Lerma, was intercepted by the English troops : — 
 
 " I have received your lordship's letters, giving thanks to God for the 
 success of your journey ; for by it, it appears, there is a way open 
 for many good purposes for his service; and his majesty hath great 
 confidence in the solicitude and zeal of your lordship for the advance- 
 ment of the same. We now send you a good body of men, with such 
 things as are necessary, and more shall be prepared ; and so we will 
 continue sending as much as we may, whereof you need entertain no 
 doubt ; and as his majesty (whom God preserve) looks upon it as a 
 matter of paramount importance, that the earls should join with Don 
 John d'Aquila, he desires your lordship to do in it your utmost 
 endeavours, according to the confidence he hath in your zeal. May 
 God preserve your lordship. From Valladolid, the 5th December, 1601. 
 
 " El duque de Lerma, marques de Denia."* 
 
 For some time the archbishop seems to have entertained 
 further hopes of success. O'Neil was still in arms ; and whilst 
 Don Johnf was everywhere despised and banished from the 
 court, O'Donel was received with all honour by the monarch 
 and grandees of Spain. Three days after the disaster at Kinsale, 
 this prince went on board a Spanish vessel in the port of Castle- 
 haven, and sailed for Corunna. He was treated with every mark 
 of honour by the marques of Caracena and the "other nobility ; 
 and at each city, as he passed along, the public enthusiasm 
 sufficiently proved the sympathy which was felt for the cause 
 of Ireland. The earl's heart, however, was unmoved by these 
 demonstrations, and he could allow himself no rest until he 
 reached Zamora, and pleaded his country's cause in the court of 
 king Philip! Here his demands were ably seconded by the 
 
 * Hib. Pac. p. 467. t Hib Pao. p. 625. 
 
 J,For the reception of O'Donel in Spain, see Hibernia Paeata, pp. 478-9; and 
 notes to An nals of the Four Masters. 
 
Chap.1.3.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 217 
 
 solicitations of Oviedo ; and at length orders were given for 
 another powerful force to be assembled at Corunna, to make a 
 descent on the Irish coast. 
 
 However, that armament never sailed; the news of the 
 successful progress of the English forces in Ireland alarmed the 
 Spanish courtiers; and the gallant O'Donel, overcome by his 
 exertions, died at Simancas, t'.vo leagues from Valladolid, on the 
 10th of September, 1602. A few months later, O'Neil, re- 
 ceiving honourable conditions, made his submission to the 
 viceroy ; and our archbishop being unable to visit his flock, and 
 seeing no prospect of further aid being available for his adopted 
 country, retired once more to the peaceful seclusion of the 
 cloister. 
 
 3. — Some Particular Events of Oviedo 's Episcopate, and Persecution 
 of the Catholics under James I. 
 
 The bull of Dr. Oviedo's appointment to the see of Dublin, 
 is dated the 3rd of the nones of May, 1600. In it he is styled 
 a professed member^ of the order of the Observants ; and the 
 sanctity of his life, the morality of his conduct, his prudence in 
 spiritual matters, and his circumspection in temporal affairs, are 
 declared to be well known to the Apostolic See. " Wherefore," 
 it thus concludes, " by our apostolic letters, we commend you to 
 our venerable brothers, the suffragans, and to our beloved sons, 
 the chapter of the said church, as also to the clergy and people 
 of the city and diocese of Dublin, that the suffragans adhering 
 to you as members to their head, and the chapter humbly 
 reverencing you as the father and pastor of their souls, may 
 show to you all due and devout reverence and obedience, that 
 thus mutual affection between you and them may produce happy 
 fruits, and we may be able to commend their devotion in the 
 Lord."* 
 
 But howsoever Oviedo may have been desirous to visit his 
 spiritual flock, such were the dangers which beset his path, 
 especially in the vicinity of the capital, that he seems never to 
 
 * See Appendix No, 8. 
 
218 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 3. 
 
 have taken possession of his see,* and to have been compelled to 
 govern it by vicars-general, during the whole period of his 
 episcopate. In 1603, at the solicitation of the Spanish monarch, 
 he was invested with the administration of the see of Auria,t 
 suffragan to the archbishop of Compostello, and seems to have 
 closed his earthly career about the year 1610. 
 
 The first vicar-general chosen by our archbishop was Bernard 
 Moriarty, who, in the following year, 1601, laying down his life 
 through devotion to the Catholic faith, proved how wisely he 
 had been chosen for that spiritual charge. He was a priest of 
 the diocese of Ardagh, and in Spain had graduated in the 
 faculty' of law. He was subsequently appointed dean of Ardagh 
 and archdeacon of Clonmacnoise ; and his merits being already 
 well known to Oviedo, he was appointed vicar-general of the 
 see of Dublin. Dr. Moriarty was residing in the time-honoured 
 Franciscan monastery of Multifernam, in company of the 
 venerable bishop of Kilmore, when all its inmates were arrested 
 by the English soldiery. On the 1st of October, this troop 
 was dispatched from Dublin by lord Mountjoy, with instructions 
 to pillage the monastery and seize on the religious. It was 
 dark night when they arrived at Multifernam, and the religious 
 were returning to their cells after the recital of the divine 
 office ; and hence some were able to escape from the convent, 
 and seek a refuge in the neighbouring woods. The bishop, 
 however, and Dr. Moriarty, with some of the other religious, 
 were at once seized; and whilst the monastery was devoted 
 to the flames, the prisoners were sent under a strong escort to 
 the capital. Before they had reached their destination, some 
 Catholics assailed the guard of our vicar-general, and sought to 
 effect his liberation. They, however, were easily repulsed, and 
 
 * In the Franciscan Annals, ad an. 1603, he is spoken of as still archbishop 
 elect of Dublin, and his translation to Auria is thus registered : "Anno Christi, 
 1603, episcopalem dignitatem obtinuit inter observantes Matthaeus de Oveto 
 electus archiepus Dublinensis in Hibernia, postea translatus ad ecclesiam 
 Auriensem in Hispania. " According to the strict style of the Roman Curia, 
 a bishop, even though consecrated, is only bishop elect till he takes possession 
 of his see ; and an archbishop is styled elect until he receives the pallium. 
 
 "I" The suffragan sees of Compostello were often thus entrusted to our Irish 
 bishops when banished from their own dioceses. Thus it was with Dr. William 
 Walsh of Meath, and Dr. Cornelius Mulrian of Killaloe. The appointment, 
 however, to these sees did not imply any renunciation of their former dioceses. 
 
Chap. I. 3.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 219 
 
 the excited soldiery inflicted many wounds upon their prisoner, 
 who was thrown into the dungeons of the castle, and, before the 
 end of October, expired from the effects of the wounds he 
 had received.* The faithful revered him as a martyr, and 
 his remains were solemnly interred in the cemetery of St. 
 James, 
 
 We cannot with certainty determine who was his immediate 
 successor in this perilous dignity. It was probably, however, 
 the Rev. Robert Lalor, who was arrested in 1606, being accused 
 of exercising foreign jurisdiction, and styling himself vicar- 
 general of the dioceses of Dublin, Kildare, and Ferns. On the 
 22nd of December, a formula of retractation was proposed to 
 him, in which king James was declared to be "lawful chief and 
 supreme governor in all causes as well ecclesiastical as civil :" 
 the bishops " ordained and made by the king's authority," were 
 acknowledged to be "lawful bishops;" and, in fine, a promise 
 was exacted that he would be " willing and ready to obey the 
 king, as a good and obedient subject ought to do in all his 
 lawful commandments." To this latter promise Lalor readily 
 assented ; and interpreting the preceding declarations as merely 
 regarding the legal ordinances of the realm, he subscribed to 
 them also. The government, however, was not as yet satisfied, 
 -and though his confinement was somewhat relaxed, he was still 
 detained in custody .f His friends, on learning that he was 
 indebted for this leniency to his having acknowledged the king's 
 supremacy, were filled with indignation : they were appeased, 
 however, when he protested " that his acknowledgment of the 
 king's authority did not extend to spiritual, but was confined to 
 temporal causes only." This declaration of the vicar-general 
 soon reached the ears of the lord deputy, and hence he was, 
 
 * Mooney's MS. Hist, of the Franc. Order — "Dmis. Bernardus Moriartus 
 sacerdos Ardachadensis dicecesis, in jure Can. in Hispania graduatus, decanus 
 ardaehaden. et archidiaconus Cluanensis, constitutus postea vie. generalis 
 Dublinensis, captus est cum fratribus conventus de Montefernan, an. 1601, et 
 cum ministro provinciali qui tunc erat et fr. Xtichardo Kilmorensi Epo. (nam 
 uterque plerumque manebat cum fratribus ex singulari ergo illos devotione) et 
 cum duceretur Dublinum in via vulneratus est ab haereticis dum aliqni 
 Catholici eum "vi auferre conantur, et Dubiini in carcere mortuus est, martyr 
 sepultus in eodem ccemeterio mense Octobri auni prsedicti." 
 
 t " On this confession he was indulged with more liberty and with free 
 access to his friends." — Mant. vol 1, p. 351. 
 
220 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 3. 
 
 without delay, indicted upon the statute of prcemunire, tried, 
 and found guilty. During the trial, the judge reproached him 
 with having denied that doctrine which he had, by his signature, 
 acknowledged to be true. The prisoner, however, by his 
 courage, made ample atonement for any weakness he might have 
 heretofore been guilty of. He declared that there was no contra- 
 diction between the document he had signed and the declaration 
 which he had made to his friends; he had acknowledged the 
 king's authority in the questions of social order, but " he had 
 told his friends that he had not acknowledged the king's supre- 
 macy in the spiritual order; and this he still affirmed to be 
 true." This explanation was, of course, declared by the 
 government officials to be mere "knavery and silliness;" the 
 sentence of the law was pronounced upon the prisoner, and, 
 in a few days, another name was added to the martyrs of 
 Dublin.* 
 
 Despite the many persecutions they had been subjected to, 
 the people of Dublin, as well as the whole mass of the population 
 of the island, seem to have immoveably adhered to the faith of 
 their fathers. The letters of father Richard Field, a Jesuit, who, 
 from 1599 to 1606, laboured in the missions of Dublin, present 
 valuable information on this head. His first letter is dated 
 Dublin, 1st September, 1599, and in it he commemorates the 
 zealous labours of his saintly colleague, father Henry Fitzsymons. 
 In his second letter, which is dated Dublin, 20th July, 1600, he 
 enters into fuller details as to the condition of the country ; and 
 whilst he laments the laxity of morals which had crept into those 
 districts which were the theatre of war, and hence calls aloud 
 for an increased supply of pious and learned priests, he adds — 
 " In the more civilized parts of the island, where I happen to 
 reside, the poor are exceedingly well affected to religion." His 
 third letter is also dated from the same theatre of his zeal — 
 Dublin, 25th February, 1603. After lamenting the long interval 
 that had elapsed since the receipt of letters from his friends in 
 Rome, he states that there were then five Jesuits in Ireland — 
 viz., two in Munster — F. Andrew Malony and F. Nicholas 
 
 * Cox, vol. 2, p. 10, seqq. 
 
Chap. I. 3.] MATTHEW DE 0VIED0. 221 
 
 Lynch ; two in Leinster — himself and his companion, F. Leann ; 
 whilst the fifth, F. Fitzsymons, was still detained in prison, a 
 confessor for the faith. He then adds : — 
 
 " Since the queen's privy council have imagined that the war is draw- 
 ing to a close (the Spanish troops having been repulsed last year, and 
 the forces of the Irish chieftains being now broken and dispersed), they 
 have appointed upwards of sixty ecclesiastical commissioners to super- 
 intend the business of the churches. They commenced with Dublin, 
 and ordered the churches to be put in proper repair, and to be refitted 
 with seats, etc., in a handsome style. They have, moreover, divided 
 the city into six parishes, and they seek to urge the people by threats, 
 and to allure by promises, to attend the Protestant service and sermons 
 in the respective parish churches. Unable to prevail on the Catholics 
 to be present, they fix a day in each week when the Catholics (whom 
 they style recusants) must appear before the commissioners. The 
 gentry are asked, in the first place, and then the common people, whether 
 they will frequent the churches and assist at the sermons. The general 
 answer is, that they will not enter those profane places of worship, or 
 listen to the false doctrines of the preachers, and that by the faith of 
 their forefathers, and by the Catholic religion, they are prohibited from 
 communicating with them in sacred things. A thousand injuries and 
 calumnies are heaped upon them in consequence ; they are called traitors 
 and abettors of the Spaniards; commitments to jail are made out for 
 disobeying the queen's laws ; fines of ten pounds are ordered for each 
 offence, or absence from the church on the Lord's day. The imprisonment 
 thus imposed is patiently endured, but the citizens will not pay the fines, 
 for they stoutly deny that they can be legally compelled to pay them. 
 This is the condition of the citizens of Dublin, and their invincible 
 fidelity has stimulated the courage of other towns."* 
 
 The father Fitzsymons, to whom reference is made in the 
 above extracts, was son of an eminent merchant in Dublin. He 
 was well versed in sacred literature; and in 1595 we find him 
 professor of philosophy at Douay, at the same time that the 
 famous Lessius presided over its theological faculty. Towards 
 the close of 1597 he was selected for the mission of his native 
 country, and for more than forty years he continued to display, 
 in Dublin and its vicinity, a fearless zeal and an unbounded 
 charity. One of the most striking facts connected with his 
 history at this period, is his having celebrated solemn high Mass, 
 
 * Oliver's Collections. London, 1845. Pages 244-5. 
 
222 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 3. 
 
 with great pomp, in Dublin in 1598, accompanied with a great 
 variety of musical instruments — " a sight," it is added, " that 
 Dublin had not witnessed for forty years before."* He was 
 soon after arrested, and detained in prison until the accession of 
 king James, when he was sentenced to exile, and hurried on 
 board a ship bound to Bilboa.t He was author of many con- 
 troversial works, and in his " Catholick Confutation," page 210, 
 he gives the following details of the exploits of the then 
 Protestant dean of St. Patrick's t against the Catholics of 
 Dublin : — " He exacted each year" he says, " seventeen hundred 
 barrels of corn as the tithes of his deanery ; he pulled down a 
 fine cross in theLiberties, ivhich the people held in great veneration, 
 and ivhich all his predecessors had allowed to stand, and with the 
 stones thereof he built an oven; moreover, he cut down, for fire, 
 all the trees that adorned the church grounds ; and in May, 1604, 
 his son attempted to pull down an ancient image which was yet 
 standing in the church walls, but in doing so, he tumbled down 
 from a great height, and ivas killed by the fall" 
 
 A little while before the queen's death the persecution was 
 somewhat relaxed, as the viceroy had learned from England the 
 precarious illness of her majesty, whilst he found that concilia- 
 tion was the only hope for preserving tranquility in Ireland. 
 There is extant an interesting letter of father Christopher Holy- 
 wood, better known by his latin name, a Sacro Bosco, and 
 which is dated Douay, 16th July, 1603. In it he states that the 
 Catholics of Dublin had, before the queen's death, experienced 
 a dreadful storm of persecution : the instigators were Terrell, the 
 mayor of the city, and Rider, the dean of St. Patrick's. Many 
 Catholics, he says, quitted the town, and the leading citizens 
 were committed to gaol. Baron Mountjoy was then absent in 
 Connaught, where he pursued a conciliating course. At his return, 
 the citizens presented a memorial of their grievances; and 
 Mountjoy, turning to the mayor, exclaimed in an angry tone : " I 
 am putting an end to warfare abroad, and you, sir, are sowing 
 
 * Oliver's Collections, page 245. 
 
 + For his return to Ireland, and subsequent labours, see Oliver, loo. eit. and 
 Historical Sketch of the Persecutions, etc. Dublin, 18G2. Page 12. 
 
 % John Rider, dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin, and soon after appointed Pro- 
 testant bishop of Killala. 
 
Chap. I. 3.] MATTHEW DE 0VIED0. 223 
 
 the seed of wars at home."* The latter adds, that on the news 
 of the queen's death reaching Ireland, the citizens of Waterford, 
 Kilkenny, Cork, and other places, took possession of the paro- 
 chial churches, expelling the Protestant clergy, and restoring 
 them to Catholic worship. A detailed narrative of the display 
 of Catholic feeling thus made throughout the cities and towns 
 of Ireland, has fortunately been preserved to us. It was written in 
 1604, and was presented to pope Clement the eighth, by James 
 White, vicar-apostolic of Waterford and Lismore.t In it he de- 
 scribes " the oppressive and intolerable yoke of heresy," which 
 had for many years pressed so heavily on the Irish Catholics : 
 " which oppression," he adds, " they suffered solely for the 
 Catholic faith." It was only on the 9th of April that the news 
 of the queen's death reached the citizens of Waterford, and they 
 at once resolved " no longer to dissemble the faith of their fore- 
 fathers, and practise it only in private, but to publicly profess 
 it, and proclaim it to the whole world." There was no tumult, for 
 the mayor, and corporation, and gentry, and people, all were 
 alike faithful children of the Church. In fact, the reformed creed 
 seems to have had none to acknowledge its tenets save the alien 
 and hireling pastors, who, in the address of the citizens, are styled 
 " Calvinist, Lutheran, and Atheist ministers." On the 11th the 
 church of St. Patrick was solemnly reconciled, and on the follow- 
 ing day the cathedral dedicated to the most holy Trinity was like- 
 wise restored to Catholic devotion. This church had been espe- 
 cially desecrated by the profane hands of the innovators. " We 
 found the temple of God," writes the vicar-apostolic, " which was 
 erected by our fathers, changed by the heretics into a hog-stye, 
 and a mere recepticle of every filth. "J Through the efforts of 
 the citizens, however, the church was soon renewed, and altars 
 erected ; the emblems of religion once more decked its walls ; and 
 when, on the following day, its bells pealed forth the summons 
 
 * Oliver's Collections, etc. p. 250. 
 
 t It is published in Appendix to Cambrensis Eversus, Dublin (for the Celtic 
 Society), 1851-2, vol. iii.p. 521-550. An ancient MS. copy (probably the ori- 
 ginal) is in the Barberini Archives, Ptome. 
 
 t " Invenimus templum Dei, Patrumque nostrorum ab hereticis factum fuisse 
 non in pomorium sed quasi in porcorum custodiam, sordiumque et stereoris 
 receptaculum." — Loc. cit. p. 525. 
 
 Q 
 
224 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 3. 
 
 to solemn thanksgiving, the mayor, and magistrates, and nobility 
 joined in procession with the faithful throng. Nothing but re- 
 joicing was to be seen in the assembled multitude, and many 
 shed tears of joy on witnessing that gladsome spectacle. 
 
 Other towns soon followed the example thus given them. The 
 cathedral of Limerick was rededicated by Richard Arthur; the 
 cathedral of Cork and Cloyne, by Robert Miagh ;* the metropo- 
 litan church of Cashel, by Thomas Rachtur; the churches of 
 Wexford, by John Coppinger; Dr. White himself restored to 
 the piety of the faithful the churches of Clonmel, Kilkenny, and 
 Ross, and other clergymen acted in like manner in many other 
 places. This success, whilst it inspired the Catholics with conso- 
 lation, filled the heretics with dismay and fury, for nothing could 
 enrage them more, says the narrative, than to see the Irish 
 Catholics thus publicly proclaim themselves devoted children 
 " of the pure and saving faith of the holy Roman Church. "t 
 
 The rejoicings of the Catholics lasted but for a little while. 
 As soon as king James found himself sufficiently secure upon 
 the English throne, he at once retracted all his promises of 
 toleration; and his proclamation of the 4th July, 1605, which 
 was published in Dublin on the 28th of September following, at 
 once blighted all hopes of religious liberty.}: In it, it was first 
 declared: "It hath seemed proper to us to proclaim, and we 
 
 * The revolt of the citizens of Cork was one of the most remarkable of the 
 kingdom. The citizens not only refused to acknowledge the king, but took up 
 arms, placed guards upon the town, burned all the Protestant Bibles and Common 
 Prayer Books they could find, destroyed every emblem of heretical worship, re- 
 hallowed the churches, and celebrated divine worship with all possible pomp. 
 " They had a person named a legate from the pope (perhaps a vicar-apostolic), 
 who went about in procession with a cross, and forced people to reverence it ; 
 they buried the dead with the Catholic ceremonies ; and numbers took the 
 sacrament to defend that religion with their lives and fortunes."— Smith's 
 Cork, vol. ii. pp. 97-101. 
 
 t Ibid. p. 522. 
 
 t King James had been for some years before his accession to the English 
 throne a pensioner of the pope and the king of Spain, and made repeated de- 
 clarations of his desire to afford libertie of conscience to the suffering Catholics. 
 What sort of toleration this was is detailed in a letter of Richard Blount, of 
 3rd June, 1605. " The persecution," he says, " surpasses by many degrees all 
 former times. The prisons in the north of England are full of Catholics. The 
 sheriffs seize upon their cattle and goods, and sell them before their faces for 
 the king's use. His majesty thinketh papists unworthy to be tolerated in any 
 commonwealth, and but yesterday drank very solemnly at dinner, 'to the 
 eternal damnation of all papists.' "—Oliver's Collections, etc. p. 250. 
 
Chap. I. 3.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 225 
 
 hereby make known to our subjects in Ireland, that no toleration 
 shall ever be granted by us. This we do for the purpose of cut- 
 ting off all hope that any other religion shall be allowed save 
 that which is consonant to the- laws and statutes of this 
 realm."* All his subjects are then commanded to attend the 
 Protestant churches on Sundays and festivals ; all priests are 
 required to withdraw from the kingdom before the 10th of 
 December ; and, in fine, the penal statutes of the late queen are 
 renewed and ordered to be put in force against all popish recu- 
 sants and popish priests and Jesuits. 
 
 Father Christopher Holiwood writes from Dublin on the 10th 
 of December, 1605, that this edict was without delay put into 
 execution : — 
 
 " To strike terror amongst the Catholic population of Dublin, who 
 nobly refused to sacrifice their religion to mammon, the lord lieutenant 
 and privy council sent to prison, on the 22nd and 27th of November, 
 several members of the corporation and some of the principal citizens. A 
 deputation of gentlemen from the counties of Kildare, Meath, and Louth, 
 upon this, waited on his excellency, and petitioned for a suspension of 
 the system of coercion, until they could be allowed to visit his majesty's 
 court and represent their case. After a delay of fifteen days, his 
 excellency, in the exercise of despotic power, threw some of the depu- 
 tation into gaol, and ordered others to confine themselves to their 
 houses, and neither to write to any one, nor speak to any person who 
 was not part of their own household, under the penalty of a thousand 
 pounds, English money. A large body of troops was assembled in 
 Dublin, whilst detachments were drafted off for the apprehension of 
 priests all over the kingdom. Amongst the prisoners were the follow- 
 ing citizens of Dublin : Mr. Walter Seagrove, John Shelton, James 
 Beelowe, Thomas Penket, Kennedy, Stephens, Tornor, Kearroll, etc. 
 These and others were first commanded to go to church by proclama- 
 tion ; they then received a special order; and the third time received 
 commandment, upon the duty of allegiance under the broad seal; and 
 still persisting in their refusal, they were indicted in the star-chamber, 
 fined, and committed for contempt. Others of the nobility and gentry 
 were committed to prison for daring to present a petition, and amongst 
 them are my lord viscount of Gormanstown, my lord of Howth (as I 
 hear), sir Patrick Barnwall, close prisoner ; sir James Dillon, John 
 Finglass, Eichard Netterville, and Henry Burnell, who are committed 
 to their houses only on account of their great age."* 
 
 * Dom. O'Daly, Relatio Persec. Hib. p. 232. 
 f Oliver's Collections, etc. p. 251. 
 
226 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 3. 
 
 The persecution spread in like manner to every part qf the 
 kingdom. Father Barnaby Kearney, brother of the archbishop 
 of Gashel, was engaged in the sacred ministry in the city of 
 Cork. He was famed for his sanctity, and his preaching had won 
 many to the Catholic faith. He was consequently marked out for 
 the vengeance of the government ; and on the dawn of the 5th 
 of September, 1606, a troop of horse was sent by the viceroy to 
 apprehend him. He, however, escaped in disguise, and, as we 
 learn from his own letter of the 4th October, that year, he 
 followed the steps of his excellency to Waterford, where he was 
 a witness of his persecuting enactments, and, at the same time, 
 consoled by contemplating the heroism of the citizens. 
 
 " On arriving at the courthouse," he thus writes,* " his excellency 
 summoned before him eleven of the most respectable inhabitants of 
 Waterford, viz., Paul Sherlock, who had been elected mayor for the 
 ensuing year ; Nicholas Maddan, Michael Brown, Nicholas White, 
 James Fagan, Nicholas Strong, James Sherlock, Richard Wadding, 
 James Walsh, Patrick White, and Richard Boucher. Six neglected to 
 make their appearance, and were heavily fined, being moreover ordered 
 to present themselves before him at Cork. The five who attended, 
 with great spirit, professed that they would never swerve from the 
 Roman Catholic faith, which they had inherited from their fathers ; but 
 should ever manifest loyal allegiance to their sovereign, and obedience 
 to his representatives, in all civil and political matters. The viceroy 
 marked his indignation at this bold expression of sentiment, imposed a 
 heavy fine, and gave them in charge to his secretary, until they should 
 alter their opinions. Finding them immovably firm in their faith, he 
 caused them to appear before the lord chief justice, who endeavoured 
 to gain them over by promises of place and emolument, and assured 
 them that the government would be satisfied if they would hut once 
 attend at the Protestant service. But these heroes knew too well that 
 pliancy in religion was inadmissible, and hence refused their consent, 
 telling him that they had given, and ever would give, undeniable proofs 
 of their civil allegiance — that it could never benefit the king's interests 
 for them to act against the dictates of conscience — and that they could 
 not believe that the king wished them to make such a sacrifice of 
 principle. The sheriffs, James Walsh and James Brown, who were 
 indeed two olive trees in the garden of God,] were then attacked,' but 
 
 * We are induced to give these documents in full, on account of the effron- 
 tery with which some writers continue still to eulogize the mild administration 
 of king James — so true is it that hitherto Irish history, with rare exceptions 
 has been little more than a conspiracy against truth. 
 
 t " Vere duaj olivai in domo Dei." 
 
Chap. I. 8.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 227 
 
 with no better success. One hundred and sixty of the citizens were 
 next selected as persons who might probably be prevailed on to sur- 
 render conscience to the motives of fear and interest ; but God, who 
 chooses the weak things of the world to confound the strong, supplied 
 them with courage to resist every assault, and not one of the whole 
 number, nor even in the whole population of Waterford, comprising 
 many thousands of inhabitants, would degrade himself by such an act 
 of hypocrisy and apostacy. In revenge, severe pecuniary fines were 
 inflicted on them. The base attempt of the chief justice to rob the 
 inhabitants of Ross of their conscientious integrity, proved equally 
 abortive." 
 
 The writer, moreover, adds : — 
 
 " The viceroy, in his progress towards Carrick, was informed that 
 Nicholas Madan harboured in his castle of Whitfield, three miles from 
 Waterford, a learned English priest, named Thomas Hill. Under some 
 specious pretext, his excellency proceeded in that direction with a troop 
 of horse, and sent soldiers to search every corner of the castle ; but, 
 thanks to God, they found nothing, and Mr. Hill is still safe in 
 Ireland."* 
 
 Dominick de Rosario describes to us still more vividly the 
 strict rigour with which the enactments of the English monarch 
 were executed in Ireland. 
 
 " Quickly," he says, " did the satellites of James put his decree in 
 execution in every quarter of Ireland. Their virulence» knew no 
 bounds; the priests of the people were made to suffer, and those who 
 stood by them became participators of their sorrows."! 
 
 And hence, he thus apostrophises the king: — 
 
 "You lash the flock of Christ with a whip of scorpions; their 
 enemies you caress; the lambs are dispersed and hunted; and the 
 wolves are kennelled by you, and unslipped to devour them." 
 
 The author of Macaria? Excidium laments, in a similar 
 
 * Oliver's Collections, etc. p. 252. This letter is dated e nostro latibulo in 
 quofrater (the archbishop of Cashel) modo est, 4° Octob. 1606. 
 
 t The Geraldines, etc. Originally printed in Lisbon, 1655 ; translated by 
 Eev. C. P. Meehan. Dublin, 1847. Page 166. 
 
228 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 3. 
 
 emphatic strain, the persecuting bigotry thus displayed by king 
 James. 
 
 " Having been," he says, " from his earliest years, imbued with 
 the impiety of the new doctrines, and trained in their preposterous 
 religion by those who had been guilty of both his mother's exile and 
 his father's death, he persecuted the Roman Catholic faith, following 
 Elizabeth's example, with the fiercest severity, and himself enacted 
 laws of the most bloody tenor in Ireland, against the ancient customs 
 and venerable rites of religion ; and even in other matters he showed 
 no greater leaning towards the native Irish, though he did not deny 
 that he was of their lineage and blood. This great perversity of James, 
 so contrary to what was generally expected from him, and his deadly 
 hatred of that religion for which his royal parent shed her noble blood, 
 drove those Irish, originally of English blood, who had formerly sided 
 with Elizabeth, to repent of their conduct, and, when too late, to regret 
 their inconsiderate folly in joining the party of that persecuting queen, 
 in doing which they little thought they were reducing their country to 
 slavery, and abolishing the pure religion of their forefathers."* 
 
 Still more minutely than all these, the vicar-apostolic of 
 Waterford and Lismore, already referred to, details the sad 
 violence which desolated the whole island. He thus writes to 
 cardinal Baronius, on the 1st of May, 1606: — 
 
 " I have already often written to you since my arrival in this most 
 afflicted kingdom, concerning the condition of the Catholic Church, and 
 especially in the month of October last, immediately after the publica- 
 tion of the edict against all Catholics, whether clergy or laity. By that 
 edict it was most strictly commanded to all Jesuits and seminarists, and 
 all other priests whatsoever, and to all bishops ordained by foreign 
 jurisdiction, to depart altogether from this kingdom before the tenth of 
 December last, under penalty of the supreme indignation of his majesty, 
 and other penalties to be arbitrarily inflicted. We hoped that some 
 mitigation would be allowed in the rigour of this edict, but as yet we 
 have looked for it in vain ; nay, so rigorously is it executed, that there 
 is scarcely a spot where Catholics can find a safe retreat. The impious 
 soldiery, by day and night, pursue the defenceless priests, and merci- 
 lessly persecute them. Up to the present they have succeeded in seizing 
 only upon three, one of whom is detained in Dublin prison, another is 
 confined in Cork, and the third, in my opinion, is happiest of all, 
 triumphing in heaven with Christ our Lord ; for, in the excess of the 
 
 * Macariaa Excidium, edited by T. C. O'Callaghan, for Royal Irish Academv 
 1850, p. 31. " 
 
Chap. I. U.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 229 
 
 fury of the soldiery, without any further trial or accusation, having 
 confessed himself to be a priest, he was hanged upon the spot. May 
 this beginning be a happy and auspicious omen, and may the Almighty, 
 appeased by such holocausts, look down on us from His heavenly throne, 
 and have mercy on us ; and in the meantime, may He grant us to be s6 
 rooted in the saving faith of the holy Roman Church, that no efforts of 
 the power of hell may deprive us of it! As the priests are pursued by 
 the cruel soldiers, so the Catholic laity, if they have any temporal 
 possessions, are victims of the avaricious courtiers, and are incessantly 
 oppressed by them by fines and imprisonment, and chains and threats, 
 and various unusual and inhuman vexations, until they are reduced to 
 extreme poverty and misery. Despite, however, all these afflictions, 
 the word of God prospers, nor is the necessary ministry wanting to the 
 faithful. Very many have given a glorious testimony of their Catholic 
 faith ; and, praise to the Most High, our enemies and persecutors have 
 as yet gained but little. I have sent a more detailed narrative to the 
 archbishop of Armagh, and to the Jesuit fathers, who will give to your 
 excellency all the particulars of this persecution. In the meantime, 
 whilst we are oppressed by wicked and impious men, we hope that 
 prayers will be offered up for us in that holy city, before the relics of 
 the saints, and that the successor of St. Peter, the vicar of Christ, will 
 assist us, for it was from Rome that we received the faith, and it is Rome 
 that must guard and defend it. With the blessing of God, we will not 
 be wanting in our duties. We have here very many most zealous 
 spiritual labourers, not only of the secular clergy, but also of the reli- 
 gious orders, and particularly of the Jesuits, who display a special zeal 
 in the present difficulties. I must now terminate, as I am warned of 
 impending danger,"* etc. " James White, Vic. Apost. 
 
 "Waterford, 1st of May, 1606." 
 
 Before the close of that month, he wrote another letter to the 
 same eminent historian, adding further particulars of the perse- 
 cution to which the Irish Catholics were subjected. In former 
 letters he says : — 
 
 " I acquainted you with the state of our affairs, but now we are in 
 far more afflicting circumstances. For, last week, a new edict was 
 everywhere published in the official places, that all priests who would be 
 detected, should, without any subterfuge or further trial, be hanged from 
 the first tree or gallows that should present itself. All blessing to the name 
 of our Lord Jesus, who thus prunes the branches, that they may bear 
 more abundant fruit ; and we deem it a most manifest sign, and an 
 indubious pledge of His divine love, that the members of His mystic 
 
 * See the original letter in Memoir of Oliver Plunket, p. 390. 
 
230 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. 8. 
 
 body should be treated with the same torments and contumely which 
 He Himself, in His sacred humanity, was pleased to endure at the hands 
 of the perfidious Jews ! Now truly the sword and chains are put into 
 the hands of the impious and unbelieving soldiery, to torture and strangle 
 the priests of Christ. But a little while ago, three Catholics were 
 arrested whom the persecutors suspected to be priests, and were in- 
 stantly put to death. One of them was, indeed, a priest, the other two, 
 however, were certainly laymen. May this, their spiritual birth, be 
 happy and auspicious to us all, and may this oppressed island become 
 fertile in martyrs, whose fame was so ennobled in former times by its 
 confessors and virgins ! All our priests are reduced to such extremities 
 that there is not one whose life is not in peril at every moment. Hitherto 
 Christ has not failed to strengthen us, and we confidently hope that He 
 will not abandon us. The Catholic laity have also shown true heroism ; 
 and, together with the tedium of imprisonment, they, courageously en- 
 dure the plunder of all their possessions and property," etc. 
 " From Waterford, 28th of May, 1606." 
 
 The Irish Catholics were, at this time, consoled with a letter 
 from the holy father, Paul V., in which he warns them against 
 an insidious oath of allegiance which had been proposed to them 
 by the government, and thus beautifully commends their un- 
 flinching constancy in the faith of their fathers: — 
 
 " Sadly have we mourned, beloved children, over the tribulations 
 which your unshaken devotion to the faith has brought upon you. But 
 when we learned that even now you are more bitterly afflicted, the 
 measure of our sorrow has been increased. We have heard that you 
 are compelled, under heavy penalties, to frequent the temples of here- 
 tics, and assist at their solemnities and sermons. But truly we do 
 believe that those who have already suffered so much affliction and 
 atrocious persecution, that they might walk, without erring, in the way 
 of the Lord, will never sully their honour by now communicating with 
 those who have deserted their God. Nevertheless, zeal for our pastoral 
 office, and that paternal solicitude with which we watch over your 
 spiritual interests, compel us to admonish and conjure you never to ap- 
 proach the churches of these heretics, and never to be present at their 
 rites or ceremonies, lest you incur the anger of God. . . . We con- 
 fidently rely on your ready compliance with this request, when we call 
 to mind all you have already suffered, and the alacrity with which you 
 are prepared to sustain torments more atrocious, nay, death itself, rather 
 than outrage the majesty of God. .Yea, verily, our faith in you is 
 strong, when we consider that the early Christians endured not more 
 than you yourselves. Gird ye, then, your loins in truth ; put on the 
 breastplate of justice and the shield of faith. Be comforted in the 
 
CuAr. I. 3.] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 231 
 
 Lord, who, looking down from heaven upon you, will finally crown you, 
 and perfect the work which He has begun. You know that He pro- 
 mised His disciples never to leave them orphans, and He is faithful who 
 hath made that promise. Ketain, then, the discipline of the Church ; 
 be rooted and bound together in charity. Whatever you do or contem- 
 plate, let it be in simplicity of heart and unity of spirit, so that all men 
 may know that you are disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the love 
 ye bear to one another," etc. 
 
 " Given in Rome, at St. Mark's, the 22nd September, 1606."* 
 
 A few months after the receipt of this letter, many of the 
 clergy assembled in Dublin, and thence addressed to their agent, 
 in Rome, a letter describing the Egyptian yoke under which they 
 were then suffering. 
 
 " Your reverence must know," they write, " that since the treaty of 
 peace was signed between our king and the Spanish court, the perse- 
 cution of Nero seems to have been once more renewed amongst us. 
 The first penal edict was published on 28th of September, 1605, 
 commanding all Jesuits, seminarists, and priests, to depart within ten 
 days from the kingdom, under penalty of death. Should any persons 
 subsequently receive them into their houses, or support them, or 
 entertain any commerce with them, or not discover them to the court 
 tribunals, they were to be hanged at their own doors. Two thousand 
 florins are offered for the discovery of a Jesuit, and one thousand 
 for the discovery of any other priest, or of the houses which they 
 frequent. Whensoever the servants of any of the clergy are arrested, 
 they are cruelly scourged with whips, until they disclose all that they 
 know about them. 
 
 "Bodies of soldiers are dispersed through the country in pursuit 
 of bandits and priests, and all that they seize on they have the power, 
 by martial law, of hanging without further trial. These bands are 
 scattered on the roads, and through the fields, and enter private houses, 
 and execute whomsoever they please, vieing with each other in cruelty. 
 It is difficult to define the precise number of those who are thus put to 
 death. As this system was not in accordance with the laws, the 
 nobility petitioned, not to be abandoned to the fury of individual 
 caprice, but to be judged by the law of the land. But their petition 
 was a new offence. Many of them were at once cast into prison ; 
 others received orders to confine themselves to their houses till they 
 would be summoned before the courts ; and all were severely rebuked for 
 having dared to oppose any rights or laws to the royal prerogative, 
 which should always be inviolable. 
 
 " At present, everywhere throughout the province and in the cities, all 
 who are greedy and spendthrifts, and all who are overwhelmed with 
 
 * Apud Dom. de Eosario, loc. cit. p. 171. 
 
232 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [CHiF. j ; 3. 
 
 debt, seek to make a prey of the property of the Catholics. To attain 
 this end, they, first, by various briberies and fraud, obtain for themselves 
 the title of royal questors. They then go forth exulting, and every- 
 where, pompously setting forth the royal name, carry away by force 
 whatsoever they please. No doors, no enclosures, no wall can stop 
 them in their course ; they are unmoved by the shrieks of the females 
 and by the weeping of the children. Everything is torn open, and 
 whatever is of any value is set aside to be carried away ; whatever is 
 worthless is thrown into the streets, and devoted to the flames. Silver 
 cups are called chalices, and gems are designated Agnus Deis, and all 
 are, therefore, carried away. Whatever is for profane uses, they profess 
 to regard as sacred, and bear it off, and whatever is sacred they seize 
 on to desecrate. 
 
 " The fines are arbitrary, according to the whim of each questor. If 
 the person who is fined says he is unable to pay the fine imposed on 
 him, the questor goes to his house ; whatever is found, whether in 
 clothing or cattle, or even in his papers, is seized on, and rated as a 
 matter of no value. Hence, those who are rich become on a sudden 
 reduced to abject poverty, and yet they cannot dare to murmur. The 
 poorer people are fined tenpence for each time they are absent on 
 festivals from the Protestant service ; and whilst the heretics, contrary 
 to their own practice and doctrines, multiply these festivals, the little 
 property of the poor people is wholly wasted away. 
 
 " There are already in prison one bishop, one vicar-general, some 
 religious, very many priests, and an immense number of the laity of 
 every class and condition. In uue city alone, five of the aldermen were 
 successivelythrownintoprisonforhavingrefused to take thenefarious oath 
 of allegiance on their being nominated to the mayoralty ; in another city, 
 »o fewer than thirty were likewise thrust into prison at Easter last, for 
 having approached the holy communion in the Catholic Church. No 
 attention whatever is given to the protests of these men or to the 
 clamours of the whole Catholic body ; nay, they are treated with 
 derision and contempt. Even the most illustrious earl of Tyrone, the 
 Catholic Mardochasus, having been for some time subjected to many 
 vexations and annoyances, has just arrived in Dublin, being summoned 
 by the viceroy. It is useless to presage anything bad; but the malice 
 which the heretics bear to him, and their inveterate arts of deceit, excite 
 in our breasts many fears for his safety," etc. 
 " Dublin, May, 1607."* 
 
 The fears of these holy men for. the cherished champion of 
 the Catholic cause, were, alas ! too well founded. A conspiracy 
 
 * The names of one bishop, one viear-general, one nobleman, and six priests, 
 were attached to the letter. They add, that their sentiments were shared by 
 the whole clergy and laity of the kingdom. See the original letter in notes to 
 O'Sullev. Beare's Hist. Cath. (Dublin, 1850) p. 271. 
 
Chap. I. 3.J MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 233 
 
 was soon devised by the minions of the castle, and hired perjurers 
 were not wanting to implicate the earls of Tyrone and Tir- 
 connell. These chieftains, however, received intelligence of 
 the plot which was laid for their destruction, and seeing no hope 
 in an appeal to arms — for the treaty between England and Spain 
 cut off all prospect of aid from the continent, and at home they 
 were unprovided with arms or ammunition — they resolved to 
 seek an asylum on the continent* They were immediately 
 denounced as traitors by the government, and their immense 
 territories were confiscated to the crown. In the eternal city, 
 however, they found a home, being welcomed by the pontiff, 
 Paul V., with paternal affection.! Peter Lombard, who had been 
 for some time the agent of O'Neil in Rome, was now there, as 
 archbishop of Armagh, to guide and comfort them. A letter 
 written by him in the following summer, will, better than any 
 words of ours, make known the honour and respect with which 
 they were greeted in the seven-hilled city. It was intercepted 
 by the English government, and is still preserved in the State 
 Paper Office, London, dated June, 1608 : — 
 
 " Mr vert dear Sir, — I must not omit to write to you when 
 occasion of writing is offered. These holidays — the Thursday before 
 Trinity Sunday — was canonized St. Francisca, which was done in St. 
 Peter's, with all pomp, splendour, and triumph, the setting forth 
 whereof cost the Romans 20,000 crowns, and I never saw a more 
 stately sight, nor more religious ceremonies. The Pope himself, in his 
 patriarchal habit, did sing Mass ; all the cardinals, bishops, prelates, 
 canons, and religious, for the most part, were present. The night 
 before, his holiness gave orders that the earl of Tyrone, and the rest 
 with him, should have the best place in the church, which myself saw 
 performed ; and to grace the matter more, his holiness' niece went in 
 state to the earl's house, and brought with her the countess to St. 
 Peter's, giviDg her, both in place and church, the better hand, which 
 she had also from the pope's sisters, amongst all the duchesses and other 
 nobility of Rome ; and when all the ceremonies were ended, the same 
 niece that had brought the countess, conducted her home again to her 
 own palace, whence she had taken her. The Italians speak much and 
 very honourably of these earls, and the earls themselves keep their 
 state gallantly. Also, at the procession on Corpus Christi day, the 
 
 * They arrived in France in September, 1607. 
 
 t The Palazzo Salviati, in the vicinity of St. Onof rio, was assigned to them for 
 their residence. 
 
234 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. [Chap. I. S. 
 
 Pope ordained that the chiefest of the Irish exiles should alone carry the 
 canopy over him, which eight of them accordingly did."* 
 
 With the flight of these earls, all apprehension on the part 
 of the English monarch must have ceased. There was no 
 longer a chieftain who could rally any considerable body of 
 his countrymen under his standard ; no one who could be 
 said to centre in himself the hopes and aspirations of Ireland. 
 Were the preceding persecutions merely enacted for the security 
 of the British power, surely peace should be, now at least, 
 restored to the Irish Church. The result, however, proved 
 that this was a mere empty pretext, put forward by crafty 
 statesmen, to blind the Catholic states on the continent. After 
 a momentary calm, the persecution was continued in all its 
 fury ; nay, it seemed now to redouble its violence, as the 
 dreaded names of Tyrone and Tirconnell were no longer there 
 to check its course. To sketch the scenes of persecution 
 which ensued, belongs to the following chapter. We shall 
 conclude this notice of the episcopate of Oviedo with some 
 extracts from a Relatio, made in 1609, by Dr. Kearney,! arch- 
 bishop of Cashel, from which we learn what little progress 
 had been made as yet by Protestantism in our land ; and, at 
 the same time, what happy fruits of devotion were displayed by 
 
 * See, for further particulars, a very interesting article in the Hibernian 
 Magazine, No. 1, The O'Donels in Exile, written by the late lamented editor 
 of the Four Masters. From the Irish MS. , The Flight of the Earl, we further 
 learn, that the wiue and doves which were offered to the Pope at the canoni- 
 zation, were sent by him, after the ceremony, as a gift to the Irish princes. 
 The author of The Flight of the Earls adds, that this was the first time that 
 the Irish were allowed the privilege of bearing the canopy over the holy father. 
 This privilege is now enjoyed every year by the students of the Irish College, 
 Rome. 
 
 t The date of Dr. Kearney's appointment to Cashel is marked as uncertain 
 by the learned editor of the Renehan Collections. The Eelatio, from which 
 extracts are now published for the first time, and the original of which is pre- 
 served in the Barberini Archives, Rome, states that the archbishop had then 
 almost concluded " sex annorum curriculum" in Ireland : he must, therefore, 
 have commenced his arehiepiscopal career before the close of 1603. The same 
 date results from other indirect sources ; for instance, his brother, Barnabas 
 Kearney, S.J., when dedicating to him the first volume of his Heliotropium, 
 says that he himself had been sent to Ireland soon after the appointment of 
 the archbishop, "ut oneris tibi tunc injecti sustinerem partem." Now, from 
 the Jesuit records (see Oliver's Collections, page 252), we learn that he was sent 
 into Ireland in the summer of 1G03. It is, indeed, true that the Hehotropium 
 above referred to was only printed in 1622, whilst, in the dedication, father 
 Kearney states that ' ' fifteen years had already elapsed since he had come into 
 
Chap. I. 8] MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 235 
 
 the faithful during the few months of comparative peace which 
 marked the commencement of the preceding year : — 
 
 " The heretics, who hold all authority and rule everywhere in Ireland, 
 may be distributed into four classes : 1st. The viceroy and the deputies 
 of the provinces ; 2nd. The members of the royal and provincial coun- 
 cils, and their assistants, such as the judges and inferior magistrates ; 
 3rd. The pseudo archbishops and bishops, and other ministers ; 4th. 
 The military leaders and garrison soldiers, who hold all the castles that 
 are capable of being fortified as well on the sea-coast as in the interior 
 of the country. To these may be added the families of all the above 
 individuals, and the settlers who have lately been introduced, and who 
 are still being brought over from England and Scotland. To these are 
 assigned the lands of the natives who were ejected or slain during the 
 last war, or who were driven into exile for their faith and religion. 
 These settlers are an iniquitous race, false brothers ; they are almost all 
 English and Scotch heretics, and they keep the Catholics in servitude, 
 and alarm, and constant affliction ; and yet the Catholics are so firm in 
 their faith, that not one in a thousand of the natives of the island can 
 be found infected with the contagion of heresy. 
 
 " The condition of our Catholics is very sad and unsettled, since they 
 are wholly dependant on the commands and whims of the aforesaid 
 heretics; the soldiers oppress them with impunity; the pseudo-bishops 
 and ministers heap calumnies and persecutions upon them, till they 
 compass their destruction. Some of these heretical agents, however, 
 exceed the others in their cruelty, amongst whom was George Brun- 
 card, an Englishman, the deputy of Munster, who^full of impiety and 
 tyranny, left no means unemployed to utterly eradicate from our pro- 
 vince every remnant of the Catholic faith. He lived amongst us like 
 another emissary of Antichrist, for three years and a-half, and it was 
 his boast that his health improved the more the maledictions of the 
 Catholics were heaped upon him ; but, lo ! God is ever with his beloved 
 in their afflictions : this wretch, struck with insanity, in a frenetical fit, 
 departed this life 
 
 " As for us ecclesiastics, being always encompassed with dangers, 
 we imitate the skilful seaman, who, when the tempest threatens, draws 
 in the sails, and re-unfurls them on the return of calm. When the 
 persecution presses us, and the soldiers are in pursuit of us, we fly to 
 
 Ireland ;" however, these fifteen years are to be calculated, not from the year 
 in which the work was printed, but from the year in which it was written. It 
 was written, as he tells us, in Ireland, in domesticis latibulis, and at a time when the 
 archbishop was still present to his flock. It was printed in Lyons only in 1622, 
 in which year Dr. Kearney, the archbishop, was already in Rome, having been 
 obliged to yield to the storm of persecution. 
 
 P. S. — After this note was written, we were enabled to fix the precise date 
 of Dr. Kearney's appointment by the Acta Consistoralia. See introductory 
 
236 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. ICilAP, T. S. 
 
 secret recesses ; when the persecution is relaxed, we gradually venture 
 to appear in public. The higher that each one's dignity is, the more 
 eagerly do they seek to compass his destruction, and lead him to the 
 prison or the scaffold. But as they leave nothing undone to capture 
 us, so we are ever on the alert, and seldom can they obtain any certain 
 intelligence as to our whereabouts. We go around from one city to 
 another, dressed in secular clothes, only using the longer dress at the 
 altar; and, following our Redeemer's counsel, we fly from one town to 
 another, generally a very distant one. We do not stop for any time in 
 one place, but pass from one house to another, even in the cities and 
 towns. This journey, too, is made at morning's dawn, or when night 
 has set in — sometimes even at the third or fourth watch of the night. 
 Though we hope to be children of light, yet we have to love the pro- 
 tecting darkness ; nay, we prefer even the winter to the summer time. 
 It is at night that we perform all the sacred functions — that we transfer 
 the sacred vestments from one place to another — celebrate Mass, give 
 exhortations to the faithful, confer holy orders, bless the chrism, 
 administer the sacrament of confirmation, and discharge, in a word, all 
 our ecclesiastical duties. 
 
 "The heretics make diligent search to seize on those who assist at 
 Mass, and they, moreover, inflict fines on all who absent themselves from 
 the heretical temples. They cast into prison not only those who favour 
 the priests, but also those who refuse to persecute and deliver up the 
 priests ; they interdict the use of chapels, they prevent pious pilgri- 
 mages, and punish whom they will, and rage arbitrarily against us. 
 
 " Last year, when the persecution relaxed for a little while, I ad- 
 ministered the sacrament of confirmation, at noon day, in the open fields, 
 to at least ten thousand persons ; for our Catholics so venerate this 
 sacrament, that they come even from the most distant parts of the 
 country when an opportunity is presented of administering it to them."* 
 
 Dr. Oviedo seems to have died about the year 1610; and the 
 closing moments of his life were clouded by the gathering storms 
 of new persecutions. From the documents connected with his 
 life, we must conclude that he was a man of indomitable energy, 
 heartily devoted to the cause of Ireland, inflexible in his attach- 
 ment to the Holy See, and animated with the most fervent zeal 
 for the defence and propagation of our holy religion-t 
 
 * See this invaluable Eelatio in full, in Appendix No. 10, from the Bar- 
 berini Archives, Home. 
 
 t Mooney, in MS. History of the Franciscan Order, thus briefly but faith- 
 fully sketches the character of Dr. Ribera, bishop of Leighlin, and of our arch- 
 bishop, Oviedo : — " Hi duo fuerunt exteri Hispani qui ob zelum propagandae 
 fidei in Hibernia creati sunt episcopi." For this and many of the preceding 
 extracts from the same MS. history, as also from the State Paper Office, 
 London, 1 am indebted to my amiable and learned friend, Bev. C. P. Meehan, 
 to whose ability and untiring zeal in the cause of our national literature Ireland 
 is so much indebted. 
 
Chap. II. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 237 
 
 Connected with the Earl of Tyrone. — Translated to Dublin from Clogher. — 
 Sad state of Ireland under James I. — The Plantation of Ulster. — Grants of 
 
 Confiscated Property to Trinity C ollege Character of the Undertakers. — 
 
 Catholics insulted. — Dr. Matthews exposed to many dangers. — Death of 
 Dr. O'Duana and Father Luorchain. 
 
 DU. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 
 
 We learn from the Consistorial Acts, that Dr. Eugene Matthews 
 (more commonly designated, in the ancient records, by his Irish 
 name, MacMahon), was appointed to the see of Clogher on 31st 
 August, 1609, and was translated to Dublin on the 2nd of May, 
 1611, he himself being at that date present in the Eternal City. 
 Dr. Matthews was closely allied, by blood, to the princely 
 house of Hugh O'Neil, earl of Tyrone,* and his father and 
 family were ranked amongst the most faithful champions of the 
 Catholic cause, under the standard of that heroic chieftain, when 
 combating against Elizabeth. The expediency of appointing 
 an archbishop to the see of Dublin was long a matter of debate 
 in the papal court, and many special difficulties seemed opposed 
 to the translation of the bishop of Clogher.t At length, how- 
 ever, the urgent solicitations of the Irish exiles in Rome over- 
 came every difficulty, and in the consistory of 2nd May, 1611, 
 the translation of Dr. Matthews to the archiepiscopal see was 
 publicly proclaimed to the Catholic world. 
 
 * In a paper presented to the Sacred Congregation on 8th May, 1629, on 
 the part of the earl of Tyrone, and defending the recommendations made by 
 the Irish princes for the vacant sees, we read : — " Archiepiscopus Dublinensis 
 moderni archiepiscopi predecessor suffragio excellmi. D. Comitis Tyronise ad 
 episcopatum fuit promotus ; novem tamen continuis annis absque ulla perse- 
 cutionis specialis umbra suo gregi praefuit. Item modernus primas ejus inter- 
 cessione episcopatum Kilmorensem accepit quern et rexit quatuor annis ante 
 ejus translationem ad archiepiscopatum Armachanum : ambo hi affinitate ipsi 
 comiti conjuncti. Eodem suffragio promoti sunt modernus archiepus. Dubli- 
 nensis, epus. Kilmorensis, ep. Kapotensis, et ep. Elphinensis." See also 
 Informatio ex Hibernia, 10th May, 1615, in Dr. M'Carthy's Collections, 
 etc. p. 265. The celebrated bishop of Clogher, Dr. Heber M 'Mahon, was 
 another worthy scion of the same princely family, and a near relative of Dr. 
 Eugene.' 
 
 t He was not only a near relative of the exiled O'Neil, but had been edu- 
 cated at Salamanca, and maintained there at the expense of the king of Spain. 
 
238 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. II. 1. 
 
 For some days the archbishop continued to visit the hallowed 
 shrines and sanctuaries of Rome, providing, at the same time, 
 for the spiritual wants of his suffering flock. He resided with 
 the earl of Tyrone, and the other princely exiles, in Salviati 
 palace ; and it requires but little effort of the imagination to 
 picture the sorrowing feelings of these great men, at the painful 
 recital of the new afflictions which were then rapidly falling on 
 our country. 
 
 Sir Arthur Chichester was busily engaged, not only in re- 
 enacting the penal statutes of the preceding reign, but still more 
 in carrying out the new schemes of plunder and plantation devised 
 by his royal master.* Six whole counties of Ulster were, by one 
 decree, declared to be, by right, the property of the crown ; the 
 400,000 acres of tillage lands which they contained were par- 
 titioned amongst some 200 Scotch and English proprietors, only 
 about twenty Irishmen being admitted to acquire a title in the 
 poorer districts of their own hereditary princely domains. These 
 proprietors, who were styled undertakers, received instructions for 
 the peopling of their lands with loyal tenants, to the exclusion 
 of all the " mere Irish," excepting such as would take the oath 
 of supremacy, who moreover should be compelled to pay double 
 the rent fixed for the English and Scotch tenants. The interest 
 and cupidity of many of the new proprietors and their agents, 
 prevented this exterminating scheme from being fully carried 
 out; but in some districts it became penal for a Catholic to live 
 even on his own lands, except as the slave of the Presbyterian or 
 Protestant usurper.t 
 
 * See his edict from Dublin castle, July 10th, 1610, in O'Sullevan, and De 
 Rosario, Hist, of the Gerald, p. 175. 
 
 t Harris's Hibernica presents the chief original documents connected with 
 this iniquitous "plantation." See especially letter of sir Thomas Philips, ib. 
 p. 242, and Pynnar's Survey, p. 233, seqq. In this latter work, compiled 
 by order of the king in 1618-19, the names of the undertakers are given, 
 together with the territory they received, etc. ; it hence required considerable 
 effrontery in Dr. Reid to state, in his History of the Presbyterian Church in 
 Ireland, vol. i. pag. 81, that the confiscated territory was disposed of to 160 
 Scotch and English gentlemen, and to 286 natives. Edinburgh, 1834. This 
 same writer accuses the Catholics of overrating the quantity of land confiscated 
 by the crown, and he triumphantly appeals to Pynnar, who rates the whole 
 territory at 400,000 acres. He should hold in mind, however, that Pynnar 
 only speaks of the available land, and hence does not include in his estimate 
 the bog and mountain lands, and the forests reserved for royal use, etc. Carte 
 
CHAr. II. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 239 
 
 The Protestant university of Dublin was destined to have its 
 share of the spoils, and more than 3,000 acres were marked out 
 as its portion of the plundered estates of the Catholic chieftains 
 of Ulster. We often hear of our country being indebted for 
 this literary institution to the beneficent gifts of Protestant 
 sovereigns. It should rather be said that we owe it to the prose- 
 lytising bigotry of Elizabeth and king James; that it was built 
 at the expense of the nation, and enriched with the spoils of 
 the Church of our fathers, the pillage of the ancient monasteries, 
 and the confiscation of the national principalities. 
 
 The movement, so successfully carried out in the six Ulster 
 counties, was soon extended to other parts of the island. Sixty- 
 six thousand acres in Dublin and Waterford were, by inqui- 
 sition, declared the king's property ; and in the counties of 
 Westmeath, Longford, King's County, Queen's County, and 
 Leitrim, immense tracts, amounting, as Mooney informs us, to 
 385,000 acres, were confiscated to the crown.* 
 
 In carrying out this systematic plunder, legalized by the 
 name of plantation, every principle of justice was set at naught; 
 and to such lengths did the tyrannical cruelty of Chichester 
 proceed, that the jurors who refused to conform their verdict 
 to the perjured and often contradictory evidence of the sub- 
 orned witnesses, were " pillored with loss of ears, and bored 
 through the tongue, and sometimes marked on the forehead 
 with a hot iron." 
 
 The new colonists were, for the most part, the scum of society 
 in England and Scotland; adventurers, whose character was 
 stained by dishonesty and debauchery ; and who, shut out from 
 the road to honours and emoluments at home, eagerly accepted 
 the royal invitation to riot in the plunder of the Irish Catholics. 
 This statement may seem to some to be exaggerated, and yet 
 it is far otherwise. A Presbyterian minister, whose father 
 shared in the first plantation, thus vividly describes the men 
 
 reckons the forfeited lands at above half a million of acres ; and Stuart, in 
 Hist. Memoirs of the City of Armagh, Appendix xxi. p. 636, estimates the 
 confiscated territory at "upwards of 800,000 English acres of land." 
 
 * See O'Conor's Hist, of the Irish Cath. p. 22 ; Mooney, MS. Hist, of 
 Franciscans. 
 
 + Commons' Journal, vol. i. \>. 307 ; Leland's Hist. b. iv. ch. 8, etc. 
 
240 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. II. 1. 
 
 who started for the Irish shores — the harbingers of Presby- 
 terianism to our Catholic isle. 
 
 " From Scotland," he writes, " came many, and from England not a 
 few, yet all of them generally the scum of both nations ; who, from 
 debt, or breaking and fleeing from justice, or seeking shelter, came 
 hither, hoping to be, without fear of man's justice, in a land where 
 there was nothing, or but little as yet, of the fear of God. And in a 
 few years there flocked such a multitude of people from Scotland, that 
 these northern counties of Down, Antrim, etc., were, in a good measure, 
 planted, which had been wasted before. Yet, most of the people were 
 all void of godliness ; who seemed rather to flee from God in this 
 enterprise, than to follow their own mercy ; .... on all hands atheism 
 increased and disregard of God ; iniquity abounded, with contention, 
 fighting, murder, adultery, etc. Among people who, as they had 
 nothing within them to overawe them, so their ministers' example was 
 worse than nothing; for, 'from the prophets of Israel, profaneness 
 went forth to the whole land.' "* 
 
 Even in the judicial circuits and the administration of the now 
 established English law, nothing was omitted that could outrage 
 the feelings of the Catholic natives. The monasteries and the Ca- 
 tholic churches were the places chosen for the most part for hold- 
 ing the sessions and judicial investigations in cases of murder, and 
 other such crimes. Thus, in Mullingar, Sligo, and the county 
 Kilkenny, the assizes were held in the churches of the Domini- 
 can Order: in Trim, Leitrim, Cavan, Ennis, Enniscorthy, 
 Wicklow, and the county Galway, the Franciscan churches were 
 desecrated in like manner. In no place was the insult to the 
 Catholic faith felt more bitterly than in Galway ; for " there, the 
 assizes were held in the very choir of the church, and the high 
 altar, yet standing, was used as the tribunal on which the judges 
 took their seat ;" thus, adds the annalist, being once more verified 
 the words of the prophet, that the abomination of desolation 
 should be seen in the holy place. f The whole administration of 
 the laws seemed to have for its chief object the rooting out of 
 the Catholic faith. Judges, sheriffs, bailiffs, all, writes O'Sulle- 
 van, conspire in this one great object, " breathing enmity to the 
 
 * MS. History, by Rev. Andrew Stewart, in Advocate's Library, Edin- 
 burgh ; ap. Reid's History of the Presbyt. Ch. vol. i. p. 96. 
 f Mooney's MS. Hist, of the Franciscans, p. 6, seqq. 
 
Chap. II. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 241 
 
 Catholic faith, straining every nerve to banisli the clergy, or 
 arrest and lead them to -the scaffold, and to overwhelm the peo- 
 ple with every possible violence and injustice. And hence, the 
 judges on their circuits are always accompanied by a number of 
 most wicked and desperate men, who assail the Catholics with 
 every wickedness, and seek to circumvent them by every stra- 
 tagem that perverted ingenuity can devise."* 
 
 This rule of terror and persecution did not suffice to deter 
 Dr. Matthews from hastening to the scene of his spiritual labours, 
 to impart courage and consolation to his suffering flock. In the 
 summer of 1611 he set out from the tombs of the apostles; and 
 the archives of Rome yet preserve a petition which he presented 
 to the holy Father a little before his departure, which we now 
 offer to the reader as an illustration, at the same time, of the 
 condition of our Church, and of the sentiments of the holy 
 prelate : — 
 
 "Most holy Father, — Eugene, now appointed by your Holiness to 
 the see of Dublin, being about to leave Eome for Ireland, towards the 
 close of the present month of May, humbly supplicates your Holiness that 
 as all the churches of that kingdom are either profaned and destroyed 
 by the late persecutions, or occupied by the heretics, and as it is nowise 
 allowed to offer up there the holy Sacrifice in public, but only in private 
 houses, or in orchards, or in caverns, he may be permitted the use of a 
 privileged portable altar, and should one such privileged altar be broken or 
 lost in any way, he may consecrate another with the same indulgences 
 and privileges, erecting it in as becoming a place as possible, and pre- 
 serving it with all due care and reverence. "f 
 
 The brief of Paul V., granting the wished-for faculty, is dated 
 1st of June, the same year ; and in addition to the usual formulas, 
 it expresses the anxious desire of the holy Father to impart 
 " consolation to the archbishop, and to enrich him with special 
 spiritual gifts and favours." 
 
 * O'Sullev. Hist. Cath. p. 81. 
 
 f Ex Archiv. Secret. Brev. 11th of May, 1611. 
 
242 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chai\ III, 1 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Eulogies on Dr. Matthews. — Character of Knox, Protestant Bishop of 
 
 Kaphoe. — His persecuting spirit Edicts against Catholic Education. — 
 
 Protestant Bible in Irish. — Dangers to which Dr. Matthews was ex- 
 posed. — Case of Father Helan of Drogheda. — Dr. O'DuanaandF. O'Lour- 
 chain. — Constancy of Irish. 
 
 All the contemporary writers conspire in commending the zeal 
 and piety of Dr. Matthews. " The present archbishop of Dub- 
 lin," writes Mooney, " is a man remarkable for his virtue and 
 learning, and worthy of administering such an important see in 
 more favourable times. He resides in Ireland, constantly pursued 
 by his heretical enemies; favoured, however, by the protection 
 of God, he safely lies concealed, escaping from all their snares, 
 and from his hiding-place he zealously pursues the work of his 
 sacred ministry."* Another Irish ecclesiastic, in 1615, styles 
 him, in like manner, " a worthy bishop, full of the divine spirit, 
 and glowing with an ardent zeal to fulfil his mission and feed 
 the flock intrusted to him." 
 
 Indeed, his whole episcopal career more than justifies these 
 eulogies. Though constantly pursued by the emissaries of the 
 government, and marked out as the object of special persecution, 
 he faithfully clung to his suffering flock, administering to them 
 the sacraments of life, and comforting them by his example and 
 exhortations. 
 
 The same year that Dr. Matthews was sent by the Holy 
 See, on an errand of charity and peace, to the diocese of Dublin, 
 another prelate received from king James a far different mission 
 to our Irish Church. " In the year of our Lord, 1611," writes 
 Dominic de Rosario, " there arrived in Ireland a certain bishop 
 named Knox, who had received crozier and mitre at the hands 
 
 * MS . Hist. Franciscan. — ' ' Vir virtute et eruditione insignis dignus qui meliore 
 tempore tarn illustri loco eollocaretur : nunc in Hibernia residet, multis hiere- 
 ticorum insidiis impetitus, quas per Dei gratiam delitescens et e latebris 
 vigilanti» pastorali operam navans declinat." 
 
CHAI-. III. 1] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 243 
 
 of king James. He was intrusted with a special commission and 
 ample powers to tear up popery by the roots ; and if he 
 did not succeed, no one, at least, can question the malicious 
 ingenuity of his designs, or the severity of the means which he 
 employed."* 
 
 Knox, who shared, together with the name, many of the 
 leading traits of the Genevan reformer, was a Scotchman by 
 birth. As bishop of Orkney, he displayed the fulness of 
 puritanical zeal against the Catholics, and he was now translated 
 to the see of Raphoe in Ireland, to pursue the same course, 
 receiving from his royal patron ample powers in all matters of 
 religion, and a special injunction to superintend the other 
 members of the Irish Protestant clergy, and report to his majesty 
 on their tepidity or zeal in propagating the Protestant tenets : 
 and, says O'Sullevan Beare, well did this emissary pursue the 
 iniquitous plot, for he " left no means unemployed to destroy 
 every vestige of the Catholic religion, and obliterate every trace 
 of its history." 
 
 The difficulty of the undertaking only served to stimulate more 
 and more the ardour of Knox's bigotry. " I know the obstinacy 
 of these wicked papists," he thus addressed the viceroy, on his 
 arrival in Dublin, " but I will be sure to punish them with due 
 severity. I will soon make them curse the Pope and his teach- 
 ing, whilst they will remember me for ever. My remedies will 
 be far more efficacious than any yet employed, and in com- 
 parison with the penalties which I will inflict on them, all that 
 they have hitherto endured will be esteemed as caresses and 
 favours."| The disappointment which he and his followers 
 experienced, served as an additional stimulus to their intolerance. 
 They imagined that, as in Scotland, so, too, in Ireland, an 
 abundance of Church property yet remained; and whilst they 
 held the Bible in one hand, they stretched out the other to seize 
 on the spoils of the sanctuary. The rude storm of Elizabeth's 
 
 * Hist, of the Geral. p. 177. 
 
 + Hist. Cath. Compend. p. 286. It is deserving of remark, that Dr. Mant 
 in his History of the Prot. Church in Ireland, passes over in complete silence 
 the whole career of Dr. Knox. The same course, eloquent iu its silence is 
 pursued by Niel, in his Hist, of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland 
 
 T Ibid. p. 286. 
 
244 
 
 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. HI. 1. 
 
 reign, however, had well nigh overthrown all the monuments of 
 the ancient faith in our island, and little remained for Knox and 
 his assistants, but to demolish the humble chapels which the 
 impoverished people had erected, and to plunder the chaliceg 
 and the fragments of sacred plate that yet remained.* 
 
 His first care was to publish a series of edicts against the 
 Catholics, which are thus compendiated by De Rosario : — 
 
 I. " Let all Papists and Popish priests forthwith depart out of 
 Ireland, or remain on peril of their lives. 
 
 II. " Let none, henceforth, send their children or kindred beyond 
 the seas for education. Those who are abroad must return within one 
 year, or suffer their property to be confiscated. 
 
 III. " Let no Papist dare to exercise the function of schoolmaster in 
 this kingdom. 
 
 IV. " Whosoever shall harbour a priest in town or country, shall forfeit 
 his possessions to the crown. 
 
 V. " Let each and every one be present at our rites, ceremonies, etc., 
 on Sundays and festivals. 
 
 VI. " The churches which have sustained any injury during the late 
 wars, are to be repaired at the expense of the papists."f 
 
 Nor were these edicts allowed to remain mere idle threats. 
 " Every town, city, hamlet, and homestead in the island, was 
 visited by trained bands of perjurers, informers, and assassins, 
 to carry out the designs of Dr. Knox ;" whilst the bishop himself, 
 armed with the full power and authority of the king, went around, 
 accompanied with a troop of puritanical minions, and " whoso- 
 ever of the Catholics fell into his hands on the highway, by- 
 way, or hostelrie, had no hope of escape from death and tor- 
 ments."! What a sad and mournful spectacle did our country 
 then present ! " The ministers of the Protestant Church," 
 writes O'Sullevan, " penetrated everywhere. Bibles of a corrupt 
 and erroneous version into the vernacular language, § the expense 
 
 * Porter's Annales, p. 252. 
 
 t Loc. cit. p. 17S : and O'Sullevan, loc. cit. p. 286. 
 
 j De Rosario, loo. cit. pp. 178, 180. 
 
 § In Transactions of Iberno-eeltic Society, Dublin, 1820, p. clxxx., it is re- 
 corded, that the first edition of the Protestant version of the New Testament 
 "was printed in the year 1603, in quarto, the charges of which were levied on 
 the people of Oonnaught." For some amusing examples of biblical mistrans- 
 lation, arising from ignorance of the Irish idiom, see ibid, and p. clxxxi. 
 
Chap. III. 1.] DK. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 245 
 
 of which the Catholics were compelled to defray, were placed 
 in all the parish churches: the meaning of various' passages of 
 the sacred text was perverted according to each one's conceit. 
 No art was left unemployed to compel the Catholics to frequent 
 the heretical conventicles, and listen to their profane and sacri- 
 legious novelties. . . . The Catholics who refuse to second these 
 impious designs, are punished with fines, or thrown into prison. 
 Some are deprived of their possessions, others are driven into 
 exile, whilst some, too, are led to the scaffold. All are treated 
 with the greatest severity and cruelty. Those Protestants are 
 esteemed most mild and merciful, who only fine even the poor 
 families two silver crowns, for each time that they absent them- 
 selves from the heretical worship ; but the rich families are sub- 
 jected to far greater fines. The impious despoilers do not spare 
 the sacred images. They seize on the sacerdotal vestments, and 
 all other matters appertaining to the holy Sacrifice and to divine 
 worship. The houses of the Catholics are plundered, and their 
 gold and silver cups, and all the valuable ornaments that they 
 possess, are seized on and carried off, under pretence that they 
 are chalices, or otherwise belonging to the altar. They employ 
 all possible diligence in searching out the priests to put them to 
 death. The Irish teachers and masters are everywhere ex- 
 pelled* Those who are anxious to cultivate literature are 
 prohibited to journey to the foreign colleges, or enter any 
 Catholic academy. To such extremes do they carry their rage 
 and fury, that, as the venerable father Conway informs me, a 
 certain privy councillor publicly boasted that all his plate, which 
 is of considerable value, was made up of the chalices, pattens, re- 
 liquaries, and other sacred vases of the Catholics. I have learned 
 
 * The commissioners of the royal visitation, in 1615, reported : " We found 
 in Galway a public schoolmaster named Lynch, placed there by the citizens, 
 who had great numbers of scholars not only of that province, but also from 
 the Pale. We had daily proof, during our continuance in that city, how well 
 his scholars profited under him, by verses and orations, which they presented 
 to us. We sent for that schoolmaster before us, and seriously advised him to 
 conform to the religion established ; and not prevailing with our advice, we 
 enjoined him to forbear teaching ; and I, the chancellor, did take a recog- 
 nizance of him, and some others of his kinsmen in that city, in the sum of 
 £400 sterling, to his majesty's use, that from thenceforth he-shoxdd forbear to 
 teach any more," etc. — Iar-Connaught, published by Irish Archseolog. Soc. 
 1846, p. 215. 
 
24(5 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. III. 1. 
 
 from the same father another striking fact. In the town of Cole- 
 raine, there was a statue of the Virgin Mother, which the Protes- 
 tant bishop Babington* gave orders to be pulled down and burned. 
 His sacrilegious minions had scarce set themselves to perform 
 this iniquitous deed, when they both fell dead. Successive efforts 
 to set the statue on fire, or destroy it by gunpowder, were all 
 ineffectual; it remained divinely preserved despite all their 
 attempts, whilst the bishop himself was overwhelmed with 
 terror, and being seized with illness, expired. This occurred in 
 the month of September, 1611. "f 
 
 More than once Dr. Matthews was exposed to imminent 
 danger, and with difficulty escaped from the eager pursuit of 
 his enemies. The Franciscan annalist records how, on one 
 occasion, the house in which the archbishop lived was sur- 
 rounded and searched by the priest-hunters, but the intended 
 victim, with another priest, his companion, stole out through 
 the attic windows, and making his way over the roofs of the 
 adjoining houses, succeeded in baffling his pursuers. It was 
 on the same day that father Francis Helan, a very aged 
 Franciscan, was seized in Drogheda, at the foot of the altar, 
 after saying Mass. When he was conducted a prisoner through 
 the streets, the women rose, rushed in crowds from all quarters 
 of the town, and by repeated vollies of stones and other 
 missiles, rescued him from the soldiery. Father Francis, how- 
 ever, being conscious of no crime, and fearing lest the vengeance 
 of the government might fall on the Catholics of Drogheda, 
 surrendered himself voluntarily, and being conducted to Dublin, 
 was arraigned in his habit before the lord chancellor, the 
 Protestant archbishop of Dublin. The captain of the escort 
 interposed on behalf of -father Helan; and stated, moreover, 
 that he himself had never been in such danger of his life, as 
 from the women of Drogheda, J Notwithstanding this inter- 
 
 * Bishop of Deny, as Ware and Mant inform ns. 
 
 f O'Sullev. Hist. Cath. p. 287-8. Ware merely mentions regarding Dr. 
 Babington, that he was consecrated bishop of Derry in 1610, and died the 
 year following. 
 
 J There is a letter of the viceroy to lord Salisbury, written in 1610 (Pub. 
 Kee. Office, Ireland), vol. 228, in which he states : "If some course be not 
 speedily taken for restraining them (the priests), I cannot see how this kingdom 
 
Ckap. III. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 247 
 
 position, and although no crime was imputed to him, the aged 
 priest was thrown into prison, where he had to suffer for six 
 weary months. This was the second time, within a short interval, 
 that the Franciscan house in Drogheda had beeen assailed. 
 The former time the priest had scarcely left the altar, when the 
 agents of sir Arthur Chichester forced their way into tile house, 
 and carried off the chalice, vestments, and everything else that 
 they considered valuable.* 
 
 It was at the same period, on the 1st of February (old style), 
 1612,1 that the scaffold of Dublin was empurpled with the 
 blood of two heroic martyrs — Dr. Cornelius O'Duana, bishop 
 of Down and Connor, and Patrick O'Luorchain, a priest of the 
 diocese of Cork. Dr. O'Duana, or O'Devany, as he was styled 
 by the English, was appointed to the united sees of Down and 
 Connor, on 26th April, 15824 Towards the close of 1587 he 
 was seized by the emissaries of sir John Perrot, and thrown 
 into the dungeons of Dublin castle. On the 17th of September, 
 1592, he addressed thence a most submissive petition§ to the 
 lord deputy, to be liberated from this imprisonment, stating 
 that " he was now ready to starve for want of food, and had 
 no friends to become bonds for him." In the following year, 
 Dr. O'Duana was restored to liberty ; and, if we can credit Dr. 
 Loftus, Protestant archbishop of Dublin, consented to take the 
 oath of supremacy, as also to become her majesty's true and 
 faithful subject, and to disclose to the government any treason- 
 able practices of which perchance he might become cognizant. || 
 
 can long stand as it doth, for every city and town is full of them. Upon a 
 strange apprehension, they have taken that it is the king's pleasure that they 
 should have the exercise of their religion, so it be not public in the churches ; 
 and when an officer or soldier lays hold on a priest within their garrison, the 
 young men aud women of the city or town, where he is taken, flock together, 
 and rescue the party apprehended." 
 
 * Mooney, Hist. MS. Franciscan, p. 18. 
 
 t O'Sullev. p. 305 ; the Four Masters ; Mooney, loc. cifc. ; and Analecta. 
 
 X Acta Consistorialia. 
 
 § "Petition of Conoghor O'Devana. — In most humble manner maketh 
 petition to your lordship, your poor distressed suppliant, Conoghor O'Devana, 
 preest, . . . prisoner in her majeste castle of Dublin. That where in the 
 government of sir John Perrot, knight, your suppliant was committed con- 
 cerning matters of religion," etc. — State Paper Office, Ireland, Sept. 17th, 
 1592. 
 
 II "The answers of the archbishop of Dublin to some matters objected 
 against him by Legg and Pdche." — State Paper Office. The second article of 
 accusation against Dr. Loftus was : " You did let out a bishop out of the 
 
248 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 
 
 [Chap. III. 1. 
 
 However, trie manner of life pursued by the bishop after his 
 liberation, as sketched for us by Dr. Roothe, in his Analectu 
 Sacra, accords but badly with this statement. Dr. O'Devany, 
 he says, laboured in season and out of season to preserve his 
 flock from heresy. He went around on foot to every district, 
 administering confirmation on the hills or in the bye-places, 
 and offering up the holy Sacrifice for his persecuted people. 
 He thus continued for several years to discharge all the duties 
 of a good pastor, till at length, in the month of June, 1611, he 
 was a second time arrested by the English soldiers, in the act 
 of administering the sacrament of confirmation in a Catholic 
 family, and once more thrown into prison in Dublin castle. It 
 was at the same time that father O'Luorchain was condemned 
 to the dungeons of the capital. He had just returned from 
 Rome, and landed in the city of Cork. Being tracked by the 
 government spies, he was summoned before the magistrates, 
 and having acknowledged his priestly character, was at once 
 committed a prisoner, and sent to Dublin to be tried for high 
 treason. 
 
 For seven months these holy men suffered all possible priva- 
 tions and hardships in their cheerless dungeons, till sentence of 
 death was passed against them, and both were condemned as 
 traitors, to be hanged, embowelled, and quartered. On his 
 trial, the bishop declared that the oath of royal spiritual 
 supremacy was impious;* and added, that his enemies did not 
 more eagerly thirst for his blood than he himself was desirous 
 to shed it for Christ his Redeemer. The Four Masters thus 
 record his martyrdom: — 
 
 "The English offered him riches and many rewards if he would 
 turn over to their heresy ; but he refused to accept them, for he 
 despised transitory riches, seeking an everlastiug kingdom. There was 
 not a Christian in the land of Ireland whose heart did not shudder 
 within him through horror of the martyrdom which this chaste, wise 
 divine suffered for the reward of his soul. The Catholics of Dublin 
 
 castell, that was sent from Roome, without good warrant, which Romishe 
 bishop doth wander up and downe, and doth great hurt now in the northe." — 
 Ibid. The statement of Loftus in the text was made to exculpate himself 
 for having counselled the liberation of Dr. O'Duana. 
 * O'Sullev. loc. cit. p. 300. 
 
Chat. III. Dli. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 249 
 
 contended with each other to see which of them should have possession 
 of some one of his limbs, and they had fine linen* in readiness, to 
 prevent his blood from falling to the ground ; for they were convinced 
 that he was one of the holy martyrs of the Lord."t 
 
 The bishop had almost attained his eightieth year when 
 sentence was passed against him ; and hence, at his trial, he 
 declared that his crime would be far greater than that of 
 Eleazar, if, for the enjoyment of a few days of life, he 
 renounced his faitli.f To a pious matron, who waited on 
 him a few days before his execution, he said : " For ten years 
 I have not enjoyed such vigour of body or such joy of mind 
 as at present ; and my only anxiety is lest God should allow 
 me to be worn away in this prison by age and infirmity, and 
 not summon me to His own blissful enjoyment by martyrdom. ''§ 
 The holy priest displayed a like heroism. When Dr. O'Duana, 
 fearing that the spectacle of his own torments might strike terror 
 into father O'Lourchain, had requested the executioner to carry 
 out the sentence of the law first in his own regard, the priest 
 said that " he need not be in dread on his account, for he 
 would follow him without fear;" and added, that "it was not 
 meet for a bishop to be without a priest to attend him." And 
 the annalists add that faithfully did he fulfil his promise, " for 
 he suffered the like torture with fortitude for the kingdom of 
 heaven and his own soul."|| 
 
 It is deserving of remark, that the executioner, who was an 
 Irishman, fled as soon as sentence was passed on these venerable 
 men, nor could any other native be induced, by rewards or 
 threats, to discharge that office.^ An English culprit, under 
 sentence of death, on life being granted to him, was the only 
 person that the government could procure to act as executioner 
 of the holy martyrs. 
 
 This instance sufficiently proves how far were the efforts of 
 
 * A small piece of linen tinged with Dr. O'Devany's blood is still pre- 
 served in Rome. 
 
 t Annals, p. 2371. t O'Sullev. p. 302. 
 
 § O'Sullev. loo. eit. p. 302. |j Annals of Four Masters, loc. cit. 
 
 l! "Not even among criminals under sentence of death, among the vilest 
 dregs of the populace, could any man be induced to lay sacrilegious hands on 
 the Lord's anointed. " — Cambren. Evers. vol. ii. p. 609. 
 
250 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. III. 1. 
 
 Chichester from alienating the affections of our Irish Catholics 
 from the faith and traditions of their forefathers. Persecution 
 and proscription only made the Irish cling more fondly to their 
 faithful clergy, and labour with greater industry in seeking to 
 preserve them from their puritanical pursuers. The words with 
 which O'Sullevan Beare describes these efforts of the Catholics 
 in behalf of their clergy, are well deserving of attention. 
 
 " The Irish youth," he says, " is so far from listening to the heretical 
 teachers, that despite the edicts of the king and the viceroy, the foreign 
 colleges are filled with our students, whilst at home the children are 
 instructed by their parents, or by the priests, in the rudiments of the 
 faith. The heretical schoolmasters, lest they should lose the whole 
 stipend, readily make an agreement to allow Irish teachers to instruct 
 the children, on condition of half the salary being given to themselves. 
 
 " Rather than assist at the heretical service, the natives chose to 
 suffer fines and imprisonment, or death. Sometimes, though rarely, the 
 Protestant minister is murdered ; generally the Catholics only alarm him, 
 that thus he may desist from his impious ministry, and cease to perse- 
 cute the Catholic clergy. It is amusing to see what has often occurred 
 in our country towns. On the holidays some of the inhabitants invite 
 the Protestant minister to breakfast, that when inebriated with wine 
 and whiskey, he may, whilst thus sacrificing to Bacchus, forget to ex- 
 ecute his royal commission. 
 
 "The Catholics everywhere complain that no justice is shown to 
 them, and that the laws are violated in their regard. Nevertheless, 
 they treat the priests with all reverence and devotedness ; and in no part 
 of the world, and even never before in Ireland, was such universal 
 affection and respect displayed for the clergy as at present. They 
 will Dot betray their priest, though they are subjected, not to say to 
 fines, but to the most cruel and terrible tortures. It hence happens, that 
 fewer of the clergy now suffer for the faith than in former times, for 
 when a priest is arrested, no art is left unemployed to secure his libe- 
 ration. This fills the Protestant agents with rage ; and sometimes the 
 Catholic laity, who are known to thus succour their persecuted pastors, 
 are accused of other crimes, and brought to the scaffold. Such was the 
 sentence against sir Patrick Purcell, a nobleman in his eightieth year, 
 who was executed in 1612, being accused of having sheltered some 
 Irish defender of the Catholic cause, in Elizabeth's reign. His real crime, 
 however, was that he possessed ample estates, and was renowned 
 throughout the kingdom as a friend of the clergy."* 
 
 This constancy of our Catholics, and heroic devotedness to 
 
 * O'Sullevan, Hist. Cath. pp. 293-4. 
 
Chap. IV. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 251 
 
 their faithful clergy, merited the eulogy of the whole Christian 
 world; and the holy pontiff, Paul V., in an apostolical letter 
 addressed to them at this period, not only compares them to the 
 martyrs of the primitive times, and exhorts them to perseverance, 
 but adds — " You glory in that faith by which your fathers pro- 
 cured for their country the distinguished appellation of the 
 island of saints. Nor have the sufferings which you endured 
 been allowed to remain unpublished ; your fidelity and Christian 
 fortitude have become the subject of universal admiration, and 
 the praise of your name has long since been loudly celebrated 
 in every portion of the Christian world."f 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE PARLIAMENT OE 1613. 
 
 Meeting of a Parliament suggested by Chichester. — New boroughs created in 
 order to secure a majority in favour of persecution. — Controversy on the 
 Election of a Speaker. — Violence of the Government party, and pretended 
 Election of Sir John Davis. — Catholics excluded from all legitimate in- 
 fluence. 
 
 Twenty-seven years had elapsed since a parliament assembled 
 in the Irish capital, when Chichester suggested to the king the 
 necessity of sanctioning, by its enactments, the schemes of pro- 
 scription and plantation which, during that interval, had well nigh 
 transformed the kingdom of Ireland into an English province. 
 On the 18 th of May, 1613, the representatives of both houses 
 met in Dublin castle. The upper house, being composed of the 
 Protestant bishops and members of the English aristocracy, was 
 sure to be a main support of the government. On the other 
 hand, the election of representatives for the lower house was a 
 source of anxious care to the viceroy. In the counties and 
 ancient boroughs, the Catholics had taken the alarm, and 
 
 t Ap. Dr. Rothe, Hib. Resurgens, etc. 
 
252 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. IV. 1. 
 
 dreading some impending dangers, had, by incessant exertions, 
 secured a large majority of votes. Nothing was left undone by 
 the English civil and military authorities, by threats and bribes, 
 and even by throwing into prison the leading Catholic agents, 
 to check the enthusiasm of the popular party* All, however, 
 was in vain ; and nothing remained for the court but the bold 
 unconstitutional measure of erecting, by royal prerogative, more 
 than forty new parliamentary boroughs.f These were situated 
 for the most part in Ulster, and consisted of paltry villages, 
 and even in many cases merely of some few scattered houses 
 inhabited by the colonists from Scotland, J whilst the minions of 
 the court, and the very outcasts of Dublin, were declared free- 
 men and citizens of these new-fashioned towns.§ The individuals 
 selected to represent these boroughs in parliament, did not bear 
 a much higher character, and were, for the most part, officers 
 from the army, attorney's clerks, and " divers servants to great 
 men. "|| 
 
 It was well known that penal enactments against the Catholic 
 religion, drawn up by the privy council in England, and 
 sanctioned by king James, were transmitted^ to the Irish 
 viceroy, to be decreed by the approaching parliament. A letter 
 signed by six Catholic lords of the Pale, dated the 25th of 
 November, 1612, was addressed to the king, remonstrating 
 against such grievances ; it was, at the same time, lavish of flattery 
 and devotedness to the English monarch, and declared that it 
 was presented " on the bended knees of their loyal hearts."** 
 The natives took more effectual means to resist the penal inno- 
 
 * O'SnUev. Hist. Cath. p. 308. 
 
 t O'Sullev. loc. cit. ; Mooney's Hist. Franc. MS. Cox, etc. 
 
 J Bex auctoritate sua erexit triginta et octo loca valde obscura et minus 
 nota in oppida cum privileges et juribus municipalibus, quia in illis habita- 
 bant novae plantations hsaretici, et jussit ut ex singulis locis duo interessent 
 parlamento, " etc. — Mooney. loc. cit. 
 
 § "In his rursus desertis urbibus cives haareticos desiderans, cives illis creat 
 Anglos tonsores, pharmacopolas, scribas, litium procuratores, curiae janitores, 
 hominumque id genus colluviem qui ne oculis quidem unquain loca ilia 
 lustraverunt. " — O'Sullev. loc. cit. pp. 308-9. 
 
 || Hib. Desiderata Cnriosa, vol. i. p. 220. 
 
 II See the heads of these enactments in O'Sul. loc. cit. pp. 310-12 ; De 
 Rosario, pp. 180-2. 
 
 ** Cox, ii. p. 25 ; Gale's Corporate History of Ireland, p. 105. 
 
Chap. IV. I.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 253 
 
 vations. The popular members set out in triumphant proces- 
 sion from the scenes of their respective victories towards the 
 seat of government. The population everywhere received 
 them with shouts of tumultuous greeting, and exhortations to 
 defend to the last the only remaning glory of their nation, the 
 Catholic faith* As they passed along, the same wide-spread 
 enthusiasm added hourly new troops to their cavalcades, and 
 they made their entry into the capital more like martial leaders 
 at the head of their armed retainers, than peaceable deputies 
 hastening to deliberate on the affairs of state. The clergy, also, 
 crowded to Dublin from all parts of the country ; even the 
 bishops and religious orders made it a matter of duty to assemble 
 there, to animate and direct the exertions of their represen- 
 tatives; and many that were sojourning in Spain, and Belgium, 
 and France, started for the Irish shores, to contribute their mite 
 towards averting the coming storm. t 
 
 On the appointed day, the lord deputy, with the peers of the 
 realm, the nobles, the archbishops and bishops, attired in rich 
 scarlet robes, proceeded with sound of trumpet from the castle 
 of Dublin to the cathedral of St. Patrick. Lord Barry and lord 
 Buttevant carried the sword of state, and the earl of Thomond 
 bore other emblems of royalty. The viceroy rode " upon a 
 most stately horse, very richly trapped ; himself attired in a 
 very rich robe of purple velvet, which the king's majesty had 
 sent him, and his train was borne by eight gentlemen of 
 worth."J All this pomp could not induce the Catholic mem- 
 bers to enter the Protestant cathedral, and assist at the discourse 
 of the Protestant primate. They halted outside, and no sooner 
 had lord Barry laid the sword of state upon the cushion before 
 the viceroy, than he too retired, refusing to remain during the 
 
 * " Quos id parlamentum profieiscentes, nobiles, plebei, matroncc, pnellae, 
 pueri, decrepiti, orant et obtestantur ut sanctam Jesu religionem a majoribua 
 semper cultam defendant, si faciant aliud, id irritum se habituros." — O'Suilev. 
 loe. cit. p. 308. 
 
 t " Iberui Antistites, religiosi, saeerdotes ex omnibus regni locis Dublinum 
 confluunt ; et ire contenduut multi qui per Hispaniam, Galliam, Belgium in 
 religionibus et seminariis suisque sumptibus, dabant operam litteris. " — O'Suilev. 
 Hist. Oath. p. 313 ; Dcsid. Curiosa Hib. vol. i. ; Cox, loc. cit. etc. 
 
 t Des. Cur. Hib. vol. i. page 166. 
 
254 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. IV. 1. 
 
 heretical service. The ceremony* being completed, they re- 
 turned in state procession to the castle, and all assembled in its 
 chambers to receive the address of the lord chancellor. He, in 
 " a grave and worthy speech," expressed the benign intentions 
 of the king in regard to Ireland, and declared his majesty's plea- 
 sure that sir John Davis should be elected speaker of the lower 
 parliament house. Sir John was at this time attorney-general 
 for Ireland. He had during the past years proved himself an 
 able and efficient minister in carrying out the king's policy, and 
 hence had reaped an abundant harvest of the royal favour when 
 sharing the Irish spoils. 
 
 On the following day, the members of the lower house as- 
 sembled to choose their speaker, and ail the government 
 minions, 125 in number, grouped together to support the royal 
 favourite. They were emboldened by the presence of a band 
 of soldiers completely armed, who, with lighted matches in their 
 hands, guarded the entrance of the parliament rooms.f The 
 Catholic members only numbered 101, and, with few exceptions, 
 had been chosen from the Anglo-Irish families, as being more 
 conversant with the language and usages of parliament. The 
 question of the speakership being proposed, one Irish member 
 interrogated those who filled the opposite benches whence they 
 had come, or by what law they were entitled to sit in an Irish 
 parliament. " You are not natives of this country," he said ; 
 " you have no property here ; no city, no county, has chosen 
 you its representative. Surely a few huts or uninhabited farms 
 cannot be allowed to depute members to parliament. Where- 
 fore, depart from this assembly. You may belong to other 
 parliaments, but here you are strangers to our laws, and you 
 are representatives of places unknown in this country." t Whilst 
 he continued in this strain, a government member summoned 
 those who were for sir John Davis to count their numbers 
 in the anti-chamber, as was usual in those days in Eng- 
 land. No sooner had they retired than one of the Catholic 
 party thus addressed his associates: — " The rabble at length 
 
 * O'Sullev. loc. cit. page 314. 
 
 t See Curry's Civil Wars, page 79 ; O'Sullevan, loc. cit. page 315. 
 
 J O'Sullevan, pp. 315-6. 
 
Chap. IV. 1.] DH. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 255 
 
 has gone, and we are left, as it is our right to be, in 
 possession of this house; -wherefore, seeing that our efforts 
 have been so blessed by God, we should pursue the course 
 which He has traced for us, and defend that saving faith, 
 for which, if necessary, .we should be ready to die. To this 
 we are encouraged by the example of our fathers and kinsmen, 
 who, fighting for the Catholic faith, obtained an undying 
 glory in this world, and a happy immortality in heaven. We 
 will not be unworthy of their name, if we are called on to engage 
 in the same combat. Should death be our lot, we will be 
 sharers in their renown ; should our struggles be crowned with 
 success, our merit shall not be less, whilst higher fame and 
 happier fortune will await us. Nor is there reason to appre- 
 hend that, by so doing, we shall trespass aught against the 
 king's majesty; for that same object should be his special care, 
 and nothing can be more necessary, either for his own salvation 
 or for the righteous ruling of this kingdom. Let all, therefore, 
 be courageous ; let us maintain that religion, for which it is a 
 privilege to combat; in whose cause, it is more honourable to be 
 conquered, than to conquer fighting against it ; to die for which, 
 is truly to live ; and to exalt which, should be the highest glory 
 of man."* 
 
 They then chose sir John Everard for their speaker. He 
 was a man of high repute amongst the Anglo-Irish Catholics ; 
 and some years before had resigned his office of chief justice, 
 rather than sully his conscience by taking the oath of supremacy. 
 He was at once unanimously installed in the speaker's chair. 
 The Protestant members, on their return, raised a clamour in the 
 house, and, proceeding to the speaker's chair, forcibly placed 
 sir John Davis on the lap of the Catholic speaker ; and as even 
 this did not suffice, they, after a long struggle, pulled the latter 
 from his place, tore his garments, and bruised his body with 
 repeated blows.j- 
 
 The Catholic members at once seceded from the assembly ; 
 and, to the great alarm of the viceroy, the citizens and the 
 
 * O'Sullev. loc. cit. p. 316. The speech is also given by De Burgo, Hib. 
 Dom. ; and Porter, in his Annals. 
 
 t O'Sullev. p. 316 ; Dess. Curios. Hib. vol. i. p. 223. 
 
 S 
 
256 DE. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. IV. 1. 
 
 multitudes, who had hastened to Dublin from all parts, fear- 
 lessly and threateningly avowed their determination to stand 
 by their representatives. On the following day, an invitation 
 to sir John Everard conveyed the wishes of the government, 
 that the Catholic members should return to parliament. He 
 courageously replied, that he could not return except as speaker 
 of the house; that at their preceding assembly, the military 
 had illegally been drawn out for the purpose of terrorism ; that 
 the intruded members had inflicted severe bodily injury upon 
 himself, for which he awaited the due reparation. To repeated 
 messages of the viceroy the Catholic members replied with one 
 accord, that most of the opposition members were intruders in 
 their parliament; that their constitutional rights had been 
 arbitrarily violated ; and hence they were resolved not to sanction, 
 by their presence, the acts that might be passed in such an 
 assembly. At the same time they published an address to the 
 people of Ireland, exhorting them to be faithful to their ancient 
 creed, and by their firmness preserve it from threatening 
 dangers. One passage of this address is particularly interesting, 
 as illustrating the special grievances to which the Irish Catholics 
 were subjected during the first years of James' reign. " We 
 had hoped," they thus write, " that on the accession of his majesty 
 peace would be granted to us ; but to our grief, not only was 
 no toleration granted, but a bitter persecution excited against 
 us by the Protestant clergy ; for they, and other agents of the 
 crown, recalled into operation statutes that had passed into 
 disuse. They oppressed the Catholics with new laws and 
 fines, and vexations of every sort, by which they reduce us to 
 an extreme poverty, but still they could not alienate us from 
 our holy religion. Hence, new burdens are heaped upon our- 
 selves and upon our children — upon our lives and liberties — 
 upon our fame and fortunes. Our children are prohibited to 
 seek science and literature in the European schools ; our gentry 
 are shut out from the offices of state ; and no Catholic can even 
 be a magistrate without renouncing the doctrines of his faith. 
 . . . . Even our artificers and labourers have been subjected to 
 cruel persecution, to excommunication and fines, and a thousand 
 other evils Notwithstanding all these penalties of poverty, 
 
Chap. IV. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 
 
 257 
 
 and mockery, and imprisonment, and destruction, we have 
 never wavered in matters of conscience. It is true, our wealth 
 and property has been wasted away. The whole condition of 
 the nation has been altered by the endowed and married 
 clergy, and other ministers of the government: many incon- 
 veniences have arisen, in consequence, even in matters of 
 commerce. Our domestic life is intruded on, and we ourselves 
 are become a prey to vile and abject men, who devour our 
 substance, and enjoy the fruits of our labours."* 
 
 Whilst the Catholic deputies! were, in consequence of these 
 dissensions, summoned by the king to appear before him at 
 Westminster, Chichester dispatched instructions to his agents at 
 the court to bias the minds of the royal counsellors against 
 them. One of the articles of these instructions was as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 "Whereas they say that such as were returned to their party were 
 without exception, you may prove the contrary by showing how many 
 of them were heads of rebellion in the last wars, how some of them can 
 speak no English, how they were all elected by a general combination 
 and practice of Jesuits and priests, who charged all the people, upon 
 pain of excommunication, not to elect any of the king's religion." J 
 
 King James received the Irish deputation at Whitehall, and 
 at repeated audiences displayed his characteristic pedantry. 
 They were summoned to his presence for the last time on 1st 
 of May, 1614, when he addressed to them a long harangue, 
 reproving their turbulence and audacity in rejecting his re- 
 ligion, and refusing to accept as speaker the individual whom 
 he had nominated. " You and your nation," he thus began, 
 " are not only hostile to my religion and to myself, but are, 
 moreover, most obstinate Papists; nay, more, you make it a 
 boast of being more attached to popery and to Rome than any 
 other nation." As regarded their complaints, he evaded them, 
 
 * This address is given in full in O'Sullevan, Hist. Oath. pp. 316-9. 
 
 f Those who formed the Irish deputation were, Jenico Preston, Lord Gor- 
 manstown ; James, Lord Lunboyne ; Sir Christopher Plunket, Sir James 
 Gough, William Talbot, Edward Fitzharris, Sir Christopher Nugent, and 
 Thomas Luttrel. A collection was made throughout Ireland to defray their 
 expenses. 
 
 % See the Confiscation of Ulster, by MacNevin ; Lublin, 1846 ; pp. 244-5. 
 
258 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chat. IV. 1. 
 
 declaring " that in the government nothing had been proved 
 faulty, except you would have the kingdom of Ireland like the 
 kingdom of heaven." He added many reproaches for the general 
 obstinacy of the nation in adhering to the Catholic faith. "You 
 will not frequent our churches, you will not hear our sermons, 
 but you will pin your faith to the Council of Trent. You never 
 cease to conspire against my crown and my life. At home and 
 abroad you are ever hatching sedition. At Rome you have 
 Peter Lombard, whom you call a doctor, and in Ireland, Chris- 
 topher Hollywood, who inculcate the necessity of sending your 
 children to foreign seminaries, teaching them rebellion, and con- 
 firming their hatred of me." And he concluded thus: "My 
 sentence is, that in the matter of parliament you have carried 
 yourselves tumultuously and undutifully ; and that your pro- 
 ceedings have been rude, disorderly, and inexcusable, and worthy 
 of severe punishment, which, by reason of your submission, I do 
 forbear, but not remit, till I see your dutiful carriage in this 
 parliament ; where, by your obedience to the deputy and state, 
 and your future good behaviour, you may redeem your past 
 miscarriage, and then may deserve not only pardon, but favour 
 and cherishing."* 
 
 His majesty, moreover, added deeds to words. Two of the 
 deputies, Talbot and Luttrel, were thrown into prison, and sub- 
 jected to heavy fines ; and on the 31st May, 1614, an edict was 
 published commanding "all archbishops, bishops, Jesuits, and 
 seminarists, who have derived their authority from Rome, to 
 withdraw themselves from the kingdom of Ireland before the 
 30th of September following ;" and empowering the royal 
 constables and other officers to arrest and punish all such as after 
 that date should be found in the kingdom! 
 
 The only result of the deputation- to England was a promise 
 of the viceroy that no penal enactments should be introduced 
 against the Catholic faith. Satisfied with this promise, the 
 Anglo-Irish members resumed their places in the parliament in 
 1615, and lent their aid to the government in passing the bill 
 
 * See O'Sullev. loo. cit. 323-5 ; Cox, ii. page 25 ; Dominic de Rosario, page 
 182, seqq. 
 f Dominic de Eos. pp. 185-6. 
 
Chap. V. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 259 
 
 of attainder against the princes of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, thua 
 legalizing the plunder of 800,000 Catholic acres in Ulster alone. 
 The few Irish deputies seceded from the sittings of the house, 
 refusing to be present at the sacrifice of the liberties of the 
 nation. Thenceforward the history of that parliament does not 
 fall within our present scope, as it no longer re-echoed the 
 Catholic spirit of Ireland, nor could its measures be regarded as 
 receiving the sanction and approval of the Irish Catholics* 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SUBSEQUENT AFFLICTIONS OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS. 
 
 Dangers to which Dr. Matthews was exposed. — Letter of an Irish Jesuit. — 
 O'Sullevan's and Dr. Kearney's testimony. — Dr. Roothe. — Extract from a 
 Report to propaganda by Dr. Matthews. 
 
 The puritanical faction that held in its hands the reins of 
 government, was only the more provoked by the unlooked-for 
 result of the first sessions of the parliament of 1613; and hence 
 we find the agents of persecution everywhere throughout our 
 island, redoubling their fury, and renewing their efforts to root 
 out the Catholic faith. In the following year, when Dr. Eugene 
 Matthews and his suffragans assembled in Kilkenny to celebrate 
 a provincial council, the presiding archbishop declared that the 
 exercise of the sacred ministry was beset on every side by diffi- 
 culties, and impediments, and dangers. " Oar words," he adds, 
 " are interpreted in an evil sense ; we ourselves are exposed to 
 calumnies, so that we cannot even assemble for purposes of con- 
 cord and religion, without danger to our lives and liberties. 
 Amidst these afflictions and sufferings, whilst we attend to our 
 
 * An eloquent protest against the bill of attainder, addressed by the exiled 
 archbishop of Tuam, Florence O'Conroy, to some friends in Ireland, in 1616, 
 may be seen in O'Sullevan, loc. cit. pp. 328-331. 
 
260 
 
 DB. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap.V. 1. 
 
 spiritual charge, and contemplate the necessities of our flock, 
 we are compelled by duty to be unmindful of our own safety, 
 and to be heedless of those snares of which many friends have 
 admonished us, and by which imprisonment and, it is supposed, 
 even death is continually impending over us.* 
 
 From many contemporary sources we learn that the arch- 
 bishop himself was a special object of persecution. Thus a letter 
 written on the 10th of May, 1615, informs us: " Eugene, arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, is eagerly pursued by the government; and 
 the viceroy mentioned to a Catholic baronet, from whose lips I 
 received the intelligence, that he is by name and by person 
 odious to the king, and for that reason the viceroy and the lord 
 chancellor are most anxious to arrest him, so that it is supposed 
 he will be compelled to abandon his diocese. He lives concealed, 
 and abstains from ordination and confirmation, and all other 
 functions that might betray his place of refuge. The holy man 
 is full of zeal, and anxiously desires to discharge his spiritual 
 duties, and guide the flock entrusted to him ; but he is beset on 
 every side with dangers on the part of the government, which 
 is alarmed on account of the family to which he belongs, and 
 the district where he was born, and those whom he admitted to 
 his society ; and pretends to regard him as a precursor sent to 
 prepare the way for a new revolt. For my part, I am sure that 
 the archbishop has no such designs, but still the government 
 persists in imputing them to him."f 
 
 During the next three years the persecution of Dr. Matthews 
 continued unabated ; and we may form some idea of the eager 
 anxiety of his pursuers to compass his destruction, from the 
 particulars stated in the following letter, written by an Irish 
 Jesuit, to Rome, on 17th July, 1617: — „ 
 
 " The desire of the government to arrest the archbishop of 
 Dublin is most intense, and their efforts incessant, so that many 
 fear lest others may be the victims, and be arrested by those who 
 are in pursuit of him. During the last Easter time, it happened 
 in the city of Dublin that the lord chancellor and another of the 
 
 * Constitutions Provinciates, etc. printed in 1770, Prooemium, p. 1, seqq. 
 f See Collections, etc. p. 265. 
 
Chap. V. 1.] DH. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 261 
 
 privy council, and Dr. Ryves, master of the prerogative court, 
 accompanied by some of the household of the viceroy, and other 
 attendants well armed, proceeded to search in several houses for 
 Dr. Eugene, relying on the guidance of an ill-informed spy. 
 They moreover placed guards at the corners of the streets and 
 other places, to preclude all possibility of escape ; and so deter- 
 mined were they in this pursuit, that they rushed headlong into 
 the bedroom of a Catholic countess, belonging to the chief 
 nobility of England and Ireland, although such an intrusion 
 was contrary to the rights and privileges which such per- 
 sons enjoy in Ireland. You will easily imagine the terror 
 and alarm of this worthy lady, who had only just risen from 
 bed, at the sudden entrance of an armed band. Archbishop 
 Eugene, through the blessing of God, was beyond the reach of 
 his pursuers; however, many others, both of the clergy and 
 laity, were arrested and thrown into prison ; amongst others, 
 one religious was seized on, and a secular priest named William 
 Donagh (Donatus), who, although confined to bed through 
 illness, yet because he was reputed a chaplain of the archbishop, 
 was compelled to get up and accompany the others to prison, 
 where he is still detained Your friend, the archbishop of 
 Cashel, and another of your members, incurred some odium, as 
 if they were conscious of the traitorous designs of Dr. Matthews, 
 whom the heretics style not an archbishop or bishop, but arch- 
 traitor, and of whom they are, in consequence, continually in 
 search. For my part, I could never see any traces of such 
 political intrigues in the archbishop ; he certainly never devised 
 any such schemes amongst the clergy, but, on the contrary, 
 always exhorted them to keep clear of such matters of state. 
 Still the government imagines that both at home and abroad he 
 is involved in negotiations. May God guard the innocent, and 
 preserve these who are guileless in their designs !"* 
 
 From O'Sullevan we also learn that in this very year (1617) 
 Dr. Matthews was unceasingly pursued by the agents of the 
 crown, and five hundred pounds were offered as a reward to 
 
 * See Collections, etc. pp. 265-6. The editor of the Collections, by an over- 
 sight, refers the suspicions and pursuit of the heretics, spoken of in the latter 
 part of this letter, to the archbishop of Cashel. 
 
26 2 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. , [Chap. V. 1. 
 
 whosoever should bring to the government the head of the 
 archbishop, dead or alive.* 
 
 The letters of Dr. David Kearney, archbishop of Cashel, more 
 than once refer to the storm of persecution, which was thus let 
 loose against our Irish Church. In 1617, he writes: "We are 
 more afflicted now than hitherto, and on account of the new 
 viceroy, who has promised great things to the king, the perse- 
 cution goes on increasing every day."f In the following year he 
 again renews his laments, declaring that " the persecution now 
 rages with more dreadful violence than ever in past years. "J 
 
 The new viceroy to whom Dr. Kearney refers, was sir Oliver 
 St. John, who succeeded Chichester, on August 30, 1616, 
 The first years of his career in Ireland, are thus briefly sketched 
 by O'Sullevan, writing in 1618: — 
 
 " This cruel monster being made viceroy, the fury of the persecutors 
 was redoubled. On assuming his office, he is said to have sworn to 
 extirpate, within two years, all the Catholic priests in Ireland. For 
 this purpose, in 1616, commissary judges were appointed for each 
 district, accompanied by troops of armed men, and authorized to inflict 
 the penalties of the law on all the clergy, and to exact from the laity 
 an account of their manner of life. From the fines of the Catholics who 
 refused to assistat the impious heretical rites, six hundred thousand crowns 
 of gold were gathered into the royal treasury. New prisons are made 
 and filled with Catholics. In the city of Dublin alone, nine hundred of 
 the laity were thrown into gaol for refusing the oath of supremacy."§ 
 
 The greater part of the treatise of Dr. Roothe, entitled 
 Analecta, is taken up with details of the sufferings of our 
 Church at this sad period. The chief facts, however, which he 
 commemorates are:(l) that the fines levied in the county Cavan, 
 in 1615, for the mere crime of not assisting at Protestant service, 
 amounted to more than eight thousand pounds; (2) that when 
 some of the poor Catholics of the county Meath, who were 
 
 * O'Sullevan, Hist. Cath. pp. 336-7. "Qui vel Eugenium MacMahon, 
 Dublinnae vel Davidem O'Carnium Casilia? arohiepisoopum, vel utriuslibet 
 caput tradat, huic quiDgenta; argenti librse priemio coastitimntur ab Anglis." 
 
 t Lett, to the General of the Jesuits, dated " ex Hibernia 26 Maij, 1617." 
 
 j Lett, to the same, "E loco mansionis nostra in Provincia Cassellen. die 
 ulta. Sept. 1618." 
 
 § Loc. cit. p. 335. 
 
Chap. V. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 263 
 
 unwilling to pay this tax, fled from the cruel collectors of it 
 into the caverns and mountain recesses, furious bloodhounds 
 were often let loose in pursuit of them, followed by the sheriff 
 and his posse of soldiers, equally furious and unrelenting ; (3) 
 that the Protestant authorities had constant recourse to eccle- 
 siastical censure, in consequence of which, great numbers of 
 Catholic merchants and artificers were thrown into prison, and 
 reduced to extreme poverty and distress ; (4) that those who 
 happened to die, whilst under the ban of these Protestant 
 censures, were denied Christian burial, and thrown into graves 
 dug in the highways, where, to increase the ignominy, stakes 
 were driven through their bodies* 
 
 More interesting to the reader than all these narratives, will 
 probably be the sketch of the sufferings of Ireland from the pen 
 of the archbishop himself, — a sketch drawn up with special care 
 by Dr. Matthews, in 1623, and presented by him to the Sacred 
 Congregation of Propaganda.]- He thus writes : — 
 
 "Although from the very commencement of the schism we have been 
 constantly in the battle-field, and, with the exception of the momentary 
 repose enjoyed during the reign of Catholic Mary, have been unceas- 
 ingly exposed to the attacks of our persecutors, yet so severe are their 
 late assaults, that, in comparison, all their preceding efforts sink into 
 insignificance. Of this persecution I myself have been a witness and a 
 sharer, and I shall briefly commemorate a few of its chief heads. 
 
 " Some years ago the heretics strained every nerve to introduce into 
 Ireland those laws which the English parliament enacted against the 
 
 * Analect. prjef. ; also part i. p. 39, et seqq. See also Curry's Historical 
 Memoirs, p. 39, seqq. Some late Protestant writers have not hesitated to assert 
 that the bloodhounds were unknown to the executois of English law. How- 
 ever the testimony of Dr Roothe, an eye-witness, who often shared the perils 
 of his flock, is unimpeachable ; and, moreover, in the present instance, we have 
 his testimony confirmed by the charter of James I., published in Proceedings 
 of Royal Irish Academy, authorizing Henry Tuttesham, in 1614, "to keep 
 four men and twelve couple of hounds in every county of Ireland, for seven 
 years." Although the permission was granted, in order to destroy the wolves 
 which infested the country, we know from several authorities how such per- 
 missions were perverted, by the ingenuity of the persecutors, to compass the 
 destruction of the Catholics. See Proceeding of Royal Irish Academy, vol. 2, 
 p. 77 
 
 t This sketch is sec. 8 of the- Relatio entitled " Brevis informatio ad Illmos. 
 D.D. Cardd. S. Congreg. Prop. Fidei, de statu Religionis in Regno Hibernire, 
 et prasente ejus necessitate, exhibita die 4 Febr. 1623." Ex Archiv. S. Con- 
 gregat. 
 
264 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [CH4P. V. 1. 
 
 Catholics of England, and to resuscitate the penal code which had been 
 suppositiously passed in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign. A par- 
 liament was summoned to attain these ends. The government agents 
 sought by every art and violence to secure the election of English or 
 Scotch heretical soldiers. Lest our Catholics might prevail by their 
 numbers, new English and Scotch colonies were planted, and endowed 
 with the privilege of representation. Moreover, a number of titles were 
 conferred on various heretics, whilst the remonstrances of the Catholics 
 were unheeded. Nevertheless, no counsel can prevail against the Lord. 
 All the heretical efforts were fruitless ; and so strenuously did the 
 Catholics defend their sacred cause, that their adversaries did not dare 
 even to propose the penal statutes. The heretics had then recourse to 
 royal prerogative, that thus, without any form of law or justice, they 
 might riot against the Catholics ; and so violent is the storm of perse- 
 cution which they have thus excited, that it almost baffles description. 
 
 1. " All Catholics are removed from the administration of affairs, 
 and even the smallest offices are given to heretics, and schismatics, who 
 may, with impunity, persecute the Catholics according to their fancies. 
 
 2. " No Catholic can hold property throughout the entire kingdom : 
 everything is seized on by heretical colonies, and the ejected Catholic 
 proprietors cannot even live as servants on those lands of which they 
 are the masters by hereditary right. For the heretics have learned by 
 experience that there is no people in the world so attached to the faith 
 of their fathers as are the Irish, in defence of which they often had 
 recourse to arms, and risked their fortunes and lives. Seeing, there- 
 fore, that penal laws could not suffice to destroy their devotion to the 
 Catholic religion, they had recourse to new arts, and by a disastrous 
 counsel commenced to fill the country with English and Scotch colonies : 
 whilst at the present time, in consequence of the treaties entered into 
 with the continental states, the Irish can hope for no assistance from 
 other powers. Thus, then, the natives, though unaccused of any crime, 
 are without colour of justice, without any feeling of humanity, without 
 any fear of Him who will punish the -oppressors, expelled from the 
 homes of their fathers, and from their hereditary estates. Sometimes 
 they are driven to other parts of the kingdom, where small portions of 
 land are assigned to them for their maintenance; sometimes they are 
 compelled to fly from the island, and seek support by entering the 
 armies of the Continent. Heretics being thus introduced into the 
 Catholic lands, a great part of the kingdom is polluted with their 
 sacrilegious impieties ; and unless God may avert the dire calamity, the 
 ancient faith will be banished from the whole island. As this evil is 
 propagated by brute force, and as our people has neither skill nor 
 power to cope with our enemies, we must wholly rely for its remedy on 
 the mercy of God. 
 
 3. " Ministers and preachers were sought out everywhere in Scot- 
 land and England, and sent hither to pervert our Catholics. 
 
 4. " All benefices and other ecclesiastical property, were, from the 
 
Chap. V. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 265 
 
 beginning, seized on by the heretks. In each diocese there is a pseudo- 
 bishop, and in each parish a pseudo-minister. 
 
 5. " The Catholics are compelled to repair, for heretical worship, 
 the churches and chapels, which these Iconoclasts themselves had 
 destroyed. 
 
 6. " The pseudo-clergy not only seize on all the revenues, but exact 
 payment for the sacraments of baptism and marriage, even when they 
 are administered by the Catholic priests ; the sum thus exacted some- 
 times amounts to four guineas or more, according to the will of the 
 Protestant ministers, who make no account of the poverty and misery 
 of the people. In addition to these exactions, a salary was lately 
 assigned to a certain heretic, to be levied on the births, marriages, and 
 deaths of the Catholics. 
 
 7. " Four times in the year, qnestors are appointed to explore the 
 Catholics throughout the whole kingdom, and impose fines on all who 
 absent themselves from the heretical sermons and communion. As 
 this fine is not defined by law, the judges and questors display great 
 earnestness and avarice in exacting it, through hatred of our holy 
 religion. 
 
 8. " On each Sunday, each Catholic father of a family is obliged to 
 pay a pecuniary fine for himself and for each Catholic member of his 
 family.: This fine is exacted without mercy even from the poorest 
 labourers. 
 
 9. The pseudo-bishops have introduced a new system of excom- 
 municating, forsooth, the Catholics ; from which excommunication the 
 Catholics cannot be freed, except by recognizing the spiritual authority 
 of these bishops, and thus sacrificing their own faith. Those, thus 
 excommunicated, are liable to arrest ; and should they die, are interred 
 in unconsecrated ground. 
 
 10. " Those who assist at Mass, incur a penalty of one hundred 
 marks. 
 
 11." All our gentry and nobility are obliged to send their heirs to 
 be educated and perverted in England. 
 
 12. " None of the nobility are now allowed to succeed to their 
 paternal inheritance, without first emitting the oath of royal supremacy, 
 otherwise they and their posterity are deprived of their revenues, and 
 thus the dreadful alternative is presented to them of perversion or 
 poverty. 
 
 13. " It is interdicted to the Catholics to teach school either in 
 public or in private; on the other hand, heretical masters are hired in 
 every diocese, and paid from the revenue of some benefices, to pervert 
 our youth and imbue them with heresy. In fact, the heretics have 
 obstructed every avenue by which our youth could receive instruction 
 in thia kingdom ; and, by their severe penalties and rigorous searches, 
 they seek to render it impossible for any Catholic teacher to remain in 
 the country. Moreover, having created a university in the city of 
 Dublin, the seat of the viceroy and the capital of the whole kingdom, 
 
266 
 
 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VI. I. 
 
 they employ every artifice to attract our children to its schools. Indeed, 
 they could not possibly devise any scheme more iniquitous than that of 
 thus corrupting our youth. 
 
 14. " The Catholic cities are deprived of their ancient liberties, 
 privileges, and rights, and are reduced to the rank of towns, unless 
 they elect heretics as their mayors and aldermen, or, at least, select 
 such persons as the heretics approve of, as lately happened to the city of 
 Waterford, which holds the second place in the kingdom for its strength 
 and opulence." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PROVINCIAL SYNOD OF 1614. 
 
 This Synod held in Kilkenny. — Edition of its Acts in 1770. — Its various 
 Decrees. — Account of them from Dr. Meagher's Notice of Life of Most 
 Rev. Dr. Murray. — Strictness of Law of Abstinence in Irish Church. 
 
 We owe a debt of gratitude to the ecclesiastic, whoever he was, 
 that by publishing the little compilation entitled Provincial 
 and Synodical Contitutions of the Metropolitan and Primatial 
 Church of Dublin,* preserved to us so many interesting lessons 
 on Irish ecclesiastical history, as its pages contain. The fore- 
 most and principal of those contributions, are the statutes of the 
 Provincial Synod of Kilkenny ,t held by Dr. Eugene Matthews, 
 on the 22nd of June, 1614, of which for more than two centuries 
 the church of Dublin was justly proud, re-enacting them in 
 various subsequent synods, and regarding them as her chief code 
 of ecclesiastical discipline and law. 
 
 The proosmium to the synod, as we have already seen, 
 sketches the sad desolation which had fallen upon our Church. 
 It then commemorates the opening of the synod in the city of 
 
 * Constitutiones Provinciales et Synodales Ecclesiae Metropolitan se et Pri- 
 matialis Dubliniensis. Printed, without date of place, in 1770. 
 
 t Notices of the Life and Character of his Grace Most Reverend Daniel 
 Murray, etc. ; with historical and biographical notes. By Reverend William 
 Meagher, P.P. Dublin, 1853. Page 115. 
 
Chaf. VI. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 267 
 
 of Kilkenny, on the 22nd of June, 1614, under the presidency 
 of our archbishop, and its happy termination on the 27th of 
 the same month. All the suffragan sees were at this time 
 vacant; even the names of the vicars-general, who assisted from 
 each diocese at the deliberations of the synod, have not been 
 handed down to us. We may conjecture, however, that David 
 Roothe, subsequently elevated to the see of St. Canice, repre- 
 sented the diocese of Ossory, and that Drs. Luke Archer, Daniel 
 O'Drohen, and James Talbot,* assisted as vicars of Leighlin, 
 Ferns, and Kildare. 
 
 The first act of the assembled prelates was to' profess their 
 obedience to the Holy See, and to accept, with due reverence 
 and submission, all that had been ordained by the sacred Council 
 of Trent. They avow their desire and profess their readiness to 
 publish and faithfully execute the disciplinary laws which it 
 prescribed; but they, at the same time, deplore the mournful 
 condition of the times which compelled them to avail themselves 
 of the dispensation so wisely accorded by that Council, and to 
 defer to a more favoured era the full execution of all its ordi- 
 nances. 
 
 As regards the clergy, a fixed pastor was to be assigned to 
 each parish; and if a sufficient number of clergy could not be 
 procured, each vacant district should be assigned to the care of 
 the neighbouring parish priest, who, however, is admonished, 
 whilst discharging that office of charity, not to neglect the 
 spiritual interests of the flock more especially entrusted to him. 
 They are, in particular, exhorted to instruct the faithful in the 
 catechism ; and even when casually stopping for a day in the 
 house of any of their parishioners, never to fail to teach to one 
 or other of its inmates in the presence of the rest, the Creed or 
 the Lord's Prayer, or some point of Christian doctrine.f 
 
 The province of Leinster in those days seems to have been 
 
 * In the Wadding Papers, Dr. Jaines Talbot is commemorated, in 1615, as 
 being then vicar-general of Kildare. He was appointed its vioar-apostolic in 
 1617. The brief appointing Luke Archer vicar-apostolic of Leighlin, is dated 
 7th of March, 1614. 
 
 t Constitutiones, etc. page 1 1 . The various disciplinary enactments cited in 
 this chapter, are copied from the decrees of the S3'nod as registered in the same 
 compilation, unless when other authorities are referred to. 
 
■^bo DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VI. 1. 
 
 wholly bereft of any "house of God;" the holy sacrifice was 
 offered up " in private houses, in orchards, or caves,"* in the 
 woods or on the mountain tops. To provide, however, for 
 due reverence towards the sacred mysteries, it was prescribed 
 that the most becoming localities should always be selected for 
 celebrating Mass. To guard against all irreverence from dust, etc., 
 linen cloths were, if possible, to be suspended above, or around the 
 altar; and, when it was necessary to celebrate under the broad 
 canopy of heaven, the utmost care was to be taken lest the sacred 
 vessels should be disturbed by sudden showers or gusts of wind. 
 The kiss of peace hitherto given even at the private Masses, was 
 to be discontinued ; and no priest was to presume to offer the 
 holy sacrifice without two candles, or at least one being kept 
 burning from the commencement of the Mass to its close. 
 Special care was to be taken that the corporalia and other 
 cloths, more immediately connected with the holy sacrifice, 
 should be " clean and beautiful ;" no chalices were to be conse- 
 crated, but such as had the cup and paten of silver, and, if 
 possible, gilt on the inner side. As there was no possibility of 
 reposing the adorable sacrament in a consecrated place with a 
 light burning before it, as duty would otherwise prescribe, it 
 was commanded to preserve some sacred particles only when 
 necessary to provide for the sick and dying. 
 
 " The most startling canon of all, however, and which implies most 
 emphatically the disasters with which religion was surrounded, is that 
 permitting laymen, in cases of necessity, to carry the holy Eucharist to 
 prisoners about to be executed, and who, bereft of the opportunity of 
 confession, should dispose themselves, as best they could, by acts of 
 contrition, to receive the adorable Victim. In such cases the recipients, 
 if priests, were to administer it to themselves in the ordinary way ; if 
 laymen, they are not to touch the sacred Host with their hands, but to 
 lift it to their mouths reverently with the tongue. f 
 
 In regard to the sacrament of baptism, it is prescribed that 
 the people be instructed, when administering it in case of neces- 
 sity, and employing the English language, not to use the 
 
 * See petition of Dr. Eugene MacMahon, on the 11th May, 1611. 
 f Notices, etc. p. 112; Constitutiones, etc. pp. 25-6. 
 
Chap. VI. 1.] DU. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 269 
 
 formula, " I do christen thee," etc., but only the words, " I do 
 baptize thee," etc. The Sarisbury Ritual, hitherto in use with 
 some of the clergy, was interdicted, and none but the Roman 
 Ritual was to be used after the date of the 1st October, 1615; 
 and as there was no chapel for administering the sacraments, a 
 baptismal font was to be blessed and kept at the house in which 
 the parish priest usually resided. 
 
 The laity are prohibited to engage in disputes with heretics, 
 lest the purity of Catholic faith should in any way be 
 imperiled by the contagion of their errors ; and even the clergy 
 are exhorted to shun their acquaintance, conversation, and 
 society, " that thus the whole world may see that we are in no way 
 united with those who are severed from the Church of Christ."* 
 
 We have already seen the bitter persecution which was waged 
 against the Catholics of Ireland, and the envenomed obloquy 
 which was unceasingly poured out against our holy religion. 
 The ecclesiastics were, in a special manner, made the object of 
 the rage of the heretics; and it was only a few days before the 
 meeting of Kilkenny, that a royal edict had renewed the storm 
 of fanatical bigotry, and sanctioned anew imprisonment, confis- 
 cation, exile, and even death, against the unoffending shepherds 
 of the spiritual fold. Nevertheless, " the worst atrocities with 
 which they were menaced, failed to deter these heroic men from 
 meeting and deliberating upon the spiritual exigencies of their 
 people, and devising such means as, under their desperate cir- 
 cumstances, might appear best calculated to avert or diminish 
 the perils that assailed them. And what, perhaps, is still more 
 astonishing, because to weak nature a more trying effect, the 
 direst cruelties that impended over them sufficed not to provoke 
 from these sufferers one sentence of retaliation, one syllable of 
 contumely, one undignified word. So far from it, every eccle- 
 siastic subject to the jurisdiction of the province is charged, as 
 he fears God, to abstain cautiously from, not to say disobedience 
 to the constituted authorities, but from every interference what- 
 soever with such- concerns, nay, from all conversation, even in 
 private, upon affairs of state."t They were, therefore, faithfully 
 
 * Constitutiones, etc. p. 54. + Notices, etc. p. 114. 
 
270 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VI. 1. 
 
 to fulfil their duties towards religion and towards their flocks, to 
 discharge their sacred functions, and, laying aside those things 
 that belonged to Csesar, to devote themselves wholly to promote 
 the glory of God.* 
 
 In this synod was published the Bull of Paul V., issued seven 
 years previously (1607), and extending the period within which 
 the paschal communion might be received ; so that the faithful 
 were thenceforward permitted to comply with that precept of 
 the Church on any day from Ash-Wednesday to Ascension 
 Thursday. The whole people being Catholic, says the Bull, and 
 the clergy being but few, whilst, at the same time, the violence 
 of the persecution increases the difficulty of intercourse between 
 the pastors and their flocks, the fortnight prescribed for the 
 Universal Church would be insufficient to enable all the Irish 
 Catholics to approach the holy sacraments.f 
 
 There was, at this period, a great difference of opinion amongst 
 some members of the Irish Church, as to the extent of the obli- 
 gation of abstaining on Sundays from servile work; whether» 
 forsooth, it was confined merely to the Sunday, or, like the 
 Jewish sabbath, comprised, moreover, a portion of the preceding 
 day. Many defended this latter opinion, and assigned some the 
 third hour, others the sixth hour, or sunset, and soforth. To 
 remove the anxiety which these conflicting opinions occasioned 
 to the faithful, the synod now declared that the obligation of 
 abstaining from servile works embraced only the material Sun- 
 day, and extended from midnight to midnight. 
 
 A list of the days to be kept holy is next stated, and to the 
 thirty-six hitherto observed, three more were added by this 
 synod — viz., the festivals of St. Joseph, St. Anne, and St. Syl- 
 vester. 
 
 The Irish Church was long remarkable for the fervour of the 
 faithful in the exercises of austerity and penitential deeds. On 
 three days of each week — viz., Wednesdays, Fridays, and Satur- 
 davs, the entire year round, they abstained from flesh meat. 
 On Friday, moreover, and, in some districts, also on Saturday, 
 they abstained from white meats, that is, from eggs, butter, 
 
 * Constitutiones, etc. p. 47. t Ibid. p. 26, et seqq. 
 
CHA1'. VI. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 27 L 
 
 cheese, and milk. In many places, too, the faithful, on every 
 Friday, fasted rigidly on one meal, and the same rigorous fast 
 was universally observed on all the week-days of Lent, and on 
 the vigils and quarter tense throughout the year. The fact that 
 thus more than half the days of the whole year were devoted 
 to these trying deeds of self-denial, which exceeded the austerity 
 of many of the now existing religious institutes, will enable the 
 reader to form some idea of the fervent piety which, in the midst 
 of persecutions, continued to animate our faithful people. The 
 uninterrupted desolation of the country, and the ever-renewed 
 calamities which were heaped upon our people, rendered the 
 observance of these rigorous fasts, in many cases, burdensome 
 and impossible. For this reason, Clement VIII., in 1598, pub- 
 lished a Bull, dispensing with many of these austerities, and miti- 
 gating, to a great extent, the rigour of such fasts. Nevertheless, 
 the great body of the people still clung to the ancient obser- 
 vances; and, after some years, these began again to be looked 
 upon as obligatory. To remove all occasion of disputes, and 
 relieve from anxiety the conscience of all, the synod of Kilkenny 
 re-published the Bull of Clement, and gave notice of its benign 
 dispensations to the faithful. However, we shall have occasion 
 hereafter to remark, that even this synodical edict did not 
 suffice to abrogate the usage of the faithful; very many con- 
 tinued to observe the former fasts in all their rigour; and sixty 
 years later we will find another dispensatory Bull, published by 
 Clement X., and another synod notifying to their flocks that 
 they were wholly free from any obligation of observing the 
 ancient disciplinary usages. 
 
 The synod terminated its deliberations by commending to 
 the clergy of the province the observance of the various decrees 
 which were enacted, and directing them to celebrate four Masses 
 for the Holy Father and the whole Church; for the metropolitan 
 and the province of Dublin ; for the peace and tranquility of 
 the kingdom; and, in fine, for all present at the council, its 
 benefactors, etc. Thus was concluded this important council, 
 which, amidst the ruins of our Church, traced out anew the 
 foundations of the House of God, and commenced the structure 
 of the mystic edifice. 
 
2 72 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VII. 1. 
 
 " Did circumstances permit, we might amuse ourselves not unprofit- 
 ably in examining which was the more edifying spectacle : St. Charles 
 Borromeo, dead iD his own person to all the blandishments of earthly 
 prosperity that surrounded him, but indefatigable in eliminating, with 
 all the aid of papal and imperial authority, every inveterate abuse from 
 amongst a flock exclusively Catholic, and substituting every sanctifying 
 practice in their stead ; propagating every maxim, enforcing every law, 
 realizing every hope and wish of the great fathers of Trent ; till, from 
 a moral wilderness, his church of Milan presented a garden rich in 
 every production of Christian excellence and virtue — or Eugene Matthews 
 and his suffragan brothers, toiling intrepidly, as the acts of their synod 
 testify, in the same glorious cause, amidst a desolated nation and a 
 church in ruins, with kings, and nobles, and adversaries of every rank 
 to combat ; and poverty, and terror, and tribulation impeding them at 
 every step ; and incarceration, and banishment, and death staring them 
 perpetually in the face ! What an argument of the ever-abiding, 
 everywhere-pervading Spirit of God through His Church, do not these 
 nearly contemporary lights of religion — the metropolitan and saint of 
 Milan, and his saintly brother of Dublin — supply! What illustrations 
 of the contempt for all the favours and all the frowns of fortune which 
 almighty faith can inspire ! and of the dominion which, uncorrupted 
 by the goods of the world, and unbroken by its adversities, she every- 
 where maintains over the souls of men !"* 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OTHER ECCLESIASTICAL CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Provincial Synod of Armagh, held by Dr. Roothe, as representative, of 
 
 Primate, in 1618 Instruction regarding the separation of Parishes, and 
 
 the duties of Regulars. — Abuses in connexion with Wakes and Funerals — 
 The Festivals of Saints, etc. 
 
 The illustrious Dr. David Roothe, who, as representative of 
 the primate, presided in the provincial synod of Armagh, held 
 towards the close of 1618, drew up a series of regulations, which 
 he addressed not only to the assembled prelates, but also to the 
 
 * Notices, etc. p. 115. 
 
Chap. VII. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 273 
 
 clergy of the whole island, and which, being adopted by the 
 other provinces, soon attained a high rank amongst the ecclesias- 
 tical statutes of the kingdom.* The chief object of Dr. Roothe 
 was to introduce uniformity in the disciplinary arrangements of 
 the different provinces, as also harmony in the exercise of their 
 respective privileges and faculties by the secular and regular 
 clergy. 
 
 In the first place, it was deemed a matter of paramount im- 
 portance, that the parish priests should themselves attend to the 
 parochial duties, and only in case of necessity introduce sub- 
 stitutes in their discharge. All the ecclesiastical superiors were, 
 moreover, exhorted not to admit to the exercise of the priestly 
 functions, in their respective dioceses, any members of the clergy 
 save those who should present commendatory letters from their 
 late ecclesiastical ordinaries. Incidentally, under this heading, is 
 commemorated the important fact, that each diocese had at that 
 time a vicar-general, to whom, in the absence of the bishop, was 
 entrusted the charge of the spiritual flock. Vicars-forane, too, 
 were to be found in each district, and with them a sufficient 
 number of parochial clergy to minister to the wants of the 
 faithful. 
 
 The second decree regulated the mutual assistance which the 
 regular and secular clergy should be careful to afford, whenso- 
 ever required, for the correction of their respective members. 
 " One diseased member," it remarks, " suffices to infect the whole 
 body ; wherefore, if clemency and mildness do not suffice for the 
 correction of those who are depraved, it behoves us to have re- 
 course to rigour to banish the distemper from amongst us." 
 
 The third decree is of peculiar interest. It lays open some 
 abuses which had crept in during the period of persecution, and 
 proposes efficacious remedies to heal them, 
 
 " It is known by experience," says this decree, " that in some dis- 
 tricts of this province, faults are committed, either by excess or by defect, 
 in performing the rites for the dead. Sometimes there is excessive 
 luxury in funeral banquets and in mourning dresses, to the great detri- 
 
 * Ordinatio pro uniformitate cleri, etc. penes me. From this Ordinatio • 
 of Dr. Roothe are extracted, verbatim, almost all the additions to the synod of 
 1614, published in Renehan Collections, pp. 142-6. 
 
274 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. TChap. VII. 1. 
 
 ment of the heirs, -with little benefit to the poor, and, perhaps, to the loss 
 of the creditors. Again, through a depraved custom and a vain emulation, 
 those who are in humble circumstances, seek to compete with those who 
 are wealthy, and sin grievously, imposing an intolerable burden on their 
 own children. To moderate this excess, some remedy must anxiously 
 be applied, as also to check the abuse which gives such pain to pious 
 and religious souls, when, forsooth, through the wickedness of some 
 fools and gamesters (quorumdam nebulonum et joculatorum), improper 
 songs and gesticulations are allowed at wakes, which would even be 
 unlawful in festive rejoicings — works of darkness are united with dark- 
 ness, and all fear of death is banished from the mind, although the 
 image of death itself, in the body of the deceased, is present before them. 
 Wherefore, we earnestly commend to all members of the clergy, as well 
 to the prelates as to the confessors and preachers, and to all who have 
 to heart the honour of God and the salvation of souls, to procure, by 
 every best means in their power, by counsel, and exhortation, and pre- 
 cept, and by the threats of divine judgment, that those subject to their 
 care may be preserved from all such abuses." 
 
 Another abuse which the clergy and faithful- are guarded 
 against, was the celebration of baptismal and nuptial festivals 
 with excessive pomp and feasting. The clergy especially were 
 admonished not to celebrate their patron feasts with extravagant 
 banquets, in which a variety of meats would be served up, and at 
 which a large number of both sexes would be invited to assist. 
 It is added, that some such feasts of the founders of religious 
 orders, were a source, not of edification, but of scandal to the 
 faithful, whilst_the laity were " burdened to supply cows, sheep, 
 calves, lambs, goats, deer, birds, and a variety of wines and 
 other liquors." All such banquets were, for the future, to be 
 abandoned, and in their stead these feasts were to be celebrated 
 by approaching the holy sacrament " of confession and com- 
 munion, by which the devout soul is nourished, and consoled, 
 and strengthened, and enabled to gain the copious indulgences 
 which are granted for such festivals." 
 
 The only other abuse against which the assembled prelates 
 seek to guard the clergy, is the excess of ornament in their daily 
 apparel. They were to dress in a becoming manner, as was 
 usual with respectable citizens, and not to imitate the excessive 
 nicety and profanity of those who were devoted to this world 
 and its vanity. 
 
Chap. VII. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 275 
 
 The fourth decree regards the granting of the marriage dis- 
 pensations within the prohibited degrees, and of permission to 
 retain ecclesiastical property. Such dispensations are reserved 
 to the diocesan ordinaries, who are, moreover, admonished to 
 proceed with prudence and discretion, when granting them to 
 the faithful. 
 
 In the. fifth place, the ordinaries of the various dioceses are 
 exhorted to invite the cooperation of the religious in their 
 respective districts. The regular clergy are styled " the orna- 
 ments of the sacred hierarchy, and the strenuous co-operatives of 
 those engaged in the pastoral charge." 
 
 It is added, that owing to the persecution that prevailed, the 
 religious were not able to live in their own convents, and devote 
 themselves to their exercises of piety and devotion; wherefore, 
 the diocesan ordinaries are exhorted to adopt them amongst their 
 active clergy, and to allow them to apply all their energies and 
 zeal in cultivating the mystic vineyard of God. On the other 
 hand, the religious were reminded of their duty to be submis- 
 sive to the local authorities in the exercise of their peculiar 
 privileges, as those were granted for the advantages of the 
 Church, and not for its destruction. 
 
 Sixthly, in fine, all are exhorted to devote themselves solely 
 to the spiritual guardianship of their respective flocks, and to 
 abstain from all political intrigue, that thus they might fully 
 realize the divine command, giving to Csesar those things that 
 are of Csesar, and to God those things which are of God. 
 
 Such are the decrees of the ecclesiastical assembly of 1618. 
 They are a clear proof of the piety and zeal which animated the 
 chief pastors of our Church at that trying period, whilst, at the 
 same time, they are an indubious record of the devotedness and 
 spotless lives. of our clergy, which left so little occasion for re- 
 form and correction. We give those decrees in full in an 
 Appendix, as they have never before been published. 
 
276 ]JR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VIII. 1. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SUBSEQUENT ECCLESIASTICAL EVENTS OF DR. EUGENE'S 
 EPISCOPATE. 
 
 Conversion of Earl of Ormond and of the Earl of Kildare — Colleges founded 
 on Continent, in Spain, Belgium, etc. for Irish. — Irish College of Louvain 
 patronized by Dr. Matthews. — Three Burses founded there by him.— Dr. 
 Matthews retires to Rome. — The Holy See assists the Irish Colleges and 
 Exiles. — Conditiou of the Religious Orders. — Bishops, at this time, few in 
 Ireland. — Places of Worship in Dublin. — Death of Dr. Matthews. 
 
 This period of severe trials for the Irish Church, was not with- 
 out some cheering events to console the persecuted fold of Christ. 
 The earl of Ormond, Thomas Butler, had abandoned the faith 
 of his fathers, during the reign of Elizabeth. He now resolved 
 to prepare for death, and be reconciled to the Catholic Church. 
 " He, therefore, made his peace with God, edified all by his 
 piety, and soon after losing the ineffable blessing of sight, was 
 gathered to his fathers."* Whilst this nobleman was reminded 
 by the weight of years to hasten back to the fold from which 
 he had rashly strayed, another nobleman of still higher rank, 
 though only in the dawn of life, wished to enjoy the same bless- 
 ings of our saving faith. This was Gerald Geraldine, earl of 
 Kildare. He was only in his ninth year; nevertheless, when 
 seized with his last illness, in the castle of Maynooth, in the 
 month of November, 1620, it was his first care to summon a 
 priest to his bedside, to make open profession of the Catholic 
 religion. 
 
 Bright prospects, too, began to dawn for the supply of evan- 
 gelical labourers for our suffering Church. The first storm of 
 persecution swept away the educational institutions, which had 
 been erected in Ireland by our Catholic forefathers. By the 
 
 * Dominic a Rosar. p. 186. 
 
Chap. VIII. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 277 
 
 penal laws of Elizabeth and James, not only were Catholic 
 schools interdicted at home, but the Irish youth was commanded 
 not to seek instruction in the institutions of the continent. 
 The clergy, who, fearless of danger, were anxious to prepare 
 themselves for the battles of faith in our island, found at first no 
 national colleges in foreign countries, in which to seek a refuge 
 and a home, and apply themselves to the pursuits of sacred 
 literature. It was reserved for the Spanish monarch, Philip III., 
 to take the lead in founding the Irish continental colleges. In 
 1609, he laid the first stone of the convent and schools of the 
 Irish Franciscan fathers in Louvain, which, under the invoca- 
 tion of St. Anthony, were destined to be for many years a 
 nursery of zealous labourers for our Church. Dr. Florence 
 Conry, the exiled archbishop of Tuam, ever loved to reside in 
 that religious house ; and after death, his remains were deposited 
 within the hallowed precincts of its sanctuary.* To this~ con- 
 vent flocked the most distinguished Irish scholars of the age: 
 it became, in fact, the historic school of our island. A small 
 catechism in the Irish language and characters was printed there 
 by the first guardian of the convent, father Bonaventure Hussey ; 
 and thus was happily commenced that long series of works with 
 which Colgan and Ward, Fleming and Hickey, and so many 
 other students of this institute, enriched the literature of our 
 country. It was in Louvain that the Irish Dominicans opened 
 their first continental college about the same period, and fathers 
 Rock de Cruce and Dominic a Rosario soon won it a wide-spread 
 fame. 
 
 In Paris, the first outlines of an Irish seminary were traced 
 by the learned Messingham. The chancellor of the French 
 queen, M. Lescalopier, was the chief patron of the infant insti- 
 tute. He gathered together the many Irish clerical exiles that 
 were scattered through that great capital, provided them with a 
 home and sufficient funds, and, with the assistance of cardinal de 
 Retz, had them instructed and prepared for the Irish mission.! 
 
 It was some years earlier, towards the close of Elizabeth's reign, 
 that the city of Bordeaux welcomed within its walls forty Irish 
 
 * Van Gastel, Hist. Sao. et Prof. Decan. Lovanien, torn. ], p. 168. 
 
 t Messingham, in Dedicat. of his Florilegium, printed in Paris, in 1624. 
 
2 78 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VIII. 1. 
 
 priests, exiled for the faith from their native country. These 
 soon found a distinguished patron in the Jewish convert, Flori- 
 rnond Raimondo, and maintained there a struggling seminary, 
 till, in 1654, Anne of Austria erected it into a college, which 
 she endowed with ample funds. 
 
 Spain was still more prominent in providing seminaries and 
 colleges for the instruction of the Irish youth ; and the cities of 
 Madrid, Seville, Salamanca, Valence, Compostello, and Alcala 
 were soon adorned with institutions, which, for many years, 
 yielded an abundant supply of missionaries to the persecuted fold 
 of Ireland. With the colleges of Spain we may associate the 
 seminary of Lisbon, which was, at the same time, opened for the 
 benefit of our exiled countrymen. 
 
 It was not easy, however, to maintain these various seminaries. 
 Though founded and endowed by various patrons, the vicissi- 
 tudes of the period, and the ever-increasing influx of Irish 
 youths, seeking there for the science and religion which were 
 prescribed at home, rendered their subsistence precarious, and at 
 more than one interval brought them to the very brink of ruin. 
 On the other hand, the Catholic resources of our country were 
 worn away by war and oppression, and no assistance could be 
 given from home to maintain these struggling institutes. As 
 an instance of the casual resources from which the Irish conti- 
 nental colleges were obliged to derive their support at this 
 period, we present to the reader a petition addressed to Rome, 
 by the college of Seville, on 17th August, 1617: — 
 
 "Most Holy Father, — In the year 1615, at the request of the 
 rector and students of the Irish colleges of Lisbon and Salamanca, 
 your Holiness benignly granted to the fishermen of Setuua and Cascaes, 
 and other districts of Portugal, Galicia, and Biscay, permission to fish 
 on six Sundays or festivals every year, and to sell the fish thus taken 
 for the benefit of the aforesaid colleges, to aid them in their temporal sup- 
 port. It happens that the seminary of the same Irish nation in Seville, 
 is now in the like need of succour and maintenance. Wherefore, we 
 humbly supplicate your Holiness to grant a similar permission to the 
 fishermen of the coast of Andalusia, that this seminary may thus re- 
 ceive some succour and emolument," etc.* 
 
 * The original petition is in Italian, and is preserved in Secret. Brevium. 
 
Chap. VIII. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 279 
 
 In reply, a brief was expedited from Rome, on 9th September, 
 the same year, granting the wished-for faculty, and expressing, 
 moreover, an anxious desire to accord whatsoever favours were 
 in its power to promote the interests of that college* 
 
 In all these institutions thus scattered throughout the conti- 
 nent, Dr. Matthews displayed a lively and affectionate interest. 
 It was, however, in connexion with the Irish college of Lou- 
 vain for secular priests, that his name should be rendered more 
 particularly illustrious. When obliged to yield to the storm of 
 persecution, which was raised against him in Ireland, Dr. 
 Matthews sought a refuge in Louvain, and there planned the 
 erection of a new seminary for the secular clergy of our Church.^ 
 He secured the active co-operation of the apostolic nuncio and 
 of cardinal de la Cueva ; and before quitting Belgium for the 
 limina Aposlolorum, by a public deed, devoted his own scanty 
 resources to the foundation of three burses, one for his native 
 diocese of Clogher, and two for the diocese which he then ruled 
 as archbishop. This official deed is dated "Louvain, 21st 
 September, 1622," and thus begins: — 
 
 "Eugene Matthews, archbishop of Dublin, seeing, with inmost grief 
 of heart, the small number of labourers in the spiritual harvest of 
 Ireland, which is exposed to an oppressive and continued persecution 
 from the heretics, and perceiving that its children seek for the bread 
 of truth and the sacraments, and can find none save a few to break it 
 unto them, so that the flock is dispersed and the sheep are devoured 
 
 * The preamble of the brief is as follows : — " Sincera? devotionis afFectus 
 quem dilecti filii rector et alumni seminarii Hibernorum Hispalensis erganos et 
 Eomaoam Ecelesiam gerere comprobantur non indigne promeretur ut eorum 
 petitionibus quantum cum Domino possumus favorabiliter annuamus. Exbi- 
 bita siquidem nobis pro parte reetoris et alumnorum proediotorum petitio con- 
 tinebat quod cum seminarium hujusmodi satis exiguos et ad tot juvenuin 
 alumnorum ad illud passim conflueiitium manutentioni longe impares redditus 
 habeat, inter illius benefactores nonnulli piscatores erga illos bene affecti inve- 
 niivntur qui pro eorum sublevanda necessitate certis diebus Dominieis seu 
 festivis pisearipretiumque ex hujus modi piscatione proventurum eidem semi- 
 nario gratis donare statuerint, si eis ad id nostra et apostolicse sedis licentia 
 desuper suffragetur et facultas."— Ex Secret. Erevium. 
 
 t Van Gastel, already referred to, justly remarks, that Dr. Matthews was 
 the founder of this college : " Auctor ejus fuit Illmus. D. Eugenius Matthseus, 
 archiepus. DubliDensis, in Hibernia," etc. — Hist. Sac. et Prof. torn. 1, p. 185. 
 It was whilst passiug through Louvain, on this occasion, that our archbishop 
 gave his approbation to the work of Dr. Conry, De statu parvulorum, 
 which, however, was not published till two years later. 
 
280 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Ohai\ VIII. I. 
 
 by all the beasts of the field, there being no pastor to protect them, — 
 resolved to place in the treasury of Christ the mite which the divine 
 bounty had conferred on him, and offer it for the poor studious sons of 
 Ireland who aspire to the sacred ministry, earnestly exhorting the other 
 bishops and vicars-general of that island, through the love of Christ, 
 the good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His flock, and through 
 the merits of St. Patrick, our apostle and patron, to enliven their zeal 
 for the house of God, and co-operate in the good work of this pastoral 
 foundation," etc. 
 
 It was in the month, of December, 1622, that Dr. Matthews 
 arrived in Rome, and, prostrate at the feet of the Vicar of 
 Christ, solicited his blessing and co-operation in the sacred task. 
 Writing to the secretary of Propaganda, Mgr. Ingoli, before the 
 end of January, 1623, Dr. Matthews himself informs us of this 
 important fact. 
 
 " I humbly acquainted his Holiness," he says, " that amongst the 
 causes which impelled me to expose myself to so much fatigue aud 
 danger, in journeying to this city to kiss his sacred feet, the chief one 
 was, that I might obtain from this Holy See some assistance for the 
 education of our youth in the fear of God, and in the holy Catholic 
 faith, as is eagerly desired by the poor afflicted Catholics of our 
 kingdom." 
 
 On the 10th of January, 1623, the archbishop of Dublin 
 presented his petition to the same effect to the members of the 
 Sacred Congregation of Propaganda. It details his hopes and 
 fears, all that had been as yet accomplished, and all that had 
 still to be achieved in regard to the infant institution. We 
 present in full this interesting document: — 
 
 " Eugene Matthews, archbishop of Dublin, knowing by experience 
 the fewness of the spiritual labourers in Ireland, and reflecting on the 
 Tridentine decree, which commands the erection of diocesan seminaries, 
 although he himself is deprived of the revenues of his see, and there- 
 fore being guided more by his zeal than his resources — resolved to 
 devote a portion of what was offered by the faithful for his own sub- 
 sistence, to make some beginning, at least, of so desirable a work. 
 However, he was only able to put together a mite sufficient for the 
 scanty maintenance of two students ; but, at the same time, he gained 
 for that institute the favour of the most eminent cardinal della Cueva, 
 and of the most rev. archbishop of Patias, apostolic nuncio in Belgium, 
 
Chap. VIII. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 281 
 
 who promised to contribute during their lives : the former for two, 
 the latter for one student. What, however, is all this in so great a 
 spiritual need of our numerous and faithful flock ? 
 
 " Wherefore, he humblj- represents this urgent need to the Apostolic 
 See, and to the Sacred Congregation, whose duty and whose care it is 
 to propagate our holy faith, praying them to perfect the weak foun- 
 dation that has been laid, that thus a seminary may be opened for 
 instructing our youth, and preserving the faith, from which missionaries 
 may go forth to the mystic vineyard, in obedience to the Sacred Con- 
 gregation, and which will grant to our country that favour which was 
 conferred on other nations by Gregory XIII. and succeeding pontiffs. 
 This is demanded by the necessities of our Church ; it is merited by 
 the devotedness of our faithful people, who, in former times, offered 
 themselves and all they possessed to the Sovereign Pontiffs, and who 
 still, despite every persecution, maintain inviolate their allegiance to 
 Rome ; it is merited by all the losses they sustained, when they drew 
 the sword in defence of the faith. Should you, therefore, wish to 
 reward, he enumerates their services ; should you wish to commis- 
 serate, he represents their extreme need : for in Ireland no Catholic is 
 permitted, either in public or in private, to keep a school, that thus 
 our youth may be more easily perverted, as he has more fully stated in 
 the paper presented to his Holiness, and in the Eelatio concerning 
 Ireland presented to the Sacred Congregation." 
 
 This application of Dr. Matthews was not fruitless; and we 
 find it decreed by the Sacred Congregation that six burses 
 should be established without delay in this Irish college of 
 Louvain* 
 
 Another care of the archbishop was, to procure special 
 faculties from the Holy See for the newly-instituted colleges. 
 It was on the vigil of the ides of December, 1614, that pope 
 
 * Dr. Eugene Matthews, in his last will, bequeathed to the university of 
 Louvain a foundation for three burses. The following extract may not be 
 uninteresting at the present moment: — "Statuit et ordinat ut in alma uni- 
 versitate Lovaniensi sit ista fundatio, nulli tamen loco illius adstricta ut uniri 
 possit aliis futuris furidationibus ejusdem nationis pro inchoatione seminarii 
 quando se offeret oecasio: per hoc tamen non adimit potestatem sibi ant 
 ordinariis illarum dicecesium pro quibus istse fundationes tiunt quin alio eas 
 transferre (cum licentia Sedis Apostolicae) possint prout ratio temporis et loci 
 commoditas suaserit, semper reservato fine ac intentione fundatoris." — Archiv. 
 Sac. Cong. vol. celxxxiv. p. 1 73. At a later period, when the college was involved 
 in some difficulties, its debts were paid by the Irish soldiers on the continent : 
 "Porro in hac etiam patria, a comitibus Tyronise et TyrconneUiae, necnon a 
 colonello nobilissimo Domino Eugenio O'Neill, antiqua seminarii debita inter 
 horum legiones dividenda et extinguenda, promissione a singulis ipsorum facta 
 omnino confidimus." 
 
282 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VIII. 1. 
 
 Paul V. issued from Rome a solemn brief, granting " to the 
 Irish, colleges in Spain, Portugal, France, and Belgium," per- 
 mission, for five years, to have their students promoted to holy- 
 orders, with the mere dimissoriai letters of the respective 
 superiors of these colleges. Three years later, another college 
 was erected in Seville, chiefly through the exertions of Hiero- 
 nymus de Medina, and an Irish priest named Maurice Riegan. 
 Dr. James Talbot was sent to Rome, to solicit the extension of 
 the papal privilege to this college ; and another brief was 
 expedited in July, 1617, granting the wished-for favour. This 
 brief, whilst stimulating the Irish Church to persevere cour- 
 ageously in the defence of the faith of its fathers, thus beauti- 
 fully begins : — 
 
 " Paulus Episcopus Servus Servorum, Dei in perpetuam rei 
 memoriam. 
 
 " Decet Romanum Ponteficem in hoc potissiumm invigilare ut juvenes 
 quicumque pisesertim a patria sua causa fidei Catholic» exulnntes et 
 litterarnm studiis intendere voientes, absolutis suis studiis Altissimo 
 ministrare et pro suo cujusque talento uberes in vinea Domini fructus 
 facere possint ac exindc Christi fideles eorum exemplo et piis operibus 
 moti avitam rnajoruin suorum religionem conservare satagant et 
 procurent."* 
 
 On Thursday, the 25th June, 1620, another permission was 
 granted to the Belgian colleges,t authorizing their students to 
 be promoted to holy orders, with the dimissoriai letters of the 
 nuncio, and of the superiors of the various institutes. This 
 permission was to last for five years, and to hold good only 
 for such students as would have spent three years in those 
 colleges. 
 
 The last memorial which we find presented to the Holy See 
 by Dr. Matthews, was a request that some such faculty might be 
 granted, in perpetuity, to the various continental colleges of 
 our country. It is as follows: — 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Vaticano. The brief is dated: "Datum Romae, apud S. 
 Mariam Majorem, anno Inc. Dom. 1617, Id. Julii, Pontif. nostri an. 13°." 
 
 t "Alumnis Collegiorum Hibernorum Belgii." — Ex Secret. Brev. Though 
 the decree is dated " Eeria 5 1 * 1 25° Junii, 1620," the brief was not expedited 
 till the 7th November; 1620. 
 
Chap. VIII. 1.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 283 
 
 - " Most holy Father, — The archbishop of Dublin, knowing by 
 experience what great good and advantage is derived from the Irish 
 colleges, whose students, having completed their studies, and being 
 promoted to holy orders, return to Ireland, and there devote them- 
 selves to cultivate the vineyard of God, for the benefit of the poor 
 Catholics, humbly prays your Holiness to grant a perpetual indult to 
 these students, that by the dimissorial letters of the rectors of the 
 respective colleges where they have studied, they may be promoted to 
 holy orders extra tempora, and without the usual requirement of 
 benefice or patrimony, as has already been granted to the English and 
 Scotch students." 
 
 This petition was presented in the beginning of February, 
 1623, and on the 20th of the same month, the following 
 decision was communicated to the archbishop : — 
 
 " Sanctissimo Domino, et Patribus placuit privilegia alumnorum 
 Anglorum concedi alumnis Hybernis. 
 
 " His Holiness and the Cardinals of the Sacred Congregation have 
 decreed that the privileges accorded to the English students be also 
 extended to the students from Ireland."* 
 
 Owing to the various continental institutes for supplying 
 missionaries to our Church, the number of priests rapidly in- 
 creased, and the succession of pastors was maintained uninter- 
 rupted in our Church. O'Sullevan, writing in 1618, informs 
 us, that numerous bands] of the secular and regular clergy were 
 everywhere restoring the ancient splendour of religion, which 
 the heretics had in vain attempted to destroy. 
 
 " They administer the sacraments," he adds ; " they assist those 
 who are' firm in the faith ; they strengthen those who are wavering ; 
 they support the tottering, and raise up those who have fallen ; they 
 expound the sacred gospel, preach to the people, and unweave the 
 sophistry of the Protestants. The more they are commanded to depart 
 from the kingdom, the more immoveably do they cling to it. That the 
 English may not recognise them, they assume the dress of seculars, and 
 go about as merchants or physicians; some gird on the sword, and 
 assume the character of noblemen ; others adopt various disguises. . . . 
 Of the four archbishops, two — that is, Eugene MacMahon (Matthews), 
 archbishop of Dublin, andDavid Kearney, archbishop of Cashel — braving 
 unheard-of perils, and undergoing excessive labour, feed their flocks in 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Sac. Congnia. t.Catervatim inundantes. Loc cit. p. 297- 
 
284 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VIII. 1. 
 
 person; Peter Lombard, archbishop of Armagh, and Florence O'Mel- 
 conry, of Tuam, not being secure through the enmity of the English, 
 have entrusted their dioceses to vicars." 
 
 The religious orders began to flourish anew throughout the 
 ■whole island. On the death of Elizabeth, there were only- 
 four of the Dominican order in Ireland, as De Burgo informs 
 us.* In the year 1618, they were again a numerous body, full 
 of energy and zeal, under the guidance of father Rock de 
 Cruce, who, a few years later, was advanced to the episcopate 
 of Kildare. The Franciscans were still more numerous; and, 
 as father Mooney, their provincial, informs us, were in that 
 very year 120 in number. In the list of Irish priests presented 
 to government at this time, one Franciscan is especially com- 
 memorated: "Thomas M'Donagh, vice-primate of Armagh, a 
 Franciscan friar; he resides, for the most part, in the county of 
 Clonmel; a great preacher." The Jesuits had also some dis- 
 tinguished members. Father Kearney, author of several spiritual 
 treatises, and brother of the archbishop of Cashel, was indefati- 
 gable in his labours in the south ; whilst father Nicholas Nugent 
 was confessor of the faith in Dublin castle. The total number 
 of the Irish clergy whose names were presented to the English 
 government at the same period, amounted to one thousand one 
 hundred and fifty. 
 
 The bishops, however, were very few. Persons bearing that 
 exalted dignity were especially marked out for persecution ; and 
 Rome deemed it prudent to limit their number to the principal 
 sees, whilst the remaining dioceses were, for the most part, 
 governed by vicars-general, appointed either by the archbishops 
 or directly by the Holy See. Besides the archbishops of 
 Dublin and Cashel, commemorated in the extract first cited 
 from O'Sullevan, the government list of 1618 mentions a 
 Rowland de Burgo as titular bishop in Connaught. In the 
 first years of Dr. Matthews's episcopate, Dr. O'Deveny, bishop 
 of Down and Connor, and Richard O'Muldowny, bishop of 
 Kilmacduagh,t perpetuated the succession of chief pastors. 
 
 * Hib. Dominic, p. 610. 
 
 t He is styled Episcopus Duacensis. Perhaps the "Rowland Bourke, 
 bishop of Connaught," referred to in the government list, was his successor. 
 
Chap. VIII. 1J DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 285 
 
 David Roothe was next destined to receive the perilous in- 
 heritance. Born in 1572, he pursued his studies in Douay, 
 Salamanca, and Rome. In the last-named city he enjoyed 
 the friendship of the archbishop of Armagh, and lived with him 
 for some time as his secretary. On his return to Ireland, he 
 zealously discharged the duties incumbent on him as vicar- 
 apostolic of Ossory, and administrator of Armagh. In the Eng- 
 lish list of the Irish clergy, in 1618, his character is thus 
 sketched: " There is one Davy Rothe, a most seditious instru- 
 ment, who was sent from Rome, since Tyrone's abode there. 
 He takes upon himself the name and authority of Prothonotarius 
 Apostolicus, to hear and determine all ecclesiastical business for 
 the kingdom of Ireland, and hath been in the north since his 
 arrival, but is now for the most part in Munster." The Holy 
 See, however, formed a different estimate of this singularly gifted 
 man. On the 1st of October, 1618, we find him proclaimed in 
 consistory bishop of Ossory, and a few weeks later, to the great 
 joy of our Irish Church, he received the episcopal consecration 
 in Paris. It was no wonder that Ireland should rejoice on that 
 occasion ; for when, after a short interval, Drs. Matthews and 
 Kearney were compelled to bend before the storm, and seek a 
 refuge on the continent, the bishop thus consecrated for the see 
 of Ossory, was destined, in the mysterious dispensations of Pro- 
 vidence, to preserve unbroken on her shores the series of Catholic 
 bishops. At three distinct periods in the history of onr Church, 
 since the so-called Reformation, Ireland was well-nigh widowed 
 of her chief pastors : during the closing years of the reign of James 
 I., during the protectorate of Cromwell, and in the beginning 
 of queen Anne's reign. At this last-named period, it was Dr. 
 Sleyn of Cork, a prisoner for the faith, that perpetuated the 
 presence of bishops amongst us; again, during Cromwell's perse- 
 cution, there was for a while but one bishop, and he too feeble 
 to depart from the kingdom ; whilst, at the close of James's reign, 
 Dr. Roothe was the only bishop to dispense to her children the 
 sacraments of life. These trying periods, however, were short 
 in their duration ; and at the time of which we treat, scarcely 
 had our archbishop been obliged to seek a refuge in Belgium, 
 than our hierarchy was enriched with new pastors, and Meath, 
 
286 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. VIII. 1. 
 
 Emly, and Limerick exulted in the appointment of bishops to 
 their widowed sees. Dr. Thomas Dease was chosen to the first- 
 named see. The early years of his episcopate were blessed with 
 sunshine and calm ; but the close of his career was marked by 
 trials, contradictions, and afflictions. Emly received as its 
 bishop Maurice O'Hurly, who governed it till the dawn of the 
 eventful period of 1641; whilst to Limerick was appointed 
 Richard Arthur, who had already long toiled in our Church, 
 and who was still destined to share in the vicissitudes of many 
 eventful years. A paper presented by this worthy bishop to 
 the Holy See, in 1630, soliciting a coadjutor, will serve to con- 
 vey some idea of the desolation of our Church, during the period 
 of which we have just_treated: — 
 
 " For more than thirty-two years I have, to the best of my ability, 
 laboured in this city and diocese of Limerick, though beset with diffi- 
 culties and vicissitudes on every side, to preach and propagate the 
 Catholic faith. I laboured as catechist and preacher, and as parish 
 priest, with faculties which were granted to me by the primate, Peter 
 Lombard, of happy memory. I also administered the sacraments, at first 
 indeed as vicar-general, with faculties communicated to me by our most 
 reverend metropolitan, David Kearney, of happy memory, and subse- 
 quently as bishop of Limerick, being appointed to this diocese by the 
 grace of God and of the Apostolic See. I pass over in silence the 
 other theatres of my spiritual labours — Cork, where I was born, 
 Galway, Cashel, Kilkenny, Kinsale, Clonmel, Fethard, Callan, and else- 
 where, through almost every part of Minister, and through some dis- 
 tricts, too, of Leinster and Connaught, running from place to place, as 
 necessity or the advantage of the flocks required. Now, however, my 
 strength has beguu to fail."* 
 
 Wherefore, he solicits a coadjutor to assist him in his declining 
 years. 
 
 We have but little to add specially connected with the Dub- 
 lin diocese. As the persecution displayed there its full violence, 
 the Catholics were compelled to seek retired chambers in the 
 backlanes, to perform their devotions and assist at the holy 
 sacrifice. The government list of the clergy, in 1618, gives us 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Sao. Conguis. This petition is dated 7th August, 1630, styl. 
 vet. 
 
Chap. VIII.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 287 
 
 the names of some of these temporary chapels, which even the 
 catacombs could not have envied. 
 
 " The places of most public note," it says, " whereunto the priests 
 resort for Mass in Dublin, are : 
 
 " The Baker's Hall, in the college adjoining St. Audeon's chancel. 
 "A backroom of Brown, near Newgate. 
 
 ,, of Mr. Plunkett, in Bridge-street. 
 
 „ of Nicholas Qncitrots, in High-street. 
 
 „ of Gary, in High-street. 
 
 „ of widow O'Hagan, in High-street. 
 
 " Shelton's house, beyond the bridge, at the corner of the so-called 
 Hangman-lane." 
 
 The dean of the metropolitan church of Dublin, in 1623, was 
 rev. William Barry. He had journeyed to Rome in that year, 
 " after labouring for sixteen years in the vineyard of the Lord, 
 and converting many heretics to the Catholic faith." His resources, 
 however, were exhausted by the lengthened journey; and on the 
 23rd May, he petitioned the Holy See for some aid to enable 
 him to revisit his spiritual children.* 
 
 It was during the summer months of 1623 that Dr. Matthews 
 was seized with his last illness, in the city of Rome. He lingered 
 on till the month of August, when he calmly expired. His 
 nephew, Eugene Reyly, had accompanied him from Ireland, 
 where he was sharer of his perils and labours. In Rome he 
 acted as the secretary of the archbishop, «and, at the same time, 
 sought to prepare himself for the sacred ministry. A few months 
 after the demise of Dr. Matthews, he petitioned the Sacred 
 Congregation, that, in consideration of the many merits and 
 labours of the archbishop in the cause of God, and in defence 
 of the Catholic faith, " by whose ardent zeal, moreover, and re- 
 markable learning and sanctity of life, our holy religion was 
 considerably advanced in that kingdom, "f some provision might 
 be made enabling him to complete his sacred studies. In reply, 
 
 * Ex Arehiv. Sac. Cong. Dr. Matthews, soon after his arrival in Ptome, also 
 petitioned for the stipend usually allowed at that time to the Irish bishops. 
 His petition is dated 31st December, 1622. 
 
 t This petition is dated 30th April, 1624. It thus begins : "Eugenms 
 Reyly ex perillustri familia in Hibernia. archiepiscopi Dublinensis nuper in 
 curia defuncti nepos," etc. 
 
288 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. IX. 
 
 the Sacred Congregation selected him to hold one of their burses 
 in the college of Louvain, supplying him with funds for his 
 journey thither, and conveying, at the same time, instructions to 
 the nuncio, that until the Irish college there might be ready to 
 receive him, he should be maintained at the expense of the 
 Holy See. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WRITINGS OF DR. MATTHEWS. 
 
 Report presented to the Propaganda, in 1623. — Extracts from it Report on 
 
 the Changes of Ecclesiastical Properties in Ireland, and Extracts from it. 
 
 We have more than once referred to an important paper, pre- 
 sented by Dr. Matthews to the Sacred Congregation, laying before 
 it the history and condition of our Church, and suggesting the 
 best means for maintaining in Ireland the sacred inheritance 
 of the Catholic faith. It is dated the 4th of February, 1623, 
 and entitled, " Brevis informatio ad Illmos, D. D. Cardinales S. 
 Congregationis Prop. Fidei de statu Religionis in Regno Hiber- 
 nise et praasente ejus necessitate exhibita." It is divided into 
 ten articles, describing the origin of the Irish Church, the 
 ancient names of our country, its form of government, etc., 
 Ireland's fame for sanctity in early times, its numerous monas- 
 teries, and schools and missions to the continent, the storm that 
 laid waste the whole island at the time of Henry VIII., which 
 was continued during Edward's reign, and renewed with re-, 
 doubled fury under Elizabeth. The eighth article we translated 
 entire in a former chapter, and we now add the ninth and tenth, 
 which show, at the same time, the spirit of faith which ani- 
 mated our prelate, and depict in vivid colours the condition of 
 the Irish Church at the period of which we treat: — 
 
CnAr. IXO DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 289 
 
 " On the present state of the Catholic religion, and how the hierarchy 
 was ever preserved in our island. 
 
 " What I have already written too clearly proves, that the outward 
 aspect of our Church is sadly different from what it was in Catholic 
 times. The heretics now not only hold the citadels and fortresses, the 
 courts and tribunals, the offices of government and the municipal 
 administration, but they also have seized on our churches and usurped 
 our sacerdotal privileges, so that these are now accessible only to such 
 as contaminate themselves with heresy. And yet, although such is the 
 sad condition of our island, it is most notorious, and let it be ever 
 commemorated to the greater glory of God, that the whole native popu- 
 lation of Ireland, whether noble or plebeian, whether in the cities or 
 in the country parts, as well the rich as the poor,* have most un- 
 swervingly retained the faith of their fathers, and their fidelity to the 
 Roman See. For which reason, a certain courtier (Chichester) justly 
 enough remarked : ' The very ground that they tread upon, the air they 
 breathe, the whole climate, and the very sky that hangs over them, 
 seems infected with Popery ;' which sentiment, indeed, is now so uni- 
 versally entertained by the adversaries of our faith, that when an 
 Irishman, living amongst the English, loses his devotion for the Holy 
 See, he is put down as a spy and an impostor, and as such is shunned 
 by the heretics themselves. Let this, then, be reputed the chief eulogy 
 of our nation, that it is immovable in its attachment to Eome, and in 
 its reverence for the Sovereign Pontiff. I now wish to commemorate 
 the chief means by which our faith was thus strengthened, and I will 
 subsequently state by what means its progress may be best secured. 
 
 " It is an incontrovertible fact, that in every country it is only the 
 vigilance of the pastors that can preserve the flock from the ravages of 
 the wolves ; and it is a singular mercy granted to us by God, that from 
 the first dawn of faith in our island, pastors were never wanting to 
 watch over the flocks- entrusted to their care. And although, as I have 
 said, during this period of persecution, the heretics have seized on 
 our episcopal sees and parishes, nevertheless, Ireland has ever had its 
 bishops and pastors sent by Rome, and holding communion with the 
 Holy See, under whom are arranged numerous bands of secular priests. 
 In our own time, in Elizabeth's reign, we had Redmond Gallagher, 
 bishop of Derry, and martyr; Edmund Gauran, archbishop of Armagh, 
 primate, and martyr ; f Demetrius Hurley, archbishop of Cashel, 
 
 * In the Altieri Archives there is a MS. Relatio de Itegni Anglife Statu et 
 Religione, presented to Paul V. about the year 1610. Alluding to Ireland, it 
 commends its inhabitants for their " constantia in tuendis semel receptis iusti- 
 tutis : colonias Anglicas receutiores excipio, ac duorum triumve magnatum 
 familias, qui in Regia, superstitiones regias imbiberunt ; reliqua fere insula 
 tota Catholica est." 
 
 t In the Introduction we have given a short notice of most of the prelates 
 here enumerated. Dr. Edmond M 'G-auran was appointed bishop of Ardagh in 
 the year 1584-5, and translated to Armagh on 1st July, 1587 (Ex Actis Consist.). 
 
290 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. IX. 
 
 and martyr ; friar Demetrius Heily, of the Franciscan order, bishop 
 of Elphin, and martyr; friar Cornelius Q'Devany, 0. S. F., bishop 
 of Down and Connor, who, being almost eighty years of age, was 
 crowned with martyrdom about ten years ago in Dublin, the capital 
 of the whole kingdom, giving a noble example to the whole nation ; 
 friar Richard Brady, of the same order, bishop of Kilmore, who suffered 
 a great deal, zealously watching over his flock amidst many dangers, 
 and died not many years ago at a very advanced age ; Iiichard O'Mul- 
 dony, bishop of Kilmacduagh, also attained an advanced age, and only 
 died a few years ago ; Cornelius Ruillius (O'Buill), the aged bishop of 
 Raphoe, who died not very long ago ; Dermitius Grath, bishop of Cork, 
 also died in a fine old age ; to omit many other bishops who flourished 
 at an earlier period, during the first years of Elizabeth. The last five 
 bishops whom I commemorated, lived for some years under James's 
 rule, and faithfully discharged their functions, though beset by dangers 
 and persecutions. 
 
 " Ihere were also auxiliaries, and fellow-soldiers, and companions from 
 the various orders of the regular clergy. At the present day, those who 
 are engaged in the spiritual fight are four archbishops, five bishops, 
 either consecrated or elect, vicars in every diocese, some being vicars- 
 apostolic, the others vicars-general, also parochial rectors, who are 
 scattered through the various districts, to whom are subject more than 
 eight hundred secular priests. To these must be added about 200 
 Franciscans, who are especially to be commended, because they never 
 suffered themselves to become extinct in the kingdom, and were the 
 only religious who maintained the fight in some districts.; a few Cister- 
 cians,* forty Jesuits, more than twenty Dominicans, a few Augustinians, 
 
 He received the pallium on 7th A ugust, the same year. He was killed by the 
 soldiery of sir Richard Bingham, at Skeith-na-bfeart, near Tulsk, in the 
 barony of Roscommon, on 23rd June, 1593. Bingham, writing to the privy 
 council on the 28th of June, 1593, says : "M'Guire was on horseback, and all 
 their principal men and himself escaped so narrowly, that the very next unto 
 him round about him were stricken down, among whom his ghostly father, the 
 titular primate, M'Gauran, lost his life, a man of more worth, in respect of the 
 villainy and combinations which he had wrought with the ill Irishry, than the 
 overthrow of divers hundreds of the others ; and so generally is his death 
 
 lamented, as if the same wore their utter overthrow The said 
 
 rebels carried his head away with them, that they might universally bemoan 
 him at home." — S. P. 0. A paper |iresented to the Sao. Cong, in 1627, 
 gives the following account of Br. Mac (4aunin : — " Qui ab Angbs captus et 
 mox delapsus, opera nobilium quorumdam, in Scotiam, neque ibi, persequente 
 Elizabetha subsistere valente in Italiam trausmeavit, ereptus insidiis quas* 
 eidem in mari pratenderunt Angli: nihilominus incunctanter propriatn sedem 
 repetiit et admonente fel. mem. Olemente octavo comitem Tyronia? cum sub- 
 ditis in fidei defeusionem armavit, in quo hello idem ipse martyrio dcoabuit, 
 tantum abest ut gregi pastoralem curam rnetu ant labore perterritus sub- 
 traxerit." 
 
 * Amongst the Vatican papers, there is a petition of the Cistercians addressed 
 to the Holy See in 1609, soliciting letters of recommendation for the Irish 
 
Chap. IX.] D!i. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 291 
 
 also four or five Capuchins, all of whom, according to their respective 
 rules, obey their own provincials, rectors, and other superiors. 
 
 " On the best means for preserving and propagating the faith. 
 
 "As in the order of nature, the causes which produce an effect also 
 maintain and propagate it, even so in this divine work of the salvation 
 of souls it may bo most justly said, that the same succession of fathers 
 and pastors who first brought forth spiritual children in our island, 
 should also be the surest means for preserving their spiritual life. Ire- 
 land received the saving faith of Christ through the watchful care of 
 bishops and pastors, and it was through the sacred hierarchy that His 
 holy name was preserved amongst us : if, then, we wish still to cherish 
 and maintain the Catholic failh, we must not allow its guardian hier- 
 archy to cease ; for, through the mercy of God, with our nation, the 
 mere name of a bishop, though concealed in the mountains, and 
 deprived of all earthly honour, has greater efficacy in preserving the 
 due reverence for the ancient faith, than in other countries the outward 
 pomp and full episcopal decorum. This, then, is the first central point, 
 viz., the uninterrupted succession of bishops, which will be mainly 
 instrumental in preserving our holy faith ; and as the present number of 
 Irish bishops is less than the necessities of our island demand, some 
 others should be added according to the local requirements.* 
 
 " The second means for preserving and propagating the faith, is now 
 to be commemorated. It was mentioned above that the enemies of our 
 
 house, which they purposed erecting in France and Belgium. It is as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Beatissime Pater, — Qnoniam status rei Catholics in Regno Hiberniee eo 
 redactus reperitur ut nisi Dei niisericiordia et proborum virorura vigilantia ei 
 quantocius succurratur de ejus totali exitio valde metuendum sit ; qnod quideru 
 considerantes nonnulli Patres ordinis Cisterciensis, ac aliquos eis adesse, vite 
 integritate doctrina aliisque virtutibus proaditos qui cum tempore uberes in 
 vinea Dui. fructus se facturos polliceutur, aliqua seminaria religiosorum sui 
 ordinis in Gallia et Belgio omnino erigenda esse judiearunt, in quibus alumni 
 dictum ordinem profiteri cupientes, recipi et in bonis litteris erudiri et post- 
 modum in Hiberniam ad prasdicandum verbum Dei mitti possint. Verum 
 cum eis impossibile sit promissa adimplere nisi Gallic et Hispaniie Regum ac 
 Archiducis Alberti pietate et liberabtate adjuventur. Supplicant igitur 
 humiliter S. Vam. dicti Patres ac pro eis nobilis vir Hugo Comes Tironise, qui 
 et omnes suos conatus conservation! tidei Catholicse inibi periclitantis dum- 
 taxat dirigit, quatenus hoc negotium dictis llegibus et Archiduci Alberto necnon 
 ejusdem S. V. Nuntiis apud eos residentibus favorabiliter suis litteris ut illud 
 promoveant ae adjuvent, commendare dignetur pro gratia," etc. 
 
 * Several petitions were about this time presented to the Holy See, soliciting 
 the appointment of an additional number of bishops. Thus, Albert Hugh 
 O'Donell, Earl of Tirconnell, writes on 2nd October, 1619: — "Messis magna 
 et operarii pauci : inimicus homo superseminat zizania, nee est agricola qui 
 explantet ; oves in prsecipitium feruntur quia notam pastoris voeem non 
 audiunt." Dr. Conry, of Tuam, on 17th March, 162S, petitioning for the 
 appointment of a bishop to Clonfert, writes, that the "provinoia Tnamensis, 
 quamvis ex provinciis Hiberniie maximis et latissime patentibu» sit ; in ea 
 tamen unus tantum suffraganeus Elphinensis est qui Episcopatu suo millia pas- 
 suum fere octoginta longo et triginta lato, vix potest cime satis inipendere, 
 nedum aliarum dicecesium illius provincial curaa aniuium intendere." 
 
292 DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. [Chap. IX. 
 
 faith, by an iniquitous counsel, deprived us of every means of instruct- 
 ing Catholic youth in our own country. Now, it is on such instruction 
 that all public and private prosperity depends ; and hence we must seek 
 abroad for that education which is refused to us at home. It was thus 
 that, when other countries were infected with heresy, Gregory XIII., of 
 immortal memory, erected for them, in various places, not merely one, 
 but many seminaries ; and Clement and Paul, following his example, 
 added other colleges. Whilst thus Roman munificence was extended to 
 all the nations of the earth, Ireland alone, I know not by what 
 accident, did not share in its bounty. It is only by such an institution that 
 the faith can be preserved amongst us ; and if it had long since been 
 established, our Church would at present be much more prosperous. 
 The greatness of the undertaking should not deter his Holiness and the 
 Sacred College from founding a seminary for us. It is not a great edifice 
 Ave look for, but only the first beginning, no matter how small, to which, 
 in His own good time, God will give an increase. Steps have already 
 been taken amongst us for this purpose, and any encouragement and aid 
 that may be afforded will be a great blessing, and a source of con- 
 solation to us." 
 
 The second paper is entitled " De Statu ac Mutationibus 
 bonorum Temporalium Ecclesise Hibernicaa a tempore Anglicani 
 Schismatis anno 1535, usque ad prajsens." It is chiefly taken 
 up with the record of the spoliation of our monasteries and other 
 religious establishments, in the reign of Henry VIII., and with 
 the Bull of Paul IV., promulgated by cardinal Pole, and the act 
 of parliament which accepted and confirmed it. As we have 
 already spoken of these subjects at great length in the " Intro- 
 duction," a few extracts from that paper will suffice to give the 
 reader some idea of the sentiments of our archbishop. The 
 motive which induced the Roman Pontiff to permit the ecclesi- 
 astical property to be retained by its lay proprietors, is thus 
 assigned : — 
 
 " Cum etenim Maria Regina universum Anglise Regnum hajresi adeo 
 infectum invenisset ut vix ipsa in hsereditarii regni sui possessionem 
 venire aut illud ad Roman» ecclesije obedientiam adducere valuerit, 
 maximaque proinde tarn sibi ipsi quam fidei causae et ecclesise pericula 
 ab hsereticis imminere perspiceret, prsesertim a tot nobilibus ecclesias- 
 ticorum bonorum possessoribus, ea de causa ut ejusmodi damua prseca- 
 veret, Romanseque religionis restitutio cunctis gratior esset dum pleraque 
 immutata relinqui cernerent, consultius visum est Reginas, consiliariis et 
 cardinali Polo ut omnia quantum fieri posset in eo quo tunc erant statu 
 
Chal-. IX.] DR. EUGENE MATTHEWS. 293 
 
 res ecclesiastic» relinqui permitterentur, utque cum laicis clispensaretur 
 pro libera et quieta possessione prsefatorurn locorum extinctorum atque 
 ad laicorum possessiones alienatorum." 
 
 Subsequently it adds : — 
 
 " When, on the death of Mary, Elizabeth succeeded, heresy was pro- 
 pagated everywhere throughout the island. The Irish, for many years, 
 resisted with great constancy ; but, overwhelmed by the number and 
 power of their adversaries, they were at length compelled to bear both 
 her temporal and spiritual yoke. At once an immense number of English 
 pseudo-bishops and pseudo-pastors rushed into Ireland, who not satisfied 
 with seizing on all our ecclesiastical property and revenues, never ceased 
 plotting against our faith and our lives. They do not even permit us to 
 enjoy the alms of the faithful, and they persecute ourselves and our 
 benefactors in so many and such various ways, that.it would be tedious 
 here to commemorate them." 
 
 Elsewhere it commemorates the squandering of the episcopal 
 and parochial revenues by the Protestant occupants, and assigns 
 the following cause : — 
 
 " Cum pseudo-episcopi Angli sint omnes uxorati, liberisque onusti, 
 conantur liberis suis amplas relinquere nobilium possessiones eaque de 
 causa plurimas alienare conati sunt ecclesiarum possessiones, modo de 
 vano pseudo-capituli consensu, modo ex regia auctoritate, nunc quidem 
 scienter, nunc subdole obtenta." 
 
294 DE. THOMAS FLEMING [Chap. X, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 APPOINTMENT OF DE. FLEMING TO THE SEE OF DUBLIN. 
 
 Dr. Fleming, son of the Baron of Slane. — Account of Family. — He becomes a 
 Franciscan, and studies at Lou vain, under Hugh M 'Caghwell and others — 
 Made Bishop in 1623. — His zeal in promoting Education. — Encourages 
 Irish Colleges abroad. — Colleges at Louvain, Rome, etc. 
 
 Thomas Fleming, third son of William, sixteenth baron of 
 Slane, at an early age renounced the pride of birth and riches 
 to embrace the humility of the cross. During the trying period 
 of the reigns of Elizabeth and James, the barons of Slane had 
 happily rejected the allurements of the court, and remained 
 unflinchingly attached to the faith of their fathers. Their castle 
 was the resort and refuge of the persecuted clergy ; and as a 
 heavenly reward, we find, at the period of which we treat, that 
 many members of the family were summoned by God to 
 renounce the honours of the world, and assume the habit of St. 
 Francis. A little later, in 1642, the names of the lord of Slane 
 and five of his nearest relatives were entered in the lists of 
 attainder; whilst, in 1652, in the Act of Settlement of the king- 
 dom, the then baron of Slane was amongst those who were 
 excepted by Cromwell from pardon for life and estate. Another 
 member of the family, father Patrick Fleming, a near relative 
 of our archbishop, attained the martyr's crown. On St. Patrick's 
 day, 1617, he joined the Franciscan order in Louvain. A few 
 years later, he taught philosophy in Rome, whither he accom- 
 panied Dr. Hugh M'Caghwell in 1623; and subsequently we 
 find him lecturer of divinity in the college of the Immaculate 
 Conception at Prague. He laboured assiduously in gathering 
 together the fragments of the ecclesiastical history of our 
 island, and was the loved associate of Ward, Sirinus, and Colgan. 
 Early in the year 1631, he was witness of the shocking cruelties 
 inflicted by the Protestant soldiers of Sweden and Saxony on the 
 Catholic priests who fell into their hands; and on the 7th of 
 
Chap. X.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 295 
 
 November, the same year, he himself and two Irish companions 
 were seized by some Lutheran peasantry in the neighbourhood 
 of Prague, and immediately put to death through hatred of our 
 holy faith.* 
 
 Father Thomas Fleming,, also a Franciscan, was uncle of the 
 subject of this memoir. Though advanced in years, he no 
 sooner heard of the first struggles of the confederates, than he 
 hastened to share their perils. An extract from a contemporary 
 document will present to the reader all the particulars of his 
 life which have been handed down to us: — 
 
 "At this time (1642) did die in Kilkenny the two best peers 
 — Gormanstown, nephew of general Preston, but nothing like, 
 and the baron of Slane. He had an uncle, Thomas Fleming, 
 a Franciscan friar, who was older than this man's father, but 
 exchanged his terrestrial inheritance for a better in heaven. 
 Entering religion, he bequeathed the title to his younger brother ;t 
 and upon intimation of the state of Ireland, he repaired from 
 Louvain. He kept much with his brother-in-law, the viscount 
 Clanmorris (of the Bourkes), and finally went to his patrimony 
 in county Louth, where he took from the English twelve gar- 
 risons, giving them no rest, day or night."! 
 
 The Franciscan monastery of St. Anthony, in Louvain, 
 erected in the commencement of the seventeenth century, was 
 long a safe retreat for the persecuted priesthood of Ireland, 
 whilst it was, at the same time, a fertile seminary from which 
 went forth many fervent missioners to trim the lamp of faith in 
 our suffering country. Thither the future archbishop of Dublin 
 hastened about the year 1610, having abandoned friends and 
 home to devote himself to the service of God. We are indebted 
 to the celebrated author of the Acta Sanctorum Hibernian for 
 the only record that has been handed down to us of the hidden 
 
 * Siriuus in pref. to Collectanea Sacra. This work was prepared for press 
 by Fleming, but only printed after his death by his friend Sirinus. See also 
 Ward in pref. to Vita S. Romualdi. 
 
 t See in the Calendar of Patent Rolls for Ireland, Charles I. p. 505 
 (edited by James Morrin, Esq., 1863), the confirmation of the resignation of 
 the title, etc., by the King. It is dated October 30th, 1629. 
 
 J The MS. from which the above extract is taken, bears the singular title : 
 An Aphorismicall Reflection on the Discoverie of Faction. It is preserved 
 in T.C.D., and appears to have been written by the secretary of Owen Roe 
 O'Neill. 
 
296 BR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. X. 
 
 career of Dr. Fleming in this sanctuary of learning and virtue. 
 In 1647, when dedicating to Dr. Fleming, then archbishop of 
 Dublin, the second volume of the Acts of the Irish Saints, 
 Colgan thus refers to the holiness and zeal, to the genius and 
 ability, which marked his early life: — 
 
 " With a piety which surpassed your years, you wished to 
 enter the seraphic order before you had attained the age required 
 for the religious vows. Entering on your course of studies, so 
 rapid was your progress in science and divine pursuits, that 
 your eminent learning and religious spirit qualified you for the 
 professor's chair in Louvain, even before the canonical discipline 
 allowed of your ordination to the priesthood. Whilst discharg- 
 ing this high duty, many were the spiritual children whom you 
 trained to perfection ; and though I myself am the lowliest of 
 all these, yet it was no small incitement to me, in my career, 
 that my master, whilst yet in the flower of age, should be found 
 so adorned with consummate piety, and the ornaments of virtue 
 and learning, that amongst very many most worthy, he alone 
 should be marked out by the decision of the Apostolic See, and 
 the anxious wishes of the clergy and people, to fill the highest 
 post of ecclesiastical dignity in his country."* 
 
 Amongst those that were engaged in preparing Dr. Fleming 
 for his future missionary labours, was father Anthony Hickey, 
 who subsequently, as professor of philosophy at St. Isidore's, 
 won for himself a wide-spread fame in Rome for philosophical 
 acumen and erudition. In a letter written by our archbishop to 
 Luke Wadding, on the 23rd September, 1629, the following 
 postscript is added: " I pray you remember my best wishes to 
 my old master, father Anthony Hickey, for whom I daily do 
 pray to God, for his pains taken with me."t 
 
 It was, however, under the guidance of Hugh M'Caghweli 
 that Dr. Fleming applied himself to the study of the higher 
 branches of theology. That learned man is justly ranked 
 amongst the brightest ornaments of the Franciscan order. He 
 was at this time regent of St. Anthony's, in Louvain, but was 
 soon summoned to more responsible offices in his order. He was 
 finally advanced to the see of Armagh, and consecrated at St. 
 
 * Colgan, Tr. Thauinat. Dedio. p. 5. f In Archiv. S. Isid. 
 
CllAr. X.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 297 
 
 Isidore's, on 7th of June, 1626. In the Consistorial Acts, he is 
 described as " a Franciscan of the strict observance, a native of 
 Ulster, skilled in canon law, acquainted, too, with the civil law, 
 formerly guardian in Louvain, and general definitor of his order, 
 of about fifty years of age. Whilst meritoriously discharging 
 many offices in his order, his fame and the fragrance of his 
 virtues were wide-spread throughout Spain, and Germany, and 
 Ireland, which countries he illustrated by his preaching, and 
 counsels, and conversation, and the sanctity of his life, as well as 
 by various writings in different languages. In fine, being sum- 
 moned to Rome by the general of the order, he at present 
 holds the post of a regent of the highest chair in Ara-Cceli."* 
 Luke Wadding further informs us, that he prepared for publi- 
 cation, and illustrated with copious notes, almost all the works 
 of Scotus ; and moreover, when summoned to the assemblies of 
 the order in Spain, and France, and Germany, and Italy, always 
 travelled on foot-t Dr. M'Caghwell was known in his order by 
 the appellation Aodh Mac Aingil (son of an angel), and after 
 his decease, his eulogy was pronounced in Louvain by Vernu- 
 laeus, who styles him, " a master in all sciences, human and 
 divine." Urban VIII. , too, on hearing of his premature death, 
 is said to have remarked: " non hominem sed angelum amisi- 
 mu8 n — " it is not a mere man that we have lost, but an angel." 
 So rapid was the progress of Dr. Fleming under the guidance 
 of Father M'Caghwell, that when this learned man was 
 summoned to Rome, in 1623, to occupy some important post in 
 his order, Fleming, though, as yet, only in his twenty-fifth year, 
 was chosen his successor in the theological chair. He was thus 
 
 * "Hugo Cavellns TJltoniensis, Ord. Min. Strict. Obs. Sac. Theolog. lector 
 jubilatus, juris cauonici peritus, jurisque civilis non ignarus, olim guardianus 
 Lovanii, et ordinis seraphici Generalis Definitor, quinquaginta circiter annos 
 natus, qui variis aliis in suo ordine ofBciis laudabiliter functus sui nominis 
 memoria et bonte famaa odore per Hispaniam, Germaniam, et Hiberniam, 
 proadicationibus, consiliis, conversatione, vite integritate et scriptis non vulgari- 
 bus in diversis linguis resperso et relicto : tandem a Revmo. Generali ministro 
 Romam voeatus ibi jam in Conventu Ara-Ccelitano primae Cathedra? regens 
 constitutus est." 
 
 t " Qui post tersa et correcta fere omnia opera Scoti, et addita doctissima 
 scholia, prudenterque promotum et rectum Collegium Minorum Hibernensium 
 Lovanii, post longa itinera et magnos susceptos labores pro gravioribus sui 
 Instituti negotiis, ad plura comitia generalia semper pedes profectus per His- 
 panias, Galliam, Germaniam, Italiam, " etc — Wadding Annales, ad. an. 1254. 
 
298 BR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. X. 
 
 engaged when, on the demise of Dr. Matthews, he was appointed 
 by Urban VIII. to the vacant see of Dublin. Some, indeed, 
 have not hesitated to ascribe his promotion to his own solicitation, 
 and to the intrigues of the religious of his order. But though 
 the earl of Tyrone solicited this favour,* and Luke Wadding, 
 with other distinguished members of the Irish Church, urged 
 the Holy See not to delay an appointment from which so many 
 advantages would assuredly accrue to our suffering island, it is 
 certain that Dr. Fleming himself had no share whatever in his 
 being chosen to^ this high dignity .f The following letter, 
 written'by him to Luke Wadding, soon after the receipt of his 
 Bulls, discloses to us the true religious sentiments with which 
 he regarded the responsibilities of the office thus imposed upon 
 him : — 
 
 " Should the archiepiscopate be looked upon as an honour, 
 surely there- were many others far more deserving of it; if you 
 regard it as a burden, there were many far better able to sustain 
 it. Nor do I say this as if to exempt myself from the duty of 
 returning thanks, and to lessen the favour conferred upon me, 
 which is far from my intention : I say so merely because I feel 
 myself unworthy of such a dignity, and unequal to such a task. 
 And He who sees the secrets of my heart, knows how foreign 
 from my desires is the charge now imposed upon me."t 
 
 It was on the 23rd of October, 1623, § that the appointment 
 of Dr. Fleming to the see of Dublin was proclaimed in 
 consistory. He was not consecrated, however, till the 31st of 
 
 * See paper of 8th May, 1029, given in preceding life. 
 
 t Colgan says that Dr. Memiug was "sum electionis inscint," and "suce 
 promotioni renitens." He adds, " Vidimus te anxie reluctanteni . . . te solum 
 mcerentem, omnes alios pie ketantes." — Loc. cit. 
 
 t Ex Archiv. S. Isid. Homes. Lovanio, 15th Dec. 1623, fr. Thomas Fleming, 
 Elect. Dublini, Wadding : " Si honos censendus sit, plurimi me digniores ; si 
 onus plurimi fortiores. Nee hoec a me questa sunt aut benefieii extenuandi 
 gratia, aut gratiarum extenuandarum, quod longe alienmn est a genio meo : 
 sed quod me indignum tali honore et imparem tali oneri sesthnem, Etsi is qui 
 cordis mei arcana intuetur novit quam nolim hoc curse mihi imponi." 
 
 § Acta Ooncistorial. 23rd Oct. 1623. " Keferente Card. Verallo Regni 
 Hiberniae Protectore, SS. providit Eccl. Metropolitans Dublinen. vacanti per 
 obitum bona; mem. Eugenii Matthsei ultimi illius Episeopi in Eomana curia 
 defuncti, de persona rev. fr. Thomte Fleming ord. min. de observ. expresse 
 professi ac Theologise Lovanii in Belgio professoris ipsumque dicta? Ecelesise 
 Dublinensi in Arehiepiscojram prasfecit et Pastorem." The pallium was 
 granted to him in Consist. 26th Feb. 1624. 
 
Cbaf. X.] DH. THOMAS FLEMING. 299 
 
 December; on which, day he received the imposition of hands 
 from the archbishop of Mechlin, in the church of the Franciscan 
 convent of St. Anthony, in Louvain, the aged archbishop of 
 Tuam, Dr. Conry, and the nuncio apostolic, archbishop of 
 Philippi, in partibus, having hastened thither to act as assistants 
 in performing the solemn ceremony.* 
 
 One of the first cares of the archbishop, whilst he awaited 
 his consecration in Louvain, was to petition the Holy See to 
 have that faculty promulgated and confirmed, which had been 
 granted to his predecessor, that, forsooth, the students of all 
 the Irish seminaries on the continent might be promoted to holy 
 orders, solely on the testimony of their respective superiors, 
 without requiring the usual dimissorial letters of the ordinary ; 
 and, moreover, might be ordained without benefice, patrimony, or 
 other canonical title, but merely ad titulam missionis in Iiibernia. 
 The Holy See graciously received this petition ; and on the 22nd 
 of December, 1623, the brief which recorded it was transmitted 
 to our archbishop. f 
 
 This privilege, in all its clauses, was invaluable to our 
 Church ; and hence, when some doubts were raised in its 
 regard, it was again sanctioned by a decree of the Sacred 
 Congregation, on ^6th June, 1626, which decree was con- 
 firmed by the Holy Father on the 10th of July, the same year. 
 The clause which regarded the episcopal dimissorials, was 
 specially important for the period of persecution, when the 
 bishops were compelled to seek a refuge in the woods and 
 morasses, and all communication was broken off, ' even with 
 those who, at a distance, were preparing to devote themselves, 
 under their guidance, to the service of the altar.f 
 
 * Ex instr. authentic, archiep. Mechliuen. sub data 31st Dec. 1023, in 
 Archiv. S- Isid. 
 
 t See Supplem. Eib. Dominic, pp. 874-5. 
 
 J With the period of persecution this necessity also ceased ; and hence the 
 clause regarding dimissorials was annulled by decree of the Sac. Cong, on 
 10th Apiil, 183.5. The rescript is published in the Bullarium S. C. de Prop. 
 Fid. This privilege being so peculiar to our missionary Church, and the 
 documents connected with it being gradually involved in obscurity, some 
 bishops, in the eighteenth century, feared lest it should have crept in as 
 an abuse during the period of persecution. Thus, Dr. James Daly, in a 
 letter to the archbishop of Paris, in September, 1736, energetically protests 
 against this privilege being made use of in regard to the students of his 
 diocese, adding, that the "privilege had been accorded by Rome, at most 
 
300 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. . [Chap. X. 
 
 Another matter which engaged the solicitude of the arch- 
 bishop, whilst yet residing in Louvain, was the Pastoral College, 
 of which, as we have seen, his predecessor had, in 1622, laid the 
 first foundations in that city. Some funds were indeed collected, 
 and the constitutions were drawn up by Dr. Matthews ; but still 
 the institution itself had to be summoned into life, and even 
 the material structure had to be raised. This task devolved on 
 Dr. Fleming ; and hence, in the annals of that college, he is 
 justly ranked amongst its chief founders. It was in the month 
 of July, 1624, that the first president assumed the charge of 
 the infant establishment, and six students entered its walls to 
 prepare for the Irish mission. The following letter, written 
 conjointly by our archbishop and by the long-exiled archbishop 
 of Tuam, Dr. Florence Conry, conveyed to the secretary of the 
 Sacred Congregation the announcement of this happy event, 
 which should one day be a source of such blessings to our 
 Irish Church : — 
 
 " At length we have made a commencement, though, indeed, an 
 humble one, of that seminary, which, in the name of your Holiness, we 
 desire to erect in this university. We hired a house for this purpose, 
 and appointed as its superior the Rev. Nicholas Aylmer, a priest of 
 mature age and experience, sufficiently versed in polite literature, and 
 also skilled in languages. He is, moreover, so meek and affable, and 
 pleasing to all, that the fact of his being superior will be a resource to 
 it in its struggling infancy. In the hired house we have placed already 
 six students, of whom Christopher Chamberlain is maintained by the 
 burse of your Excellency, John O'Mulconry by the burse of the arch- 
 bishop of Mechlin, and Emer Matthews by the burse founded by the 
 late archbishop of Dublin for the diocese of Clogher. 
 
 only for the times of persecution ; "and in 1626, when it is said to have been 
 granted, there was no bishop in Ireland, Dr. Fleming himself being then in 
 fiome." — Ex Archiv. S. C. How little was the history of the Irish Church 
 known, even to the best instructed of her members ! The privilege was 
 granted and re-sanctioned repeatedly, without limitation, for the greater 
 advantage of Ireland, and hence should last until recalled by the Holy See. 
 In 1626, Dr. Fleming was zealously labouring iu his diocese ; and not only in 
 1626, but also in 1623, when the faculty was really granted, more than one 
 bishop (as Dr. Rothe of Kilkenny, Dr. Dease of Meath, Dr. Therry of Cork, 
 the bishop of Emly, etc. ) were braving the perils of persecution, and living 
 amidst their persecuted flocks. Other bishops, at intervals, deemed it prudent 
 to solicit the partial renewal of this faculty. Thus, in 1742, we find the 
 bishops of Cork and Kerry receiving faculty to ordain twelve priests, titulo 
 missionis ; and some years later a similar privilege was granted to Dr. 
 Anthony Blake, archbishop of Armagh. 
 
CHAP. X.] DE, THOMAS FLEMING. 301 
 
 " We are now seeking for some select students, who may occupy the 
 other burse founded by the archbishop of Mechlin, and the burses granted 
 to us by cardinal de la Cueva : we would also ask for one to hold the 
 burse of the Dublin diocese, were not its funds to be expended for this 
 year in purchasing furniture and utensils. The students who defray 
 their own expenses are Henry O'Neil, Luke Dillon, and Thomas Dillon, 
 with whom many others will soon be associated from Ireland. It now 
 only remains to request your Excellency to give your sanction to these 
 things which we submit to your consideration, whilst we also beseech 
 you to devise some means by which the promised assistance from the 
 Sacred Congregation may be quickly obtained. And we pray the 
 Almighty to preserve you happily for many years. 
 " Louvain, 1st August, 1624. 
 
 " Fr. Thomas Fleming, 
 " Archbishop Elect of Dublin and Primate 
 of Ireland, 
 " Fr. Florence Coney, 
 
 " Archbishop of Tuani."* 
 
 It is, indeed, a glory for that venerable college, that one of 
 the first students who entered its walls should be the future 
 
 * "Illme. AC Eevme. Dne., — Nunc tandem jecimus utcumque (quantum 
 nimirum in nobis fuit) fundanienta seminarii illius quod pro gente nostra in 
 hac universitate prjetendimus suae sanctitatis nomine extruere ; donmm siqui- 
 dem condivximus et conduct» prEefecimus R. D. Nicolaum Aylmer sacerdotem 
 matui'Ee Eetatis et magna? experientise, litterarum ernditione satis comniendatum 
 nee minus linguarum peritia. Est etiam vir adeo tractabilis et mansuetus 
 atque"adeo omnibus amabilis, ut id ipsum quod superior sit, multum illi, debili 
 adnuc prineipio, collaturum existimemus. In dicta vero domo collocavimus 
 jam nunc sex studiosos alumnos quidem, Christophornm Chatuberlinum sus- 
 tentandum bursa Illmi. V. Dnis. Joannem O'Alulconry, super una e bursis 
 Illmi. MecMinensis, et Emerum Matthfeum super bursa ab Iilmo. Dubliniensi 
 pi» memoriae fundata pro Clogherensibus.f 
 
 " Petimus etiam aliquos electos juvenes qui sustententur alia bursa Illmi. 
 MecMinensis, et bursis collatis ab lllmo. Cardinali de la Cueva ; petituri qui 
 sustentaretur bursa Dublinensiuni nisi expendenda esset hoc anno, uti et reditus 
 qui accepti sunt turn ex ilia turn ex aliis hactenus, in lectis et utensilibus 
 coemeudis. Commensales autem in domo sunt HeDricus O'Neil, Lucas Dillon, 
 Thomas Dillon, quibus jam brevi accessuri sunt plures quos ex Hibernia accer- 
 siri euramus. Caiterum jam superest ut V. Illma. Dnio. h«c omnia quas non 
 tarn fecimus quam V. Illmae. Dni. approbanda proponimus rata habeat et circa 
 modum recipiendi seu inveniendi ea qua3 eidem fundationi censuit Sacra Con- 
 gregatio conferenda, diguetur adhibere aliqualem celeritatem lUma. V. Dnio. 
 quam precamur conservet diutissime incolumem D. Opt. Max. 
 
 " Lovanio, Kalendis Augusti, 1624. 
 
 ' ' Illmse. Dnis. Vrse. servi, 
 
 "Fr. Thomas Flemingtts, 
 "Electus Dublinien. et Hib. Primas. 
 "Fr. Flokbntius Coneeus, 
 
 "Archieps. Tuamen. " 
 
 t The nephew of Dr. Eugene Matthews was sent hy Prop, to occupy one of the places. Sec 
 p. 288. 
 
302 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. X. 
 
 bishop of Cloghcr, whose heroic martyrdom and labours in the 
 cause of our holy faith shed such lustre on the Irish Church. 
 He was a near relative of the earl of Tyrone, and was destined 
 to hold the place founded by his illustrious uncle, Dr. Eugene 
 Matthews. 
 
 It was only in the spring of 1625 that Dr. Fleming started 
 from Louvain, to assume in person the charge of the spiritual 
 flock which had been entrusted to him. In the meantime, he 
 continued to foster the infant college with paternal care ; and 
 though the sad condition of Ireland allowed it to receive but 
 little assistance from that quarter, and the war which raged in 
 Belgium multiplied its difficulties an hundredfold, we find that 
 on the 5th of March, 1625, the diocese of Armagh had two 
 students there, whilst the dioceses of Clogher, Elphin,- Kilmore, 
 Meath, Kildare, Cashel, and Mayo had each a representative 
 within its walls* 
 
 The other collegiate institutions were cherished by Dr. 
 Fleming with no less paternal solicitude ; and more than once 
 he represented to the Holy See how great was the need of the 
 Church of Ireland of zealous labourers to gather in the spiritual 
 harvest. The college of Rome had just then been founded by 
 cardinal Ludovisi; and in the beginning of April, 1627, Dr. 
 
 * Nicolaus Aylmer, first president of the Irish College,, Louvain, writing to 
 Rome for assistance, on 5th March, 1625, says : — 
 
 . " Occasione piae et devotaa voluntatis Illmi. Dni. Eugenii Archiepi. Dublinen. 
 placuit S. Sanctitati et Illmis. D. D. V.V. collegium pastorale pro juventute 
 Hibernica in oppido Lovanieusi apud Belgas erigi in quo adolesceutes- ad pie- 
 tatein et doctrinarn informarentur, ut ea ratioue misero et calamitoso sua? 
 patriae statui succurrere aliquaiulo valerent : quod quidem collegium a me ex 
 praescripto Illmi. I). Nmicii Apostolici novem abhino circiter mensibus, bonis 
 ut in Duo. confido auspiciis nomine suae Sauctitatis incceptum est, in eodemque 
 jam de prajsenti novem habeo adoleseentes eximiae spei. Sed quia principia 
 omnia debilia esse solent et res in Belgio ob continua bella loco difficillimo 
 sunt, egestate premimur." To this letter is added a list of the students as 
 follows : — 
 
 f 1. Emerus Matthaeus, aetatis 25 annorum, in schola Theologia?, 
 | Dicec Clogheren. super bursa f undata a defuncto Archiepo. 
 
 A1 . j Dublinen. pro eadem Dicecesi. 
 
 Alumni :— ^ % Ferdiuandus O'Mulcuonry, set. 23 an. Dicec. Elphin. 
 
 | 3. Christophorus Chamberlinus, eat. 22, Dicec. Armachan. 
 |^4. Eogenius Kelly, set. 18, Dicec. ICilmoren. 
 
 f 1. Bernardus O'Nellus, aet. 23, Diaac. Medensis. 
 I 2. Robertas Dungan, sat. 19, „ Kildaren. 
 Convictores :— \ 3. Petrus Bretinus, 83t. 20, „ Cassellen. 
 
 | 4. Lucas Dilon, set. 14, „ Mayonen. 
 
 [_5. Henricus O'Nellus, aet. 12, „ Armachame. 
 
Chap. X] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 303 
 
 Fleming united with the bishops of Ossory and Cork in return- 
 ing meet thanks to his eminence for his zeal and munificence 
 thus displayed in regard to the Irish mission. The college of 
 Douay, too, in a special manner, awakened his solicitude. In 
 1625, by the death of its president, who long had watched over 
 its progress, and by the wars which desolated the country, that 
 college was well-nigh reduced to utter ruin. It had been " a 
 fruitful mother of sacred missionaries, remarkable for their zeal 
 and virtue, learning and erudition ;"* it was " the armoury 
 
 * We add the beautiful letter of Dr. Fleming and the bishops of Ossory and 
 Cork, which has never before been published : — 
 
 Illme. et Eevme. Dne., 
 
 Tamquam umbraculum in eucumerario derelictum est collegium illnd 
 nostra? nationia quod multis annis cum. magno operariorum fructu in Belgio 
 steterat situm in civitate et TJniversitate Duacensi. Vix credi potest quanto 
 id damno et dolore nobis acciderit, considerantibus, quam fcecunda ibi mater 
 extiterit prolis usquequaque conspicuse tam a virtute et pietate quam a doetrina 
 et eruditione. Vestra vero pra?clara est ilia eogitatio, uti de coelo nata, ita 
 zelo vestro digna, qua intenditis jacturam nostram sarcire ut uno asylo nobis 
 propemodum deficiente, alterum ex a?re vestro Roma? surgat, ad sancti seminis 
 successionem nobis continuandum. Hoe igitur est quod nos suppliciter depos- 
 cimus ab Illma. Gratia Vra., ut istud per vos pie susceptum opus pro Deo et 
 Ecclesia ejus, fideique Catholica? apud nos augmento et tutameuto feliciter et 
 graviter provehratis et per vestras insnper litteras ad Catholicuin Regem et ad 
 serenissimam ejus in Belgio amitam Isabellam cum SSmi. D. N. sacris apicibus 
 conjungendas, sascitetis scintillam illam nostram Diiaci morientem ne penitus 
 extinguatur. Ilia certe domus antehac late prseferebat lucem per omnes hujus 
 insula? fines et nunc passa duorum annorum eclypsim cum aliunde, turn per 
 mortem optimi prasulis qui earn feliciter gubernabat luetum nobis propinat 
 intuentibus nunc defectum utilium nobis operariorum quem persentiscimus : 
 fluctuautes enim inter spem meliorum temporam et metum deteriorum, dum 
 formidamus etiam in sereno coelo procellas ingruentes et oonspicimns potes- 
 tates tenebrarum contra lucem in tenebris fulgentem cseco impetu ferri, idque 
 non voce tantum sed scriptis etiam audaeter ab eis contra apertam veritatem 
 tentari ; tametsi nobis abunde sufficeret cura fidei domesticorum alendre et 
 fovenda?, tamen hinc quoque augetur nostra sollicitudo, qaod una manu dum 
 operi incumbimus, altera quasi mucronem tenere cogimur. Et hinc nobis 
 acrior oboritur dolor quod antiquum nostrum armamentarium in quo fortium 
 nostrorum armatura pendebat, contra hsereticorum dogmatum assertores 
 vibranda, nunc minetur ruinam, et vacuum admittet quod natura ipsa et 
 necessitas quam patimur, abhorret. Ac proinde sub alas patrocinii vestri con- 
 fugientes una voce precamur, ut dolorem nostrum lenire dignemini gemina ilia 
 subventione quam diximus; altera per erectinnem novi domicilii in Urbe nobis 
 accelerandam, altera per veteris refugii celerem in Belgio restaurationem, 
 vestris hortatoriis et excitatoriis conficiendam. Utrumque quanto nobis magis 
 necessarium tanto magis honoriticum vobis futurum est et majoris apud Deum 
 meriti, quem vos unice respicitis, nosque, etc. etc. 
 Datum prid. non. Aprilis, 1627. 
 
 David Ossoriensis Epus. 
 
 Gulielmus Epus. Corcagien. et Cluanensis. 
 
 Fr. Thomas Fleminous, Archiep. Dublinen. 
 — Ex Archiv. S Cong. HiberniiE Primas. 
 
304 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 which supplied the spiritual weapons" to the Irish Church for 
 so many years, and no wonder that its decay should be viewed 
 with alarm and regret by her consecrated leaders. It was not 
 only Rome that was petitioned in its behalf, but also letters of 
 the Holy See were procured, commending its welfare to the king 
 of France, as also to Isabella of Belgium ; and owing to these 
 energetic appeals, and the anxious solicitude thus displayed by 
 Dr. Fleming and the other bishops of Ireland, this institution 
 was enabled to continue for some years its beneficent career, and 
 to send forth many more devoted missionaries to labour in the 
 vineyard of Christ. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 CONDITION OF THE CATHOLICS DURING THE FIRST YEARS OF 
 DR. FLEMING'S EPISCOPATE.— 1623-1633. 
 
 Penal Laws in full operation at the period of Dr. Fleming's Appointment. — 
 Account of those Laws in a Letter of that period.' — Lord Falkland's Ad- 
 ministration. — Letter of a Franciscan. — Of Dr. Fleming. — Efforts to intro- 
 duce Religious Freedom opposed by Protestant Clergy. — Declaration of 
 Usher and other Protestant Bishops. — Letter of the Superior of the Carme- 
 lites in Dublin. — Heroism of the People of Dublin. — Proclamation against 
 Catholics. — Relatio of Dr. Fleming. — Deplorable state of the Protestant 
 Church, etc. 
 
 At the period of Dr. Fleming's appointment to the see of 
 Dublin, the Catholics of Ireland were still subjected to all the 
 oppressive laws that had afflicted them during the episcopate of 
 his predecessor. The following letter, written from Dublin, in 
 the month of March, 1623, gives an accurate epitome of this 
 persecuting code : — 
 
 " I wrote to you about the feast of St. Michael (29th September, 
 1 622), acquainting you with the state of our afflicted and oppressed 
 country, but, lest these letters should not have reached you, or lest you 
 should have since forgotten the subject of which I treated, I deem it 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 305 
 
 better to once more lay before you the sufferings of our poor Catholic 
 people. 
 
 "1st, then, all the wards* who are under the king's guardianship when 
 admitted to their estates, are subject to vexations if they refuse the oath 
 of royal supremacy: hence, some youths have taken that oath, contrary 
 to the dictates of their conscience, and others who refused it were de- 
 prived of their lands and inheritance. 
 
 " 2nd. All the mayors, and magistrates, and other civil officers in the 
 cities and corporate towns, are obliged to take the same oath, and to 
 administer it to their subalterns, which is contrary to the charters, aud 
 is repugnant with the privilege of free election. 
 
 " 3rd. No gentleman, with the exception of the higher nobility, is 
 allowed to assume the title of Roman Catholic. 
 
 " 4th. All priests, and others hitherto imprisoned on account of their 
 religion, are still subjected to close confinement. The new viceroy being 
 solicited by the nobility to allow some liberty in the exercise of 
 religion, replied that he received no such order when in England ; nor, 
 since his arrival in this country, were any instructions to that effect 
 forwarded to him : neither would he for any one's sake deviate from the 
 letter of the commission entrusted to him. 
 
 " 5th. Excommunications are fulminated with the greatest rigour and 
 severity against the citizens of Dublin, and other Catholics. If they 
 wish to escape the penalties, they have to conceal themselves, like 
 prisoners and notorious malefactors, in their own houses : neither are 
 they allowed to keep shops, or sell any articles of merchandize. 
 
 " 6th. The statute of the 1st of Elizabeth, obliging recusants to assist 
 at the heretical service on Sundays and holidays, under a penalty of 
 twelve pence for each transgression, is now rigorously carried out, so 
 that no Catholic whatsoever is exempted from it : thus many are reduced 
 to extreme poverty, whilst a large sum flows into the royal treasury. 
 
 " 7th. All, of whatsoever condition they may be, are made liable to 
 an arbitrary fine, to be fixed in each diocese by the Protestant bishop, 
 or his ministers, should they be guilty of allowing their children to be 
 baptized by the priest, or of celebrating marriage in his presence (and 
 this they style a clandestine marriage) : and such as are unable to pay 
 the fine, are obliged to stand in the stocks in the public square, whilst 
 they are at the same time, through ridicule, dressed in linen garments ; 
 and in like manner they have to stand at certain hours, in the Protestant 
 churches, whilst papers are attached to their foreheads, with the inscrip- 
 tion in large characters, 'for marriage or baptism against the injunctions 
 of the king.' 
 
 " 8th. No one, no matter how well instructed he may be, is allowed 
 
 * The court of wards was maintained by Charles I. In the patent, 
 issued the 16th April, 1625, the main object of this court is said to be " for 
 preventing the great inconveniences which might happen in Ireland, if the 
 children of noblemen and gentlemen should be deprived of good breeding and 
 education, religion and learning," etc. — Patent and Close Rolls, Chas. I. p. 3. 
 
306 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XT. 
 
 to keep a public school, nor even are the nobility allowed to send their 
 children to foreign parts to learn the arts and sciences ; whence it must 
 come to pass, that after a while all our people will become Protestants ; 
 and there is another danger, also, that the young heirs growing up ignorant 
 and uninstructed, will be unable to claim their lands and possessions. 
 
 " Thus far I have repeated the substance of my former letter. From 
 the time of its despatch, the fine which was imposed for the baptism of 
 the children is rigorously exacted. The citizens of Drogheda, with their 
 wives, and servants, and grown-up children, were all cited before a 
 conformist jury, and condemned ; so that now they run a risk of being 
 deprived of all their moveable goods. If matters continue to go on in 
 this manner, all will soon be reduced to extreme misery. It is only 
 eight days ago since what I mentioned was done by Dominick Sarsfield 
 and his associates. Moreover, in the county of Louth, the jury received 
 instructions to find bills against all the recusants. As there were three 
 Catholics on the jury who refused to comply with this injunction, they 
 were thrown into prison for a week, with orders that should they not 
 subsequently find sufficient bail for appearing at the next assizes, they 
 should be confined in Dublin castle. The like happened in the county 
 Cavan : and, in fact, all the magistrates received instructions to inquire 
 after the recusants, each in his own district, which manner of acting 
 was never before witnessed amongst us. 
 
 " The cavalry troops of the viceroy, and his corps of satellites, are 
 maintained by the citizens of Dublin, at a great expense. There are 
 many other things that I could mention, were there any hope of their 
 being improved. But these will suffice for the present. I pray you, 
 through the passion of our holy Redeemer, to communicate what I have 
 written to the ambassador of the Spanish monarch, that that court may 
 .interpose its influence with our king, to the end we may be freed from 
 this servile misery and slavery. 
 
 "Dublin, 8th March, 1623."* 
 
 The new viceroy, referred to in this letter, was Henry Carey, 
 lord Falkland, who was appointed lord deputy for Ireland on 
 6th of September, 1622. His predecessor, Grandison, had been 
 accused of " crimes of enormous oppression and tyranny"t 
 against the Catholics ; and his removal from the government 
 awakened hopes in their body, that it was at length the inten- 
 tion of the crown to inaugurate a more lenient administration. 
 There was little, indeed, in the personal character of the new 
 viceroy to encourage these aspirations of the Catholics ; for we 
 
 * See the original Latin letter in notes to O'Sullevan Beare's Hist. Hib. pp. 
 340-1. 
 f Dr. Ellington's Life of Usher. 
 
Chap. XL] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 307 
 
 find that even in his private letters he delighted to heap oppro- 
 brious epithets on their religion and clergy .f The Protestant 
 clergy, too, were resolved for their part to stimulate his anti- 
 Catholic zeal ; and on his taking the oaths of office, the celebrated 
 Usher delivered a fanatical harangue on the text, " He beareth 
 not the sword in vain," in which he dwelt, at great length, on 
 the duty incumbent on the lord deputy to rigorously execute 
 the penal statutes against the Irish Catholics. 
 
 A year later than the letter cited above, a worthy member of 
 the Franciscan order thus described, in a letter from Dublin to 
 Rome, the severity of the persecution, which raged with special 
 violence within the precincts of the capital : — 
 
 " That I have not hitherto written to your excellency was occasioned 
 by my distance from the seaports, where alone I can ensure the postage 
 of my letters. Having at length returned to Dublin, and found an 
 opportunity of communicating with you, I have nothing to narrate but 
 the continued and unparalleled calamities of this afflicted kingdom, 
 which, if witnessed, would suffice to move the hardest heart to tears. 
 For here, in the Dublin courts, you see nothing but the extinction of the 
 old nobility, the depauperizing of the citizens and other inhabitants, 
 the plundering of orphans, the oppression of widows, and, in a word, 
 all the horrors, of an Egyptian bondage, weighing on the Catholics of this 
 country. Lately a decree was published, re-enacting the Elizabethan 
 statute, which imposes a fine on all who refuse to frequent the Calvin- 
 istic synagogues ; and the tyrannical exaction of this fine will effect the 
 total ruin of this exhausted kingdom, unless we be sustained by a special 
 providence of God. 
 
 " Some years ago, at the evil instigation of the council of this king- 
 dom, the king introduced into two provinces colonies of the Anglo- 
 Scotch and Scoto- English, despoiling our gentry of their estates and 
 patrimonies, and making grants of them to the heretical Scotch and 
 English, on condition that they should seek to promote heresy; whence 
 it happens, that heresy has been so rapidly spread in these two provinces. 
 He is now seeking to introduce similar colonies into the other two pro- 
 vinces, forsooth, into Connaught and a part of Munster, violating all 
 the municipal laws and statutes of the kingdom. The nobility have 
 recourse to the laws of our country, and only ask to have justice dealt 
 
 t Locusts of Rome — that most leprous infection, etc. See letter dated 
 Dublin, 8th December, 1626, published from the State Paper Office, Ireland, 
 in Appendix to Life of Lady Falkland, London, 1861. This lady, becoming 
 a Catholic, was subjected by him to cruel treatment. Her perseverance, how- 
 ever, was crowned by the conversion of her children to the Catholic faith. 
 For many other interesting facts, see the Life just cited. 
 
308 BE. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 to them. And yet, whatever defence they make, they are stigmatized 
 as rebels and seditious Papists, and are thrown into chains, and sub- 
 jected to all the sufferings and misery of prison, until they either submit 
 to the above-mentioned tyranny, or, worn away by the hardships and 
 privations of prison, lay down their life in defence of justice. I am 
 overwhelmed with sadness when I reflect on these tyrannous proceedings 
 against our nation, so guileless and so devoted to the orthodox faith. 
 There is only one thing that consoles me, and it is, that they suffer all 
 these calamities for the faith of Christ, and that these tribulations are 
 sent by God that we may be more and more purified, and rendered 
 worthy to appear in His holy sight 
 
 " I found here a fragment of a marble statue, which was broken by 
 the heretics whilst they raged with worse than savage fury against all 
 the ornaments of our churches. I send this fragment to you. I wish 
 it were of greater value, or more worthy of your acceptance, etc. 
 
 "Dublin, 17th November, 1624."- _, 
 
 J/ 
 
 At the time of the accession of CharlesJ^; many clouds were 
 
 gathering around the political horizon of England. The two 
 most powerful monarchs of Europe were leagued together 
 against her, whilst the spirit of disaffection was daily becoming 
 more rife at home, and the parliament refused the necessary 
 subsidies for carrying on the war. It thus became a matter of 
 necessity to conciliate the Catholics of Ireland; and we find 
 lord Conway, in December, 1625, writing to lord Falkland, 
 warning him of the " apprehensions of danger, if any reforma- 
 tion in religion should (for the present) be attempted there." 
 The Catholics of Ireland saw how favourable was the opportu- 
 nity for obtaining some relaxation of the penal code, and they 
 " offered constantly to pay an army of five thousand foot and 
 five hundred horse for his majesty's service, provided they 
 might be tolerated in the exercise of their religion."! 
 
 Matters were in this state when Dr. Fleming arrived in Ireland. 
 His first letter from Dublin, to the internuncio in Brussels, is 
 dated 20th of August, 1625,| and in it he vividly describes the 
 renewed fervour with which the Catholics now applied them- 
 
 * Translated from the original in Archiv. Sae. Cong. 
 
 T Sir Ed. Walker's Historical Discourses, fol. 337. 
 
 $ In Dr. Renehan's Collections on Irish Ch. Hist. p. 193, the date of Dr. 
 Fleming's arrival in Ireland is given 1623, on the authority of Paul Harris. 
 But Harris, in the place referred to, only says about the year 1623. From the 
 letters already referred to, it is clear that Dr. Fleming continued in Belgium 
 during 1623 and 1624, and only came to Ireland in the summer of 1625. 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 309 
 
 selves to the practices of religion, as also the hopes and fears, 
 in regard to the future, which agitated the whole Catholic 
 body : — 
 
 " I would have long since broken silence, were it not for the length 
 of the journey and my ignorance of the real condition of this conn try, 
 with which I wished to become somewhat acquainted before I should 
 write anything positive to you. I hope, however, for the future, to 
 write more frequently, and acquaint you with everything connected 
 with this country and with myself, as soon, at least, as I will have 
 secured a secure medium for transmitting my letters, which is no easy 
 matter here, as there is always a great risk of their being intercepted. 
 
 " I doubt not but that your excellency is already aware of the many 
 and grievous oppressions which this afflicted kingdom of Ireland has 
 hitherto been compelled to endure, on account of its unflinching attach- 
 ment to the Catholic faith. At length, however (thanks to the Most 
 High !), that tempest of uninterrupted persecution has been somewhat 
 appeased, and the orthodox inhabitants enjoy a more tranquil repose 
 than was granted them for many years. They are, however, wholly 
 ignorant of how long this calm may last, and hence fluctuate betwixt 
 hope and fear. They have not yet forgotten their past afflictions; and 
 as the dread of an impending calamity is often worse than the calamity 
 itself, especially in those who are sorely oppressed, and whose minds, 
 retaining a vivid remembrance of the sufferings they endured, look on 
 the threatened evil as though it were already present, so they now dread 
 the future persecutions, and experience but little relief from the present 
 relaxation. But the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, 
 who suffers not His children to be tempted beyond their strength, and 
 whom the seas and the winds obey, will, I am confident, conduct the 
 present momentary tranquility to the safe port of joyous security. 
 
 " The pious and innumerable pilgrimages of the faithful this year are 
 a pledge of this ; for, like bees to the beehive, so do they daily flock in 
 such numbers from every corner of the kingdom, for penitential purposes, 
 to a certain island, which is called the Purgatory of St. Patrick, and 
 which is situated iu the centre of a lake, that many have been obliged 
 to return without satisfying their pious desire, there being no room for 
 landing on the island. This pilgrimage, though, through the bitter 
 persecutions of heresy, it has been almost abandoned for many years, 
 was once so celebrated throughout the Christian world, that many from 
 the most distant parts even of the continent visited it in a spirit of 
 devotion. The manner of performing the pilgrimage as it is now 
 observed from ancient tradition, is as follows : — Each person, from the 
 day he arrives in the island till the tenth following day, never departs 
 from it. All this time is, without intermission, devoted to fasting, watch- 
 ing, and prayer. If they wish to give rest to their body they must sleep 
 on the bare ground, and for the most part under the broad canopy of 
 
310 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 heaven. They receive but one refection, and that consists of bread and 
 water. It is incredible what severe austerities and bodily mortifications 
 females, as well as men, and persons of every age and of every condition, 
 endure, whilst they perform this penitential course ; and during twenty- 
 four hours they are shut up in certain caves, like unto prisons, where 
 they pass the whole day and night entirely absorbed in prayer, and 
 receiving nothing to eat or to drink.* 
 
 " I have thought it well to mention this fact, for, I am sure, your 
 excellency will be rejoiced to see that the natives of this island, by this 
 so great and so unparalleled an impetus of devotion, seek to appease the 
 anger of God ; and we may confidently hope, that by their fervour He 
 will be appeased, who listens to the prayers of those who have recourse 
 to Him in their afflictions. 
 
 " As regards the pastoral seminary which was founded in Louvain 
 by my predecessor, Eugene, of happy memory, it is still in its cradle 
 through the want of means. I pray your excellency to continue your 
 usual assistance, and by your benign protection to foster its yet tender 
 and weak members. My same predecessor solicited in Rome the pro- 
 motion, to the see of Kildare, of the reverend and worthy man, Mr. 
 James Plunkett. His efforts had a happy commencement, but were 
 interrupted by the death (alas !) of bishop Eugene 
 
 "Dublin, 20th Aug. 1625. 
 
 " Fr. Thomas Fleming, Archbishop of Dublin, 
 " Primate of Ireland."f 
 
 The government, for its part, was disposed to make some con- 
 cessions, and a silent toleration continued for a short time. The 
 Catholics, without delay, gathered together the scattered stones of 
 the sanctuary, houses were rented in which the holy sacrifice was 
 publicly offered up, and a Catholic school, which it was intended 
 to raise to the rank of a university, was opened in Dublin, under 
 the auspices of Dr. Fleming. . The historian of Usher thus com- 
 memorates these efforts of the Irish Catholics: " They proceeded 
 to the most imprudent excesses. They celebrated their religious 
 worship with public solemnity, and with the full parade of their 
 ostentatious ritual. They seized churches for their service ; 
 avowedly exercised their ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; erected every- 
 where new monasteries ; and even in the city of Dublin established 
 a college for the education of their youth." Cox denounces in 
 like manner the presumption of the Papists, who " not only 
 proceeded in building abbeys and monasteries, but had the 
 
 * See Appendix, p 332. t Ex Archiv. Sao. Cong. 
 
Chap. XI.] DH. THOMAS FLEMING. 311 
 
 confidence to erect a university in Dublin, in the face of the 
 government, which it seems thought itself limited in this matter 
 by instructions from England." It was even the intention of 
 the government to make further concessions, and proposed to 
 suspend all proceedings against them for marriages and 
 christenings by priests, and to allow some other privileges, 
 without taking the oath of supremacy.* The Catholics, on the 
 other hand, petitioned, that in addition to these exemptions, they 
 should be allowed to practise in the courts of law on taking an 
 oath of civil allegiance in lieu of the oath of supremacy ; that 
 the claims of the crown to the Irish lands should be limited to 
 the last sixty years ; that the inhabitants of Connaught should 
 be permitted to make a new enrolment of their estates; and that 
 a parliament should be holden to confirm to each one the undis- 
 turbed possession of his lands.t 
 
 These exemptions and privileges were popularly known as 
 the " Royal Graces ;" and the lord deputy summoned a great 
 meeting of the Protestant and Catholic gentry, to deliberate in 
 common on the propriety of granting these privileges, and at the 
 same time of sanctioning the increase of the standing army in 
 Ireland by 5,000 foot and 500 horse. The bigotry of the 
 Protestant clergy was at once alarmed ; their Church was declared 
 to be in danger ; and we find an assemblage of their bishops, con- 
 vened by the illustrious Usher, archbishop of Armagh, and under 
 his guidance, proclaiming the concession of such graces to be a 
 heinous crime, of the first magnitude. This protest of the 
 Protestant bishops begins with the statement, that " The religion 
 of the Papists is superstitious and idolatrous; their faith and doc- 
 trine, erroneous and heretical; their Church, in respect of both, 
 apostatical. To give them, therefore, a toleration, or to consent 
 that they may freely exercise their religion, and profess their 
 faith and doctrine, is a grievous sin ; and that in two respects." 
 The reasons are then assigned in the usual hypocritical cant of 
 that period, and it concludes: "And as it is a great sin, so also 
 is it a matter of most dangerous consequence, the consideration 
 whereof we commend to the wise and judicious; beseeching the 
 
 * Mant, Church in Ireland, vol. i. p. 422. 
 t See Liugard, Charles I. chap. i. 
 
312 DK, THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 God of truth to make them who are in authority zealous of 
 God's glory, and of the advancement of true religion ; zealous, 
 resolute, and courageous against all Popery," etc.* 
 
 This declaration of the Protestant bishops produced the desired 
 effect upon the government; and to them must the Catholics of 
 Ireland attribute the unqualified refusal of the meagre "graces" 
 they had solicited. For their part, the Catholic gentry had 
 sufficient courage to reject the government proposal for an 
 increase of the standing army; and it was only when they 
 received an assurance that the graces would be again submitted 
 to parliament, and that, in the interim, the statutes against the 
 recusants would not be carried into execution, that they granted 
 a subsidy to meet the immediate necessities of the English 
 monarch, and consented to raise in Ireland the sum of £120,000. 
 
 To secure still more their prospects of toleration, the Catholics 
 chose agents to proceed to London, and there lay before his 
 majesty, together with the subsidy they had granted, their just 
 claims to the wished-for graces, embodied in about fifty articles, 
 and praying that, in order to quiet the fears of the Catholic body, 
 he would privately at least sanction to them the toleration of 
 their religion. The king received the offering of the Catholic 
 
 * See Mant, loc. cit. pp. 422-4. From Usher's Life we learn that this as- 
 semblage of the bishops was held at Usher's own house in Dublin, 26th of 
 November, 1626, and that they unanimously signed the protest described in 
 the text. The names of the Protestant bishops who signed this document are 
 as follows : — 
 
 James (Usher) of Armagh. 
 
 Malcolm (Hamilton) of Cashel. 
 
 Anthony (Martin) of Meath. 
 
 Thomas (Ram) of Ferns and Leighlin. 
 
 Robert ( Echlin) of Down, etc. 
 
 George (Dowuham) of Derry. 
 
 Richard (Boyle) of Cork, etc. 
 
 Andrew (Hamilton) of Killala. 
 
 Thomas (Moygue) of Kilmore and Ardagh. 
 
 Theophilns (Buckworth) of Dromore. 
 
 Michael (Boyle) of Waterford and Lismore. 
 
 Francis (Gough) of Limerick. 
 The best commentary on this protest would be to sketch the subsequent un- 
 fortunate career of these same Protestant prelates : however, suffice it to remark, 
 that the prime mover of this outrageous, and, we must add, wilful 
 misrepresentation of Catholic tenets, for the purpose of awakening a spirit of 
 persecution against the Irish Catholics, offered an ample retraction, when, from 
 his deathbed, he wrote to Rome to open negotiations for the purpose of being 
 received back into the bosom of that very Catholic Church which he had so 
 wilfully maligned. 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 313 
 
 deputies with joy, and in return signed with his own hand the 
 articles of graces which they presented to him. 
 
 A letter from the superior of the Carmelites in Dublin, pre- 
 sented to the Sacred Congregation about the month of March, 
 1629, details the happy fruits of the security which the Irish 
 Catholics now enjoyed for a little while, until the Protestant 
 Establishment was again filled with alarm at the progress of the 
 hated creed ; and conscious of its own inability to cope with the 
 divine vitality of the Catholic Church, once more unsheathed 
 the sword of persecution, and invoked the aid of government to 
 fetter its opponent : — 
 
 " For a few years, Ireland has at length enjoyed some sort of tolera- 
 tion iu professing the Catholic faith. During the past summer, some of 
 the nobiiity, selected from all Ireland, were sent as a deputation to the 
 king, that by offering a large pecuniary subsidy they might obtain for 
 their country an exemption from many calamities which have hitherto 
 oppressed her. Their arrival was so agreeable to the king, that he made 
 no difficulty in assenting to their desires ; and so he granted to them 
 more than fifty articles, which provided for the public good of this 
 kingdom, directing, moreover, that they should be confirmed by act of 
 the parliament to be held in Ireland. These nobles, however, urged 
 that all these articles would be of no avail without liberty of conscience. 
 This, too, the king granted, but was unwilling that it should be placed 
 among the articles to be submitted to parliament, lest it might be 
 rejected by the heretical faction, assuring them, however, that they 
 might be satisfied with his promise, and that they should not be molested 
 for matters of religion. In conclusion, they solicited that though this 
 promise was more than sufficient for themselves, yet some authentic 
 testimony might be given to them for the sake of those by whom they 
 had been deputed to his majesty. The king assented, and gave it to 
 them, signed by his own hand and seal. 
 
 " On account of this, all the ecclesiastics now publicly perform their 
 sacred functions, and prepare suitable places for offering the holy 
 sacrifice ; with open doors they now preach to the people, say Mass, 
 and discharge all their other duties, without being molested by any one. 
 
 " As regards our own order of Disealced •Carmelites, having been 
 sent by our general to this kingdom some years ago, to labour in con- 
 verting the heretics to the Catholic faith, we hired a house in Dublin, 
 and arranged it as best we could, after the manner of a convent, in 
 which twenty religious, including both the professed and the novices, 
 now reside. As often as they go abroad, which happens when they 
 have to preach or hear the confessions of the sick, or exercise some 
 other office of charity, by permission of their superior, they use secular 
 
314 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 dress, for, owing to the hatred of the heretics, they are not allowed to 
 dress otherwise in public. Inside doors, however, all dress in our own 
 ■ religions habit, and all the domestic duties and common life are carried 
 out with as much precision and order as in Rome itself, at the convent 
 of la Scala. 
 
 " Our church is sufficiently large. It is open to all during our sermons ; 
 Mass is celebrated in it ; processions are also made with the due eccle- 
 siastical ornaments and sacred vestments, and sometimes, too, the 
 blessed sacrament is borne in procession. Domestic and small bells are 
 permitted, but large ones are not tolerated : the former, however, are 
 sufficient for giving the necessary signals. The heretics come to the 
 Catholic churches, and assist at the sermons; they also freely treat 
 with the religious, and seem to have no objection to the habit. Some 
 are converted, and many seem to be well disposed towards us. Good 
 example, modest and religious deportment, abstinence from flesh-meats, 
 and other such things, produce a wonderful impression on them, and they 
 are particularly struck when our religious refuse to take food or drink 
 in their houses. Amongst other instances, it happened that one of our 
 order was thrown into prison, before the royal decree spoken of above 
 became known, and on his refusing to eat flesh-meat, the heretics were 
 so struck and edified, that soon after they liberated him ; so that expe- 
 rience teaches us how they are often better convinced by example than 
 by many words and arguments. 
 
 " Ireland, for the most part, is Catholic, and in general all the 
 natives have persevered in the faith, despite the many persecutions that 
 they suffered since the time of Henry VIII., in which period some were 
 detained in prison, till death terminated their sufferings ; others were 
 sent into exile, or put to death, or punished with the loss of their 
 goods ; and not even for an interval did they enjoy peace or repose. 
 The heretics that are found in the island are either sons of English 
 parents, some born in Ireland, others sent thither from England to 
 extirpate the natives, and most uujustly seize upon their lands, as has 
 actually occurred in many places. In the present toleration, the Catho- 
 lics enjoy some repose, and they attend at the chapels and frequent the 
 sacraments; in which matter I myself, indeed, can testify as an eye-wit- 
 ness, how each week they flock in such crowds to the sacraments of 
 penance and the holy eucbarist, that scarcely is it possible for the priests 
 to meet their demands. Our church, which is of a fair size, cannot 
 contain a sixth part of the congregation on Sundays and holydays, and 
 four confessors are not sufficient for our • confessionals. They have a 
 most singular devotion for the scapular of the Blessed Virgin of Mount 
 Carmel, and there are scarcely any that have not received it with great 
 devotion. Sufficient alms are also not wanting to us. 
 
 " In the same city of Dublin, there are very many other distinguished 
 spiritual labourers, forsooth, the Franciscans, Dominicans, Capuchins, and 
 Jesuits, all of whom untiringly labour in that vineyard. There are also 
 pastors residing in their parishes, as best they can, supported by a 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 315 
 
 stipend and casual offerings from their parishioners. They do not 
 possess the old parochial churches or the benefices attached to them, 
 for all these have passed into the hands of the heretics. The bishops, 
 too, do not reside in their dioceses, on account of their episcopates being 
 seized on by the heretics." . . . .* 
 
 At the very time that this consoling narrative was being 
 penned by the worthy superior of the Carmelite order, the 
 enemies of religion were maturing their plans to renew the 
 former penalties against the Catholics. It was on the last day 
 of January, 1628-9, that the privy council of Ireland addressed 
 a letter to the king and privy council of England, bearing the 
 signatures of Falkland, the viceroy, Adam Loftus, the lord chan- 
 cellor, James Usher, archbishop of Armagh, and others, by which 
 they solicited permission to act against the Papists. In this letter, 
 after stating that : " We have already made your lordships 
 acquainted with the intolerable increase and progress of Jesuits, 
 seminarists, priests, and monastic friars, who have arisen in this 
 kingdom, and derive all ecclesiastical law and authority from the 
 bishops of Rome:" they conclude: " We do not require from 
 your royal justice that rigour which is due to their provocation; 
 we only ask, should it be pleasing to his majesty and to your 
 lordships, that authority be given to us to that effect, and we 
 doubt not but by moderation we will be able, with little diffi- 
 culty, to restrain their arrogance, coerce their jurisdiction, 
 diminish their numbers, deaden their attempts, and make known 
 their practices." 
 
 The permission they sought for was not long delayed in 
 England;! and on the 1st of April, 1629, the following procla- 
 mation against the Catholic clergy was issued by the lord 
 deputy: — 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Sac. Cong. This letter ia endorsed as presented to the Sao. 
 Cong, by the superior of the Carmelites in Ireland. It was probably presented 
 by him in person in Rome, and bears no date. It is classed amongst the 
 papers of 1629, and from a list of bishops -which is added, it must have been 
 written before the 15th of March, of that year. 
 
 + About the same time there was a remonstrance presented to his majesty 
 from the House of Commons of England, to the effect, " that the Popish reli- 
 g on was publicly professed in every part of Ireland, and that monasteries 
 and nunneries were there newly erected, and replenished with votaries of both 
 sexes, which would be of evil consequence unless seasonably repressed." — 
 Cox, ii. 44. 
 
316 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 " Whereas, we have necessarily remarked that the late intermission 
 of legal proceedings against popish pretended titular archbishops, 
 bishops, abbots, deans, vicars-general, Jesuits, friars, and others of that 
 sort, who derive their pretended authority and orders from the see of 
 Rome, in contempt of his majesty's royal power and authority, has 
 bred such an extraordinary insolence and presumption in them, that 
 they not only dared again to assemble together here in public places, 
 and celebrate their superstitious rites in all parts of this kingdom, but, 
 moreover, erected houses, edifices called public oratories, colleges, mass- 
 houses, and convents of friars, monks, and nuns, in the very sight of 
 the royal council and elsewhere throughout the entire kingdom, and 
 continually exercise jurisdiction in regard of his majesty's subjects, by 
 authority derived from the Roman see, and (under the pretext of in- 
 structing and keeping schools in these their monasteries and colleges) ' 
 educate the youth of this kingdom in their superstitious religion, to the 
 great detriment and contempt of his majesty's royal power and autho- 
 rity, as well as to the great injury of this kingdom, and to the despoiling 
 of the goods of his subjects," etc. 
 
 Then is added a command, first, that all convents of nuns, 
 monasteries, colleges, and other religious houses be dissolved; 
 second, that all religious and priests desist from " preaching or 
 performing any rite in any public chapel or oratory," as also 
 from " teaching the youth in any place or places whatsoever 
 within this kingdom;" and, third, that all owners of all such 
 religious houses and schools should apply them, without delay, 
 to other uses: intimating against all who should attempt to 
 contravene in any one of these articles, the full severity of the 
 " laws and statutes of this kingdom."* 
 
 The Catholics, however, paid but little attention to this pro- 
 clamation. In some places it was published as a matter of 
 ridicule and mirth, whilst everywhere the religious houses and 
 chapels continued as heretofore. The lord deputy, on the 24th 
 of April, 1629, wrote to the Protestant primate, Usher, to com- 
 plain of this irreverence. 
 
 "I have received information," he says, "both of the unreverend 
 manner of publishing the late proclamation at Drogheda, and the ill- 
 observance of the same since it was published. For the first, that it was 
 
 * This proclamation is referred to by Cox, ii. 53, and Mant, i. 429. We have 
 given the substance of it, as well as of the letter to the privy council of Eng- 
 land, from two Latin copies extant in the Wadding Papers, and in Archiv. Sac. 
 Cong. 
 
Chap. XL] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 317 
 
 done in scornful and contemptuous sort, a drunken soldier being first set 
 up to read it, and then a drunken sergeant of the town, making the same 
 to seem like a May-game. And for the latter, that there is yet very 
 little obedience showed thereto by the friars and priests ; only that they 
 have shut up the fore-doors of some of their mass-houses, but have as 
 ordinary recourse thither by their private passages, and do as frequently 
 use their superstitious service there, as if there were no command to the 
 contrary ; those mass-houses being continued in their former use, with- 
 out any demolishing of their altars," etc.* 
 
 In Dublin, the Protestant archbishop anxiously awaited some 
 favourable opportunity for inflicting ample chastisement on those 
 who thus dared to obey God rather than man. On St. Stephen's 
 day, 1629, this opportunity at length presented itself. Whilst 
 the lords justices were assisting at service in Christ Church, the 
 rumour reached them, that in the Carmelite chapel (described 
 above) high Mass was being celebrated with special pomp and 
 solemnity. The archbishop requested to be allowed to punish 
 the offenders ; and a troop of soldiers being drawn out, he issued 
 forth at their head, leading them to the devoted Carmelite sanc- 
 tuary in Cook-street. The altar was at once demolished, as also 
 the oratory, in which stood a statue of St. Francis, and this, 
 with Puritan ferocity, was hewn in atoms by the soldiery. Two 
 of the religious were moreover seized, and the archbishop, with 
 his band, were in the act of leading them away to prison, when 
 the pious matrons, who had assembled for their devotions, raised 
 a clamour, and being assisted by some youths, assailed the 
 archiepiscopal troop with stones and clubs, rescuing the pri- 
 soners, dispersing the soldiers, and compelling the archbishop to 
 save himself by flight.t 
 
 * Mant, i. 429. 
 
 t The heroism thus displayed by the women of Dublin, in administering 
 condign chastisement to the Protestant archbishop, is recorded by the bishop 
 of Ferns, who, on the 6th of January, 1630, thus writes (under the assumed 
 name of Turner) to his agent in Rome, Father Luke Wadding: — "Our ora- 
 tories began again to be opened, and on the last term before Christmas there 
 was great resort to the friars in Cook-street, for that we held ourselves out of 
 danger of the last proclamation ; but upon St. Stephen's day last, it befel that 
 the pseudo-archbishop of Dublin and the mayor, a great Puritan, went with 
 soldiers to the said friars' house about noon of the day, and there defaced the 
 altar and oratory, and were leading away two friars which they took ; but the 
 devout women which were in the oratory, together with young men that came 
 to the cry, did so play on the mayor with stones and clubs, that they were 
 forced to take house, and some persons were hurt. Some Catholic aldermen, 
 
318 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 If we may credit Ware, it was the intention of the Protestant 
 archbishop to proceed to the other chapels of Dublin, in like 
 manner, and demolish all the sacred emblems of religion, leading 
 away the priests and friars to the dungeons of the castle. The 
 heroism, however, of the Dublin matrons, in Cook-street, checked 
 him in his worse than Vandal career. A large guard was sent, 
 without delay, by the lords justices, to ensure the archbishop's 
 safety, and a number of Catholic aldermen were cast into prison, 
 
 who were not at all in the streets, but only in their own house, because they 
 got not out to rescue the mayor, he put iu prison. I know not what will be 
 the issue. Some of our Catholics be gone with speed to England. I do hope 
 that they will be able to divert the king's indignation. The Jesuits were not 
 so forward as the friars in opening their schools or oratories, and you know 
 they judge it prudence to suffer others to try the ford before them." — Ex 
 Archiv. S. Isidori. 
 
 We will here add some Protestant accounts of this event, that the reader 
 may see how little reliance can be placed on their authority when dealing 
 with matters appertaining to the Catholic Church. "Ware writes: — "In 
 1G29, our archbishop was in some danger from a riot raised by the Jesuits 
 and friars in Dublin. Our archbishop being informed that they made it 
 a constant practice to infuse sedition by their sermons into the popish inha- 
 bitants of Dublin, applied to the lords justices for a warrant and a file of 
 musketeers to seize the offenders. The Carmelites in Cook-street, together 
 with their audience, rose in a body to oppose the execution of the warrant ; 
 they fell upon the guard, affronted the archbishop and mayor, with the rest of 
 their attendants. The archbishop was obliged to take to his heels, and cry out 
 for help ; and with difficulty saved himself in a house." Ware gives as his 
 authority for this narration the well-known libellous pamphlet, Eoxes and 
 Firebrands ; nevertheless, it is copied almost verbatim by Dr. Mant, i. 431. In 
 the Life of Usher it is said : "A most extraordinary occurrence, even in these 
 lawless times, took place in the city of Dublin. A fraternity of Carmelites 
 appeared in the habit of the order, and publicly celebrated their religious rites 
 in Cook-street, then one of the most frequented parts of Dublin. The arch- 
 bishop of Dublin and the mayor, roused by this defiance of law and govern- 
 ment, led a party of the army to their place of worship, and attempted to 
 disperse the assembly. The friars and the congregation repelled the attack 
 by force, and obliged the assailants to consult their safety by a precipitate flight. 
 The archbishop escaped with great difficulty, by taking shelter in a house."— 
 p. 105. Hammon 1' Estrange, cited by Harris in his Fiction Unmasked, is 
 more truthful iu some of his details : "The lloman clergy began to rant it, 
 and to exercise their fancies, called religion, so publicly, as if they had gained 
 a toleration. For, whilst the lords justices were at Christ Church, in Dublin, 
 on St. Stephen's day, they were celebrating Mass in Cook-street, which their 
 lordships taking notice of, they sent the archbishop of Dublin, the mayor, 
 sheriffs, and recorder of the city, with a file of musketeers, to apprehend them ; 
 which they did, taking away the crucifixes and paraments of the altars, the 
 soldiers hewing down the image of St. Francis. The priests and friars were 
 delivered into the hands of the pursuivants, at whom the people threw stones, 
 and rescued them. The lords justices being informed of this, sent a guard and 
 delivered them, and clapped eight popish aldermen by the heels for not assis- 
 ting their mayor. On this account, fifteen houses, by direction of the lords of 
 the council in England, were seized to the king's use," etc. etc. 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 319 
 
 not for taking part in the tumult, but for remaining in their 
 houses, and not succouring the Protestant archbishop, whilst, 
 with his Vandal band, he sought to pilfer and demolish the 
 Catholic places of religious worship. 
 
 A few days later, the various religious houses, and also one 
 chapel of the secular priests, were seized upon by the govern- 
 ment.* Strict orders were, moreover, sent to the country magis- 
 trates, to seize, in like manner, on all the religious houses in 
 their respective districts. It is thus Dr. John Roche, bishop of 
 Ferns, writes to father Luke Wadding, on the 7th of February, 
 1630. Having commemorated the scene of St. Stephen's day, 
 he adds: " Soon after, on another day, the other houses, even 
 the very Jesuits' house and one secular priests' chapel, were 
 taken up for the king, and yet we do not hear of any order 
 come from his majesty to that effect, only it is said to be done 
 in consequence of the proclamation given about Easter. In 
 Cork, also, some houses were seized on, and the like order is 
 sent to Limerick; and we know not how far it will extend. 
 Our Lord be praised for all. The worse they can devise for us 
 shall prove to be our best,"f 
 
 The alarm excited throughout the kingdom, and the rigour 
 with which this order was carried into execution, will be best 
 described by presenting a few extracts from the letters written 
 at this period to the authorities in Rome. Father Francis 
 Matthews thus writes from Belgium to Luke Wadding, enclosing 
 another letter from Ireland: " The enclosed letter I received ere 
 yesterday from Ireland, re-echoing the afflictions which are every 
 day increasing, and gradually extend to every quarter of the 
 kingdom. For the confiscation of the religious houses, which 
 commenced in Dublin and Cork, now embraces all the other 
 districts of the kingdom. Nor does the persecution stop with 
 this; it rages also against the persons of the religious, amongst 
 whom, F, Eugene Field, of our order, was seized, and cast into 
 
 * L'Estrange states the number of religious houses thus seized in Dublin to 
 be fifteen, which seems to be correct. See also Mant, loc. cit. i. 433. Besides 
 these fifteen houses, thus seized on, the schools and religious house in Back- 
 lane were seized in 1632, and disposed of to the Protestant university, which 
 placed therein a rector and scholars, and maintained a weekly lecture. 
 
 f Original English letter of Joan. Fernen. in Archiv. S. Isid. 
 
 Y 
 
320 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 prison by the president of Munster."* (4th Sept. 1630.) And 
 again, on 20th of December, 1630, he writes: " I have already- 
 acquainted you with the return of Thomas Bray to Ireland, 
 where the fury of the persecution continues unabated, nay, 
 threatens to be now still more increased by the inauguration of 
 lord Boyle as viceroy, who being hitherto associated with another 
 only as justiciary, will now no longer have the check of a 
 rival authority, but may freely execute his plans against the 
 Church and the Catholic faith."f Father Eugene Field, spoken 
 of in one of the foregoing extracts, thus writes from Cork, 
 before his arrest : "A grievous persecution commenced in 
 this kingdom at Dublin on the feast of St. Stephen, and 
 it goes on increasing everywhere throughout the entire 
 kingdom, so that our house in Dublin is wholly destroyed, 
 and the houses elsewhere have all been handed over to 
 other persons. No two religious can anywhere live together; 
 and yet this is only a prelude to the intended persecution."}: 
 (Cork, 10th April, 1630.) A few days later, on 28th April, 
 1630, the guardian of Galway, fr. Valentine Browne, writes in 
 like manner: " So great is the persecution we are subjected to 
 (praise be to the Most High !) that there was none so grievous 
 since the commencement of the oppression of the Catholic 
 religion in this kingdom. "§ Another letter, from Waterford, 
 dated 24th November, 1630, adds: "The common state in 
 this kingdom is very miserable and pitiful. All our houses; 
 
 * ' ' Cum ingeminatione malorum quae in dies augentur et sensim in omnes 
 regni partes serpunt. Confisoatio enim domorum regularium quam antea soripsi 
 inchoasse Dublinii et Coreagise jam ad csetera totius regni loca pervenit : nee in 
 hoc sistit, sed in personis dessevit de quibus noster fr. Eugenius Fieldius a 
 prseside Momonije captus est et incareeratus." 
 
 ■f " Ubi adhuc perseverat et major imminet persecutionis ssevitia, sumptura 
 incrementum ex nova inauguratione Comitis Boyle in proregem," etc. Sir 
 Richard Boyle, on the recall of lord Falkland, 26th Oct. 1629, was appointed 
 lord j ustice, together with Sir Adam Loftus. The report was spread that Boyle, 
 a great enemy of the Catholics, was to be made viceroy, but this never took 
 place ; and on 25th July, 1633, Thomas Strafford was appointed viceroy. 
 
 J ' ' Gravis persecutio incoepit in hoc regno Dublinii in festo S. Stephani et 
 crescit taliter per omnes regni partes contra Beligiosos ut jam locus noster 
 Dublinii sit penitus dirutus et costera loca aliis tradita per totum regnum, nee 
 licet duobus fratribus simul habitare et hoc est tantum prseludium 
 persecutionis quaa intenditur. " 
 
 §"Tanta est persecutio quam sustinemus (laus Deo) quanta non fuitab initio 
 suppressionis CatholicEe Religionis in hoc regno." 
 
Chai-. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 321 
 
 are taken up for the king, and no man will rent us a house 
 now." 
 
 Immediately after the occurrence on St. Stephen's day, agents 
 were sent from Ireland to appease the anger of the court, and 
 to seek the interposition of the queen. Little attention, however, 
 was paid to their representations ; and one of these agents, named 
 fr. Thomas de Anglia, writing from London, declares that 
 every avenue to obtain relief was closed : even the birth of a 
 young prince, which at first gave them some hopes, was found to 
 be of no avail; " for here," he concludes, " they seem to take no 
 interest in the progress of religion, or of the Catholic cause, God, 
 no doubt, so arranging it, until iniquity will be consumed in the 
 lire of tribulations."* 
 
 So far, indeed, were the members of the privy council in 
 England from disapproving of the severity displayed by the 
 lords justices in Ireland, that they wrote a commendatory 
 dispatch, encouraging them, at the same time, to pursue the course 
 they had happily begun. Their letter is preserved in Rush- 
 worth's Collections, and is as follows : — 
 
 " A Letter from the Privy Council in England to the Lords Justices 
 in Ireland, against the Convents of Friars, Nuns, etc., erected in 
 Ireland. 
 
 " By your letter, we understand how the seditious riot, moved by 
 the friars and their adherents in Dublin, hath, by your good order and 
 resolution, been happily suppressed. And we doubt not but by this 
 occasion you will consider how much it concerneth the good government 
 of that kingdom, to prevent in time the first growing of such evils. 
 For where such people are permitted to swarm, they will soon make 
 their hives, and then endure no government but their own, which 
 cannot otherwise be restrained than by a due and seasonable execution 
 of the laws, and such directions as from time to time have been sent 
 from his majesty and this board. Now it redoundeth much to his 
 majesty's honour, that the world shall take notice of the ability and good 
 services of his ministers there, which, in person, he hath been pleased, 
 openly in council, and in most gracious manner, to approve and commend, 
 whereby you may be sufficiently encouraged to go on with like resolution 
 and moderation, till the work be fully done, as well in that city as in 
 the other parts of that kingdom ; the carriage whereof we must leave 
 
 * From a letter of fr. Eug. Matthews to Luke Wadding, beariDg only the 
 date, " 1630," in Archiv. S. Isid. Romse. 
 
322 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 to your own good discretions, whose particular knowledge of the present 
 state of things can guide you best when and where to carry a hard and 
 softer hand ; only this we hold necessary to put you in mind, that you 
 continue in that good agreement among yourselves, for this and other 
 services which your letters do express, and for which we commend you 
 much. . . . And such magistrates or officers, if any shall be discovered, 
 that openly or underhand favour such disorders, or do not their duties in 
 suppressing them, and punishing the offenders, you shall do well to take 
 all fit and safe advantages, by the punishment or displacing of a few, to 
 make the rest more cautious. This we write, not as misliking the fair 
 course you have taken, but to express the concurrence of our judgment 
 with yours, and to assure you of our assistance in all such occasions ; 
 wherein, for your farther proceedings, we have advised, and his majesty 
 requireth you accordingly to take order : — 
 
 " That the house where so many friars appeared in their habits, and 
 wherein the reverend archbishop and the mayor of Dublin received 
 the first affront, be speedily demolished, and be a mark of terror to the 
 registers of authority; and that the rest of the houses erected or employed 
 there, or elsewhere in Ireland, to the use of superstitious societies, be 
 converted to houses of correction, and to set idle people on work, or to 
 other public uses, for the advancement of justice, good art, or trade. 
 And further, that you use all fit means to discover the founders, bene- 
 factors, and maintainers of such societies and colleges, and certify us 
 their names ; and that you find out the lands, leases, rents, or revenues 
 applied to their uses, and dispose thereof according to law. And that 
 you certify, also, the places and institutions of all such monasteries, 
 priories, nunneries, and other religious houses, and the means of all 
 such persons as have put themselves to be brothers or sisters therein, 
 especially such as are of note, to the end that such evil plants be not 
 permitted any more to take root in that kingdom, which we require you 
 to take care of. And so," etc. 
 
 " Signed by 
 " Lord Keeper. Earl of Salisbury. 
 
 Lord Treasurer. Earl of Kelley. 
 
 Lord President. Lord Viscount Dorchester. 
 
 Lord Privy Seal. Lord Newburgh. 
 
 Lord High Chamberlain. Mr. Vice-Chancellor. 
 
 Earl of Suffolk. Mr. Secretary Cook. 
 
 Earl of Dorset. Sir William Alexander."* 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, all the threats of a lengthened 
 persecution, the storm soon subsided. The negotiations which 
 were carried on upon the continent, on one side with France, 
 and on the other with the emperor of Austria and the Pope, 
 
 *Rushworth, ii. 33-4. 
 
Chap. XI.] OK. THOMAS FLEMING. 323 
 
 obliged the government to suspend for a while the action of the 
 penal laws, and, for a few years, the Catholic Church once more 
 enjoyed a comparative tranquillity.* It had passed unharmed 
 through the ordeal of persecution, and, on the return of calm, it 
 was found in every district of the island, in the fulness of divine 
 vitality and supernatural vigour. Justice Cressy, on the 15th of 
 August, 1633, gives an account to the lord deputy of the state of 
 the Catholics in Wexford, " I find," lie says,' " that the 
 English plantators, who were lately the most forward professors 
 of the reformed religion in the kingdom, by the pernicious con- 
 fluence of priests, are now, in a sort, become principally Romish 
 and Popish." He adds, that he deemed himself" bound by his 
 oath, as a judge, to oppose this with all his force and strength; 
 and, in his charge to the jury, did declare unto them the quality 
 and fearful consequences thereof; but," he concludes, " I fear all 
 in vain, for they are all recusants, not one Protestant among 
 them."t 
 
 Bishop Bedell, too, at the close of the same year, gives a 
 general sketch of the spread of the Catholic religion. " I know," 
 he says, " that in this kingdom of his majesty, the Pope hath 
 another kingdom, far greater in number, constantly guided and 
 directed by the orders of the new Congregation de Propaganda 
 Fide, lately erected in Rome ; that the Pope hath here a clergy, 
 if I may guess by my own diocese (Kilmore and Ardagh), double 
 in number to us. . . I know that his Holiness hath erected a new 
 university at Dublin, to confront his majesty's college there, and 
 to breed up the youth of this kingdom to his devotion. 1 know, 
 and have given advertisements to the state, that these regulars 
 dare erect new friaries in the country ."J 
 
 From this last testimony, we learn how untiringly the 
 Catholic archbishop of Dublin sought to keep open to his 
 children untainted sources of secular science, and how, when his 
 
 * During this interval of tranquillity enjoyed by the Catholics, the revenue 
 of the kingdom increased fourfold. The returns for three years are given as 
 follows, in the Clarendon State Papers, vol. i_ p. 362 : — 
 
 For 1632 £4,951 2s. 6d. 
 
 „ 1633 £8,373 13s. Kid. 
 
 „ 1634 £20,019 15s. 2d. 
 
 t Strafford Letters, i. 103. J Ibid. i. 147. 
 
324 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 former schools were confiscated, he again, aided by the Holy 
 See, re-opened them with new vigour ; nay more, obtaining 
 from Rome the privileges of an university, dared, with his scanty 
 resources, to enter a course of rivalry with the more earthly- 
 favoured Protestant university of College-green. 
 
 As regards the internal discipline of the Church, but little can 
 be added to what we have already presented to the reader. It 
 is probable that, in the year 1628, Dr. Fleming transmitted to 
 Rome a Relatio of the diocese of Dublin, but we have not been 
 able to find any vestige of it. In 1632, he added another very 
 brief relation, in which he states, that knowing no priest, whe- 
 ther of the regular or of the secular clergy, who was about to 
 proceed to Rome, and having no means to undertake himself 
 that journey, he was obliged to confine himself to the limits of 
 a letter, in giving some account of the state of his diocese. 
 He adds: — 
 
 " At the present time we enjoy some slight toleration, whilst exer- 
 cising our religion in private houses ; but to the great detriment of the 
 Catholic faith, all the public chapels and houses of the religious orders 
 have been confiscated by the government. How long even the present 
 slight toleration will be allowed us, is a matter of great uncertainty. 
 Our only hope is in God, in whose hands is the heart of the monarch, 
 who of himself is well disposed and inclined to mercy, unless he be 
 urged on by others to further persecutions." 
 
 He subsequently commemorates the dissensions occasioned by 
 Harris and Cahil, as we shall see in another chapter, and con- 
 cludes : — 
 
 " Praise be to the Most High ! there is no district in this diocese 
 which cannot conveniently have a priest, who administers the sacra- 
 ments, and on days of obligation offers up the holy sacrifice, at which 
 all the faithful can, without difficulty, assist, unless, perchance, through 
 the violence of the persecution, the priests may be momentarily com- 
 pelled to lie concealed. The religious orders strenuously co-operate 
 with them in administering to the spiritual wants of the faithful — 
 living as observantly as possible according to their rule, and maintain- 
 ing the regular discipline as far as the circumstances of the present 
 times allow ; and would assuredly effect much good, were they not im- 
 peded by the persecutions raised against them by Harris and Cahil. 
 In fine, as our youth cannot here receive education from Catholic 
 
Chap. XL] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 325 
 
 masters, we earnestly pray your eminence to show a fostering care for 
 our foreign seminaries, than which nothing can be more useful for 
 our kingdom, or more honourable to your eminence. 
 " Dublin, 2nd October, 1 632." 
 
 From a letter of the bishop of Ferns, written in the preceding 
 year, we learn that the places of retreat in which the priests 
 dwelt, during this period of persecution, were well known to the 
 faithful. " The parochial districts," he says, "are everywhere 
 well defined, and pastors are assigned to each of them, who, 
 since the confiscation of their own houses, wander about, 
 residing here or there, in some spot known to the faithful, and 
 where they may be readily found for the administration of the 
 sacraments, and the exercise of their ecclesiastical functions."* 
 
 We have found no further traces of any Relatio of Dr. 
 Fleming, except one note in the minutes of the Sacred Congre- 
 gation, 1640, which states, that " according to the Relatio of the 
 archbishop of Dublin, on 29th May, 1640, that diocese continued 
 in the same state as he described in his former relation, with 
 the exception of the controversy with Mr. Paul Harris, which 
 is now happily terminated." 
 
 Before closing this chapter, we may pause for awhile to inquire 
 what where, at this period, the merits of that Protestant Estab- 
 lishment, which persecuted, with such unmitigated fury, our 
 Catholic forefathers. We shall allow Protestant authorities to 
 speak on this subject; but we premit a letter of the saintly 
 bishop of Ferns, Dr. John Roche, written from Wexford, on 
 26th May, 1630, in which he concisely, but vividly, portrays 
 the leading features of both the accusers and the accused : — 
 
 " I have sent your letter of November, which came to me but in 
 May, to our friends of Waterford and Cashel, together with such letters 
 as were for themselves, for so you wished I should do ; and I do heartily 
 thank you for the memory you hold of me. You know but too much 
 of our troubles, yet add this to the rest of your knowledge, that our 
 adversaries are using certain diligences to fill his majesty's ears that 
 Catholic churchmen be of over-great charge to the land, and, therefore, 
 they procure to know all their names, dwellings, benefactors, alms, or 
 stipends, etc., to make a great noise of it to our disadvantage. In the 
 
 * Epist. Fernens. 4 Maii, 1631. 
 
326 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 last circuit of the judges of assize, one of the gravest amongst them 
 was heard to say on the bench, that the Catholic churchmen did collect 
 above £200,000 by the year ; a sum, you see, which the king, 
 with all his forces, may not gather. Indeed, I think he should have 
 rather said £2,000, than £200,000 ; for if it be with others as it 
 is with me, the sum of £2,000 shall not be made "in the year. Since 
 my coming to the land in this twelvemonth, my charge is not worth me 
 twenty crowns ; and yet, since I left Paris, I have spent, of my own, 
 above £100. So, how will our adversaries load ns with £200,000 ? 
 The truth is, that the Catholics have reason to complain of the Protestant 
 clergy, by means of their extortions, so that their officialities, or 
 bishops' courts, be more chargeable to the land than would the main- 
 tenance of an army be. And, for example, this bishoprick i3 almost 
 worth nothing to the incumbent in demesne or lands, for they have dis- 
 sipated all almost, yet his court is worth him a great deal. I am loth 
 to say what a worshipful man of the diocese said to me, that it came 
 to a thousand pounds what he profited by it in the extortions on poor 
 Catholics : and, notwithstanding, the Catholic clergy must be thought 
 the persons that are burthensome to the realm."* 
 
 No sooner was viscount Wentworth appointed to the govern- 
 ment of Ireland, than he nominated a royal commission to examine 
 into the state of the Protestant Church. A leading member of 
 this commission was Dr. Bramhall, subsequently bishop of 
 Deny and archbishop of Armagh. The result of his enquiries 
 is thus detailed by him in a letter to bishop Laud, on 10th 
 August, 1633: — 
 
 "Eight Reverend Father, — My most honoured lord, presuming 
 partly upon your licence, but especially directed by my lord deputy's 
 commands, I am to give your fatherhood a brief account of the present 
 state of the poor Church of Ireland. 
 
 " First, for the fabrics, it is hard to say whether the churches be 
 more ruinous and sordid, or the people irreverent, even in Dublin, the 
 metropolis of this kingdom, and seat of justice. To begin the inqui- 
 sition where the reformation will begin, we find one parochial church 
 converted to the lord deputy's stable ; a second, to a nobleman's dwell- 
 ing-house ; the choir of a third, to a tennis-court, and the vicar acts the 
 keeper. 
 
 " In Christ's church — the principal church in Ireland, whither the 
 lord deputy and council repair every Sunday — the vaults, from one end 
 of the minster to the other, are made into tippling-rooms for beer, wine, 
 and tobacco, demised all to popish recusants, and by them and others 
 
 * Ex Archiv. S. Isid. The original letter is in English. 
 
Chap. XL] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 32 7 
 
 so much frequented in time of divine service, that though there is no 
 danger of blowing up the assembly above their heads, yet there is of 
 poisoning them with the fumes. The table used for, the administration 
 of the blessed sacrament, in the midst of the choir, is made an ordinary 
 seat for maids and apprentices 
 
 "This being the case in Dublin, your lordship will judge what we 
 may expect in the country. 
 
 " Next for the clergy : I doubt much whether the clergy be very 
 orthodox, and could wish that both the articles and canons of the 
 Church of England were established here by act of parliament or state ; 
 that as we live all under one king, so we might, both in doctrine and 
 discipline, observe an uniformity. The inferior sort of ministers are 
 below all degrees of contempt, in respect of their poverty and ignorance. 
 The boundless heaping together of benefices by commendams and dis- 
 pensations, in the superiors, is but too apparent ; insomuch, that it is 
 affirmed that one bishop, in the remoter parts of the kingdom, doth hold 
 three-and-twenty benefices with cure. Generally their residence is as 
 little as their livings 
 
 " Lastly, for the revenues : the alienations of Church possessions by 
 long leases and deeds are infinite ; yea, even since the act of state to 
 restrain them, it is believed that divers are bold still to practise, in 
 hopes of secrecy and impunity, and will adventure until their hands be 
 tied by act of parliament, or some of the delinquents censured in the 
 Star Chamber," etc.* 
 
 The many disorders, indeed, that preyed upon the Protestant 
 Church in Ireland, were more than once represented by the 
 lords' committees for Irish affairs to his majesty. In reply to 
 one of their communications, the king, on the 12th of April, 
 1631, thus wrote to the four archbishops: — 
 
 " Among such disorders as the lords of our privy council, 
 deputed by us to a particular care of our realm of Ireland, and 
 the affairs thereof, have observed and represented to us in that 
 government, as well ecclesiastical as civil, we have taken in 
 special consideration the growth and increase of the Romish 
 faction there, and cannot but from thence collect that the clergy 
 of that Church are not so careful as they ought to be, either of 
 God's service or the honour of themselves and their profession, 
 in removing all pretences of scandal in their lives and conver- 
 sation." He subsequently adds : " There is a complaint brought 
 
 * The length of this letter obliges us to omit many paragraphs, though they 
 all develope the same sad condition of the Protestant Establishment. It is 
 given in full in Collier, Ee. Hist, part 2nd p. 760 ; and in Mant, i. 448-452. 
 
328 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 to the said lords' committees for Irish affairs, that some bishops 
 there, when livings fall void in their gift, do either not dispose 
 them as soon as they might, but keep the profits in their own 
 hands, to the hindrance of God's service, and great offence of 
 good people ; or else they give them to young and mean men, 
 which only bear the name, reserving the greater part of the 
 benefice to themselves ; by which means that Church must needs 
 be very ill and weakly served."* 
 
 In the statement drawn up by the royal visitation of the pro- 
 vince of Dublin, in 1615, it is said: — " The rectories are impro- 
 priate ; besides, if we could get means, we could not possibly 
 get ministers. The natives of this kingdom do train up their 
 children in popery ; so soon as they come to age, they send them 
 beyond seas, from whence they return either priests, Jesuits, or 
 seminarists, enemies to the religion established, and pernicious 
 members to this state. Such English ministers and preachers 
 as come hither for relief out of England, we do but take them 
 upon credit, and many of them do prove of a dissolute life, 
 which doth much hurt."f 
 
 Primate Usher, in 1625, made a visitation of his diocese, and, 
 as we are informed by Parr, found everywhere popery increased. 
 " Many things amiss," in the Protestant clergy ; " many great 
 complaints of exactions and abuses," against the ecclesiastical 
 courts ; whilst " the poor people, that were outwardly Protestants, 
 were very ignorant of the principles of religion."! 
 
 In 1629, bishop Bedell was appointed to the united sees of 
 Ardagh and Kilmore. " He found his diocese," says bishop 
 Burnet, " under so many disorders, that there was scarce a sound 
 part remaining. The revenue was wasted by excessive dilapi- 
 dations, and all sacred things had been exposed to sale in so 
 sordid a manner, that it was grown to a proverb."§ Bedell 
 himself, on 1st April, 1630, wrote to Laud, that his diocese was 
 in a most miserable state ; the cathedral and parish churches all 
 had gone to ruins ; " the people, saving a few British planters 
 here and there, obstinate recusants;" the poorer class ground 
 
 * This letter is given in full in Parr's Life of Usher, p. 38. 
 
 t MS. Trin. Coll. Dublin, E, 3, 14; also Mant, i. 389. 
 
 J Life of Usher, p. 27. § Burnet's Life of Bishop Bedell, pp. 34-6. 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 329 
 
 down by " the oppression of the court ecclesiastical, which, in 
 very truth, my lord, I cannot excuse;" the ministers are all 
 English, " and the clerkships themselves are in like manner 
 conferred upon the English, and sometimes two or three, or 
 more, upon one man, and ordinarily bought and sold or let to 
 farm." Cox, after referring to this letter, adds, that the same 
 description applied well to all the Irish sees."* 
 
 Simony seems to have pervaded every diocese in the king- 
 dom. Bishop Vesey, in his Biography of Bramhall, says, that 
 with the exception of the see of Cork, " there was not one 
 bishopric in the province of Cashel which had not the print of 
 the sacrilegious paw upon it." Mant also writes: — " Simony 
 was an evil which was found to prevail very generally with the 
 patrons of ecclesiastical benefices." t 
 
 Viscount Wentworth himself deemed it well to write to the 
 archbishop of Canterbury on the sad plight of the Irish Estab- 
 lishment. His letter is dated 31st January, 1634. One passage 
 from it will be sufficient for our present purpose: — "The best 
 entrance to the cure will be clearly to discover the state of the 
 patient, which I find many ways distempered. An unlearned 
 clergy, which have not so much as the outward form of church- 
 men to cover themselves with, nor their persons any ways 
 reverenced or protected ; the churches unbuilt, the parsonage 
 and vicarage houses utterly ruined ; the people untaught, through 
 the non-residency of the clergy; the rites and ceremonies of 
 the Church run over without all decency of habit, order, or 
 gravity, in the course of their service ; the bisliops alienating 
 their very principal houses and demesnes to their children or to 
 strangers, and farming out their jurisdictions to mean and 
 unworthy persons." He then describes at length the schools as 
 ill-provided and ill-governed; " the college here, which should 
 be seminary of arts, and civility in the elder sort, extremely out 
 of order; all the moneys raised for charitable purposes con- 
 verted to private benefits," etc.J 
 
 * Cox, ii. 53 ; Mant, i. 435-7. t Mant, i. 446. 
 
 J Strafford Letters, i. 187, 188. See also in Clarendon State Papers, vol. 1, 
 p. 52, a letter of the king to the privy council in Ireland, in 1632, on the mis- 
 appropriation of the ecclesiastical property in Killaloe. 
 
330 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 
 
 [Chap. XL: 
 
 A few years later, Dr. Lesly, Protestant bishop of Down and 
 Connor, delivered a charge on 26th September, 1638. In the 
 first place, he remonstrates with the clergy for " their general 
 neglect of catechizing." He says, that preaching " has ex- 
 cluded from the Church both the immediate worship of God, 
 which is the same as public prayer, and the duty of catechizing." 
 In the second place, he complains that the churches " are in no 
 better keeping than hog-styes."* 
 
 After such statements from the highest authorities of the 
 Church and State in Ireland, we cannot be surprised to hear 
 Leland (himself a Protestant clergyman) acknowledge that ex- 
 treme " ignorance, negligence, and corruption prevailed amongst 
 the established cfergy ;" and to find Carte, too, observing that 
 " the clergy of the Established Church were negligent of their 
 cures, being generally ignorant and unlearned, and loose and 
 irregular in their lives and conversations."! So general, indeed, 
 was the corruption, that archbishop Laud was forced to lament: 
 " The Irish ecclesiastical disease is spread so universally over the 
 body, that a very wise physician can scarce tell where to begin 
 the cure. "J 
 
 The Catholic bishop of Ferns, in the letter cited above, com- 
 plains, in a special manner, of the exactions of the Protestant 
 ministers, which were exercised with special severity against the 
 poorer Catholics ; and in many of the other extracts we find the 
 same abuse complained of. Bishop Burnet explains to us the 
 origin of this corruption. " The ecclesiastical courts," he says, 
 " were managed by a chancellor, that bought his place, and so 
 thought he had a right to all the profits he could make* out of 
 it;" and he adds, " the officers of the court thought they had a 
 sort of right to oppress the natives, and that all was well got 
 that was wrung from them." § In the remonstrance of the Irish 
 house of commons, in 1640, they dwell on " the exorbitant and 
 barbarous exactions of the Protestant clergy, levied especially on 
 
 * See long extracts from the Visitation Charge, in Mant, i. 531-7- 
 
 f Leland's Hist. ill. 4, 26 ; Carte's Ormond, vol. 1, p. 68. 
 
 X Strafford's Letters, vol. 1, p. 212. 
 
 § Life of Bedell, p. 39. Usher, in one of his letters to archbishop Laud, 
 states, that " such was the venality of all things sacred in Ireland, that he 
 was afraid to mention anything about them." 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 331 
 
 the poorer sort.'t Nevertheless, not satisfied with this, the Pro- 
 testant clergy, in 1635, proposed that new penalties or fines 
 should be imposed upon the Catholics for non-attendance at the 
 Protestant service, which proposal caused the viceroy to exclaim : 
 " Such brain-sick zeal would work a goodly reformation surely, 
 to force conformity to a religion, when there was hardly to be 
 found a church to receive, or a minister able to teach the 
 
 »* 
 
 peopl 
 
 If, however, the lower Protestant clergy thus oppressed the 
 Catholics, they, in their turn, were fleeced by the higher 
 Protestant authorities. Bishop Burnet states, in his Life of 
 Bedell, that " the visitations lay heavy on the inferior clergy. 
 Some slight inquiries were made, and those chiefly for'form's 
 sake ; and, indeed, nothing was so much minded as that which 
 was the reproach of them — the fees — that were exacted to such 
 an intolerable degree, that they were a heavy grievance to the 
 clergy. As the bishop's visitation came about every year, so 
 every third year the archbishop made his metropolitical visitation ; 
 and every seventh year the king's visitation went round ; and 
 in all these, nothing seemed so much aimed at as how to squeeze 
 and oppress the clergy, who were glad to purchase their peace 
 by paying all that was imposed on them by those severe 
 exactors." 
 
 * Commons' Journal, vol. 1, pp. 258-261. See fuller extracts in Memoirs of 
 Dr. Oliver Plunket, pp. 62, 63. 
 f Strafford's Letters, i. 188. 
 
332 
 
 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ON THE PURGATORY OF ST. PATRICK. 
 
 Origin of this Pilgrimage. — Poetical Narratives —True History.— The Works 
 of Piety which are there performed, etc. 
 
 We have seen, in the preceding chapter, how Dr. Fleming com- 
 mends the piety of the faithful, who, during the momentary 
 relaxation of persecution, displayed in their lives the fulness of 
 sanctity and penance, and, " like bees to their hive," hastened 
 in crowds to the penitential station known as " the Purgatory of 
 St. Patrick ;" there, by voluntary mortifications, to appease the 
 anger of God, and expiate the temporal chastisement due to 
 their past transgressions. The contemporary, Messingham, 
 describes the course of penance performed in the island some- 
 what more in detail than has been already given in the letter of 
 Dr. Fleming. " During the nine days of the pilgrimage,", he 
 says, " a rigorous fast was observed on oaten bread and the 
 water of the lake. The pilgrim was first conducted barefooted 
 to the church of St. Patrick, around which he moved on his 
 knees seven times inside, and seven times outside, repeating all 
 the while stated prayers of the Church. He was then con- 
 ducted to the seven places of station, known as lecti pcenosi, 
 which were formerly small churches, or sanctuaries, dedicated 
 to various saints ; and at each of these he repeated the visit as 
 above. The next station was around a cross in the cemetery, 
 and subsequently at another cross that was fixed in a mound 
 of stones. Thence he proceeded, over a rough and rocky 
 path, to a spot on the border of the lake, to which tradition 
 pointed as the place on which St. Patrick had knelt in prayer. 
 Here, also, certain prayers were appointed to be recited. All this 
 pilgrimage and prayer was repeated three times each day — 
 morning, noon, and evening — during the first seven days; on 
 the eighth day it was repeated six times; confession and com- 
 munion followed on the morning of the ninth day ; and then the 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 333 
 
 pilgrims entered the cave, where twenty-four hours were devoted 
 to fasting and meditation. Any that choose not to enter the cave, 
 passed these twenty-four hours in solitude, at one of the former 
 stations."* The seven lecti pcenosi were dedicated to SS. Patrick, 
 Bridget, Columba, Brendan, Molaisre, Catherine, and Dabeoc, 
 who was the patron of the place. During Catholic times there 
 was an elegant church in the centre of the cemetery, and, besides 
 other relics, it possessed some of our glorious apostle. This 
 church, with the seven cells, or smaller churches, was still 
 standing at the time of Peter Lombard, who adds, that " the 
 English deputy did not dare to prevent the pilgrimage or pro- 
 fane the place." f He also describes the cave as "situated a 
 few paces to the north of the church, being a narrow buildin", 
 roofed with stone, which could contain twelve, or, at most, four- 
 teen persons, kneeling two and two.J There was one small 
 window, near which those were placed who were bound to read 
 the breviary." 
 
 This solitary island was looked on as a place which had been 
 chosen by St. Patrick for retreat and silent prayer, and for ex- 
 ercising those deeds of penance for which his whole life was so 
 remarkable. Hence it derived its name of Purgatory, or place 
 of penance, of St. Patrick. § But whilst it was thus for the 
 inhabitants of Ireland a chosen retreat of prayer and penance, 
 its fame on the continent assumed another form. With the trou- 
 badours it became a favourite theme. Calderon immortalized 
 it in Spanish ; in Italy, it attracted the attention of Dante and 
 Ariosto ; and many popular tales about St. Patrick's Purgatory 
 are still extant in French and Portuguese. It thus became a 
 
 * Messingham, p. 95. See also Carve, who, in his Lyra (edition of 1666), 
 p. 112, gives a plate of the Insula Purgatorii S. Patricii ; and adds : — " Certum 
 est magnam olim hac in peninsula apparuisse devotionem in qua etiam varios 
 viri sancti eirculos seu eavernas maceriis introrsum circumdatas condiderint ; 
 atque in iisdein eorpuseula sua jejuniis, orationibus, aliisque disciplinis assidue 
 domantes, auxiliumque divinae gratise sine intermissione implorantes ac insuper 
 Deum pro eommuni eeclesiae bono, conservandaque inter omnes Christianos 
 vera concordia convenienter deprecantes." 
 
 t Commentar. p. 277- 
 
 } Eothe apud Messiugham states, that only nine persons were usually 
 admitted into the cave. 
 
 § It is matter of dispute amongst our hagiologists, whether the St. Patrick, 
 from whose deeds of penance this island acquired its fame, was our apostle, or 
 another subsequent saint of the same name. 
 
334 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [CHAP. XI. 
 
 matter of romance ; and poetical imagination conducted the 
 penitents who visited the island of Lough Derg, at first to the 
 regions of purgatory, and subsequently to the abodes of the 
 blessed or of the damned. 
 
 On the dawn of the so-called Reformation, Protestant writers 
 seized on these poetic tales as if they were matters of sober fact, 
 and availed themselves of the fictions of romance to cast ridicule 
 on the practices of Catholic piety and devotion. For some time, 
 indeed, they did not dare to offer violence to the pilgrims who 
 hastened thither with unabated fervour. During the reign of 
 James 1., however, the chapels or oratories on the island were 
 demolished; but this did not satisfy the fury with which the 
 enemies of the Catholic faith assailed its sanctuaries and shrines. 
 Enraged at the numbers who, despite their threats, continued to 
 flock to this penitential retreat, the lords justices, in 1632, made 
 a last effort to desecrate " the holy island." After publicly 
 announcing that, in the opinion of the papists, there was a pas- 
 sage from this island to the other world, and an entrance to the 
 realms of purgatory, they gave orders to have the whole island 
 dug up, and that especially no portion of the cave should re- 
 main undestroyed ; and thus, says Dr. Mant, was made known 
 " the imposition of the Irish clergy." But we should much rather 
 say, thus did the predecessors of Dr. Mant reveal to the world 
 the blindness of their bigotry, and afford a new instance of the 
 frenetical fury, by which alone they were guided, in upturning 
 the sanctuaries of Catholic devotion. Borlase, in his Reduction 
 of Ireland,* mentions this sacrilegious act, and adds, that " St. 
 Patrick's Purgatory was discovered to be a mere illusion, a little 
 cell, hewn out of a rock, no confines of purgatory or hell." t 
 Boate, too, in his Natural History (p. 44), gives some further 
 particulars; as he states that it was on the 13th of September, 
 1632, that the order of the lords justices was carried into exe- 
 cution, and that the religious who had it in charge were driven 
 
 * The Reduction of Ireland to the Crown of England, with the Governors, 
 etc. London, 1675, p. 207- . . 
 
 t Had he taken the trouble to open the writmgs of Peter Lombard or 
 Messingham, he would have seen that the limits of the cell were well known, 
 and that the confines of purgatory or hell existed only in the distempered 
 imaginations of the persecutors themselves. 
 
Chap. XI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 335 
 
 from the island, their monasteries being demolished, and the 
 cell itself broken open; " in which state," he adds (writing in 
 1660), " it hath lain ever since." 
 
 In the Antistitis Icon, or Sketch of the Life of Dr. Kirwan, 
 bishop of Killala, written by John Lynch, the learned arch- 
 deacon of Tuam, and first printed in 1669,* we have a faithful 
 description of the penitential severities of this place of pil- 
 grimage, and of the true motives which impelled the fervent 
 faithful to flock thither in such numbers: — 
 
 " That he (Dr. Kirwan) might not be wanting in any species of 
 piety, he reverenced iu his soul the custom of undertaking pilgrimages. 
 Nor was he satisfied with visiting such places in Connaught as were 
 consecrated by the sojourn of the saints, and, above all, the rugged 
 mountain called Cruagh Padrick, which he was wont to frequent, often 
 ascending its steep sides, a thousand paces in height, and there staying, 
 according to usage, on the very summit, which is covered with large 
 stones, and creeping on bended knees over the rough rock fragments, 
 which struck one with horror, not to speak of the danger of yawning 
 chasms and precipices ; but often, too, did he go into Ulster, to the far- 
 famed Purgatory of St. Patrick, in which the pilgrims are wont to 
 abstain from meat for nine days, using no food, save a little bread, and 
 water from the lake. During one of the nine days, they are shut up in 
 the dismal darkness of a cavern, and, therein fasting, partake of 
 nothing save a little water, to moisten their throats when parched with 
 thirst. At noontide and evening, they go on bended knees over paths 
 beaten by the feet of saints, and strewn with sharp stones. In other 
 quarters, they walk barefooted over rugged ways, in the olden time fre- 
 quented by holy men, to satisfy for their transgressions. Sometimes walk- 
 ing and sometimes on their knees, they advance to a considerable distance 
 into the sea. Thus do they spend the day, pouring out their prayers 
 to God, and listening to holy discourses ; nor in this sacred place is 
 there to be seen or heard anything scurrilous or ludicrous. When 
 night comes on, they lie down, not to enjoy repose, but to snatch a few 
 moments' sleep ; their beds are of straw, nor do they use any pillow but 
 their garments. Thrice each day did Francis, with the other pilgrims, 
 punctually perform these duties, and, in addition, he diligently applied 
 himself to hearing confessions and preaching sermons."f 
 
 The nuncio Rinnucini, in the report of his nunciatura, made 
 to the Holy See, on his return to Rome, in 1649, mentions how 
 
 * This valuable work has been re-published, accompanied with an elegant 
 translation and notes, by Eev. C. P. Meehan (Dublin, 1848). 
 t Ibid. pp. 61-3. 
 
 Z 
 
336 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap XI. 
 
 anxiously he had desired to snatch from the hands of the heretics 
 the far-famed Purgatory of St. Patrick ; and he adds: " the 
 devotions of this deep cave are of great antiquity, though their 
 first origin is uncertain. It is agreed, that the saint chose that 
 spot for his holy retreats ; and the visions * with which he was 
 there favoured by God, were well known, and approved of by 
 succeeding generations. At present, the fury of the Calvinists 
 has levelled everything with the ground, and filled up the cave ; 
 and as thus they destroyed every vestige of the spot, so do they 
 seek to cancel every trace of its memory. It seemed to me 
 that my mission from Rome should embrace this, too, as one of 
 its special objects, and I would have been, in part, content, 
 could I have re-planted the cross on that island. But I was 
 not blessed with the fulfilment of this design." t 
 
 Despite, however, all the efforts of the Puritans, it continued 
 to be a place of resort for pilgrims from every quarter of Ire- 
 land ; so much so, that in the second year of queen Anne, the 
 parliament once more enacted, " that, whereas the superstitions 
 of popery are greatly increased and upheld by the pretended 
 sanctity of places, especially of a place called St. Patrick's Pur- 
 gatory, in the county of Donegal, and of wells, to which pilgri- 
 mages are made by vast numbers, .... be it enacted, that all 
 such meetings be deemed riots and unlawful assemblies, and all 
 sheriffs, etc, are hereby required to be diligent in executing the 
 laws against all offenders. 
 
 In the year 1714, Dr. Hugh M'Mahon, bishop of Clogher,t 
 presented to the Sacred Congregation a Relation of the diocese 
 entrusted to his care; and, amongst other things, he details his 
 own experience of the place of penitential resort, which we have 
 
 * The poetical descriptions of " the Purgatory" abound with fanciful visions. 
 We shall give a real one from a M.S. Pelatio of the diocese of Waterford, made 
 by Dr. Patrick Comerford, on 16th Oct. 1632 :— " In dioecesi Corcagiensi est 
 quidam Anglus qui (ut a multis f ertur) biduum vel triduum mortuus revixit, et 
 cum ante obitum esset Calvinista, statim atque revixit abjuravit Calvmismum 
 et publice srepius deelaravit se vidisse in iuferno Lutherum et Calvinum et 
 proinde neminem salvari posse qui eorum dogmatibus adhisreret ; tunc excitati 
 Protestantes eum in carcerem detruserunt. " 
 
 t Nunziatura, p. 414. ,.,»,- j. i j. j 
 
 + He was appointed, in 1707, bishop of Clogher, and.m 1715, was translated 
 to + Armagh. The Collections on the Church History erroneously mark his 
 appointment to Clogher in 1708, and his translation to Armagh in 1709. 
 
Chap. XI.] DB. THOMAS FLEMING. 337 
 
 been describing. He had visited it disguised as a merchant 
 from Dublin ; for, even then, a bishop incurred great risk were 
 he publicly recognized ; and he describes in detail each parti- 
 cular of its penitential course. From his description we may- 
 conclude, that some changes had been introduced in its ritual 
 since the time when Lombard and Messingham penned their 
 commentaries. We shall give the extract in full in a note, as 
 it has never before been published.* 
 
 * " In septentrionali plaga hujus dioecesis Clogberensis, situs est locus ille 
 celeberrimus vulgo dictus Purgatorium S. Patricii in parva insula circumdata 
 laoii, quo ab initio Junii usque ad finem Augusti confluunt ex omnibus regni 
 partibus etiavn remotissimis quotannis omnis aetatis et conditionis milleni viri 
 et mulieres ibique conficiunt novenam semel in die solo pane avenaceo et 
 aqua victitantes, ae humi cubantes nudis pedibus semper, et non raro offen- 
 dieulo cruentatis : ter de die varias stationes visitant per asperum iter aeutis 
 stratum lapillis cujus magna pars aqnis ultra genua excedentibus obtegitur, 
 donee nona die, praemissa generali confessione omnibus vitas noxis expiatis, 
 saero pabulo refecti ante diluculum ingrediuntur subterraneam foveam quae 
 purgatorium dicitur, ibique viginti quatuor horis continuis semper vigiles et 
 orantes sine ullo cibi aut potus refrigerio perseverant et reeurrente eadem 
 hora egressi sequenti die se ter immergunt algidis aquis sieque perficitur 
 peregrinatio cui otiosi fabularum fabricatores multa commenta addiderunt de 
 spectris ac yisionibus quae nusquam comparent nisi in vitiato cerebro eom- 
 miniscentium ; tribus mensibus, quibus, durat haec peregrinatio ab aurora ad 
 meridiem celebrantur missae, exeipiuntur confessiones, fitque concio bis terve 
 de die ad populnm qui uberrimis lachrymis, gemitibus aliisque pcanitentiao 
 signis cum clamore editis concionantem frequentur interrinnpit ; tantaque 
 misericors Dominus asperam banc et plane austeram peregrinationem iuteri- 
 oris gratiae suavitate accumulat ut qui antea videbantur obdurati, vitiorum 
 sordibus immersi acerrimos compunctionis stimulos sentiant, nee contenti 
 semel aut iterum accedere ad insulam, reperi in dicecesi qui quatuordecim 
 vicibus peregrinationem perfecerunt. Non leve huic devotorum fervori 
 addidit incrementum a SS m0 D. N. Clemente visitantibus concessa indul- 
 gentia plenaria quae brevi expirabit et renovatione opus habet. Non absimile 
 prodigio censetur apud omnes quod peregrinatio base primo loco et nominatim 
 lege parlamentaria sub gravissimus poenis probibita, mdlam vel certe raram 
 patiatur remoram a circumhabitantibus et alias supra modum malignis Cal- 
 vinistis Scotis. Et ram ipse accederem sub nomine mereatoris Dublinensis, 
 (nam sub bujusmodi negotiatoris aut artificis involucris latere necesse babent 
 communiter Praelati et non registrati sacerdotes, ) ministellus illius districtus 
 satis bumaniter me excepit. bum alibi per totum regnum ingruente perse- 
 cutione cessant functiones ecclesiasticae in bac insula quasi in alio orbe posita, 
 liberum fit et publicum exereitium quod divinae providentiae hune locum 
 speciali favore protegenti gratum referunt et meritis S. Patricii. Cum ibi 
 essem baereticus Anglus fama loci et curiositate movente eo accessit qui 
 exemplo pcenitentium compunctus baeresim abjuravit. Praeter caeteros eccle- 
 siasticos eo accedentes strenuissimam navant operam Patres Franciscani. 
 TJnum in bac peregrinatione deprebendi usum, ne dicam abusum ; nam nona 
 die foveam ingressuri audiunt Missam, quae semper est de Piequiem, sen 
 defunctorum applicata pro iisdem ingredientibus, quasi jam morluis mundo, 
 ettradendis sepulturae ; quod cum vellum abrogare saltern diebus Dominicis 
 et festivis praesertim majoribus, quibus dioenda est missa conformis officio, 
 
338 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XI. 
 
 About forty years later, the Purgatory of St. Patrick was 
 •visited by another eminent prelate of our Irish Church, Dr. 
 Thomas de Burgo, who, in his Hibernia Dominicana, has 
 recorded his impressions on visiting that far-famed sanctuary. 
 " So great," he says, " are the penitential deeds performed there, 
 that they exceed, in my opinion, those of any other pilgrimage 
 in the universe ;"* and he adds — " non quae audivi, sed quas 
 vidi refero ; mihi enim feliciter contigit, insulam ipsam sanctis- 
 simi Patritii habitatione et miraculis consecratam, praeclarumque 
 austeritatis primorum ecclesiaj sseculorum prsebentem exemplar, 
 invisere anno 1748." 
 
 As regards the relations of the Holy See with this place of 
 devotion, we learn from the Bollandists, that, in 1497, the cave 
 was destroyed by order from Rome, in consequence of its 
 being represented to the Pope as an occasion of shameful avarice, 
 by a monk from Holland, who had visited it, attracted by its 
 wide-spread fame, and yet saw there none of the wonderful 
 visions which he had heard so often described.'f The Ulster 
 Annals also commemorate this destruction , but state, that it was 
 occasioned by its not being the true cave hallowed by St. 
 Patrick.:): The proper lessons for the feast of the Purgatory of 
 St. Patrick, were inserted in the Roman Breviary, printed at 
 Venice in 1522, but were expunged, by order of the Holy 
 Father, in the next edition, by the same printer, in 1524. The 
 nature of the devotion was subsequently explained to the Holy 
 See; and we are informed by Messingham, that indulgences 
 were attached to its penitential exercises before the close of the 
 sixteenth century. § When Dr. MacMahon wrote his Relatio, 
 
 obtenditur immemorabilis possessio et consuetudo id contrariiim, ut fert 
 traditio, ab ipao S. Patricio primitus instituta quod a viris doctis et timoratis 
 constantissime assertum me perplexum reddidit et propterea humiZlime rogo 
 edoceri ad Eminentiis Vestris quid desuper agendum ceuseant." 
 
 * Hib. Dom. p. 4, not. 6. The same learned writer justly remarks, that it 
 was from the severity of its penitential exercises that this island derived its 
 name : — " Locus iste luendis peccatorum ptenis destinatus purgatorium dicitur, 
 non quidem posthivmum, sed vitale seu viatorium in prasenti vita." 
 
 t Bollandists, March 17, p. 590. 
 
 t From this we might, perhaps, conclude, that the cave thus destroyed was 
 not the present sanctuary visited by pilgrims, but was situated on one of the 
 other islands of Lough Derg. In the Ordnance Map, the site of some such 
 deserted cave is marked on the adjoining island, known as Saints' Island. 
 
 § Messingham, Florileg. p 125. 
 
Chap. XX.] DE. THOMAS FLEMING. 339 
 
 the term of the indulgences granted by pope Clement X. had 
 just expired. A little later, the cardinal archbishop of Bene- 
 vento, who was subsequently raised to the papal chair as 
 Benedict XIII., made the Purgatory of St. Patrick the theme 
 of one of his homilies to his flock; and since that time this 
 devotion has been ever cherished and encouraged by the 
 sovereign pontiffs. 
 
 In the Annals of the Four Masters, and other ancient records, 
 mention of pilgrimages to this island seldom recurs. It was a 
 mere matter of private devotion, and did not precisely fall within 
 the province of history. In the sixteenth century, we learn 
 from the Bollandists, that it was sometimes visited by 1,500 per- 
 sons at the same time* Dr. Fleming tells us how such numbers 
 flocked to it in 1625, that many had to return without finding 
 room to land upon the island. Nor since then has its celebrity 
 decreased; and we find that, before the famine years of 1847, 
 this sanctuary was annually visited by no fewer than 10,000 
 pilgrims.! At the present day, the average number of daily 
 pilgrims, during the station months, is very considerable, and the 
 total annual number is estimated at several thousands. 
 
 Besides the many accounts of this Purgatory, published more 
 as matters of romance % than history, there are several valuable 
 treatises which deserve attention. Not only Lombard and 
 Messingham, in the works already alluded to, but the Bollan- 
 dists (17 March) ; Dr. Lanigan (vol. iv. p. 290, seqq.) ; Colgan, in 
 his Trias Thaumaturga (p. 27); and Feijoo, the celebrated 
 Spanish critic, in his Threatro Critico (torn. vii. p. 157), give 
 several important facts, together with many judicious remarks 
 concerning this venerated sanctuary of Lough Derg. The 
 valuable notes of Dr. Matthew Kelly, to the first volume of 
 Cambrensis Eversus (pp. 138-155), throw much light on the sub- 
 ject. See, also, a very rare treatise, entitled, A Brief History 
 of St. Patrick's Purgatory, written by Rev. Cornelius Nary, 
 parish priest of Michan's, and published in Dublin in 1718. 
 
 * Boll. March 17, p. 590. t See notes to Camb. Evers. vol. 1, p. 146. 
 
 X Amongst these we must reckon the narrative inserted in his Hist. Cath. 
 Hib. by O'Sullevan Beare, pp. 18-30. The work on St. Patrick's Purgatory, 
 published by Mr. Wright (London, 1844), is a mere display of blind bigotry, 
 by which he seeks to identify the teaching of the Catholic Church with the 
 romances about this Purgatory of our saint. 
 
^O DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XII. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ZEALOUS LABOURS OF DR. FLEMING. 
 
 Several Bishops and Superiors of Religious Orders refute calumnies circulated 
 against him, and bear testimony to his zeal. 
 
 For some years after his appointment to the see of Dublin, Dr. 
 Fleming had to suffer much from a few turbulent members of 
 his spiritual fold, who, by misrepresentations and calumnious 
 accusations, sought to embarrass the administration of his pas- 
 toral charge. To these accusations, however, we are indebted 
 for the fullest evidence of the zeal and untiring labours of the 
 archbishop — evidence, for which otherwise, after the lapse of 
 two centuries, we should, most probably, have to seek in vain. 
 Amongst the first to raise his voice against these unjust accu- 
 sations, was Dr. David Roothe, bishop of Ossory. On the 12th 
 August, 1626, he writes about the archbishop, that "for the 
 past year and a-half, since his arrival in this country, he has 
 given many and most signal proofs of his piety, prudence, and 
 zeal for the divine honour, the propagation of the Catholic faith, 
 and the promotion of ecclesiastical discipline and the public 
 peace. Moreover, as far as the times would permit, he laboured 
 with fruit, and diligently discharged his pontifical functions, 
 ordaining, confirming, holding ecclesiastical conferences, and 
 presenting in his own life a bright example to all who knew 
 him, by the sanctity of his morals, the gravity of his deport- 
 ment, his amiability, and all the other virtues which should 
 adorn a chief pastor." * On the 27th of July preceding, the 
 ordinaries of the northern dioceses, assembled at Drogheda, 
 deemed it incumbent on them to give their attestation to the 
 merits and irreproachable integrity of the archbishop. 
 
 * " Qui hoc sesquianno siu adventus in hanc patriam multis et prseclaris 
 indiciis comprobavit suam pietatem prudentiam et zelum honoris divini, reli- 
 gionis Catholicse, discipline ecclesiastic», et publico? pacis," etc.— Ex. Archiv. 
 S. Isid. 
 
Chap. XII.] llH. TII01IAS FLEMING. 341 
 
 " We declare and attest," they thus write, " that, partly from our own 
 knowledge, and partly from information received on trustworthy 
 evidence, we are fully acquainted with the manner of life and adminis- 
 tration of the archbishop of Dublin, and the progress made by him in the 
 discharge of bis pastoral functions, from his first arrival in this country, 
 even to the present day ; and we have never discovered anything in 
 him that, in the least, was opposed to the sanctity of morals, or the 
 integrity of justice, or the decorum and gravity becoming in a chief 
 pastor ; nay, more, he ever lived in the most perfect peace and amity 
 with every class, both lay and ecclesiastic, as well regular as secular, 
 ever labouring with incessant industry and care to maintain concord, 
 heal dissensions, and diffuse a spirit of charity, embracing alike the 
 religious of every order, without bias or partiality, and acting towards 
 all with due impartiality and equality." * 
 
 This important document was signed by the bishops-elect of 
 Kilmore and Down and Connor, the vicar-capitular of Armagh, 
 the vicars-apostolic of Dromore, Ardagh, and Clogher, the 
 vicar-general of Clonmacnoise, and the prior of Armagh. 
 
 Before the close of the same year, we find the abbot of the 
 Cistercians, together with the monks of his order, writing to the 
 cardinal protector, attesting that they had never discovered in the 
 archbishop anything to give a shadow of truth to the accusations' 
 that had been made against him, but, " on the contrary," they 
 add, " each one of us every day experiences him in everything 
 so moderate, so benign, so sincere, that, as the diocese of Dublin 
 and the whole province glory in him as a most vigilant pastor, 
 a perfect and irreproachable prelate, and a most worthy bishop, 
 so may we, in like manner, style him our most dear and most 
 loving father." f 
 
 The accusations made against Dr. Fleming chiefly regarded 
 
 * " Fidem facimus et attestamur nos partim ex certa scientia partim ex fide 
 digna informatione, dieti arehiepi Thorn» Fleming vita? et regiminis institntum 
 ac progressum a suscepto muneris sui pastoralis exereitio in nunc usque diem 
 diligenter notasse ac fideliter didicisse, nee in eo quidquam invenisse quod vel 
 morum integritati vel justitise incolumitati, vel prsslati modesties et gravitati 
 in minimo adversari posset, quin ipsum cum omni ordiue tarn laico quam 
 ecclesiastico, tamque regulari quam seculari in summa semper pace et amicitia 
 
 vixisse Semper ad pacem conservandam, ad lites componendas et ad 
 
 charitatem propagandam, etc. Datum Pontanie die 27 Julii, 1626." 
 
 + " Immo potius eum tam tractabilem tamque benignum et candidum in om- 
 nibus omnes in dies experimur, quod sicut ecclesia et provincia sua vigilaatis 
 simum pastorem, pra?latum perfectum et irreprehensibilem antistitemque 
 dignissimum iu eo obtuiuisse gloriatur, ita similiter et nos eharissimum aman- 
 tissimumque patrem," etc. 2 Oct. 1626.— Ex. Archiv. S. Isid. 
 
342 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chat. XII. 
 
 a special partiality which he was said to display towards the 
 members of his own order. The Dominican fathers were 
 represented as especially suffering under his rule ; wherefore, the 
 superiors of that order, being assembled in chapter at Athenry, 
 on 20th February, 1628, published the following protest: — 
 
 " Having been informed that some reports are circulated through- 
 out this kingdom to the effect, that members of our order have uttered 
 complaints against the most illustrious and most reverend Dr. Thomas 
 Fleming, archbishop of Dublin, and transmitted such complaints to 
 Rome ; we, being assembled in this intermediate chapter, in our convent 
 at Athenry, declare and make known, that neither we nor any one of 
 our order, to our knowledge, ever uttered complaints against the afore- 
 said archbishop, or ever received from him any occasion for such com- 
 plaints. We, moreover, declare, that we and our order are indebted, by 
 very many titles, to the said most illustrious and most reverend prelate, 
 and that we return him unbounded thanks for the extreme benevolence 
 and affection he has displayed in our regard. "* 
 
 Similar reports were circulated in regard to the religious of 
 other orders; hence, the superiors of all the religious orders 
 assembled together, on the 21st of August, 1630, after protesting 
 against such calumnies, recorded their appreciation of Dr. 
 Fleming's integrity and vigilance, as follows : — 
 
 " We declare, that the said most reverend Thomas, archbishop of 
 Dublin, from the very commencement of his episcopate, was everywhere 
 and in everything irreproachable, discharging his high functions with 
 no less dignity than vigilance and watchful zeal for the salvation of 
 souls; and to have so fulfilled the charge entrusted to him, as to win 
 the esteem and love of all the good, giving to none any occasion of 
 offence, but, by word and example, and by vigilantly and assiduously 
 visiting his diocese, to have edified all in the Lord, so far as it was 
 
 * Cum ad aures nostras pervenerit quosdam rumores in hoc regno sparsos 
 fuisse, aliquos ex nostris quasdam querelas contra illmumet revmum. D. Thomam 
 Fleming, archiep. Dublinensem, efformasse easque Eomam transmisisse,ideo con- 
 gregate in hoc capitulo intermedio in conventu nostro de Athenry declaramus et 
 notum facimus nee nos nee aliquem ex nostris nobis consciis in aliquo unquam de 
 prcedicto illmo. et revmo. dno. eonquestos fuisse aut ullarn occasionem querelas 
 ab illo nobis umquam datam fuisse. Immo declaramus nos et ordinem nos- 
 trum pradicto illmo. et revmo. dno. pluribus nominibus devinctos esse et pro 
 singulari ejus in nos benevolentia et affectu summas ei gratias agere. In quo- 
 rum fidem, etc. in conventu nostro de Athenry, die 20 Februarii, 1628." — Ex 
 Archiv. S. Isid. 
 
Chap. XIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 343 
 
 possible in the present times of persecution in this afflicted king- 
 dom." * 
 
 Thus the accusations made against Dr. Fleming, so far from 
 clouding the splendour of his episcopate, only served to bring 
 his virtues into bold relief, and to transmit to us an indubious 
 record of the self-sacrifice and zeal with which he discharged 
 the duties of his sacred ministry. 
 
 From Colgan we also learn, that our archbishop, even after his 
 elevation to the see of Dublin, and when engaged in the arduous 
 exercise of his episcopal duties, continued to observe the rigorous 
 discipline and penitential deeds of the Franciscan order, pre- 
 senting in his own life a mirror of all those virtues which his 
 exhortations commended to his faithful flock. He loved to 
 dwell in the humble abodes of his own cherished order, and to 
 be treated as the last of the brethren: — "Inter humiles sui 
 instituti fratres omnium infimum se ostendit." To all who ap- 
 proached him he was affable and kind; and his only anxiety 
 seemed to be, not to be honoured by others, but to be the ser- 
 vant of all : " ut nulli prseesse sed singulis subesse videatur." t 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SOLICITUDE OF DR. FLEMING FOE THE APPOINTMENT OF 
 BISHOPS TO THE VACANT SEES. 
 
 Letters of Dr. Fleming recommending the Appointment of various Bishops. — 
 Dr. Dungan, Dr. Magennis, Dr. Malachy O'Queely, etc. — Efforts of the 
 
 Queen of England to get Foreigners appointed Letter of the Earl of 
 
 Tyrone. — Appointment of five Bishops, etc. 
 
 One of the first cares of Dr. Fleming, was to procure the 
 appointment of fit pastors to the widowed churches of our 
 island. We have already seen how, in his first letter from 
 
 * ' ' Hisce lifceris nostris declaramus eundam revmum. archiepum Thomam 
 Dublmensem a primo suo in hujus dioecesis curam ingressu irreprehensibilem 
 ubique et per omnia sese gessisse, munusque suum non minori cum dignitate 
 quam vigilantia et animarum zelo sincero obiisse," etc. 21 August, 1630. 
 
 t Colgan, Tr. Thaum. ded. p. 4. 
 
344 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 Dublin, he solicited the appointment of Dr. James Talbot, who 
 had already been proposed to the Holy See, by his predecessor, 
 for the vacant diocese of Kildare. He subsequently, more than 
 once, repeated this solicitation ; but the eyes of Rome had been 
 fixed on another worthy subject, Dr. Rock M'Geoghegan, who 
 was soon after advanced to that ancient see.* 
 
 Before his departure from Louvain, Dr. Fleming represented 
 to the secretary of the Sacred Congregation the wants of the 
 diocese of Down and Connor; and, on the 24th of June, 1624, 
 he added his attestation to the testimony of the president of 
 St. Peter's College, Louvain, that " Edmund Dungan, a native 
 of the diocese of Down, had attained to the highest honours, 
 and to the degree of master of arts in that university ; and that 
 he had subsequently, in the college of pope Adrian VI., pur- 
 sued his studies for seven years, distinguished alike by his 
 piety, meekness, integrity, and zeal."t The subsequent career 
 of this worthy prelate proved how justly Dr. Fleming had 
 appreciated his merits. He was ever a model to his flock, J and 
 merited to consummate his earthly course in prison, in 1629, 
 having been arrested for the faithful discharge of his sacred 
 ministry. A letter, written on 7th September, that year, and 
 bearing the signatures of Hugh O'Reilly, archbishop of Armagh, 
 Thomas Fleming, archbishop of Dublin, and Eugene Swiney, 
 bishop-elect of Kilmore, solicits the appointment of father 
 Bonaventure Magennis, as the successor of Dr. Edmund Dungan 
 
 * In the paper drawn up, in 1627, for the Congregation of Propaganda, in 
 which Dr. M'Geoghegan was- appointed to the see of Kildare, he is thus 
 described : " Fr. Eoccus de Cruce, O.S.D., provincialis vir sanguine, vitse inte- 
 gritate, et doctrina nobilissinms, quinquagenarius, midensis dicecesis, qui 
 officium provincialatus in Hibernia per duodecim aunos continuos maxima 
 cum sediticatione cleri, populi, et fratrum sui ordinis laudabiliter exercuit." 
 De Burgo has placed his death in 1642 : a later writer in Hib. Magazine 
 (Jan. 1864), places it in 1640. However, Invernizi writing in 1664, states, 
 that he had died only some months rjrevious — ante aliquot menses. Ex Archiv. 
 Barberin. de Urbe. 
 
 T Archiv. S. Isidori. 
 
 % On the death of Dr. M'Caghwell, archbishop of Armagh, Dr. Dungan 
 was one of those proposed as his successor. In the note of the Sac. Cong, 
 he is described as being "Vescovo Dunense, di vita iutegerrima e teuuto 
 in molta venerazione in quei paesi dai nobili, dal clero, e dal popolo." The 
 archbishop of Cashel wrote from Dublin on the 12th Aug. 1628, iuforming the 
 Sacred Congregation, that Dr. Dungan had been arrested, and was still 
 detained in prison, being accused of high treason (Iwsce majestalis") on account 
 of having exercised his sacred functions. 
 
Chap. VIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 345 
 
 in that see, and thus beautifully describes the ever-undying 
 attachment of Ireland to the chair of Peter: — 
 
 " Most Holy Father, — To the pious solicitude and providential 
 care -with -which the Roman pontiffs, from the time of St. Celestine I. 
 (from whom our glorious apostle received his mission to preach the 
 faith of Christ to our forefathers) to the present day, have cherished 
 this our kingdom of Ireland, and to the so-often repeated benedictions 
 which the holy apostolic see has granted to our island, she is indebted 
 for that peerless sanctity which, in former ages, won for her, through- 
 out the universe, the title of ' Island of Saints,' and for that so in- 
 vincible attachment and reverence for the Roman pontiffs and the 
 Holy See, that she can be justly styled ' the Roman Island ;' and, in 
 fine, for that wondrous constancy in the faith and devotedness to the 
 chair of Peter, which she has displayed in our own times, to the 
 admiration and edification of the surrounding nations, clinging immo- 
 veably to the Catholic faith, and dauntlessly combating against its 
 enemies. And in order that these blessings may not hereafter fail, 
 but rather be daily increased, and our countrymen be rendered more 
 courageous in enduring adversity for the faith ... we humbly implore 
 your Holiness to continue the zealous care and watchfulness of your 
 predecessors for this your vineyard of Ireland, which, being planted by 
 your predecessors, and irrigated by St. Patrick, has extended its 
 branches from see to see throughout all Europe, and has yielded an 
 abundant vintage for the heavenly Master. 
 
 " Above all, however, at the present time, we pray your Holiness to 
 remark how all the efforts and all the snares of our enemies in the 
 faith are now directed to this one scope, to lessen, forsooth, the esteem 
 of the prelates -of this kingdom, and check them in the exercise of their 
 ministry; but we look to heaven, and we feel assured that, sooner or 
 later, it will not be wanting to us ; and no more secure defence can we 
 find against their present attacks, than in the appointment to the sees 
 of this kingdom of worthy pastors, who, by the example of their lives, 
 and by the truth of the Gospel, will instruct the faithful entrusted to their 
 charge, and who, moreover, will be the foremost, if needs be, in the 
 path to martyrdom. 
 
 " We deplore the vacancy of none of the widowed churches more 
 than that of the diocese of Down and Connor, which lost its two most 
 glorious champions, Cornelius and Edmund, both of whom consecutively 
 attained the martyr's crown."* 
 
 Father Bonaventure Magennis, -whom they then recommend, 
 was, without delay, appointed to that venerable see ; and well 
 did he prove himself deserving of their encomiums, and a 
 
 * Ex Archiv. S. Isid. 
 
446 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 worthy successor of trie martyrs, Edmund Dungan and Cornelius 
 O'Devany. 
 
 More than once did Dr. Fleming present to the Holy See 
 the name of Malachy O'Queely, to be advanced to the episcopate 
 of his native diocese of Killaloe. In unison with the other 
 assembled bishops, he petitioned to that effect from Drogheda, 
 on 26th October, 1626. He subsequently, on 24th October, 
 1627, addressed a letter from Dublin soliciting the same favour, 
 and declaring that Dr. O'Queely was " renowned for his virtues, 
 versed in the sacred writings, and leading an unsullied life 
 throughout his whole career."* Rome, however, did not seem 
 desirous to increase the number of bishops in the southern 
 provinces ; and it deemed the see of Killaloe sufficiently pro- 
 vided for, whilst it had for its vicar-apostolic such a man as 
 this Malachy O'Queely ; wherefore, we find Dr. Fleming, in 
 the following year, again petitioning the Holy Father, together 
 with the bishops of Cork, Limerick, Emly, and Elphin, to 
 have this favour granted to our Irish Church. " Although the 
 great favour," they say, " already shown by the Apostolic See 
 to so many dioceses of this realm of Ireland, and the creation 
 of some bishops, which has redounded so much to the advantage 
 of souls and the propagation of the faith, might seem to indicate 
 that the present number of prelates should suffice for the wants 
 of our Church ; nevertheless, daily experience proves, that the 
 distance of places, and the manifold abuses of heretical depra- 
 vity, and the increase of the Catholic religion, require an 
 additional number of pastors and bishops, who, in the more 
 remote districts (which can with difficulty be otherwise assisted), 
 may, with due vigilance and solicitude, minister to the salvation 
 of souls, and renovate those dioceses which are persecuted and 
 sinking under heretical perversity. Such, especially, is the dio- 
 cese of Killaloe, which is one of the principal sees of the pro- 
 vince of Cashel, and which, since the decease of Cornelius, of 
 holy memory, has remained widowed of its chief pastor." 
 
 Before, however, this petition could have effect, the illustrious 
 
 * " Quern novimus esse hominem virtutibus clarum, in sacra doctrina 
 eruditum et in gradibus singulis bomim habentem testimonium," etc. — Ex 
 Archiv. S. Isid. 
 
Chap. XIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 347 
 
 archbishop of Tuara, Dr. Conry, had passed to the reward of 
 his labours; and, without delay, the Sacred Congregation fixed 
 on Dr. O'Queely as a person worthy to be his successor in that 
 high dignity. He was appointed archbishop of Tuam on 9th 
 April, 1630, and on the following 10th of October was conse- 
 crated in a private chapel of Galway, by Dr. Thomas Walsh, 
 of Cashel, assisted by the bishops of Elphin, Limerick, and 
 Kilmore* As his zeal and virtues, during his early career, 
 merited for him the confidence of the Holy See, so did his 
 subsequent untiring labours, during his episcopate, fully justify 
 the commendations of Dr. Fleming and the other bishops of 
 Ireland. He ended his life as a worthy pastor, sacrificing him- 
 self for his flock, being slain by the enemies of the Catholic 
 faith, in November, 1645. His last words were: "I have 
 hitherto devoted all my energies to the defence of the Catholic 
 religion, and I now willingly lay down my life for the same."t 
 
 In the beginning of September, 1626, the see of Ferns was 
 deprived of its ordinary, by the death of Daniel O'Drohen, 
 who for many years had governed it as vicar-apostolic. The 
 clergy petitioned to have father John de Cruce, a Dominican, 
 appointed as his successor; and Dr. Fleming, when transmitting 
 their petition to Rome, accompanied it with the following 
 letter, which presents some interesting particulars connected 
 with that ancient see: — 
 
 "Although there are many things connected with this afflicted 
 kingdom which should be mentioned to your excellency, I must pass 
 over them for the present ; one matter only, which is of more imme- 
 diate necessity, will I now treat of. The diocese which is suffragan to 
 this metropolitical see, became vacant two months ago, by the death of 
 
 * Ex Auth. Orig. Thomae Valesii, archiep. Cassalensis dat. die diet.: 
 " assisteutibus Eichardo Limericensi, Boetio Efphinensi, et Eugenio Kil- 
 morensi." 
 
 t Letter of Rinnucini, 20th Nov. 1645. Dr. O'Queely, before his appoint- 
 ment as vicar-apostolic of Killaloe, held a rich benefice in France. For an 
 account of his zealous labours as archbishop of Tuam, see letter of Dr. 
 O'Dwyer to Sac. Cong, and other documents, in Additional Notes to Memoir 
 of Oliver Plunket, pp. 384-389. For his death, see Sketch of the Puritans 
 in Ireland, part iii. p. 158. The nuncio thus concludes his narrative 
 regarding this great bishop : " Verily, he has closed his career gloriously, aud 
 won for himself in heaven a reward commensurate with his labours." — 
 Nunziatura, p. 70. 
 
348 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 the rev. Daniel O'Drohen, otherwise known as James Walsh ; and 
 the clergy of the diocese having deliberated on the choice of a -worthy 
 successor, presented to me the name of father John de Cruce, otherwise 
 Moechoe,* of the order of preachers, assigning as their motive for this 
 choice, that the said father John was descended from some of the 
 highest nobility of the kingdom, being of singular learning and probity 
 of life, and that he, moreover, is well acquainted with the two 
 languages — English and Irish — being an eloquent preacher in both of 
 them, as daily experience proves. This knowledge of both languages 
 is most essential in the bishop of that diocese, for there are very many 
 of its inhabitants who cannot speak one word of English, whilst there 
 are others who know no other than the English language. Wherefore, I 
 beseech your excellency to attend to the necessities and to the wishes 
 of this flock, by appointing father John de Cruce to its episcopal 
 charge. In my opinion, there is no other more worthy of it. Bat if, 
 in the present circumstances, this dignity cannot be hoped for, I pray 
 your excellency to have him at least appointed vicar-apostolic of that 
 see. 
 
 " Dublin, 19th November, 1626. 
 
 " Fa. Thomas Fleming, 
 "Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland." 
 
 Owing to this vigilant watchfulness of Dr. Fleming and the 
 other bishops of Ireland, at this transition period of our Irish 
 Church, we are indebted, under Providence, for an unbroken 
 succession of chief pastors, who, in season and out of season, 
 kept alive the lamp of faith in our island. The English 
 government laboured, at the same time, to sow dissensions 
 amongst the Catholics, and to have foreign bishops introduced 
 to the Irish sees. The Irish hierarchy, however, bound together 
 in the closest bonds of religious concord, manfully resisted 
 these encroachments; and the array of prelates who were suc- 
 cessively nominated to each vacant see, might claim comparison 
 with the brightest ornaments of Christendom. 
 
 A letter written by O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, in defence of 
 the privileges of the Irish Church, is deserving of attention. 
 It is dated from Madrid, the llth of October, 1639: — 
 
 " The fervent and pious zeal with which, as I am well aware, the 
 Sacred Congregation labours to promote the welfare of the persecuted 
 
 * The name is thus given by the Italian copyist ; perhaps the original name 
 was Roche. 
 
Chap. XIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 349 
 
 and Catholic kingdom of Ireland, admonishes me to return such thanks 
 as I am unable to give expression to. Yet I venture to earnestly pray 
 the Holy See to continue that zealous solicitude, and thus prove to the 
 whole world the interest with which it regards our efforts in defence 
 of the Catholic faith. The late schemes of some designing persons, 
 who strained every nerve to be numbered amongst the prelates of this 
 kingdom, through the influence of the queen of England, were proved 
 to be iniquitous ; and hence the Holy See and the Sacred Congrega- 
 tion unhesitatingly rejected their unjust pretensions, so manifestly pre- 
 judicial to the interests of our country. Indeed, had it been otherwise, 
 I know not what hope the Catholics of Ireland could any longer place 
 in the favour and assistance of the Holy See, on whose protection they 
 have ever relied, and which we all now suppliantly approach, humbly 
 praying that it may allow no innovations to be made at the solicitation 
 of the queen of England, or of any others, as regards the appointment 
 of bishops to our vacant sees." 
 
 A few years later, on 14tli March, 1641, in the palace of 
 cardinal Spada, was held a private congregation, composed of 
 his eminence and the cardinals Pamphili and Barberini, together 
 with the secretaries of the Dataria and Propaganda, at which 
 the names of five bishops were approved of, to be presented to 
 the Holy Father for the then vacant sees, of Ireland. 
 
 " In the first place," thus runs the note of the Sacred Congregation, 
 "cardinal Barberini, protector of Ireland, having commemorated the 
 attestations of the four archbishops of Ireland, as also of the bishop 
 of Elphin, and of the vicars-apostolic of Achonry and Killala, as to 
 the noble birth, learning, sanctity of life, prudence, and distinguished 
 merit in preaching the word of God, of rev. John de Burgo, of the 
 Clanrickard family, doctor of sacred theology, prothonotary- apostolic 
 and vicar-apostolic of the see of Clonfert, and, moreover, his labours 
 happily employed during many years in the government of that see, 
 the congregation was of opinion, that should it be pleasing to the Holy 
 Father, the said John de Burgo might be advanced to the see of Clon- 
 fert, now vacant for many years. 
 
 2. " The same cardinal proposed the attestation of the archbishop of 
 Tuam, and of the bishop of Elphin, as to the nobility, integrity of life, 
 gravity of deportment, varied condition, and skill in the management 
 of affairs, of father Ludovic Dillon, of the order of Franciscan Obser- 
 vants, who is son of viscount Dillon, and laudably discharged many 
 commissions in his own country and in foreign parts; wherefore, the 
 congregation deemed him a fit person to be proposed to the Holy Father 
 for the see of Achonry. 
 
 3. "The cardinal protector having also presented the attestation of the 
 
350 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 nuncio at Paris, and of Falconieri, whilst nuncio in Belgium, as also of 
 the archbishop of Dublin, and of the bishops of Raphoe and Kildare, as 
 to the noble extraction, learning, holy life, and zealous labours, during 
 many years, with abundant spiritual fruit, of father Edmund Dempsey, 
 provincial of the Dominican order in Ireland, and also the donation of 
 1,800 ducats, yielding an annual sum of 100 ducats, made by Terence 
 Dempsey, baron and viscount of Clamalyre, in favour of the said 
 Edmund, on his nomination to the episcopal dignity ; the congregation 
 deemed it expedient, should it so seem to the Holy Father, that the 
 said Edmund Dempsey should be advanced to the see of Leighlin, which 
 is suffragan to the metropolitical see of Dublin, and has been vacant 
 for many years. 
 
 4. " The same cardinal proposed the letters of the archbishop of 
 Armagh, primate of Ireland, sent to his agent in the Roman court, and 
 in which, in his own name, as well as in that of the bishops of Meath 
 and Kilmore, he attests that Emer Matthews, vicar-apostolic of Glogher, 
 who, for four years, has well administered that church, is worthy of 
 being advanced to the episcopal dignity. The congregation resolved, 
 should it be pleasing to his Holiness, that Emer Matthews be appointed 
 bishop of the united dioceses of Down and Connor, vacant since the 
 demise of Bonaventure Magennis, of holy memory. 
 
 5. " He, moreover, presented the attestations of the archbishop of 
 Cashel, and the bishops of Cork, Limerick, and Emly, who give testi- 
 mony that their sentiments are shared by the aixhbishop of Dublin, 
 and by the clergy and people of the united dioces of Ardfert and 
 Aghadoe, suffragan to the archbishop of Cashel, as to the learning, 
 purity of morals, integrity of life, noble birth, and indefatigable labours, 
 for about thirty years, in the government of the same clergy and people, 
 of the rev. Richard Conald, doctor of Sacred Theology, prothonotary 
 and vicar-apostolic of the said united dioceses : the Congregation 
 decreed, should it seem well to the Holy Father, that the aforesaid 
 Richard be advanced to the episcopal charge of these united sees, now 
 vacant for many years." 
 
 The reader may expect a few remarks as to the prelates thus 
 recommended by the archbishop of Dublin: — John de Burgo, 
 as we learn from Lynch, was remarkable, whilst bishop of 
 Clonfert, for singular probity, boundless hospitality, and gene- 
 rosity to the poor. The nuncio Rinnucini styles him, on 1st 
 January, 1646, "a man of mature judgment and most upright 
 intentions." During the first tumults of the Revolution, ho 
 exerted himself most strenuously to save the lives and proper- 
 ties of the English Protestants ; and amongst the various plans 
 which he formed of protection for them, it is recorded that he 
 
Chap. XIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 351 
 
 advised his clergy to conceal them under the very altars. When, 
 subsequently, divisions took root in the Confederation, family 
 bias made him take part with the earl of Clanrickard and the 
 Ormondists ; but his subsequent sufferings and exile sufficiently 
 expiated any errors into which he may have fallen. During 
 the Cromwellian devastation, he fled to the mountainous districts 
 of Connemara; but being at length arrested, he was at first con- 
 fined in a dreary dungeon, and subsequently compelled to dig 
 with a spade for his daily support.* 
 
 Edmund O'Dempsey, though a member of the Dominican 
 order, almost escaped the notice of the learned author of the 
 Hibernia Dominicana. Father O'Dempsey was a native of 
 Leinster, and pursued his early studies at Douay and Louvain. 
 He read his theological course, with great distinction, at Alcala, 
 and, in 1624, entered on the Irish mission, where he incessantly 
 laboured, with abundant fruit, in promoting the salvation of souls. 
 In 1635, he was unanimously chosen provincial of the order in 
 Ireland, and in that office gave frequent proofs of consummate 
 prudence, and zeal for the glory of God. On the death of Dr. 
 John Roche, bishop of Ferns, many of the clergy petitioned to 
 have Dr. O'Dempsey selected as their bishop ;| but that diocese 
 was destined to be for some time destitute of a chief pastor,^ and 
 the worthy Dominican continued his zealous career, making the 
 diocese of Leighlin the special theatre of his missionary labours. 
 In 1637, the clergy of Leighlin petitioned to have him appointed 
 bishop of their see; and Dr. Rock M'Geoghegan, bishop of 
 Kildare, seconding their petition, writes, that he was a religious 
 of holy and irreproachable life, renowned as a preacher of the 
 word "of God, and for many years had laboured throughout all 
 Ireland, but especially in the diocese of Leighlin, in promoting 
 the welfare of souls, and converting heretics to the Catholic 
 faith. As the poverty of some of the dioceses was a difficulty 
 
 * De Burgo was translated from Clonfert to Tuam in Congregation of 26th 
 January, 1647. He died on Holy Thursday, 1667. 
 
 t In their petition, in 1636, they describe him as " Predicatore per dodici 
 anni in Ibernia : di eta di quaranta anni : ed i Padri nelT ultimo eapitolo 
 l'elessero di oomun consenso per Provinciale del Regno d'lbernia. " 
 
 J During the vacancy, the see of Ferns was governed by rev. William 
 Devereux, who was elected vicar-capitular by the clergy, and confirmed as 
 such by Dr. Fleming, archbishop of Dublin, in 1630. 
 
 2 A 
 
352 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 urged by the enemies of the Irish Church to impede the appoint- 
 ment of bishops to the vacant sees, the father of our good 
 Dominican, viscount of Clanmalure,* endowed him with a 
 sufficient patrimony for those times, for maintaining the due 
 decorum of the episcopal office.t Being remarkable for his 
 devotion to the Holy See, as well as for his meekness and 
 clemency,! he was one of those to whom faculty was delegated 
 to absolve from the censures of the nuncio. He suffered 
 many privations with great fortitude, during his exile § at 
 Finisterre, in Galicia, and, in 1659, happily closed his earthly 
 career. 
 
 As regards the bishop of Ardfert, Dr. Richard Conald, or 
 Connell, he was repeatedly presented to the Holy See by the 
 Irish bishops; even as early as 1626, the assembly in Drogheda 
 solicited his appointment. A letter, however, of Malachy 
 O'Queely, archbishop of Tuam, of whose merits we have spoken 
 above, will supply sufficient information for our present purpose. 
 " The virtues and merits (he thus writes to the secretary of the 
 Sacred Congregation, on 6th Oct. 1640) of the venerable man, 
 rev. Richard Conald, doctor in sacred theology, prothonotary- 
 apostolic, and also, by apostolic appointment, vicar-general and 
 ordinary of the diocese of Ardfert for the last twenty-six years, 
 impel me to request a favour from your excellency : for, the afore- 
 said Richard has been nominated by the archbishop of Cashel, 
 his metropolitan, and by the other suffragan bishops, to fill the 
 vacant see of Ardfert; and, indeed, the maturity of his years, 
 the integrity of his life, the sanctity of his morality and conduct, 
 his literary acquirements, and his long-tried experience in the 
 guidance of the faithful, are so eminent, that no prudent person 
 can entertain a doubt of his fitness for that high dignity. 
 Wherefore I affectionately intreat your excellency to use all the 
 influence in your power, that this worthy man may be promoted 
 
 * The secretary of Owen Roe O'Neill writes : — "At this period (1642-3) 
 was consecrated Edmond Dempsey, a Dominican, son of Turlough, lord of 
 Clannialire, bishop of Leighlin, and at the same time Eneas (should be Heber) 
 M'Mahon, bishop of Clogher, having had the see of Down and Connor these 
 two years past, though not consecrated till now, ceding the former two united 
 for this only of Clogher." — An Aphorismical Reflection, etc. Libr. T.C.D. 
 
 t Epist. Kildarensis, 14th Feb. 1637- t Note of Sac. Cong, in 1655. 
 
 § Petition of 15th Jan. 1658. 
 
Chap. XIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 353 
 
 to the episcopal administration of that see." Throughout the 
 eventful succeeding years, he constantly clung to the party of 
 the nuncio Rinnucini ; and he often made it his boast, that he 
 had been the first bishop to welcome the papal representative 
 to the Irish shores.* 
 
 It is not necessary to add any remarks as to the other two 
 bishops whose names are recorded in the note of the Congrega- 
 tion which we have cited. Dr. M'Mahon is well known to 
 Irish readers ; and before the close of this chapter, we shall have 
 occasion to commemorate a letter written by Dr. Fleming, and 
 other bishops, to the Holy See, to acquaint it with the death of 
 Dr. Etner M'Mahon, an event which plunged the whole nation 
 , in grief and consternation. 
 
 The published records of that age present few details as to 
 the remaining prelate, Dr. Lewis Dillon. The archbishop of 
 Tuam and the bishop of Elphin, petitioning for his nomination, 
 on the 9th December, 1639, state that they do so in order " to 
 promote the welfare of the faithful in this afflicted country and 
 province, where all things are now under the hand of the 
 despoiler, and the inhabitants are being expelled from their 
 hereditary lands and possessions." Father Dillon is then de- 
 scribed by them as a Franciscan, who had laudably discharged 
 many offices in his order; that he was connected by consan- 
 guinity with all the nobility of the province, and especially 
 with those of the diocese of Achonry ; that during the past 
 eight years, they themselves had repeatedly extolled to the Holy 
 See his merits and virtues ; and that all the clergy and people 
 of Achonry were of one accord in anxiously soliciting Rome 
 to grant him to them as their chief pastor. Dr. Dillon is 
 not commemorated in any of the printed lists of our Irish 
 bishops: his episcopate was short; and we learn from Invernizi 
 that, in 1645, the see of Achonry was widowed of its venerated 
 pastor. 
 
 During the eventful nunciature of Rinnucini, Dr. Fleming 
 being exiled from his see, and weighed down by inGrmities and 
 
 * In the MS. narrative from which these particulars are gleaned, it is stated 
 that the nuncio first landed at Kilmakollog, where he was met by Dr. Conald, 
 and thence proceeded to Macroom. 
 
354 DK. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 care, solicited the Holy Father to grant him a coadjutor, in the 
 person of Dr. Edward Tyrrell, who had studied in Paris, and 
 during the first years of the Confederation had taken an active 
 part in their deliberations. The nuncio, however, more than 
 once protested against the appointment of a coadjutor, declaring 
 that the see of Dublin was, for the present, wholly devastated by 
 the Puritans, and that no bishop, no matter how active, could 
 reside there ; and that, moreover, the archbishop himself was yet 
 far from being unequal to the task of government. 
 
 The last letter connected with the appointment of bishops to 
 the vacant sees, is dated " from the place of our refuge, the 18th 
 of December, 1650," and bears the names of Hugh, archbishop 
 of Armagh; fr. Thomas, archbishop of Dublin; Walter, bishop 
 of Clonfert ; fr. Anthony, bishop of Clonmacnoise ; Robert, bishop 
 of Cork and Cloyne. This letter regards the appointment of a 
 successor to the martyred bishop of Clogher, and will be read 
 with painful interest by those who are acquainted with the 
 chivalrous heroism of Heber M'Mahon: — 
 
 " During the past summer, the most reverend bishop of Clogher, to 
 our irreparable loss, fell into the hands of the enemy. After many 
 wounds and imprisonment, they beheaded him about the middle of 
 autumn, and fixed his head on a spike at the gate of Euniskillen, where, 
 in their hatred to religion, it still remains. The whole province feels 
 the shock, and mourns his decease, and vehemently desires that, as far 
 as possible, his place may be filled up. Wherefore, all turn their eyes 
 towards father Thomas Makiernan, ex-provincial of the Franciscan 
 Observants, a distinguished theologian and preacher, who is known and 
 renowned throughout the whole kingdom for his constancy in defending 
 the nuncio's cause, and for the imprisonment he endured in conse- 
 quence ; wherefore, he is much esteemed and extolled by all true lovers 
 of the Catholic religion ; and, without doubt, the encomiums of his 
 fortitude and constancy have ere this reached the ears of your ex- 
 cellency. Hence it is the desire of all, that, with the approbation of 
 the Holy See, the vacant see of Clogher, now weeping in its widow- 
 hood, may again rejoice in the appointment of such a man to its epis- 
 copal charge." 
 
 This father Thomas Kiernan had, twenty years before, 
 governed the diocese of Clogher as vicar-apostolic, and it was 
 on his resigning that dignity, to enter the Franciscan order, that 
 
Chap. XIV.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 355 
 
 Heber M'Mahon was appointed to the government of that see. 
 He again seems to have opposed his advancement to any eccle- 
 siastical dignity; and before the close of the following year, 
 Philip Grolly, nephew of the deceased bishop, was appointed 
 vicar-apostolic of Clogher. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DR. FLEMING LABOURS TO PROMOTE THE STUDY OP IRISH 
 LITERATURE. 
 
 Writers on Irish History in Seventeenth Century encouraged by Dr. Fleming. — 
 Colgan, Wadding. — Letter of Dr. Walsh, Archbishop of Oashel. — Conjec- 
 ture regarding Usher. — Dr. Pwrothe's Hierographics and Michael O'Clery 
 
 Approbation of Martyrology of Donegal by Dr. Fleming. — Father Stephen 
 White. 
 
 Few countries can present a brighter array of glorious historic 
 names, than those which shed lustre on our island during the 
 first half of the seventeenth century. Besides the Four Masters, 
 whose Annals enriched Ireland with a record of which few 
 nations can boast, Messingham in Paris, Colgan and Fleming) 
 and a host of others, in Louvain, Wadding and his fellow- 
 labourers in Rome, David Roothe, the learned bishop of Ossory, 
 Lynch, White, Keating, MacFirbiss, and many others in our 
 own country, unceasingly explored the ancient monuments of 
 our history, and won for themselves an undying fame. Between 
 all these great men there existed a bond of the closest friendship, 
 by which they stimulated and aided each other in their literary 
 toils ; and amongst their chief patrons must be numbered Dr. 
 Thomas Fleming, our archbishop of Dublin. 
 
 Colgan, in the dedication to the second volume of his 
 immortal work, the Acta Sanctorum, published in 1647, extols 
 the zeal of Dr. Fleming in promoting the study of the antiqui- 
 ties of Ireland, and comiSiemorates how the archbishop, though 
 then an exile from his own diocese, and occupied with a thou- 
 sand cares, yet laboured indefatigably in exploring the ancient 
 
356 DE. THOMAS FLEMING. [CHAP. XIV. 
 
 records of our country, and took on himself the burden of the 
 publication of that work. Thus are we indebted to his munifi- 
 cence for that most valuable of all the treatises on the sainted 
 patrons of our Irish Church. 
 
 " I would reckon," writes Colgan, " as one of the last motives 
 for dedicating this work to your grace (were it not that the 
 circumstances of the times, and the difficulties which accompany 
 it, render it a truly great one), that it was your grace who sup- 
 plied the means for publishing it; and, what is still more, that 
 I owe to your industry in exploring books and other ancient 
 monuments, my being able to present this volume, duly illus- 
 trated, to the public. And, indeed, on this head, great are my 
 obligations to your grace, who, forsooth, amidst the present 
 calamities of war, and surrounded by so many other necessities, 
 and being an exile from your diocese, have not only defrayed 
 the necessary expense, but have, moreover, supplied the mate- 
 rials to illustrate my work." 
 
 It was not Colgan alone that thus experienced the co-opera- 
 tion and aiding hand of our archbishop ; the illustrious Luke 
 Wadding looked to the same source for guidance and assistance. 
 About the year 1628, many of the Irish prelates earnestly urged 
 that great annalist to compile the history of our early Church ; 
 and from his correspondence at the time, we learn that he joy- 
 fully embraced the task, and undertook to compile an Historia 
 Sacra Hibernise. Some of the suggestions made to him by Dr. 
 Fleming and his other correspondents, will serve to throw light 
 on the eager devotedness with which the study of our ancient 
 records was then pursued in our island. 
 
 On the 23rd of September, 1629, Dr. Fleming wrote to con- 
 gratulate him on the new volume of the Annals of the Franciscan 
 Order, which had been just published, and adds: "I should 
 wish that your reverence would be pleased to begin, with all 
 convenient haste, the History of Ireland ; and in regard that fr. 
 Stronge [cannot] there help you with some things happening 
 before the Register of St. Gregory, your reverence might begin 
 yours since the Register.* I will do what I can to get you some 
 
 * We give the text as it is in the original : some words, however, seem to have 
 been omitted. As the Vatican records commenced with the Register of Pone 
 
Chap. XIV.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 357 
 
 antiquities." In a preceding letter he had already written : " I 
 will not fail to labour the best I can to get what antiquities I 
 may; for your most grateful and most esteemed works, to your 
 extraordinary credit and everlasting reward, are so much es- 
 teemed and desired."* 
 
 The archbishop of Cashel also writes to the same great annalist, 
 giving details as to the materials for ancient Irish history: 
 " My friend has made a collection of ancient records that he got 
 up and down — I mean the very original registers of the church 
 of Ardmagh,t and showed them to me; and he had them fairly 
 bound, divided into six several tomes, some of them bigger than 
 the tome of your Annals. There is to be found great antiquity 
 of this kingdom, and I can borrow them of him.'t The friend 
 to whom Dr. Walsh, here alludes, is styled in another letter, 
 " Jacobus de Turrecremata." Whether this was merely a con- 
 ventional designation, concealing the real name of the successful 
 explorer of the mine of our country's monuments, we shall not 
 venture to affirm ; but we strongly suspect that he was no other 
 than the famous Usher, who, whilst he in public life betrayed 
 such bigotry, may perhaps have privately cherished an intimate 
 friendship with the illustrious archbishop of Cashel. 
 
 The earliest document we have met with, referring to this 
 projected work of Wadding, is the following letter of the same 
 archbishop. It is dated from Dublin, 27th November, 1628: — 
 
 " Deak Cousin, — For what helps of antiquity of our country you 
 would have hence sent to you, I will do my best endeavours. I have a 
 worthy friend, I mean Jacobus de Turrecremata, who hath promised to 
 help me very much for the work of Historia Ecclesiastica Hi hernias, 
 saltern usque ad tempora Gregorii Papas Septimi (Ecclesiastical History 
 of Ireland, at least to the time of Pope Gregory VII.). His opinion 
 is, that you should begin to write your said history from the time of 
 the said Gregory VII., or thereabouts, until our own times ; whereas 
 
 Gregory, the Irish bishops requested Wadding to write the History of Ireland 
 subsequent to that period, whilst, in the meantime, the necessary documents 
 might be collected in Ireland for the earlier history. 
 
 * Letter of 26th Aug. 1629. 
 
 T It is thus that Dr. Walsh writes the name of the primatial see. In many 
 of the contemporary Latin documents, however, sent from Ireland to Rome, 
 it is written Armachanus. 
 
 t Letter of Dr. Walsh, from Dublin, to Luke Wadding, 15th March, 1629. 
 
358 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIV. 
 
 the Roman Register, having begun in Gregory's time,* you may find in 
 the Register all that may concern our country since that time, but not 
 before; and for anything before Gregory VII., you shall be better 
 helped here than there. I will spare no charges or labour in the col- 
 lecting or transcribing of what you will have me do here. Write to 
 Heidelberg, to Mr. Darcy, to acquaint you or me of what books were 
 left there of ancient manuscripts, in their house or elsewhere, and chiefly 
 of the Hebrew or Greek Bible. I understand the third tome of your 
 Annals is at the print. I hope you will make a parenthesis between it 
 and the fourth. I mean that the next your study shall be only of our 
 country's affairs, wherein you shall much oblige your country, observing 
 the former style of your Annals." 
 
 Another of the correspondents of Luke Wadding was rev. 
 Thomas Messingham, the justly celebrated author of the Flori- 
 legium Sanctorum Hibernia5,t who, especially in his letter of 
 July, 1630, gives many details as to the labours of Dr. Roothe, 
 in regard to our Irish history. 
 
 " The notes," he says, " which I have for the History of Ireland, are 
 very few. His lordship of Ossory wrote unto me, that if your paternity 
 would signify unto him what particular notes or treatises you would 
 have, that he can afford, he will send them to you. The treatise which 
 he means to send me shortly is thus entitled : — 
 
 Hierographise sacrse insula? Hibernorum 
 
 lineamenta adumbrata 
 
 sive 
 
 Arrabo et praegustus 
 
 Tripartita? descriptions, Ecclesise, Regni et gentis 
 
 Hibernorum, etc. 
 
 Industria et studio Analecta? et Anagnosta? Catholici 
 
 hoc est 
 
 Collectore et Degestore Philadelpho 
 
 etc. etc. 
 
 He writes, also, that his pastoral employments are so great, that were it 
 not for the importunity of friends, he would leave the said work to 
 your paternity and others to be finished. Our clergy sent agents to the 
 queen of England, to pray her majesty to obtain of the king their former 
 liberty or connivance of religion, which I fear will hardly be granted. 
 
 * The regular and almost uninterrupted series of the Papal Register com- 
 mences with Innocent III. and consists of two thousand and sixteen volumes, 
 down to the period of St. Pius V. Of the pontificates before Innocent III. 
 there are only preserved imperfect Registers of St. Gregory the Great, John 
 VIII. and Gregory VII. 
 
 t It was published in Paris in 1624. 
 
Chap. XIV.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 359 
 
 They are to have a parliament at Michaelmas : God grant that it be for 
 their good. With best wishes to your paternity, I rest," etc. 
 
 What a loss to our literature that the Hierographia Sacra, 
 here referred to, was not published by the learned bishop of 
 Ossory. It is manifest, that it was nearly complete when the 
 above letter was written ; and perhaps it may be yet preserved 
 in manuscript in some of our national archives. In his letters 
 to Luke Wadding, Dr. Roothe more than once speaks of the 
 necessity of discriminating between the truthful facts of the 
 earlier hagiologists of Ireland, and the exaggerated colouring 
 which they often added to the historical narrative. We shall 
 give but one extract from these letters, which will suffice to 
 present a specimen of the treasures of our ancient literature 
 which were even then preserved, and which are now, alas ! 
 irreparably lost: "I have the Autographum of the blessed 
 martyr, primate C'reagh's History and Etymological Deductions 
 of the Irish Language out of the Hebrew, etc., which I do much 
 value, as being the work of so worthy a man." 
 
 Michael O'Clery was an humble lay brother of the order of 
 St. Francis. To his family had belonged, for centuries, the 
 privilege of recording the deeds of the princely family of 
 O'Donnell; and now that the sun had set over the fair territory 
 of Tirconnell, a wider field of historic labour opened for the 
 hereditary antiquarian of Kilbarran.* He spent four years, by 
 command of his superiors, in gathering together the Acts of the 
 Saints of Ireland, and, in 1630, completed the Martyrology of 
 Donegal, as well as the equally important work of the Genea- 
 logies of the Saints of Ireland. His address to the reader, in 
 the last-named treatise, thus begins: — 
 
 "What true children are there that would not feel pity and distress 
 at seeing or hearing of their excellent mother and nurse being placed 
 in a condition of indignity and contempt, of dishonour and contumely, 
 without making a visit to her to bring her solace and happiness, and 
 to give her assistance and relief ? 
 
 * The castle and lands of Kilbarran, near Ballyshannon, were the heredi- 
 tary possession o£ the O'Clerys. Petrie describes the ruins of this castle as 
 "seated on a lofty, precipitous, and nearly insulated cliff, exposed to the 
 storms and billows of the western ocean." 
 
3(30 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chat. XIV. 
 
 " Upon its having been observed by certain parties of the Observant 
 order of St. Francis, that the holiness and righteousness of their mother 
 and nurse, Erin, had perceptibly diminished, for not having the lives, 
 wonders, and miracles of her saints disseminated within her, nor yet 
 made known in other kingdoms, the counsel they adopted was to send 
 into Erin (from Louvain) a poor friar of their own order, Michael 
 O'Clery, a chronicler by descent and education, in order to collect and 
 bring into one place all the hooks of authority in which he could dis- 
 cover anything that related to the sanctity of her saints, with their 
 pedigrees and genealogies. On the arrival of the aforesaid Michael, 
 he searched through every part of Erin in which he had heard there 
 was a good, or even a bad, Gaelic manuscript ; so that he spent four 
 full years in transcribing and procuring the matters that related to the 
 saints of Ireland."* 
 
 One of the chief patrons of this great chronicler, was Dr. 
 Thomas Fleming; and when his works were corrected and 
 prepared for publication, they bore with them the sanction of 
 this illustrious archbishop. Mr. Bindon has already made 
 known, from the manuscripts of Brussels, how, in sanctioning 
 the Martyrology of Donegal, the name of Dr. Thomas Fleming,t 
 archbishop of Dublin and primate of Ireland, was associated 
 with those of Malachy, archbishop of Tuam, Boetius, bishop of 
 Elphin, and Rock, bishop of Kildare.J 
 
 From the original MS. of the Genealogies of the Irish Saints, 
 we are enabled to present a similar sanction, given by our 
 archbishop to that important work : — 
 
 " Geuealogias regum et sanctorum HiberniǤ siugulari industria 
 collegit frater Michael Clery, laicus ordinis Sancti Francisci de Obser- 
 
 * O'Curry, Lectures, p. 165. 
 
 t The approbation of the archbishop is given in the following words : — 
 " Martyrologinm Sanctorum Hibernise a fratre Michaele Clery laico ord. S. 
 Francisci de observ- historico solertissimo concinnatum, plurimi, iique doctissimi 
 approbarunt, quorum judicio nos multum, ut par est, deferentes, illud etiam 
 nostro testimonio ad Dei et sanctorum honoreni cornprobare duximus. Datum 
 KildariaB, 6 Februarii, an. 1636." — Martyrology of Donegal, etc. Dublin, 
 1864, p. liv. 
 
 J Paper on MS. relating to Ireland, read by Samuel Bindon, Esq. before 
 the Eoyal Irish Academy, 24th May, 1S47. By a characteristic blunder he 
 translates Jr. Eochus Kildarcnsis, "Father Boche of Kildare" (p. 15). It is 
 the signature of Dr. Bock M'Geoghegan, O.S.D. bishop of Kildare, whom 
 we mentioned in the last chapter. 
 
 § Ex Archiv. S. Isid. in Urbe. The bishops of Elphin and Kildare, and the 
 archbishop of Tuam, give also their approbation. The bishop of Kildare gives 
 
Cll.vr. XIV.] DR. T1I0SIAS FLEMING. 361 
 
 vantia, prout fidern faciunt nostrates antiquarii, quorum authoritate 
 freti opus tain insigne dignum quod edijur judicamus. 
 "Actum Dubliuii, 6 Februarii, 1636. 
 
 " Fr. Thomas Fleming, 
 " Archiepus. Dublinensis, Hibernisa Primas." 
 
 The same Franciscan lay brother was the chief compiler of 
 the great work, commonly known as the Annals of the Four 
 Masters, which, in 1851, found a competent editor and trans- 
 lator in the learned O'Donovan. It was in 1626 that fr. Michael 
 O'Clery set out from Louvain on his literary mission. During 
 ten years he laboured unceasingly, " collecting all the best and 
 most copious books of annals that he could find throughout all 
 Ireland." In 1636 he completed his task, and the letter and 
 seal of Dr. Fleming attested the importance of the work he had 
 achieved, and the fidelity with which he had linked together 
 the many records of our eventful history. 
 
 Father Stephen White, S.J., as early as the year 1611, 
 applied himself " to open that rich mine of Irish literature on 
 the continent, which has ever since yielded such valuable 
 returns, and still continues unexhausted."* He held, for many 
 years, high and responsible offices in Spain and Germany; and 
 it is deserving of remark, that he was the master of novices 
 who trained to perfection the gjeafc saint who shed such lustre 
 on the Jesuit order, the blessed Vlaver. All the continental 
 writers on Irish antiquities in the seventeenth century, gratefully 
 acknowledge their obligations to the untiring industry of father 
 White. He prepared many works for the press, but in a letter 
 to Rome, in 1640, lamented that he could find no printer to 
 run the risk of publishing them. What, however, no printer 
 would undertake, the archbishop of Dublin and the other 
 bishops of Ireland gladly assumed, soliciting, forsooth, the 
 
 it a different title. " De hoc libro, " lie says, ' ' qui vocatur genealcgia sanctorum 
 ao da ortu serie ac successiom Regum Eybernim." The archbishop of Tuam 
 describes it in a similar manner. For much interesting matter connected 
 with this treatise, see Curry, loc. cifc. p. 162, seqq. The approbation given by 
 Dr. Fleming to the Genealogy, etc. is dated Dublin, 6th Feb. 1636 ; the ap- 
 probation given to the Martyrology of Donegal, is dated Kildare, the same 
 day. Probably there is a mistake in one of the dates. 
 
 * See paper of rev. Dr. Reeves, read before the Royal Irish Academy, Nov. 
 30th, 1861. 
 
362 DE. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XIV. 
 
 publication of his treatises on Ireland, and offering to defray all 
 the expenses that might attend such a task. The superior of the 
 Irish Jesuits acquaints us with this important fact, in a letter 
 addressed to the general of the society, from Kilkenny, the 10th 
 June, 1646 :— 
 
 " I have given a commission to four of our fathers to diligently 
 examine the works of fr. Stephen White, and to forward their judg- 
 ment to your paternity, conformably to the orders you have recently 
 given. His works, however, are numerous, and these fathers live in 
 places very distant from each other ; at the same time, the most 
 reverend bishops, who are ready to defray the expenses of the printing, 
 as also the supreme council, very earnestly insist that a certain work 
 of his, De Sanctis et Antiquitate Hibernife, should be sent to the press 
 without delay. I find it almost impossible to resist their reasonable 
 demand, the more so, as many of them have already perused the 
 manuscript itself, and pronounced it not only worthy of being 
 printed, but also highly necessary for the credit and interest of this 
 kingdom."* 
 
 However, the golden opportunity was lost, and the dissen- 
 sions which soon after sprung up in the bosom of the Confede- 
 ration, blasted every hope of seeing the history of our island 
 enriched with the contributions of one of its most gifted 
 sons. 
 
 * " Commiai quatuor e nostris ut diligenter examinarent opera P. Stephani 
 Viti, eorumque de iis judicium ad Patemitatem Vestram juxta ea quae suis 
 litteris nuper prEescripsit, transmitterent : . . . nihilominus Pievmi. Episcopi, 
 qui parati sunt impressionis expensas solvere," etc. — Ex Archiv. Dom. Prof. 
 Komee. 
 
Chap. XV] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 363 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 MISSIONS OF THE FRANCISCAN FATHERS IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 Paul V. sends some Franciscan Misssionaries to Scotland. — Dr. Fleming suc- 
 ceeds Dr. Lombard in the charge of the Scotch Mission, and gives an 
 account of it— Father Ward's Relatio of his Mission to Scotland. — Con- 
 version of many Heretics. — Father Patrick Hogarty's Letter. — Father 
 Scarampo's Report. 
 
 In the month of December, 1618, pope Paul V. selected three 
 Franciscan fathers, from the Irish college of Louvain, to culti- 
 vate the vineyard of Scotland, which for many years had been 
 overrun with heresy, and had become a prey to the enemies of 
 God. Other Irish priests had been from time to time called to the 
 same mission in the early part of the century, through the care 
 of Peter Lombard, archbishop of Armagh, who, with the title of 
 primate of all Ireland, by authority of the Holy See united also 
 that of primate of Scotland.* To secure, however, an uninter- 
 rupted supply of fervent missioners, the religious of St. Francis 
 now received it in special charge ; and on the 4th January, 1619, 
 fathers Edmund Cana and Patrick Brady, with the lay brother 
 John Stewart,f set out from the convent of Louvain, to brave 
 the perils of persecution in that necessitous* 1 mission. After 
 two years' incessant labour, father Edmund was seized by the 
 Scotch heretics and thrown into a filthy prison, whence, after a 
 long confinement, he was sent into banishment. The other two 
 
 * In a petition presented to the Holy Father, in 1618, Peter Lombard writes 
 that the archbishop of Armagh " est primas totius Hibernise et erat aliquando 
 etiam Scotise, et est antiquissimus metropolitanus omnium Britannorum reg- 
 norum atque insularum," etc. — Ex Archiv. Secret. Vatican. 
 
 t John Stewart was a native of Scotland, but for many years had lived as 
 lay brother with the Franciscans in Ireland. About 1614 he was arrested 
 near Dublin, and after suffering many hardships in Dublin prison, was trans- 
 ferred to the Tower of London, where many attempts were made to seduce 
 him from the Catholic faith. He was released about 1617, and sent into 
 Belgium. — See Mooney's MS. History of the Franciscans, written in 1618. 
 
364 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XV. 
 
 escaped the pursuit of the heretics, and continued their labour 
 of love till, in 1623, a new dawn arose for that mission; and 
 whilst Dr. Fleming, archbishop of Dublin, was appointed its 
 immediate superior, three new missionaries, selected by him, 
 viz., Cornelius Ward, James O'Neil, and Patrick Hogarty, were 
 sent thither with most ample authority and privileges from the 
 Holy See ; and at the same time, the old veteran father Edmund 
 Cana resolved to brave once more the fury of the heretics and 
 the penalties of the law.* The barren wilderness was soon 
 clothed with gladness; and father Hugh de Burgo writes from 
 Dublin, on the 17th of November, 1624: " God has already 
 performed great things in Scotland, through the labours of 
 our Franciscan fathers. They could have even effected more, 
 were it not for the great poverty and wretchedness of the 
 country ; for their district of Scotland is so impoverished, that 
 scarcely can they find sufficient means for the most frugal 
 support." 
 
 Dr. Fleming, in his first letter from his diocese to the nuncio 
 in Brussels, also writes that " the spiritual labourers selected for 
 Scotland are diligently engaged at the harvest entrusted to 
 them, though they have to struggle with many difficulties. 
 Two of them lately came to Ireland, and gave me a Relatio of 
 that mission, which I transmit to you, together with this letter. 
 The others continue in the interior of Scotland, where it 13 
 difficult for them to hold any communication with foreign parts, 
 either by letter or by messengers. I know, however, that they 
 are not idle, and that they are engaged in the cultivation of 
 that vineyard." We have to lament the loss of the Relatio here 
 referred to. The nuncio certainly transmitted it to Rome, for 
 he thus writes to the secretary of the Sacred Congregation, on 
 the 3rd of January, 1626: " I send to your excellency a letter 
 which I have received from the archbishop of Dublin, together 
 with a Relatio written by father Cornelius Ward, one of the 
 missionaries to Scotland, which will assuredly be of great con- 
 solation to you. I have written to the archbishop, desiring him 
 to encourage the said missioners to pursue the work which they 
 
 * Ex Relat. sent to Rome by Scarampo, on 29th June, 1644. 
 
CHAP. XV] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 365 
 
 have so happily begun, assuring him that all the required 
 assistance will be given to them."* 
 
 The loss, however, of this Relatio is in part supplied by 
 another narrative, which was drawn up, in 1637, by the same 
 father Ward, and presented to the Sacred Congregation. He had 
 in the interim visited the Eternal City, and on his return, having 
 received the benediction of the bishop of Down and Connor, 
 hastened (November, 1635) to resume his missionary labours in 
 the Hebrides. Before two months elapsed, he had restored fifty 
 heretics to the saving fold, in the island of Sgiahanach. During 
 the following year (1636), in twenty-two towns of the islands of 
 Eustia and Benimhaola, two hundred and three heretics were 
 converted : whilst in the islands of Barra, Feray, and Barnaray, 
 no fewer than fifty others were led captive to truth. In the last- 
 named island, the zealous priest was pursued by a Protestant 
 minister, who had procured a warrant for his arrest ; and in 
 consequence, he was obliged to fly to the mainland of Scotland. 
 There, on the mountains of Muidheart and Arasoig, during 
 two months, the conversion of two hundred and six heretics 
 was his reward. He adds: "The missionary labours in those 
 barbarous and remote districts is indescribable, and incredible 
 to those who have not witnessed it. Oftentimes the missionary 
 father has passed six months there without being able to procure 
 any drink, save water and milk; indeed, their whole food con- 
 sists of milk, and in summer they seldom have bread. In the 
 Hebrides and in the mountainous districts of Scotland, there is 
 no city nor town, nor school ; neither is there anything like 
 education ; and none can be found to read, except a few who 
 received instruction in distant parts." Father Ward continued 
 on these mountains until his store of altar-breads and wine for 
 the holy sacrifice was exhausted ; he then set out on foot for 
 Edinburgh ; and, after many risks and dangers, returned with a 
 renewed supply to his mountain flock, where, though he was at 
 the same time weighed down by a grievous illness, he, between 
 the 8th of September and Christmas, through the districts of 
 
 * ' ' Ho respoato all' Aroeivescovo che comf orti li sudetti missionari a segui- 
 tare l'opera felicemente cominoiata, assicurandolo che non se gli mancherJ, 
 sommmistrare gli ajuti necessarj." — Lett, delminzio, 5 Gennajo, 1626. 
 
366 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XV' 
 
 Locheabar, Muidiurt, Sleibhte, and Gleansilge, received back 
 one hundred and thirty-nine heretics into the bosom of the 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 During the year 1637, the missionary toils of these worthy 
 men yielded the like happy fruits ; and father Ward writes, that 
 so numerous were the invitations made to them from various 
 districts, to go and instruct them in the Catholic faith, that they 
 were not able to comply with a third part of them. He adds, 
 that in all this quarter of Scotland there was then only one 
 native priest, named father Reginald MacDonell, who lived in 
 the island of Eustia, in a remote and wild district, in which he 
 took refuge from the fierce storm of persecution, and there, 
 " labouring with his own hands in cultivating the earth, and 
 fishing or collecting sea-shells, he seeks to procure sufficient 
 food. He visits, from time to time, the inhabitants of the island, 
 to strengthen and confirm them in the faith ; but he states he 
 will not be able to continue there much longer, through the 
 absolute dearth of everything, as all that the islanders can give 
 is required for the tithes and tribute to the Protestant minister, 
 which, whether they like or not, they are compelled to give 
 to him."* 
 
 On the appointment of the Franciscan father Bonaventure 
 Magennis to the see of Down and Connor, which was more 
 closely situated to the Scottish islands, Dr. Fleming requested 
 the Holy See to have the immediate charge of that mission 
 entrusted to him; and hence, in the narrative we have just 
 referred to, father Ward hastened to receive the blessing of that 
 bishop, before embarking on his field of labour. Dr. Magennis, 
 when transmitting that narrative to Rome, states that he had 
 examined the facts stated in it, and verified their accuracy by 
 enquiries from some of the Scotch nobility, who, he adds, " are 
 held both here and in their own country as of unimpeachable 
 anthority and truthfulness."! 
 
 Overcome by his labours, father Ward was soon obliged to 
 return to the comparative repose of his Irish convents, and 
 father Patrick Hogarty was chosen prefect of that mission. 
 
 * Kelatio P. VarcUei, in Archiv. S. Cougnis. 
 t Letter of Dr. Magennis, 28th August, 1637. 
 
Chap, XV.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 367 
 
 In a letter of the 4th December, 1640, he gives some further 
 details of that spiritual harvest to the secretary of the Sacred 
 Congregation. A short extract from it will suffice : — 
 
 " For eight years I have acted as guardian of this convent of Buna- 
 nargy, labouring no less in the conversion of the Scotch than if I was 
 actually amongst them, for they flock hither to be received into the 
 Church as bees to the beehive. In a Relatio which I sent last year, I 
 stated that in four successive months a thousand persons had been 
 brought to the true fold by the fathers of this convent, and received 
 confirmation at the hands of the bishop of this diocese, Dr. Bonaventure 
 . Magennis, of holy memory ; and amongst them was the most noble 
 Alexander MacDonnell, lord of Largy, who, in the following month, being 
 comforted with all the sacraments of our holy religion, happily departed 
 this life. His example has impelled many of the nobility and gentry to 
 embrace the orthodox faith. In a word, during each of the past eight 
 years, five hundred have been converted by ns, and as many confirmed 
 in the Catholic faith ; we must except, however, the present year, as 
 in consequence of the tumults in Scotland, the passage is no longer 
 open between Scotland and Ireland ; and yet, this very year, I have 
 received two hundred into Christ's fold." 
 
 The path of these devoted missioners was beset with in- 
 creased dangers during the subsequent years. Nevertheless, 
 four fathers, in 1644, again, offered themselves to labour in that 
 vineyard; and all the means that the prefect of the mission 
 solicited for them, was " sacred vestments, a secular habit, corn, 
 wine, and candles for the sacrifice of the Mass, instruments for 
 making the altar-breads, and money to pay their passage."* 
 Father Scarampo, then agent of the Holy See in Ireland, 
 earnestly wrote at the same time, requesting to have a mis- 
 sionary stipend allowed to these good fathers, who had now 
 an excellent opportunity for visiting the Scottish mission, on 
 account of the departure of the Irish soldiers for Scotland, 
 where, he adds, these fathers have already laboured and suf- 
 fered a great deal. In another letter, of the 8th September, 
 1645, the same writer says : — " In Scotland, the king's party 
 daily gains ground, and in his army there, there are fifteen 
 hundred effective Irish soldiers, and many Scotch, who would 
 
 * Relatio Mis. Scot, sent by Scarampo, on 29th June, 1644, to the Sacred 
 Congregation de Prop. Fid. 
 
 ■- 2 B 
 
368 DE. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XV. 
 
 be in greater numbers, were there ministers of the gospel in 
 that province; where, indeed, there is as great a dearth of 
 them as is to be found in any part of the universe. Their 
 passage from this country will be short and secure, and they 
 can also find the necessary provisions here (although very dear), 
 especially of flour and wine for Mass, which can seldom be 
 found in Scotland, and much less during the present distur- 
 bances." He concludes by again requesting the Holy See to 
 display its usual generosity towards these abandoned districts, 
 and to have the faculties transmitted to his successor, as he 
 hoped to be on his journey to Rome before an answer could be 
 transmitted to him.* 
 
 The Sacred Congregation was not wanting on its part; and 
 we find it recorded in a note of the Congregation of 29th March, 
 16 44, that, at the solicitation of father Scarampo,f a missionary 
 stipend was granted for five Franciscan fathers, to be sent into 
 Scotland, and that instructions were despatched to him at the 
 same time to appoint one of the five fathers prefect of that 
 mission. 
 
 The last document connected with the Franciscan mission in 
 Scotland, is a letter of father Patrick Hogarty, from Waterford, 
 on the 29th August, 1646. During the five preceding years he 
 had been detained in close imprisonment by the Scots, and he 
 writes to express his gratitude to God for having been freed 
 from that calamitous condition, and to request, at the same time, 
 sufficient means to resume his labours in the vineyard of Scot- 
 land.* 
 
 Clouds, however, had been fast gathering around that devoted 
 land, and the destruction of the king's army blasted for a while, 
 at least, all hopes of diffusing there the blessings of Catholic 
 faith. In Ireland, too, the ranks of the clergy were soon 
 too thinned to supply the wants of the Scottish mission ; and were 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Sac. Congnis. 
 
 t It must have been in some letter written before those we have just cited. 
 Probably, father Scarampo was not aware of this decision of the Sacred Con- 
 gregation when writing his letter of 29th of June, 1644. 
 
 { •' Benedictus sit Deus misericors qui servi sui indigni humilitatem respi- 
 ciens e carceribus in quibus Scoti hWetici me detruserant, ubique in magnis 
 serumnis per continuos ferme quinque aunos jacueram, me eripere dignatus est." 
 — Epist. Patrit. Hogarty, O.S.F. 29th Aug. 1644. 
 
CHir. XVI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 369 
 
 it not for the unbounded charity and zeal of St. Vincent de 
 Paul* few vestiges of the persecuted faith could have been 
 preserved even in the mountain recesses of that once Catholic 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DISSENSIONS BETWEEN THE SECULAR AND REGULAR CLERGY. 
 
 Policy of the English Government to excite Dissensions among the Clergy. — 
 Causes of these Dissensions. — Peter Caddell and Paul Harris assail the P^egu- 
 lars. — Answered by F. Matthews. — Cahill, P.P. of S. Michael's, suspended 
 by Dr. Fleming. — The Bishop of Meath commissioned by the Holy See to 
 remove Harris. — Controversies gradually terminated, etc. 
 
 The dissensions which existed between the secular and regular 
 clergy in England, during the first years of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, brought the Catholic Church in that country to utter ruin. 
 The agents of the English government, both at home and on 
 the continent, kept alive the flame of discord, and artfully 
 availed themselves of every opportunity to foster the mutual 
 suspicions and distrust of the different branches of the clergy, 
 and to widen the separation which thus weakened the whole 
 Catholic body. 
 
 Amongst the Clarendon State Papers there is one which 
 throws much light on this policy of the British statesmen of that 
 day. There was question of the appointment of an English 
 agent to the Roman court; and Mr. Windebank, the secretary 
 of state, in a private letter to the king, sketches the qualities 
 that would be requisite in the individual to be chosen for that 
 post. A certain captain Brett had been recommended by father 
 Philips, chaplain to her majesty, but the secretary declares that 
 
 * For some details regarding the subsequent history of these missions, see 
 Abeilly, Life of St. Vincent, lib. iv. ; also Memoir of Oliver Plunket, Dublin, 
 1861, chap. 15, page 172, seqq. 
 
370 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 such an appointment would be wholly in opposition to the 
 interests of the king. 
 
 " I shall presume," he says, " to instance in some particulars, as 
 namely, his negotiation concerning the oath of allegiance, in which I. 
 know Philips is not well affected ; and likewise concerning the bringing 
 in of a Catholic Roman bishop into England, which was the end of the 
 Italians coming hither from Rome, and whereunto I know Philips hath 
 contributed all he could ; the soliciting the pope to censure Courtenay, 
 if not for his base and treasonable book, yet for publishing it without 
 authority from thence, which I am confident Philips will likewise hinder 
 as much as he can ; his endeavouring to discover the correspondences 
 of the Roman Catholic party here in England, and their ways, and his 
 fomenting their schisms and differences here, which he must do if he 
 serves your majesty well ; and, therefore, I most humbly beseech your 
 majesty to weigh these circumstances deliberately, and to make choice 
 of some man, par negotiis, that I may not have to deal with an ignorant 
 person. That this (Brett) is a very honest gentleman, I doubt not; but 
 honesty alone wall not despatch business ; aud of the two, (I speak as a 
 secretary, and humbly crave your majesty pardon), honesty, in this 
 Romish employment, may better be spared than sufficiency."* 
 
 The same scheme was tried also in Ireland, and well-nigh 
 produced similar disastrous results. For ten years both parties 
 wasted their strength in mutual dissensions, whilst, as we shall 
 see, the main agent of discord enjoyed the benign patronage of 
 the castle. From the documents written in defence of their 
 respective privileges, we shall glean such facts as serve to illus- 
 trate the history of our Church. 
 
 During the period of Elizabeth's persecution, the Franciscans 
 alone, of all the religious orders, uninterruptedly clung to the 
 sacred ministry in Ireland, and maintained their novitiates in the 
 country. On the return of comparative calm, the other various 
 orders resumed their labours in the ministry, and entering into 
 a holy rivalry, houses for the reception of novices were every- 
 where erected ; and whilst many looked upon this multiplication 
 of religious houses as useless and dangerous in the circumstances 
 
 * State Papers, collected by Edward Lord Clarendon : vol. i. pp. 338-9 ; 
 letter of 6th October, 1635. Amongst the instructions subsequently given to 
 the agent in Rome, one was to prevent the appointment of a bishop, and to 
 watch the Jesuits, " to discover what intelligence they hold both here and there, 
 and diligently to observe their ways, and to give advertisement of them hither." (28th 
 October, 1635.) 
 
Chap. XVI.] DB. THOMAS FLEMING. 371 
 
 of the times, others, on the contrary, commended their zeal, and 
 declared this increase of the religious to be the only hope for 
 restoring in Ireland the former splendour of our Catholic ritual.* 
 
 Some of the religious, too, claimed the monasteries and pos- 
 sessions which, in Catholic times, belonged to their respective 
 communities. On the other hand, the laity, into whose posses- 
 sion those monasteries and lands had passed, represented it as a 
 grievance to be thus expelled from properties which they had so 
 long enjoyed, and for which, too, many of them had' paid large 
 fines to the crown. Both sides had their respective supporters, 
 and the bishop of Ossory (Dr. David Roothe), together with the 
 bishop of Meath and the archbishop of Cashel, did not hesitate 
 to add their authority to confirm the opinion that the religious 
 orders had forfeited their rights to these possessions. 
 
 Dr. Roothe of Ossory had incidentally -broached the specu- 
 lative opinion, that the members of religious orders did not, 
 strictly speaking, belong to the ecclesiastical hierarchy: this was 
 now laid hold of by the enemies of the religious, and the matter 
 was long debated with the greatest vehemence. 
 
 The exercise of the parochial duties was, however, the chief 
 source of contention. During the periodof persecution, the bishops 
 and the local clergy being almost everywhere expelled, these 
 duties often devolved on the regulars, who still remained in the 
 vicinity ; and even when the bishops were reappointed, and the 
 parochial clergy restored, some continued to exercise their 
 former functions. On this head uniformity was restored only 
 by a decree from Rome, to which the religious orders at once 
 submitted. 
 
 The religious, on the other hand, complained that Dr. 
 William Therry, bishop of Cork, had imparted the faculty to 
 his priests, to bless the religious habits for the dying ; that some 
 of the ordinaries, and especially Dr. Matthew Roche of Leighlin,f 
 had interdicted their collecting the alms of the faithful; and that 
 the bishops of Limerick and Cork had, in 1630, commanded 
 
 * The facta mentioned in this article, unless when other authorities are in- 
 dicated, have been taken from a Kelatio de querelis quae contra religiosos 
 moventur, dated 3Uth August, 1630, in Archiv. Colleg. Hibernor. Romas. 
 
 f This diocese is, in some of the documents, styled Dicecesis Lughliensis. 
 
372 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [CHAr. XVI. 
 
 their parish priests not to allow them to perform the funeral 
 service. 
 
 The division of offerings, which were made at the place of 
 burial, was another matter of complaint. From time immemorial 
 it had been the custom in Ireland to have an alms offered to the 
 assisting priest at the monasteries or other places of burial: the 
 heretics, however, having seized the monasteries and parochial 
 graveyards, prevented the performance of the Catholic service, 
 and claimed, moreover, the alms which might be offered by the 
 friends of the deceased. To obviate this difficulty, the funeral, 
 before arriving at the place of burial, halted at some convenient 
 place, where the Protestant minister could put forth no claim, 
 and there the prayers were recited and the alms offered to the 
 assisting priest. Originally this alms was devoted to the repairs 
 of the church or monastery where the interment was made; in 
 many places, however, the custom had been long introduced 
 that it should be divided into three portions, of which one was 
 applied to the repair of the monastery or church, the second to 
 the maintenance of the clergy, and the third to the poor. A 
 new arrangement, however, was now introduced, especially in 
 the dioceses of Waterford and Cork, by which one portion of 
 this alms was devoted to the maintenance of the bishop, a second 
 portion was allotted to the parish priest, and the third was 
 applied to the support of the other clergy. 
 
 The canons prescribe the offering to be made to the parish 
 priest by regulars and others, known as the quarta funeralium. 
 When the newly-appointed bishops sought to enforce this law, 
 the regulars claimed to be exempted from it, in consequence of 
 a sentence given in their favour by the bishop of Cork and the 
 archbishop of Cashel, in the year 1514, that is to say, fifty years 
 before the council of Trent: whilst, by a decree of that ecume- 
 nical council, the religious should be exempted from the above 
 law in all countries where such exemption had been allowed for 
 at least forty years before the celebration of the council. " Of 
 this decree of the bishop of Cork, and Maurice, archbishop of 
 Cashel, in favour of the religious," adds the writer, to whom we 
 owe these particulars, " I have seen an authentic copy." 
 
 For some years these controversies, though carried on with 
 
Chap. XVI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 373 
 
 great warmth, yet did not sever the bonds of charity: they 
 occasioned, however, no little annoyance to the faithful, whilst, 
 at the same time, they weakened the strength and energy of the 
 clergy in resisting the common enemy. In 1628, they assumed 
 another aspect, and for a while so violent arid angry was the 
 dispute, that it threatened to add schism to the many afflictions 
 of our Church. At the instigation of Peter Caddell and Paul 
 Harris, the former a native of Meath, the latter an Englishman, 
 who for some time had exercised the functions of missionary in 
 Dublin, a series of propositions, the most puerile and absurd, was 
 laid before the theological faculty of the university of Paris, and 
 represented as the teaching of the regulars in Ireland, Without 
 delay the university censured the propositions proposed to it, 
 and its censure was solemnly promulgated by the archbishop of 
 Paris. Father Francis Matthews, of the Franciscan order, did 
 not delay long in replying to the censure of the Parisian faculty, 
 repudiating, at the same time, most of the propositions which 
 had been imputed to the Irish religious. Some of the Irish 
 bishops were looked upon as hostile to the religious orders, and 
 a few of the expressions which escaped from father Matthews, in 
 the heat of the disputation, were reputed at the time injurious 
 to these prelates, as well as to the archbishop of Paris; and 
 hence, instead of extinguishing the flame, his treatise only 
 served to redouble its ardour.* Repeated solicitations were 
 made to -Rome to have this Examen Juridicum inscribed on 
 the lists of the Index; but the Sacred Congregation, in its 
 wisdom, deemed other means more suited for restoring peace 
 
 * Father Matthews' treatise was published without his name. It was 
 entitled : Examen Juridicum censurse facultatis Th. Parisien. et ejusdem 
 civitatis Arehiepi. late, circa quasdam propositiones regularibus Hibernije 
 falso impositas. Anctore EdmuDdo Ursulano Hiberno. Some of the Munster 
 bishops, writing to the Sacred Congregation, in 1632, state that the writer was 
 probably a friar named " M'Mahon, or Matthews ; and as the word Mahown in 
 Irish signifies a bear, hence the assumed name Vrsulanus, attached to the 
 treatise." Wadding, however, leaves no doubt as to the author, as he ex- 
 pressly attributes it to father Matthews, in his Scriptores Ord. Minor, p. 123. 
 Whatever faults may have been committed by the writer in his Examen 
 Juridicum, were nobly expiated in his subsequent career, and he heroically 
 laid down his life for the faith, in 1644. As a specimen of the correspondence 
 of the Irish bishops at this period, and of the prudence with which they referred 
 the whole controversy to the mother church, we insert some extracts from two 
 letters, the first dated the 3rd of the nones of November, 1631, signed by the 
 
374 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 and calm to our Irish Church. We may now retrace our steps 
 to see the part taken by Dr. Fleming in this controversy. 
 
 Paul Harris and Peter Caddell were the chief promoters of 
 discord in the kingdom, and they made use of another priest, 
 named Patrick Cahill, to keep alive the flame in England and 
 on the continent. Harris was a man of learning and of irre- 
 proachable life ; he was, however, wholly devoted to sophistry, 
 
 bishops of Cork, Ossory, and Ferns ; and the second, the 30th of December, 
 1632, signed by the bishops of Cork, Limerick, Killaloe, and Emly, and by 
 the vicar-apostolic of Ross : — 
 
 ' ' Emi. Patkes et Dni. Colmi. — Non patitur omnium Ecclesiarum sollicitudo 
 qua? Eminentiis vestris incumbit ut ignoretis quae etiam in Hibernia remotis- 
 eimo quarnvis orbis angulo apud Nos agantur. Nostis Emi. Patres, quae jurgia 
 nata sint apud nos ex semine quod superseminavit pater discordiarum, qualiter 
 clems saecularis scissus sit a regulari, qualiter se mutuo petant, et utrumque 
 latus aperiant hosti communi, seu fidei adversario. Et ^Nos quideni arbitra- 
 bamur eontrariarum partium studia qua; fervebant mox abitura in nihilum, 
 quaudo et quae Emus, gentis nostras Protector, et D. Nuntius Aplicus. apud 
 Belgas, gravissime monebant ne ex dolore aut vindicta illatae, ut prsetendebatur 
 calumniae, regidares attentarent novas excitare turbas, sed offensiones et in- 
 jurias suas remitterent Sac. Congni. quae plene satisfaceret. Verum ecce de 
 repente prodiit libellus quidam famosus a quodam Franciscano fratre Hiberno, 
 ex iis unas qui Lovanii commorantur, ut communis fert opinio, digestus 
 et inscriptus Examen Juridicum censurae fac. Theologize Parisien. authore 
 Edmundo Ursulano Hiberno, in quo libello maligne et mendacissime author 
 variis calumniis onerat Episcopos, et pastores Hiberniae, in Sorbonam quoque 
 et in Archiepum. Parisiensem insidse et irreverenter insurgit ; libellus iste per 
 manus transit regularium qui per se et asseclas suos eundem magnis praeconiis 
 extollunt inter laicos et egregiam laudem, sibi videntur retulisse qui in tractatu 
 toto non adeo laborant ut se tueantur ab illatis ut prajtendebatur calumniis, 
 quam ut Epos, et pastores majoribus gravent, quos non erubescunt socioa 
 facere persecutorum fidei, addentes quod ex integro desiderent religiosorum 
 exterminium. 
 
 ' ' Laedunt in juriae tantas Prselatorum et Pastorum patientiam in hoc regno 
 qui cum in eadem calamitate persecutionis involvantur in qua regulares, eo 
 inexcusabilior est fratrum criminatio quod de aliis dicant quae de ipsis dici non 
 ferrent. Ad recriminandum proni sunt animi non paucorum ssecularium quos 
 a scribendo comprimimus, ne videamur labi in delictum quod culpamus in 
 fratribus, qui non attendentes monitis Emi. Protectoris et Dni. Nuntii Aplici. 
 scribiligine sua novas snscitarunt turbas, nolente3 injurias remittere ad arbi- 
 trium Sac. Congnis. Sed quarnvis contineamus nostros saeculares intra fines 
 injuncti nobis silentii, urit tamen intus mendax ilia fratrum exprobratio et . 
 irrumpet aliquando in flammam nisi Vos Patres Emi. apportatis frigidam, 
 severe inhibendo ne libellus iste Examen Juridicum inscriptus legatur aut 
 retiueatur inter fideles. Quod ut quantocius imperetis, Nos pro remedio malo- 
 rum quos suboriri possunt, petimus et exoptamus. 
 
 "1'orro commissarii quatuor Archiepi. vid. Dublinen. et Tuamen. et Epi. 
 Kilmoren. et Kildaren. quos de mandate Sedis A plicae, nominavit D. Nuntius 
 in Belgio ad inquirendum in hoc regno quid regidares docuerint in materia 
 propositionum exhibitavum Sorbonas per D. Patritium Cahil, praestiterunt 
 ut opinamur quod secundum datam illis a Deo prudentiam ipsis visum fuit 
 praestari potuisse, et acta inquisitionis suae transmiserunt ad D. Nuncium 
 
Chap. XVI.] DE. THOMAS FLEMING. 375 
 
 and seems to have brought with him from England a hatred of 
 religious orders which verged on madness, and which nothing 
 could control.* Such was precisely the agent suited to the views 
 of the government; and, as we learn from the bishop of Ferns, 
 he was admitted to the favour of the royal ministers, and received 
 a mandate from the viceroy not to depart, on any condition, from 
 the city of Dublin.f A sermon, preached in 1627, by father 
 
 Apostolicum iii Belgio ; qui si frigide et perfunctorie muras sibi commissum 
 adimpleverint, ut de clero sseeulari nonnullos eloquentes audivimus, attribu- 
 endum est ternpori nimis duro et difficili, quod iiou permittit fieri satis sedulam 
 indagationern. 
 
 "Guilielmus, Corcagien. et Cluanen. Epus. 
 
 "David, Epus. Ossorien. 
 
 "Joannes, Epus. Feruen. 
 "3rd Nonas Novembris, 1631." 
 
 ' ' Eminentissimis Dorninis S. Congnis. de Propag. Fide Cardinalibus, Episeopi 
 et Vioarij Apostolici Provincice Cassilensis in Hibemia ferventissimEe 
 devotionis obsequium : — 
 " Eminentissimi AC Rjsvmi. Dni. — Quorum prudeutii» et singular! industrial 
 commissa est cura propagandi fidem per universum orbem tequi bouique con- 
 sulere dignemini quod per nos Hibernise Praelatos orbe pene ab urbe divisos a 
 gravioribus forte uegotiis ad audiendas nostras non leves aut minimi momenti 
 querelas, parumper vaeare interpellemiui. Videtur utpote non minus vestro 
 officio oongruere ea quje hactenus contra fidem temerariis ausibus usurpata sunt 
 corrigere, quam in posterum providere, ne ulla dogmata inter fideles figant 
 radices quS3 in perniciem fidei et animarum pericuhim velut cancer paulatim 
 serpant. Alto itaque silentio suppressis calamitatum procellis, quibus parti- 
 culares nostras Ecclesise improborum fidei adversariorum violenta jiersecutione 
 conquassautur, paucula queedam qu£e ex animositate seu inconsiderato Regu- 
 larim zelo, nobis inferuntur gravamina, transcursim et perfunctorie delineabi- 
 mus, sperantes ut censurae vestras interposita auctoritate sublevati in tranquil- 
 
 litatis et concordiaj portu tandem conquiescere valeamus 
 
 " Prodiit in publicum sub anno 1631, famosus quidam et vere infamis libellus 
 qui infausto nomine inscribitur ; Examen Juridicum censuree facultatis Theo- 
 logize Parisiensis, etc. auctore Edmundo TJrsulano, etc. Inmodieoisto opusculo 
 immodica continentur mala, mendaciis quippe scatens, umiique non plures 
 facies quam fraudes refert nee plures paginas quam peccata adimplet. Inju- 
 rias contra Deum cumulat dura sub religioso prastextu inculpatae defensionis 
 Pvegularium, uuiversum clerum in Dei sortem et f amulatum specialiter vocatum 
 contemptibilem et infamem reddere couatur. 
 
 ' • Guilielmus, Corcagien. et Cluanen. Epus. 
 
 "Rich. Epus. Limericensis. 
 
 " Joannes, Laonensis. " 
 
 "Mauritius, Imolacen. Epus. 
 
 " PbOBEKTUs Bahky, Prot. Aplicus. et Vic. 
 "30th Dec. 1632." Aplicus. Rossensis. 
 
 * Epist. Fernensis, 20th Oct. 1635. 
 
 t lb. The bishop of Meath also commemorates how the favour of the castle 
 was extended to this unfortunate man : ' ' Jam regii senatus prsesidio munitus 
 et speciali status gratia fretus nusquam confidentius negotiator quam in ipsa 
 proregis curia," etc. — Letter, 2ilth May, 1635. 
 
376 Dli. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 Thomas Strong, guardian of the order of St. Francis, in which 
 he dwelt on the merits and privileges of the regular clergy, could 
 not be endured by Harris. He at once published a " fraternal 
 correction," under the name of Philadelphus,* which was violent 
 in its language, and offensive in the extreme to all the regular 
 clergy. Father Strong, under the name of Philalethes, replied 
 with another pamphlet; and the contagion of this angry dispute 
 soon infected the whole clergy of Dublin. As a remedy to the 
 evil, the archbishop interdicted to the faithful the pamphlet of 
 Philadelphus, and Harris, submitting for a while, consigned to 
 the flames all the copies of it that remained in his possession. 
 His happy conversion was, however, only momentary in its dura- 
 tion, and he soon relapsed into his former invectives against the 
 regular clergy. 
 
 Peter Caddell was the associate of Plarris in all these proceed- 
 ings ; and to such extremes did their enmity to the religious 
 orders proceed, that Dr. Fleming was at length obliged to sus- 
 pend both of them from the exercise of all ecclesiastical func- 
 tions. In the decree of suspension, the archbishop thus states 
 the motives that impelled him to take this step : — 
 
 " Considering the obstinate disobedience and continual insolency, 
 without hope of amendment, of Paul Harris, notwithstanding that he 
 hath been borne withal this long time past, as also the like disobedience 
 of doctor Peter Caddell, to the great scandal and disedification of many 
 Catholics of this diocese, and to no small dishonour of the pastoral 
 function and authority, and to the end that at length the current of 
 their scandalous proceedings may have a stop, and not always go for- 
 ward without correction ; after mature consideration of their proceedings, 
 being thereby forced to perform my duty for the good of the souls of 
 this my diocese," etc.j 
 
 As regards Cahill, Dr. Fleming, under the assumed name of 
 Barnwall, thus writes to Luke Wadding, on 26th August, 1629 : 
 " I have gotten the ill-will of the secular clergy, particularly for 
 displacing, at your request, a turbulent spirit of another diocese, 
 who was placed, by my vicar-general, in the best parish of 
 Dublin, called St. Michael's: his name is Patrick Cahill." He 
 
 * Epist. Fernensis, 1st Dec. 1629. 
 
 f This sentence of suspension is dated 6th March, 1631. 
 
Chap. XVI.] DE, THOMAS FLEMING. 377 
 
 adds that he appointed in his place a worthy priest, a native of 
 the diocese, named Patrick Brangan. It was not, however, at 
 the suggestion of Wadding alone that Dr. Fleming took this 
 important step; many of the clergy, both secular and regular, 
 presented to him a petition, on 24th March, 1629, requesting 
 him to punish, with ecclesiastical censures, the same Patrick 
 Cahill, on account of a virulent diatribe which he had published 
 against the bishops of the Church :* and Dr. Fleming himself, 
 on 1st of February, 1631, thus wrote again to the Eternal 
 City:— 
 
 " The regulars, with many of the best of the town, did most earnestly 
 solicit with me, to have Cahill removed, alleging that he was a stranger 
 to the town, and that there were two or three natives of the towa 
 descended of the best families, and educated beyond the seas, of whom 
 two had no charge at all, and the third had only one of the worst in 
 town ; and seeing that the Protestant clergy enjoy all the benefices, 
 and that our clergy are only maintained by the charitable benevolence 
 of the citizens, they saw no reason why natives, deserving of the post, 
 should be excluded, and strangers preferred. . . . The premises being 
 considered, upon my coming to town, I displaced the said Cahill, and 
 put in his place a native, who laudably had carried himself in the 
 aforesaid poor parish for six years."f 
 
 % All this solicitude of the archbishop was, nevertheless, 
 inefficient to restore the wished-for calm of our suffering 
 Church. The priest whom he had substituted for Cahill in 
 
 * The address to the archbishop is as follows: — "Nos infrascripti in civitate 
 Dublinensi theologi lecta et perspeeta testium examinatione testantium libelluin 
 quemdam famosum contra prselatos ecclesise a D. Patricio Cahill esse compo- 
 situm et vulgatura, non sine multorum ad quos pervenit scandalo Catholicorum, 
 sentimus prjedictum D. Cahill ob suprascriptum scandalum dignum esse qui 
 ab Epo. suspendatur. Dublini, 24 Martii, 1629." Then follow the signa- 
 tures of several of the clergy. — Ex Arehiv. S. Isid. There is another address, 
 signed by the superiors of the Cistercians, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, 
 and Capuchins, which bears the date 24th November, 1629. It is as follows : — 
 ' ' Nos infrascripti, etc. rogati an expediret amo vere ab hac civitate et JDicecesi 
 Pvev. Dom. Paulum Harris Anglum Saccerdotem et Pat. Cahil Presb. Medensem, 
 ob varia scandala qute ab eis aut eorum causa orta existimantur in hac civitate 
 et dicecesi, Nos re mature considerata et longa experientia et eorum notitia 
 edocti considerantjes turbulentum et factiosum eorum spiritum non ad asdifiea- 
 tionem tendentem, non solum expediens sed etiam necessarium ducimus pro 
 quiete et pace Ecclesiasticorurn hujus Dioec. ac civitatis et ut evitentur ulteriora 
 scandala ut penitus amoveantur, et optassemus pro publico bono et quiete ut 
 antehac amoti f uissent. " 
 
 t Ex Arehiv. S. Isid. The original letter is in English. 
 
378 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 the administration of St. Michael's, was arrested by order of 
 the viceroy, and detained in prison for several months; and 
 though Cahill abandoned the diocese of Dublin, his enmity to 
 the religious was not diminished, and he caused to be circulated, 
 in Paris and Germany, no fewer than three thousand copies of 
 a treatise he had written against them.* 
 
 Harris and Caddell continued their career in Dublin ; tract 
 after tract issued from the press, maligning the archbishop, and 
 not sparing, in their attacks, the Sacred Congregation itself. 
 Some of these tracts were in Latin, but for the most part they 
 were in English, and scattered at a nominal price, not only 
 throughout Ireland, but also in England, and especially in Lon- 
 don, " to the great scandal of all true Catholics, and to the joy 
 and triumph of the enemies of the faith. "+ Supported by the 
 government, they heeded not the threats of ecclesiastical censure ;J 
 and when the Holy See commissioned the bishop of IVIeath to 
 cite Harris before his spiritual tribunal, and remove him from 
 the theatre of his scandals, Harris did not hesitate to write : — 
 " Certainly if the bishop of Meath's warrant come in the name 
 of king Charles, it will doubtless be obeyed; but if it come in 
 any other man's name, Paul Harris, as far as I understand his 
 mind, is resolved not to depart; nay, if all the fathers, popes, 
 bishops, cardinals, priests, and a general council shall command, 
 not a foot will he remove out of the diocese of Dublin." 
 
 It was in 1634 that this commission was sent to Dr. Dease; 
 and it authorized him to remove Harris from Dublin, " if this 
 could be effected without occasioning greater scandal. "§ The 
 bishop of Meath replied to the Sacred Congregation, expressing 
 his readiness to execute its commands, but, at the same time, 
 
 * Wadding Papers, in Arehiv. S. Isid. Gilbert, in his most interesting 
 History of Dublin, vol. 1, p. 316, and some others, are of opinion that even 
 in after years rev. Mr. Cahill assumed the title of P. P. of St. Michael's ; 
 it is certain, indeed, that he was recognised as such by the government, and 
 was more than once employed by the Puritan lords justices to negociate with 
 the Irish leaders. He is also said to have been appointed dean of Christ's 
 Church, by Urban VIII. in 1844. He may have assumed that title, as he did 
 the former one ; but there is no trace in the Roman Archives of any such ap- 
 pointment. 
 
 + Relatio of Dr. Flemiug, 2 Oct. 1G32. 
 
 j Ibid. ' ' Censuras Ecclesiasticas prcesidio brachii saecularis Protestantis con- 
 temnentes agunt omnia impune." 
 
 § Epist. Midensis, 29th Maii, 1635. 
 
CHAP. XVI.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. .'179 
 
 declaring his opinion, " that it would be impossible to carry such 
 a design into execution, protected as Harris was by the authority 
 of the government, and safely reposing in the very highest courts 
 of the land, whence, as from an eminence, he easily assailed his 
 metropolitan, and all others whomsoever he pleased ;"* and should 
 the bishop cite him before the ecclesiastical tribunals, he himself 
 would thus incur capital penalty, which assuredly would be 
 carried out in all its rigour, in defence of this government 
 protege.f 
 
 This was not the first step taken by the Sacred Congregation 
 in this controversy. On the 10th of May, 1631, a commission 
 was sent from Rome to the archbishops of Dublin and Tuam, 
 and the bishops of Kilmore and Kildare, to examine whether 
 the religious orders in Ireland taught the propositions imputed 
 to them. To this commission, Dr. Fleming and the bishop of 
 Kilmore replied, on the 4th September, 1631, declaring that, 
 having duly examined the necessary witnesses, they found that 
 none of the propositions imputed to the religious had been 
 broached by them ;J and the archbishop of Tuam and the 
 bishop of Kildare replied a few days later in the same 
 sense. So soon, however, as it became generally known 
 (1633) that the Holy See reproved the conduct of Harris and 
 his associates, and that ulterior steps were deliberated on to 
 remove him from the diocese of Dublin, the ardour of con- 
 troversy subsided, and concord was gradually re-established 
 between the secular and regular clergy. Even before the close 
 of 1634, as we learn from Dr. Roche, peace and calm were 
 restored throughout the whole provinces of Dublin and Cashel, 
 though, in the capital, the smouldering embers continued for 
 awhile, to show how great was the conflagration that had raged 
 there. "As to ecclesiastical matters," he thus writes, " we are . 
 all in the enjoyment of peace and concord in this province, 
 
 * Epist. Midensis, 29th Man, 1635. 
 
 t Dr. Fleming himself writes almost in the same straiD, on 1st August, 1631 : 
 " Cum ea sit et horum temporum ratio et regni conditio, ut seditioso cuilibet 
 omni seposito pcen£e timore, quidlibet liceat attentare, nobis interim sub 
 perpetui carceris mulcta, omni externa jurisdictione abrogata," etc. — Epist. ad 
 Secretar. Sac. Cong. 
 
 % " Regulares hujus Regni HtberniaB nullam prorsus ex propositionibus prae- 
 dictis protulisse," etc. — Ex Archiv. S. Isid. 
 
380 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 with the exception of the city of Dublin; and the same tran- 
 quillity reigns in the province of Cashel : every one attends to 
 his own affairs, and the slight differences that sometimes arise 
 are easily accommodated by a little forbearance. The superior 
 of the Jesuits and the provincial of the Franciscans (both aged 
 and prudent men), when making their circuit of visitation, 
 showed an earnest spirit of conciliation, and a determination 
 to chastise the younger and more ardent members of their 
 respective orders, should occasion so require. I deem it my 
 duty to give this attestation of their prudent zeal. Of the other 
 religious I know very little, as there are none of them in my 
 diocese, with the exception of two Cistercians, who are excel- 
 lent men."* The crowning measure, however, adopted by the 
 Holy See, in 1636, at once put an end to all dissensions. Each 
 archbishop was appointed delegate of the apostolic see for two 
 years, for the correction of all abuses, and the decision of all 
 controversies that might arise within his respective province; 
 and so happy were the fruits of this commission, that from 
 that period till the revolution of 1641, few churches in Chris- 
 tendom enjoyed a greater internal peace; even in Dublin, all 
 dissensions were happily extinguished: and the archbishop was 
 able to write to the Sacred Congregation, on 29th May, 1640, 
 that no longer did any trace remain of the controversy excited 
 by Harris and his confederates. 
 
 * Epist. Eernena. 15th Nov. 1634. 
 
Chap. XVII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 381 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD STRAFFORD.— 1633-1640. 
 
 Lord Strafford appointed Viceroy. — Address of Catholics to Mm. — He promises 
 to protect them. — Letter of Bishop of Ferns. — Protestant Bishops oppose 
 Catholic Claims. — Parliament held. — Subsidies granted by Catholics. — Per- 
 fidy of Viceroy, and Persecution of Catholics. — Address to the Pope ex- 
 plaining Catholic Grievances. — Court of Wards, etc. 
 
 The Irish Catholics looked forward with feverish anxiety to the 
 appointment of the new viceroy. Lord Strafford, then known 
 as viscount Went worth, had often proclaimed his enmity to the 
 Catholic religion, and the report of his nomination diffused 
 throughout Ireland an universal alarm. The statute against 
 recusants, of the second year of Elizabeth, was republished at 
 the same time, and many deemed this a mere preparatory step 
 for the further severities of the future viceroy. A long delay, 
 however, intervened before he took his departure from the 
 English court, and new difficulties were daily gathering around 
 the throne of king Charles. Availing themselves of the oppor- 
 tunities thus presented to them, the Irish Catholics at once 
 despatched agents to Saint James's, to seek by liberal offers to 
 avert from their country the threatened storm. Being arrived 
 in London, they were courteously received by the newly- 
 appointed viceroy, to whom they presented the following address 
 in the name of the Irish nation : — 
 
 "Eight Honourable, — Having long since understood of his majesty's 
 princely designrnent of your lordship to undertake the charge of this 
 government, we daily expected your happy arrival with confidence, that 
 (notwithstanding all reports to the contrary) we should thereby reap 
 a large portion of comfort and content. But seeing that your lordship's 
 coming to us is (we know not how) retarded beyond our expectation, 
 we have thus presumed, by these our agents and letters, to make 
 demonstration beforehand of our loyal promptness to give his majesty 
 all content and assistance that possibly we may, under the government 
 of so worthy a ruler as, we have generally conceit, that your lordship 
 
382 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 will prove. And that your honour may be the better assured thereof, 
 behold here how ingeniously, with one consent, we make recourse unto 
 your lordship, humbly beseeching that before" your coming unto us, you 
 will endeavour to persuade his majesty that he will be pleased to make 
 trial of our well-disposed inclinations any other way than by this late 
 broached execution of the statute of 2nd Elizabeth, the which certainly 
 hath brought us all unto an extraordinary amazement, as by these our 
 agents your lordship shall further understand. And if his majesty's 
 royal pleasure be such, that here in this kingdom twenty thousand 
 pounds must be had for the maintenance of his armies, we, your humble 
 petitioners, do hereby promise for ourselves, that we will be found 
 among the fonvardest of his majesty's subjects of this realm to contri- 
 bute unto the same, at least for this next year to come, not doubting 
 but that upon your happy entrance into the possession of this govern- 
 ment, your lordship shall find us as humbly pliable unto all good 
 motions for his majesty's further service, as we unfeignedly expect to 
 find your lordship an efficacious mediator for us unto his princely 
 favour, for our enjoying of all such graces as were by him granted unto 
 us, upon the gift of the three late subsidies, by the agents then attend- 
 ing his majesty. Concerning the which, we have given particular 
 instructions unto these our agents, that so they may inform your honour 
 more fully, and your lordship may accordingly possess his majesty, for 
 whose long and prosperous reign over us we will never cease to pray : 
 and so remain 
 
 " Your honourable lordship's humbly at command,"* 
 
 * * * * 
 
 This petition, and especially the promise of a subsidy which 
 it contained, was most welcome to the viceroy; and on his 
 arrival at his appointed post, in October, 1633, the hope of 
 toleration from the government once more cheered the Irish 
 Catholics. It is thus the bishop of Ferns writes, on the 18th 
 November, 1633: — 
 
 " The long-expected viceroy has at length arrived. The rumour 
 universally received of his severity against the Catholics, terrified very 
 many, who, turning to God with fervent prayer, sought from him a 
 defence against the coming tribulation ; and, indeed, their prayers were 
 heard, for the heart of the viceroy has been changed, and, whether 
 through regard for the queen, or from prudential motives and the 
 interests of the king, he acts with more moderation than we expected 
 from him. Hence, we live in peace, in the private exercise of our 
 religion and of our ministry, whilst, at the same time, however, a large 
 sum of money is annually paid by us for the maintenance of the army." 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Sao. Cong. 
 
Chap. XVII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 383 
 
 From the memoir of father Francis Slingsby, we learn 
 that the primate Usher and others did not abate their efforts in 
 seeking to keep alive the embers of persecution in Dublin. On 
 embracing the Catholic faith, and leading captive to its truth 
 other members of his family, father Slingsby was first confined 
 to his lodgino-s in Dublin, and then committed to the Tower. 
 "Here I am at this present, prisoner," he writes, on 11th 
 November, 1634. " The chief crime laid to my charge is 
 the conversion of a yo»ung gentleman coming out of England, 
 and of my brother and others."* He adds that twice the 
 primate Usher had had conferences with him, to shake the 
 firmness of his faith; but in vain. The intrepid confessor 
 interrupted all his sophistry by summoning him to a prayer in 
 common, like Eliasof old: — "Lethe of us be struck with instant 
 death, whose words vary from what his conscience knows to be 
 the truth." At this demand, the terror-stricken primate rushed 
 from the room.f Other conferences held with him by Bramhall 
 had as little effect as the foregoing ; and at length, through the 
 influence of some of the nobility, he re-acquired his liberty. It 
 is a consoling thing amidst such scenes of bigotry, to learn that 
 some of the Protestant gentry were quite opposed to the violence 
 thus offered to the Catholics. The castle of Kildare was, in a 
 special manner, the home and refuge of all the persecuted, which 
 was chiefly owing to the piety of the countess, who, having been 
 born in the Tower of London whilst her parents were imprisoned 
 there for the Catholic religion, never allowed the fervor of her 
 faith to grow cold, or the ardour of her charity to be extin- 
 guished. Her castle became not only, the asylum of the 
 neighbouring Catholics, but a sort of head-quarters for the 
 Catholic clergy; and hence it was characteristically known 
 throughout the kingdom as the " house of holiness," whilst by 
 the Protestant bigots it was styled a centre of abominations, 
 "the sink of hell.'t 
 
 *Mem. of Fr. ¥. Slingsby, from prig. doc. London, 1861. Page 214. 
 
 t Ibid. Also letter of father Fi'tzsimons, 29th Aug. 1634. 
 
 % Memoir, p. 212. At this very period, father Robert Nugent, superior of the 
 Irish Jesuits, was for seven years " continually being looked after by the pursui- 
 vants, whom he only beguiled by night-travelling and various disguises. All 
 this time, however, he never ceased preaching to crowds of eager listeuers." — 
 Ibid, page 211. 
 
 2 C 
 
384 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 The viceroy was, in the meantime, deeply engaged in poli- 
 tical intrigue. The parliament was summoned for the express 
 purpose of voting supplies for the exhausted treasury of England ; 
 but many of its members were pledged to make no such grants, 
 unless" the graces" so often promised by the King were guaranteed 
 to the Irish nation. Strafford, on opening the parliament, de- 
 liberately stated, as we learn from his own letters,* that " these 
 graces would be granted," if the parliament voted such supplies 
 as would be acceptable to the monarch. His concluding words 
 were : " Surely so great a meanness cannot enter your hearts, as 
 once to suspect his majesty's gracious regards of you, and per- 
 formance with you, where you confide in his gracious counsels." 
 With alacrity the wished-for supplies were voted; nay, the 
 subsidies granted by the parliament far exceeded the most 
 sanguine expectations of the viceroy. " Each of the six subsi- 
 dies," he writes," amounted to £50,000, and I never propounded 
 more to the king than £30,000; so that the subsidies raised in 
 this first were more than I proposed to be had in both sessions, 
 and were freely given, and without any contradiction."]' 
 
 We learn the same particulars from the bishop of Ferns, who 
 thus writes on 15th of November, 1634: — 
 
 " In the present parliament, all, as well Catholics as Protestants, 
 unanimously consented to make a larger grant to the king than the king 
 himself had hoped for. They voted six subsidies, to be paid in four 
 years, which amount altogether to about 800,000 scudi,J a gift which 
 is very considerable for a kingdom so impoverished as this is. In 
 return for this devotedness, displayed by the deputies in the first 
 session of parliament, we are in hopes of obtaining many graces from 
 his majesty in the present second session — graces which have been 
 often solicited and promised, but which have always been withheld from 
 us. Of these there are many which especially regard the relief of 
 the Catholic body, and modify the penalties and exactions which are 
 inflicted by the Protestant bishops, for the baptisms, marriages, and 
 burials at which the Catholic priests assist. Even should only a part 
 of the graces be granted to us, the parliamentary subsidy will have 
 been well employed."§ 
 
 * Strafford's State Letters, vol. i. pp. 222-3. f Ibid, page 273. 
 
 J Each subsidy was equal, according to the computation of that period, to 
 200,000 scudi : when making the sum total, Dr. Roche must have multiplied 
 that amount by four instead of by six. It should have been 1,200,000 scudi. 
 
 § Lettera del Fernense da Kilkennia, 15 di Nov. 1634, al Seg. della Sac. 
 Congne. 
 
Cn.lP. XVII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 385 
 
 These hopes of the Catholics were soon dissipated; the 
 promises of the viceroy had attained their purpose, and no idea 
 was any longer entertained of their fulfilment. So far was 
 Strafford from recommending to the king the concession of these 
 graces, that, on the contrary, he declared them to be prejudicial 
 to the crown, and such, that the king was not bound, " either in 
 justice, honour, or conscience," to grant to the Irish Catholics. 
 Such is the record preserved in the Strafford State Papers ; and, 
 alas ! for the honour of the monarch, there are too clear indica- 
 tions of his complicity in the faithless policy of the viceroy.* 
 
 This injustice was not the only one that marked the govern- 
 ment of lord Strafford. During the reign of James, one fair 
 province in Ireland had been confiscated to the crown ; Strafford 
 now resolved on the confiscation of the three remaining provinces. 
 Jurors were openly threatened with the vengeance of the viceroy, 
 should they refuse to find verdicts for the king ; and in a 
 little while the whole of Connaught was confiscated to the crown. 
 The punishment inflicted on jurors who refused to deprive the 
 lawful proprietors of their estates, is recorded in the journals of the 
 House of Commons, which tell us, " that jurors who gave their 
 verdict according to their consciences, were censured in the castle 
 chamber in great fines ; sometimes pilloried with loss of ears, 
 and bored through the tongue, and sometimes marked in the 
 forehead with a hot iron, and other infamous punishments."t 
 
 At the same time, a Court of Wards was established ; also, the 
 High Commission Court, or Protestant Inquisition, was extended 
 to Ireland, and many other vexatious enactments were levelled 
 against the Irish Catholics. All these grievances are well 
 compendiated in a petition presented by the Irish agents to the 
 Pope, in 16404 It is entitled Gravamina Regni Hibernian, and 
 is as follows: — 
 
 * See State Papers, vol. i. page 279 ; and letter of the king, ibid, page 331. 
 
 t Commons' Journals, vol. i. page 307. The fate of the courageous jurors of 
 Galway is well known to our readers. Their estates were seized by order of 
 the Exchequer ; they were moreover fined four thousand pounds each, and 
 sentenced to be imprisoned till this fine was paid ; and then they were to 
 acknowledge their offence in open court upon their knees. The sheriff, too, 
 for returning such a jury, was fined £1,000. See Strafford's Letters, i. 451-3 ; 
 Leland, book v. chap. 1 ; Carte's Ormond ; O'Connell's Memoir, etc. 
 
 % "Bmb. Pater, — Expommtur S. V. aliqua gravamina Kegni Hiberniae eo 
 
386 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 " 1. The English seeing that the Catholic religion was so deeply rooted 
 in the Irish hearts, that it could never be eradicated by threats, or vio- 
 lence, or the confiscation of property, or the loss of life itself, now 
 
 animo, ut, si fieri possit, aliquod salutiferum remedium in levamen Catholico- 
 ruin adhibeatur. 
 
 "I. Cum Angli Catholic» Religionis cultum animis Hibernorum adeo esse 
 innatum advertissent, ut vi, metu, rerum jactura, aut eorporum internecione 
 divelli nequeat, quod palam adoriri non sunt ausi, per insidias, humanasq. artes 
 exequi conantur; niediumq. adidopportunum(adiraitationeinolim Romanorum) 
 novas introdncere colonias judieatum fuit, ut sic^neolre Regni, Anglor. et Seotor. 
 hereticor. familiaritati assueti, sub specie recti haeresis veneno inficerentur. 
 Modus introducendi colonias inter Christianos hactenus inauditus, et iis, qui rem 
 experti non sunt, incredibilis, talis est. Primo per edictum regium decernitur, 
 colonias esse erigendas (seu ut ipsi vocant) plantationem esse faciendam, 
 quia plantaut, seu seminant zizania simul cum tritico, hoc est haereticos inter 
 catholicos : designant ad eum effectum certum aliquem comitatum, vel provin- 
 ciam : citautur omnes Domini directi territorii designati, quibus injungitur, ut 
 juribus Suis, ac antecessorum cedendo, beneplacito se regis submittant : qui ob- 
 stiterint, spoliantur omnibus suis possessionibus, nulla habita ratione familiaj 
 antiquitatis, aut juris ipsonim; qui vero permittunt suuui jus, ac possessiones 
 regis beneplacito, facto publico super hoc instrumento, decernitur, omnes, quorum 
 possessiones centum agri jugera non excederent, privates esse omni titulo, ac 
 jure in perpetuum, nulla facta eis recompensatione pro sua possessione. Quorum 
 aut possessiones excedunt centum jugera, quarta pars sit regis, tres alia? partes 
 penes dominum relinquuntur, sed ad beneplacitum regis, cum certis conditioni- 
 bus adimplendis sub pcena jaeturae totius juris, ac dominii, quas implere est 
 impossibile. In recognitionem vero directi dominii principis ex quolibet ju- 
 gere certum censum quotannis solvere teuentur ex parte sibi relicta suarum pos- 
 sessionum, et ut plurimum coguntur de loco nativo, ac suorum patrum trans- 
 migrare in locum alterius per commutationem, ut sic intelligant nullum sibi 
 relictum dominium directum in territoriis possessis. Pars territorii, quae regi 
 cedit, distribuitur inter Anglos et Scotos haereticos ea tamen conditione, ut 
 Hibernis nee vendant, nee pignoi-ent ullas suas possessiones, et ad eas compa- 
 randas absque speciali privilegio regis redduntur inhabiles Hiberni. 
 
 "II. Gravamen : Nuper item fuit erectum novum tribunal, sanctae Inquisi- 
 tionis instar, in qualibet regni provincia, cujus commissarii jus habent, omnes 
 ecclesiasticos citare, damnare, ac exilio punire, et quoscumque, in haeresim 
 invehentes tanquam haereticos castigare. Ista nova inventio multorum 
 Catholicoram ci'umenas prius exhausit, quam intellexerunt artem, et futura 
 pericula graviora praevident, nee impedire possunt, prout diversis ex partibus 
 epistolae declarant. 
 
 " III. Per edictum publicum Christiani magistri juventuti Catholicae adempti 
 sunt, ut natio alias avida doctrinae in tenebris ignorantiae jaceret, aut certe sub 
 preeeptoribus Lutheranis tenera aetas erroribus haereticae pravitatis corrum- 
 peretur. Simili peste J ulianus apostata rem Christiam insecutus est, ad cujus 
 forte exemplum hae nobis insidiae parantur. 
 
 "IV. Quia in Hibernia, omnes Ecclesiee parocbiales ministeriis, ac sepid- 
 turis hasreticorum pollutae, Catholicus populus pro majori parte sepulturas 
 suas fieri curabant in certis monasteriis mendicantium, quia reditibus vacua 
 neglecta sunt ab haereticis et ita quos iu vita socios habere fugiebant, in morte 
 separatos optabant. Quare vice-rex hoc advertens stricte mandavit, omnes 
 cujuscumque status aut religionis sepeliendos esse in ecclesis parochialibus. 
 
 " Haec et alia gravamina populi Catholici regni Hibernise non tarn de consensu 
 sermi. regis, quam ministrorum nequitia et avaritia introducta esse creduntur^ 
 excepto primo gravamine, quod regem latere non potest, quern Incolas, quor. 
 ultimum exterminium in eo positum est, furtive, frequenterque infoi-mant, et 
 supplicant." 
 
Chap. XVII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 387 
 
 attempt to insidiously attain the end, which they could never arrive at 
 by open violence. In imitation of the pagans of ancient Rome, they 
 deemed the introduction of new colonies the best means for this pur- 
 pose, that thus the inhabitants of the kingdom, through familiar inter- 
 course with the English and Scotch heretics, might be infected with the 
 poison of heresy. Their manner of establishing these colonies was 
 never before heard of among Christian nations, and must seem incredible 
 to those who have not witnessed it. In the first place, a royal edict 
 is published, to the effect that a colony is to be erected, that is, in their 
 phraseology, that a plantation is to be made ; for they truly plant or 
 sow the cockle amidst the good corn, that is, heretics amongst the 
 Catholics. For this purpose they mark out a certain county or province ; 
 all the direct proprietors are summoned to appear on an appointed day, 
 to surrender to the crown their own possessions and those of their fore- 
 fathers, that thus they may conciliate the clemency of the king. Those 
 who offer any resistance are at once despoiled of all they possessed, with- 
 out regard to the dignity of their family, or to the justice of their claim. 
 As regards those who submit without resistance, a public instrument 
 is at once drawn up, declaring the royal title ; those whose property does 
 not exceed one hundred acres, are at once despoiled of all right or title 
 to it for ever, and receive no compensation for it whatsoever ; as regards 
 those whose property exceeds one hundred acres, a fourth part of it is 
 seizedfor the king, the other three parts are allowed to remain in the hands 
 of the proprietor, only, however, at the king's pleasure, and subject 
 to certain conditions (whose fulfilment is impossible), under penalty 
 of forfeiture of all right and dominion. In recognition of the 
 direct dominion of the king, they are obliged to pay a certain 
 rent for each acre that remains to them ; and for the most part they 
 are compelled to quit their home, and the home of their fathers, and 
 change to some other place, that thus it may be made more manifest 
 that they retain no direct dominion over the lands which are left with 
 them. The territory which is seized by the crown, is divided between 
 the English and Scotch heretics, on condition, however, that they 
 neither sell nor set any portion of it to the Irish ; and, moreover, the 
 Irish are declared by law incapable of acquiring a title to any such 
 property, without a special privilege from the king. 
 
 " 2. A new tribunal, like to the Inquisition, was erected in each 
 province of the kingdom. Its commissaries have the right to summon 
 all ecclesiastics before them, and punish them and even condemn them 
 to exile, and to sentence as heretics all those who preach against their 
 heresies. This new scheme emptied the pockets of the Catholics before 
 they well understood its object ; and they foresee greater impending 
 dangers, which it is not in their power to prevent, as letters from various 
 parts make manifest/ 
 
 " 3. By public proclamation, Catholic teachers are prohibited to teach 
 Catholic youth, so that a nation, otherwise most eager for knowledge, 
 must be enveloped in the darkness of ignorance, or otherwise its chil- 
 
388 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 dren, in their tender years, must be subjected to Lutheran teachers, 
 and thus corrupted with the errors of heretical depravity. By a 
 like pest, Julian the Apostate sought to infect the Christian Church, 
 after whose example it is, perhaps, that these snares are prepared 
 for us. 
 
 " 4. Aa in Ireland all the parish churches were polluted by the 
 heretical functions and the burial of heretics, the Catholics, for the 
 most part, sought to be interred in some of the monasteries of the 
 Mendicant Friars, which, being destitute of revenues, had been allowed 
 to remain in Catholic hands, that thus in death they might remain 
 separated from those whose society they shunned during life. Wherefore, 
 the viceroy perceiving this, issued strict orders that all, of whatsoever 
 class or condition, should be interred in the parish (Protestant) 
 churches. 
 
 " These and other grievances of the Catholic people of the kingdom 
 of Ireland, are attributed, not so much to the wishes of his most serene 
 majesty, as to the iniquity and avarice of his ministers, with the excep- 
 tion, perhaps, of the first grievance, of which his majesty cannot be 
 ignorant, and about which the natives of the kingdom, knowing that 
 their utter extermination was involved in it, repeatedly informed and 
 supplicated his majesty." 
 
 The High Commission Court was deemed a special injustice by 
 the Irish Catholics. It was so odious an establishment, and so 
 manifestly destined to engender dissensions in the country, that 
 the viceroy did not attempt it till after the dissolution of 
 parliament. In the remonstrance presented to the king by the 
 Irish Catholic nobility and gentry, assembled at Trim, in 1642, 
 special mention is made of the vexations which this Protestant 
 inquisition involved, and amongst its other consequences are 
 commemorated — "An incapacity of the Catholics for all offices 
 and employments ; a disability to sue out livery of their estates 
 without taking the oath of supremacy ; severe penalties of 
 various kinds inflicted on all those of the Catholic religion, 
 although the Catholics were an hundred to one more numerous 
 than those of any other religion."* 
 
 The other tribunal, styled the Court of Wards, professed itself 
 the watchful guardian of the estates of minors in the kingdom 
 of Ireland. Its fruits, however, as detailed in the " remonstrance" 
 
 * Eemonst. from Trim. Curry, Hist. Rev. page 125, seqq. 
 
Chap. XVII.] DE. THOMAS FLEMING. 389 
 
 just referred to, sufficiently prove 'that such guardianship was 
 only the tender affection of the wolf for the lambs : — 
 
 " Sir William Parsons, by whom it was first projected, was appointed 
 master of it — a man justly and universally hated by the Irish; and 
 such were the arbitrary and illegal proceedings of that court, that the 
 heirs of Catholic noblemen and other Catholics were destroyed in their 
 estates, and bred in dissolution and ignorance ; their parents' debts 
 unsatisfied ; their sisters and younger brothers left wholly unprovided 
 for ; the ancient proved tenures of mesne lands disregarded ; estates, 
 valid in law, and made for valuable considerations, made void against 
 law ; and the whole land filled with frequent swarms of escheators, 
 feudatories, pursuivants, and others, by authority of that court." * 
 
 These measures of the government were looked upon by the 
 Irish Catholics as aiming at little less than the utter extirpation 
 of the whole nation. At first, however, the Catholics were 
 more leniently proceeded with, that thus the courts themselves 
 might be the more firmly rooted in the country. On 23rd 
 November, 1637, father Columbanus, an Irish Carmelite, writes 
 from Dublin to the secretary of the Sacred Congregation, that 
 his silence hitherto should be imputed to the pestilence and war, 
 and to his great distance from the Holy See. " However," he 
 adds, " all things here prosperously succeed in our mission, nor 
 are we without apostolic men, who manfully labour for the 
 conversion of souls, to whose ministry the present times are 
 sufficiently favourable, as the violence of the persecution is less 
 than in former years." The bishop of Down and Connor, too, 
 thus writes from his place of retreat, on the 12th September, 1636 : 
 
 " As regards the state of this kingdom, matters as yet tranquilly 
 proceed with us ; but day by day the report goes on increasing that a 
 dreadful storm of bitter persecution will soon overwhelm us, unless God 
 in His mercy preserve us from it. Would to God that by my own 
 individual sufferings I might be allowed to expiate whatever yet remains 
 of our fathers' guilt, that thus the remainder of His people might devote 
 themselves without obstacle to the service of God."t 
 
 * Remonst. from Trim. 
 
 t "Quod ad hujus regni statum attinet tranquiUe adhuo vivimus ; verum 
 de die in diem increbescit rumor quod ingena sasvissimae persecutions tem- 
 pestas (quam Deua opt. max. pro sua miserioordia avertat) brevi superven- 
 tura sit ; qute utiiiam mei solius cruciatibus, quod adhuo iniquitatis patrum 
 
390 DE. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 By degrees the storm went on increasing, till, at the close of 
 Strafford's administration, when the petition above cited was pre- 
 sented to the Holy See, nothing short of utter extermination 
 seemed to impend over the Irish Catholics. A little later this 
 intent was openly avowed by the ministers of the government, 
 and this it was that chiefly goaded on the Irish people to that 
 revolution, which marks the year 1641 as one of the most im- 
 portant eras in our modern history. We will subsequently 
 return to that period ; we must first, however, revert to the 
 ecclesiastical affairs which occupied our archbishop during these 
 years of his administration; and we will conclude this chapter 
 with the words of Mr. Grainger, who, speaking of the reign of 
 Charles I., remarks: "The condition of a Catholic missioner at 
 the beginning of this reign was different from what it was at 
 the latter end of it, when religious zeal against popery was 
 heightened and inflamed with all the rage of faction. If a 
 Turkish dervise had then preached Mahomet in England, he 
 would have met much better treatment than a popish priest."* 
 
 nostrorum inultum est, deleat, ut reliquus populiis possit Deo libere famulari ; 
 cujus benignitati," etc. 
 
 "Datum 12 Sept. 1636, styl. vet. 
 
 "Fr. Bona ventura, Epus. Dunen. et Coimoren." 
 * Biograph. Hist, of England, ii. p. 208. 
 
Chap. XVIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING, 
 
 391 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 DIOCESAN AND PROVINCIAL SYNODS, AND OTHER ECCLESI- 
 ASTICAL EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THIS PERIOD. 
 
 Synod of Kilkenny, in 1624. — Dr. RootheV Address to the Clergy, or Cautio 
 Ecolesiastica. — Cahill, and Ms Complaints against the Regulars. — Synod of 
 Drogheda, in 1626. — Synod of the Bishops of Leinster and Munster, in 
 1629, at Kilkenny : its Decrees. — Letter of Dr. Roche, of Ferns, on the 
 State of the Irish Church. — Synod held by Dr. Fleming at Tyrchogir, in 
 1640. — Utility of those Synods.— Capuchins established in Dublin. — 
 Dispute as to whether the Franciscans were obliged to contribute to the 
 support of the Ordinary. — Rev. L. Sedgrave and Rev. J. Talbot endow a 
 College in Antwerp. — Visit of Bishops and Limina Apostolorum to be made 
 every ten years. — Resolutions of the Propaganda regarding the Irish 
 Church. — Letter of the four Archbishops : their address to the Card. Prefect 
 of Propaganda. — The four Archbishops madeDelegates of the Apostolic See, 
 to terminate disputes with Regulars. 
 
 On the 4th September, 1624, the bishops of Ossory, Cork, 
 Limerick, and Emly, with Daniel Kearney, vicar-general of 
 Cashel ; Laurence Lea, vicar-general of the united sees of Water- 
 ford and Lismore ; Richard Connell, vicar-apostolic of Kerry ; 
 Robert Barry, vicar-apostolic of Ross; and Malachy Queely, 
 vicar-apostolic of Killaloe, assembled in the city of Kilkenny, to 
 deliberate on the necessities of the Irish Church, and make 
 such arrangements as might restore peace and harmony, espe- 
 cially between the various branches of the secular and regular 
 clergy.* Their first care was to re-sanction the constitutions of 
 1618, which, they add, " though enacted for the sole province 
 of Armagh, were, nevertheless, accepted and adopted by the 
 other provinces-"! Any doubtful or contentious privileges which 
 might be claimed by the religious, were to be jealously watched 
 over by their respective superiors; their assemblies, too, and 
 chapters, were to be held with secrecy, and in some retired place, 
 that the alarm of government might not be awakened ; the 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Sac. Cong, de Prop. Fid. 
 
 f "Per alias postmodum provincias usu et acceptione approbate sunt." — 
 Ibid. 
 
392 DE. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 number of novices was to be limited in accordance with the 
 decree of the holy Pontiff, Urban VIII., nor were they to 
 be sent to the Irish missions till they had completed their 
 sacred studies, and prepared themselves for the peculiar wants 
 of our suffering Church. On the other hand, the religious were 
 to be cherished by the parochial clergy, and invited to assist in 
 the discharge of the sacred ministry. The regulations thus 
 agreed on were published as a " consultatio unitiva," and the 
 last decree which was sanctioned by the assembled prelates, 
 sufficiently explains the motive of these enactments. " The 
 Sacred Congregation of Propaganda," they say, " will be peti- 
 tioned by us, not to allow the union of the bishop with his 
 flock to be interfered with by the immunities or exceptional 
 faculties of the religious orders: for, everything else has been 
 destroyed in this country; the monuments of faith are no more; 
 the cloisters are in ruins; the monasteries are plundered ; the 
 ecclesiastical property is seized by alien hands ; the churches 
 themselves are taken possession of by the Protestants ; the faithful 
 flock alone now remains to the pastor, and hence, special diligence 
 must be used lest any dissensions or discord should creep in to 
 separate and divide them."* 
 
 Dr. David Roothe, as senior bishop, presided in 'the assembly. 
 A few years later, he issued an address to the clergy, which 
 was styled Cautio Ecclesiastica, or an Ecclesiastical Warning, 
 in which he placed before them the many evils that preyed 
 upon the Church and benumbed its energy, whilst he repeated 
 the injunctions of the assembled prelates of Kilkenny. He com- 
 memorates a decreeof the Sacred Congregation, transmitted to the 
 Irish bishops on 21st August, 1626, reprobating the manner 
 of celebrating the patron feasts observed in some districts, and 
 the importunity occasionally displayed by the religious in the 
 collection of alms : " this decree," he adds, " we wish the more 
 especially to enforce, on account of the patron-celebration which 
 was lately witnessed in our own diocese, in which such a number 
 of the people assembled, and such a continual feasting was kept 
 up, even in the presence of heretics and other enemies of our 
 
 * Consultatio CTnitiva, etc. ex Arcbiv. S. Cong, de Prop. Fid. 
 
Chap. XVIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 393 
 
 Church, that not only were the faithful scandalized, but the 
 pastors of other districts were exposed to persecution, and a 
 government investigation was ordered, which, in part, is still 
 impending over us." He also, in fine, warns his flock against 
 some erroneous propositions which were imputed to the religious, 
 especially to the Franciscans in Ireland, and of which we will 
 just now speak. " They have been condemned," he says, " by 
 the Parisian faculty, as well as by the nuncio of the Holy See 
 in Belgium, and the archbishops of Dublin and Tuam have also 
 written to Rome against them." This pastoral exhortation was 
 long a standard work in the Irish Church ; its sentiments were 
 re-echoed, not only by individual bishops, but also by the 
 assembled prelates, and its enactments were revered as dictated 
 by fervent piety, and true zeal for the glory of the house of 
 God. 
 
 The propositions referred to by Dr. Roothe, were one of the 
 many accusations preferred against the religious orders of Ire- 
 land, by their embittered enemy, Patrick Cahill. This unhappy 
 man culled from their writings a series of doctrinal assertions, 
 which, detached from their context, were erroneous and non- 
 sensical in the extreme ; and these* he presented to the Parisian 
 faculty as the teaching of the Irish religious. The Jansenistic 
 enemies of the Holy See eagerly fanned the flame of discord, 
 whilst the main prompters of dissension secretly enjoyed the 
 patronage and protection of the .English government. The 
 Holy See resolved at length to root out the growing evil, and 
 
 * The following are the eleven propositions which Cahill submitted for 
 examination to the Parisian theologians : — 
 
 "1. Hierarchia Ecolesiastica constat ex Pontifice, Cardinalibus, Archiepis- 
 copis, Episcopis et Regularibus. 
 
 ' ' 2. Sacerdotes sunt rneri sasculares. 
 
 ' ' 3. P^egulares sunt veri et soli curati seu Pastores. 
 
 "4. Regulares possunt ministrare omnia Sacrameuta etiam invito Parocho. 
 
 ' ' 5. Parochiani non tenentur in propria Parochia communicare in Paschate. 
 
 "6. Solis Regularibus competit vocari Patres. 
 
 "7. Ecclesiastical Hierarchiae pars prndentior selectiorque sunt Regulares. 
 
 ' ' 8. Superiores Regularium digniores sunt Episcopis. 
 
 ' ' 9. Securius et salubrius est peccata Regularibus quam Pastoribus confiteri. 
 
 " 10. In partibus Hsereticorum non tenetur populus Christianus necessariam 
 snstentationem suo Parocho subministrare. 
 
 "11. Privilegia Regularium non potest Papa revocare." — Wadding Papers, 
 Rome. 
 
394 DE. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 letters were sent to Drs. Fleming, archbishop of Dublin; 
 Malachy Queely, archbishop of Tuam ; Eugene Sweeny, bishop 
 of Kilmore; and Rock MacGeoghegan, bishop of Kildare,* 
 authorizing them to investigate the teaching of the religious 
 orders, and to report to the Holy See on the accusations which 
 were made against them. These prelates carefully fulfilled the 
 mission entrusted to them ; and whilst in reply they condemned 
 the propositions as schismatical and erroneous, they at the same 
 time declared that such propositions were falsely and maliciously 
 imputed to the religious of Ireland. 
 
 In the month of July, 1626, there was a solemn assembly of 
 Irish prelates in the town of Drogheda. Early in the preced- 
 ing year, bishops had been appointed to the sees of Kilmore, 
 Down, and Elphin, yet it was only now that the elected prelates 
 hastened to St. Peter's church, in Drogheda, to receive the 
 solemn imposition of hands from the archbishop of Dublin. 
 Dr. Hugh MacMahon was the bishop thus consecrated for 
 Kilmore; a little later he was translated to the see of Armagh, 
 and the clergy, when petitioning for his appointment, describe 
 him as remarkable for piety and zeal, and as closely allied with 
 the chief nobility of Ulster.t Boetius Egan was consecrated 
 for the see of Elphin : a contemporary writer styles him " vir 
 venerabilis et praedicator eximius.'l He, too, outlived most of 
 the sad vicissitudes of the eventful era of 1641, and died full of 
 merits and of years, in 1650. The third bishop consecrated to 
 the see of Down and Connor was Dr. Edmund Dungan : he was 
 beloved by his contemporaries on account of his meekness and 
 many virtues,§ and he was destined to die for the faith in the 
 dungeons of Dublin Castle, in 1629. 
 
 * The letter of the Holy See is dated 10th May, 1631. The conjoint reply 
 of Drs. Fleming and Sweeny is dated 4th September, the same year, and they 
 plainly assert " regulares hujus regni nullam prorsus ex propositionibus 
 prffidictis protulisse.' 
 
 t The Consistorial Acts register his appointment to the see of Kilmore on 
 9th June, 1625, and his translation to Armagh on 21st of August, 1628. He 
 died in the month of February, 1653. 
 
 J This is a marginal note in Mooney's MS. History of the Irish Franciscans. 
 
 § On the death of Dr. M'Caghwell, many solicited the translation of Dr. 
 Dungan to the primatial see. In the petition he is described as " di vita inte- 
 gerrima e tenuto in molta venerazione in quei paesi, dai nobili, dal clero e dal 
 popolo." — Wadding Papers. 
 
Chap. XVIII] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 395 
 
 Before separating, the assembled prelates made some wise 
 regulations to promote the spiritual welfare of their flocks ; and 
 the bishops of Down and Kilmore, together with the various 
 vicars-apostolic and vicars-general of the northern sees, addressed 
 a common letter to Rome,* protesting against the attacks to 
 which the archbishop of Dublin was subjected, and attesting 
 his prudence and indefatigable zeal in watching over the spiritual 
 interests of the flock entrusted to his care. 
 
 Three years later, the bishops of Leinster andMunster assem- 
 bled again under the hospitable roof of Dr. David Roothe. 
 Their deliberations commenced on the 24th, and terminated on 
 the 27th of August. Dr. Thomas Walsh, archbishop of Cashel,f 
 with his suffragans, Dr. William Terry, bishop of Cork and 
 Cloyne, and Dr. Patrick Comerford, bishop of Waterford and 
 Lismore, represented .the southern province; whilst Dr. Flem- 
 ing, archbishop of Dublin, who presided, and his suffragans of 
 Ossory and Ferns, represented the province of Leinster. Their 
 meeting had none of the formalities of a synod ; they assembled 
 merely to deliberate on what measures might be adopted in 
 their respective dioceses to promote the interests of the Church, 
 and give new impulse to the piety of the faithful. In their 
 first resolution they adopt the decrees of the Council of Trent,t 
 and inculcate their observance,' excepting only those decrees 
 whose observance was as yet impracticable in the Irish Church, 
 such as the decrees regarding clandestine marriages, the wearing 
 of the tonsure by the clergy, &c. 
 
 2. The use of lacticinia during lent, as permitted in the pro- 
 
 * Wadding Papers, 27th July, 1626. 
 
 + Dr. Walsh arrived in Ireland in the summer of 1628. The bishop of Ferns 
 thus writes to Luke Wadding, from Paris, on 20th October, 1628: — "The 
 French that hitherto could not peep out but that they were taken by the 
 English, now do go as far as between England and Ireland, and there have 
 taken six ships of Waterford and made prizes of them ; so a friar writeth from 
 London, and that my lord of Cashel was arrived in London, bound presently 
 for his country. Our Lord be praised, he broke off with his Polanders in 
 Amsterdam, and God provided for him a passage from Rotterdam to London." 
 — From the original letter in English, amongst the Wadding Papers, Pome. 
 
 % The archbishop of Cashel writes erefugii loco, die 3o Junii, 1634 : " Con- 
 cilium Tridentinum nusquam fuit hactenus promulgatum in Provincia Cassil- 
 ensi, unde necessum fuit iu visitatione Metropolitica turn in causis quibus- 
 cumque ad nos delatis procedere secundum jus commune et antiquissimam 
 Ecelesice Cassilensis praxim." 
 
396 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 vince of Dublin, was approved of for the province of Cashel, 
 so that butter, milk, and cheese might be allowed on every day w 
 with the exception of Ash- Wednesday and Good-Friday. 
 
 3. Holy orders were to be conferred but seldom, and only 
 when necessary to supply the place of deceased missioners, or 
 when required by the wants of the faithful. Commendatory 
 letters, too, were to be granted with great caution, lest the fair 
 fame of the Irish clergy might be dishonoured in the churches 
 of the continent. 
 
 4. Bishops and others having authority to grant permission 
 to bless vestments, and similar religious privileges, were to limit 
 their use to their respective dioceses, and such privileges were 
 to be exercised only with the consent of the local ordinaries. 
 
 The subsequent decrees chiefly regard the relations which 
 should subsist between the bishops and the regular clergy. 
 Houses merely rented for a limited time, were not to be rec- 
 koned as monasteries, or exempted from episcopal visitation. 
 Convents of nuns were to be opened only after mature delibe- 
 ration, and no one was to be admitted to take vows in them 
 without sufficient means being secured for her maintenance. 
 In fine, it was resolved that a similar assembly of prelates 
 should be held every year, or at least every alternate year : the 
 place of meeting was to be appointed by the metropolitan, and 
 the decrees sanctioned at the present conference were to be re- 
 enacted, or re-modelled, as the peculiar circumstances of the 
 times would require.* 
 
 Dr. John Roche, bishop of Ferns, had arrived in Ireland just 
 in time to take part in this episcopal assembly, and, in a paper 
 addressed to Rome, on 1st December, 1629, he gives some inter- 
 esting details connected with it, as well as with the few Irish sees 
 which he had visited. "We give a few extracts from this inva- 
 luable paper : — 
 
 "Peace being concluded between France and England, I started 
 from Paris in the month of May, and arrived in Ireland in July. I 
 tarried some time in London, for the sole purpose of learning what 
 was the feeling there regarding the controversy which is so warmly 
 
 * We give the original decrees in Appendix. 
 
Chai\ XVIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 397 
 
 carried on between some of the religious and the bishop of Chalcedon. 
 Having read the writings of both sides, and discoursed a good deal 
 with some of the chief members, I find that they are very much exaspe- 
 rated against each other, and that they cannot agree even on the 
 state of the question which they discuss. The only remedy, in my 
 opinion, is that the Holy See should directly interfere and pronounce 
 its judgment, for both parties will readily submit to its decision. 
 
 " Dublin being the capital and chief port of Ireland, I sailed thither 
 in the month of July, after waiting for a favourable wind for a whole 
 month, on the English coast. On the third day after my arrival, the 
 viceroy sent to a friend of mine to inquire where I was, or whether I 
 had as yet left Dublin ; on being informed that I had gone to the 
 country for a few days to live retired, and to avoid giving offence to 
 the civil authorities, he said that he was already aware of my peace- 
 able disposition, and that I might rest assured no annoyance would be 
 given me, unless accusations in time to come should be made against 
 me. 
 
 " I stopped but a short time in the city and neighbourhood of Dublin, 
 but I found there a very angry feeling to subsist between the secular 
 
 and regular clergy I thence proceeded to Meath, where I met the 
 
 bishop, who is an exemplary man and full of energy in the discharge 
 of his sacred duties. I found our holy religion flourishing in his 
 diocese, as far as the sad condition of our country will permit. There 
 are but few heretics there, whilst there is a numerous clergy, and the 
 parochial districts are admirably arranged. This diocese had for- 
 merly two Cistercian monasteries and the famous school of Melifont ; 
 now nothing remains but the bare title for those who are styled 
 abbots. 
 
 " From Meath I went to Ossory, being invited by its bishop to 
 assist at an assembly of the Dublin and Cashel bishops, which was to 
 be held in Kilkenny on an appointed day. The bishop of Ossory is 
 Dr. David Roothe, who is an ornament to his country by his writings 
 and illustrious deeds.* The other bishops ascribe to his exhortations 
 and counsel all the good that they perform ; for as he is the senior of 
 all in years and episcopate, so also is he a model and an example to us 
 all. He enlivens our vigilance — invites us to assemble together to 
 deliberate ; when assembled, he entertains us at his own expense ; he 
 directs our deliberations, proposes the matters to be discussed, and by 
 his suavity of manner and the clearness of his reasoning, inclines all 
 to his opinion, and maintains unity in our resolutions. 
 
 '' The very day that I arrived in Kilkenny, the archbishop of Dublin, 
 the metropolitan of our province, also arrived there, and the arch- 
 bishop of Cashel, with his suffragans of Cork and Waterford. We all 
 
 * In the last chapter of this Eelatio, when recapitulating his preceding 
 narrative, Dr. Roche says of the bishop of Ossory : "In dicecesi Ossoriensi 
 comperi loci antistitem vivum exemplar veri prselati et pastoris. " 
 
398 
 
 DK. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 stayed with the bishop of Ossoiy, without any ostentations display, 
 and without awakening the alarm of the government authorities. On 
 the same day, having invoked the Holy Ghost, we held our first ses- 
 sion ; the following days we again assembled, both in the morning and 
 in the evening, and after three days' deliberation, we terminated our 
 
 sessions with great mutual joy and concord 
 
 "The assembly being thus happily closed, I hastened to the see of 
 Ferns, which is my appointed field of labour ; and as there is no 
 chapter to which I could present my bulls, I called together the prin- 
 cipal missionary priests, and notified to them, and to the heads of the 
 religious orders, my consecration to this see. 
 
 " The city of Ferns was once populous and important ; it is now 
 remarkable only for its antiquity, and its ruins scarcely preserve the 
 traces of its former grandeur. Its cathedral church, dedicated under 
 the invocation of St. Aidan, was one of the most illustrious in the 
 whole kingdom, as well for the richness of its ornaments as for the 
 number of benefices which were attached to it : it had an archdeacon, 
 dean, chancellor, treasurer, and ten prebendaries, all which dignities 
 are now occupied by married ministers — pretended ecclesiastics, who 
 are infected with heresy, and nowise occupied with the sacred cere- 
 monies or the praises of God. 
 
 " The pseudo-bishop of this diocese has also another adjoining see. 
 The revenues have been squandered and made away with by the 
 present heretical occupant and his predecessors, so that he receives but 
 little emolument on that score. This defect, however, is abundantly 
 compensated for by the exercise of his jurisdiction : he has erected 
 courts in the various districts of the diocese, the whole object of which 
 is to extort money from the poor Catholics ; for if the Catholics wish 
 their children to be baptized by the priest,* if they contract marriage, 
 or seek burial according to the Catholic ritual, and if they refuse to 
 assist at the Protestant service on Sundays and festivals, they are 
 punished by a pecuniary fine ; and as the whole population is Catholic, 
 
 * In addition to what we have written in the preceding chapters, we might 
 refer to many documents which attest the continual annoyance thus given to 
 the Irish Catholics. As a further instance, we cite the words of the bishop of 
 Down and Connor, who, on the 20th November, 1637, thus writes to the Sacred 
 Congregation : "Si occasionibus quas horum temporum calamitas frequentes 
 parit, tabellariorum corresponderet opportunitas, ex his ad Urbem partibus 
 crebrce forent litterse, nostrarum miseriarum nuncioe, quibus iutellectis, vestrre 
 procul dubio ad commiserandum Eminentite commoverentur. Nam etsi quem- 
 quam nostrum ob oi'thodoxse fidei professionem directe inquietari aut molestari 
 non liceat, nostras tamen Keligionis exercitium quorundam officiariorum in- 
 dustria (ne quid aliud dicam) paulatim dimimutur. Hie siquidem in septen- 
 trionali Ultoniaa tractu, gravi pecuniaria (ut CEetera taceam) muleta puniuntur, 
 qui matrimonium contrahunt coram alio quam Protestante ministro, et qiu 
 prolem alii quam Protestanti baptizandum oflfert. Praterea novaa et novse 
 alienigenarum colonise adduenntur qui expulsis genuinis colonis, omnem pene 
 terram late occupant," &c— Ex Archiv. S.C. 
 
Chap. XVIII] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 399 
 
 and these fines are most diligently collected, a revenue is secured for 
 the pseudo-bishop which more than compensates all his other losses. 
 
 " The diocese of Ferns is sufficiently extensive, and has about seventy 
 parishes, which are at present attended to by more than thirty priests. 
 .... The parochial clergy are, indeed, fewer than in perhaps any other 
 diocese, but nowhere are they better;* and, through the mercy of God, 
 there is not a single priest in the diocese whose fame is iu the slightest 
 degree impaired. Besides the parochial clergy, there are two houses 
 of Franciscans — one at Wexford, and the other at Ross. These 
 religious are good and laborious, living in concord with the secular 
 clergy, and respectful and affectionate towards myself. There are also 
 two Jesuits, who live in Ross, and labour assiduously in instructing the 
 poor. . . . There is also one Dominican, who dedicates himself to the 
 same sacred mission. "f 
 
 Whether the resolution so wisely adopted in this assembly, of 
 convening a similar episcopal meeting at least every two years, 
 was subsequently carried out in the provinces of Leinster and 
 Munster, it is now impossible to determine with certainty. 
 The acts of synods held in the other ecclesiastical provinces, 
 have fortunately come down to us. We have the diocesan 
 synod of Tuam, in 1631, and the provincial council, held in 
 Galway, at the close of the following year.t We have also the 
 acts of the provincial synod of Armagh, § which held its last 
 session on the 14th of July, 1632. A provincial council was 
 
 * He subsequently again writes of his clergy: "Exilis est Parochorum 
 numerus sed nullibi melior in regno ; ad triginta quamvis non exereacat, tamen 
 nullus est angulus dicecesis quo non attingant ad necessaria administranda." 
 
 t This paper is entitled, Narratio Joannis Episcopi Fernensis de statu 
 Ecclesias sua? et aliarum quarundam adjacentium Ecclesiarum in Hibernia, 
 missa ad Sac. Cong, de Prop. Fide, die 1° Decembris, 1629. — Ex Archiv. 
 Sac. Congreg. 
 
 t As the decrees of the diocesan synod of 1631 were adopted by the whole 
 province, and prefixed to the acts of the provincial council, which terminated 
 its labours on the 9th December, 1632, the decrees of both synods are fre- 
 quently cited in later documents as enacted in 1631. 
 
 § This synod was held in the diocese of Ardagh, and commenced its sessions 
 on 10th July, 1632. There were present, besides the archbishop of Armagh, 
 the bishops of Meath, Paphoe, Kilmore, and Down and Connor, the vicars- 
 apostolic of Ardagh, Dromore, and Derry, and the vicars-general of Clonmac- 
 noise and Clogher. In the introductory address, the primate declares the 
 object of the synod to be "reparandis ecclesiarum ruinis quasi inter media 
 irruentium hostium agmina, una manu trullam, et alia gladium tenentes, 
 sedulas admovere manus." The decrees are thirty-nine in number, besides 
 four petitions which were addressed to the Holy See. This synod escaped the 
 attention of the diligent author of Collections on Irish Church History. 
 
 2 D 
 
4"" DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 certainly held by Dr. Fleming, probably in the same year ; but, 
 unfortunately, the sad vicissitudes of the period have deprived 
 us of its decrees : in fact, we find no decrees of any such council 
 in Leinster, till the 29th of July, 1640, when Dr. Fleming, 
 with his suffragans, assembled at Tyrchogir, in the diocese of 
 Kildare* to deliberate once more on the spiritual interests of 
 the sacred charge which was entrusted to their vigilance. 
 Tyrchogir was probably the residence of the aged and infirm 
 Dr. Rock MacGeoghegan.f Dr. Roothe, bishop of Ossory, was 
 also present. The see of Ferns was now vacant; nevertheless, it 
 
 , was represented at the synod by its vicar-general, Dr. William 
 Devereux.J The vicar-apostolic of Leighlin, after administering 
 that diocese for sixteen years, was now on his death-bed ; and 
 hence, that see alone had no representative in Tyrchogir. The 
 chief object of this synod was to command an uniformity of 
 ceremonial and ritual observance in the administration of the 
 sacraments throughout the whole province. The banns for 
 marriage were ordered to be published on three successive 
 Sundays or festivals, according to the council of Trent; the 
 parish priest alone, or the diocesan-ordinary, was to assist at the 
 celebration of marriage: should any other priest, not deputed, 
 
 "attempt to solemnize that sacrament, he was subjected to sus- 
 pension. As regards Church property, a twentieth part of such 
 as was already in possession of the laity should be given in alms, 
 and a tenth of all such property that hereafter might pass into 
 
 * In an old MS. copy of the decrees of this synod, the following note is 
 inserted : " Tyrchogir ecclesia parochialis est prope oppidum cui modernum 
 nomen Portarlington." When referring to the preceding provincial council, 
 the printed text adds, "which was held in the city of Dublin" The MS., 
 however, merely says, "which was held by the present archbishop." 
 
 f Some recent publications register Dr. MaeGeoghegan's death in 1640. De 
 Burgo refers it to 1641 (Hib. Dom. pag. 4S7). However, a list of the Irish 
 bishops, presented to the Sacred Congregation in 1643, describes him as still 
 living, but helpless from paralysis and other infirmities : "Ilvescovo Kildari- 
 ense e fra Iiocco Geogheghan Domenicano paralitico ed impotente." Two 
 years later, i.e., in 1645, Invernizi, who was companion of the nuncio Einuc- 
 cini, sent to pope Innocent X. a Relatio of the Irish sees. He describes the 
 see as vacant by the death of Dr. MacGeoghegan : ' ' Ecclesia Kildariensis 
 nuper Antistite suo orbata." Also, amongst the Wadding Papers of 1644, 
 there is a note at fol. 243 : "Eoccus MacGeoghegan, moritur anno 1644, ante 
 mensem Junium." We may therefore assign his death to May, 1644. 
 
 | The bishop of Ferns, Dr. John Eoche, died on the 9th of April, 1636. 
 His vicar-general, Eev. William Devereux, was confirmed by the metropolitan, 
 and continued to administer the diocese till the appointment of Dr. French. 
 
Chap. XVIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 401 
 
 their possession. The regulars, as well as the private chaplains 
 of the gentry, were prohibited to administer the holy viati- 
 cum, extreme unction, baptism, or matrimony, without the 
 permission of the parish priest. The eleventh decree regards 
 the foreign colleges. For some time many complaints had been 
 made of an unequal distribution of the burses which had been 
 founded in these institutions, for the common benefit of the 
 whole Irish Church : some provinces were said to receive more 
 than their proportionate share, whilst others were deprived of 
 their due proportion at the discretion of the respective superiors. 
 The assembled prelates protest* against such an abuse, declaring 
 it injurious to the institutions themselves, and to the vital in- 
 terests of the Irish Church. In conclusion, the decrees of the 
 provincial synod of 1614 were again ratified and re-sanctioned, 
 and the bonds of unity and charity being thus renewed, all 
 returned to their respective sees before the close of July, 1640. 
 To the many synods held at this period throughout the various 
 provinces, we may ascribe the rapid advance which was made in 
 repairing the ravages of the preceding era, and in building up 
 anew the mystic structure of the temple of God. They enli- 
 vened the energy of the clergy, gave life and vigour to the 
 hierarchical administration, and quickened and combined the 
 strength and vitality of our Church. They were not always, 
 however, free from danger. The archbishop of Cashel, whilst 
 engaged in celebrating his provincial synod, towards the close 
 of 1632, was arrested, and brought prisoner to Dublin, where he 
 was detained till Strafford found it his interest to set him free, in 
 the following year. The archbishop of Armagh, too, was ar- 
 rested in consequence of his synod, at a later period. In the 
 month of May, 1637, he celebrated a provincial synod, at which 
 were present, amongst others, the bishops of Kilmore, Meath, 
 and Down. Some of those who were censured at its deliberations, 
 
 * A similar protest was made about the same time by the bishops of Cashel. 
 This we learn from a letter of the superior of the Jesuits, father jtoberfc 
 Nugent, who, on the 12th November, 1640, wrote to Rome : "Nuperrime 
 intellexi plures convenisse Episeopos in Provincia Cassellensi ac inter alia 
 de Seminariis Hibernieis in Hispania positis pertraetasse. Ex iis plurimi 
 Hispanorum in Hibernos regimen improbant," etc. — Ex Archiv. Dom. Fro. 
 Romse. 
 
402 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 gave intelligence to the government, and accused the primate of 
 plotting against the state. He was at once thrown into prison 
 in Dublin castle, where, for six weeks, he was detained in a 
 tedious and painful captivity.* We learn these particulars from 
 a letter of the archbishop himself, addressed to Dr. O'Dwyer, in 
 Rome, on 24th October, 1637, in which he further states that 
 as yet his health had scarcely recovered from the severe shock 
 which it received in the damp dungeons of the castle. 
 
 We may now retrace our steps a little, to commemorate some 
 particular events connected with our archbishop. It was by 
 letter of 27th June, 1625, that the general of the Franciscan 
 order permitted the Capuchins to be re-established in our island. 
 They had, indeed, long before laboured with much fruit in the 
 Irish Church ; but owing to the violencef of the persecution, 
 every vestige of their order had completely disappeared. Father 
 Francis Nugent, who had already distinguished himself by his 
 virtue and learning in many of their continental houses, was the 
 person chosen to re-establish their missions in our Church. From 
 the first day he landed on the Irish shores, he found a patron 
 and protector in Dr. Fleming ; and a few years later the arch- 
 bishop gave a written attestation of the good services rendered 
 to religion by these zealous children of St. Francis : — 
 
 " Nos in Domino agnoscimus et attestamur eos, tametsi paucos nu- 
 mero (quod satis dolendum est), haud solum ab odore suavi exemplaris 
 vitas sed etiam ab actionis pise assiduo fructu esse laudatos passim, ita 
 quod omne genus hominum per civitates et villain turmatim illos adeant, 
 sacramentorum et prsedicationis intuitu ; quin et nos, Primoresque alii, 
 ipsorum doctrinam, prndentiam et industriam zelo pacis et modestise 
 unitas valde observavimus."f 
 
 About the same time the question was agitated with great 
 warmth by some opponents of the Franciscan order, whether 
 
 * "Soripsi ad te, via Tuamensi jam a duabus septimanis fuse de omnibus, 
 de quibus seribam hie succiuctim, nimirum quod non potui «state prasterita 
 ad te scribere, quod fui commissus carceri castelli Dublineusis per sesquimensem 
 cum maximo damn o salutis mes, ita ut non antehac omnimode eonvalui." — 
 Epist. Hugonis Armach. 24 Oct. 1637, in Archiv. Sac. Cong, de Prop. Fid. 
 
 t "Per injuriam temporum et saevitiam haereticorum. " — Lett. Gen. Ord. 
 S. F. in Archiv. Sac. Cong. See also Notitia Historica Ordinis Cappuc. in 
 Hibernia, Romas, 1859. 
 
 * Epist. fr. Thom. Archiep. Dublin. 30 Nov. 1629. 
 
Chap. XVIII.] DE. THOMAS FLEMING. 403 
 
 their exemption from contributing to the support of the local 
 ordinary, was based on truth and the canonical decisions of the 
 Church. Dr. Fleming was one of those who pronounced judg- 
 ment in their favour; he moreover published a letter declaring 
 that they were thus exempted by the holy council of Trent, and 
 hence were not bound to contribute the so-called quartam fune- 
 ralium for the maintenance of the bishop or parish priest in 
 whose district their convents might be situated.* The unani- 
 mity with which the Irish bishops adopted this opinion, was 
 eulogised by the continental universities, and still more by the 
 authorities in Rome; it proved that the bishops of Ireland, 
 whether chosen from the ranks of the secular or regular clergy, 
 were not influenced in their decisions by interest or passion, but 
 were solely guided by the canonical enactments of our holy 
 Church. 
 
 We have already seen with what earnestness, at the very 
 outset of his episcopate, Dr. Fleming laboured to promote the 
 interests of the Irish colleges of Douay, Louvain, and Rome. 
 A few years later another college was re-opened at Antwerp, 
 under his auspices and care. Some Irish students, indeed, re- 
 sided in that city as early as the beginning of the seventeenth 
 century; and in the Irish MS. entitled the Flight of the Earls, 
 it is recorded that, when passing through Antwerp, the Irish 
 exiles were publicly received with due honours in that institu- 
 tion. However it had, at that time, only very precarious means 
 of subsistence, and it soon wholly ceased to exist. It was only 
 in 1629 that this nursery of piety was restored to our Irish 
 Church, through the munificence of the rev. Laurence Sedgrave, 
 and of his nephew, rev. James Talbot, who for some time had 
 discharged the duties of vicar-general of Dublin. These worthy 
 ecclesiastics contributed the sum of 13,000 florins towards its 
 re-establishment, and it continued for many years to send forth 
 zealous missioners to recruit the thinned ranks of our persecuted 
 priesthood. One of its collegiate rules will suffice to reveal to 
 us the spirit of self-sacrifice and Christian heroism with which 
 
 * The letter of Dr. Fleming is dated 22 Aprilis, 1627. See Hibernia Do- 
 minic. pag. 108. A similar decision was given by Dr. Dease, bishop of Meath, 
 17th April, 1627 ; by Dr. O'Reilly, bishop of Kilmore, 6th June, 1627 ; and by 
 Dr. Egan, bishop of Elphin, 25th June, 1627, etc. 
 
404 
 
 DK. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XV11I. 
 
 the youthful Levites were prepared for their missionary toils in 
 Ireland. " Each priest," thus the rule enacts, " will offer to God, 
 with all possible devotion, the holy sacrifice of the altar, beseech- 
 ing our divine Redeemer to have mercy on our afflicted and 
 persecuted country, and to strengthen our clergy with His sanc- 
 tifying grace. To attain this end, all the students will, moreover, 
 on each Friday, observe a rigorous fast, and will recite every 
 day, at their evening devotions, the Penitential Psalm, Miserere 
 mei Deus."* 
 
 On the 10th day of May, 1631, permission was granted to the 
 archbishops and bishops of Ireland to make their visit to the 
 sacred limina apostolorum only every tenth year. In the decree 
 of pope Sixtus V., Ireland was expressly named amongst the 
 countries whose bishops should visit Rome every fourth; year 
 and only to the Asiatic bishops, and to those of the New World, 
 and other such distant regions, was the interval extended to ten 
 years. However, a century of persecution had despoiled the 
 bishops of Ireland of all the means which would enable them to 
 undertake this journey at the appointed time, and their presence 
 was needed in their dioceses to guard their flocks from the open 
 assaults of the government, and the more insidious attacks of the 
 established heresy. Hence, as Benedict XIV. remarks,! the 
 Holy See wisely extended to our island the faculty which was 
 reserved for more distant kingdoms. 
 
 Another faculty, still more characteristic of the period of per- 
 secution, was granted a little later to the Irish bishops. The 
 canon law required that sentence of excommunication should be 
 communicated in writing. Owing, however, to the eager 
 anxiety of the English courts to find some clue to the exercise 
 of spiritual jurisdiction by the Catholic clergy, such written 
 documents would be the sure forerunner of imprisonment, and 
 
 * These rules were published in 16S0, being approved of by Mgr. Tanari, 
 internuncio apostolic, and by the bishop of Antwerp. They have prefixed a 
 short history of the foundation of the college, with the title, Priucipium ae 
 Progressus Collegii Pastoralis Hibernorum Antwerpiae. Anno I. D. 1629. 
 
 f De Synod. Diosees. lib. xiii. cap. 6, § 4. A few years previous (in 1625), 
 faculty had been granted to the Irish bishops to make the visit ad limina, by 
 means of a procurator. This faculty, however, was limited to twenty-five 
 years. The person deputed in 1625, by the Irish bishops, to make the visit in 
 their name, was Dr. Edmund O'Dwyer. 
 
Chad. XVIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 405 
 
 perhaps of death. This inconvenience was more than once repre- 
 sented to the Holy See ; and at length, on the 30th January, 
 1638, the following decree emanated from the Sacred Congrega- 
 tion of Propaganda : — 
 
 " Referente eminentisshno Cardinale Pamphilio, S. Congregatio cen- 
 suit si Ssmo. placuerit, concedendam esse faoultatem archiepiscopis et 
 episcopis Hibernias ut possint sine scriptis coram tamen duobus testibus 
 proferre sententiam excommunieationis contra contumaces et inobe- 
 dientes, si periculnm sit, ne ab eis apud magistratus steculares accusentur. 
 
 " Eodeni die Ssnius. Dnns. noster decretum Sac. Congregationis 
 approbavit," etc. 
 
 In 1633, a series of resolutions was drawn up by the S. Con- 
 gregation of Propaganda, comprising some special regulations 
 which were deemed expedient for the Irish Church. Before 
 submitting them, however, to the Holy Father, the cardinal 
 prefect of the Sacred Congregation transmitted them to the four 
 archbishops, requesting them to forward without delay to Rome 
 their judgment as to the opportuneness and utility of such 
 resolutions. 
 
 Towards the close of November, 1635, the four archbishops 
 assembled in a small hut in a remote district on the borders of 
 Leinster, to draw up their reply to the Sacred Congregation* 
 The first decree had reference to the number of bishops in each 
 province ; and our archbishops remark, that in the provinces of 
 Armagh and Munster, three bishops, with their respective arch- 
 bishop, would be required for the present wants of the Church, 
 whilst in each of the smaller provinces of Leinster and Con- 
 naught, two bishops, with the archbishop, would suffice. They 
 suggest that no more vicars-apostolic should be appointed, 
 but that the vacant sees should be given in administration to the 
 neighbouring prelates. In appointing to the vacant sees, they 
 request the Sacred Congregation to pay no attention to the re- 
 commendations of the continental governments, or of the nobility 
 at home ; the Irish bishops were best acquainted with the wants of 
 the various districts, and with the merits of those whom they would 
 propose to receive the sanction of the Holy See. Incidentally 
 
 * " In unum tuguriolum ob temporum injurias multis expositi periculis 
 convenimus." — Epist. 28 Nov. 1635. 
 
406 
 
 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 they mention, that a report had reached them of a decision of 
 Rome, that no regulars should in future be appointed to the 
 metropolitan sees. They express a hope that such a report 
 would prove to be groundless. " In regard to Ireland," they 
 add, " the only metropolitan see thus occupied is the see of 
 Dublin, and the religious by whom it is filled is conspicuous 
 alike for his high lineage, vigilance, zeal, and learning."* 
 
 The second resolution of Propaganda had for its object the 
 translation of bishops to the more important sees. The arch- 
 bishops reserved their remarks on this head to their next pro- 
 vincial councils, when they would convey separately to the Holy 
 See the wishes of their respective provinces. What was the 
 decision of Dr. Fleming, in his subsequent provincial synod, we 
 have not been able to discover. In regard to Ulster, it was 
 resolved in the provincial council, held in May, 1637, that the 
 see of Clogher should be administered by Armagh, Cionmac- 
 noise by Meath, Derry by Raphoe, Ardagh by Kilmore, and 
 Dromore by Down and Connor. This resolution of the northern 
 prelates was approved of by the Sacred Congregation, on 4th 
 March, 1638, with the clausula that, with the exception of 
 Armagh, the various dioceses thus united should alternately 
 give title to the bishop who ruled the united sees.f In 
 Munster, the bishops were unable to assemble at the appointed 
 
 * "Non est minus nobilis quam vigilans, zelosus et dootus." — Epist. 28 
 Nov. 1635. 
 
 t Die 14° Martii, 1638. — Fuit Congregatio particularis super negotiis 
 Hibernia? in Palatio Emi. D. Cardlis. Spadse, cui interfuerunt cum Emi. sua, 
 DD. Cardd. Pamphilius et Antonius et RR. PP. £>D. Patavius, Maraldus, et 
 Paulutius. Relatis literis Archiepiscopi Ardmaeani et aliorum Eporum. 
 Provincise UTtonias in Provinciali Coneilio eongregatorum, Patres Emi. senten- 
 tiam ejusdem ConcOii probantes censuerunt Ecclesiam Clogherensem dandam 
 esse in administration em Archiepiscopo Ardmacano ; Ecclesiam vero Cluan- 
 ensem Epo. Midensi ; Derrensem, Rapotensi ; Ardaghadensem Kilmorensi ; et 
 Dunensi et Conneren. Dromorensem. In futurum vero durante schismate tan- 
 tum, alternatim Ecclesias prtedictas (excepta Ardmacbana qaee semper danda 
 erit in titulum) dandas esse modo in titulum et modo in administrationem ; ita 
 ut ilia qua? fuit in titulum data, veniente vacatione detnr in administrationem, 
 et qua? in administrationem detur in titulum : et ne per hujusmodi provisiones 
 Diceceses eorumque confinia confundantur, mandarunt soribi Archiepiscopo 
 Ardmachano ut sua? et cfeterarum Ecclesiarum confinia ac loca intra fines 
 cujuscumque Dioecesis existentia diligenter perscribat et copiam authenticam 
 descriptionis apud se conservet aliamque ad S. Congnem. de Prop. Fide mittat 
 et singulis Epis. et Vicariis Aplicis alias similes copias apud eos conservandas 
 consiguet. 
 
Chap. XVIII.] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 407 
 
 time, being threatened with imprisonment by the agents of the 
 government. However, the opinion of one, at least, of its 
 prelates has been preserved to us ; for, Dr. Comerford, bishop of 
 Waterford, on the 20th of January, 1636, wrote to the Sacred 
 Congregation that the chief episcopal sees were those of Cork, 
 Limerick, Waterford, and Killaloe ; and he suggests that Emly 
 should be given in administration to Cashel, and Kilfenora to 
 Limerick, whilst the sees of Ardfert and Ross might continue 
 to be administered by vicars-apostolic. 
 
 The subsequent decrees of the Sacred Congregation regarded 
 the limina apostolorum, the provincial and diocesan visitations, 
 and the publication of the council of Trent, as far as the circum- 
 stances of the country might allow. All these were approved of 
 by the archbishops, and they express their wish that they might 
 be observed most rigorously. 
 
 Another series of resolutions had reference to the religious 
 orders. 
 
 The first and second decrees referred to the collection of alms, 
 and the special privileges of the various religious orders. The 
 archbishops wish the same rules to be observed as were followed 
 by the religious in continental Catholic countries ; and they pray 
 the Holy See to insert in the privileges granted to the religious 
 of Ireland, that all their faculties were to be subservient to the 
 episcopal and parochial rights. 
 
 The third, which limited the number of novitiates, and pre- 
 scribed the strict canonical discipline in their regard, was also 
 warmly approved of by the assembled prelates ; whilst they also 
 recommend the sanction of the fourth decree, which prohibited 
 the custom of carrying about relics and other sacred things, when 
 soliciting the alms of the faithful.* 
 
 A third and concluding series of resolutions regarded the 
 administration of the sacraments and the celebration of the 
 patron-festivals. As to the administration of the sacraments, 
 the archbishops remark that the canons were rigorously observed, 
 
 * "Decretum de ciroumgestatione reliquiarum per quaestores eleemosynarum 
 cenaemus pium, et per illud pradictis quEestoribus tam in ordine ad salutem 
 animse, quam ad famse eonservationem bene provisum." — Letter of the Four 
 Archbishops, 24th Nov. 1635. 
 
408 
 
 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 and none of the clergy were allowed to receive any emolument 
 for the administration of the holy sacraments. A small sum, 
 however, had been fixed in the preceding provincial synods, 
 which should be paid by those whose means permitted it, for 
 the support of the clergy who were engaged in administering 
 the sacraments, and whose only support was derived from these 
 offerings of the faithful. As to the patron-feasts, the Sacred 
 Congregation judged that they should not be celebrated with 
 sumptuous banquets and unbecoming luxury, and much less be 
 made an occasion of frequenting public houses (tabernas), and 
 of acts of public disorder and intemperance. This the prelates 
 declare to be most prudently decreed by the Sacred Congrega- 
 tion, and they add, that such sinful celebrations had already 
 been reprobated and condemned under the severest penalties in 
 their various provincial and diocesan assemblies. 
 
 They conclude by submitting these remarks, and any other 
 resolutions they might have made, to the wisdom of the Sacred 
 Congregation.* 
 
 Before separating, the assembled prelates addressed a common 
 letter to the cardinal protector of Ireland, thanking him for the 
 lively interest which he displayed for the welfare of the Irish 
 Church, and praying him to continue to foster it with the same 
 vigilant and paternal care.f They also addressed another letter 
 to the cardinal prefect of the Sacred Congregation, in which 
 they commemorate the resolution which they had long since 
 formed after mature deliberation, and having consulted, more- 
 over, the most prudent of the clergy, that, viz., an agent or 
 procurator of the Irish bishops should reside in Rome, to repre- 
 sent to his Eminence the wants of our Church, and the desires 
 of the respective bishops, and to communicate to them in return 
 the decisions of the Holy See. Their pecuniary resources, they 
 add, being almost entirely destroyed by the uninterrupted per- 
 secution of so many years, they earnestly solicit the Holy See, 
 
 * Their letter to the secretary of the Sacred Congregation, and their accom- 
 panying remarks, are dated " e loco nostri ref ugii in Hibernia, die 28th Nov. 
 1635," and signed by "Hugo Archiepiscopus Ardmachanus,.totius Hibernise 
 Primas ; fr. Thomas Fleming, Archiepiscopus Dublinensis Hibernise Primas ; 
 Thomas Archiepiscopus Casselensis ; Malachias Archiepiscopus Tuamensis. " — 
 Ex Archiv. S. Cong. 
 
 f We insert this beautiful letter in full in the Appendix. 
 
Chap. XVIII] DR. THOMAS FLEMING. 409 
 
 through the Sacred Congregation, to endow their agent with 
 some ecclesiastical benefice, that he might be able to wholly 
 devote himself to his charge, and thus a great benefit would be 
 conferred upon the whole Irish nation.* 
 
 On the 17th of May, 1636, a brief of pope Urban was expe- 
 dited to Dr. Fleming and the other archbishops, communicating 
 to them a very singular privilege. Each archbishop was con- 
 stituted apostolic delegate for his own province, with all the 
 usual authority and faculties, to last for two years, for the 
 express purpose of putting an end to all dissensions between the 
 secular and regular clergy. They were empowered in the name of 
 the Holy Father to summon to their tribunal all persons, no mat- 
 ter what exemption they might claim, and to decide what- 
 soever controversies might exist in their respective provinces.! 
 
 This special delegated authority thus granted to the 
 archbishops, at once restored peace and tranquillity to 
 our Church. The archbishop of Armagh, after two years' 
 experience, wrote that it was a source of concord and union 
 between the secular and regular clergy, and a blessing granted 
 by God to the whole kingdom. Dr. Edmund O'Dwyer, agent 
 of the Irish bishops in Rome, attested that since the first 
 commencement of the Anglican schism, no greater boon had 
 been conferred on the Irish Church, no happier preservative of 
 peace and charity between all the orders of the ecclesiastical 
 hierarchy throughout the whole kingdom.^ As soon, therefore, 
 
 * See this letter in Appendix. 
 
 t The first to suggest this concession was Dr. Comerford, bishop of Water- 
 ford, who thus writes on 6th July, 1630: "Propter has asmulationes, con- 
 tentiones et sectas, ni fallor, permisit Deus, in posnam peccati novissimam, 
 exoriri persecutionem in omnes Ecclesiasticos hujus regni, quamvis heterodoxi 
 causam obtendant, nimiampublicitatem communitatum, coneionum, missanun, 
 musices, grammatices ac Philosophic et Theologise prselectionum. Unde effec- 
 tum est quod omnia oratoria in prsecipuis civitatibus et oppidis hujus Pegni 
 tisco Regis addicta, Pranciscanorum domus Dublini solo aequata et supellex 
 ablata ; communitates turn B,egularium, turn sascularium Sacerdotum dissipate 
 sint. Paxit Deus ut nostramet culpa acerbiora gravamina et rigidius vexamen 
 non promereamur, etEcclesia orthodoxa quae apud nos reviviscere et paulatim 
 exurgere videtur quorumdam indefessa semulatione et turpiculi qusestus avidi- 
 tate non supprimatur : quibus malis obsistendum conduceret nonnihil ut quis- 
 piam ex Episcopis qui nunc in Hibernia degunt, Nuncii Apostolici officio et 
 potestate ad triennium saltern fungeretur." 
 
 J " Experientia compertum est nihil toto tempore schismatis concessum esse 
 in Hibernia quod magis coerceat intra limites rectos rationis, cujuscumque 
 
410 DR. THOMAS FLEMING. [Char XVIII. 
 
 as the two years of this concession had expired, a petition was 
 presented to the Sacred Congregation, requesting its renewal 
 for a longer period. " In the year 1636," thus runs the note 
 of the Congregation of 1638, "a delegated authority was 
 granted for two years to the archbishops of Ireland, with power 
 to decide all controversies between the secular and regular 
 clergy ; this term being now expired, a renewal of this privilege 
 is solicited for five years, on account of the great distance of 
 Ireland from the tribunals of Rome, and on account of the 
 many advantages which have resulted from the former conces- 
 sion, in the maintenance of concord and peace, and in the 
 healing of controversies and dissensions.'' Five years, however, 
 were deemed too long an interval for such a peculiar privilege, 
 and its renewal was limited again to two years. The same 
 happy fruits resulted from this new concession; and in the 
 Congregation held in the Palazzo Spada, on the 14th March, 
 1641, the cardinal protector of Ireland, in the name of the four 
 archbishops, prayed that the apostolical delegation might be 
 again renewed. His petition was approved of by the Sacred 
 Congregation, and it was decreed that, with the sanction of his 
 Holiness, it might be re-granted for the term of three years {ad 
 triennium tantum).* 
 
 It was about this time that the Congregation of Rites received 
 the intelligence that two new names had been added to the 
 long roll of martyrs in London. William Ward, a secular 
 priest, and Edward Barlow, a Benedictine, had been accused of 
 exercising the functions of their sacred ministry,! and were 
 mercilessly led to the scaffold without delay, by the puritanical 
 faction which then prevailed. Public veneration at once hailed 
 them as martyrs ; and, indeed, there was no room for doubt as 
 to the sacred cause for which they suffered, for even the wit- 
 nesses that were produced against them, accused them of no 
 crime save the administration of the sacraments, and their being 
 
 status ecclesiasticos ac quietem et paoem inter eos auxerit magis ac disoordias 
 eradicaverit, quam dicta delegatio." — Memoriale Edm. Dwyer, Sao. Congreg. 
 exhibit. 1638 (Ex Archiv. S. Cong). 
 
 * Ex Archiv. Sac. Cong. 
 
 t For a sketch of the Eves of these martyrs, see Dr. Challoner's Memoirs 
 of Missionary Priests, vol. ii. p. 82, seqq. 
 
Chap. XVIII.] DE. THOMAS FLEMING. 411 
 
 priests of the Catholic Church. The Congregation of Rites 
 was anxious that these heroes of our holy faith should not be 
 deprived of the earthly honour which was due to them, and on 
 the 11th November, 1641, it addressed a letter to the arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, requesting him to institute an official investi- 
 gation as to their sufferings and martyrdom.* Momentous 
 events, however, were rapidly succeeding in our island, and a 
 new storm of persecution was just let loose against the devoted 
 flock of Dr. Fleming, when this letter reached its destination. 
 No wonder, indeed, that it remained unanswered: not only 
 were these champions of the cross in England deprived of this 
 authentic recognition of their heroism, but the martyrdom of 
 thousands of his own immediate fold was destined to remain 
 unauthenticated by their afflicted pastor. We have thus arrived 
 at the eventful period which marks the close of 1641, and which 
 will form the subject of the following chapters. 
 
 * A copy of this letter is preserved amongst the Acts of the Sac. Cong. Rit. 
 It was also published in the Analecta Juris Pontif. (Rome, 1863) 59th 
 livraison, p. 279. On the 22nd March, 1642, another letter was sent to Dr. 
 Fleming, requesting him to make a similar investigation in regard to two 
 other holy priests, Reynolds and Roe, who also suffered for the faith in 
 London. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 [Since the preceding chapters of this History were written, the very learned 
 Theiner has undertaken to publish a series of documents connected with 
 the Church of Ireland. His collection renders it unnecessary for us to 
 publish many papers which we had collected for this Appendix. We shall 
 therefore for the present publish only some of the most interesting docu- 
 ments which we have referred to in our Notes. Others we omit, as they 
 are translated accurately in the text, or may be found in E. Theiner's 
 volumes. If any paper of importance be omitted, we shall insert it at the 
 end of the work. ] 
 
 No. I. 
 
 Appointment of Dr. Walsh to Meath. Page 51. 
 
 Ecclesia Mldensi* JRegni Hiberniae certo modo vacante, Rmus. D. Eeginaldus 
 S. Marias in Cosmedin Diaconus Car. Polus ad universum Angliae Peguum et 
 quoscumque dominia illi subjecta SSmi D. N. PP. et sedis Aplicse. Legatus, ad 
 supplicationem Sermaj. Marias Anglife Peginffi ad id per Aplicie. sedis litteras 
 snfBciente facilitate munitus, providit eidem Ecclesias de persona venerabilis 
 Willhelmi WalsJie,t Sacerdotis Midensis, eumque illi in Epum. prsefecit et 
 Pastorem cum facilitate sive indulto eidem concesso ut a quocumque Catholico 
 antistite assistentibus eidem duobus aliis similiter Catholicis Episcopis munus 
 consecrationis recipere posset in forma, &c, ita tamen ut idem provisus 
 intra annum a Data hujuscemodi provisionis computando litteras confirma- 
 tionis seu novae provisionis super eadem Ecclesia a sede Aplica. in Curia 
 Romana prout ante schisma fieri consueverat reciperet alioquin provisio prae- 
 fata nihil ei suffragaretur prout in litteris ejusdem Dni. Legati desuper con- 
 fectis plenius continetur. 
 
 Quarum litterarum vigore idem Willhelmus fuit rite et recte in Epum. 
 consecratus et possessionem Ecclesise prsefatse nactus est in qua pacifice 
 existit. 
 
 Nunc autem ipse petit litteras confirmationis praedict» provisionis seu novEe 
 provisionis super eadem Ecclesia sibi per SSmum. D. N. concedi prout aliis 
 
 * Hsec Ecclesia est Pegularis ordinis Canonicorum Regularm. Sti. Augustiiii. 
 
 t Ipse Willhelmus fuit prius ordinis Cisterciensis professor deinde ab eodem 
 ordine fuit translatus ad ordinem canonicorum Piegularium aplica. auctoritate 
 ut ipse asseruit, sacr» Theologian professor de legitimo matrimonio natus et 
 getatis matures. 
 
APPENDIX. 413 
 
 proviaia per eundem D. Legatum conceasffi fuerunt. Et licet idem Willhelmus 
 post tempus hujuamodi provisionis constituent procuratores in Curia Eomana 
 pro petenda supradicta confirmatione seu nova provisione, non tamen, quia 
 ipse non potuit ob ejus paupertatem providere pro expensia necessariia ad 
 dictam expeditionem peragendam litter» adhuc nee expedite nee petitse 
 fuerunt : sed Emua. D. Legatus prorogavit sibi tempus ad dictaa litteras expe- 
 diendas quod nondum est elapsum. Verum ad omnem cautelam poterit 
 exprimi in nova provisione etiamsi lapaum esset tempus atatutum ad dictam 
 provisionem potendam. 
 
 Et licet proceaaus conauetua necesaarius non sit cum jam sit provisumEccle- 
 sise et provisus sit in ejus possessione et jam consecratus nee petatur uisi nova 
 provisio, tamen ad omnem cautelam eum confecimus, et cum hac informatione 
 transmittimus ; tempore provisionis non potuit in hac forma confici quia res 
 non poterat ita aperte agi cum non esset turn obedientia sedi Aplicas. restituta 
 et extra Eegnum fiebant hujuamodi provisiones sed videbatur satis esse habere 
 ex litteris serenma? Eeginos et aliorum informationes neceasarias et quoad 
 vacationem et quoad qualitatem person»: qualitates etiam erant satis notse 
 Emo. Dno. Legato et ejus familiae cum is alias fuerit in Curia Eomana in domo 
 * ejusdem Emi. Dni. versatus. 
 
 Supplicatur nomine Sermae. Eeginas Sancmo. D. N. ut dignetur gratis huic 
 expeditionem concedere sicut cum aliis factum f uit. Iste Epiacopatus est de hia 
 qui inter Anglicos computantur licet ait in Hybernia et Eegea Anglise aolent 
 scribere pro provisione hujua Ecclso. aicut pro Ecclesiis Anglise et Ecclesia est 
 valde depauperata propter usurpationem bonorum suorum factam tempore 
 schismatis. Is Willhelmua jam obtinuit auctoritate Aplica. Prioratum sive 
 cellam de Duleke et Colpe ordinis Canonicorum Eegularium Sancti Augustini 
 dietse Medensis Diceeesis valoris 214 librarum sterluigarum qui conventualis 
 non est, cujus nondum obtinuit possessionem, quia est in manu laicorum ; petit 
 hujus Prioratus retentionem sibi concedi cum eadem Ecclesia. Necnon reten- 
 tionem Pvectorise de Luxaendis ejusdem Dioscesis eujus fructus 40 lib. sterling, 
 esset, et est in ejus pacifica possessione et iata Eectoria fuit assignata ejus 
 predecessori pro Eccleaia et domo Epiacopali, loco cujuadam Monaaterii sup- 
 press! per dictum P^egem in quo turn erat sedes Episcopalis. 
 
 NO. II. 
 
 Br. Bodkin of Tuam. Page 52. 
 
 Depositions testium per me notarium et Secretarium infrascriptum de man- 
 date Illmi. et Eevmi. D. Cardlia Poli Eegnorum Anglias et Hibernian Protee- 
 toria super statu, qualitatibus et vacatione Ecche. Metropolitans; Tuamen. 
 necnon aaper peraona Venlia. viri D. Christophori Bodykyn Epi. Duacen. 
 auctoritate Aplica. consecrati ad hanc Ecclesiam promovendi receptorum et 
 examiuatorum. 
 Lambethi prope Londinum in palatio aolitre Eesidentias ej. Emi. D. Card. 
 
414 APPENDIX. 
 
 Legati, die 18 Septembris, anno 1555, coram Kdo. D. Nicolao Ornianetto 
 ejusd. Rmi. D. Cardlis. Auditore, et me notario, etc. 
 
 Rdus. D. Petrus Val Arehidiaeonua Duacensis testis, etc., interrogatus medio 
 juramento, respondit ut sequitur. 
 
 Quoad Imum de statu Tuamen. Ecclse. dixit verum esse et notorium quod in 
 Regno Hiberniae in ea parte quffi Connacia appellatur est Civitas Tuamensis 
 inter Hybernioos partim sylvestres, partim domesticos sita, olim magna et 
 populosa nunc destructa sine muris et pene inhabitata per quam fluit flumen 
 appellatum Chorcha et quod in parte occidentali dictas civitatis locata est 
 Ecclia. Metropolitana sub invocatione Beatae Mariae, formse directs, satis ampla 
 et ornata. 
 
 Quoad qualitates Ecclse. respondit earn habere altare magnum cum duobus 
 aliis minoribus altaribus, chorum cum libris ad divinum omcium necessariis, 
 baptisterium, sacristiam, crucibus, calicibus, patenis, indumentis, vestibusque 
 sacris et aliis paramentis satis convenienter f ulcitam, ccemeterium, campanile 
 dirutum, Dignitates tres, Decanatum, Archidiaconatum, Praepositum, 10 vel 
 12 Canonicos. Dioecesim satis amplam et pro majori parte inter sylvestres et 
 indomitos ; dixit etiam quod habet Ecclesiam Cathedralem annexam appellatam 
 Anagdunen. ab eo tempore quo ipse recordatur. 
 
 Eructus Ecclse. ad quam summam ascendunt ipse se ignorare respondit : 
 dixit tamen eos consistere in decimis, eensibus et procurationibus, hancque 
 Ecclesiam Metropolitanam habere 5 suffraganeos sub se vid. , Clonferten. 
 Elfenen. Aladen. Duacen. Achaden. 
 
 Quoad Ecclesise vacationem respondit quod ipsa vacavit per multos aDnos 
 per obitum Rdi. Patris D. Thomse Molaly ultimi Archiepi. Catholici post 
 cujus obitum praef atus Rev. D. Christophorus Bodykyn, Epus. Duacen. auctori- 
 tate aplica. consecratus, in eandem Ecclesiam auctoritate Regis Henrici se 
 intrusit et illam de facto detinuit et adhuc in ejus detentione simul cum 
 Eccla. Duacen. existit. Interrogatus si scit aliquem qui in ea Ecclesia vel ad 
 earn jus aliquod praetendat respondit : 
 
 Quod quidam Arthurus O'Frighi de Ultonia Armachanas Provincial praetendit 
 se habere jus in dicta Eccla. Metropolitana ex provisione habita in Curia 
 Romana, ut intellexit ab eodem Arthuro. 
 
 Circa personam Christophori Bodykyn intrusi respondit se cognoscere dictum 
 Christophorum valde intime quia alias fuit de ejus farnilia, eumque esse de legi- 
 timo matrimonio natum, de nobili progenie ortum, setatis 50 annorum vel circa, 
 vitae et morum honestate praeditum, doctumque in Theologia et in jure canonico, 
 quibus operam dedit in studio Oxoniensi, maximumque fuisse oppugnatorem 
 et persecutorem hereticorum, quamquam metu magis quam voluntate cum 
 multis aliis in errorem schismatis incident. 
 
 Demum interrogatus an civitas sit aliqua hseresi inf ecta sive suspeeta, respon- 
 dit, quod non. 
 
 Et prsedicta scire dixit, quia ipse conversatus est in civitate Tuamen. et in 
 ea provincia et prasdicta respective vidit, audivit et cognovit. 
 
 Circa personam recte, nisi quod ipse fuit familiaris dicti Christophori et ab 
 eo obtinuit Archidiaconatum Ecclse. Duacen. 
 
 Donaldus Doign Sacerdos Tuamen. et Mauritius Maerai Sac. Duacen. were 
 also examined : it is only said that they corroborated the above. 
 
415 
 
 No. III. 
 
 Slate of the Diocese of Anaghduagh united to Tuam. Page 51. 
 
 Eisdem loco et anno die vero 14 Octobris, Rev. D. Petrus Val Archidiac. 
 Duaeen. examinatus super statu et qualitatibus Eccke. Anagduanen. Metropo- 
 litanaa Tuamens. ut prsefertur unit», respondit quod civitas Anagduanen. 
 parva et sine ruuris distat a eivitate Tuamen. per quatuor vel quinque milliaria 
 et quod in ea est etiam parva Ecela. Cathedralis sub invocatione St. Brandani, 
 quae habet Decanum et Archidiac. et quosdam canonicos qui tamen ibi non 
 resident et Ecclesia ipsa est penitus desolata et inibi una tantum missa cele- 
 bratux in diebus festivis ; habet etiam campanile, ccemeterium et omim tantum 
 calicem et paramentum, etc. Dioecesis est admodum parva et intra sylvestres 
 et malos homines sita. 
 
 Donaldus Doign testified the same. 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 Instruction to the Agents of the Holy See in Ireland, for the manage- 
 ment of Ecclesiastical matters. Page 78. 
 
 Bicordi circa le cose cT Hernia. 
 
 Quel che si intraprende in questa missione d'lbernia e generalmente di ajutar 
 le cose di quella Provincia nel spirituale, e scaricar in quel che si potra la co- 
 scienza del sommo Pontifice ed anche dell' Illmo. e Revmo. Protettore di quella 
 Provincia. 
 
 Per questo effetto si toccaranno alcuni punti di cid che dovranno fare di la 
 quelli che si mandano : Altri di quello che debbono avvisar qua : Altri degli 
 ajuti che se li potranno dare da Roma. 
 
 Di quello che pare dovriano fare in Ibernia. 
 
 1 . Visitar li capi Cattolici e specialmente quattro Sgri. Secolariche sono li 
 principali del Regno, laudando da parte di Sua Santita loro costanza e zelo 
 della Religione Cattolica ed animandoli a perseverarvi. 
 
 Visitar anche li Vescovi Cattolici facendo un simil officio con loro e se alcuni 
 mancaranno di fare il debito suo, dando mal' esempio alii Diocesani della sua 
 vita ; o non facendo residenza nelle sue Cattedrali ne visitando il suo gregge ne 
 procurando che gli offici divini siano detti ; ovvero che le chiese si non tengano 
 con la decentia conveniente ; ovvero che facciano mala promozione ed elezzione 
 di ministri ; e cosi di altri difetti pubblici ed importanti ; ammonirli ed esortarli 
 a diportarsi meglio se vogliono che venga di loro buon odore a questa Sta. Sede. 
 
 Similmente con Preti massime curati facciano buon officio si in ajutarli nella 
 vita per se stessi con esortazioni e per mano delli Vescovi quanto alia correzione 
 
 ■2 E 
 
416 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 sia delli peocati loro pubblici sia della negligenza di far il suo officio verso il 
 culto divino ed ajuto delle anime. 
 
 Abbiano special riguardo alia amministrazione delli sacramenti vedendo come 
 si deportano li Preti nel battezzare, sentir Confessioni e dar la Sta. Commu- 
 nione ed Estrema Unzione e Matrimonio : ed i Vescovi nella Confirmazione ed 
 ordini Sacri per avvisare loro e supplire in quella parte che potranno speeial- 
 mente nelle Confessioni e Communioni. 
 
 Vedendo etiam se si predica il Verbo dirino Cattolicamente ; e l'istruzzione 
 ed ajuto che potranno dare agli altri Ministri, lo diano : e per se stessi inseg- 
 nino il popolo e lo esortino a vivere cristianamente. 
 
 Se intendessero esservi alcun predicatore o Parroco Eretico, procurino gli sia 
 levata l'occasione di far danno agli altri ; e quanto a loro stessi si sf orzino di 
 ridurli, mostrandoli la verita in spiritu lenitatis. E se fossero duri e potessero 
 essere ajutati con l'autorita e potenza di altri superiori a loro, dovranno anche 
 procurarlo ed etiam la punizione dove si pud. 
 
 Veda di animar gl' infermi nella fede ed esortarli a confessarla nelli casi e 
 modo che conviene senza dar luogo al mondano timore ne alia temerita. 
 
 Dove couosceranno esservi alcuni buoni soggetti ed atti ad insegnar e reg- 
 gere altri procurino di metterli inanzi alii Vescovi, accid siano adoperati e gli 
 diano li beneflci che essi sogliono e possono dare. 
 
 Se potessero introdur scuole di grammatica in alcune bande trovando maestri 
 Cattolici e sufficieuti sarebbe grande rimedio contro l'ignoranza grande del 
 paese, e bisognerebbe muovere i Padri a maudare i suoi rigliuoli accio abbino 
 istruzzione in lettere e costumi, ed imparino anche la dottrina Cristiana e 
 Cattolica. 
 
 Vedano se ci sara ordine che siano reparati alcuni Monasterii di uomini o 
 di donne, o quelli che sono in essere rif ormati. 
 
 Saria anche bene che il Monte di pieta per sovvenzione dei Poveri, Ospitali, 
 ed altre opere pie che in queste bande si nsano, ed in quelle forse averanno 
 luogo, siano introdotte ovvero riparate se prima ci erano. 
 
 In tutti li predetti offici di carita ed altri che sogliono esercitar le persone 
 della Compagnia per ajuto delle anime procedono secondo l'istituto nostro 
 senza accettar premio alcuno ne anco eleemosyna per li tali esercizi ; quantunque 
 essendo necessario si ajutino di eleemosine per la sustentazione sua ma non gia 
 dimandate ne anche accettate per conto di quello che loro fanno, procurando 
 di edificarli coll' esempio di carita e zelo di loro salute, etc. 
 
 E quantunque dove per la gloria di Dio e ben commune bisognassi mettersi 
 in pericoli della vita senza temerita ne tentare Iddio, non li debbono f uggire ; 
 pur generalmente parlando, procedano con la desterita che potranno e prudenza 
 per non essere presi dalli ministri della Eegina, e con quelli Signori Cattolici 
 si potranno consigliare e veder insiuo a qual termine si possano estendere nel 
 conversare in quelli paesi che sono governati da Iuglesi Eretici. 
 
 Di qual cosa debbono dar awiso a Roma. 
 
 1. Awiseranno generalmente del stato che trovano quanto alia Eeligione 
 Cattolica ed obbedienza verso la Sede Aplica. si nelli capi Ecclesiastici e seco- 
 lari, si nelli popoli e quello che si guadagnera o perderii alia giornata in 
 questa parte. 
 
APPENDIX. 417 
 
 2. Se aleuni Prelati che di la non possono essere costretti, se vedesi proce- 
 dano tanto malamente che non basti altro rimedio che della Sede Aplica. per 
 emendare loro costumi scandalosi, sebben la fede sia Cattolica, avvisara fedel- 
 mente e schiettamente di quello che conviene. 
 
 3. Mandi una nota delle persone che riputera atte per li Vescovati e special- 
 mente quando vacara qualche d'uno, in specie potra avvisare che li parera atto 
 per quello, toccando le ragioni che lo muovono. 
 
 4. Generaltnente se li oceorressero alcuni mezzi importanti per ajuto del ben 
 commune di quella Provincia che per la Sta. Sede Aplica. si possano usare, dia 
 ricordo nelle sue lettere. 
 
 Degli ajuti che adesso se li potranno dare in Roma. 
 
 1. Facolta di assolvere delli casi riservati ed in Bulla Coenae Dni. che pos- 
 sono ricorrere in quelle parti e specialmente di assolvere gli Eretici e scismatici 
 e reeonciliarli con la Sta. Chiesa almeuo in foro conscientiae. 
 
 2. Quanto al foro esteriore vedasi se convien che abbino facolta di assolvere 
 di dispensare in gradi prohibiti de Matrimonii ed in quali ; e similmente in 
 casi di irregolarita ed in quali. Et almeno per assecurare la coscienza pare che 
 dovriano aver alcuna facolta in casi simili in foro interiori ; con questo che il 
 tutto faccino secondo l'istituto nostro, senza pigliar cosa alcuna ; anzi se la 
 pigliassero per simili conti che non sia valida la grazia che vogliono conferire. 
 
 Vedasi se sara espediente ch' abbino alcun Breve o Bolla di S. Sta. nella 
 quale constasse come li manda, e delle predette facolta ed altre se paressero 
 convenienti. 
 
 Vedasi similmente se si dovra ordinare a quelli che vengono a Boma per 
 Vescovati o Benefici che non venghino senza testimonio di questi che manda S. 
 Sta. 
 
 Pare etiam giovarebbero alcune lettere di S. Sta. o dell' Illmo. e Bevmo. 
 Protettore d' Ibernia alii Sigri. Principali ovvero qualche Breve per tutti loro 
 animandoli, etc. 
 
 No. V. 
 Letter of Father Wolf to the Cardinal Protector of Ireland. Page 85. 
 
 La vera pace ed amore di Gesu Christo Sre. nostro sia nelli cuori nostri. 
 
 Ho scritto in questi giorni passati con Sig. Guillelmo Neon a V. Bevma. 
 ed Illma. Sigria circa il stato della chiesa Ibernica in questa parte di Momo- 
 nia : ed ora essendo il portatore di questa lettera Donaldo Mac Gomgayll meco 
 in tutta la mia peregrinazione per la Ibernia ho giudicato piu espediente per 
 dar buon conto del tutto, di mandarlo in persona per esser persona di giudizio 
 ed esperta in queste parti ed ancora avendo (come dird dapoi) da fare costi. 
 
 Essendo questo Donaldo meco nella parte di Conacia avemo visto e non visitato 
 l'Arcivescovo Tuamense et il Vescovo Clonfertense, li quali secondo il mondo 
 
418 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 sono uomini dabbene. Tutti due hanno dati suoi voti alia Eegina come gia 
 ho scritto delli altri di Momonia a V. Ema. ed lima. Signia. Quello Arcivescovo 
 Tuamense per nome Gristoforo Botteghin, ebbe suo arcivescovado (seoondo che 
 si dice da ognuno) per forza d'armi et auctoritate regia, e aon mi ha voluto 
 dire ne mostrare qualmente l'ha avuto, salvo che mi diceva che la buona 
 memoria del Cardinal Polo fece una composizione fra lui ed un certo Arturo 
 O'Frehir vero e legittimo Arcivescovo, il quale vive ancora ed e espulso da 
 quell' Arcivescovato dal detto Cristoforo. Questo Cristoforo tiene 1' Arci- 
 vescovato Tuamense insieme con lo Vescovato Duacense, Bnachdunen. et 
 Magdunen. le quali Enachdunen. et Magdunen, secondo che lui dice erauo 
 uniti da molti anni con Tuam ; ed altri dicono che no, ma lui stesso propria et 
 regia auctoritate ha gionto ancora Duacen. con quelle altre. Mi ha detto che 
 ha avuto la resignazione dell' Arcivescovato dal detto Arturo ed in effetto se 
 fosse accetta dal sommo Pontefice mi pareria molto piu al proposito che il detto 
 Arturo, perche e un uomo di governo ed ha gran credito appresso li Signori di 
 quelle bande. Ed essendo quella chiesa per 300 anni per fortezza nelle mani 
 di gentil uomini, senza messa ne altro officio divino, lui l'ha tolto per forza 
 dalle mani loro con grande pericolo della sua persona, e dove prima erano cavalli 
 ed altri animali, ora si canta e si dice messa in essa, e lui stesso suole essere in 
 coro ogni giorno, abbenche non vi siano in quella terra Tuamense piu di 20 
 case o 30. Ha buona fama ed e ben voluto da ognuno ed ancora dalli suoi 
 avversari li quali tenevano quella chiesa per il tempo passato. 
 
 Un certo Malachia O'Molonno, Canonico Duacen. ha fatte false dispensazioni 
 come V. Ema. ed Ulma. vedra per la copia che gli mando qui annessa ed in 
 quella ha incolpato quel Cristoforo con dire che lui l'abbia visto ed approvato, ma 
 il detto Cristoforo mi ha giurato sopra l'Evangelio che mai ha visto ne approvato 
 tal decreto Aplico. allegandomi molte ragioni, e trovo che il detto Malachia e 
 falsario litterarum Aplicarum, e non ha voluto presentarsi avanti di lui quando 
 era citato e perci5 io desidero di sapere che cosa dobbiamo fare di quel Mala- 
 chia in tal caso, essendo lui ribelle e non avendo alcuna originale alia quale 
 dovessimo dar fede. 
 
 Bernardo O'Huyghin, Vescovo Elfinen. ha rassegnato il suo Vescovato a un 
 Padre dell' ordine di S. Domenico Priore di Slyghvach per nome Andrea 
 Crean, uomo assai religioso e di buona fama ed ha gran credito appresso alii 
 secolari non tanto per la sua dottrina quauto per la sua buona conversazione e 
 bonta. Questo Bernardo e stato uomo da bene e religioso quanto a se stesso 
 ma non era grato al popolo e vedendo lui di aver perso assai della sua tempo- 
 rality per esser cosi odioso al popolo, ha eletto quel Andrea il quale e molto 
 amabile ad ognuno per recuperare tanto quanto lui stesso ha perso. II detto 
 Andrea va adesso per (con permesso?*) notitia del suo Vicario Provinciale a Soma 
 per obtinere quel Vescovato insieme con la resignazione del detto Bernardo : 
 e volse aver le mie lettere testimoniali, ed io ho poca prattica della sua persona 
 nondimeno sento la sua fama buona sparsa per tutto il paese del che ne rendo 
 testimonio. Va ancora col detto Andrea un compagno per nome Owen ovvero 
 Eugenio O'Harty, frate del detto ordine, gran Predicatore ed uomo di buona 
 vita e zeloso dell' onore di Dio, il quale e stato otto anni o incirca in Parigi ed 
 io giudico (abbenche non va per tal' effetto, ne anche pensa niente) che lui 
 
 * Illegible, 
 
APPENDIX. 419 
 
 fusse buono per esser vescovo. Ed in caso ohe il detto Andrea (essendo la 
 morte ad ognuno commune) fusse morto, quel Padre Eugenio saria buono in 
 suo luogo non obstante che la resignazione non fosse fatta in suo nome. Ed 
 ancor che la volonta di Dio fusse che il detto Andrea viveria e f usse Veacovo 
 Elphinen. anchora potria esser Vescovo Acradrn. il quale vescovato vaca per 
 la morte della buona memoria di CormacoO'Goyn del detto ordine di S. Fran- 
 cesco. Quella chiesa Accadense e adesso per fortezza in mani di gentil'uomini 
 e non vi sia vestigio di Religione e credo che il detto Eugenio con li suoi esempi 
 e buona vita insieme con l'ajuto delli suoi amici potria pigliar quella chiesa 
 dalle mani dei geutil'uomini e far in quella come ha fatto (. ristoforo Tuamense. 
 II portatore di questa lettera Donaldo Magonigail f u mio compagno uella parte 
 di Connacia e non sia persona in tutta Tbernia che sa dar conto migliore di 
 lui di ogni cosa ed io la mando per due effetti : 1°. per dar quel conto di me 
 stesso ed ancora deUi Vescovi, Arcivescovi e Prelati,&c. 2°. Essendo morto 
 il Vescovo RapoteDse non trovo persona che fusse atta a tal dignita miglior di 
 lui : e ben dotto secondo la dottrina di questa patria ed e ben voluto d' ognuno 
 ed e stato in Roma l'auno passato. 
 
 Sono partiti d'lbernia da 14 persoue senza le mie lettere delle quali uno e 
 il Decano Rapotense per impetrar quel Vescovato e questo Decano secondo 
 che seuto da persoue degne di fede e uomo piutosto di guerra che di chiesa. 
 Guardasi Vtra, Rma. ed Illma. Sigria. che non gli dia fede se dira di non saper 
 della mia venuta in Ibernia perche non vi sia persona eretica ne cattolica che 
 non sa del mio venire, perche ho mandato un editto publico per tutta la patria : 
 ed essendo la nave apparecchiata di partirsi adesso non dir6 altro, salvoracco- 
 mandar queste tre persone a V. S. Illma. eRevma. insieme con quel Sig. Guil- 
 lelmo JSTeon gia, mandato, pregando il Sig. Dio di conservarla in sanita del corpo 
 e dell' anima a gloria sua ed utilita di questa misera patria. 
 
 Di Limerico alii 12 di Ottobre, 1561. 
 
 Di V. Sigria. Rma. et Illma. 
 
 Servo indegno, 
 
 David Wolf. 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 Paper presented in 1563 io the Cardinal Protector of Ireland, proposing 
 names for the vacant See of Armagh. Page 77, note. 
 
 Illmb. et Revmb. Dne. * 
 
 Hos invenimus esse idoneos qui numquam ab unitate Sancte Matris 
 Ecche. deviaverunt. 
 
 1°. Thomam Leverum, Epum. Kyldaren. qui tempore Henrici 8vi. Eduardi 
 ejus filii et etiamhoc ipso tempore expulsus fuit suo Episeopatu eo quod noluerit 
 obtemperare in parlamento hasreticis. 
 
 2°. Gulielmum Walshe, Epum. Midensem, qui per annum unum propter 
 Ecclse. fidem et unitatem in carceribus vitam lubentissimo animo egit et 
 
420 APPENDIX. 
 
 Episcopatu privatur, nunc vero, Deo auxiliante pristine libertati emancipating 
 in prima tamen proposito perseverans carceribus liberatus est. 
 
 3°. Hugonem Epum. Limerieensem, qui "vir in fide Catholica constans et 
 dum vocabatur a Reginse AngliaB Commissariis rogatus ut morigerum se in 
 omnibus praberet ipsi Reginaa hoc responsi dedit " unum agnosco in terris 
 Ecclesise summum caput eique et non alteri obedientiam dare pollicitus sum' 
 itaque numquam a proposito desistam : hujus tamen absentia non parum 
 detrimenti patriae afferret ; Comes Dns. Desmonise fere in omnibus ejus consilio 
 utitur. 
 
 Est quoque unus quern pater David in suis litteris Vree. T llm aa et Revmaa. 
 Dni. commendavit, nomine Richardum Crevium Theologise Baccalaureum, 
 quern voluit prasesse ut Archiep. Cassellensem. Vir sane et vita et doctrina 
 satis clarus.* 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 Letter of the Pope to the Nimcio in Spain, 13th March, 1568, 
 
 him to take steps to obtain the liberation of the Archbishop of Armagh 
 and Father Wolf from prison. Page 80. 
 
 Pius PP. V. 
 Ven. Frater, etc. 
 
 Kelatum Nobis fuit, Ven. Pratrem Archiepiscopum Armachanum, qui 
 ut nosti Primas est Hiberniae, captum fuisse ab Anglis et in Turre Lon- 
 dinensi in compedibus haberi : dilectum autem filium Davidem ex Hibernia 
 Soc. Jesu. Prof essorem ab iisdem Anglis in oppido Dublinio arctissime custodiri, 
 ambosque durissime tractari. Valde admodum dolemus tantam calamita- 
 tem utriusque eorum propter singularem ipsorum probitatem, et multos ob 
 religionem Catholicam susceptos labores. Quia vero adjuvare eos, quantum 
 possumus cupimus et debemus ; alia ratio nobis non occurrit quam ut charis- 
 simus in Christo filius noster Rex Catholicus, Reginee Anglorumpro eis diligenter 
 scribat. Itaque fraternitas Tua cum ipso Eege pro utrisque diligentissime 
 loquatur ; et curet instetque ac roget nostris verbis ut ad ipsam Reginam 
 atque ad oratorem suum accuratissime scribat. Quo ejus officio nihil in pra- 
 sentia gratius Nobis esse poterit. 
 
 Datum Romas apud S. Petrum sub annulo Piscatoris die 13 Martii, 1568, 
 Pontif. nostri anno tertio. 
 
 Venerabili Pratri Archiepo. Rassanensi in Hispania apud 
 Regem Catholicum nostro et Apostolicas Sedis Nuncio. 
 
 * This is signed at the back "Pro Patria Hibernia." 
 
APPENDIX. 421 
 
 No. VIII. 
 Letter of Dr. Sa/nders to the Cardinal of Corno. Page 196. 
 
 Illmo. et Emo. Cardinali Comensi domino suo obseruandissimo. 
 
 Illme. et Eme. Dne. — Etsi quarta jam vice spoliato, vix charta in qua 
 scribam aupersit, tamen nolni committere quin tuam IUmam. Dominationem 
 inde ex Hibernia salutarem. 17° Julii appvdiinus : postridie in terrain cum 
 descendisseinus ereeto cruois vexillo arcem oceupavimus. Ibi Joannes comitis 
 DesmoniEe frater nos clam adivit, et bono animo esse iussit. Is lo Augusti 
 tres Anglos totins provinciae gubernatores occidit. Inde palam libereque 
 regionem perambulavimus. 18° Augusti Jacobus praalio inito vicit, sed ipse 
 solus occubuit. Joannes ducis officio fungens quinto Septembris ducentos 
 ex Anglis occidit. Hinc nostris viribus auctis, tertio Octobris totum Anglorum 
 exercitum aggressi tres tantum occidimus, viginti autem ex nostris amisimus. 
 Inde Angli superbia elati, arcem Comitis DesmoniEe obsederunt : at ille cum 
 eatenus nonnisi occulte nobis fauisset, jam aperte in nostrum exercitum in- 
 gressus quintuplo majores copias nobis affert, ita victi sumus, ut melius, si 
 Dens volet, vicissemus. lam fere quartam Hybenvke partem obtinemus, totam 
 facillime obtenturi, si auxilia quse expectamus qufeque jam Sua Sanctitas, prout 
 S. Illma. dominatio nobis promisit, opportune occurrerint. Deus et Suam 
 Sanetitatem et Suam Illmam. dominationem nobis et toti Ecclesiaa incolumes 
 servet. Decimo die Octobris a.d. 1579- 
 
 Ut Joanni detur officium Ducis Apostolici, et privilegia solita, jam ad 
 nuncium Hispanic scripsi. 
 
 Suse IllmEe. Dominationis studiosissimus servitor, 
 
 Nicolaus Sandeeus. 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 Extracts of Dr. Sanders' Letters, sent to Rome by the Nuncio in Spain. 
 
 Page 197. 
 
 " 17° Julii appulimus in Hyberniam, postridie arcem oceupavimus : 29° navis 
 Anglicana earn navim in qua ex Hispania vecti fuimus, abstulit : 1° Augusti 
 Joannes Geraldinus tres Anglos qui Provinciam Momonise gubernabant, 
 occidit : ea c^des nobis libertatem dedit palam prodeundi. Tunc Jacobus 
 Geraldinus cum hostibus eongruens vicit qnidem sed ipse ex vulnere accepto e 
 vita decessit. Joannes ex tam sancto instituto progressus die 5 t0 Septembris 
 Anglos aggressus, trecentos fndit, et ducentos ex illis occidit : hinc nostris 
 viribus auctis, die 3° Octobris totum Anglorum exercitum aggressi, amissia 
 fere viginti viris repulsam tulimus. Angli ea re elati Comitis DesmoniEe arcem 
 obsidere coeperuDt qua stultitia provocarunt Comitem, ut contra eos arma 
 sumeret quum eatenus occulte potius quam aperte nobis favisset." 8 Oct. 1579. 
 
422 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Extract from letters of the Nuncio in Madrid, 1580. Amongat those who 
 joined the expedition were the Bishop of Ardfert and the Bishop of Boss. He 
 had been informed by letters of Sanderus : — 
 
 " Che Giovanni Laseo (Lacy) con li suoi Cavalli e fanti passd dal nemico 
 aDa parte Cattolica ed atterrd le sue fortezze perche li nemici non se ne potes- 
 sero servire. Che li figli del Conte di Conacia hanno dato grande intenzione 
 di conguingersi ; uno dei quali ha risposto al Sandero, che cid era da lui molto 
 desiderate ; perd che per questa congiunzione temeva della vita del Padre che 
 e tenuto prigione dagli Inglesi. 
 
 " Che nelle feste di Natale, O'Neil ed O'Donel avevano fatto gran strage dei 
 nemici. 
 
 ' ' Che dopo la presa di Jetal nel Contado di Clincart si e speso assai tempo, 
 perche Giovanni tre volte et il Conte due volte sono andati per stabilire, come 
 hanno stabilita e giurata, una tregua. 
 
 ' ' Che in assenza dei capi principali, il Conte di Ormonia Butlero che solo 
 degli Irlandesi si mostra nemico della fede, fece molta preda, senza potersegli 
 impedire, nei confini dei Cattolici : ma dopo la sua partita i Cattolici ne fecero 
 una dentro i suoi confini non punto inferiore." 
 
 X. 
 
 Letter of Dr. Sanders, 9th Jan., 1581. Page 201. 
 
 Illustkissime et Bevekendissime Domine, 
 
 Bellum in Hybernia pro fide sine omni humana ope incoatum, facillime, 
 citissime ac felicissime f uisset expeditum, si auxilium quod intra sex menses 
 promittebatur, saltern intra annum integrum fuisset transmissum ; nam omnis 
 Hybernia et fidei restituendae cupidissima erat, et auxilio suppeditato, facillime 
 quod cupiebat, assequuta esset. At postquam integer annus prceterisset, Dec 
 ullum auxilium adventasset, multi viri principes velut re desperata cum hosti- 
 bus pacem inierunt, adeo ut soli Geraldini, quorum familiae princeps Comes 
 Desmoniffi est, in fide persisterent. Hostis potentissimus erat, cui nihil nee 
 mari nee terra deerat, quo nos undique infestaret ; tandem tamen nobilissimus 
 barro Iacobus JEustatius dominus de Balthinglas, zelo Dei permotus, ad Comitem 
 Desrnoniae se junxit, et in officio ac fide constantissime perseverat. His ita 
 constitutis post annum et menses fere quatuor pervenerunt ad nos trecenti 
 tirones, Sebastiano de sancto Josepho coronello homine villissimo et nequis- 
 simo, qui per triennium totum viscera hujus sanetissimae causae depascebatur, 
 avarus, luxuriosus, effeminatus, arrogans ; huius adventu magis desperari 
 coeptum est ; is autem locum opportunum castro aedificando elegit, in quo tam 
 mites, quam bona sua ineolumia preestaret ; concessit ei Deus dies quinqua- 
 ginta liberos, in quibus opus ex animi sententia perfecit. Erant enim sermones 
 dissipati, quasi quatuor millia vivorum appullissent. Tandem veritate per hos- 
 tium exploratores probe cognita, Comes Ormondiae cum exercitu castrum invi- 
 sit ; prodierunt ex castro milites, ut sclopetis cum hostihus luderent ; erat vir 
 
APPENDIX. 423 
 
 facile princeps inter hostes Andreas quidam Martinus, Castelli Mang preefec- 
 tus ; is fossa quadam obtenta ccepit contra nostros sclopeta emittere, quod 
 magna dexteritate faciebat ; ecce autem ab uno ex nostris in capite percussus 
 subito interiit ; tunc Comes Ormondias videns classem mari expectatam non 
 affuisse, relicto castro reversus est ad sua ; bine magna spes hominum animos 
 erexit, fore ut illud eastrum expugnari nunquam posset ; post paucos autem 
 dies supervenit mari prsefectus classis Regin», terra vero prorex cum exercitu. 
 
 Itaque septimo die Nbvembris eastrum tormentis verberari coeptum est, 
 duravitque ea res usque ad octavum diem circa meridiem ; tunc coronellus 
 magis de vita et deliciis suis, quam de honore Dei aut causa tarn sancta solicitus, 
 vexillum album, pacis optatae signum, erexit, quod hostis cum viderit, a tor- 
 mentis incutiendis mox abstinuit ; cum enim desperaret se posse eastrum vi 
 expugnare, gavisus est aliam sibi occasionem ultro subministratam. Venit 
 ergo Winckfeldus Capitaneus a prorege missus, ut quid Coronellus offerret 
 exploraret ; exiit ad Winckfeldum de licentia coronelli Antonius Ortiagus, 
 homo vecors, et propterea per dominum Johannem Desmonise Generalem Suse 
 Sanctitatis officio ducendi ordines privatus, et in ordinem plebeium redactus : 
 is autem ad proregem transiit, Winckeldo in castro loco obsidis derelieto. 
 Prorex petit a coronello Jacobum Geraldi nobilissimum Comitis Desmonise 
 captivum sibi donari : fecit id Coronellus, hominem e vestigio transmittens ; 
 eadem vero nocte de proregis consensu ad castra proregis transiit : transiit 
 autem annulis, catenis aureis, ac monilibus tam magnificus ac splendidus, cum 
 delecto etiam comitatu, ut tunc demum vivere ae triumphare videretur : mansit 
 autem cum prorege tota ilia nocte, cui prorex equum instructum donavit. Pacti 
 dicuntur fuisse, ut duse partes omnium bonorum Reginse esseut, tertia vero 
 Coronelli, liceretque omnibus militibus in Hispaniam reverti. Nono die mane 
 Coronellus ad eastrum reversus, coepit exponere militibus majores hostium 
 vires esse, quam quibus resistere possent. Itaque nihil sibi optabilius esse, 
 quam ut in Hispaniam incolumes reverterentur. Sanctissimus presbiter Lau- 
 rentius Moore interpellavit orationem coronelli, rogans ne obliviscerentur officii 
 sui erga Deum et Papam, sed locum, quern pro honore fidei. propugnandum 
 suscepissent, fortissime propugnarent ; Deum non defuturum iis, qui sperant 
 in se ae officio suo funguntur. Ejus autem oratio nihili habita est ; erat enim 
 miles tam ab omni militari gloria alienus, ut gladiis suis loco veruum ad assan- 
 das earnes, galeis vero loco lebetum ad coquendas uterentur ; quod cum Hyberni 
 viderent, cui nihil perinde ac arma sua sestimant, ornant, expolliunt, magno 
 eos contemptu habuerunt ; non deerant tamen tres aut quatuor, qui Coronelli 
 factum improbarent, de quo etiam e vita aufferendo cogitarunt, sed cum vide- 
 rent universam multitudinem eo ferri, ut in Hyspaniam reverterentur, nihil 
 amplius tentarunt. 
 
 De proregis voluntate emissi sunt ad eum Laurentius presbiter, Ohverius 
 Plonketus, et Guillelmus Wiellich Anglus ; his oblatum est, ut si Eegi- 
 nam vellent agnoscere, libertate sua uterentur; cum autem respondissent 
 omnes se catholicos esse, ac in fide per Dei gratiam perseveraturos, ducti sunt 
 ad fabri ferrarii officinam, ruptisque tribus in locis separatis manuum ac pedum 
 ossibus, tota ilia nocte ac die sequente summa patientia dolorem ilium pertu- 
 lerunt ; tandem vero suspensi ac membratim dimissi, palmam martyrn adepti 
 sunt. Coronellus interim omnia ex animi sui sententia confecit, ostensoque 
 militibus proregis chyrographo abunde eis satisfecit : mox intrarunt liberius in 
 
424 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 castrum Angli non nisi epulandi et compotandi specie, plurimum enim vini 
 illo die exhaustum est ; decimo vero die prorex praecepit, ut omnia bona in cas- 
 trum inferius inferrentur, ibique per suos asservarentur ; misit vero trecentos 
 Anglos, qui laetissimo vultu a Biscainis excipiebantur, ubi cum aliquantulum 
 inebriati essent, prorex iubet, nequisquam Biscainorum anna ferret, sed ea 
 deponeret, atque in nnum locum comportaret, quod ubi factum est, evocavit 
 prorex octodecim personas, ex quibus fere quindecim erant Itali, tres vero 
 Hyspani, tunc Coronellum ad se advocans, chyrographum ab eo repetiit atque 
 abstulit ; mox Angli, qui in castro erant, Biscainos trucidare cceperunt, nemine 
 omnino superstate relicto. Haec est summa tragcsdiae, quae apud dos accidit : 
 quanto gloriosius illi milites vitam pro Christo et fide Catholica impendissent ! 
 sed aliud merita sunt peceata nostra : nunc autem id solum restat, ut auxilium 
 plenum tandem aliquando transmittatur ; plenum autem vocamus exercitum 
 decern vel saltern octo millium, quo transmisso statim universa Hybernia erit 
 in nostra potestate. Haec habui quae significarem, nihil dubitans, quin tua 
 Illustrissima Dominatio, pro eo ac solita est, causam istam omni studio prose- 
 quatur; praestiterat enim non esse incoatam, quam in medio deseri, et pro 
 derelicto haberi. 
 
 Beverendus presbiter Gualterus Bregin, qui has defert, ut est litterarum 
 cupidissimus, ita cum non habeat ex suo unde se alat, rogo tuam Illustrissimam 
 Dominationem, ut quacunque eum ratione poterit, commendet, ac iuvet. Non 
 deerit occasio viro tam potenti ac bono, qua, id non dubito, facile praestet ; non 
 potui ilium pati absque meis litteris commendatitiis istuc venire, cum et optime 
 sciat quo in statu res vestras sint, et semper et officiose interfuit. Bogo ergo 
 ut a tua Illustrissima Dominatione iuvetur. Ego jam a plurimis diebus asgri- 
 tudine tam animi quam corporis afncior, ut . . . mihi magis condonandum 
 sit, si omnia tam frigide perscribo ; saltern tuae Illmse. Bo m i n ationis immemor 
 non ero, ac si quis mei usus est, rogo ut imperet, tamquam fidelissimo servo 
 suo. 
 
 TuEe Illmae. Domiuationi addictissimus servus, 
 
 Nioolat/s Sanbeeus. 
 Die nono Januarii, 1581. 
 
 No. XL 
 
 Letter of Nicohus Sanderus, 19th Oct., 1850. Page 200. 
 
 " Die 26° mensis Julii, cum Comes de Clancharti et Baro Macmauritius 
 nos deseruissent hostique se adjunxissent (quod nostram partem adeo imbe- 
 cillem judicarent), nobilissimus Baro de Baltinglas, Jacobus Eustacius, item- 
 que Tiegh Mache, et ahi multi nobiles arma pro fide sumpserunt circa ipsum 
 Dnblinum quod est totius Hyberniae caput. Hi fortissime se gesserunt, et 
 adhuc gerunt, praeclara de hostibus reportata victoria. Dominus autem Joannes 
 inde ad nos transiit ut accepta ope aliqua pecuniaria potentior ad suos rediret. 
 Bern Dno. Sebastiano proposuimus : benigne respondit, sed nihil hactenus 
 pecuniae tradidit. Obnixe rogo V. D. Illmam. ut hujus Dni. Joannis sociorum- 
 que ejus tamquam virorum de fide praaclare meritorum meminerit. 
 
APPENDIX. 425 
 
 " D. Joannes Geraldinus mittit una cum Patre Matthseo in Hispaniam filium 
 suum naturalem Thomam Geraldinum aoutissimi puerrnn ingenii, et indolis 
 optimas ut educetur in liberalibus disciplinis. 
 
 " Cum hsec soripsissem D. Joannes mihi dixit se non audere filium mittere 
 hoc tempore propter periculum quod in itinere subibunt. 
 
 " Hfee tertiam partem eorum qute oportuit, mihi licuit scribere. Cum enim 
 timeamus ne Angli arcem mari quoque obsideant, festinamus patrem Mat- 
 thseum demittere, quern omnes et D. Joannes voluenmt Nuncii partes ad 
 T. Illmam. Dom. agere. 
 
 "Naves quae isthinc venient cum exercitu optime ac tutissime appulsurae 
 videntur in portu Coreagiensi. Nam in eo se facile ab hostibus tuebuntur. 
 Nam portus Limericensis nee perinde tutus dicitur et ab Anglorum classe 
 occupandus putatur." 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 Alessandro Bertona de Faenza writes from prison, 27th Dee. 1580, asking 
 assistance from Card. Como, and says (see page 201) : — 
 
 ' ' Alii 27, di Agosto partimmo di Santander della costa di Biscaglia ed alii 13 
 di Settembre arrivammo in un porto d' Irelanda il quale si chiama Smerwick 
 e sbarcassimo tutti li soldati e munizioni come vi era stato ordinato ; e da li 
 a sei giorni venne il Coute Desmond a trattar tutte queste cose, donde io per 
 ordine del Sig. Colonello incominciai un forte per guardare le nostre munizioni 
 e principiandoli venne un Conte D'Ormond con un campo di soldati li quali, 
 erano 1500, e con quelli pochi soldati che avemmo, amazzammo molti dei suoi 
 donde fu forzato di ritornarsi. Dapoi venue quatordici vascelli per mare tra li 
 quali vi erano sette galeoni grossi e tutti questi potevano aver 250 pezzi di 
 artiglieria di bronzo, e nel medmo. tempo venne il Vice-He con un campo di 
 2000 soldati, donde avendo aperto li fianchi del nostro porto, e scavalcato la 
 nostra artiglieria e ammazzato molti soldati fummo forzati perdervi, donde 
 furono tagliati tutti a pezzi e fecero prigione al Sig. Colonello con venticinque 
 altri nonpiu." 
 
 There is another similar letter from Colonel St. Joseph. 
 
 No. XIII. 
 
 Extract from letter of the Earl of Desmond, sent by the Nuncio in 
 Madrid, 17 th January, Dingle. Page 197, note. 
 
 "Che egli trovato all' improviso, poiche non era stato avvertito della andata 
 di Giacomo Geraldino, stette alquanto sopra di se, ma lascio fra tanto che li 
 suoi fratelli si congiungessero a Giacomo, favorendogli esso ancora e difenden- 
 doli quanto pottette, sinche intese la morte di Giacomo dopo aver vinto i suoi 
 
426 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 nemici. Questi fatti insolenti da questo successo, egli ancorche non avesse 
 stabilito le cose sue e teuesse un figlio nelle mani degli lnglesi, posponendo 
 tutto al servizio di Dio si scoperse e si uni coi suoi fratelli." 
 
 NO. XIV. 
 
 Brief of Gregory XIII., conferring various faculties on the Rev. D. J. 
 JVliitc. Page 83. 
 
 Dilecto filio Joanni Vito Presbitero Riberno, Gregorius Papa XIII. 
 
 Dilecte fili salutem, etc. Exigit Pastoris universalis cura nobis divinitus 
 injuncta ut omni studio enitamur oves quae a Christi ovili aberrarunt commodig 
 rationibus ad idem quamprimum reducere. Hinc est quod Nos tibi qui 
 Theologus existis et de quo in Ms specialem in Domino fiduciam obtinemus, ut 
 in universo Hiberniae Regno omnes et quascumque utriusque sexus poeni- 
 tentes personas ab omnibus casibus poenis et censuris etiam per litteras die 
 ccenffi Dni. legi solitas sedi Aplicse. reservatis, injuncto eis pro modo culp» 
 poenitentia salutari in foro conscienti» dumtaxat, necnon eos quos etiam ex 
 hseresi aut schismate in eodem Regno Hiberniae ad gremium S. Matris Ecclesiae 
 reduxeris ac etiam quia propter temporum malitiain atque licentiam multa 
 matrimonia in diversis consangninitatis seu affinitatis gradibus, etc. , ibi eon- 
 tracta sint, cum hujusmodi personis ut in contractis matrimoniis in quarto ac 
 in tertio et quarto, necnon in secundo et tertio consangninitatis seu affinitatis 
 gradibus, ac etiam in cognatione spirituali non tamen inter levatnm et levantem 
 cum publica honestate justitiee contractis, etc., dispensare possis. Non obstan- 
 tibus, etc 
 
 Datum Romas apud S. Petrum die 4 Novembr. 1578, anno septimo. 
 
 NO. XV. 
 
 Brief appointing Dr. Matthew DOviedo Archbishop of Dublin. 
 Page 84 and page 193. 
 
 Dilecto filio Mattlmo di Oviedo, Electo Dullinen. salutem, etc. 
 
 Divina disponente dementia cujus inscrutabili providentia ordinationem 
 suscipiunt universa, in Aplicae. sedis specula etsi immeriti constituti ad universas 
 orbis Ecclesias aciem nostra considerationis intendimus, et pro earum statu 
 salubriter dirigendo apostolici favoris auxilium adhibemus, sed de illis Nos 
 propensius cogitare convenit quas propriis carere pastoribus intuemur ut eis 
 juxta cor nostrum pastores prasficiantur idonei, qui commissos sibi populos per 
 suam circumspectionem providam, et providentiam circumspectam salubriter 
 dirigant, et inf orment ac Ecclesiarum suarum bona non solum gubement utiliter 
 
APPENDIX. 427 
 
 sed et multimodis efferant incrementia. Dudum siquidem provisiones Eccle- 
 siarum omnium tunc vacantium et in antea vaoaturarum ordinationi nostra et 
 dispositioni reservavimus, decementes ex tunc irritum et inane si secus super 
 his per quoscumque quavis auctoritate scienter vel ignoranter contingeret 
 attrectari. Postmodum vero Ecclesia Dublinensis cui bon. mem. Donaldus 
 Archiepus. Dublinensis dum viveret praesidebat per obitum dicti Donaldi Archi- 
 epi. qui extra Rom. curiam debitum natura persolvit pastoris solatio destituta, 
 Nos vacatione hujusmodi fidedignis relatibus intellects ad provisionem ejusdem 
 Ecclesiae celerem et felicem de qua nullus praeter Nos hac vice se intromittere 
 potuit sive potest, reservatione et decreto obsistentibus suprapiositis, ne 
 Ecclesia ipsa long» vacationis imponatur incommodis, paternis et soUicitis 
 studiis intendentes post deliberationem quam de praeficiendo eidem Ecclesiae 
 personam utilem et etiam fructuosam cum fratribus nostris habuimus dili- 
 gentem : demum ad Te ordinis fratrum miuorum de observantia nuucupa- 
 torum professorem, ex legitimo matrimonio procreatum ac in presbyteratus 
 ordine ac state legitima constitutum cuique apud Nos de vitse munditia, 
 honestate morum, spiritualiurn providentia et temporalium circumspectione 
 aliisque multiplicum virtutum donisfide digna testimonia perhibentur, direximua 
 oeulos nostras mentis. Quibus omnibus debita meditatione pensatis Te a 
 quibusvis excommunicationis, etc. 
 
 Quocirca Vsn. fratribus nostris universis suffraganeis ac dilectis filiia 
 capitulo et vasallis dictae Ecclesiae necnon clero et populo civitatis et Dicec. 
 Dublinen. per apostolica scripta mandamus, ut suffraganei tibi tamquam membra 
 capiti obsequentes ac capitulum tibi tamquam patri et pastori animarum sua- 
 rum humiliter intendentes, exhibeant tibi obedientiam et reverentiam debitas 
 et devotas, itaque mutua inter te et ipsos gratia gratos sortiatur effectus et Nos 
 eorum devotionem possimus propterea in Dno. merito commendare. Ac clerus 
 Te pro nostra et dictae sedis reverentia benigne recipientes et honorin'ce per- 
 tractantes tua salubria monita et mandata salubribus humiliter intendant. 
 Itaque tu iu eis devotionis filios et ipsi in te per consequens patrem benevolum 
 ixivenisse gaudeatis, etc. 
 
 Datum Romas apud S. Petrum anno 1600, 3° Nonas Maij Pontii. nostri 
 anno Nono. 
 
 A. de Alexiis. 
 
 H. Cardinalis Montaltus. 
 
 No. XVI. 
 
 Decrees published under Dr. Boothe, Bishop of Kilkenny, in a Pro 
 Synod of Armagh, in 1618. Page 272. 
 
 Ordinatiopro uniformitate Cleri Provincim ArdmacJiance facta in solemni 
 Conventu ejusdem Cleri, an. 1618. 
 
 Prseside Rmo. D. Davide Epo. Ossoriensi, Vice-Primate Hibernias. 
 1. Ut quae pro regimine Provincial Ardmachanas adeo et pro directione Cleri 
 totius Hiberniae in singulis hujus regni provinciis respective edita et sancita 
 sunt, meliorem prosequutionem et certiorem effectum sortiantur, expedit 
 
428 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 omnino adhiberi firmamentum aliquod et munimen ex uniformi Praelatorum 
 consensu, et mutua eorum correspondents contra ingruentein, meritoq. formi- 
 dandam quorumdam de Clero nimiam libertatem, vel etiam lubricitatem ; ne 
 forte quas salubriter ordinata, in neglectum, desuetudinem, vel contemptum 
 abeant. Et quia per omnes Provincias, quatenus rerum et temporum conditio 
 patitur, jam designati sunt vicarii generales qui absentibus vel deficientibus 
 episcopis suis singuli dkeceses seorsim gubernent, qui eisdem partito onere per 
 diversos districtus habent sibi deservientes vicarios foraneos ; sub quibus etiam 
 Paroehi ministrant curam sacramentalem : ne ex confusione frangatur nervus 
 Ecclesiasticae disciplinse, et juris atque sequitatis ordo perturbetur, quando 
 licitum aut permissum foret Parochis aut aliis in cura constitutis transire, in- 
 consulto ordinario, sub cujus obedientia jam vivuut, ad aliam dioecesim vel 
 provinciam, ibique novum assuniere onus animarum, relicta vel deserta priori 
 parochia, cui inserviebant ; unde et regiminis formam destrui, et improborum 
 contumaciam roborari contmgeret. 
 
 Idcirco providendum est, et communi consilio, consensuq. provisum sit, ad 
 occurrendum omni subreptioni, prevarication!, lapsui, relapsui, laxitati, vel 
 inordinationi, ne quisquam qui de prassenti curam alicujus Parochias, Decanatus, 
 aut districtus babet in quacumque dioecesi, cujuscumque provincias, admittatur 
 in posterum in aliam dioecesim ejusdem vel alterius Provincias, absque testimo- 
 nialibus vel commendatitiis proprii ordinarii. Quod ut serio et diligenter curetur, 
 utque inconsultffi transmigrationes Paroehorum de una in aliam dioecesim, vel 
 provinciam impediantur, et cum severitate etiam prohibeantur, aequitas re- 
 quirit, suadet charitas, et ipsa etiam necessitas jubet esse commeDdatum omnibus 
 ubique Officialibus, Archidiaconis,Decanis, vicariis generalibus, sive dicecesanis, 
 si ve etiam metropolitanis, ceterisque ordinariis, vel quasi ordinariis quibuscumque 
 per universum hoc regnum constitutis, ut nee permittant vagos ignotorum 
 Sacerdotum transcursus, atque recursus, neve absque testimonio et commen- 
 datione suorum ordinariorum extraneos recipiant ad curam extra illos dis- 
 trictus quibus ipsos jam de facto obstrictos, aut ex ordinationis velut vinculo 
 adscriptos esse constet. Porro tenebuntur Paroehi susceptam animarum curam 
 per se exequi, nee citra necessitatem, et alios casus a jure expressos poterunt 
 residentiam deserere, quod secus fit a quibusdam, qui pro sua commoditate et 
 ad libitum servire volunt per alium, quern sibi constituunt, absque justa ab- 
 sentia3 causa. Id vero omni studio, solicitudine, et vigilantia connitendum est, 
 ut debite executioni demandetur. 
 
 Ordinatio pro correspondentia et conformitate inter chrum secularem et 
 regular em juxta diversos grains Ecclicce. Eierarchiw. 
 
 2. In omni ordine, gradu, et instituto qui discoli sunt, contumaces, vel 
 refractarii perturbant pacem, et unitatem, qua continetur omnis ordinata 
 societas ; et una pecus morbida nisi tempestive arceatur ab ovili, potest totum 
 grecem inficere ; idcirco postulat recta discipline ratio, ut ubi mansuetudine 
 non proficitur, severitatis adhibeatur acrimonia, quse ne irrita sit, et frustranea 
 mutuis auxiliis et consiliis se invicem fulcire debent Ecclesiastics Hierarchise 
 Prsesules. Ac proinde si quia e seculari clero vel populo notorie delinquens, et 
 excommunicationis, suspensionis, vel interdicti censura innodatus, per senten- 
 
APPENDIX. 429 
 
 tiam latam a proprio pastore, recurreret saucius ad Regulares pro absolutione 
 impetranda, neglecta satisfactions, et obedientia, qua tenetur obnoxius suo 
 proprio parocbo, vel antistiti, cum privilegia Regularium ad aedificationem, non 
 autem ad destructionem censeantur concessa ; nee ad seutentiam a judice 
 latam in foro contentioso rescindendam extendi posse, aut debere intelligantur ; 
 illud optandum est, et gratiose impetrandum a praesulibus Religiosi cujusvis 
 ordinis, quibus hoc ipsam in spiritu pietatis et fraternae charitatis proponendum 
 requiritur, ne cito manus iniponant hujusmodirefractariis, aut rebellibus etiam 
 id foro conscientisB, sed magis hortentur, ut se conformant recto imperio et 
 voluntati suorum superiorum ; ne quod uuus aedificat, alius destruat, et dum 
 unus claudit, alius aperit, laxitas et impunitas pariat ruinam. Quod si ex 
 institutis Eegularibus contra suorum antistitum nutum et mandatum aliqui 
 incorrigibiles exirent ad SEecularem curam et officium, ordinarii locorum tales 
 non admittent, nee fovebunt eorum contumaciam, quam potius reprimere et re- 
 frasnare expediat, ut mutuam charitatem et correspondentiam utrique inter se 
 gradus, cum unius corporis membra sint, constabiliant. 
 
 Ordinatio tarn pro moderandis excessibus et defectibus in gubernatione 
 funerum quoad laicos, quam pro coercendo vano et superfluo excessu turn 
 in victu, turn in vestitu quoad ipsum Clerum. 
 
 3 Quia usu compertum est in quibusdam hujus provincial locis quosdam 
 excessus, et defectus committi in curandis, et peragendis exequiis mortuorum, 
 dum alibi nimio luxu in f unebres epulas, et lugubres vestes cum magno haeredum 
 detrimento, et nullo propemodum refrigerio pauperum, quandoque etiam cum 
 dam no creditorum, expensae prof unduntur ; idque aliquaudo invalescente prava 
 quoramdum aemulatione, dum mediocres ut exaequent fastum eorum, qui locu- 
 pletiores sunt, suas excedunt facilitates, in quo graviter peccare ipsi et suos 
 liberos indebite onerare consueverunt ; pro isto excessu moderando remedium 
 quaeri debet, similiter et pro defectu, quern alibi in exequiis obrepere conque- 
 runtur piae et timoratse couscientiae, ubi per quorumdam nebulorum, et jocula- 
 torum nequitiam, quae neque in domo convivii ferenda esset, inhonestse 
 cantiones, lascivse gesticulationes, quandoque etiam cum tenebris opera tene- 
 brarum peraguntur, et cum extinctione luminis pariter extinguitur timor mortis, 
 cujus ut imago in cadavere exposita est oculis, ita memoria menti debet occur- 
 rere ; idcirco omnibus de clero commendatum sit, tarn Praelatis quam concio- 
 natoribus, confessariis, parochis, ceterisque zelatoribus divini honoris, et 
 publicse salutis procuratoribus ut omui meliori via, ratione, modo, consilio, 
 exhortatione, prsecepto, et divini judicii contestatione deterreant, avocent, et 
 abducant suos respective subditos, pcenitentes, parochianos seu quocumque alio 
 necessitudinis, charitatis, aut justitise titulo commissos eorum curae vel direc- 
 tioni ab omni enormitate, inordinatione, indecentia, errore, et abusu, sive 
 excedendo per luxum, sive deficiendo per quamcumque intemperantiam vel 
 luxuriam, omnemque adhibeant diligentiam amovendi, et abolendi offensam Dei, 
 dispendium reipublicse, damnum auimarum, scandalum infirmorum, et cetera 
 nocumenta, quae noscuntur emergere ex isto excessu et defectu funerum curan- 
 dorum ; ut cum satius esse duxerit sapiens in domum luctus ire quam in 
 domum convivii, transeat in domum vitii et convitii. Quod ut universi et 
 
430 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 singuli sedulo procurent (ut dictum est), mandamus, quantum possumus, et 
 serio commendamus. 
 
 Quae autem laicis prascribuntur circa moderandas exequias, idem circa 
 nuptialia, et baptismalia convivia, aliasque profanas et fastuosas eommessa- 
 tiones debet intelligi; multoque magis ad ipsius cleri excessus coercendos tarn 
 in victu, quam iri vestitu vano et superfluo extendi convenit. Idcirco vitandus 
 in posterum erit nimius ille apparatus ciborum, varietas ferculorum et opipara 
 quoramdam lautities, ac operosa invitatio hospitum, sexusque promiscui fre- 
 quens accubitus admensas ecclesiasticorum, prcesertim nonnullorum Sacerdotum 
 in celebratioue primitiarum, ac Regularium in festis Ordinum patronalibus, 
 quee magna cum Eemulatione charismatum non meliorum factitantur cum gravi 
 onere laicorum in subministrandis omnigenis cibariis, vaccis, ovibus, vitulis, 
 agnis,hcedis, altilibus, volatilibus, vinorum etiam, aliorumqueliquorumvarietate, 
 non sine magna distractione mentis, et jactura devotionis conquirentium 
 undique, ac conquisita apparantium ac ministrantium Religiosorum : cum 
 magna exclamatione, indignatione, et offensione gubernatorum regni, impro- 
 perantium nostris luxum, et superabundantiam ; cumingentideniquedisplicen- 
 tia, fastidio, et expostulatione aliorum Catholicorum, qui hanc immoderantiam 
 culpant, redarguunt, et aboleri cupiunt ; preesertim quando his epulis carnalibus 
 multo attentius, et frequentius vacatur, quam Sacramentis administrandis, 
 quibus in tanto hominum tumultu ad nidorem ecclesise adrolantium vix attendi 
 potest. Hee itaque profanas commessatioues, quibus festa Patronorum ab 
 Ecclesiasticis, ac potissime a Regularibus celebrantur, posthac commutandae 
 erunt in sacras et salutares epulas confessionis Sacramentalis et Smse. Eucha- 
 ristiae, quibus anima devota expiatur, reficitur, roboratur in gratia, et dispo- 
 nitur ad indulgentias fructuose lucrandas. Et quod de victu temperando dic- 
 tum est, idem et de vestitu moderando praecipitur, ne in eo luxurient Eccle- 
 siastici, aut se nimium conspicabiles faciant supra communem sortem hones- 
 torum incolarum, cum quibus degunt, idque ad vitandos sumptus non neces- 
 sarios, et ad pravam Eemulationem, et profanorum hominum imitationem fu- 
 giendam decet omnino et expedit. 
 
 Ordinatio pro dispensationibus caute et ordinate concedendis. 
 
 4. Dispensations sive ad retineuda bona Ecclesiastica, sive ad contrahenda 
 matrimonia in gradibus a jure prohibitis non debent concedi, nisi causa suffi- 
 cienter examinata ; cujus cognitio merito praesumitur ab ordinario, cujus oves 
 sunt, melius quam ab aliis posse fieri, et proinde justum est, ut ab eo appro- 
 bentur, et acceptentur. Parochi vero, qui temere ac promiscue admitterent 
 dispensationes quascumque, nee causa dispensandi, nee facilitate dispensantis 
 satis ab ordinario cognita, arbitrio ejusdem ordinarii puniantur. 
 
 Ordinatio de Regularibus ad curam animarum invitandis mm moderaticme 
 in usu suorum privilegiorum. 
 
 5. Eegulares omnes, qui Ecelicffi. Hierarchies ornamenta, ac Ordinariorum 
 pastorum strenui co-operatores sunt, ab omnibus pastoribus, aliisque nobis 
 subjectis volumus ut tales amari, et honorari, eisque omnia charitatis obsequia, 
 et subsidia ad Esdifieationem fidelium ab omnibus prastari optamus, et cum jam 
 
APPENDIX. 431 
 
 in nostra patria in suis Regularibus domibus consuetis religionis exeroitiis vacare 
 non permittautur; neque dubitemus illos zelo salutis animarum accensos libenter 
 velle in messe Dei impendi, et superimpendi, nosque alioquin quam maxima 
 Pastorum penuria laboremus ; volumus, ut durante hoc rerum statu Ordinarii 
 looorum serio cum snperioribus Regularium agant, quatenus sibi subjectos 
 Eeligiosos Sacerdotes ad munus pastorale gerendum sibi concedere velint, 
 communique consilio turn Ordinarii, turn Regularium superiores curent, ut sine 
 detrimento Regularis observantise hujusmodi pastoralis cura Religiosis com- 
 missa exerceatur. Ulterius declaramus Religiosos suis privilegiis et facultati- 
 bus, qnatenus locorum ordinariis non repugnant, aut prsjudicant, uti posse, ac 
 proinde quoad hasc a nemine eos volumus molestari : cum autem certum sit, 
 privilegia quaecumque in aedificationem, et non in destructionem concessa esse, 
 debitumque Eeclesiastieum regimen postulare ea, quae sunt fori contentiosi, a 
 solis illis, qui illius fori sunt judices (quales sunt Ordinarii), prout jura deter- 
 minant, exerceri debere, ac proinde S. Sauctitatem nullo modo per hujusmodi 
 privilegiorum concessionem hoc rectum regimen pervertere aut ordinariorum 
 juri praejudicare velle ; monemus igitur omnes Regulares, ut in iis, quze fori 
 contentiosi sunt, aut ad illud deduci possunt, privilegiorum, airt facultatum 
 virtu te nihil agant, nisi quatenus Ordinarii hiec illis commiserint, aut eorum ad 
 ilia praestanda auxilium requisierint. 
 
 Ordinatio de cauta conversation Clericonim. 
 
 6. Caveant Sacerdotes, ne publice aut privatim de negotiis -status, aut poli- 
 tiae temporalis tractent, neve ullo alio modo Regiae majestati, aut aliis, qui 
 sub ipso Reipublicse in temporalibus praesunt, se exosos reddant, quam quae sui 
 officii erga Deum et populuin prtestando, nimirum spiritualia tantummodo eis 
 ministeria exhibendo, relinquentes Cassari, quas Caesaria sunt, et reddentes Deo, 
 quae Dei sunt. 
 
 No. XVII. 
 
 Report of Dr. Kearney, Archbishop of Cashel, written in 1609, on the 
 State of Religion in Ireland. Page 234. 
 
 Vera et succincta relatio status Hiberniae et simul temporis transacti ratio a 
 Davide Archiepiscopo Cassellensi, in suo munere. 
 
 In quatuor classes distribui possunt hseretici qui rebus potiuntur, omniaque 
 in Hibernia gubernant. Primum obtinent locum Prorex et Provinciarum prae- 
 sides : secundum, consiliarii Regni et Provinciarum, iisque assistentes, qui 
 justitiam administrant, ut Judices et alii his inferiores ; tertium, Pseudo- 
 archiepiscopi et Episcopi et alii ministri : quartum, duces seu Capitanei ac Prae- 
 sidiarii milites qui praesunt propugnacuiis omnibus ad oppugnandum aptis tarn 
 ad mare quam in civitatibus et oppidis per universum regnum. Hisce adjungi 
 possunt prsedictorum omnium familiae, censuarii qui nuper introducti sunt et 
 
 2 F 
 
432 APPENDIX. 
 
 quotidie introduountur ex Anglia et Scotia ut occupent terras dominorum qui 
 aut devicti aut occisi fuere in bello, ant solum verterunt propter fidem et reli- 
 gionem, genusque hommum pessimorum, falsi fratres, Catholicis permolesti, et 
 hi omnes sunt ferme Angli aut Sooti hseretici, continentque omnes Catholicos 
 in servitute, timore et perpetuis angustiis, qui tameu in tanto sunt numero ut 
 vix millesimus quisque ex ipsa uatione Hibernica labe hsereseos notetur. 
 
 Status itaque Catholicorum in Hibernia est sine dubio valde perplexus et 
 dubius quia pendet omniuo a nutu et voluntate prajdictorum hEereticorum ; 
 opprimuntur impune a militibus ; injuriis et calumniis vexantur a Pseudo- 
 episcopis ac ministris : horum autem aliqui juxta cujusvis naturas propensionem 
 aliis sunt mitiores, alii vero inquietissimi ; ex his f uit quidam Georgius Bruncar- 
 dus Anglus, Momonise nostras Provincial Prseses qui non minus impie quam 
 tyrannice omnem movebat lapidem ut religionem et fidem a finibus nostris 
 exterminaret. Vixit inter nos in hac impietate, tamquam alter antichristi 
 emissarius annis tribus cum dimidio ; et cum jam gloriaretur maledictionibus 
 se Catholicorum valetudine melius confirmari, ecce Deus qui suis, in angustiis 
 semper adest, ilium frenesi ad insaniam correptum e medio sustulit. 
 
 Post cujus obitum remisit se nonnihil persecutio turn quod ejus successor 
 maluit publicis negotiis intendere, quam alterius exemplo se frustra vexare et 
 totnm populum denuo commovere ; turn quod sub id tempus Serenissimus 
 Princeps O'Nellus ingenioso stratagemate ab internecione sibi ac suis diu exco- 
 gitata ac jam turn prasparata aufugerit, quas ejus fuga haereticorum animos 
 supra modum torsit ac vexavit ; unde arma parant, militem cogunt ac propug- 
 nacnla omnia muuire satagunt : aliud enim non expectabant quam O'Nelli pro- 
 pediem cum armata et forti mann in Hiberniam reditum ; exercebant ergo se 
 quasi jam ille in castris aperto marte propugnaturus consisteret ; ita fuere per- 
 territi omnes ut integro anno sic impediti, aliqua nos fruebamur conniventia et 
 veluti a sasvitia cessations. 
 
 Timent vero Nostrates modo, uti nuperrime accepimus, novam sibi parari 
 persecutionem, eoque magis quod adversarii advertant dictum Principem 
 O'Nellum nihil obtinuisse neque spem aliquam affulgere qnod rediturus sit in 
 patriam cum aliquibus copiis. E re tamen nostrorum Catholicorum omnino 
 esset si in Anglia intelligeretur ipsum magni hie fieri tarn a S. Sede quam a 
 Regibus et Principibus Catholicis. Hinc enim non dubitarent Angli aliquid 
 subesse et prseparari in ipsorum ruinam atque sic aninii suspensi hsererent 
 intereaque mitius in Catholicos ageretur. 
 
 Nos interim Ecelesiastici mediis semper involuti periculis peritum nautam qui 
 vela ingruente tempestate contrahit, coeloque expandit sereno imitamur. Nam 
 urgente persecutione, discurrentibus et inquirentibus nos militibus, ad secretiora 
 loca confugimus. Dum persecutio remittit paulatim in apertum progredimur ; 
 quisque vero ut dignitate, et in oculis haareticorum proecellit tanto magis 
 ad earceres et poenas et necem quasritur. Sed quemadmodum ipsi ruinam nostram 
 serio meditantur, ita nos nobis providemus ut vix unquam certi aliquid de 
 nobis habere possunt ; sumus enim in continuo motu ssecularibus induti vesti- 
 bus, ad altare solum longioribus contenti ; ab una civitate (a Christo edoeti) in 
 aliam, ab uno pago in alium plerumque remotissimum confugimus. Neque 
 ullibi diu hasremus sed ab una domo ad aliam etiam in civitatibus et oppidis 
 transimus, idque in matntino crepusculo vel sub noctem imo tertia vel quarta 
 vigilia noctis ; filii enim etsi speramus lucis, pias tamen tenebras atque adeo 
 
APPENDIX. 433 
 
 hyemem aestati praeferimus. In tenebris enim munia nostra peragere, vestes 
 sacras circumferre, missas celebrare, exhortari, ordines conferre, chrisma 
 benedicere, confirmationis sacramentum administrare, caeteraque omnia Ecclesi- 
 astica traotare oportet. 
 
 Inquirunt enim severe Catholicos qui sacro intersunt et mulctas inauper 
 imponimt iis qui hcereticorum templa non adeunt; in carceres trahunt non 
 solum qui sacerdotibus favent sed et eos qui non abjiciant expellantque Christi 
 ministros ; prohibent usum templorum, peregrinationes impediunt et uuo verbo 
 quos volunt puniunt et pro arbitrio saeviunt. 
 
 Anno vero superiore cessante saevitia, confirmationis saoramentum clara die 
 in mediis eampis, decern millibus ad minus administravimus ; ita enim nostrates 
 hoc venerantur sacrameutum ut a remotis regni partibus ad id certo suseipien- 
 dum concurrerent. Majorem nostras Provincial partem visitavimus et consti- 
 tutes a nobis initio temporis nostri vicarios generales invisimus. Hi in singulis 
 Dioecesibus proquovis decanatu habent vicarium ruralem qui ruri invigilat, qui 
 si quid indecenter fit ad vicarios generales defert : si scandali occasio cletur, 
 vicarii nos monent, et si nobis integrum non sit rem componere, nam etiam 
 inter nos refractarii inveniuntur, recurrimus ad Principes et nobiles Catholicos 
 in quorum ditioue tales consistunt et tamquam auxilio brachii szecularis eorum 
 auctoritatem interponimus : ipsique ita caute ac prudenter istos protervos cor- 
 ripiunt, ut neque haeretici qmdquam tale suspieentur neque correpti aliud 
 advertant quam se dominorum benevolentia privari, et ita, velint riolint, supe- 
 rioribus acquiescere coguntur, aut certe ditionem temporalem dominorum 
 magno suo malo deserere. 
 
 Eeverendi Patres Societatis Jesu qui sunt jam numero duodecim circiter in 
 Hibernia inter se et nobiscum optime in omnibus conveniunt neque exemp- 
 tionibus contendunt ut alii, sed morem gerunt (manentibus tamen integris, ut 
 par est, eorum privilegiis) in omnibus quae in Dei gloriam cedunt. Si Vicarii 
 generales aut locorum Pastores judieent non esse in tali aut tali die concionan- 
 dum, non esse hoc vel illud agendum, acquiescunt ; si eorum operam implorant, 
 non recusant labores, nee ubi ipsi volunt, moram faciunt, sed quo eos superior 
 mandat, proficiscuutur. Haec afiirmo ex certa scientist quia oculatus testis sum, 
 et sine adulatione dixerim, haud dubie non quae sua sunt quaerunt sed quae 
 Jesu Christi. Interim nihil habent unde vivant prater solam Catholicorum 
 benevolentiam quae quam tenuis sit, Deus novit, quia et ipsi quotidie extenu- 
 antur et expilantur ab haereticis. 
 
 Alii etiam Religiosi usque ad ultimum biennium circiter, recte inter se et 
 cum aliis conveniebant, sed advenerunt tandem tumultuarii aliquot, qui variis 
 negotiis sine necessitate imo cum multorum scandalo se implicant. 
 
 Reverendi KD. Abbates conantur omnia emolumenta quae parva sunt ad se 
 trahere, mhilque aliis operariis relinquere unde vivant : aequum autem videretur 
 ut qui aestum et pondus portant aliquid inde commodi percipiant Existimarem 
 itaqvie (salvo superiori judicio) convenire ut cujusvis provincije beneficiorum, 
 prioratuum et monasteriorum emolumenta cedant, durante haeresi ae schismate 
 in usum eorum qui de facto in provincia, prascipueque in loco ubi sita sint 
 monasteria, laborant. Et si Abbates ut inceperunt pergant, tarn adversariorum 
 quam Catholicorum sibi ac nobis indignationem parient. Neque quae praeten- 
 dunt Eeclesiastica emolumenta obtinebunt, cum vix quidem S. Pontifex neque 
 Hispaniae aut Galliae Peges id possint efficere. Et si contingeret Angliae cum 
 
4H4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Dei Ecolesia reconeiliatio, vix spes esse ]>ossit ut monasteria aut prioratus 
 unquam restituantur cum pridem tempore Julii 3. 2°. an. Regis Phil, et Marine 
 in Anglia, obtinuerunt tarn ipse Rex quam ejus subditi ab Illmo. pise mem. 
 Card. Polo, Legato turn a latere pro rebus Angliois componeudis dispensa- 
 tionem pro retentione omnium monasteriorum, etc. Quam dispensationem 
 regiis statutis insertam et -impressam a paucis jam mensibus vidi diligenterque 
 legi. 
 
 Atque hsec sufficiant de rerum nostrarum statu ac de temporis ratione qua 
 nos sex nunc prope annorum curriculo iu Hiberuia summis jactati angustiis, 
 nullis dotati redditibus aut proventibus above vivendi modo quam amiconim 
 pia liberalitate mansimus. Si quid enim haberi possit sive in Provincia sive 
 in Dkecesi id solum ex monasteriis et Prioratibus qui in manibus Catholieo- 
 rum sunt, expectandum, atque hoc licet perexiguum, aliqui, ut dixi, conantur 
 ad se suosque alendos tumultuarie pertrahere. Beneficia vero curata, Episco- 
 palia, etc. occupantur ab haereticis, a quibus nihil nisi persecutiones et calumnies 
 expectandum. 
 
 No. XVIII. 
 Acts and Decrees of several Bishops in Kilkenny. Page 395. 
 
 Acta, eonventa, et ordinata in consul tafionej' Epali habita Kilkenias, die 
 24-27 Aug. an. 1629, ab his Prselatis, quorum nomina subscribuntur. 
 
 Concilii Tridentini ex deliberato consensu renovatur receptio quoad omnia, 
 quje non exquinmt expressam, et specificam promulgationem, quale est decre- 
 tum de clandestinis matrimoniis, et prseter ea quaj presenti rerum, et temporum 
 statui iucompossibilia videri possunt in Ecclica. administratione, et ceconomia, 
 qualia sunt decreta de tonsura et habitu clericali, de prabenda theologah, de 
 erectione seminarii et similia. 
 
 2. Usus lacticiniorum per omnes dies quadragesimales observandus est in 
 Provincia Casselleu. ex usu, obserVatione, et praxi Provincite Dublinen., in 
 qua licitum est vesci omnibus feriis sextis butiro, lacte, etiam caseo, prseter 
 primam et ultimam fer. iv^m e t vi am quadragesimae, idque per commutationem 
 in aliud opus pium. 
 
 3. Ordines saeri nonnisi parcissime conferendi, idque propter necessitatem 
 potissimum serviendi locis vaeantibus, in cura animarum et eacramentorum 
 administratione. 
 
 Regulares ordinandi sunt a proprio Dicecesano juxta tenorem mandati 
 Clem. VIII., et declarationem Cardinalium ad istum finem pridem factam. 
 
 Magna cautela utendum est in commeudandis Ecclesiasticis proficiscentibus 
 ad partes ultramarinas propter multitudinem vagorum isthuc catervatim 
 euntium, qui magno dedecore gentem et patriam dehonestant. 
 
 4. Facta jam restrictione facultatum missionariorum, Episcopi, quibus corn- 
 petit potestas communicandi aliis facultatem dispensandi, benedicendi para- 
 menia, &c., non concedent eas alibi extra propriam dicecesim exercendas, nisi 
 
APPENDIX. 435 
 
 de consensu et approbatione Episcopi, Vic. Apostolici, seu alterius Ordinarii 
 in diversa Dicecesi. 
 
 . 5. Circa constitutionem Greg. XV. pro correctione Regularium delinquen- 
 tium in administratione sacramentorum pastoralium ; item circa revocationem 
 priviiegiorum lactam ab Urb. VIII. pro approbatione necessario obtinenda, 
 quilibet direcesanus procedat in sua Dioecesi, cum ea disciplines soorietate 
 et observantia, qiue magis "Sedificationem et pacem sapiat, quam iunovationem 
 vel contentionem. 
 
 Incuris etbeneficiis per Regulares* occupatis sine reqnisita pra>sentatione Epo. 
 facienda, quasi per annexionem, seu appropriationem, aliove simili modo ad se 
 pertinentibus quidquid conceditur, vel permittitur eis ab Ordinariis contra 
 Canones, hoc ex indulgentia, et conniventia propter miseriam temporis et ad 
 redimendam vexationem, potius quam vero aliquo juris titulo, aut solido pri- 
 vilegio, quantum nobis adhuc constat, quod Regularibus ipsis competat, per- 
 mittitur, et conceditur. ltaque eurati etiam Regulares tenentur ad dicecesanas 
 synodus accedere vocati ab Ordinariis, subsuntque eorum correctioni, visitation^ 
 et eorumdem approbationem petere tenentur etiam in territoriis, quee quondam 
 fuenvnt monasteriorum in quibus verius est Prtelatos Regulares in boc Regno 
 nee potiri modo, nee olim potitos f uisse pleno jure in civilibus, et criminalibus, 
 sive jurisdiotione Episoopali et temporali quoad parochos, et parochianos, ut 
 loquitur Cone. Trid. et Cardinales Concilii interpretes exposuerunt. 
 
 6. Nomine missionariorum intelliguntur Regulares et saeculares presbyteri 
 cujuscumque dignitatis et gradus, et Praslati quieumque Episcopis inferiores 
 adeo, ut ipsis, non liceat uti facultatibns antea concessis, nisi secundum 
 restrictiones a Smo. D. N. Urbano PP. VIII. faotas. 
 
 7. Transumptum literarum Apostoliearum etiam manupublici notariisubscrip- 
 tum, et tsigillo Ecclesiastici Prselati munitum fidem faoere potest in causis 
 beneficialibus, aliisque minoris momenti ; secus vero est de transumpto mandati 
 Apostolici pro consecratione Episcopi, vel solemni benedictione Abbatiunet 
 similium, atque ita usu ac praxi suscipiendum eeusent in posterum Episcopi 
 adunati. 
 
 8. Metropolitan! cum magno honore, circumspectione et respectu Episcopo- 
 rum suffraganeorum in causis appellationum debent procedere, et omnes frivolas, 
 frustratorias, ac dilatorias amputare : nee debent ipsi (multoque minus Vicarii 
 eorum Generales possunt) Episcopos personaliter citare. 
 
 9. Constitutio Armachana de dispeusationibus citra consensum et approba- 
 tionibus Ordinarii non admittendis, expressa omnium coDgregatorum Episco- 
 poruxn voluntate et consensu recipitur, et est talis : Dispensations sive ad re- 
 tinenda bona Ecclesiastica, sive ad contrahenda matrimonia in gradibus a jure 
 prohibitis non debent concedi, nisi causa sufficienter examinata, cujus cognitio 
 merito praesumitur ab Ordinario, cujus oves sunt proprife, mebus quam.ab aliis 
 posse fieri, et proinde justuni est, ut ab eo approbentur et acceptentur. Paroehi 
 vero, qui temere et promiscue admitterent dispensationes quascumque, nee 
 causa dispensandi, nee facultate dispensantis satis ab Ordinario cognita, ar- 
 bitrio ejusdem Ordinarii puniantur. 
 
 * This note is on the margin : — D. Archiepus. Dublinen. suspendat judicium 
 suum super hoe articulo quoad tempus, scilicet donee de eodem melius con- 
 siderarit. 
 
43(5 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 10. Hospitia missionariorum, quibus utuntur ad certum aunorum terminum 
 non sunt conventus Regulares nee eorum omnimoda exemptione gaudent. 
 
 11. Quoad officii sepulturae praesidentiam et regimen, sive etiam loci in 
 officiatura prreferentiain, et praecedentiam, quando mortui sepeliuntur iu habitu 
 Regulari, sive id fiat in monasterio Regulari, sive extra monasterium, dum- 
 modo officium celebratur infra fines paroehiae, parochus ipse (vel Ordinarius si 
 adsit) prteferendus est Regulari. Optandum vero est, ut Regulares sua sponte 
 sequantur usum et ritum alicujus alterius principalis Ecclesiaj nationalis ultra- 
 marinse, sive in Italia, Gallia, Hispania, vel Belgio, nisi alia concordata cum 
 Ordinariis, et pastoribus meant. Et hoc etiam dicimus de aliis Regularium 
 privilegiis, quae prretendunt, et de quibus contendunt cum pastoribus et Or- 
 dinariis. 
 
 In provinciis illis, sive dioecesibus, in quibus oblationes funerales, tarn quae 
 extra monasteria, seu oratoria Regularium fiunt, quam qua? in circulis, et com- 
 pitis dum cadaver ad sepulturam defertur, exhiberi solent, Ordinarii concor- 
 dent cum Regularibus quanta possunt cum sequitate et moderamine. 
 
 12. Caveant Episcopi, ne facile patiantur erigi monialium monasteria, et 
 sine justa cautione sufficients dotis nulla; moniales admittantur. 
 
 13. Facultas dispensandi cum spuriis presbyterorum in actum non reducatur 
 ad evitandam infamiam, qua? nasci apta est ex ilia degeneri et damnata 
 progenie. 
 
 14. Testamentorum ac piorum legatorum dispositio, executio, et administratio 
 regenda est ex Cone. Trid. tenore, nee non ex ordinationibus diversis in pro- 
 viucia Dublinen. et Armachana factis circa eadem administranda, nempe ut, 
 relicta ad usus pios indeterminatos Ordinariorum dispositioni subjaceant 
 et similiter quoad alia in iisdem sanctionibus contenta. 
 
 15. Pia confoederatio et unio pro defensione juris Episcopalis et pastoralis 
 cum moderamine inculpatae tutelae amplectenda est cum RR. Coepis et confra- 
 tribus nostris vicinis Chalcedonen. et Philippen. nosterque in Urbe Agens cum 
 eorum in Urbe Agentibus consiliorum communicationem et animi conjunc- 
 tionem in causis communibus ad dignitatem et jurisdictionem Episcoporum 
 tuendam et promovendam spectantibus integra fide colet et amplectetur. 
 
 16. Optatur, et expedire judicatur, ut similis Prelatorum Congregati^ 
 qualis nunc est habita quolibet anno, vel biennio instituatur, in qua fiat 
 relectio horum actorum, et ea moderatio, additio, vel ademptio adjiciatur, 
 quae tunc videbitur ; locus autern, et tempus relinquitur arbitrio Metropolitarum, 
 verbo tamen facto cum suffraganeis et sufficienti tempore assignato. 
 
 Datum die 27 Augusti, an. 1629. 
 
 Signarunt, 
 
 Fr. Thomas, Archiepus. Dublinen. 
 Thomas, Archiepus. Cassellen. 
 David, Epus. Ossorien. 
 Guuelmus, Epus. Corcagiensis et Cluanen. 
 , Jo. Epus. Eernensis. 
 
 Fr. Patbitus, Epus. Waterforden. et Lis. 
 moren. 
 Hasc omnia fideliter transumpta sunt ex ipsis actis originalibus. 
 
APPENDIX. 437 
 
 No. XIX. 
 
 Letter to the Cardinal of Propaganda of the four Archbishops of Ireland, 
 about appointing an Agent in Rome. Page 408. 
 
 Eme. et Revme. Dne. 
 
 Vigilis Pastoris more, Patrea qui Metropolitanis Hiberniae Ecclesiis 
 praafecti sunt, adhibitis in consilium selectis quibusdani Prselatis et venerabilibus 
 de Clero viris, clare censent summe expedire pro commissi sibi gregis custodia et 
 recto Ecclesiarum Hibernia; Regimine, Procuratorem habere Romse cfflsisten- 
 tem qui sine aliquo mentis excessu coram Em. Va. Ecclesiarum causas in con- 
 gregationibus proponendis agat, et divina super illas voluntatis vestras arcana ad 
 nos diligenter transmittat ; res quidem est undique sana et ad divinum ampli- 
 andum cultum moresque in populo Christiano reformandos aptissima. At 
 cum nos redditus non habeamus proprios, nee consuetse sufEciant eleemosyna? 
 ad commodam in urbe Procuratoris sustentationem, rem plane necessariam 
 cogimur tota sedulitate Emaa. VraB. commendare, postulantes enixe ut digne- 
 mini ipsam Smo. Dno. Nostro proponere ad hoc ut parvitas nostra mediants 
 vestra paterna sollicitudiue gratiam inveniat in oculis Sanctitatis sua? qua 
 micam de fragmentis mensas ad Procuratoris nostri sustentationem erogare 
 dignetur. Negotium quidem est praclarum et pietati ac protectioni vestrae 
 conjunctissimum collabantem in Hibernia supportare Beligionem et fortiores 
 quoscumque impendere conatua ut gens tuse tutelar commissa ad perfectiora 
 assurgat : felix in re speratur exitus si vestro muniatur patrocinio. Deus opt. 
 max. favorem suum divinum E. V. ubique affluenter aspiret. 
 Ex loco Refugii uostri in Hibernia, 
 28 Nov. 1635. 
 
 Eue. Vrae. Observantissimi. 
 
 Hugo Ardmacanus, Tot. Hib. Primas. 
 
 Er. Thomas Fleming}, Ar. Dub. Hib. Primaa. 
 
 Thomas, Archiepus. Cassellensis. 
 
 Malachias, Archiepus. Tuamensis. 
 
 No. XX. 
 
 Letter of the four Archbislwps of Ireland thanking the Cardinal Protector , 
 and appointing Dr. E. 0. Dwyer their Agent in Rome. Page 408. 
 
 Eme. et Revme. Due. 
 
 Enue. Vrsa. litteraa datas 27 Junii proxime prasteriti cum eo quo par est 
 honore et reverentia accepimus ; in iis clare perspeximus sum m am Creatoris 
 providentiam in fovendis Religionis Catholicse reliquiis in hoc summe afflicto 
 Regno, excidendo ex vetuatissima Ecclesise petra, miro quidem artificio marmo- 
 ream Ecclse. Yrse. columnam ad supportandum Ecclae. Hibernian jedifieium, 
 
438 APPENDIX. 
 
 variis hostium machinationibus obnoxium quod dirutum iri nequaquam 
 timere possumus dum Emse. Vras. humeris fulcitur. Qua? circa decreta fieri 
 mandavit Ema. Vra. opportuno tempore executioni mandari eurabimus : 
 interea submisse rogamus Emani. Vram. ut quo sedulo et sollicito pede nos- 
 tram cepit protectionem hujusque Regni vestrae protectioni commissi negotia 
 et commune b num promovendo eodem semper incedat ut decefpaterna pro- 
 tectoris viscera et ut Rev. Adm. D. Edmundum Dwyerum, S. T. D. Immola- 
 censis Dicec. Archidiaconum. et nostrum in urbe communem agentem audiat 
 relatisque ab ipso pro nobis fidem adhibeat. Sensum nostrum' de decretis a 
 S Congne. da Propaganda pro recto Ecclesiarum nostrarum regimine editis ne 
 Emae. Vras. molesti simus reverenti silentio prastermittimus et ad Pevm. D. 
 Francifftin Tngolum Sec. Vrum., Emse. Vrae. communicandum fuse scribimus. 
 Deus opt. max. Em. Vram. diu servet incolumem ut ex animis rogamus. 
 Datum ex loeo nostri Refugii in Hibernia, * v 
 
 die 28 mensis Nov. 1635. 
 
 Etiae Vrae. Observantissimi 
 
 Hugo, Archiepus. Ardmachanus, 
 
 Tot. Hib. Primas. 
 Fr. Thomas Fleming, Archiepus. Dublinensis, " 
 
 Hibae. Primas. 
 Thomas, Archiepus. Cassillensis, 
 Malaohias, Archiepus. Tuamensis. 
 
 No. XXI. 
 
 Letter of Dr. Roche, Bishop of Ferns, to the Secretary of Propaganda. 
 
 Page 396. 
 
 Pbrillustris, Pevme. Due. 
 
 Ne mireris, vir ornatissime, si te nimium fatigo litteris et sollici- 
 tudine rerum nostrarum. . Tua tibi humanitas has peperit molestias: nisi 
 enim singulare praesidium in tua de gente mea cura comperissem, nequa- 
 quam Te ad officia pro nobis interponenda ita saepe sollicitassem. Habeo 
 aliqua quae Dicecesim meam respiciunt exponenda Saeras. Congni. Gratiosa ilia 
 sunt et non obnoxia litigiis, ideoque fidenter ea peto quae Te patrocinante 
 negari non possunt. Unum est de Absolutione cujusdam communitatis ab 
 excommunicatione seu alio maledicto quod olim forte incurrit. Alteram de 
 approbatione ej us quod a me gestum est in nominatione quorumdam virorum 
 selectorum meae Dicecesis ad subeundos titulos Dignitatum Ecclesiss meas, ut 
 plenius in Libellis hie adnexis explico. Et advertendum quod dignitates 
 saeculares in Cathedralibus et personalibus non interierunt quando bona 
 regularia abierunt in possessionem laicalem, sed illse adhuc retinentur a personis 
 iu speciem Ecclesiasticis quamvis heterodoxis, ideoque restituendse aliquando 
 Ecelse. Catholicae, si bonus Deus ipsam nobis unquam restituerit. Hdbo quaeso 
 pro me exponat Kma. Dom. T. Sac. Congni. quae si vivae vocis oraculo, mann 
 
APPENDIX. 4 39 
 
 Emi. D. Cardinalis aut vestra testato approbentur, abunda ea erit mihi cautio 
 ad formandam conscientiam meam pro valore gestorum et gerendorum. 
 
 Novus ad nos ex Anglia Prorex mittitur qui quamvis in Puritanismo rigi- 
 dissimi ut fertur zeli sit, statuatque secum experiri quid possit super decessores 
 in officio pro exterminio Catholic» Religionis quod molitur, non dejicimur 
 tamen, aspioientes in authorem fidei et oonsummatorem Jesum, probe scientes 
 quod plures dimicant pro nobis quam pro adversariis nostris; reminiseentes 
 etiam quod plures antehac ministri venerint pari auctoritate instructi et prava 
 voluntate affecti. Sed qui potens est destruxit consilia ipsorum et scintillam 
 nostram non est passus extingui. Idem Deus vivit et regnat qui venturi 
 istius Achitophel consilia confundet. Idem quoque incolumem Te conservet 
 Dne. in plurimum colende. 
 
 Wexford, die 25 Feb. 1632. 
 
 Servns in Christo obsequent, 
 
 Joannes Epus. Fernensis. 
 
 Emo. D. Franco. Ingoli. 
 
 No. XXII. 
 
 At page 266 we have given an account of the synod held in Kilkenny in the 
 year 1614, by Dr. Matthews. The decrees of that synod, with other statutes 
 of Dublin, were published in 1770, without mentioning the place where they 
 were printed. As, however, that collection is now rarely met with, and as the 
 statutes of Kilkenny are of great value in illustrating the discipline of our 
 Church, we have determined to put them within the reach of our readers in this 
 Appendix. The MSS., according to which we publish the decrees, is very 
 ancient ; it contains other decrees of a synod, held in 1685, signed by Dr. 
 Russell, then archbishop, with his own hand.* 
 
 * In the old MSS., according to which we have corrected the above decrees, 
 the following entry is made on the first page : 
 
 " Certain Advices left of Record for our new coming Misdoners, by old 
 F. Barnaby Barnwall. 
 
 "1. That the Council of Trent is received only in the north, in the counties 
 of Louth and Meath, and Elfin iu Connaught ; but the decree of clandestine 
 marriage is not published in Meath. 
 
 "2. You must not administer the sacraments of marriage, extreme unction, 
 viaticum, paschal communion, or baptism, where parish priests are in the 
 parish, for we have no such privilege. 
 
 "3. You must not deal with giving any dispensations, lest you offend the 
 prelates, and for other reasons. 
 
 "4. Be circumspect in resolving cases of conscience, until you be acquainted 
 with the customs of the country. 
 
 " There is no nation apter to be scandalized of the carriage of religious men 
 than the Irish ; wherefore you must be very wary ; for who is once spotted, 
 will never recover his honour in Ireland." 
 
440 APPENDIX. 
 
 Allocutio habita ab Archiepiscopo Dublinensi cum Synodus Kilkennice, 
 an. 1614, aperiretur. 
 
 Ea est conditio temporis et calamitatis hujus nostra Provinciaa, ad oujus 
 sollicitudinem assumpti sumus, ut nobis cum nihil optatius sit, quam pro muue- 
 ris dignitate, et oneris magnitudine, solerter defungi cura adininistrationis 
 nobis impositce : nihil tamen difficilius, nihil periculosius, pluribusque 
 impedimentis obnoxium sit, quam ejusmodi consiliorum executio. Quamvis 
 enim pura sit intentio nostra, et in oetilis Dei sincera mens, ac prorsus 
 necessaria cogitatio de proximorum seterna salute provehenda, viis et modis 
 vocation! nostras consentaneis ; ne domesticorum mores per desuetudinem 
 ecclesiastics? Disciplina? degenerent ab instituto nostro, et ab ilia integritate, 
 quam requirit status uniuscuj usque, et officii qualitas; experimur tamen 
 magno nostro cum dolore et discrimine, saluberrima nostrorum consilia sinistris 
 urgeri suspicionibus, nosque ipsos gravari iniquis et anticipatis opinionum 
 prcejudiciis : ut neque convenire ad unitatis et innoceutife sectanda studia sine 
 summo vitse ac libertatis nostra? periculo, omnino posse aut sperare videamur: 
 Cogimur sa?pe differre quod dudum cogitavimus ; subinde etiam 
 abrumpere qua? inceptavimus, noununquam vero ab eisdem etiam resilire, 
 cum in medio cursu timoribus obruimur, ut vix nostri compotes simus ; dum 
 propositi exortes, votoque frustrates, nos aliquando suspicimus. 
 
 Ca?terum in angustiis his, et angoribus animi nostri, dum attendimus, 
 commissi nobis gregis et necessitates et hiantia vulnera intuemur, quibus 
 medelam afferre cogimur officii nostri conscientia, immemores nostra? incolumi- 
 tatis hac vice, qua tot amicorum nuntiis, litteris et nutibus praamonernur 
 insidiarum & minarum, quibus ad mortem (ut creditur) ad carcerem(ut constat) 
 impetimur ; Nihilominus nitimur superare difficultates omnes, quibus via 
 coeundi obstruitur : et (superis faventibus) congressum hunc, a nobis 
 institutum, pro bono publico hujus Provincial, vestro hie interventu 
 peragemus : ut appareat illud solummodo ante oculos nobis obversari, quod 
 nostri muneris necessitas exigit, pro cleri reformatione, populi tedificatione, 
 fidei & discipline conservatione, ad honorem Dei, et salutem ridelium ; cui nos 
 pro viribus (quas, ipse de ca?lo daturas est) cooperari tenemur. 
 
 Id vero tametsi pro rei diguitate nequeat a nobis in tanta difficultatum et 
 periculorum frequentia pertractari, non debenms tamen praeterrnittere, quod 
 possumus, ut quod juxta prasentem necessitatem nobis occurrit, saltern per 
 tumultuariam et indigestam congeriem proponamus. Idcirco vos omnes oro et 
 hortor, ut concorditer in charitate conjuncti, pro eujusque zelo, prudentia, 
 judicio et pietate studeatis, hanc ecclesiasticam hierarchiam configurare, 
 recteque sacramentorum administrationem exornare, nitidisque administran- 
 tium moribus cohonestare ; ne deinceps ulla appareat confusio nuditatis, aut 
 macula, qua? deturpet conversationem eorum, quos Christus Dominus lucere 
 praacepit et pralucere ca?teris justitia et sanctitate. 
 
441 
 
 Constitutiones pro reformatione et bono Heghnine hujus Dublinensis 
 provincial, editce in congregatione habitd in civitate Kilkeniensi, cmpta- 
 que ibidem die vigesimo secundo Mensis Junii, Anno Domini 1614, 
 ibidemque finitA 27mo. ejusdem Mensis et Anni : in qud prcesidebat 
 ilhistrissimus ac reverendissimus Dominus D. Fr. Eugenius Matthceus, 
 Dei et Apostolicce Sedis Gratia Archiepiscopus Dublinensis, ad instar 
 Synodalium statutorum, ab omnibus per totam prmdictam Dublinensem 
 provinciam, et ab aliis quibuscunque, ad quos quomodolibet spectare 
 polerunt, ob'servandm. 
 
 Decretum de Receptione Concilii Tridentini. 
 
 Exigit obedientise Sedi Apostolic^ a nobis debitse professio, ut sacrosancti 
 Concilii Tridentini Decreta recipi, approbari, et executioni, quantum possumus, 
 mandari faciamus ; verum quia temporis iniquitate impedimur, ut id universe 
 attentare non liceat, nee expediat jugum importabile humeris afflietorum 
 imponere ; pise matris ecclesiaa praeceptum in his, quae vel neeessaria vel 
 possibilia nobis ducimus, obtemperauter reveriti, in cseteris indulgentiam ejus 
 et benignitatem ampleetimur ; et quoniam eo devenerat status provincise 
 hujus, cujus incumbit nobis cura, pro qua et assidue ad Dominum suspiramus, 
 ut cum hactenus, et ex quo edita t sacra ilia synodus, potiri ilia non potuerit 
 s uo metropolitano, qui ejus promulgationem vellet et valeret procurare : 
 nobisque reservata sit ilia necessitas, cum aliis, quas patimur, miseriis ; 
 profitemur nobis non deesse voluntatem, si facultas non deesset, evulgandi, 
 acceptandi et exequendi ejusdem per omnia reformationem & disciplinam. 
 
 Exonerantia itaque decreta, quae nimirum ad abolendam multitudinem 
 prohibitionum (qualia sunt, quae impedimenta matrimonii restringunt, et alia 
 quaacunque ejus generis a sacro Concilio sapieuter edita sunt) omnia recipimus 
 et acceptamus : aliaque, quibus pares esse possumus, non gravate admittimus : 
 Sed quia certam in his regulam dare non valemus, et quia in Corpore Concilii 
 multa scimus esse comprehensa, quae a nobis in hoc rerum Statu nequeunt 
 observari : quinimo in uno, eodemque decreto cum qusedam nobis ardua, alia 
 faeilia, nonnulla implexa satis, et impossibilia, juxta conditionem locorum, 
 personarum et temporum contineantur ; nihil certius ant definitius nunc 
 tradere posse videmur, quam ut commendemus omnibus Suffraganeis episcopis, 
 qui pro tempore futuri sunt, ut ipsum Concilium, omnesque ejus partes 
 obedienter recipiant. Oramus autem et ordinamus, ut ipsi juxta ejus tenorem 
 in omnibus procedunt, quantum res et tempora pertulerint. Nos interim ipsi 
 operam navabimus, et a nostris officialibus et vicariis, sive generalibus sive 
 foraneis per nos deputatis idem navari volumus, ut in ejus' observantiam 
 sedulo incumbant. 
 
 De Vicariis Generalibus et Foraneis. 
 
 Praeter vicarios generales, quibus totius Dioecesis cura incumbit, deputentur 
 ex dignioribus sacerdotibus pro singulis Decanatibus uniuscujusque dioecesis 
 
442 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 singuli Decani, sive vioarii foranei, qui prater speoialem curam parochialem 
 ipsis incumbentem, sacerdotibus in eisdem decanatibus auimarum curam geren- 
 tibus immediate prteesse debeant : episcoporum vero erit, hujuamodi vicarios 
 ad przesentationem seu nominationem suorum vicariorum geueralium (nisi ipsis 
 aliter expedire visum fuerit) constituere : Vel, ipsis episcopis deficieutibus, 
 solius metropolitani, aut cujuscumque alterius, ad quern id de jure spectare 
 poterit. 
 
 De Parochis. 
 
 Instituantur a vicariis generalibus in singulis parochiis, quantum fieri poterit, 
 presbyteri vitas integritate, et doctrinse suffieientia commendabiles, quos 
 frequenter circa omnia, quae sui sunt muneris, et maxime de sacramentorum 
 materia et forma et eadem administrandi ritibus examinabunt. Quod si pro 
 singulis parochiis singuli parochi, aut sacerdotes inveniri non poterunt, uni 
 tamen sacerdoti non committatur plurium ecclesiarum cura, quam quibus 
 ordinario constiterit, ilium commode inservire posse. Si autem ultra sacerdotum 
 numerum aliquot parochise pastoribus destitute supersint ; Ordinariorum erit, 
 pro Olis aliunde Pastores accersere, aut aliquo alio congruenti modo parochia- 
 norum saluti prospicere : Saltern illos pastoribus vicinarum parochiarum 
 commendando, et committendo, donee de propriis pastoribus illis provisum 
 fuerit ; ita tamen, ut dum hsec charitatis obsequia o vibus non propriis prsestant, 
 oves proprias debitis ex justitia obsequiis non defraudent. Vicarii geuerales 
 beneficia curata, aut non curata hujusmodi sacerdotibus in titulum nullatenus 
 conferre prsesumant : Sed eos tantum ad instar paroehorum ad nutum 
 amobilium, auimarum illis curam committentes, instituant ; cui cur» sibi 
 imposite omnes sacerdotes diligenter invigilent. Nullusque seu alius sacerdos, 
 etiam ab ordinario approbatus, sacramenta aut alia munia sacramentalia 
 parochis propria, intra alienam parocbiam, non accedente parochi proprii 
 Hcentia, ministrabit, aut exercebit : qui vero contrarium fecerit, quidquid 
 emolumenti ex hujusmodi administratione percepisse dignoscitur, proprio loci 
 parocho reddere, et praeterea tantundem vicario generali, aut foraneo in pios 
 usus convertendum solvere cogatur. 
 
 Habeant singuli parochi penes se catechismum, seu explicationem Doctrine 
 Christianas, cujns unum vel alteram puuetum singulis domiuicis, et festivis 
 diebus, immediate, ante vel post sacrum, vel in fine coucionis, (si qua? ad 
 populum habenda sit) prsemissa festorum ac jejuniorum denunciatione (si 
 infra hebdomadam occurreriut) suis parochianis, semota quacunque excusa- 
 tione, explicare teneantur. Ut autem id majori cum fructu fiat, procurabunt 
 sacerdotes, ut parvuli suae parochiee, qui ad hoc magis apti fuerint, per 
 interrogationes et responsiones, in salubri Christi doctrina exerceantur ; et 
 quoties de loco in locum intra suam parochiam pertrausierint, aut in domibus 
 siiorum parochianorum pernoctaverint, doceant aliquam personam ex incolis 
 illius loci aut domus, coram ca?teris, symbolum apostolicum, orationem 
 Doininicam, aut aliquid aliud ad Doctrinam Christianam pertinens, prout 
 opportunitas vel tempus permiserit. Insuper singuli Sacerdotes penes se 
 habebunt, summam aliquam Casuum ConscientiiE approbatam, quam prje aliis 
 habendam illis elegerit Ordiuarius, in qua singulis diebus, unum ad minus, 
 vel alterum casum perlegant: ut hac frequenti lectione adjuti conscientias 
 
appendix. 443 
 
 populi sibi commissi (pro quibus in die judicii rationem Domino sunt reddituri) 
 melius dirigere valeant. Cnra etenim praeipua eorum esse debet, gregem suum 
 in Christiana Doctrina (sine cujus saltern aliquali notitia non datur ajterna 
 salus) erudire, easque ad frequentem suorum peocatorum confessionem hortari 
 atque-ad illani recte peragendam instruere. Quare sciant Parochi, quantum ad 
 hasc omnia ad Salutem necessaria, se non tam sapientibus, et altiora desideran- 
 tibus, quam insipientibus (ut ait Apostolus) debitores esse ; atque ideo 
 rudimenta tidei, verbvimque pcenitentia?, ita simpliciter et sub brevitate 
 proponant, ut fiant clarg cognita nescientibus, et tamen scientibus (ut admonet 
 S. Oregorius) non sint onerosa. 
 
 Non permittantur saoerdotes de loco in locum vagari ; sed unusquisque 
 gregi suo in assidua sollicitudine prosit : a quo, prasertim diebus dominicis & 
 festivis nunquam absit, nisi forte ad breve tempus, et subrogato in locum 
 suum alio idoneo sacerdote ab Ordinario approbato. Prarterea nulli saoerdotes 
 sive animarum curam gerant, sive non, nisi urgente necessitate, aut alia 
 rationabili causa Superiori cognita, et ab eo obtenta licentia, ad Nundinas, 
 aut convivia nuptialia accedant : Similiter ad funeralia aut anniversia mortu - 
 orum obsequia eos accedere nolumus, nisi specialiter invitentur, aut intimi 
 sint amici ; et tunc etiam a Superiore licentiam obtinuerint. 
 
 Omnes sacerdotes, et maxime qui in civitatibus resident, habebunt timicam 
 talarem, et biretum sive pileum sacerdotalem, quibus (quantum commode fieri 
 poterit) dum sacris dant operam, aut Domi coram notis commorantur, uti 
 debeant, ut hac decora, et gravi habitus compositione, turn eorum a laicis 
 distinctio, turn interior mentis compositio ostendatur : quibus non dubitent 
 reliquum populum in sui venerationem (prout osquum est) allicidendum. Qui 
 vero animarum curam habent, praster supradictum habitum, semper in promptu 
 habeant superpelliceum, stolam, chrismale, seu pixidem olei, ac manuale 
 sacramentorum : ut quacunque oblata sacramentorum administrandorum 
 occasione, hasc pro illis decenter administrandis competentia ad manus habeant. 
 Vicarii generales et foranei procurent, (si fieri potuerit) ut singulis decanatibus 
 et oppidis, sin minus, saltern in singulis dioecesibus et urbibus, sit et 
 constituatur unus prsedicator ab Ordinario approbatus, qui, quoties tempora 
 permiserint, et commode poterit, verbuni Dei populo pradicet : et ipsi 
 Ordinarii cum superioribus regularium serio agant, ut ad hoc munus obeundum 
 religiosos idoneos illis mittaut, et tam Ordinarii, quam parochi admoneant 
 populum quod his, aliisque approbates pradicatoribus, sibi ordinarie servienti- 
 bus, congruam vitas sustentationem praebere debeant. 
 
 De Sacramento Baptismi. 
 
 Habeant siuguli parochi in locis, in quibus plerumque resident, fontem 
 baptismalem bene coopertum, et obseratum ; nee alibi, aut in alio vase, jiisi 
 cogente necessitate, baptizent. Quod si ex necessitate in vase profano baptizare 
 oporteat, ne admisceatur oleum aquas baptismatis, ne admixto illi oleo, in loco 
 indecenti effundere necesse sit. Cum vero omnes parochi teneantur, turn pro 
 fontis benedictione, turn pro puerorum et infirmorum unctione, oleum eodem 
 anno consecratum habere, ut Ordinariis constare posset, an, et qualiter huic 
 obligationi satisfaciant : statuitur, ut Ordinarii ipsi tempus illis prajscribant, 
 
444 APPENDIX. 
 
 quam primum commode fieri poterit post Feriam quintam in coena Domini, 
 infra qnod tempus, ad se ipsos tantum, et non ad alios ullos pro oleo habendo 
 reourrere debeant. Nunquam vero oleum non consecraturn consecrate admis- 
 ceatur, nisi tam parva supersit olei consecrati quantitas, ut credatur omnibus, 
 quibus eo anno administrari debet, non sufficere : quo casu ultra tertiam 
 partem non consecrati pro una vice consecrato non admisceatur. Quod si 
 parochi negligentes aut segues fuerint in sibi procurando oleo intra tempus 
 sibi ab Ordinariis prsescriptum, eorum arbitrio puniantur. 
 
 Propter varias, easque justas causas, noa merito moventes, pragcipue autem 
 propter evitanda pericula suffocationis, et diversarum inrirmitatum, quae 
 infantibus ex occasione immersionia in baptismo a viris expertis credantnr 
 accidere solere, multarum aliarum Christiani orbis provinciarum in hoc con- 
 suetudinem imitantes, statuimus,, ut a Calendis Octobris hujus anni 1614, 
 nulli ampliua sacerdotea utantur, in baptismo in£antis, immersione ; sed uni- 
 formiter omnes sacerdotea baptizantes, patrino infantem supra fontem tenente, 
 inf undant de aqua fontis super caput infantia, aimul dicentes : N. Ego te 
 baptizo, etc. 
 
 Ne parvuli, absente aacerdote, in extremis constituti sine lavacri regenera- 
 tione, ex hac vita migrent, doceant frequenter sacerdotes suoa parochianos, 
 baptiamum sive a masculis, aive a feminia, adhibitis debita materia et forma, 
 cum intentione faciendi, quod facit ecclesia, in tali articulo conatitutis, minia- 
 trari posse et debere. Doceant prseterea, materiam baptismi esse aquam 
 elementarem, seu nakiralem, et nullum alium liquorem : Formam vero esse ; 
 Ego te baptizo in nomine Patris, etc. simulque cum iufantis ablutione dis- 
 tincte et clare proferri debere : quod ut melius fiat, doceant sacerdotes laicos, 
 et maxime fseminas, qua? in tali necessitate adesse eommuniter solent, formam 
 baptismi proferre lingua, inatern&, Hibernica vel Anglica, his verbis. / do 
 baptize thee in the name of the Father, etc. Amen. Et caveatur ab illis verbis, 
 / do christen thee : quia quam vis in antiquo Sarisburiensi Manuali reperiantur ; 
 non tamen satis consultum aut tutum illis uti putamus. 
 
 Si parvuli, in tali necesaitate baptizati, supervixerint, sacerdotea non prav 
 termittant exorcismis, aliisque, ecclesia? consuetis ritibus et casremoniis, prout 
 in manuali habentur (exceptis tamen ablutione, et verbis forma; baptismi) erga 
 hujusmddi infantulos uti : et idem (si requisiti fuerint) poterunt facere erga 
 eos, qui ab hajreticis baptizati fuerint ; ita tamen ut (ad tollendum errorem 
 vulgi, eoa rebaptizari existimantis) protestentur, se illos non rebaptizare. 
 Dum f cetua eat in utero inclusus, non poteat baptizari : si vero caput emittat, 
 et timeatur ei periculum mortia, baptizetur, etiam non cognito aexu ; et postea 
 natus non rebaptizetur, etiam sub conditione ; secus tamen si pedem aut 
 manum emiserit extra uterum matris ; quia tunc membrum illud baptizetur, 
 et postea natus puer (si vixerit), baptizetur sub conditione, ut in manuali. 
 Nunquam autem sacerdotes baptizantea proferant formam baptismi sub con- 
 ditione, nisi quando est causa probabiliter dubitandi, an infans fuerit baptiza- 
 tua, nee ne : et vestia baptismalis, sive pannus chrismalis ad nullum usum 
 profanum, etiam pauperum, aut alium pium usum converti debet. Sed si 
 circa altare usui esse poterit, illi applicetur ; sin minus, comburatur. 
 
 Non admittant aacerdotes ad tenendum seu lavandum infantem in baptismo 
 plures patrinos, quam unum vel unam ; aut ad summum, unum et unam ; inter 
 quos et baptizatum ipsum, baptizatique patrem et matrem, nee non baptizan- 
 
APPENDIX. 445 
 
 tem et baptizatum, baptizatique patrem et matrem tantum, cognationem spiri- 
 tualem contrahi deolarent. 
 
 Peracto vero baptismo, proouret parochus, lit statim baptizati, ejusque 
 parentum et patrinorum noniina, dies mensis, et incarnationis Dominicae annus, 
 in libello, quern pro horuni memoria in promptu, eum habere convenit, descri- 
 bantur : et nullo modo exigant sacerdotes piro administratione hujus, aut 
 aliorum saeramentorum, aliquid ultra id, quod diuturna consuetudo obtinuit» 
 Ordinarii autem, pro diversitatelocorum, sibi subjectis paroohis declarabunt, 
 quid in singulis locis dari consuetum sit ; a pauperibus autem, qui vere pau- 
 peres sunt, nihil omnino exigatur ; qui vero contra fecerit, in quadruplum per 
 ipsum exactorum in pios usus convertendum per Ordiuarium mulctetur ; quod 
 si solvere noluerit, donee satisfecerit, suspendatur. 
 
 Ut conformitas per omnia cum ecclesi Romana, ut uniformitas in saera- 
 mentorum administrandorum ritibus ac caeremoniis, nee non brevitas et elaritas 
 hoc prsecipue tempore requisita, serventur ; statuimus, ut alia omnia, tarn circa 
 huj us, quam circa cavfcerorum saeramentorum administrationem j.uxta praeserip- 
 tum Manualis Romani a nobis in hac Congregatione recepti, observentur. Cum 
 autem difficile sit, Manuale hoc Eomanum ab omnibus haberi, nisi ad illud 
 habendum aliquod tempus illis concedatur, volun us, ut ab initio Octobris anni 
 sequentis 1615, omnes per universam nostram provinciam praedicto Manuali 
 Romano uti teneantur ; nee amplius Sarisburiensi aut ullo alio Manuali, eis 
 uti liceat. 
 
 De Missce Sacrificio et Eucharistice Sacramento. 
 
 Tametsi in omnium saeramentorum administratione, maxima diligentia, 
 circumspectio et reverentia a sacerdotibus habenda sit, ne opus Dei negligenter 
 facientes, maledictionem in sacris litteris comminatam incurrant : hoc tamen 
 prsecipue locum habet circa ministerium hujus tarn tremendi mysterii, in quo 
 non solum gratia, sicut in aliis sacramentis confertur, sed etiam ipse gratiae 
 author vere, realiter et substantialiter continetur, et quotidie permauussacer- 
 dotum in expiationem et propitiationem, pro vivis et defunctis, offertur. Qua- 
 propter ad illud pertractandum cum omni cordis munditia, atque exteriori 
 devotionis ac pietatis specie accedendum erit : caveant ergo sacerdotes, ne in 
 altaris ministerio, laceris, sordidis, aut scissis ornamentis aut mappis utantur, 
 sed mundis, et quantum fieri poterit, pulchris : maxime quantum ad corporalia, 
 pallas, purificatoria, calices, patenas ac vela ; quae sicut propius ipsi Sacramento 
 corporis et sanguinis Domini adjacent, et ex ipsis aliqua illud attingunt, ita 
 prse caeteris omnibus altaris ornamentis mundiora et pulchriora ea esse con- 
 venit. Et quod ad calices attinet, nulli deinceps consecrentur, nisi quorum 
 saltern cuppas et patenas ex argento fuerint : et, (si fieri poterit) intus sint 
 deauratae. Qui vere haotenus ex stanno consecrati sunt, eousque tantum 
 tolerentur, quousque vicariis generalibus, aut foraneis videbuntur pro ministerio 
 hoc indecentes, et tunc confringantur : et superiores de his diligenter invigi- 
 lent, certi quod de iis sint rationem reddituri. 
 
 Nullus sacerdos, cujuscunque facultatis aut licentise haotenus sibi concessse 
 prretextu, bis in die celebrare praesumat, nisi prius in scriptis obtentaepiscopi, 
 vel (ipso absente) vicarii generalis licentia. Quam nullo modo eoncedant, nisi 
 
446 APPENDIX. 
 
 ipsis oonstiterit urgentem esse neoessitatem, qualem ad hoc jura requirunt : 
 eaque licentia cessare censeatur, hujusmodi necessitate cessante : et cum bis 
 eodem die celebrare oportet, nee habetur eommoditas lotionem prions missse 
 servandi, larubatur diligentissime calix, eoque ipso et non alio calice, pro 
 secundo sacro sacerdos utatur ; et non prius quam peracta in secunda missa 
 communione et ablutione, eum abstergat. Cumque intellexerimus aliquos 
 iguaros sacerdotes feria sexta parasceves, perinde ac aliis diebus, celebrare et 
 consecrare prcesumere ; volumus, ut si quos Ordinarii locorum in hoc deliquisse 
 compererint, in eos severe animadverstant. 
 
 Et quamvis liorurn teraporum calamitas cogat sacerdotes in locis profanis 
 missas celebrare, volumus tamen, ut habeant locorum delectum ; ita ut 
 quamvis ad loca magis obscura, minusque decentia ad celebrandum invitaren- 
 tur, semper tamen in loco magis honesto eligant celebrare ; et ne sordidum 
 aliquid in altaris mensam, aut corporalia decidat, curent desuper altare 
 linteum, vel tapetem, vel aliquid aliud appendi, quo sordes, ne decidant, 
 impediantur. Si autem aliquando contigerit, eos, propter multitudinem populi, 
 vel aliam causam, sub dio celebrare oportere, curent, ut mensa altaris, desuper, 
 retro, et ad utrumque latus a ventis, pluvia, et a eaeteris aeris agitationibus 
 bene munita atque firmata sit : neque sine duobus, vel ad minimum, uno cereo 
 a principio missce usque ad finem indesinenter accenso, ullus sacerdos 
 celebrare prajsumat. 
 
 Ad tollendos abusus, quos circa pacis osculum, et symbolum committi audi- 
 vimus, volumus, ut de castero in missis privatis pax non detur. Omnes sacer- 
 dotes diligenter perlegant rubricas missalis recogniti, et eis solummodo 
 utantur, neque ullas orationes, preces aliasve coeremonias a principio missse 
 usque ad finem addant, quam quae in missaliipso juxtarubricarum prascriptum 
 habentur : et superiores de his diligenter inquirant. Et cum importun» et 
 illiberales eleemosynarum exactiones avaritiam et sordidum queestum sapiant, 
 statuimus, ut nullus sacerdos, pre se, aut pro alio, inter celebrandum, vel 
 intra missam, ullas eleemosynas postulet : Si autem ordinarii locorum aliqui- 
 bis suas litteras commendatitias ad eleemosynas, propter pias causas, 
 colligendas concesserint, tunc parochus, peracto sacro, eorum neoessitatem 
 populo commmendet, sine ulteriori coactione : Constat etenim, ab hujusmodi 
 sordido qua;stu et avaritia non multum distare, ad eleemosynas colligendas 
 sacras reliquias, sanctorum Vetera monumenta, aut eorum Imagines frequenter 
 per diversa loca circumferri, hocque cedere turn in ipsarum reliquiarutn 
 irreverentiam, et vilipendium, turn in totius cleri non solum apud haereticos, 
 sed etiam apud ipsos Catholicos, (ut experientia docet) vituperium et 
 ignominiam. 
 
 Statuimus item, ut in posterum nuIUe hujusmodi reliquiae, imagines, aut 
 Sanctorum monumenta, cujuscumque generis sint, ad tales qusestus faciendos 
 extra loca sua circumferantur : Nisi Ordinariis locorum ob publicam, eamque 
 piam causam, ipsisque notam, visum fuerit liceutiam concedere : quam non nisi 
 raro et ad tempus determinatum atque in scriptis concedant, non obstante 
 quacunque etiam immemorabili in contrarium consuetudine. 
 
 Abusum etiam ilium de caatero aboleri volumus, quo in aliquibus partibus 
 laici hujusmodi sanctorum Vetera monumenta per diversa lo a circumferentes, 
 per eorum in aquam immissiones, et aliquas precatiunculas, exorcismos quos- 
 dam facere solebant, et deinde populum et pecora e&dem aqua aspergunt : hffic 
 
APPENDIX 447 
 
 enim (ut patet) superstitionem potius quam pietatem sapiunt. Corrigant etiam 
 et reforment Ordinarii abusus et superstitiones nonnullas, qute in congressibus 
 ad f ontes et arbores ab ignara plebe oommitti solent : si tamen illis oonstiterit, 
 virtutem aliquam sanandi inesse f ontium aqui-% sive a natura illis insit, sive ex 
 invocatione et patroeinio alicujus sancti, congressum ad aquas non prohibeant, 
 sed tamen superstitiosas actiones circa illas, aliosque abusus corrigant. 
 Prseterea corruptelam quorumdam simplicium sacerdotum, pro rebus deperditis 
 aut furto ablatis, aut etiam ob varias alias causas, ssepe apud altare coram 
 frequenti populo maledictiones imprecantium, imo excommunicationes, aliasque 
 censuras, (ad quas ferendas nullam habent potestatem) fulminare non dubitan- 
 tium, de csetero onmino prohibemus. 
 
 Parochi non permittant sacerdotes ullos in suis parochiis missas celebrare, 
 aut ulla alia munia sacerdotalia exercere, nisi ab Ordinariis approbati fuerint. 
 Ordinarii vero nulli vago et ignoto sacerdoti, multoque minus publice de 
 aliquo enormi crimine infamato, approbationem concedant ; donee eis de illius 
 ad sacros ordines legitima promotione, doctrina) sufficientia, ac morum hone- 
 state constiterit. 
 
 Habeant etiam singuli sacerdotes, animarum curam gerentes, clericum, seu 
 scholarem, qui eis in missa eelebranda, et aliis sacramentis administrandis 
 inservire possit : et ut onme dedecus, omnisque irreverentia ab altari Dei quam 
 longissime arceantur, caveant sacerdotes, ne ad huju3modi sancta ministeria 
 assumant aliquos ex sacrilego thoro natos ; aut quos noverint aliqua infamia 
 personali publice esse notatos : Nam si a ministerio sacrificiorum veteris Legis 
 manceres arcebautur ; quanto magis a quocunque ministerio hujus sacrosancti 
 sacrificii omnium sacrificiorum praecipui, spurios hujusmodi et infames arceri 
 convenit. 
 
 De Commwnione. 
 
 Habeant sacerdotes singuli animarum curam gerentes, instar pixidis vel 
 capsulae, vasculum parvum ex argento, ab habente potestatem benedictum, 
 pro conservando, et ad infirmos decenter ac reverenter deferendo sanctissimo 
 Eucharistiae Sacramento ; nulloque modo prassumant, illud in vase ligneo, 
 aut etiam in corporali plicato servare, aut laico deferendum tradere : nisi casu, 
 quo captivi in carcere constituti, imminente probabili periculo mortis (non 
 habita copia confessarii) cuperint, (praesupposita saltern prsesumpta contritioue) 
 hoc sanctissimo viatico refici ; tunc enim posset permitti, ut laicus Eucha- 
 ristiam privatim in capsula ad eos deferret : ipsi vero captivi, si sacerdotes 
 sint, sibi ministrent : si vero laici, aut inferioris ordinis clerici, non tangant 
 manibus Sacramentum, sed reverentur lingua ex pixide sumant ; et cum ob 
 temporum injuriam, non possit Eucharistia in loco sacro, et cum lumine (prout 
 deceret) servari ; non conservetur diutius, quam probabiliter credatur pro 
 viatico morituris ministrando cifcius fore neeessariuin, quam commode denuo 
 conservari aut celebrari poterit. 
 
 Paulus Papa Quintus ad Futuram Rei Memoriam. 
 
 Exponi nobis nuper fecerunt dilecti Filii in?ola3 regni HiberuiaB, qu<Sd 
 cum ipsi in tanta haeresum lue, divino beneficio Gathoiici ferme omnes sint, et 
 imperium etiam hsereticorum patiantur ; qui adeo acerbe religiosos, et 
 
 2 G 
 
448 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 saoerdotes vexant, ut palam se ostendere non audeant, eanctissimum Eucha- 
 ristise Sacramentum propterea ob paucitatem ministrorum eoelesiasticoram, 
 omnibus Christi fidelibus circa festum paschatis, ut est jure statutum, 
 nequaquam possit ministrari ; quare eorundem incolarum nomine, nobis fuit 
 humiliter supplicatum, quatenus eis in praemissis opportune providere de 
 benignitate apostolica dignaremur. Nos igitur justis et honestis eorum votis 
 annuere, quantum in Domino possimus, cupientes, hujusmodi supplicationibus 
 inclinati, tarn sacerdotibus ministrandi, quam omnibus aliis utriusque sexua 
 Christi fidelibus dicti regni, sacramentum praedictum a feria quarta ciuerum, 
 usque ad festum ascensionis Domini (dummodo tamen necessitate fiat, ut 
 circa dictum paschatis tempus suscipi non possit) suscipiendi licentiam 
 concedimus et impertimur ; ac per hujusmodi mimstrationem sacerdotes, ac per 
 susceptionem alii utriusque sexus Christi fideles, constitution! Innocentii Papa 
 tertii, praadecessoris nostri, quae incipit. (omnis utriusque sexus) satisfacere, et 
 satisfecisse omDino censeantur; non obstante praedicta, ac quibusvis aliis 
 constitutionibus et ordinationibus apostolicis, caeterisque contrariis quibus- 
 cunque. Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, sub annulo piscatoris die vigesimo 
 octavo Martii 1607, pontificatus nostri anno secundo. 
 
 SOIPIO COBELLUTr/S. 
 
 Doceant tamen sacerdotes suos parochianos praxim et prasceptum et univer- 
 salis ecclesiae esse, quod fideles teneantur a dominica palmarum, usque ad 
 dominicam in albis inclusive sacramentum Eucharistiae sumere ; quando autem 
 et ubi necessarium fuerit, ob paucitatum sacerdotum, vel ob aliam similem 
 causam, hujus gratiosi ab apostolica Sede concessi indulti beneficio gaudere 
 poterunt, et juxta illud suas conscientias quietas reddere studeant. 
 
 Conentur etiam sacerdotes omnibus modis persuadere Christi fidelibus, ut fre- 
 quenter, et meliori, qua poterunt, dispositione, et devotione, vivificum et saluti- 
 f erum corporis Dominici convivium suscipiant, etiam extra tempus, quo ad id ex 
 praecepto obligantur, ut in principalioribus festivitatibus anni, et alias, prout 
 commoditas sese obtulerit, et devotio suggesserit. Irreverentiamque quorun- 
 dam, qui ante sacramentum vel communionem, tabacum sumere non dubitant 
 (prout intelleximus) reprehendant et corrigant sacerdotes. Cumque experien- 
 tia constat, aliquos plus satis verecundos, nonnunquam a communione abstinere, 
 eo quod aliquid non habeant, quod ad altare, dum communicant, offerre possinfc ; 
 volumus, ut sacerdotes saepissime populo significent, non esse suae intentionis 
 ab eis hujusmodi oblationes exigere, aut expectare ; sed tantum salutem 
 animarum, et augmentum gratiaa et charitatis, quae per hujus sacras mensaB 
 participationem datur, se sitire, et ardenter desiderare : quare sive quid 
 habeant, sive non, invitent eos ad mensam Domini, monentes eos in verbis 
 Isaiae, cap. 55. Omnes sitientes veniie ad aquas, et qui non habetis argentum, 
 properate, emite, et comedite ; venite, emite absque argento, et absque ulla commuta- 
 Hone, vinum et lac. 
 
 Caveant ulterius sacerdotes, ne, ob suarn negligentiam, e suis parochianis 
 ullus ex hac vita sine viatico migret. Denique procurent, ut parvuli suae 
 parochise circiter saltern asfcatis duodecimum annum (prius bene instructi quid 
 sint sumpturi) sacrosanctam Eucharistiam, sicut caeteri Christiaui, sumere 
 assuescant ; et ne aliqui ignari videntes porrigi in calice ablutionem post 
 
APPENDIX. 449 
 
 communionem communicantibus, errore ducti existimare possent Euoharistiam 
 sub utraque specie communicantibus ministrari ; et ut unif ormitas, ad occuren- 
 dum huic errori, ab omnibus observetur, volumus, ut de csetero, nulla hujus- 
 modi ablutio communicantibus, etiamsi sacerdotes fuerint, in calice ipso, aut 
 per manus celebrantis porrigatur : sed in alio tantuni vase, et per manus 
 ministri : nee ipsi communieantes qusestionem faciant, sive viniun, sive aqua 
 illis in tali lotione porrigatur ; cum ad deglutiendas tantum si quae in ore 
 remanerent, sacramenti reliquiae talis ablutio, et non ad ullum alium usum 
 aut finem, sit instituta. 
 
 De Sacramento Posnitentm. 
 
 Cum sacramentum poenitentiae non solum infructuose, sed etiam invalids et 
 sacrilege ab eis administretur, qui ad illud ministrandum jurisdictionem non 
 habent ; hujusmodi autem jurisdictio, vel ad minus, ejus usus ab Ordinarorium 
 approbatione, admissione et licentia pendeat : quare sicubi adhuc vigeat 
 periculosa ilia et intolerabilis aliquorum ignarorum sacerdotum corruptela, qui 
 statim ab ordinatione sua nulla ulteriori requisita potestate, quoslibet ad se 
 accedentes indifferenter absolvere prcesumebant : de caetero, earn nullatenus 
 tolerari, et delinquentes gravissime ab ordinariis puniri volumus. Ad hoc 
 etenim munus obeundum de castero non approbentur, nisi prius examinati, 
 aut quorum cognoscetur esse saltern mediocris sufficientia, qualem necessario 
 debent habere hujus fori judices, ad discernendum inter lepram et lepram ; 
 et quamvis pro praesenti rerum statu, et ut quieti conscientiarum indulgeatur, 
 noDemus ullos casus intuitu consuetudinis superioribus reservari, praster eos 
 tantum, qui jure communi sunt reservati, et peccatum eorum, qui in divinis 
 cum haereticis communicant, volumus tamen, ut omnes ad confessiones audi- 
 endas approbandi, hujusmodi jure communi reservatos casus apprime sciant ; s 
 et nequaquam ab illis, aut a eommunicatione ciun haereticis in divinis, nisi*^ 
 ulteriori privilegio gaudeant, absolvere praasumant. Ipsi etiam paroehi, aut 
 alii sacerdotes ad hoc sacramentum ministrandum approbati, alienos parochia- 
 nos sine proprii pastoris licentia expressa, vel ad minus tacito, quae sit 
 ratihabitio de praesenti, absolvere non praesumant. 
 
 Et quia ut cum fructu ad hoc sacramentum pcenitentes accedant, plures in 
 illis praavise dispositiones requiruntur, volumus, ut sacerdotes non admit- 
 tant ad confessionem, nisi quos noverint scire, et explicite credere fidei 
 articulos, maxime, autem ejus prsecipua mysteria : qualia sunt, Deum esse 
 trinum in personis, et Unnm in substantia et Deitate : Filium, secundam in 
 Trinitate personam, Deum esse et Hominen ; ac ideo iu carnem venisse, ut 
 genus hominum, turn ab originali, turn ab eorum actualibus peccatis liberaret ; 
 pro quorumque salute passus, crucifixus, mortuus et sepultus est : omnium in 
 hac vita gestorum exactam rationem in districto Dei judicio esse reddendam, 
 ac pcenam aut gloriam aeternam. pro meritis aut demeritis, post hanc vitam 
 omnibus esse paratam. Haee enim Fidei mysteria praa aliis explicite credi 
 maxime convenit. 
 
 Ulterius sciant Confessarii, an pcenitentes valeant recitare orationem Dom- 
 inicam, et Salutationem angelicam, nee non symbolum Apostolorum, verbatim, 
 ac praseepta decalogi lingua vernacula : eosque de his ante confessionem 
 inchoatam examinari expedit. In ipsa vero confessione, faciant eos, tantum 
 
450 APPENDIX. 
 
 exprimere speciem et numerum peccatorum, et eircumstantias intra eandem 
 speciem notabiliter pecoata aggravantes, et aliorum peccata nullateniis prodant. 
 Instruant etiam OI03 de mmmo cordis ob Deum offensum dolore, ac firmo 
 amplius (saltern mortaliter) non pecoandi proposito habeadis. Et ubi de fama, 
 ant externis bonis aliqueni restitutioni obnoxium invenerint, eum (nisi facta 
 vel serio promissa hujusmodi restitutione) non absolvant : pcenitentias vero 
 tales injungant, quae simul medicinales sint, et satisfactorias ; atque ita per 
 discretionem moderates et temperate, ut nunquam pro peccatis occultis, aut in 
 confessione tantum coguitis, publicas pcenitentias, aut aliquid aliud ex quibus 
 peccatum detegi possit, imponant. Nee pauperibus graves Eleemosynas, aut 
 missas celebrandas curare ; aut mulieribus, prajsertim juvenculis, aut conju- 
 gatis, sine alterius conjugis consensu ; aut sine dominorum, vel dominarum 
 consensu, servis, aut ancillis, longinquas peregrinationes (sub quarum pra?textu 
 aliquos abusus committi circa mulieres audivimus) injungant. 
 
 Si vero aliquando propter publica peccata publicae pcenitentiae injungends 
 erunt, Ordinarii locoruin et alii, qui judices fori externi sunt, id extra 
 confessionem agant, quod secundum Deum illis expedire videbitur : Hoc 
 autem iniquo tempore, rigorem mitigare potiiis quam severius agere convenit : 
 Et quamvis has instructions adeo perviae sint, ut omnibus satis per se notae 
 esse videantur ; tamen quia, supposita populi ruditate, et aliquorum sacer- 
 dotum ignoranti&, nunquam, aut vix, unquam, satis inculcare eas poterimus : 
 volumus, ut Ordinarii locorum circa eas sacerdotes sibi subjectos frequenter 
 examinent : et si quos ad haec prasstanda insufficientes invenerint, quamvis 
 hactenus confessiones audire permissi f uerint, inposterum abhujus Sacramenti 
 eos suspendant administratione. 
 
 Quamvis indulgeutiarum concessio Christi fideles ad pietatem et devo- 
 tionem vehementer alliciat, et iuveteratos peccatores ad poenitentiam et 
 Confessionem nonnunquam suaviter inducat; constat tamen nimis frequentem 
 et minus circumspectam earum publicationem inter populos rudes, et quid 
 per hujusmodi indulgentias concedatur, quave dispositione eas lucrari opor- 
 teat, ignorantes, maxime ad ipsarum contemptum, et peccata liberius com- 
 mittenda, occasionem praebere : dum aliqui sibi ipsis persuadent, quod licet 
 alioquin gravissimis peccatis irretiti, imo restitutioni obnoxii sint, ab omnibus 
 tamen, indulgentiarum hujusmodi virtute (secluso quocunque alio), liberi 
 evadant. Et (quod pejus est) nonnunquam simplices sacerdotes ipsas indul- 
 gentias publicantes, ad hanc falsam persuasionem illis ansam praebent ; affir- 
 mantes, per illas, et a culpa, et a pcena, accedentes fore liberos, nulla ulteriori 
 adhibita hujus rei explicatione, aut declaratione. 
 
 Et ulterius, ipsiignari sacerdotes hujusmodi indulgentiarum intuitu, indif- 
 f erenter ob omnibus peccatis, quantumvis enormibus et reservatis, necnon a 
 censuris quibuscunque, absolvere prcesumunt, idque aliquando extra suas 
 parochias, et Dioeceses, nulll habita ab Ordinario loci approbatione, aut 
 licentia. 
 
 Quibus iiia lis et aliis quamplurimis incommodis, indies ex hujusmodi in- 
 dulgentiarum publicationibus consequi solitis, occurrere volentes ; statuimus, 
 ut si quae de caetero iudulgentiae alicui loco concedantur, nullo modo publi- 
 centur, nisi priils intimato et ostenso concessionis instrumento loci Ordinario 
 ejusque^super ea re habito assensu et consilio. 
 
 Indulgentiae autem, quaa nou locis, sed personis quibusdam bene meritis 
 
APPENDIX. 451 
 
 aliis communicancUe, a Sede Apoatolioa conceduntur ; privatim singularibus 
 personis ab habente facultatem, injuncto aliquo opere pio, concedi poterunt : 
 Coram frequenti tamen populo non publioentur, nee promulgentur (cum Vix 
 sine abusu hoe modo concedi posse credantur), nisi forte raro, et intimata 
 Ordinario facultate, ac ejus consilio et assensu, modo aliquo adhibito, quo 
 praedictis abusibus oceurri possit. 
 
 Insuper procurent parochi, ut parvuli suse parochite, cum ad rationis usum 
 pervenerint, sua peccata coufiteri discant, et assuescant : Et licet citius alii, 
 alii tardius ad id apti censeri debeant, verisimile tamen est, omnes (ut pluri- 
 mum), a septimo vel octavo anno, doli esse capaces : proinde ad hoc sacra- 
 mentum, quod secunda post naufragium tabula dicitur, debere eos pro remedio 
 recurrere. 
 
 De Ordinibus. 
 
 Non dentur per vicarios generales litterse cotnmendatitiae, aut dimissorise 
 (dato, quod alias de jure dare possent) nisi illis, qui fueriut naturales, vita ae 
 moribus commendabiles ; quique velint et valeant, in suis dicecesibus in 
 munere, ad quod assumentur, inservire ; et quibus in eadem dioecesi, de 
 patrimoniis, aut stipendio ad honeste vivendum sufficienti, sciverint jam 
 esse provisum, aut saltern post ordinum susceptionem certo fore providendum, 
 et hujus in litteris suis mentionem facere teneantur. 
 
 De Sacramento Matrimonii. 
 
 Qua3 animarum perditio ac damnatio, quantaque alia incommoda ex inde- 
 bito matrimonium contrahendi modo, debitarumque ad illud contrahendum 
 solemnitatum omissione, toti reipublicse in dies eveniunt, vix ullus est, qui 
 ignoret ? Quibus (quantum in Nobis est) occurrere cupientes, imprimis, clan- 
 destinos omnes, turn sponsaliorum de futuro, turn matrimonii de prasenti, 
 contractus, quos semper Ecclesia, etiam ante Concilium Tridentinum, detestata 
 st, omnino prohibemus. 
 
 Et licet ob temporum injuriam Decretum Sacri Concilii Tridentini matri- 
 monia clandestina irritans, nondum (propter majora animarum pericula, quae 
 inde secutura timemus) promulgare audeamus ; tamen eos, qui aliter, quam 
 prassente parocho proprio, vel alio sacerdote de ejus licentia, vel Ordinarii, 
 vel (parocho non existente) aliquo alio sacerdote communionem Sanctae Ec- 
 clesiae habente, et duobus vel tribus testibus, matrimonium contrahere prse- 
 sumpserint ; omnesque eos, ad hoc inducentes, nee non ipsum sacerdotem, qui 
 sine praefato testium numero, hujusmodi contractui interfuerit, prater 
 peccatum mortale, quod sine dubio committunt, excommunicationem lata? 
 sententiae ipso facto incurrere decernimus : Eidemque poena? Sacerdotes, intra 
 gradus prohibitos, scienter aliquos conjungere matrimonialiter praesumentes ; 
 nee non ipsi etiam scienter contrahentes (non habita prius dispensatione) 
 subjaceant ; et insuper spe dispensationis consequenda? careant. 
 
 Et quia damna quam plurima ex contemptu et neglectu eorum, quae 
 salubriter ab ecclesia sunt statuta de bannis, seu tribus denunciationibus 
 contractui matrimoniali praemittendis, ortum habent ; dum aliqui ignorantes 
 impedimenta, quae (denunciationibus prcemissis) vel scivissent,, vel saltern 
 
452 APPENDIX. 
 
 inculpabiliter ignorassent, matrimonia contrahunt, a quibus poatea (innotescen- 
 tibus irnpedimentis) cum maximo suarum rerum, ac prolis suaceptae detrimento, 
 nee non proximorum scandalo, resilire cogantur : Statuimus, ut praeter pcenas 
 alias a Jure impoaitaa, Ordinarii locoram graviter puniant sacerdotea, qui in 
 locis, in quibus ipsius Ordinarii judicio sine evidenti gravis damni periculo 
 demmoiationes contractui matrimonii praemitti poterunt, Eas praemittere 
 neglexerint. In loois vero, in quibus Ordinarii judicio eas omitti convenit, 
 aacerdotes semper diligentem inquisitionem de impedimentis, quas matrimonio 
 contrahendo obesse possint, praemittere teneantur; et nunquam illud solemnizare 
 prasumant, nisi ultra suam privatam notitiam, ex relatione quatuor vel quinque 
 testium, fide dignorum, et qui statum eontrahentium satis norunt, illis 
 constiterit, milium (quod sciatur) subesse Impedimentum. 
 
 Et ne quid cum errore a testibus, aut partibus, in hac re fiat, ipsi aacer- 
 dotes, quae impedimenta matrimonium impediant et dirimant, prius illis bre- 
 viter explicent ; et sacerdotea, qui circa ha;c negligentes fuerint, graviter ab 
 Ordinariis puniri mandamus ; ipsi vero contrahentes, qui salubria ecclesias 
 monita, quoad hfec, temere contempaerint, si cum impedimentia contraxisse 
 reperiantur, benignitatem illius, qua ae indignos reddiderunt, in concedenda 
 illis dispensatione, non facile experiantur. 
 
 Praeterea, quia lites interminabiles oriuntur, ex eo, quod multi contrahere 
 volentea, ignorent quibus verbia, aut factia matrimonium perficiatur ; proinde 
 parochi contracturos doceant, matrimonium contrahi (omnibus aliis seclusis), 
 firmum ac ratum esse, mutuo consensu, et acceptatione utriusque partis, se 
 invicem de praesenti in conjuges acceptantis, verbis, vel signis ad minus 
 expressia : qua instructions praemissa, ne ullus tergiversationi locus relin- 
 quatur, parochua, ante prolationem verborum contractus, interroget, coram 
 teatibua, partea, quid tunc intendunt facere, viz. : an intendant matrimonium 
 de praesenti firmum, ratum ac indissolubile contrahere : an vero tantum se 
 postea illud contracturos promittere. Quod ai promissionem de future tantum 
 volueriut facere, caveant sacerdotes, ne verbis de praesenti eos uti permittant, 
 prout audivimus ab aliquibus simplicibus sacerdotibus permissum alias fuisse ; 
 et postea prolatis verbis contractus, sive de praesenti sit, sive de future, curet 
 parochus, ut speciem contractus, ac eontrahentium, et testium nomina ; 
 diem quoque mensis, et incarnationis dominicae annum, in libello, quern 
 pro hariim rerum memoria, eum habere convenit, conscribat. 
 
 Quod si modum a nobis hie prsescriptum et praeceptum (saltern quoad 
 matrimonia de praesenti eontrahenda) parochi omiaerint, vel neglexerint, ab 
 Ordinariis irremissibiliter pro prima vice, ad mensem a miaaa celebranda, et 
 ab aliorum sacramentorum adminiatratione, suspendantur ; et pro aecunda 
 vice, ad tres menses, ac ulterius, poena arbitraria, semper pro ratione frequen- 
 tiae delicti, aggravanda, puniantur. Si autem durante hujusmodi suspensione, 
 vel excommunicatione, aliisque censuris a nobis supra positia, vel infra 
 ponendis aliquem actum sibi prohibitum exercuerint, non dubitent, ipso jure, 
 irregularitatem, in qua solus Papa dispensare poterit, se incursuros. 
 
 Eadem per omnia pcena puniantur sacerdotes, qui aliquos matrimonialiter 
 conjunxerint, non requisite parentum, tutorum, vel curatorum (si quos 
 habuerint) licentia, et consensu. Raptores autem foeminarivm, sub potestate 
 parentum, tutorum, aut curatorum constitutarum, etiam si consenserint ipaae ; 
 nee non aliarum quarumcunque aui juris foeminarum, sine proprio ipsarum 
 
APPENDIX. 453 
 
 consensu ; ac omnes hujusmodi raptoribus, auxilium, consensum, aut favorem 
 in tali delicto prsebentes, ipso facto, excommunicates esse decernimus, ac 
 declaramus. 
 
 Et si quse filiaf amilias clam cum aliquo contraxerit, aut ut rapiatur ab aliquo 
 consenserit, in odium talis malitise, hihibemus, ne ulli sacerdotes ulla via 
 cogant, aut adhortentur parentes ejus, aut alios, quorum interest, ad earn 
 dotandam, nisi Ordinario aliter expedire visum f uerit. 
 
 Cumque ssepissime contingat, ut qui, obtenta de gradibus prohibitis, aliisve 
 matrimonii impedimentis dispeusatione, post contractum matrimonium, ab eo 
 resilire volentes, illud negent ; parochus cum ipsis dispensatum fuisse dicet ; 
 vel saltern declaret, se dispensationem acceptasse ; ne contrarium forte judici 
 fori externi (etiamsi dispensatio, et matrimonium alioquin coram Deo valuerint) 
 sufficienter, et prout jura requirunt, constare possit ; ac proinde partibus 
 instantibus, divortii sententiam saepe contra matrimonium coram Deo validum, 
 proferri necessum sit. Huic malo, ut proinde occurratnr, statuimus, ut 
 parochi nullos hajusmodi impedimenta habentes, matrimonio conjungant, nisi 
 prius coram testibus, visa, lecta, examinata, et ab utraque parte acceptata 
 dispensatione. Ipsa vero dispensatio (quse gratis concedenda est) non admit- 
 tatur, nisi Ordinario constiterit dispensantem sufficientem habere authoritatem. 
 
 Cumque sacrum concilium Tridentinum determinet, quod clispensationes 
 quacunque authoritate concedendse, si extra Eomanam curiam committendse 
 sint, committantur Ordinariis illorum, qui eas impetraverint ; eseque vero, quae 
 gratiose concedentur, suum non sortiantur eftectum, nisi prius ab eisdem, tan- 
 quam delegatis Apostolicis, summarie tantum et extrajudicialiter cognoscatur 
 expressas preces vitio subreptionis, vel obreptiouis, non subjacere : statuimus, 
 ut parochi, cujuscunque dispensationis virtute, matrimonio eos non conjungant 
 quos noverint alioquin impeditos, nisi prius ab Ordinario cognoscatur (prout 
 dictum est) preces vitio subreptionis, vel obreptionis non subjacere : et sacer- 
 dotes, qui contrarium fecerint, seiant se severe punieudos : ipsi vero Ordinarii 
 suam approbationem (quantum ad hsec) dispensationis instrumento in dorso, 
 aut alibi, inscribant. 
 
 Proeurent etiam parochi, ut horum omnium memoria in suo libello his vel 
 similibus verbis, fiat : videlicet, Anno Domiui A : die vero mensis B : in 
 parochia C : D et E habentes impedimentum F : sed obtenta gratis, et utrimque 
 acceptata dispensatione a G: prius cognita authoritate disjiensantis, et appro- 
 bate precum veritate per H, hujus dicecesis I, Ordinarium, matrimonium per 
 verba de prsasenti contraxerunt, coram me K, parocho ; et testibus infra 
 scriptis, L and M ; &e. 
 
 Si quando contigerit, parochum aliquos matrimonialiter conjungere, non 
 habita tunc opportunitate impertiendi illis nuptialem benedictionem, qiue 
 infra missarum solemnia dari solet, moneat verbis gravibus contrahentes ne 
 ante hujusmodi a se ipso, et non alio sacerdote, acceptam benedictionem in 
 eadem domo eohabitent, et multo minus, matrimonium consummare prtesu- 
 mant. Similiter sponsos de futuro moneat, ut a nimia familiarite caveant, et 
 ne se ullatenus earnaliter cognoscant, donee matrimonium de prcesenti con- 
 traxerint, et benedictionem nuptialem (prout dictum est) obtinuerint. 
 
 Parochi diligenter inquirant, quinamin suis parochiis, sub matrimonii specie, 
 aut aliter, in ineestu, adulterio, aut concubinatu notorio, aut etiam occulto, 
 vivunt ; illosque, et quoscunque alios, alicui peccato gravi, aut vitio, pnesertim 
 
454 APPENDIX. 
 
 notorio addictos, prius (ut decet patres et pastores) charitate, et in spiritu 
 lenitatis privatim corrigant : quod si ab hujusmodi vitiis non destiterint, se 
 illis subtrahant, eorurnque familiaritatem devitent, illosque Ordinario denun- 
 tieut ; ut eos, pro sua prudentia, vel ingressum ecclesiaB illis interdicendo, vel 
 aliquam aliam censuram infligendo, corrigant, et informent. 
 
 De Sacerdotum Stipendio. 
 
 Quamdoquidem ecclesiastioa benefioia, ex quorum redditibus sacerdotes 
 sustentari debuissent, ab adversariis occupentur ; et (quocunque rerum statu) 
 spiritualium ministratores digni sint, qui ex temporalibus vitae necessaria 
 recipiaut, nee justum aut aequum sit quod os bovi trituranti alligetur ; 
 statuimus, ut praeter emolumenta casualia sacerdotibus obvenientia, 
 assignetur ab ordinario singulis sacerdotibus, animarum curam gerentibus, 
 et solvatur a parochianis congruum, et competens stipendium, quo (habita 
 ratione personae, loci, temporis, et oneris sacerdotibus irapositi, vel 
 imponendi aliarumque circumstantiarum) honeste (Judicio Ordinarii) singuli 
 vivere possint : satis enim constat, prsescripta a nobis hie, et alia quam 
 plurima, ad suum ofEcium spectantia, nisi eonvenienter sustententur, ab eis 
 praestari non posse : Ordinarii vero ipsi, ut hasc efficacius sortiautur effectum, 
 personaliter ad singulas parocbias accedent, et in unum congregatis parochianis, 
 vel (si magis expedire visum fuerit) singulos sigillatim alloquentes, stipendium 
 persolvendum illis praescribant : quod si concedere aut persolvere noluerint 
 vere poterunt censeri magis de mundo, quam de animarum suarum salute 
 solliciti ; reeteque poterit eis applicari illud evangelii : auferetur a vobis 
 regnum Dei, et dabitur genti facienti fructus ejus. Quod tunc net, quando 
 sacerdotes ab illis in alias parochias pastoribus indigentes, et quae ad hujus- 
 modi temporalia subsidia sure seternse salutis ministris praestanda, magis 
 obsequentes fuerint, transferentur ; prout in tali eventu (non obstante quacum- 
 que in oppositum renitentia), tranferendos statuimus. 
 
 De Vita et Honestate Cle/ricorwm. 
 
 Quamvis praecipua nostra cura circa vicarios generales, et foraneos, et alios 
 sacerdotes, qui sub illis animarum curam gerent, et modum quo populo vitas 
 alimenta ministrent, versetur : nihilominus eo se extendit nostra sollicitudo, 
 ut omues fidei domesticos attingat ; maximd autem omnes eos, qui in sortem 
 Domini segregati, comparticipes sunt hujus divinae vocationis. Hortamur 
 ergo omnes sacerdotes, et elericos, ut sui status memores, omnibus se exhi- 
 beant bonorum operum exemplar non solum a malis, et ab iis, quae speciem 
 mali habent, sed etiam ab aliis quibuscunque, quse praster sui status honestatem, 
 et decorum esse possent, abstinentes ; ut etiam ii, qui ex adverso sunt, 
 vereantur, nihil habentes mali de nobis dicere. 
 
 Imprimis igitur caveant sacerdotes, ne publice, aut privatim, de negotiis 
 status, aut politiae temporalis tractent : neve ullo alio modo regiae majestati, 
 aut aliis, qui sub ipso reipublicae in temporalibus prasunt, se exosos reddant, 
 aliter quam qus3 sunt sui officii erga Deum et populum praestando : nimirum 
 spiritualia tantummodo ministeria exercendo ; relinquentes quas sunt Cassaris, 
 Csesari, et Deo reddentes qua3 Dei sunt. Pari modo caveant, ne se immisceant 
 
APPENDIX. 455 
 
 temporali gubernationi aut regimini alicujua stecularis private domus, aut 
 familiae : scilicet, ne pro aliquo nobili, aut alia cujuscumque conditionia per- 
 sona aseculari, vicem, aut officium oeconomi, receptoris, magistri computorum, 
 negotiorum gestoria, aut procuratoris suppleant : nee domoa, aut prsedia, pro 
 quocunque locare, conducere, hypothecare, aut in emphyteusim dare ; aut res 
 mobiles quascumque vendere, aut emere ; aut pecuniae suas, aut alienas, ad 
 lucrum, seu interease, exponere : aut alearum lusui, aliisve vanis, et omnino 
 ssecularibus conversationibus vacare ; aut tanquam nuntii pro tractibus, 
 et contractibus omnino temporalibua proficisci ; aut inatar asseclarum, 
 aut aliorum, ulli cuiuscumque eminentise sseculari inservire velint, aut 
 consentiant. 
 
 H*c autem, et alia huius generis, qusB dispensatorea miniateriorum Dei 
 minime decent, aacerdotibus omnibus omnino interdicimus : et qui contrarium 
 fecerint, et moniti non destiterint, ab Ordinariis, (iuxta contemptus gravi- 
 tatem) puniri possunt, et debent. Si vero (quod absit) aliqui sacerdotes 
 fuerint, concubinarii, fornicarii, ebriosi, aut frequenti, et ordinarise compota- 
 tioni (etiamsi ipai se ad ebrietatem in ilia compotatione pervenire non arbi- 
 trentur) aut aliis impudicitiis, et enormibus criminibus addicti, nisi, moniti, 
 ab huiuamodi excessibus destiterint, per Ordinarium, a miasse eelebratione, 
 aliorumque sacramentorum administratione, eousque suspendantur, quousque 
 oondignam posnitentiam egerint, et populo per eos scandalizato sufficientia suse 
 emendationis, et resipiscentise indicia dederint. Et ut hsec, et similia mala 
 quse ex tabernaram frequentatione nata aunt sequi, facilius evitentur ; caveant 
 sacerdotes, ne ullo modo tabernas, ut bibant, ingrediantur, nisi forte ex neces- 
 sitate in itinere : Qui autem banc nionitionem contemnere non curaverint, ab 
 Ordinario, pro delicti frequentia, et qualitate, puniantur. 
 
 De, Votis Mulierimi. 
 
 Sane licet virginitatem, aut castitatem Tovere, opus sit perfectionis, et 
 supererogationis, ideoque Deo pergratum ; atque adeo ad illud hortari in locis, 
 in quibis votum emissum sine incommodis servari posset, valde sit laudabile, 
 tamen quia hac misera tempestate in nostra patria, plus inde (quoad vota 
 mulieruni) periculi, et inconvenientise timetur, quam utilitatia ordinarie expec- 
 tatur : statuimus ut mdlus sacerdos mulierem ullam ad virginatis, aut casti- 
 tatis votum faciendum, adhortetur, aut ejus votum, etiam in foro conscientise, 
 acceptet, aut recipiat, nisi de consensu episcopi ; ipsi vero episcopi, non nisi 
 magna maturitate, rerum statu considerate, et raro, ad hoc consensum prse- 
 beant. 
 
 Et cum sacri canones, ob varias et justas causas, cobabitationem cleri- 
 corum et mulierum inhibuerint, ipsaque experientia docuerit, sanctissimos 
 viros, ex mulierum consortio naufragium fecisse, et ad minus, ubi talis fuerit 
 commorantium cobabitatio, "non defore (ut ait St. Gregorius) antiqui bostis 
 stimulos ;" proindeque nemo magis tutus ab bujusmodi lapsus periculo, esse 
 aut censeripossit, quam qui a mulierum consortio longius fugerit ; statuimus, ut 
 de ctetero non habeant sacerdotes in suis domibus, aut mensis, ullas mulieres 
 (etiam virginitatia aut castitatis voto adstrictas) aut ullas alias, de quibus 
 suspicio esse posset : Nee hujusmodi fceminarum curam quamvis spiritualem 
 suscipiant, abaque ulteriori facultate. Non vetamus tamen, quin sacerdotes 
 
456 APPENDIX. 
 
 in suis domibus habeant eas foeminas, quas saori canones permittunt ; quales 
 sunt, mater, soror, amita et neptis, cum inter hujusmodi personas naturale 
 fcedua nihil permittat ssevi oriminia suspicari. 
 
 De Prcedicatoribus. 
 
 Cum experimento constet, populum plurimum scandalizari, ex eo quod in- 
 sufficientes, et indoeti, qui sibi munus pradicandi non admiasi arrogant, 
 plerumque futilia, et inutilia, nonnunquam erronea, et scandalosa, auia con- 
 cionibua commisceant ; eedat quoque in maximam fidei injuriam, et animarum 
 periculum, quod ignari controversiaa fidei exponere, et de eis disputare, ao 
 caaua conacientiaa difiiciliores enucleare praesumant : hiace incommodis re- 
 medium adhibere cupientes, atatuimus, ut de csstero, nullus ssecularis aut 
 regularia praedicare praesumat, niai priua ab Ordinario loci fuerit approbates : 
 ab Ordinariis vero ad praedicandum non approbentur, nisi qui tribus, vel ad 
 minus, duobus annia in aliqua academia theologise scholastics utiliter operam 
 dederint ; et praeterea ad tam arduum munus exequendum sufEcientes et 
 idonei sint. Caeteri vero aacerdotea ad prasdicationis ofEcium non approbati, 
 contenti sint, secundum talentum sibi a Deo datum, populum Dei, catechismum, 
 seu Cliriatianam doctrinam tantum docere. Simili modo, Sacraa Scripturas 
 exponere, aut fidei Catholicae rationem sive haBretiois, sive Catholicia privatim 
 aut publice reddere, aut casus dirficilea et intricatos, praesertirn novos, et 
 parum in praxi, aut authorum scriptis repertoa ; et maxime quae ad fidem, 
 ejuaque confessionem spectant, aut reduci possunt, nulli resolvere praesumant, 
 nisi qui etiam utiliter integrum theologian cursum persolverint, et per aliquod 
 tempus hujua patriae praxim didieerint : aed haec omnia discutienda et re- 
 solvenda remittant ad alios, qui hujusmodi conditionibus, et qualitatibus sunt 
 praediti ; aut ad alios, quos locorum Ordinarii ad id muneris idoneoa judica- 
 verint. 
 
 De Disputationibus, cum Hceretids et aliis, vitandis. 
 
 Non aine justa causa, sancta mater ecclesia, quas a Spiritu Sancto regitur, 
 disputationes cum haereticis, et aliis ejus generis, ex quibus seductionis et 
 infectionis periculum suis filiis pertimescebat, cunctia laicia mhibuit. Prop- 
 terea omnea aace rdotea unanimiter conentur persuadere nobilibus et aliia laicis, 
 quibuacum conversantur, ut ab hujusmodi periculosia diaputationibus omnino 
 abatineant. Libros vero haeretieorum, qui de controversiia fidei ex professo 
 tractant ; nee non depravataa Sacrae Scripturae quocunque idiomate editiones, 
 alii quam viri docti, et ad effectum duntaxat eos confutandi, ac de expreasa 
 Ordinarii loci licentia, legere non praesumant. 
 
 Alios libros haereticorum, imo etiam ipsos Catholicorum libros, vulgari 
 idiomate, de rebus fidei tractantes, nee laici, nee clerici, sine licentia legere 
 praesumant. Libros etiam adversus haereticos a quibuscunque conscriptos, 
 convitia potius quam solidam, aut modestam doctrinam continentes, et 
 maxime qui Sacris Scripturis, ad scurrilia eas apphcantes, abutuntur (cujus 
 generis est Puritanua) proraus legi, teneri, aut permitti, vetamua. Colloquia 
 etiam de rebua fidei, quae inter ipaos CathoKcos temporibus non congruis, et in 
 mensis, et inter pocula admisceri solent, tanquam intempestiva, sacerdotes 
 
APPENDIX. 457 
 
 corrigant, et reprehendant : si qui autem laici de hio enumeratis admoniti, non 
 se emendaverint, aut parere noluerint, locorum Ordinariis, ut eos corrigant 
 (prout in Domino videbitur expedire) denuntient sacerdotes. 
 
 Rerum etiam magistra, experientia docuit, plurimum detrimeDti, nihil 
 vero utilitatis, aut Eedificationis attulisse statui clericali, quod aliqui sacer- 
 dotes nimis familiariter cum haereticis et schismaticis, quos sibi minime infes- 
 tos judicabant, conversati fuerint : quapropter volumus, ut de cabtero, nulli 
 sacerdotes, quantumvis noti, simplices, et ab haareticis minime impediti, 
 accedant ad mensas, convivia, aliaque conversationis loca, in quibus noverint 
 htereticos esse, aut brevi superventuros ; ut ita, turn illorum notitiam, turn 
 colloquia, et familiaritatem inutilem devitent : ait enim St. Cyprianus, Epist. 
 55. ad Cornelium, in fine; " Simus ab eis tarn separati, quam sunt illi de 
 ecclesia profugi." 
 
 De Dispensationibus super retentions, et receptione bonorum 
 Ecclesiasticorum. 
 
 Nullus srecularis, aut regularis, quarumcunqueextraordinariarumfacultatum 
 praetextu, dispensare prsesumat super retentione et receptione quorumcunque 
 beneficiorum, prsediorum, aut aliorum bonorum ecclesiasticorum, sive im- 
 mobilium, sive mobilium, quoquomodo de jure, aut consuetudine, ad col- 
 lationem, aut dispositionem episcopi spectantium, nisi ipse episcopus, quoad 
 haec, suas vices specialiter committere voluerit : et si quae dispensationes in 
 posterum aliter fiant, irrite censeantur : quae autem hactenus facte sunt, ut 
 in posterum valeant, denuo ab episcopo specialiter, et sigillatim ratificari 
 debent. Idemque observandum esse sancimus de bonis quorumcunqne aliorum 
 ecclesiasticorum ; nimirum, non debere fieri super illis dispensationes, nisi per 
 illos, aut de eorum licentia, ad quos de jure, aut consuetudine spectat ex eis 
 emolumenta percipere : nee dispensationes aliter facte, tute, aut juste 
 reputari possunt : cum Eequitas, ipsa jura, et ratio suadeant jus mum uni- 
 cuique esse tribuendum. Proinde confessariis injungimus, ut suis poenitentibus, 
 hujusmodi bonorum detentoribus, de eis conscientiam faciant. 
 
 De Legatis ad Pios usus, et Dltiinarum Voluntatum Executione. 
 
 Cum piorum legatorum dispositiones, ae ultimarum voluntatum, et testa- 
 mentorum probationes et executiones, ad episcopos, tarn jure veteri canonico, 
 quam novo sacri Concilii Tridentini, pertineant ; statuimus, ut quse de 
 csetero ad indeterminatos pios usus tarn in ultimis voluntatibus quocunque 
 titulo, quam alias dabuntur, vel legabuntur, a solo dicecesano episcopo ; vel 
 (eo non existente) a solo metropolitano ; et illo non existente, a seniore com- 
 provinciali episcopo ; vel illis omnibus deficientibus, ab illis, ad quos de jure, 
 aut consuetudine, spectat ; non autem ab eorum vicariis generalibus. ad certos 
 et determinates usus pios applicentur. Episcopi vero certos adhibebunt pru- 
 dentes et pios viros, quorum consilio in his, aliisque ad pios usus applicandis 
 utentur ; aliosque designabunt, qui omnia ad tales pios usus concessa, colli- 
 gant, et fideliter referant. Vicarii autem generales ex certa scientia, et 
 mandato speciali episcopi, ea, qua? ad certos, et determinates usus pios re- 
 linquentur, quam primum ad eosdem usus pios applicari curabunt ; et casu, 
 
458 APPENDIX. 
 
 quo commutatio ultimae voluntatis (quae non nisi ob gravem et urgentem 
 causam fieri debet) facienda esset, a solis episcopis, ordine supra scripto, non 
 autem ab eorum vicariis generalibns, ea fiat. 
 
 De Confraternitatibus, et aliis Piis Locis. 
 
 Et quoniam eadem jura decernunt de quibuscunque piis fundationibus, con- 
 fraternitatibus (quae vulgo geeldes appellantur) ae aliis omnibus piis locis, 
 quomodocunque nuncupentnr, quae ad Dei cultum, pauperam sustentationem, 
 aut animarum salutem sunt instituta, etsi eorum cura ad laioos pertineat, 
 aut exemptionis privilegio sint munita, episcopos debere cognoseere; ac 
 rationes computorum, et administrationis ab eorum administratoribus exigere ; 
 easdem rationes approbare, aut reprobare, prout in Domino illis expedire 
 videbitur : statuimus, ut episcopi, per se, vel per aliquos specialiter ab ipsis ad 
 hoc deputatos, semel in anno hujusmodi computorum, seu administrationum 
 rationes a praedietis administratoribus exigant, et non reddentes, si laici sint, 
 ingressum ecclesiae eis interdicant ; si vero clerici, eos suspendant. 
 
 De Regularibus. 
 
 ftegulares omnes, qui ecclesiasticae hierarchiae ornamenta, ac ordinariorum 
 pastorum strenui cooperatores sunt, ab omnibus pastoribus, aliisque nobis 
 subjectis, volumus, ut tales amari et honorari, eisque omnia charitatis 
 obsequia, et subsidia ad aedificationem fidelium prssstari : et cum jam in 
 nostra patria in suis regularibus domibus, consuetis religionis exercitiis vacare 
 non permittantur ; neque dubitemus, quin illi zelo salutis animarum accensi 
 libenter vellent in messe Dei impendi, et superimpendi, nos alioquin quam 
 maxima pastorum penuria laborenms, volumus, ut durante hoc rerum statu, 
 Ordinarii locorum serio cum superioribus regularium agant, quatenus sibi sub- 
 jectos religiosos sacerdotes ad munus pastorale gerendum eis concedere velint, 
 communique consilio turn Ordiuarii, turn regularium superiores curent, ut, sine 
 detrimento regularis observantiaa, hujusmodi pastoralis cura religiosis com- 
 missa exerceatur. 
 
 Olterius declaramus, religiosos suis privilegiis et faeidtatibus (quatenus 
 locorum ordinariis non prsejudicant) uti posse, ac proinde, quoad haec, a 
 nemine volumus eos molestari. Cum autem certum sit, privilegia quaecunque, 
 in aedificationem, non in destructionem, concessa esse, debitumque ecclesiasti- 
 cum regimen postulare, ea, quae sunt fori contentiosi, a solis illis, qui fori illius 
 sunt judices (quales sunt ordinarii, prout jura determinant) exerceri debere; 
 ac proinde suani Sanctitatem nullo modo per hujusmodi privilegiorum conces- 
 sionem, hoc rectum regimen pervertere, aut Ordinariorum juri praejudicare 
 velle : monemus omnes regulares, ut in eis, quae fori contentiosi sunt, pri- 
 vilegiorum, aut facultatum virtute, nihil agant, nisi quatenus Ordinarii hasc 
 illis commiserint, aut eorum ad ilia praestanda auxilium requisierint. 
 
 De celebratione festorum, quoad cessationem ab operibus servilibus. 
 
 A plerisque hactenus, maximg a simpKcioribus, dubitatum est, qua potissimum 
 hora, obligatio ab operibus servilibus cessandi incipiat ; nam aliqui paulo post 
 
APPENDIX. 459 
 
 meridiem praecedentis diei ; alii hora tertia : alii hora sexta pomeridiana, vel 
 sub solis oceasum, ab hujusmodi operibus cessabant : ex qua varietate in errore 
 potius quam in ulla consuetudine fundata, fiebat, quod aliqui hora alioquin 
 minimis vetita laborantes, erroneae conscientiae stimulis agitarentur. : alii nullum 
 talem serupulum habentes, dum laborabant, pusillis tamen, et infirmioribus, 
 scandalo & offendiculo essent : quapropter, ut peccandi occasio, quae ex istius- 
 modi varietate oriebatur, de caetero tollatur, et uniformis regula pro omnibus 
 statuatur : praxi totius orbis Christiani fere inhaerentes, deceruimus, obliga- 
 tionem cessandi ab operibus servilibus in posterum incipere a media nocte 
 prascedente diem festum, continuarique ad mediam usque noctem 
 sequentem. 
 
 Et hoc notum omnibus fieri volumus, cum tempore messis contingat ut fruges 
 in die festo oolligi possint, quas alias verisimiliter essent perituras, volumus, ut 
 tali oblata necessitate, sacerdotes concedant suis parochianis hujusmodi fruges 
 colligendi licentiam diebus festivis, audito prhis sacro, si haberi potuerit : 
 injunctis omnibus et singulis, qui ea licentia uti voluerint, aliquot orationibus 
 pro statu ecclesisa, atque patriae, aut ahquo alio opere pio. In dominicis autem 
 idnonfiat, nisi maxima, et urgentissima necessitate cogentur : atque haec omnia 
 sacerdotes inter missarum solemnia, ad tollendos scrupulos, frequenter populo 
 significent. 
 
 De festorum nwmero. 
 
 Dies, in quibus de jure aut consuetudine ab operibus servilibus ex obliga- 
 tione cessandum est, sunt sequentes ; omnes dominicas per totum annum. 
 Circumcisio Domini. Epiphania Domini. Festum St£e. Brigidae Virginis, in 
 tota dicecesi Darensi, prima die Februarii. Purificatio B. Mariae. Festum 
 S. Matthias Ap. Festum Sti. Patritii Confessoris, et Hibernias Apostoli, 
 per totum Regnum, 17 die Martii. Annuuciatio B. Mariae Virginis. Secunda 
 et tertia feria paschatis.* 
 
 Festum Sti. Marci Evangelistae, festum SS. Philippi et Jacobi Apostolorum. 
 Inventio sanctae crucis. Ascensio Domini. Secunda et tertia feria Pentecostes. 
 Festum Corporis Christi. Festum Sti. Barnabae Apostoli, Nativitas Sti. Joan- 
 nis Baptist». Festum SS. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli. Festum B. Mariae 
 Magdalenae. Festum Sti. Jacobi Apostoli. Festum Sti. Laurentii Martyris. 
 Assumptio B. Marias Virginis. Festum Sti. Bartholomoei Apostoli. Nati- 
 vitas B. Marias Virginis. Festum Sti. Mathasi Apostoli et Evangelistae. 
 Dedicatio Sti. Michaelis Archangeli. Festum Sti. Lucas Evangelistae. Festum 
 SS. Apostolorum Simonis et Judae- Festum omnium sanctorum. Festum Sti. 
 Martini Episcopi et Confessoris. Festum Sti. Andre» Apostoli. Conceptio 
 B. Marias Virginia- Festum Sti Thomae Apostoli. Nativitas domini nostri 
 Jesu Christi. Festum Sti. Stephani protomartyris. Festum Sti. Joannis 
 Apostoli et Evangelist». Festum SS. Innoceutium. - ) - 
 
 * The following words are in the printed copy, but not in the MSS. : — 
 " Concilio provinciali habito, anno 1685, sub illustrissimo Domino Patritio 
 Russell, festum Sti. Laurentii Archiepiscopi Dubliniensis, precipitur servandum 
 in toto dicecesi Dubliniensi, die 14 Novembris. 
 
 t Quibus superaddita sunt. Festum Sti. Josephi. Festum Stas. Annas. 
 Festum Sti. Sylvestri. These words are in the margin of the MSS. 
 
4(50 APPENDIX. 
 
 Festa quae, ex devotione observantur. 
 
 Festum Staa Brigidae Virginia, per reliquam provinoiam. Visitationis B. 
 Marias Virginia. Exaltationis S. Crucia. Commemorationia animaram in 
 purgatorio, usque ad meridiem. Ste Catharinas Virginia et Martyris. Quas 
 omnia, praemissa diligenter de conauetudine inquisitione, seripsimus, ut tam 
 clerici, quam laiei conformiter feata observare aciant, et non ignorent modum 
 observations, nee ad quae obligentur festa, aut quae tantum ex devotione eos 
 observare conveniat. 
 
 De obligatione aliguorum festorum quoad officio, divina. 
 
 Quamvis praesentis temporis calamitas non permittat, noa quidquam de f estis 
 quorundam aanetorum, quoad oessationem ab operibua servilibua statuere, aut 
 innovare ; nihil tamen vetat, eoriun festa divinis laudibus et offieiis celebrare, 
 quin potius hujusmodi officia tanto promptius et ferveutius sunt ab omnibus in 
 eorum honorem persolvenda, quanto eorum suffragia hoc tempore maxime 
 nobis esse neeeasaria experimur. Quapropter, cum St. Patritius, cujus festus 
 dies in 17mum diem Martii, cadit, non aolum sit universaha patronus totius 
 Hibernias, sed etiam nostras civitatis, et ecclesias Dubliniensis apecialia : statui- 
 mua, et mandamua, ut in prasdicta nostra civitate, fiat de eo officium duplex, 
 de communi confessoria pontifieis, ad ritum officii de patrono ecclesias ; in tota 
 autem reliqua dicecesi, et per universam Dubliniensem provinciam ad ritum 
 duplicis prim as classis ; et donee proprium ipsius sancti officium emendatius 
 recitandum proponatur, lectiones primi nocturni sumantur de libro ecclesias- 
 tici, o. 44. Laudemus viros gloriosos, etc. Lectiones secundi nocturni de ser- 
 mone sti. Maximi episcopi ' ' ad aancti et beatissimi, " etc. Et lectiones tertii noc- 
 turni, de Homilia Sti. Hilarii Episcopi, in cap. 24, Matthasi, Vigilate, quia 
 nescitis, etc. etiam de eodem : et tam antiphonas ad magnificat, et benedictus, 
 quam oratio, da quaesumus, etc., de eodem communi dicantur. De Sta. 
 Brigida Virgine, quas totiua regni censetur patrona generalis, et specialis 
 civitatia, et Ecclesice Cathedralia Darensia, mandamus fieri, prima Die 
 Februarii, officium duplex de communi virginum, cum oratione, exaudi nos, 
 etc. , ad ritum patroni in ipsa civitate : in reliqua dicecesi, ad ritum duplicis 
 primas classis : in tota etiam residua provincia, ad modum festi duplicis secundas 
 classis. 
 
 De Sto. Columba Abbate, tertio generali regni patrono, mandamus nono die 
 Junii fieri per totam provinciam, officium duplex de communi confessoris non 
 pontifieis ; seu de abbate, cum oratione, intercessio, etc. , ad instar duplicis 
 secundas classis. De Sto. Laurentio Archiepiseopo Dublinensi, mandamus 
 etiam, fieri officium duplex secundas classis per totam provinciam 14° die 
 Novembris, de communi confessoris pontifieis, cum oratione, da quassumiis, 
 etc. Dedicatio ecclesias celebretur dominiea proxima sequenti festum sti. 
 Remigii prima die Octobris, vel ipsa die ati. Bemigii, si in dominicam 
 ceciderit. * 
 
 * In the printed copy the words are added : " Cum octava ex consuetu- 
 
 dine." 
 
APPENDIX. 461 
 
 De jejuniorwn et abstirmdiarum 
 
 Clemens Papa octavus venerabilibus fratribus episoopis, per universam pro- 
 vinciam constitutis. 
 
 Venerabiles fratres, salutem, et apostolicam benedictionem. 
 
 ' ' Accepimus ali&s piam, et antiquam inter Catholicos istius B,egni Hibernioa 
 hactenus consnetudinem viguisse, feria quarta a oarnibus ; feria vero sexta, et 
 nonnullis in loeis, etiam Sabbato, ab ovorum et laeticiniorum esu abstinendi : 
 verum postquam hasresis (quod non sine dolore reminiscimur) in eodem 
 regno invaleseere casperit, et penes haereticos imperii potestas sit, plerique 
 ipsorum Catholicorum, metu haereticorum eorumdem, carnibus feria quarta, 
 et ovis, ac lactieiniis feria sexta, ac sabbato, ac nonnullis in loeis, ubi pisoes 
 commode comparari non possunt, in Quadragesima, etiam ovis, et lactieiniis 
 hujusmodi, quandoque ex necessitate vesci solent, quod vos, tuta conscientia ab 
 ipsis Christi fidelibus fieri posse, summopere cuperetis ; et ideo nobis 
 humiliter supplicatis ut in prsemissis opportune providere de benignitate 
 apostolica dignaremur : nos igitur piorum Catbolicorum conscientiae securi- 
 tati providere volentes, hujusmodi supplicationibus inclinati, vobis, et 
 cuilibet vestrum, et a vobis delegatis per totam Hiberniam, ut piam 
 illam abstinendi a carnibus feria quarta, et feria sexta, ac sabbato a 
 lactieiniis, et ovis extra Quadragesimam ; in Quadragesima vero a laeti- 
 ciniorum tantum (nisi aliud vobis episcopis videatur) esu, consuetudinem, 
 in alia pietatis opera, gratis omnino commutare, libere, et licite valeatis, 
 authoritate apostolica, tenore prsesentium, facultatem impertimur. Volumus 
 autem,' ut prassentium transumptis etiam impressis, et manu alicujus notarii 
 publici subscriptis, ae sigillo alicujus persona; in dignitate ecclesiastica consti- 
 tutae, munitis, eadem, quae prasentibus ipsis, fides adhibeatur." 
 
 Datum Komae apud Stum. Petrum sub annulo piscatoris, die 13tio. Martii, 
 Anno Domini, 1598. 
 
 Quamvis gratiosum hoe Sedis apostolica; indultum ab aliquibus bona; me- 
 moriae rdmis dominis episcopis, qui in hoe regno superioribus annis gregi 
 dominico prasfuerunt, pro conscientiarum quiete et securitate, acceptatum, et 
 executioni demandatum sit ; et nonnulli pii et probi sacerdotes ad commuta- 
 tionem circa laeticiniorum esum faciendam, ab eisdem specialiter, et nominatim, 
 delegati fuerint ; tamen quia non omnes eundem conformem modum in hao 
 commutatione facienda observabant, et ex ea praxis varietate, nonnulla 
 incommoda orta esse intelleximus ; ut de caatero uniformis regula, tam 
 quoad usum hujus indulti, quam quoad observationem omnium jejuniorum, 
 et abstinentiarum, quae per totum anni decursum, sive ex obligatione de 
 jure aut consuetudine, sive ex devotione, ab omnibus generaliter obser- 
 vandae sunt ; et ad omnes quietandas conscientias idonea praascribatur, 
 haec sequuntur, statuenda duximus. In primis, illustrissimus ac redmus 
 dominus, D. Fr. Eugenius Mattha3us Archiepiscopus Dublinensis, recipit, et 
 acoeptat praefatum indultum, et authoritate apostolica, sibi per illud concessa, 
 omnes, et singulos per totam Dublinensem provinciam, in dignitate eccle- 
 siastica constitutes, omnes vicarios generales, ao foraneos, et omnes ab ordi- 
 nariis approbatos praedicatores, ae sacerdotes omnes animarum curam gerentes 
 delegat ae deputat ad commutationem circa prasdictorum laeticiniorum usum, 
 
462 APPENDIX. 
 
 hoc sequent modo faciendam, viz. ut liceat omnibus per totam provin- 
 ciam, quibus ipsi, vel aliquis eorum, facta commutatione, licentiam dederint, 
 vesei lacticiuiis (inter quae etiam caseus sive reeens, sive antiquus, connumerari 
 potest) omnibus diebus quadragesimae, ao omnibus sextis feriis per annum, 
 ac sabbatis (sicubi contraria consuetudo fuerit) exceptis feria quarta cinerum, 
 feria quarta rnajoris hebdomadaa, et feria sexta parasceves ; ita tamen, ut 
 omnes, quibus hujusmodi licentia concessa fuerit, singulis diebus, quibus hujus 
 indulti beneficio uti voluerint, recitent pro statu universalis ecclesias, fideique 
 Catholicse in his regnis, Anglise, Hiberniae, ac Scotiae, restitutione, Catholic- 
 orum libertate, peccatorum conversione, bonoque reipublicse regimine, quinies 
 pater et ave ; . vel (si ipsi maluerint) singulis annis dent ordinario loci 12 
 denarios Anglicos, in pios usus convertendos : qui vero opulentiores fuerint, 
 non prsefigitur certus terminus eorum liberalitati, ac devotioni, cum ipsis 
 consultius sit, intuitu talis commutationis, ad hujusmodi pios usus juxta suas 
 facilitates paulo liberalius cseteris erga pauperes se exhibere. 
 
 Ut autem hujusmodi notitia ad omnes deveniat, et uniformiter omnes, 
 quotquot voluerint, hujus commutationis, et licentia beneficio fruantur; 
 volumus, ut omnes, et singuli ad hoc delegati, quater in anno, hoc est, circa 
 initium quadragesimce, circa Pentecosten, circa quatuor tempora Septembris, ac 
 paulo ante nativitatem Domini, ubicunque in tota provincia fuerint, indultum 
 hoc populo denuntient ; ac commutationem sibi commissam illis concedant, ac 
 declarent : nee ulla alia particulari licentia, sed tantum acceptatione hujus 
 commutationis cuique opus esse declarent. Commutationem vero cum aliis 
 extra provinciam faciendam, donee ab Ordinariis locorum illorum requiratur, 
 aut significetur, expedire ut fiat ; nee non commutationem circa esum carnium 
 feria quarta, aut ovorum, feria sexta extra quadragesimam, adhuc idem illus- 
 trissimus dominus Archiepiscopus non committit, neque ad earn faciendam 
 quemquam delegat ; si autem progressu temporis visum fuerit expedire, tunc 
 earn delegabit, quibus, et quo modo voluerit, juxta tenorem brevis supra positi. 
 
 De Numero Vigiliarum et Jejuniorum Prcecepto Obligantium. 
 
 Dies, quibus ex praecepto jejunatur, et non licet alicui, nisi sufficienter excu- 
 satus fuerit, plus quam unicam refectionem sumere, sunt sequentes. Omnes 
 dies quadragesimas, exceptis dominiois, quatuor anni tempora, prout occur- 
 rant, vigilia Sti. Mathiae Apostoli, Vigilia Pentecostes, Vigilia Sti. Joannis 
 Baptistas, quae si in festum Corporis Christi incident, feria quarta praecedenti 
 de ea fiat jejunium, et officium, Vigilia Apost. Petri et Pauli, Vigilia Sti, 
 Jacobi Apostoli, Vigilia Sti. Laurentii Martyris, Vigilia Assumptionis B. 
 Marias V, Vigilia Sti. Bartholomoei Apostoli, Vigilia Sti. Matthaei Apostoli 
 et Evangelistee, Vigilia SS. Simonis et Judae Apostolorum, Vigilia 
 omnium Sanctorum. Vigilia Sti. Andreae Apostoli. Vigilia St. Thomas 
 Apostoli. Vigilia Nativitatis Christi. Et quia, facta diligenti inquisitione, non 
 est inventum, ullam certam consuetudinem fuisse obligantem ad jejunandum 
 feriis sextis per annum, volumus, ut de castero ab omnibus sacerdotibus populo 
 declaretur, (prout nos nunc declaramus) nullam fuisse, aut esse talem obligan- 
 tem consuetudinem. 
 
463 
 
 Jejimia Devotionis. 
 
 Jejunia, ad quae nemo obligatur ex prtecepto, et taraen laudabiliter ex devo- 
 tione a multis observari Solent, sunt sequentia : nempe vigilios quatuor festi- 
 vitatum B. Marise V. videlicet, purificationis, quse ob honorem festi St». 
 Brigidse V. pridie ejus diei observari solet. Annunoiationis, si extra hebdom- 
 adam paschalem ineiderit, Nativitatis, et coneeptionis ; et ferias sextae per 
 annum. Monemus sacerdotes omnes, ut his jejuniorum diebus, corrigant, 
 quantum poterunt, et modeste reprehendant abusum exquisitarum et super- 
 fluarum collatiomun. 
 
 Abstinentice. 
 
 Dies, quibus ex ecolesise consuetudine obligantur a carnibus abstinere fideles, 
 sunt, omnes feriae sextse, sabbata per annum, nisi in Nativitate Domini, feria 
 2da, 3tia, et 4ta, Bogationum, i. e. feria 2da, 3tia et 4ta, quae immediate 
 praicedunt Ascensionem Domini. Dies etiam Sti. Marci Euangelistaj : nisi 
 infra hebdomadam paschalem, aut in dominicam incident ; quia tunc ejus 
 abstinentia eo anno cessat. 
 
 De Observatione et Executione harum Constitutionum. 
 
 Curent quam diligentissime Ordinarii locorum, et alii, ad quos id spectat, 
 ut hfe constitutiones quamprimum executioni demandentur, et ab omnibus 
 sibi subjectis observentur, prout superioribus rationem sunt reddituri : utque 
 prassens congregatio, ad gloriam Dei omnipotentis caspta, cum ejusdem laude, 
 et gratiarum actione finiatur, atque in ea decreta (eodem Domino adjuvante) 
 optatum sortiantur effectum ; volumus, ut a singulis sacerdotibus per totam 
 nostram provinciam, quatuor missas celebrentur : prima, pro sua Sanctitate, ac 
 statu universalis eeclesise ; secunda, pro illustrissimo domino nostro metro- 
 politano, ac pro statu hujus provincise ; tertia, pro pace, et tranquilitate 
 reipublicse, et libertate Catholicorum ; quarta, pro omnibus hie assistentibus, 
 hujusque congregationis benefactoribus speciaHbns. 
 
 Declaramus, ex modo sedendi, aut incedendi, aut ex quibuseunque actibus 
 in hac congregatione gestis, aut habitis, aut ex ordiue, quo eorum, qui inter- 
 fuerunt, nomina hie subjiciuntur, nullum fieri praBJudicium dignitati, juri, aut 
 praseminentiae, vel prascedentia3 sedium admorum dominorum episcoporum, au 
 loco, vel dignitati aliorum quorumcunque ; sed omnia eorum jura, et prsero- 
 gativas, salvas et illassas esse, atque in eodem permanere statu, prout ante 
 congregationem erant. 
 
 No. XXIII. Page 400. 
 
 Acta, Conventa, et Ordinata in Concilio Pwvinciali, habito in parochia 
 de Tyrchogir, in Diozcesi Kildariensi, sub Illustrissimo Domino Fratre 
 Thoma Archiepiscopo Dublinensi, ejusque Suffraganeis, quorum 
 nomina subscribuntur. 
 
 Quandoquidem ea pastoralis nostri muneris ratio sit, ut gregem Dei nostras 
 curse commissum, ea mente, zelo, ac puritate pascamus, sicuti pasci jubet pas- 
 
 2 H 
 
4(H APPENDIX. 
 
 torum prinoeps : paseite, qui in vobis est, gregem Dei ; providentes non coacte, 
 sed spontanee secundum Deum ; neque turpis lucri gratia, sed voluntarie ; 
 neque tit dominantes in cleris, sed forma faoti gregis ex animo &o. ; nostrum 
 esse oensuimus, secundum Deum, et hoc non dominantes in clero, sed summo, 
 paternoque affectu (quantum in nostra potestate est) canones, ecclesiaeque 
 sauctiones sequendo, pro temporis, locique conditione, constitutiones, actaque 
 sequentia ordinare, quibus subditi sollicitudini nostras pastores directi, dis- 
 ciplinae ac morum rationem nobis reddere queant ; nos autem de pastorali 
 no3tro munere justos calculos Deo ponere valeamus. 
 
 1. Servetur uniformitas a pastoribus provmeiae in sacramentorum adminis- 
 tratione, et discipline ecclesiastica ; et pro matrimoniis circumspectius contra- 
 hendis, volumus, et ordinamus, ut fiant tres denunciationes tribus festivia 
 diebus juxta Concilium Tridentinum ; et si requiri debeat dispensatio in 
 bannis cum incolis diversarum diaecesium, requiri debet ab ordinariis* utriusque 
 dicecesis. Parochus vero omittens bannas, seu earum aliquam, pivniatur prima 
 vice, mulcta 10 solidorum, secunda vice, mulcts 20 solidorum, tertia vice, 
 suspendatur. 
 
 2. Nullus Ordinarius dispenset in matrimonii impedimentis cum subditis 
 alterius Ordinarii, sine approbatione, et postulatione proprii Ordinarii. 
 
 3. Nullus Ordinarius communicet facultates alterius dicecesis sacerdotibus 
 nisi cum consensu Ordinarii dicecesis, in qua habitat petens facultates. 
 
 4. Volumus, et ordinamus, ut nullus sacerdos conjungat matrimonio eos, 
 qui sunt alterius parochiae, absque consensu proprii pastoris, aut Ordinarii, 
 idque sub pcena suspensionis ipso facto incurrendae. 
 
 5. Volumus, et ordinamus, ut quicunque Catholicus percipiens decimas, aut 
 quoscunque redditus ecclesiasticos, pendat Ordinario de perceptis partem 
 vigesimam ; de percipiendis partem decimam : contrarium vero facientes, 
 puniantur ex arbitrio Ordinarii. Insuper volumus, ut omnes provinciae nostra 
 confessarii hoc notificent suis pcenitentibus. 
 
 6. Volumus, et ordinamus, ut monasteria desolata subjaeeant visitation 
 et omnimodae correctioni Ordinarii ; et ut dispensatio in redditibus dictorum 
 monasteriorum pertineat ad proprium Ordinarium. 
 
 7. Declaramus, quod nee j are, nee privilegio, nee consuetudine, regularibus 
 administrare liceat viaticum, Extremam TJnctionem, aut Baptismi sacramen- 
 turn, vel matrimonium solemnizare, absque consensu parochi, aut Ordinarii. 
 
 8. Volumus, et ordinamus, ut capellani nobilium non administrent viaticum, 
 Extremam TJnctionem, Baptismi Sacramentum, neque Matrimonium solemni- 
 zent, absque consensu parochi ; et contrarium faciens reddet parocho totum 
 lucrum inde perceptum, et insuper puniatur ad arbitrium Ordinarii. 
 
 9. Declaramus, quod sacerdotes in hac provincia animarum curam habentes, 
 sint veri pastores, et tales vocandi. 
 
 10. Declaramus, quod venerabilis D. Gulielmus Devoreux ab Illustrissimo 
 Domino Dublinensi, Vicarius Ecclesiae Fernensis constitutus, sit vere Or- 
 dinarius intentus, et intellectus, in facultate administrandi omnia sacramen 
 (exeeptis Confirmatione, et sacris Ordinibus) missionariis Hibernia? concessa, 
 prout dicta facultas intellecta est, et moderata a sacra Congregatione Cardi- 
 nalium aunis abhinc circiter 18. 
 
 * See Ecul. Record for May, 1865, page 391. 
 
APPENDIX. 465 
 
 11. Cum id vel imprimis episcopis, et ordinariis incumbat, ut parochiis de 
 pastoribus litteratis provisum sit ; hino pars non exigua est nostrae curse, ut ad 
 seminariorum nostras gentis regimen, disciplinary et prseservationem attenda- 
 nts ; utque in eis servetur aequalitas in scholaribus admittendis, et educandis : 
 cum enim dicta seminaria, seu collegia, erecta fuerint in commune bonum 
 ecclesias, ac nationis Hibernian, et pro continuanda litteratorum pastorum suc- 
 ceSBione, fas est, ut (nobis id serio meditantibus) justitia fiat omnibus pro- 
 vinciis, in operariis pro vinea Domini educandis. 
 
 Cum igitur nobis non obscure constet, dictam sequalitatem in scholaribus 
 admittendis non esse in quibusdam nostrse gentis seminariis servatam ; visum 
 est rationi, nostrseque curse consentaneum, quamprimum litteras ad eos desti- 
 nare, qui hujusmodi in seminariis deordinationi, et insequalitati remedium 
 possunt adhibere. 
 
 12. Non tantum hsec statuta, et constitutiones hujus nostri concilii pro- 
 vincialis, sed insuper omnia acta, conventa et decreta concilii provincialis, 
 Kilkenise habiti die 22<i° Jnii. 1614,* sub Illustrissimo Domino Eugenio 
 Mattbeo piae memorise Archiepiscopo Dublinensi, quae postea confirmata sunt 
 in concilio provinciali habito Dublinii sub praesenti metropolitano, hoc etiam 
 concilio confirmamus, stabilimus, et innovamus. 
 
 F. Thomas, Archiepiscopus Dublinensis. 
 
 David, Ossoriensis. 
 
 Rochus, Kildariensis. 
 
 Gcxielmtjs Devokettx, Vicarius Fernensis. 
 
 Latjs Deo, Virginiqtte MARLE.f 
 
 No. XXIV. 
 
 Epitaph of Most Rev. Eugene Matthews, Archbishop of Dublin. 
 
 This volume was already in type, when we were fortunate enough to meet 
 with the original epitaph which marked the last resting-place of the illustrious 
 Archbishop Matthews. 
 
 Near the summit of the Janiculum, in the city of Rome, stands the well- 
 known church of St. Pietro-in-Montorio. It contains many treasures of art, 
 and its paintings recall the names of Raffaelle, Michel Angelo, Pinturricchio, 
 Vasari, and other great masters. More dear to the Christian pilgrim is the 
 adjoining shrine, which guards the clay in which was set the cross of the Prince 
 of the Apostles. 
 
 It was in this church that the last princes of Tyrone and Tyrconnel were 
 interred. In the second row of tombs with which the pavement of the church 
 is lined, the Irish traveller will find, without difficulty, the epitaph of Hugh 
 baron of Dungannon, who died in September, 1609, and of the two O'Donnells, 
 who died in the autumn of 1608. It is known that Hugh O'NeiL earl of 
 
 * In the printed copies this date was changed in these and the statutes 
 of Dr. Matthews, into 1624, at which date Dr. Matthews was already dead, 
 as appears from the following Appendix, No. XXIV. 
 
 t In the MS. Per me P. Russell. 
 
466 APPENDIX. 
 
 Tyrone, was also interred here ; but hitherto his tomb has been sought for in 
 vain. The archives of the adjoining monastery, however, have at length come 
 to our aid. The last great Irish chieftain expired in the Palazzo Salviati, on 
 the 20th of July, 1616, and the register of San Pietro-in-Montorio marks the 
 24th of July, 1616, as the day on which his remains were, with princely pomp, 
 laid within its vaults. This same register further tells us that his epitaph, now 
 wholly obliterated, held the first place in the third row of tombs which mark the 
 pavement of the church, and that it consisted of the simple record — 
 
 D. 0. M. 
 
 HIC QCIESCUNT OSS A 
 
 HUGONIS PEINCIPIS O'NEILL. 
 
 It was alongside the tomb of Hugh O'Neill that Eugene Matthews, arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, reposed in death. His epitaph, says the register of the 
 church, holds the second place in the third row of tombs. The slab which cor- 
 responds with this indication, now only retains some faint traces of letters here 
 and there, it being impossible to decipher even one word of its original inscrip- 
 tion. Here again the church register comes to our aid ; it tells us that the 
 following was the inscription on Dr. Matthews' tomb : — 
 
 D. 0. M. 
 
 EUGENIO MATTHEI, ARCHIEPISCOPO DUBLINENSI, 
 
 DOCTRINE CLARITATE NATALIUM SPLENDOEE, 
 
 FIDE IN DEUM PIETATE IN PATEIAM SINGULARI 
 
 QUI POSTQUAM SOLLICITI PASTOEIS, 
 
 DIUTUENO AC DIFFICILI TEMPOEE IN HIBEENIA 
 
 NUMEEOS OMNES ADIMPLESSET, 
 
 SUB GBEGORIO XV., EOMAM VENIT, 
 
 UBI AB OPTIMO PONTIFICE BENIGNE HABITUS, 
 
 DUM PATRIAE SUJE NEGOTIA PEOMOVEEET, 
 EXTEEMUM DIEM CLAUSIT KAL. b SEPT. 1623. 
 
 Thus, as Dr. Matthews was closely allied by blood with the families of 
 Tyrone and Tyrconnel ; as he, in youth, shared with them the perils of the 
 Catholic camp ; as, when bishop of Clogher, he enjoyed with them the hospi- 
 tality of the great pontiff, Paul V., in the Salviati Palace, Eome ; so was he 
 destined to be united with them in death, and to repose with them beneath 
 the shadow of St. Peter's dome, amidst the sanctuaries and shrines of the 
 Eternal City. "We cannot better conclude than with the words of the Four 
 Masters, when registering the death of Hugh O'Neill — "Although he diedfar 
 distant from Armagh, the burial-place of his ancestors, it was a manifestation 
 that God was pleased with his life ; for the place in which God granted him to 
 be buried was Eome, the capital of the Christians. " 
 
HISTORY OF ARCHBISHOPS OF DUBLIN. 
 
 VOL. I— PAET I. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 First Efforts of the English Government to introduce Protestantism 
 into Ireland, p. 3. 
 Dr. Brown, an Augustinian English friar, a friend of Cromwell's, appointed to 
 Dublin, vacant by the assassination of Dr. Allen, p. 3 — He was never 
 confirmed by the Holy See, and never canonically appointed bishop, p. 4— 
 Letter of Henry VIII. stating that he had appointed Dr. Brown, p. 5. 
 Parliament held in 1536-7, to introduce Reformation into Ireland, p. 6 — Arts 
 employed to bias Parliament, pp 7, 8 — Henry declared King of Ireland, 
 p. 9. — First-fruits, etc., granted to him, p. 10 — Peter's Pence prohibited, 
 ib.— Preferment to be given only to English, ib. — Plan for Extermination 
 of Irish, p. 1 1. 
 Zeal of Dr. Brown against the Ancient Religion, p. 11 — Pictures and Relics 
 destroyed, p. 12 — Shrines of Blessed Virgin at Ballybogan and Trim de- 
 stroyed ; Church of Down converted into a Stable ; the Staff of Jesus, or 
 Crozier of St. Patrick, burned, pp. 13, 14, 15. 
 Grant of 370 Monasteries to the King, p. 16 — King Edward's Edict shows that 
 the Monasteries were suppressed through hatred to Religion, p. 17 — 
 Letter of Lord Deputy and Council confirms the same, p. 18 — Avarice of 
 Dr. Brown and others, and their desire to get property of Monasteries, p. 19 
 — List of Property of Monasteries, p. 20 — Suppression of S. Patrick's, p. 21. 
 Sufferings of Religious Orders, p. 21 — Atharee, Dublin, Limerick, pp. 22-6. 
 Military -religious Visitation of four counties by Dr. Brown and Lord Chan- 
 cellor, etc., p. 27 — Assembly of Prelates at Clonmel, p. 28. 
 English Liturgy first read in Christ's Church on Easter day, 1551 ; Folly of 
 introducing English Liturgy, p. 30 — Controversy on Primacy with Dr. 
 Cromer, p. 31 — Dr. Cromer suspended by Rome, and Dr. Wauchop 
 appointed Primate, ib. — Dr. Dowdall intruded by Henry in 1543, p. 32 — 
 Dowdall upholds Catholicity, ib. — Is confirmed in his See, p. 33 — Acts of 
 Consistory, ib. note. 
 Character of Reformers ; Report of Royal Commissioners in 1538 condemns 
 them ; Lord Deputy complains of their Incontinency, p. 34 — Dr. Brown, 
 Sir Anthony St. Leger, Sir James Croft, etc., censure them, p. 35 — Notice 
 of the three principal Reformers, Brown of Dublin, Staples of Meath, 
 Bale of Ossory ; their immorality, pp. 35-6. 
 
468 INDEX. 
 
 The Reformation fails in Ireland— Letter of Brown, p. 37 — Testimony of 
 White ; other Letters of Brown, p. 38 — Staples, p. 40 — St. Leger, p. 41— 
 Rejoicings of Catholics at accession of Queen Mary, Kilkenny, p. 42 — 
 Mass restored, p. 43. 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 Appointment of Hugh Curwin to the See of Dublin — His Acta and 
 Apostacy, p. 43. 
 
 Curwin, an Englishman, in his previous life hostile to Queen Mary, is appointed 
 Archbishop ; his opposition to the Franciscans, Peto and Elstow, who 
 defended Rights of Mary, pp. 44-5 — Curwin confirmed by Holy See, p. 46 — 
 Mary's Proclamation regarding him, ib. 
 
 Curwin preaches in Dublin and holds a Synod, p. 47 — Primacy of the Pope 
 proclaimed by Act of Parliament, pp. 48-9 — Restitution of First-fruits, 
 Abbey Lands, &c, p. 49 — Dispensation to hold Ecclesiastical Property 
 granted by Cardinal Pole, p. 60 — Wm. Walsh, Bishop of Meath, p. 51 — 
 (see Appendix, p. 412) — Dr. Bodkin, Archbishop of Tuam, p. 52 (see 
 Appendix, p. 413) — State of Diocese of Anaghduagh, 51 (Appendix, p. 415) 
 — Kindness displayed by Catholics under Mary to Protestants, p. 55. 
 
 Dr. Curwin apostatizes in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, p. 56 — Contrast 
 between him and Dr. Leverous, Dean of St. Patrick's and Bishop of Kildare, 
 p. 57 — Account of Dr. Leverous ; eulogised by Lord Deputy, p. 58 — Par- 
 liament convened inl560 to restore the Reformation-; acts of Government; 
 Liturgy in Latin allowed, p. 61 — Dr. Curwin destroys Images, etc. ; opposed 
 the project of making St. Patrick's a University ; consecrates Dr. Loftus; 
 his Consecration doubtful, pp. 6 2-3 — Chapter of Armagh refused to elect 
 Loftus, p. 63 — Curwin suspected of crimes and removed to Oxford, p. 64 — 
 Dr. Brady of Meath gives unfavourable accounts of him, p. 66. 
 
 The Irish remain devoted to their Eaith ; the Parliament of 1559-60 no proof 
 of their Apostacy, p. 6 6 — Cambrensis Eversus; E. George Dillon, Dr. Roothe, 
 testify to this statement, pp. 67-8 — Oath of Supremacy not exacted ; Book 
 of Common Prayer dispensed with in some places, p. 70 — English language 
 little known in Ireland, pp. 70-1 — Fines for non-attendance at Church ; 
 Report, in 1556, of Lord Deputy, that Reformed Doctrines were almost 
 unknown outside of Armagh, Meath, and Dublin, p. 73 — Little progress 
 made even in those Dioceses, p. 74 — State of Dublin, p. 74 — Armagh, ib. — 
 Meath ; Protestant Bishop's letter, p. 75. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Vacancy of See of Dublin after Apostasy of Curwin. — Administration oj See 
 until end of sixteenth century, p. 77. 
 
 Father David Wolf, S. J., deputed by Holy See to manage Ecclesiastical Mat- 
 ters in Ireland ; instructions given to him, p. 78 (see Appendix, p. 415)— 
 Efforts to establish Catholic Schools, p. 79. 
 
 Letter of Pius V. about the imprisonment of David Wolf and Dr. Creagh, 
 p. 80—Death of David Wolf in 1578, p. 81. 
 
 F. Wolf gives Faculties to Father T. Newman in Dublin, p. 82 — Father White 
 succeeds F. Wolf, p. 82 — Bishops of other dioceses deput d to exercise 
 jurisdiction in Dublin, p. 83 — An Archbishop of Dublin, by name 
 
JNDEX. 
 
 469 
 
 Donaldus ; his history not known, p. 84 — Probably the same as Dr. 
 Donald M'Conghail of Raphoe ; account of him, p. 85 — Letter of Father 
 Wolf regarding his appointment to Raphoe, p. 85 (see Appendix, p. 417) 
 — Andrew Crean, Bishop of Elphin ; Eugene O'Hart, of Achonry, p. 88 — 
 Bishops who assist at Council of Trent, ib.— Complaints about appoint- 
 ment of Bishop, p. 89 — Synod in Armagh in 1569, to publish Council of 
 Trent, p. 89— Death of Dr. M'Conghail, p. 90. 
 Sketches of Irish Character by a Spaniard, in 1679, and by an Irish Bishop, 
 1585, p. 91, seq. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Persecution of Irish Catholics during the reign of Elizabeth, p. 97. 
 
 General view of the Persecution, p. 97 — Account of it by Dr. Peter Lombard, 
 p. 99 — Violence of the Queen's Agents ; her Proclamation of 1591 ; 
 destruction of Irish MSS. ; testimony of Cambrensis Eversus and Dr. 
 Roothe, p. 102 — Sir Peter Carew and Sir Henry Sidney, p. 103. 
 
 Earl of Essex publishes a Proclamation that no Priests are to stay in Dublin, p. 
 103 — Other deeds of violence, p. 104 — Testimony of Henriquez regarding 
 Cistercians, p. 105 — Of Dominiek De Rosario, Florimond Raimond, p. 107 — 
 Curry, p. 107-8 — The Earl of Tirconnell's message to Elizabeth — Leinster 
 Chieftains, p. 108 — Dr. Loftus apersecutor, p. 109 — The Bishop of Ferns 
 also, p. 110 — Sir John Perrott, p. Ill — Base motives of English in perse- 
 cuting Irish described by Dr. Talbot, p. 112 — The Viceroy Fitzsvilliam, 
 ib. — Bryan na Murtha O'Rorke, an Irish Chieftain, put to death in London ; 
 Reproaches the apostate Miler Magrath, p. 1 13 — Declaration of Captain 
 Lee gives many instances of cruelty, p. 113 — Massacre of Mullaghmast, 
 p. 114. 
 
 Cruelty of English officials ; Cosby of Stradbally ; Remarks of Hallam and 
 Dom. De Rosario, p. 114 — This cruelty sanctioned by Government; Testi- 
 mony of Earl of Desmond, p. 115 — Of O'Conor ; Massacre in Dursey 
 Island, p. 116 — State of Ireland, according to O'Sullevan, in 1589, p. 117. 
 
 Devastation of the country ; Testimony of Holinshed, Spenser, pp. 118-9 — Sir 
 George Carew, p. 120 — Dr. Peter Lombard, Sir Henry Sydney, p. 121 — 
 State of Leinster according to Leland, p. 122 — Of Ulster, by same, and 
 Henry Dowcra, pp. 123-4 — Lord Mountjoy, p. 125. 
 
 Famine ensues in Ireland — Sir John Davis and the Secretary of Lord Mount- 
 joy's account of Ulster, p. 126 — Leinster, according to Dowling!s Annals; 
 Munster, according to Holingshed, p. 127 — Moouey and O'Sullevan, p. 
 128. 
 
 Constancy of Irish — Dr. William Walshe of Meath's sufferings, pp. 129-32 — 
 Dr. Dermod O'Hurley, sufferings and death, pp. 132-6 — Dr. Murtagh 
 O'Brien, p. 136— Dr. O'Herlihy, p. 136— Dr. Richard Creagh, p. 138— 
 Dr. Patrick O'Hely, of Mayo, and Cornelius O'Rorke, p. 139 — Sufferings 
 of Priests ; Fergal Ward, F. O'Dowd, O'Hara, O'Lochran, Simmons, 
 O'Rorke, p. 142— Thad. Donald, Hanly, O'Molloy, Dogherty, Ferrall, 
 O'Cullenan, pp. 142-3 — Sufferings of O'Cullenan, p. 144 — Monastery of S. 
 Mary of Maggio in Limerick — Forty Monks put to death, p. 146 — Daniel 
 
470 INDEX. 
 
 O'Nielan of Cloyne put to death ; Scanlan, O'Shea, O'Hanrichan of Kerry, 
 Kinrehan of Tipperary, pp. 146-7 — Case of persecution hi Drogheda ; 
 Protestant ministers' zeal frustrated, pp. 147-8— Escape of the Abbot of the 
 White Friars in Donegal, p. 148— Father Fitzsimons' account of the escape 
 of Father Nigran in the house of Richard Bellings, p. 149. 
 
 Constancy of Catholics ; Testimony of Dr. Loftus, p. 151— Sir John Perrott, 
 p. 153— Dr. Sanders, p, 154— Catholics take Catholic oath, p. 154— Pro- 
 hibition of Irish Dress, p. 154— Miler Magrath's Evidence, p. 155— Apos- 
 tacy of James, seventeenth Earl of Desmond, looked on with horror by 
 Irish, pp. 155-6— Orders from Cecil to poison him, note, p. 156— Eeport 
 of Sir George Carew about the attachment of Irish to Priests, p. 157— 
 Rejoicings at Elizabeth's death, pp. 157-8— Conversion of Protestants, p. 
 158_Testimony of Cambrensis Eversus, Dr. Roothe, Dr. Lombard, F. 
 Henry Fitzsimons, pp. 158-61— Letter of a Schoolmaster from Waterford 
 to Dr. Long of Armagh, note, p. 162. 
 
 Condition of Protestant Church ; Earl of Sussex and Sir Henry Sydney's 
 description of it, p. 164 ; Act of Parliament of 11 Elizabeth; Sir Henry 
 Sidney again, p. 165— Diocese of Meath; Remedies suggested by Lord 
 Deputy, p. 166— Lord Grenville on this question, p. 167 — Spenser's account 
 of Protestant Church, p. 168 — Carte's account of Bishops ; Craik of Kil- 
 dare, Allen of Ferns, Cavenagh of Leighlin, alienate property of sees, pp. 
 
 168-9 Sir John Perrott, ib. — Miler Magrath ; Protestant Bishop of Cloyne 
 
 and Ross deposed ; Dr. Middleton of Waterford ; Dr. Loftus and Spenser 
 describe the bad conduct of Protestant bishops, pp. 169-70— Account of 
 John Devereux, of Ferns, p. 170 — Violence of Parsons ; occurrence in 
 Swords, p. 171 — For Dr. Loftus, see note, ib. 
 
 Appendix, showing the Episeopal Succession of the Catholic Church in 
 Ireland during Elizabeth's reign, p. 172. 
 
 Dr. Todd's Opinion, p. 171. — Murray, Dean of Ardagh, Shirley, Perceval, etc., 
 174. — Dr. Mant's Theory, p. 175. — Mayo, Ross, and Kilmacduagh omitted 
 by Dr. Mant, p. 177. — Armagh not vacant, p. 178. — Seven Sees, Kilmore, 
 P^aphoe, Derry, Kilfenora, Killala, Achonry, not vacant, as Mant sup- 
 poses, pp. 179-80. 
 
 Bishops of Kildare and Meath, Leverous andWalshe, unjustly deprived, p. 182. 
 — Dr. Curwin apostatises in Dublin, p. 183 — Catholic succession in Ardagh, 
 Ossory, Ferns, Leighlin, Cashel and Emly, Waterford, Tuam, Elphin, 
 
 Clonfert, pp. 183-6 Case of Limerick, and Cork, and Cloyne, p. 186. — Dr. 
 
 Mant's Theory examined regarding Clogher, Down and Connor, Ardfert, 
 Killaloe, pp. 187-9— Conclusion, p. 189.* 
 
 * The question of the succession of the Catholic Bishops, in almost every see in Ireland, is 
 examined with great accuracy and erudition in the Irish Ecclesiastical Record, printed oy Mr. 
 Fowler, 3, Crow-street. These articles supply a complete answer to the theories of Dr. Todd 
 on this subject, and to the reckless assertions of Mr. Whiteside and others, who, like h m, dis- 
 cuss Irish ecclesiastical matters of which they have no knowledge whatever. 
 
HISTOKY OF AECHBISHOPS OF DUBLIN. 
 
 VOL. I.— PART II. 
 
 MATTHEW DE OVIEDO. 
 CHAPTER I., p. 194. 
 
 Matthew de Oviedo, a Spanish Franciscan, appointed Archbishop in 1600, 
 p. 193 — Had been previously in Ireland during the Geraldine War in 
 1579 ; Account of that War, its various incidents, p. 196-7. — Brief of 
 Gregory XIII. p. 198 — Account of Spanish General, San Jos£, and his 
 perfidy — Massacre at the Golden Fort, p. 200-5— Dr. Sanders and others, 
 ib. 
 
 Account of the.War of Hugh O'Neill; Mission of d'Oviedo to him, pp. 206-8 — 
 His letters to Earl of Desmond and F. M'Carthy, pp. 208-9— Oviedo 
 returns to Spain, p. 210.— Letter of Paul V. to O'Neil, p. 210— Oviedo 
 returns to Ireland — Disasters of Irish at Kinsale — Sufferings of F. Archer, 
 S. J. , and Collins, a lay brother, 214-5. 
 
 B. Moriai'ty, Vic. Gen. of Dr. d'Oviedo, his sufferings, p. 211 — Robert Lalor, 
 Vic. Gen., p. 219 — F. Bichard Field, and others of the S. J. ; his letter 
 describing sufferings of Catholics, p. 221 — F. Fitzsimons, ib. — Bejoicings 
 for death of Elizabeth, p. 223. 
 
 Edictof Jamesl. against Catholics; Letter of Father Hollywood, p. 225— Father 
 Barnaby Kearney's letter, p. 226 — Dr. White, Vic. -Gen. of Waterford; his 
 letters, p. 228 — Letter of Paul V. ; Letter of Irish to their agent in Rome, 
 describing persecutions, p. 231. 
 
 Conspiracy against Earls of Tyrone and Tirconnell, and their flight, p. 233— 
 Their reception in Rome ; Letter of Dr. Lombard regarding them, p. 233 — 
 Letter of Dr. Kearney, Archbishop of Cashel, on the state of Ireland, p. 
 235— Death of Dr. Oviedo, 236 — Note regarding him and Dr. Ribera 
 of Leighlin, ib. See Appendix xxiv. , p. 465, for death of Hugh O'Neil. 
 
 EUGENE MATTHEWS. 
 CHAPTER II., p. 237. 
 
 Dr. Ecgene Matthews, Bishop of Clogher, translated to Dublin in 1611; 
 Belated to the Earl of Tyrone ; his residence in Rome, p. 237. 
 
 State of Ireland at that time — Confiscation of Ulster ; Trinity College gets 
 3~,000 acres, p. 239 — Confiscations in other counties, Waterford, Dublin, 
 etc. ; new Colonists, their bad character, p, 239 — Desecration of Catholic 
 Churches, p. 240 — Dr. Matthews leaves Borne for Ireland; petitions 
 Paul V. for Faculties, p. 241. 
 
472 
 
 CHAPTER III., p. 242. 
 
 Eulogies of Dr. Matthews ; contrast with Knox, appointed the same year 
 Bishop of Raphoe, who was a great enemy of Catholics, p. 243 — Sufferings 
 of Catholics described by O'Sullevan Beare, p. 244— Sufferings of Father 
 Helan, a Franciscan ; of Dr. O'Devany, Bishop of Down ; and Patrick 
 O'Luorchain, priest of Cork, pp. 247-9 — Words of O'Sullevan regarding the 
 love of the Irish for their Clergy, p. 250. 
 
 CHAPTER IV., p. 251. 
 
 Meeting of Parliament called by the Viceroy, Chichester ; his efforts to secure 
 a majority ; creation of Boroughs, &c, p. 252— Sir John Davis appointed 
 Speaker by the King, p. 252 — Catholic Deputies refuse to attend at Protes- 
 tant service ; Elect Sir John Everard as Speaker, p. 255 — Send a 
 Deputation to the King, p. 257, without effect — Parliament sanctions 
 confiscation of the property of the Princes of Tyrone and Tirconnell, p. 259 
 
 CHAPTER V., p. 259. 
 
 Dangers to which Dr. Matthews was exposed ; Letters from Dublin, and Letter 
 of an Irish Jesuit, p. 260 — Testimonies of Dr. Kearney, Archbishop of 
 Armagh, and Dr. Roothe — Relatio to the Propaganda on the persecutions, 
 written by Dr. Matthews, p. 263. 
 
 CHAPTER VI., p. 266. 
 
 Provincial Synod in Kilkenny in 1614 ; inaccurate edition of its acts in 1770 ; 
 Correctly published in Appendix to this life, p. 439 — Account of the Sta- 
 tutes of this Provincial Synod taken from Dr. Meagher's notice of Most 
 Rev. Dr. Murray's life, p. 267 — Abstinence in Irish Church, &c, p. 270. 
 
 CHAPTER VII., p. 272. 
 
 Provincial Synod of Armagh held by Dr. Roothe, in 1618 ; its decrees adopted 
 by all Ireland — Duties of Parish Priests ; Abuses in connexion with Wakes 
 and Funerals, p. 273, with the Festivals, etc., p. 274, see Appendix, 427. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII., p. 276. 
 
 Conversion of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormond, and of G. Geraldine, Earl of 
 Kildare, p. 276 — College in Louvain for Irish Students, founded by Philip 
 III. ; Distinguished Irishmen there ; Irish Dominican College there ; 
 College in Paris founded by Messingham ; Colleges in Bordeaux and 
 Spain, p. 277-8— Petition to the Pope, in 1617, to grant permission to 
 fish on coast of Andalusia on Sundays, in order to support Irish College, 
 p. 278. 
 
INDEX. 473 
 
 Dr. Matthews founds Burses in Louvain, p. 279 — Goes to Bome and petitions 
 for means to educate Irish youth, p. 280— Six Burses founded by 
 Propaganda in Louvain for Irish, p. 281. 
 
 Faculties for ordaining Irish Students in Foreign Colleges obtained in Bome by 
 Dr. Matthews, p. 282 — Progress of Beligious Orders ; Account of Irish 
 Bishops, few at this period in Ireland, p. 285— State of Beligion in 
 Dublin, p. 286. 
 
 Death of Dr. Matthews in Bome, buried in S. Pietro, in Montorio, p. 287 — See 
 his Epitaph, Appendix No. xxiv., p. 465. 
 
 CHAPTEB IX., p. 288. 
 
 Writings of Dr. Matthews ; his Beport on the state of Beligion in Ireland ; 
 presented to the Propaganda in 1623 ; Attachment of Irish to Catholicity 
 admitted by our enemies ; List of Bishops who had suffered for the Faith 
 given by Dr. Matthews ; Suggestions for preserving the Faith, p. 289 — 
 Spoliation of Ecclesiastical Property described in same Beport, p. 292. 
 
 THOMAS FLEMING. 
 CHAPTEB X., p. 294. 
 
 Dr. Fleming succeeds Dr. Matthews, son of Baron of Slane ; account of 
 Family ; Dr. Fleming a Franciscan, p. 295 — Studies in Louvain with great 
 success ; Colgan's Eulogy of him, p. 296 — F. Anthony Hickey and Hugh 
 M'Caghwell his masters; Account of M'Caghwell, p. 297 — Dr. Fleming 
 consecrated in Louvain, in 1623 ; Obtains the privilege for Irish Students 
 of being promoted without DimisBorials from their own Bishops, p. 299 — 
 Opening of Pastoral College, Louvain ; Letter of Dr. Conry, of Tuam, and 
 Dr. Fleming, p. 300 — Solicitude of Dr. Fleming for Foreign Colleges ; 
 Colleges in Bome, Douay ; Letter of Bishops of Cork, Ossory, and Dublin 
 on this subject, p. 303. 
 
 CHAPTEB XI., p. 304. 
 
 Penal Laws in full force at the time of Dr. Fleming's appointment ; Letter 
 from Dublin on this subject, pp. 304-5 — Lord Falkland, Viceroy, a hater 
 of Catholics ; Letter of a Franciscan from Dublin, p. 307 — Dr. Fleming 
 arrives in Ireland ; his letter to Nuncio in Brussels, p. 308 — Efforts of 
 Protestant Clergy to excite persecution — Declaration of Usher and several 
 other Protestant Bishops against Catholics, p. 311 — Catholics offer assis- 
 tance and subsidies to King, p. 312 — Letter of a Carmelite giving a cheer- 
 ing account of things, p. 313 — Proclamation against Catholics, p. 315. 
 
 The Protestant Archbishop of Dublin closes Carmelite Church in Cook-street ; 
 Disturbances, p. 317 — Beligious Houses and Churches closed, p. 319 — 
 Violent persecution, p. 320 — Proclamation against Friars, Nuns, etc., p. 
 321 — Spread of Catholic Beligion ; Justice Cressy ; Bishop Bedell, p. 323 — 
 Catholic University proposed by Dr. Fleming, p. 323 — State of Diocese o 
 Dublin described by Dr. Fleming, p. 324. 
 
474 INDEX. 
 
 State of Protestant Church ; Letter'of Dr. Roche, of Ferns, p. 325— Bramhall, 
 Protestant Bishop, describes Protestant Church, pp. 326-7 — Usher, Bedell, 
 Vesey, Viscount Wentworth, on Protestant Church, pp. 328-9. 
 
 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XL, p. 332. 
 
 Purgatory of St. Patrick — Penitential practices described by Messingham, p. 
 332 — Poetical accounts of place by Calderon, Dante, Ariosto ; Protestants 
 avail themselves of the poetic accounts to assail the place, p. 334 — Dr. 
 Lynch's account, p. 335 — Rinuccini; Dr. Hugh M'Mahon's Relation to 
 Propaganda, pp. 336-7 — Dr. De Burgo ; Bollandists ; Dr. Kelly's Cam- 
 brensis Eversus ; Dr. Neary, etc. , pp. 338-9. 
 
 CHAPTER XII., p. 340. 
 
 Zealous labours of Dr. Fleming ; Dr. Roothe and northern Bishops bear testi- 
 mony to his merits ; Testimonies of various Religious Orders ; Father 
 Colgan, pp. 342-3. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII., p. 343. 
 
 Dr. Fleming recommends the appointment of Bishops to vacant Sees ; Letter 
 of Dr. Fleming and Dr. Hugh O'Reilly to the Holy See, recommending 
 Dr. Magennis, Dr. Malachy O'Queely, p. 345 — His letter about Diocese of 
 Ferns and Dr. John de Cruce, p. 347 — Letter of Earl of Tyrone, p. 348— 
 Appointment of Dr. John De Burgo to Clonfert, Dr. O'Dempsey to 
 Kildare, Dr. Richard Conald to Ardfert, Dr. O'Queely to Tuam, Dr. Emer 
 M'Mahon to Clogher, Dr. Dillon to Achonry, pp. 350-4— Dr. P. Crolly 
 appointed Vicar- Apostolic of Clogher after death of Dr. Emer M'Mahon, 
 p. 354. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV, p. 355. 
 
 Writers on Irish History in XVIIth century ; Messingham, Colgan, Fleming, 
 Wadding, Roothe, Lynch, White, Keating, MacFirbiss ; Dr. Fleming a 
 patron of such writers ; Testimony of Colgan, Wadding, p. 356 — Proposed 
 History of Ireland by Wadding ; Letters of Dr. Fleming and Dr. Walshe 
 of Cashel, regarding it, p. 357 — Messingham, accounts given by him of 
 Dr. Roothe's works, p. 358 — Michael O'Cleary ; Martyrology of Donegal, 
 and Genealogy of Irish Saints, approved by Dr. Fleming, p. 360 — Four 
 Masters; F. Stephen White, S.J. ; Commission given by Superior of 
 Jesuits to examine his work ; Irish Bishops propose to publish it, pp. 
 361-2. 
 
 CHAPTER XV, p. 363. 
 
 Irish Franciscan Missionaries in Scotland ; Paul V. sends Franciscans to Scot- 
 land ; Dr. Lombard of Armagh charged' with Scotch missions, p. 363 — Dr. 
 
INDEX. 475 
 
 Fleming succeeds him ; hia letter to Nuncio in Brussels ; Relatio of F. 
 Ward, pp. 364-5 — Dr. Magennis, of Down and Connor, takes charge of 
 said Missions, p. 366 — F. Patrick Hagarty ; Difficulties of the Mission, 
 pp. 367-8. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI., p. 369. 
 
 Policy of Government to excite dissensions among Irish clergy ; proof from 
 Clarendon papers, pp. 369-70 — Disputes about right to ancient property ; 
 Dr. Roothe's opinion that Religious Orders did not strictly belong to 
 Hierarchy ; Exercise of Parochial Duties and other causes of dispute ; 
 Quarta Funeralium, etc., pp. 371-2 — Propositions attributed to Regulars 
 by Peter Caddell and Patrick Harris ; Account of those two Priests ; 
 scandal committed by them ; Harris suspended by Dr. Fleming ; Patrick 
 Cahill removed from SS. Michael and John's, p. 376 — Dr. Dease, Bishop 
 of Meath, commissioned to suspend Harris ; Harris protected by Govern- 
 ment, pp. 378-9 — Termination of the scandals by the appointment of each 
 Archbishop to be Apostolic-Delegate, p. 380. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII., p. 381. 
 
 Appointment of Lord Strafford to be Viceroy ; alarm in Ireland ; Deputation 
 of Catholics to him, p. 381— Letter of Bishop of Ferns expressing hopes, 
 ib. — Bigotry of Protestant Bishops ; Francis Slingsby ; exertions of 
 Countess of Kildare for Catholics, p. 383 — Viceroy obtains subsidy from 
 Catholics, and then betrays them, p. 384— Letter of Dr. Roche, ib.— 
 Attempts of Strafford to confiscate Connaught; Gravamina Hibernias 
 addressed to the Pope in 1640, p. 385 — High Commission Court ; Court of 
 Wards ; and other vexatious Institutions, p. 388. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII., p. 391. 
 
 Synod of Kilkenny in 1624, p. 391 — Dr. Roothe's Cautio Ecclesiastica, p. 392 
 — Patrick CahiD, and his Charges against the Regulars, p. 393 — Assembly 
 of Prelates in Drogheda ; several Bishops consecrated by Dr. Fleming, p. 
 394 — Meeting of Bishops of Leinster and Munster, 1629, in Kilkenny ; its 
 decrees, p. 396 — Appendix, p. 434. — Letter of Dr. Roche of Ferns on state 
 of Irish Church, ib. — Other Synods, p. 399 — Synod of Tyrchogir, near 
 Portarlington ; its decrees, p. 400 — Appendix, 463. — Progress of Reli- 
 gion ; Establishment of Capuchins in Dublin, p. 402 — Foreign Colleges ; 
 Rev. Laurence Sedgrave and Rev. James Talbot, both of Dublin, give 13,000 
 florins to College in Antwerp ; strict Rules of that College, p. 403 — Visit to 
 lirnina apostolorum to be made every ten years — Sentence of excommuni- 
 cation valid when inflicted only viva voce, p. 404 — Resolutions of Propa- 
 ganda ; Bishops consulted on them, p. 405— Bishops' Reply, ib. — Letter of 
 Bishops to Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda, p. 408, see Appendix, 437 — 
 Delegation of Archbishops to put an end to controversy about Regulars, 
 p. 409 — Dr. Fleming deputed to examine the ease of William Ward and 
 Edward Barton, who had ' suffered for the faith in London ; Civil war 
 prevents the fulfilment of this commission, p. 410. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. (p. 51 in the text.) 
 
 Papers connected with the appointntment of Dr. William Walsh to Meath, 
 p. 412. 
 
 II. (p. 52.) 
 Papers connected with Dr. Bodkin of Tuam, p. 413. 
 
 III. (p! 51.) 
 
 State of Diocese of Anaghduagh united to Tuam, p. 415. 
 
 IV. (p. 78.) 
 
 Instructions to agents of the Holy See in Ireland for the management of 
 Ecclesiastical Affairs, p. 415. 
 
 V. {p. 85.) 
 
 Letter of F. Wolf, S.J., to Cardinal-Protector of Ireland, p. 417. 
 
 VI. (p. 77.) 
 
 Paper presented in 1563 to Cardinal-Protector, proposing names for the 
 vacant See of Armagh, p. 419. 
 
 VII. (p. 80.) 
 
 Letter of St. Pius V. to the Nuncio in Spain, ordering him to induce the 
 King to intercede with Elizabeth for the liberation of Dr. Creagh of 
 Armagh, and Father Wolf, from prison in Dublin, p. 420. 
 
 VIII. (p. 196.) 
 Letter of Dr. Sanders to Cardinal of Como on the Geraldine War, p. 421. 
 
 IX. (p. 197.) 
 Extracts of Letters to Nuncio in Spain from Dr. Sanders, p. 421. 
 
INDEX. 477 
 
 X. Cp- 201.) 
 
 Letter of Dr. Sanders regarding the Massacre of the Golden Fort, and 
 the treachery of San Jos£, p. 422. 
 
 XI. (p. 200.) 
 Other letters of Dr. Sanders, p. 424. 
 
 XII. (p. 201.) 
 Letter of Alessandro Bertona da Faenza, p. 425. 
 
 XIII. (p. 196.) 
 
 Letter of Earl of Desmond, sent by the Nuncio in Madrid to Cardinal 
 Secretary of State, p. 425. 
 
 XIV. (.p. 83.) 
 Faculties given by Gregory XIII. to Dr. White, p. 426. 
 
 XV. (pp. 84, 193.) 
 Brief appointing Dr. De Oviedo Archbishop of Dublin, p. 426. 
 
 XVI. (p. 272.) 
 
 Decrees published by Dr. Boothe in a Provincial Meeting of Clergy of the 
 Province of Armagh, p. 427. 
 
 XVII. (p. 234.) 
 
 Beport of Dr. Kearney, Archbishop of Cashel, on the State of Religion in 
 Ireland, 1609, p. 431. 
 
 XVIIL (p. 395.) 
 
 Acts and Decrees of several Bishops at a Meeting held in Kilkenny in 1629, p. 
 434. 
 
 XIX. (p. 408.) 
 
 Letter of the Four Archbishops of Ireland to the Cardinal of Propaganda, 
 about appointing an Agent in Borne, p. 437. 
 
 XX. (p. 408.) 
 
 Letter of same, thanking Cardinal Protector, and appointing Dr. O'Dwyer 
 Agent, p. 437. 
 
 XXI. (p. 396.) 
 Letter of Dr. Roche, Bishop of Ferns, p. 438. 
 
478 INDEX. 
 
 XXII. (p. 266). 
 
 Acta of Provincial Synod, held in Kilkenny, in 1514, by Dr. Matthews, p. 439. 
 
 XXIII. (p. 400.) 
 
 Acts of Provincial Synod, held in Tyrchogir, in 1640, p. 463. 
 
 XXIV. (p. 287.) 
 
 Epitaphs of Most Rev. Eugene Matthews and of Hugh O'Neil, p. 465. 
 
 As the author could not correct the press, some mistakes may have crept in, 
 which will be mentioned in the second volume. We give the following correc- 
 tions for the present : — 
 
 Page 67, line antepenultima, for Preface read Appendix. 
 , , 90, The three lines placed before the Note should be placed 
 
 at the end of it. 
 ,, 116, line 24, for Limerick read Smerwick. 
 ,, 188, „ 20, ,, 1569 ,, 157|- 
 
 „ 308, ,, 17, ,, Charles II. ,, Charles I. 
 ,, 424, ,, 34, ,, 1850 „ 1580. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
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