554
..
HISTORY O F
HISTORY O F
LIMERICK.
receive any prooumtions or extort anything by exnctions in the places visited, as they had houses
of their own in every part of the diocese to whicli they could conveniently rcsort.
2. That when thc deanery became vacant, the dcnu was to be chosen by die common clectiou of
tha whole, or the grcater or better part of the chapter, which election, when made according to
the canons, thc bishop shouldrntify and confirm without any contradiction.
3. That thc bishop should not confer, by any means, the other dignities of the chnpter on
strangers, when thcy should appear to fall vacnnt, but upon such of the canons of the chapter who
were conspicuous for the regularity- of their morals, and that by the advice of the canons, or the
greater o; battcr part of them.
S. Whcn the lesser prebends become vacant, they may be conferred by the bishop, by the advice of the canons, or ihe greater or better part of them, on strnngers,- but snch only as were
willing and nblo to rclievc the Church in its necessities and defend it from unjust grievances.
6. That no future bishop wss to alienate in any manner or transfer the lands of the Church
or its possessions to any persons whatsoever, without n prcvious treaty with the wholc chapter, or
the greater or better part of it, to see how far it may be expedient for the utility of the Church.
6. That no future bishop wag t o claim to himself the whole or any part of the commons granted
by the preceding bishops, or any others, to the dean and chapter of the Church of Limerick,nor
lcsscn thcm, his authority at the same time remaining in full force of admonishing the dean,
and thnt he should endeavour by all possible means to enlarge the commons, dignities, and
prebends, and their liberties.
7. Thnt ten chuplains at least bc mnintnined in the aforesaid cat11edr:d church henceforward,
~ 1bound
1 to say Mass daily
who bcsides discharging the duo service of the said church, ~ 1 ~Le
for the liviug and dcccascd bencfactorsof said church, for who111 n competent provision be given,
according to their said merits, out of the commons due to the chapter and CMmS by certain
persous dcpnted by the snid chapter for that purpose, and thnt what remainb be deposited in the
treasury of said church for the purpose of dcfending the rights of snid church, and what share of
said commons m;Ly remain over and nbove is to be reserved to be disposed of by the cwons, to
their own uso and advantngo. But that the liberty granted to the dean and chapter by Hubert
of happy memoiy, heretohre bishop of that church, and which was enjoyed in his days and the
days of his succcssor Robert for forty ycnrs and upwards, without contradiction, should seem
to be lapsed by any dissimulntion, we have thought right to insert it in this present writ, viz:That tlrc doan of the cathedral may be enabled freely to visit all the prebends belonging to the
aforesaid church by his own authority at the times appointed by the law, 80 that uo bishop may
claim a right of visiting thcm, neithcr by himself nor by his oflicers.
A copy of the above decd is in the Black Book of the Bishops of Limcrick, pag. 53, et heq., and a confirmation of it by Bisho Gerald in all
points in pag. 54. So much has been said of this boo in this work,
and it is so important in illustrating the history of the Church of Limerick
at this period, that we give in the note1 a brief description of it, with further spccin~cnsof its contents.
e
1 The I X e r Niger, or Black Book of tlle Bishops of Limerick, is so freqcntly refcrred to, thnt
thc reader will not be displeased at our translating 3, few specimcns of the entries in that very
curious volume of MSS., which is at present among the O'l<enchan MSS. in the library of
tllc Royal College, Mnynooth, and which is a remarkable compilation of charters, statutes,
agreements, and trnnsactions between bishops, tenants, and abbots, as well as of grants, etc.,
etc., connccted with thc cathcdrnl Church of St. hlary's, Limerick. I t appears that the Liber
N i p r was lent to thc late Bcrx Rev. Dr. O'Kenchan, President of blaynooth College, by the
late Right Rev. Dr. Ryan, Catholic Bishop of Limerick; and being amongst Dr. O'ltenehan's books
ut the time of his dcath, it passed into Afaynooth Library, where, by permission of the ltight
Rev. Dr. Butler, Catholic Bishop of Limerick, it is at present, bnt it is the property of the
diocese of Limerick. The "Little Black Book" is preserved in the Protestant Registrar's office of
the diocese. [A legible and exact copy of the Liler Niger has been made for the library of
Trinity College, Dublin, by permission of the Very &CV.President of Maynooth.] The L i 6 ~
N j e r contains an ancient taxation of the diocese and other matters not in the index, of which
the following are specimcns in Latin with a transhtion:
TABULA
IBSTBUNEWORUN ECCI.BSIAE
LYLI. LY PRESEXTI VOLUXINE CESTEHTORUY.
I. U F d s Concordin inter Gerd. Epm. Iqmer. pctentem et Rogerum G u m David et hbellam mo. ejus tencntes, de xxiiii. acris tre cum pertinenciis in Kidcach".
[Final a g g m e n t betwecn Gerd., Bishop of Lunerick, pl,nintX, and Roger FitrDavid and
bbells h
i
s wife, tenants of xxiv. acresof land with the appurtenances thereof in Kidcach.]
111. Inter David de Barry et Epm. Lymer de feria Kyllociae".
[&twmn David de Bnrry and the Bishop of Limerick about a fair 3 IEialloc.]
X. Inter Henricu. M o t p g qnerent et Kobertn. Epm. Lymer. impedientem de presentatione
Eccle. de Nantenan.
LIMERICK.
CHAPTER LVI.
DEALINGS WITH THE CHURCII POSSESSIONS-TAXATION OF POPE NICHOLAB
-THE TAXATION ATTRIBUTED T O BISHOP O'DEA, PARXSIISS AND PATRONS, ETC., PRESERVED I N WHITE'S PSS., ETC., ETC.-TEE SUCCESSION
OB BISHOPS, ETC.
On the 11th January, A D., 12'72, Gerald or Geoffry le Maxeschal, Archdeacon of Limerick, was raised by royal license to the bishopric, the Archbishop of Cashel having receivedamandate to consecrate him. Previously to
his election the king ganted the custody of the temporalities to him for one
ear, savin knisht's fees, advowsons, wards, rclicf's, and escheats, which
Ke reserve to h~mselelf. He governed the see for twenty-nine years, and
recovered some usurped or forcibly alienated possessions, and in particular
certain lands and woods which Bishop Robcrt, his predeceeso.-, without
the assent of the chapter, had granted to Richard Me~jagh(May). Gerald
made certain constitutions which are extant in the Black Book-constitutions, it need not be added, strictly in conformity with the Roman ritual.
The kings of England continued, indeed, to exercise their influence in the
cf
LBetween Henry Motyng, plaintiff, and Robert Bishop of Limerick, defendant, respecting the
presentation to the Church of Nantenan.]
XIII. Inter Gerd. Epm. querent et Johem. Dundon et Johanna uxor ejus, is impendcntcs de
uno messuag. cum pertin. in Lymer.".
[Between Gerd. Bishop of Limerick, pl. nnd John Dundon and Johanna his wife, defendant4
respecting one messuage with its appurtenances in Limerick.]
XX. " Instrumcnta de KylmehaIloc et aliis trs. ad Ecc. in Lym. spectantibusn.
[Deeds respecting Kilmallock and other lands belonging to the Church in Limerick.]
XXI. " Inquisit capta per Mylerii fil. Hen. super. terras prcdic!'
[Inquisition held by Myler FitzHenry of the lands aforesaid.]
XXVIII. "Carta Donaldi Regis Lymer.".
[Charter of Donald King of Limerick.]
XXVII. Quieta clamantia Epi. Laonensis auper tra. de Divenathinor".
[Quit-claim (release) of the Bishop of Killaloe for the land of Divennthinor.]
XXXIX. " Concessio et confirmatio Epis. Lymer. super beneficiis de Glyncorbry".
[Grant and confirmation of the Bishop of Limerick of the benefices of Glencorbry.]
LIV. " Assignatio decimmm et oblationum fca. canonicis Lymer per Epos. ejusdem lociw.
[Assignment of the tithes and offerings made to the canons of Limerick by the bishop of
the same place.]
LIX. "Inquisitio capta mandnto Domni Regis super decimas piscarurn et molendinorum
utrumque pertineant ad Thesauriam Lymer. vel ad capellam castri re& de Lymer!'.
[Inquisition hold by ordrr of our lord the king into the tythes of fisheries-[Until about
sitxy years ago, the first take of salmon andoysters belonged to the Minor Canons of the cathadral, as may be seen from their books. The Corporation at present enjoy this privilegsl-and
mills, and whether they belong to the treasury of Limerick, or to the chapel of the king's
castle of Limerick.]
LXIII. " Canonica obedientia fca Epo Lymer. per Malachiam rectore emlie. de ArtpatrickW.
[Canonical obedience paid to the Bishop of Limerick by the rector of the church of Ardpatrick.]
LV. "Solutio facta in curia Romans per Epis. Lymer".
[Payment mnde in the Roman Court by the Bishop of Limerick.]
LXXI. Obligatio et quiets clamantia Maur le Marescal super tra. de A&&.
[Bond and release of Maur le Marescal of the lands of Ardagh.]
LXXIII. 'LLibertates concessae Eccle. Lymer. et ab Epis. et canonicis ejusdem loci.
[Liberties granted to the chnrch of Limerick and to the abbots, biihopq and canons of the
same place.]
Between 1204 and 1207 we have the "ordinance of Donat, Biahop of Limerick, on the divine
o&ce to be performed in the church of Limerick", containing regulations respecting masses,
benefices, e h , etc. And L' the charter of Thornss de Wodeford of the land and baildime;. containedwithin the precincts of the Dean's Close". And U the ancient statutes of the Church and
Chapter of Limerick". Dated 1298. [Thie is a oontirmation of preceding oonventio~.]
556
HISTORY OF LIMEBICX,
. .IIISTORY OP LIMERICK.
nomination of bishops, and sought to preserve the up er hand in ecclesiitical
affairs, as had been the case in the time of Henry I I., when a great council
of the English prelates summoned by Otto, the Pope's le ate, was interfered
with by the king, who sent several of his barons to t e council, having
commissioned them to prohibit the establishment of anything contraq to
the king's crown and &pity.
The attention bestowed by si~ccessivepopes on the Church of Ireland, and
on the government and interests of the ~sountry,is,however, plainly apparent
from the evidences of concurrent history. Pope Nicholas, about this time,
m d c a taxation of several Irish sees, and amonn others of the See of
Limerick, which, with the taxations of G ~ h e l ,%aterford, Cloyne, and
Cork, was discovered some years ago among the records of Westminster
by Mr. Vanderzee, and which are pnnted in the aecand report of the Commissioners of Public Records of Ireland. We abstract as much of this taxlation as its useful to our purpose:-
P
f
TAXATION OF THE SEE AND OF TEE CHAPIXR.
A.D. 1291. By authority of Pope Innocent IV.
Redditus et
Proventus
Episcopi
Lymericensis in omnibus-viii iiiU iii'xid ob Dec. xviu vi. iiikaob.
* Bona L3mericensis
Episcopi
Spiritucdia et
tempor&, iii" siiii.: xvii.' vi.* ob.
Redditus et
Proventus
-.S
iid
Decani, x d v . " ii.' viii?
9,
Redclitus
Proecentoris
in omnibus, S.'XYL"viid
,, XSV.' viiadO.Q.
Red&tns
Cancellarii
in omnibus, xuvii." viiii*
h.' &P ob.
Redditus
Thesaurarii
in omnibus, siii.'
,, xlviii?
Redditus
Archidhconi
in omnibus, ~ ~ ~ i xi*
i i .vlP
"
lvii.' l.d 0.q.
Ecclesia de
Tpllachbreck G.' X%.* Ga
xv.'
Ecclesh de
Croch
vLB$2 ob.
,, XL*0.p.
,,
,,
,,
.. .
,,
xiii.' iiii.
(St. Munchin's?), vi." xiii.' V.&
Prrebendade
Arctatny
(Ardcanny), v." ii'
99
Prmbenda de
Ballycathan
vi' viii.
(Ballycahane), iiiUvi.@viiLd
Ecclesia de
Dovenachmore
X. oiiid
(Donoughmore), vu vl.' viii? ,,
Ecclesia de
v.' iiii
lyii;. iiii.d 9,
Diserto
Portio de
Kylbecan
(Kilpeacon ?) iiiUxvl.' v K a ,,
Taxatio Ecclesiarium ad
Communia
Spectantium
(i.e. the common
Estate of the Dean
ii." X.'
ob.
and Chapter), XXXV.' ii.' iLd
Communia Ecclesia: beatre Mariae de Lymerick ad stipendium Vicariorum
ibidem deservientium. Inde nichi1.l
Another ancient taxation which is reserved in Latin in White's MS81
gives an account of the parishes, bene ces, chapels, and other regulations of
the Diocese of Limerick, which the Rev. James White (the compiler of the
MSS.) states he copied from an old MS. which Dr. Jasper W bite: Pastor of St. John's parish, wrote, and which was in the custody of the Rev.
John Lehy, a succeeding astor of that parish? W e believe that this taxation is generally attribute to the time of Bishop O'Dea, of whom, in the
succeeding chapter, we shall have much to write. The following is S translation of this most valuable and interesting document, which we give hcre,
though not in exact chronological order4:This is the taxation and the procuration of the diocese of Limerick, as I,
Jasper White, have found in torn rolls among the books of my brother, Edmond White, Canon of Ardcanty, written with his hand in the year 16658 ;and
also among the same writings of my most reverend and most illustrious Lord
Bishop, James Dowley ; and in order that these writings should not perish,
I have thought it worth my while to transcribe them here, and leave them to
posterity ; and I have added the patron saints of the parish which I have been
able to find.
,,
,,
+
I
B
So far the Rev.
Dr. Jasper White.
1 This valuation, with the exception of the two items to which an asterisk is prefixed, is printed in vol. ii. of the Reports of the Irish Record Commissioners. These items are taken from
the roll in the Exchequer Ofice, London. Cotton's Fad.
P I find by an entry in a copy of the Douny Bible in my possession, printed by Constnrier,
1665, that the Rev. Jasper White lived in Limerick in the year 1668. The following is the
entry: "This Booke belongetli to Dr. Jasper White, priest, Limerick, the which he ban#
the 18th of April, 1668, for the sum of ten shillingsand eight pence sterlg?
It is still in being. [Note by Dr. Young].
The li'iht Rev. Dr. Young and the Very Rev. DCMCussen mde margind notes in the
MSS, which I give.
558
S.
The Decanate (Deanery) of Limerick.
The cathedral and parochial church of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
dedicated to the same on the 15th day of August, on which day the
ofice of the dedication is celebrated Ut), with an octave in the city,
and without an octave in the diocese.
Nota bene that I, Jasper White, met, written in the calendar of an old
breviary belonging to the diocese of Limerick, the Sunday after the
16th of July to be the day assigned for the dedication of the cathedral
of Limerick, with an octave; but a continued tradition assures us of the
contrary, and that the 15th of August is the proper day for the dedication, as Dr. Jasper White has affirmed above.
The parish church of St. Munchin, the patron saint of the whole city,
whose festival is celebrated on the 2nd day of January.
I t is a prebend or canonry. The vicar has one half of the fruits, and
0
the prebend the other half. I t pays
The parish church of St. Nicholas, Bishop and Confessor, whose festival is celebrated on the 6th of September. Its vicariate (vicarage)
belongs to the college of the vicars choral. No traces of this church
exist ; but it was near the King's Castle, on the south side. It pays...
0
The parish church of St. John the Baptist, whose festival is celehrated on the 24th day of June,
1
N.B.-Many
say it is dedicated to the decollatjon of St. John, y*
9th of August.
The churches and chapels of this deoanate in the county of Thomond
(Clare), viz :-the parish church of Killilee,' whose patron is Lelia, Virgin, and skter of St. Munchin, as it is said, whose festival is celebrated
on the 11th August. I t belongs to the prebend of Donoughmore. [To
this church of Killilee belong three Cratalaghs, viz :-Cratalagh More,
Cratalagh Keyil, and Cratalagh Moykil and Counagh.] The parish church
of Keilfintennn. [To this church belong part of the church of Sixmile Bridge, the Oil Mills, Ballydane east and west, Breakhill, Moyhill, Ballymorris, Portvine, and Garrine Curragh.] The place of this
church is commonly called Crochane.
p n MSS. bf Dr. Young after brackets.]
The parish church of Kielinaghta, the chapel of St. Thomas on the
Mountain, at a place called Ballybuchalane, near Cratloe.
[In Dr. Young's English.]
The chapel of Keilrush," near the River Shannon; the chapel of Reilchuain, near Parteen; it belongs to the treasurer. The patron of this
chapel is St. Covanus, A.bbot, on the day.
9
Churches and chapels of this decanate of Limerick, in the southern
side of the city, in the county of Limerick, outside the walls, viz :The parish church of St. Michael the Archangel, entirely destroyed
in the time of Cromwell, near the walls, outside the West Watergate.
His festival is celebrated on the 29th day of September. I t belongs to
the archdeacon.
0
The parish church of St. Lawrence the Nartyr, whose festival is celebrated m the 10th of August with an octave. The presentation belongs to the corporation of the mayor and aldermen. It pays
1
The parish 4 u r c h of St. Patrick, Bishop and Confessor, and Patron
...
...
...
55 9
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
l. r
...
...
d.
of dl Ireland, whose festival is celebrated on the 17th day of March :
the churah is entirely destroyed. I t belongs to the treasurer, and the
tithes of all the mills of Limerick and Singland belong to it,
The parish church of Kilmurray, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen,
...
22nd day of July,
The parish church of Derighealavain, dedicated to St. Nicholas,
Bishop and Confessor, on the 6th day of December. I t is entirely a
.=.
rectory (sst rectoria integra).
The parish church of Donoughmore is a prebend, and dedicated
The parish church of Cahirivalaha, dedicated to St. Thomas, Apostle,
...
21st day of December. I t belungs to the treasurer.
The church of Caihiornairy, dedicated to St. Nicholas, Bishop and
Confessor, 6th day of December. I t belongs to the dean by gift from
the Lord D.D. Robert of Emly, or Xeil, Bishop of Limericl- anno
Domini, 1253.
...
The parish church of Criochoura, dedicated to the blessed Apostles
Peter and Paul, 29th day of June. The vicarage (or vicariate)' belongs
to the college of the vicars of Limerick.
The parish church of Keilbecan, near Kilpeacon. It is a prebend,
...
dedicated to St. Becan, on the day.
The parish church of Knock-na-Ghauill, dedicated to St. Brigid,
Virgin, 1st day of February. I t belongs to the precentor.
...
The parish church of Peadamuir (Fedamore) and Bailione. Dedicated
to decollation of St. John Baptist, 29th day of Aupst,
The parish church of Ballinanhiny, or Fanningstown.
The parish church of Keilchidy, dedicated to the holy Apostles
dimon and Jude, 28th day of October,
The parish church of Mongret. I t belongs to the dean. Dedicated
to St. Patriok, the 17th day of March.
The chapel of Keililin, near St. John's Gate. I t belongs entirely to
the dean.
The chapel of Fearan-na-guilleagh, now called Ross Brien, of which
no traces are left. I t formerly belonged to some monks of the
ahapel de Rastro or Ratuird. I t belongs to the parish priest (psro'
chialis) of Limerick, whose vicarage belongs to the college of Twars.
The chapel of Baillione, part of the pariah of Feadamuir.
The chapel or temple of Friarstown, commonly called Ballynabrair.
The chapel of Sen na ghauil, perhaps Knock na ghauil.
The chapel of Keilcuain de Achinis, between Ballinanhiny and
Feadamuir. I t belongs to the precentor.
The chapel or temple of Keilna Cailly, near the bridge of Claireene,
whose patron is Enat or Ethna.
or Newtovvn, near CarrigoThe chapel of St. Margaret in
guinell, 20th day of July.
There are also,in Limerick three monasteries, viz. :
The monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, near Ball's
...
Bridge,
The monastery of St. Saviour, of the Dominicans,
The Monastery of St. Francis [in the place commonly called the
Abbey7.
The temple of St. Peter, which was that of the Canonessev of St.
Augustine.
...
...
...
......
9
9
6
...
...
...
\,
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
0
...
...
9
...
6
1 The parish of Kilely or Kille6ly, also cdled Meelick, three miles N. W. from Limerick. In
the R,C. divisions, partly in the Parish of Meelick and partly in that of Thomond Gate, or St.
Lelia--(Lawis's Topog.).
Called Old Church dose by which is the residence of the Honourable Robert O'Briea
...
...
The parenthesis is my own
...
B
...
...
These brackets arh in the orio$naL
560
. HI
STORY OF LIMERICK.
BISTORY OF LIMERICK.
I
There was aleo in Limerick, near Quay Lane, the Church of the Holy
Rood.
The Deeanate of Kilmallock.
The collegiate and parish church of Kilmallock, dedicated to the
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, 29th day of June, whose rectory belongs
to the college of vicars of Limerick, and the vicariate to the college
of Kilmallock,
The parish church of Effin is a prebend, and dedicated to the B. V.
Mary,
,
...
The parish church of Athenese, or Beallathenesigh, or Beallananesy,
dedicated to St. Athanasius, 2nd day of May, whose rectory belongs
...
to the college of Kilmallock,
The church of Kilbride Major, dedicated to St. Brigid, 1st day of
February. I t is a rectory that belongs to the college of Kilmallock.
The church of Imiligrinine, or Ballaghrinine, dedicated to St. Molluo,
13ishop and Confessor, 5th day of May. I t belongs to the treasurer.
The chwch of Keilfinny, or Keilfinine, dedicated to St. Andrew,
Apostle, 30th day of November. I t belongs to the precentor.
The church of Keilsluing, near Clough-a-Nutliy [forte IGlflyn MSS.,
,
Dr. Cussen, Castleotway, in pencil],
The churc'~ of Dromochuo, or Derraghmochuogh, or Dorn~oceno,
The church of Ballinghaddly. I t belongs to the college of Kihnallock, dedicated to the B. V. M.
The church of Kilbride Minor. I t is a rectory, dedicated to St.
Brigid, 1st February,
...
The church of Keilchuain, dedicated to St. Coran, abbot,
...
The church of Cluoincourry, alias Clnointorthy, half of which formerly belonged to the Bishop of' Cloyne, but now the whole is said
to belong to the Bishop of Limerick. It is dedicated to St. CO~O...
manus, " 24th day of November" p r . Young].
The church of Uallyhancard, dedicated to St. David, 1st March,
The parish cllurch of Brury (Bruree). I t belongs to the Dean of
Limerick. Dedicated to St. Munchin, Bishop.
...
The parish church of Ahaleacagh. I t is a rectory, and dedicated to
St. John Baptist, 24th of June,
The parish church of Dromuin. It is a rectory, and dedicated to
the Most Holy Trinity
Tlie church of Urigear, alias of Viridus, dedicated to St. Margaret,
Virgin, 40th day of July,
...
Parish church of Tillibreaka. I t is a prebend, and dedicated to St.
Molon, 5th day of May.
...
The church of Glinoge, dedicated to St. Nicholas, 6th December.
The chapel of St. John, between the bridge and St. John's Gate,
Rilmallock.
The chapel of St. Mathologus, on the hill of Eilmdlock, whose
festival is celebrated on the 26th day of 3farch.
The chtlpel of Cattan, alias Kiline or Kilny. I t belongs to the bishop's
table.
Tlie chapel of St. Martin in Ballichuillean, dedicated to St. Martin,
11th day of November. It belongs to the college of Kilmallock.
The chapel of Slrichaihill. I t belongs to the college of Kilmallock.
Dedicated,
...
The chapel of Ardphaidrig (Ardpatrick), in the parish of Ballyhadding.
It belongs to the college of Kilmallock. Dedicated, (Mount Russei),
...
...
...
...
...
...
..
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
......
...
The chapel of Dungadarnus, or Dungaddy, or Dunghadiehon, or
Dunepis. I t belongs to the college of Kilmallock. Dedicated.
The chapel hlartes (Mortalstown). I t belongs to the college of Rimdlock. Dedicated.
...
...
The chapel of Keilchoimogan, alias Keilinghongue.. I t belongs to
...
the prebend of St. Munchin.
The chapel of Ardmuillain, otherwise Ardswelain, of which scarcely
any traces remain. I t belongs to the bishop's table. Dedicated.
The chapel of Brough, alias Broff (Bruff]. It belongs to Hospital.
Dedicated to St. Peter of Alexandria, 26th November.
The chapel of St. Ballisheward, alias Ballihaward, alias Rathioward.
...
I t beiobgs to the Dean of Limerick. Dedicated.
The chapel of Keilcoyne, otherwise Hakins. I t belongs to the prebend of Keilbecan. Dedicated.
The chapel of Camus, dedicated [to St. Senanus, as I have heard.Dr. Young]. [&h of March.-Dr. Cussen.]
The chapel and well (fom) of St. Lawrence in Ahaillaca.
The monastery of the Regulars of St. Augustine a t Kilmallock.
The monastery of St. Saviour of the Dominicans.
The chapel of Keilbruoiny, between Athlacca and Tullorby.
The chapel of Keiltemplalain, near Bruff, to the north. [Its remains
scarcely visible.-Dr. Young.]
The chapel of St. Kyran, between Athlacca and Glenogra, belongs
to Glenogra. [Scarcely exists.-Dr. Young.]
The chapel of St. Laternut., near Bruff. [lts site now unknown.-Dr.
Young.]
Decanate of Adare.
...
...
...
...
...
Parochial church of Adare, dedicated to St. Nicholas, Bishop and
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Confessor, 6th day of December.
Church of Kilnaghan or Keilinoghtan, belongs to mensal of the bishop.
Chapel of Keilinathan, belongs to the prebendary of St. Munchin, to
whom it is dedicated. [Perhaps IZilconaghan, Killenoughty. -Dr.
Cussen.]
The church of Keilbinighte, dedicated.
Parish church of Croom, alias Gremoth. I t is a rectory. Dedicated.
The church of Dunnemeaunn, alias Rustainy, aliter Baillythriadan.
I t belongs to the rector of C~oom. Dedicated.
Church of Balliochachan. I t is a prebend. Dedicated.
The church of Keldimo. I t belongs to the archdeacon. Dedicated.
...
The church of Ardcanthy. I t is a prebend. Dedicated.
...
The church of Keilchournan. I t is a rectory. Dedicated.
The church of Dysert. It is a prebend. Dedicated.
...
T O this church of Dysert belongs Fearan-na-manach, near the White
Stone Cross, as I have myself read in the Black Book; for the monks
of the monastery of Maigh (Maigue), to whom Fear-na-Managh fbrmerly belonged, gave that land to the bishop and chapter of Limerick
for other land near them, called Ballioshoidir, which belonged to our
Limerick chapter, and the bishop and chapter added, that land, Fearna-Managh, to the prebend of Dysert, because it is very meagre and
poor. [Habetur p. 27 hujus libri. viz., White's 3ISS.-Dr. 1-oung.1
The church of Xthnid. I t is a prebend, dediched.
The chapel of Dromassel. I t belongs to the rector of Croom, dedicated
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. .HISTORY OB LIMERICK.
562
HISTORY OF LIMRRICB.
S.
The chapel of Dolla, alias Doilath. I t belongs to the rector of Croom.
Dedicated.
The ohapel of Castle Robert, dedicated.
The ~hapelof Cluoin Anny. It belongs to the Rector of Croom, dedicated.
The ohapel of Drochid Tairsne. I t belongs to the prebendary of St.
Munchii.
...
Chapel Russel, or Rossel, dedicated.
...
Chapel of Kilghobain. I t belongs to the college of vicars choral.
Chapel of Say, alias de Caithiorassa, dedicated (Caharaes).
Chapel of Glanonitrithig, dedicated.
Chapel of Mananghurine, dedicated.
Chapel of St. Meranus, dedicated to the same.
Chapel of Cran, dedicated.
In this deoanate 1rere the following monasteries:Monastery of Nenay, or Maighe, of Monks Cistertians of St. Bernard.
Chapel of Moirgrean, on the west of the River Maighe. I t belongs
to said monastery.
In 'the village of Athdare (Adare) there were-:
Monastery of the Holy Trinity of the Bedemption of Captives, commonly called the White Monastery, on the west of thq village, called
white from the white habit of the monks.
Monastery of St. Augustine, of the order of Eremites, called the
Black Monastery, from their black habit, situated on the west of the
bridge of ~thda-re.
Monastery of St. Francis, of the order of Minors of the stricter observance. outside the walls on the mestern side of the town, called the
Poor
There was also in the same village a house of Knights Hospitallers
of the order of St. John of Jerusalem.
Decanate (Deanery) of Ballingharry, or Gorth, or Gayr.
Parochial Church of Ballingharry. I t is a parsonage dedicated to
...
St. Evanjanus, 1st August.
Church of Corcomohide. Belongs to the College of Limerick. Dedicated to the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2nd day of
.m
.*.
February.
Parish Church of Mahounagh. I t is a rectory. Dedicated to St.
John Baptist, 24th June..
Church of Cluoineilty. It. belongs to the College of Limerick.
Dedicated.
...
Church of Cluoincagh. Belongs to College of Limerick. Dedicated.
Church of Croagh. I t is a prebend. Dedicated.
Church of Keilfiny. I t belongs to the Precentor. Dedicated.
Church of Cluoinsiarra. I t belong to the Chancellor. Dedicated.
Chapel of Cluoincreu. Belong to the Archdeacon. Dedicated to
St. Borthanus.
Chapel of Maigreny or Keilkenny. Belongs to the College.
Chapel of Ceappach, or Heilnaceappug, or Triostane. Belongs to the.
Dean. Dedicated.
Chapel of Dromcollnchuir. Dedicated.
Chapel of Keilina, alias Paillis. Dedicated.
Chapel of Cnockseairnabothy. Dedicated. [Shanavroha.]
Chapel of Keilmochuo. Dedicated to St. Colmanus, B. and C., 29
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ona aster^.
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d.
2 0
2 0
2 G
1 G
Oct. Confer Ware de Praesulibm (Ware's Bishops), sub Epis. Duacensibus, mihi [page 28, Dr. Young's Notes].
Chapel of Keil-vic-a-niarla. Dedicated.
Next to Ballingharry village, on the eastern side, is the monastery,
called the Monastery of St. John, and it is of the third order of St.
Francis, as we have heard.
Decanate of Rathkeal or Rathgelle.
The Parish Church of Rathkeal all belongs to the Chancellor.
Dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity. Here is extant the Monastery of
the Canons of Arroasia, of the Order of St. Augustine [founded and endowed by Gilbert Harvey, in 1289, and further endowed by his descendant Eleanor Purcell, who caused it to be dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin Mary. Note by M. L.]
Church of Keilscannil. Belongs to the Chancellor. Dedicated.
Church of Cluonnach. I t belongs to the Chancellor. Dedicated.
ilounagll.
...
Church of Neantenan. I t belongs to the Precentor. Dedicated to
...
...
St. James Apostle, 25th July.
Church of Asketin, or Asketton, or Ascetiny. Dedicated. A monastery of the Order of St. Francis is extant there.
Church of Lismakiry or Lismhickiry. I t is a rectory. Dedicated.
Church of Kilbradarain or Cnockbradarain. Dedicated to St. Brandan, Abbot, 16th of May.
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Church of Dunmuilin. Dedicated.
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Church of Seannaghuoilin. Belongs to the Precentor. Dedicated.
Church of Leuchuill. Belongs to the Precentor. Dedicated.
Church of Keilarisse or Keilfargus. Belongs to the Precentor. Dedicated.
...
Church of Keilmualain. Belongs to the College. Dedicated.
Church of K'eiimily or Keilmuarille. All belongs to the Precentor.
Chapel of BathnasAor. I t belongs to the Precentor, according to an old
roll of A.D. 1542, and pays no procuration,' according to the new rolls.
Chapel of Dromdily or Dromdelthy. Belongs to the Precentor. Dedicated.
-..
Chapel of Castle Bobert or Dunedoinill; I t is a rectory, dedicated
...
to St. Mary Magdalen, 22nd July.
Chapel of Keilcholaman. Dedicated.
Chapel of Disert Merogan, or Muiriogan, or Morgans. I t all
belongs to the Precentor. Dedicated.
Chapel of Achinis. Dedicated.
Chapel of Mineta. Belongs to the College. Dedicated
Chapel of Castle Bobert de Gore alias Gauyr or of Robertsville [? Lat.
de Pago Roberti]. Dedicated to saint.
Chapel to St. Patrick on the Mountain. Dedicated to same, 17th
March.
Chapel of Inniscatha or Scattery Island (formerly, in the time of St.
Senanus, it was an Archiepiscopate, and a celebrated monastery is
a..
extant there).
Decanate of Ardagh.
Parish Church of Ardagh, belongs to the Archdeacon. Dedicated.
C h m h of New Grange of the bridge, [de ponte]. Dedicated.
1 ficurcrtiona are certain sums of money which Parish Priests pay yearly to the Bishop or
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Archdeacon rations visitationes.
The same (says G%., 975) may be done without actad visitation. TomlintsLaw &t.
. .HISTOBY OE LIMERICK,
Church cf Newcastle, a rectory, Dedicated to St. David, l st March.
Church of Moineaghighea, or Moneyghea. d rectory. Dedicated to
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B.V.M., 15th August.
Church ,of Keilioda, or Keilmide. A prebend. Dedicated to St. Ida,
564
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S.
d.
G 0
0
G
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br Mida, abbess, ~ a n i a r y15.
3 0
Church of Rathrunan. A rectory. Dedicated.
4 0
Church of Aglssimona. Dedicated.
Church of Keilaghailicharn, alias Keilagh a Liochan. Dedicated to
B.V.M. ad Nives, 5th day of August, near Drumcollogher.
3 0
Chapel of R,;rthcaithell. Dedicated.
17 6
Chapel of Mount-Temple [de Temp10 Montis]. Belongs to Rathrunan.
Chapel of Temple Gleantan. Dedicated.
Monastery of Fed, near the river Feal, of the order of St. Bernard.
At Newcastle there is a monastery of Knights Templars.
Chapel of Iniscatha, or Scattery Island, at the mouth of the river Shannon,
which belongs to the decanate of Rathkeale ; it likewise formerly belonged to
the diocese of Limerick in the time cif the R. D. D. Cornelius O'Dea, bishop of
Limerick, as appears from his words and writings, which run thus:
" I, Cornelius O'Dea, by the grace of God and the Apostolic See, have enfeofed the Lord Gilbert O'CaitheU (formerly of the lands belonging to Limerick,
from that island of Iniscathy, which pands] I have recovered by inquisition
taken by me, which were not before me, for many years, in the possession of the
Church), under this form, viz.: That the said Gilbert and his heirs should
[debeat? pay to my assigns and his successors canonically entering, every year
in the name of revenue, [as rent] twelve pence, viz., one half at Easter, and one
half at the feast of St. Michael ; and on whatever night I or my successors shall
first put into said island, they should refresh us with meat and drink and a11
other necessary things ; and as long thereafter as I or my successors shall tarry
therein, they shall supply fire, light, and straw, at their own cost and expense,
and carry us victuals by water, at our expense, and in boats, and by labourers
of their own, from Limerick and the out villages ( v d h forales) of the said
diocese, to wit, only to all our manors of Lesamkyle, Dromdile, Mongret, and
Limerick".
What is said here of Iniscathy I have read from an ancient roll extracted
from the Black Book of the bishops of Limexick in the time of John Quin, the first
must be n mistake, for John Quin,
Protestant bishop of Limerick-[N.B.'Thiq
or C o p , was a Catholic, and was deposed by Edward VI. for being such, and
Casey, a Protestant, put in his place].-The day after St. Nichael the Archangel, A.D. 1542. Therefore I know not by what right it is said that Iniscatha
now belongs to the di6cese of Limerick.
Thus the Rev. Mr. Gaspar White.
"N.B.-About
the year l?42, the Rev. D. D. Robert Lacy, bishop of Limericks recovered this island of Iniscatha from the diocese of Killaloe, and a second
time joined it to the diocese of Limerick. Witness my hand, James White,
notary apostolic.
"In the year 1801, the bishop of Limerick went to Iniscathy, in which he found
living. whom he dated under the care and jurisdiction of the Rev.
two. families
.
- -.
Michael ~ullivan,"iariuhprieA of Ballylongford, in the aocese of Kerry.
"J[OHNY"[ouNG].
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I, ~ a s ~ a r k h i t precentor
e,
of the Cathedral C h q h of the B. V. Mary of
Limerick, learn from this, and from other rolls:-l. That there are six dignitaries in the cathedral church of Limerick, viz., episcopate, decanate, precentorate, chancellorate, treasurership, and archdiaconate. 2. I learn the bene-
fims of each dignity. I learn that there are six diaconates in the diocese of
Limerick. 4. I learn that there are eleven prebends or canonries. 6. I learn
how many prebends are in each decanate.
The benefices of each dignity, viz. :
I. To the bishop's table belong:-l. Mongrett. 2. Tura Deil, or Blind Man's
Tower. 3. Keilionochan. 4. Ardmuolan, near Killmallock. 5. Cottan, or
Kilny, near Killmallock. 6. The middle part of Cluoncourtha, but now the
whole, although formerly one part belonged to the bishop of Cloyne.
11.l. To the deanery belonged the whole parish of St. Mary's, Limerick. 2. The
rectory of Mongrett. 3. The entire chapel of Keililin, outside St. John'a Gate,
near the walls. 4. The rectory of the chapel of Rathiuird, near Limerick, because it is part of St. Nicholas's parish. 5. The parish of Cathiomary. 6.
The rectory of Bruiry. 7. The rectory of Baillishiowaird. 8. The rectory of
Keappach, alias Tristane.
111. To the precentor belong :-l. The rectoy of Keilfiny. 2. The parish of
Neantonan. 3. The rectory of Dromdily, or Tomdily, or Dromdelithy. 4. The
rectory of Scannaghuoilin, or Seangolden. 5. The rectory of Leaughill. 6.
The whole of Keilmile, alias Keilmuirelle. 7. The whole chapel' of Crag Desert
Morogan, or Memgan, or Muiririgan, alias Morgans. 8. The whole of the chapel
of Crinbhailly, or Cliny. 9. The rectorate of the parish of Cnocknaghauil.
10. The rectory of Cluomagh, in the ecclesiastical tenure only. 11. The ckapel
of Bathnasaon, according to an ancient roll of the year 1542. 12. The church
of Keilairissa, or Keilfargus,
IV. To the chancellor belong:-l. The rectory of Elaithkeill entirely. 2.
The rectory of Keilscainnill. 3. The rectory of Cluomagh, in the lay tenure
only. 4. The rectory of Cluoinsierre.
V. To the treasurer belong:-l. The parish of St. Patrick entirely. 2. The
tithes of all the mills of Limerick. 3. The chapel of Keilcuain, near Parteen,
which is a dependency of the said parish of St. Patrick. 4. The rectory of
Caithirthiovathdla, or Cahirivahala 5. The rectoy of ImXghrinin, near Killmallock.
VI. To the archdeacon belong :-l. The rectorate of the parish of St. Michael
(outside the walls of Liierick). 2. The rectory of Kddimo. 3. C10uincren,
or Clnoinchremha 4. Ardagh entire.
VII. To the college of Vicars Choral of Limerick belong:--l. The picariate of the parish of St. Nicholas of Limerick. 2. The vicariate of Bathiuird.
8. The vicariate of the Chriochourtha. 4. The vicariate of Corcomoithid. 5.
The rectory of Kilmallock. 6. The rectory of KeiIm-.
7. The rectory
of Cluoinelthy. 8. CIuoincagh. 9. Chapel of Kilghobhn. 10. Chapel Mineta.
l l. Chapel of Magrainy, or Keilcagny.
VIII. To the college of gilmallock belong:-l. The vicariate of the college
of Kilmallock. 2. The vicariate of Athnese. 3. Ballinghaddy. 4. Chapel of
Saycaithile. 5. Chapel of Keilionan. 6. Chapel of Dune-gaddy and Dune-joris.
7. ChapeI Mart& 8. Kilbeedy Major. 9. Chapel of St. Martin.
IX. To the Corporation of the Mayor and Aldermen of Limerick belongs the
Church of St. Ianrence beyond St. John's Gate.
X. To the prebend of St. Munchin's belong:-l. The half part of the fruits of
the prebend-the other part to the vicar. 2. The rectory of Keilnochon, or
KeiIineunghe. 3. The rectory of the chapel of Drehid-Tarsne. 4. The chapel of
Keilchiomogan.
XI. To the prebendary of Donoughmore belong:-l. The rectory of the
566
HISTOBY OF LJMERXCK.
0.
r
parish of Donoughmore. 2. The rectory of theparish of I<eilielewith its nppendices. 3. The rectory of Ardpatrick.
XII. To the rectory of Kilpeacon'belongs the rectory of the chapel of
Keilcuain of Aghennis.
XIII. To the rectory of Croom belong :-l. The rectory of Cluonnana. 2.
The chapel of Cnockdromaissel. 3. The chapel of Dolla. 4. The chapel of
Dunenamaun, or Tristan.
XIV. To the hospital belongs the chapel of Bruff.
XV. To the rectory of Rathroqan belongs the chapel of Mount Temple.
NOTE 1.-The decanates in the diocese of Limerick are six, viz., the decanate
of Limerick, the decanate of Kilmallcck, the decanate of Adare, the decanate
of Ballingarry, the decanate of Rathkeale, and the decanate of Ardagh.
NOTE2.-There are eleven prebends or canonries in the diocese of Limerick.
1. The canonry or prebend of St. Mun- 1
chins,
1
2. The canonry or prebend of Donogh- )In the decanate of Limerick.
more,
8. The canonry or prebend of Kilpeacan,
4. The canonry or prebend of Eflin,
6. The canonry or plebend of Tully- In the decanate of Iiilmallock.
bracke,
6 . The canonry or Prebend of Ballycahane.
7. The cnnonry or prebend of ArdIn the decanate of Adare.
canthy,
8. The canonry or prebend of Disert,
9. The canonry or prebend of Athnitt, ]
10. The canonry or prebend c?f Croagh,
In the decanate of Ballingarq.
11. The canonry or prebend of Kileedy, In the decanate of Ardagh.
So far the important matter in White$ MSS.
ll
With respect to the property of the cathedral in its ancient state, there
can be no question of its extent, and of the jealous care with which it was
preserved. Grants of land were frequently made to the cathedral ; whilst,
as we perceive by the Black Book, the possessions in mortmain of all
the churches of Limerick have been takea into account in the Patent and
Close Rolls of Chancery in several successive reigns. These lands were
most frequently Ieased out to tenants. The bishop's manon, of which
Mungret, containing six large plow-lands, was one, Kilmallock another,
which "hath been ever the bishop's manor", where the bishop was lord
paramouut, when it (Kilmallock) was a strong walled town; where the
bishop had a fair 'which he purchased for $10 from David Lord Bany;
where he held a court twice a year, had a mill, a bake-house, and a
shambles; where all persons should grind at the bishop's mill, bake at his
bake-house, and pay for the shambles according to custom; and where the
burgesses and townsmen were called 'and impannelled as juries in the
bishop's court.' Ardagh, as we have above seen, was another bishop's manor
in which bishops held couxts and received rents; I)rumdeely was another;
and there is an entry in the Iittle Black BooP (quoted by Bishop Adams),
See Black Book and Bishop Adams's MSS., account of the property, etc.
See also f o h 7, p. 2, of the B2mk Book, and folio 8, p. 1, in the two offices of inquisition,
whwe Drumdeelj ia found to be the bishop's land.
2
HISTORY OP LIMERICK.
to the effect that the inhabitants of Inniscattcq are bound " carriare li
num, panlen et victualla ad omnia maneria sua de Lesamkil, Drumdee y
et Muigarett".
No church was more richly endowed bv
" kings and princes, than the Cathedral of St. Mary's, ~imer*ick.
W e now proceed with the Bishops:
Robert of Dondomhnal or Dundonald, a canon of Limerick, was elected
bishop by the king's assent, after canonical election i n 1302. He W= not
restored to the temporalities until the 23d of September following, as
appears by the accounts in the Chief Remembrancer's office. H e died on
the 3rd of May, 1311, and was buried in his own cathedral.
Eustace de L'Eau, or Waters, Dean of Limerick, succeeded, and was
consecrated at the close of the year 1311. H e indeed was a great bene*
factor to the cathedral in his time. The citizens, who appear to have been
not only wealthy, but pious, and to have appreciated the value of the cathedral, gave their energetic assistance towards the good work in which the
bishop was engaged. After a session of twenty-four years, he died on the
3rd of May, 1336, and was interred in his own church.
Maurice de Rupe Forte, or Rochfort, succeeded to the episcopacy in the
same year, and was consecrated on the 6th of April in Limerick. A n
information was exhibited against him for opposing the levying of a subsidy
granted to the king, of which he was found gmlty. I t appears that, in
1346, a parliament was held at Kilkenny, which granted the subsidy to
the king (Edward 111.1, to support the exigencies of the state. Kalph
Kelly, Archbishop of Cashel, opposed the levying of it within his province,
and for that end summoned a meeting of his suffragan bishops at Tipperary,
at which Maurice, Bishop of Limerick, Richard, Bishop of Emly, and
John, Bishop of Lismore, appeared. They fulminated excommunication
against all who should contribute to the subsidy; and at Clonmel the
Archbishop appeared in the public streets, robed, and boldly published the
decree of excommunication, particularly against William Epworth, the
king's commissioner in the county of Tipperary, for gathering in the
subsidy from the collectors. Maurice Rochfort vas for some time deputy
to Sir Thomas Rokeby, Lord Justice of Ireland, and according to E'riar
Hogan's Annals of Nenagh f preserved in the Brundusian Library, Brussels),
Maurice was " a man of good life and honest conversation". The mortmain laws were SO strictly enforced during his episcopacy, that whereas
Gerald le Marescal, above mentioned, in A.D. 127% had purchased
home lands for-the see, without having previously obtained his license of
mortmain, Edward 111. obliged Maurice Rochfort, in 1337, to pay s fine
of twenty marks. An ancient rental of the Diocese of Limerick is attributed to Maurice Rochfort.
The atbtude assumed by the Church at this period was bold and vehement against the tyrannical usurpations of the crown, which not only
sought to set aside the liberties extended by Magna Charta, but under the
levied oppressive taxes, and frequently revoked all prepatent, etc., as well to all persons denounced, as to the
maintained its position as the champion of truth w d
the protector of the persecuted. Many instances are given, in contemporaneous records, of the rapacity of the crown, and of' the resistance of
f-
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. . I.~IsToRP
868
OF L~MERICP.
the Church to the spoliatinghands of royalty and to the unscrupulousnes of
ib agents ; and the vehemence with which the Archbishop of Cashel hurled
defiance at the decrees of the subservient parliament of Kilkenny, and the
readiness with which his zeal was seconded by his suffragans of Limerick,
Emly, and Lismore, afford a proof, if proof were wanting, that the Church,
in those times, never abandoned the people, though the power of the state
and the idlumce of the crown were brought to bear against it on many
ocoa$011s.
Stephen Lawless, or Lellies, Chancellor of Limerick, succeeded in 1353,
and was restored to the temporalities by the
on the 13th of May,
1353. He died on the 28th of December, 1359.
I n 1360, Stephen de Valle, or Wall, Dean of Limerick, succeeded b
provision of the POe, and was consecrated this year. He filled the higK
office of treasurer o Ireland. He was translated to the bishopric of Meath,
where having sat ten years, he died at Oxford on the 4th of November,
1379, and was buried there in the Dominicanmonastery. While he was
Bishop of Limerick he translated the bones of Richard FitzRalph, Archbishop of Armagh, commonly called St. Bichard of Dundalk, fmm Aviznon to Dundalk, the birth-place of that archbishop, and deposited them m
the Parish Church of St. Nicholas in that town.'
Peter Curradl (in a MS. in T.C.D., said to be taken out of the Bkck
Book, he is c&ed Creagh; and in white's BSS. he is designated Pierce
Creagh, a native of Limerick, though Ware states that he was a native of
the county of Dublin) was elected next in succession, in 1369. H e took
the oath of fealty to Edward 111.before the illustrious Willim of Wykeham,
Biihop of Winchester, on the 10th of February(English style). C~esgh's
e isco~acywas full of troubles. He engaged in implacable opposition to the
&anc~sc-.
When Archbishop Warrington came to Limerick to ~ d r w
their grievances, and cited the bishop to answer their oomplsints, he (the
bishop) laid violent hmds on the archbishop, and tore the citation from
m t h such force that he drew his blood, snd ordered the archbishop to
hgone, or that it should fare worse with b attendants. It is said, moreover, that the bishop laid censures on and threatened with excommunication all who should repair for divine service within the church of the hciscans; that he excomhunicated all who afforded the archbisho food and
entertainment. There are other matters equally harsh said of tl%bi&~
some of these accusations are preferred bp Ware,on the authority of L e
Wadding; but we must accept them wlth some resemtioa. We must
bear in mind that this prelate governed the see of Limerick for the long
period of thirty years. During his time religion flourished in Limerick.
Some of the most eminent of the f h d i e s of the city then lived, m d by
their munificent expenditure on the churches and monasteries, showed
that their zeal was ardent and their fkth sincere. B wrt d u h g the
e iscopacy of Pierce Creagh that Martin Arthur made a willg which shows
there were nine churches in the city. This will was made AD.
1376. Amo the bequests was one to the Franciscan Gm, which the
assertion of $re, or rather of his commentator, Harris, as to the -nb
f
5:
t$
569
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
ment manifested by the bishop towards the Franciscans, shows did not extend to the citizens. This will indicates the curi3us domestic manners of
the times, and sets out several curious bequests. Confirnation of it is
granted, and letters of administration, by the bishop. The will concludes
as follows:
"In the name of God, Amen, I, the aforesaid Idartin, bequeath my eoul to
God, the Blessed Virgin, and all the saints; my body to be buried in the
church of the Preaching Friars in Limerick. I also bequeath t o the Cathedral of St. Mary's, Limerick, for forgotten tithes
(marks) 20 0
Also to the Preaching Friars
1 8
Also for a friar's habit, to be put on him, half a mark
Also to the Friars Minor (Franciscans)
10 0
Item to the Vicars of the Church of St. Mary
2 0
3 4
Item to the Church of the Holy Cross
2 0
Item to the Vicar of St. Nicholas
Item to repair of the Church of St. Munchin's
3 4
Item to the Church of St. Peter
...
1 0
Item Church of St. Michael
...
1 0
Item Church of John Baptist
...
1 0
1 0
Item Church of St. Lawrence
Item Church of St. Patrick
1 0
Item to Sarah Wingaine
1 0
Item to Mr. John Lawless
'..
1 0
Item Mr. John White, Chaplain
...
I 0
1 0
Item to Mariota Mylys
half a mark.
..
Item to John Sole, Monk
Item to Friar Maurice O'Cormacnine
3 4
Item to Friar Simon Modin
2 0
2 0
Item to Preaching Friars, to pray for his soul
8 0
Item to Nurse Johanna
Thii bishop resigned his see A.D. 1400, and died about the end of October, 1407. Before his death, but after his resignation, viz., in 1401, John
Budstone, a wealthy citizen of Limerick, bestowed four great bells on the
cathedral of St. Mary's, to which we shall have to refer in the next chapter.
Up to this period, from the foundation of the chapter by Bishop Donat
O'Brien, there had been nine1 Deans.
...
...
...
.a.
......
...
S.,
.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
.....
...
...
...
...
......
...
a..
CHAPTER LVII.
AL
AUTRB, CROZIEB, AN D SE
SMPROVEHIS
HIS TIME-GRANT
OF HENRY VI. TO THE
C I T I Z E N S T H E CATHEDRAL OF ST. MABY'S-MONUMENTS
AND MONUMENTAL INSCBIPTIONS-TEE
BISHOPS I N SUCCESSION-THE
" REFORXATION", XTC., ETC.
BISHOP CORNELIUS O'DEA-HIS
B f i m ~ ~ -OFs AFFAIRS
~ ~ ~ ~IA
THE illustrious Comelius O'Dea,
Archdeacon of Killaloe, succeeded Curragh or Creagh, A.D. 1405. He was aliberal benefactor to the cathedral, as
we have already seen, and he also enlargd and beauti6ed it. His mitre
%.:-in 1204, p. 1212, T.ibid. W. Beymnndos, tempore Henrici de W d p , Dec. Em.;
121
to 1278, Thomas of Woodford; 1295-8. John de Cotes;. 1302, Luke ; 1311, Eustaee de PEau
or Waters, who wm raised to the bishopric this year; 1366, Adam Owen; 1398 to 1409,
40
.HISTORY OF LIMERICK,
570
HISTOBY OB LIMERICK.
571
I
and crozier are yet extant, and have won the admiration of all antiquarians and learncd societies: they have been shown at the great National Exhibition in Dublin in 1852, and at the congress of the Archseologic:rl Society in England in 1862.' The mitre is of thin silver parcel
gilt, ornamented both on the front and back, as also on the infulm or
pendants, with a profusion of pearls, crystals, rubies, amethysts, emeralds,
and other precious stones. The two sides arc composed of silver laminac,
gilt, and are jewelled in a broad band round the base, up the centre, and
along the sloping cdges; these bands arc edged with mouldings, and the
sloping portion has been cnrichcd with an elaborate cresting of vine-leaves
along its outer edge. The intcrspaccs on either side are now occupied by
a foliated ornament, composed of pearls laid down over foil. The infulac,
or pcndant ornaments, are not so ancient as the mitre itself. There are,
however, among them two ancient cabochon crystals, and two small ornamcnts of translucent cnamel, one with the emblem of a hare pursued by a
hound, the othcr with a mingcd lion. I t has the following enamelled inscription, under a crystal cross in front:.-
" HOC SIGNUM CRUCIS EkIT IN c~~Lo".
Undcr a similar cross on thc back the inscription goes on :
Round the base of' the mitre is the following inscription, in letters of
the period, on ground covcrcd with blue, green, and purest translucent
enamel:
+Me+ fieri+fecit+Cornelius+O DeayghS
cpiscopusf -+amo+Domini+
millio+
-+-+
The name of the artist is engraved in similar characters above the hinPd
oand :~oma+O'Carryd+artifex+faciens.
Tile crozier is of silvcr gilt, and ornamcnted round the curve mith
vine lenvcs and real pearls, and down the shafts with crowns and chased
work. Within tlic curvc arc statucttcs of the Blessed Virgin and the
Angcl Gnbliel, and that of a dove over the former. This curve is s q .
portcd by a pclican, with' extended wings, feeding its young ones.
Bcncnth arc the enamclled figures of five female saints and St. John the
Evangelist. Thc crozier weighs about 10 lbs. The boss of the crozier
exhibits six elegant statuettes undcr rich canopies of Edwardine architecture, and standing upon appropriate pedestals. These statuettes represent the Blessed Trinity, thc Virgin Mary, St. Peter, St. Paul, St.
Patrick, and St. Blunchin, the patron saint of the diocese.
Ricllard Warran, Varycr. or Warying. Of prcbendmies, up to this period, we find only tlio
names of: 1320, icliard Fort, Preb. of h'ilbdnn; Jolm de Bosworth, presented by the cmma,
September 10th 1 46, Preb. of Tullabrackey ; 1389, John Eyleward [Aylward], presented by
the crown, Septcmber
Preb. of Tuhg1:brackcy; 1388, J o h de Iiarlell [Barlisle ?],
Preb. of Effin-held.
Dr. MiIner gave a pmticular description of these most valuable treasures to the Society of
Antiquaries, with a sketch of them, which was made by Mr. John Gubbii, of Limerick,
%
'
Artist,
On the crozier, in beautifully executed letters of the time, are these
words:"Me fieri fecit 11 corneli' odeaigh 11 eps limiricens' 11 aodoi
MOccccOxviii
t(et) consecracionis 11 sue anno xviii.'
I t is stated in the White MSS. that thcsc precious treasures 11ad been
always in the possession of the Catholic Bishops of the Sce of Liinerick.
O'Dea, who was connected by fosterage with the royal family of O'Brien,
was buried near the tomb of the O'Briens, undcr a monument of black
marble adorned with a statue; but in 1621 this monument was removed
to a place set apart for the bishops of Limerick, on the south side of the
choir." The following inscription is on the monument:"Hzc est effigies Reverendissimi Viri CorneIii O'Dae
Quondam episcopi Limericensis qui ad monunientmn
Hoc novum Episcoporum Limericensium ad
Perpetuandum memoriam et Iionorem tanti Pri~n!lis
Translatus fuit ut hie cum fratribus suis requlcscerct
14 die Julii, Ano Domini 1621. Ec:notus autcm hnc evi (qu. fuit ?)
Sumptibus nobilissimi herois Doozti conlitis Thomonim
Tunc Honoratissimi Dornini Presidentis provincia: 3Iomoi:t".
Thus translated in Harris's Ware:
66 This is the effigies of that most reverend man, Cornelias O'Da, formi.rly
Bishop of Limerick, who, to perpetuate the memory and honour of so great D
prelate, was transIated to this burial-place of the bishops of Limerick, th:rt he
might rest with his brethren, on the 14th day of July, 1621. I h t it wts removed hither at the charge of that most noble hero, Donat, Earl of 'l'homond,
then the Right Hon. Lord President of the province of Munster".
O'Dea resigned in 1426.
W e must dwell for a short time on the state of religion in Limerick
during the episcopacy of this illustrious bishop, and show what was done
for his cathedral by him and by the citizens. Among other improvements,
Tho~nasArthnr, who was born about the year 1378, with his wife
Johanna Morrough, daughter of David Morrou@i, senator of Cork and
Youghal, built up at their own expense, in a mag?~ficentmanner, the eastern
front and the costly wrought window of the choir of the cathedral church
of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Limerick, the western door of which he
caused to be sculptured, in a workinanlike manner, in stone, with the
armorial bearings of the Arthurs, and the southern door with the armorial
bearings of the Murro~~ghe,
" not throu,ali a spirit of vain glory, but in
order that others hereafter should imitate the memorials of their piety".
He was thought worthy to hold the dignity of Mayor of Limerick twice.
The first time he entered upon its duties was in the year 1421, which was
the tenth and last year of the reign of Heniy V., in which time they
began to build the walls of the southern suburbs. The second time he
discharged the duty of Mayor -8 in the year 1426, in which year the
1 That is, "Corneliua O'Deagh, Bishop of Limerick, caused me to be made A . D . 1418, and in
the eighteenth year of his consecration". The Right Rev. Dr. Butler, the present Catholic Bishop
of Limerick, wore the precious mitre at his consecration; and his lordship lent it to the South
Kensington Loan Exllliibition in 1862, where it was admired as a lnatchless curiosity, as the
mitre of Willi~sl
of Wykeham, which wss like it, but has gone to decay.
572
RISTORY
S
l
OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
.
gate dedicated to St John the Baptist, and the emtern walls, were begun.
And having six months of his office unexpired, he died on the 15th of
the kalends of April, 1426 (Artlmr &!SS.).'
The great Bishop O'Dea gave an impetus to improvement, not only as
regards the cathedral, but to the convents and monasteries, and the city
generally. H e was liberal, energetic, and pious. The spirit b which he
was animated was largely participated in by the citizens, of W ose coijperation in raisinff and erecting
- costly monuments we have records in the
Arthur MSS.
The cathedral contained several ehapcls dedicated to saiqts, the chief of
which wcre those of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Catherme, St. James,
etc. It was the invariable custom of those who could afford, to bequeath
certain sums for the repairs of the cathedral, as well as for the repairs
of the parochial churches of St. Manchin, or Munchin, St. Nicholas, St.
Petcr. St. Michael, St. Laurence, St. Patrick, and the priories and
. monatelkes, and fines imposed on citizens and others were appropriated to
the repnin and adornment of the edifice.'
I n reference to John Budstone, above referred to, Dr. Thomas Arthur,
in his MSS., writes in Latin, which we translate literally :-
K
'c I composed this inscription to be set up by the stone-cutter by way of
epitaph, on the mural tablet of marble, sculptured in golden Ietters, inverted in
the wall of my chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Mary Magdalen, in the church
of tbe Virgin Mother of God, in Limerick, in happy memory of my grandfather's
grandsire, John Budstone, by whose gift I, my parents, my grandfather, my
great-grandfather, and my great-great-grandmother, Margaret Budstone, have
iosse&d that part of the chapel.
"This pious man made s gift, to the church aforesaid, of four large brass
bells. as I have found in a writing in a book belonging to my grandfather,
k i l i k n Arthur, grandson of the same, by his daughter:
cc Now
stay thy steps, and, reder, cast thine eyes,
And r
e
d the fate that waits on thy demise:
That fair corporeal mass dissolved and passed,
Shadow and dust shalt thou become at last.
That shadow passeth not to empty air,
Nor into other bodies doth repair,
'The will of E h Jove~uunedl%omm Arthur, which was m d a on the 17th Mmh, 1426,
s scaled with the seal of Cornelius, Bishop of limerick, impressedon red wax. The following
is a description of the seal: it represented on the upper part the i m g e of the Blessed Trinity
the Father bearing up the c~ncifiedSon; in the middle was an image of the glorious Virgin Mwy,
with two other images, one 3t each side; on the lower part of tle =me seal was an image of the
bishop, with the shield of the Ear1 of Dcsmond on the right side, and of the Esrl of Ormonde
on the l&;on the circumference were these letters. U The scd of Cornelius, by the g r w of God
Bishop of Limerick" (Arthur NSS.).
(From the Arthur MS.) I wrote this epi,pm, to be sculptured sometime on a marble
altar which I wish to crect in tho chspcl OF the tutelary st\hts, Saints James the Greater and
Mary hI:qdalene, if ever I shall s&vc thc close ofthis war-(Ee means the war of 1641)-Letween tho walls of both dabaster st;ltucs, to be plwed upon neat archa or conches of both:
The l~ostile&me, pent up in densest clouds,
A ruin mist, like to water, LWpoured forth.
X.
The heavenly fire diffused in sacred minds
Dnws forth tho lightnine of the Word, and then
Devotion thunders, rival& the saints
With sig11sand monns; bnt let the limpid tear
Vash away sino.
But with the spirits of the blest reposes,
Where gales benignant fan Elysian roses.
I f aught impure the flesh contracted here,
Passed through the fire the soul becometh clear.
While, racked on sulphur piles, the wicked lie,
Banded with souls accurst eternally,
Darkling in gloomy night, whom nevermore
Water of life shall unto health restore.
Traces of human shape it doth retain,
Longs to return and join the flesh again;
But ages pass before it re-attires
The mouldering ashes with their former fires.
Then shall the soul its members reassume,
And, widowed once, rise glorious from the tomb,
Then shall the dreadful trumpet's awful tone
Summon the crowds before the Judge's throne;
Returned to life, the bad to tortures doomed,
The good with light eternally illumed.
Oh ! stain not, then, your pious souls with crime,
Comport your holy life to fhith sublime.
Without morality all faith is vain,
John Buston teaches in this warning strain,
Who to the church these powerful bells has &pen:
Do thou, departing, wish him rest in Heaven".
Bishop Milner states that the ancient taxatio diecesb in the Bbck Book
which he saw on his visit to Limerick in 1808, is in the handw&ng of
Cornelius O'Dea. A description of the episcopal seal, the only one extant,
is p'reserved in the aote we have just given from the will of Thomas
Arthur. Those indeed were bright and happy days for the Church.
Under the influence of this great Irish bishop everything flourished. Men
lived and died for religion. I t is probable that the oak stalls and " misereres", which even at this hour win the admiration of every visitor of St.
M q l s Cathedral, are of the time of O'Dea: the carvings on the misereres" (or seats with ledges, which were turned up to allow the occupant of
the stall to rest during the recital of the divine offices) are of this period;
they are similar
many respects, to the carvings on the misereres m some
English cathedral^.^ I t is equally probable that Bishop O'Dea founded
the vatuable MS. library of' St. Mary's Cathedral (a few specimens of
which we believe are yet in existence), and of which a catalope, to some
extent at least, is preserved among tlie Sldanc MSS.in the Briwh Museum.
The following a portion of the catalogue translated:
No. 46, SIoane MSS.,4793, page 119.
A 1631.
The names of 45 NSS. in the Library of the Cathedml of Limerick:
1. Last of the Four Gospels and Richard the Berxnit.
3.
9)
Explanations.
3. Tract on Vices and Virtues.
4. Exphnation of the Ap"alypse.
Augusthe on the Wonders of Scripture. Historical Allegory on the
Scriptures;
GIossary of architecture.
574
..
5. Augustine on the Domination of Devils. Meditations of Anselm.
6. Great Prologue containing all the Prologues in the Bible.
7. Chrysostom.
8. First Book of the Summa of St. Thomas.
9. Explanation of the Names in Scripture.
10. Acts of the Apostles, and all the Epistles.
11. Questions in the Old and New Testaments, and Lombards.
12. Pour Books.
13. Concordances.
14. On Viccs and Virtues, in Folio.
15. Explanation of the whole Bible.
17. Explanation of the Canticle of canticles, and certain Symbols.
18. Text and Explanation of Matthew.
19. Five Books of the Decrees of Gregory.
21. Paraphrase of the Psalms.
Fifteen Books of Augustine on the Trinity.
Anselm on the Incarnation of the Word.
The same on the
Monologia of tbe same.
22 { Prologia of the same.
The same on the Trinity.
The same on God-Man.
Anselm on Truth.
etc., etc.
23. Dictionary of Words.
24. Observations on the History of the Bible.
25. Innocent IV. on Canon Law.
26. Summary on Vices.
28. Text of the Gospel of John.
30. On Vices.
31. Explanation of the Psalms.
32. Explanation of the Epistles of St. James and St. John.
83. Esplanation of the Epistles of St. Pad.
etc., etc., etc.
r
I
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OP LIE16ER&!R.
-
I
Those MSS. appear to have still existed, as the catalogue states, in 1631.
Most likely, they were scattered and destroyed in the wars of Cromwell.
Bishop O'Dea lived some years after his resignation, and died A.D. 1434,
and was buried, as we have seen, in the cathedral to which he was a munificent contributor. The year previous to his death, viz., in 1433, on the
Monday before the feast of 6t. Michael the Archangel (12th Henry VI.,)
the Mayor and community of the city of Limerick, by unanimous consent
and assent, admitted Dr. John Oveni, as prior of the House of St. Mary
and St. Edmond, to the fieedom of the city; so that he shall render and
g v e with the citizens of the same city as his predecessors rendered and
gave with the citizens of the same city and their predecessors";
(Artlwr
-
MSS.).
This prelate lived in troubled times. The city suffered as well from the
attacks of Irish as of English rebels. I n the British Museum, among
the Sloane M@, appear letters patent by which Henry VI., to prevent
the destruction of the city from day to day, grants to the mayor, bailiffs,
and co~nmonalityof the city of Limerick, power
"as often as they please to retain with them sufficient people (or septs,
575
gcntes) for defence, both horse and foot of the county of Limerick and marches
of the city and county aforesaid, and to lead these people with them in resistance to the malice of said enemies and rebels, to make mar upon and to cl~astise and punish them according to their demerits, and to be able with God's
assistance to make head against them. And we also of our special favour grant
that neither the aforesaid mayor, bailiff, and commonalty, or their successors
the mayors, bailiffs, and commonalty of Limerick city, neither any of them, nor
any one of any of the county and marches aforesaid, who shall thus have gone
hereafter with the aforesaid mayor, bailiffs, and commonalty, and with their
successors the mayors, bailiffs, and commonalty of the said city, against the said
enemies of ours, and English rebels who are to be curbed in the manner and
form aforesaid, be impeached, nor any of them be impeached or in any way be
aggrieved by our heirs, officers, or servants, or any of our heirs hereafter whatever in the causes aforesaid, or any of them. And we further of our fuller
favour grant unto the same mayor, bailiffs, and commonalty of the said city for
ever, the power of treating and parleying with the aforesaid our Irish enemies
dwelling about the city, county, and marches aforesaid, and to restore them to
peace with us, or of our heirs, and as often as they please to make armistices
and truces with them, without impeachment on the part of us, our heirs, officers,
or servants, or of our heirs whatever hereafter, providing, however, that such
treating be not to our prejudice or that of our faithful people. In tcstimony
whereof we have caused to be made these our letters patent. Witness our
beloved Thomas Straunge, Knight Deputy ; our beloved and faithful John
Sutton, Knight, our Lieutenant in our land of Ireland. Trim, the 8th day of
March, in the eighth year of our reign, Sutton, by petition by the Deputy himself and the whole council, and sealed with the pnvy seal".
W e thus perceive the state of society without the city, at a period in
which religion was effecting so many improvements within the walls, and
when piety among the citizens was one of their chief characteristics. By
a speaal patent the bishop himself was empowered to parley with the
rebels.
I n the third of Henry VI., the king, by Lis letters patent, remitted to
Cornelius, Bishop of Limerick, all debts, compositions, arrears, fines, and
amercements which were due of him to the crown of England. The
letters bear date the 26th of April, and are witnessed by Sir John Talbot,
Henry VI).
Lord Justiciary of Ireland (Pat. R. Bib.,
John Mothel, or perhaps more correctly John of Mothel, an Augustinian canon of the abbey of Kells, in the county of Kilkenny, succeeded
O'Dea by rovision of Pope Martin V., and was restored, according to
Ware, to t e temporalities on the 23rd day of January, 1426 (English
style). H e governed the see nearly thirty-two years; resigned it i n 1458;
and died in 1468. The Royal Irish Academy, in 1849, according to Dr.
Cotton, becnme possessed of an ancient seal or stone, which was probably that of this bishop. It bears the rude figure of a bishop rider the
usual canopy, beneath which is another figure of a prelate with his pastoral staff. The workmanship of these is coarse. It is inscribed:-
1
An account appears in the Black Book of an inquisition which was held
by Bishop John Mohel, which is to this effect:-
576
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
C
$77
BISTORT OF LIMERICK.
.
"An Inquisition was held in the [bishop's] court of Tullabrek, on the 9th
day of Septemher, in the year of our Lord 1447, before our Lord John, Lord
Bishop of Limerick, Robert Stancon, and many others ; item, Eoy. O'Cachaue,
jur. ; it. Sellan O'Pharrell, jur. ; it. Nichus. Fyn, jur. ; Richus. ILlcJonyn, jur. ;
Donaldus McJonyn, jur. ; Richus. Dug, jur. ; Thos. O'Morvie, jun.; Thos.
O'Bogane, jur. ; Cornelius O'Morio ; Willmus. Blewet, jur. ; who being sworn
as witness, on their oath depose, that in whatever may the tenants of Tullabrelr
did work by their horses and cattle for themselves, they would do in like
manner for the Bishop of Limerick."
The deans, f'rom the time already enumerated to the episcopacy of this
bishop, wcre, according to Dr. Cotton, Luke (13'32), Eustace de L'Eau,
or Waters (1311), who was raised to the episcopacy in that year; Stephen
de Valle (1360), who was elected bishop, according to Ware; Adam Owen
(1366), Richard Warren, Waryn, or Warying, Eustathus &Aqua, who
is named in a MS. T.C.D., f, 1-18. " But, perhaps", says Dr. Cotton,
" there is a mistake of a figure, and 1405 ought to be 1205 (see above)".
Robcrt Poer also was Archdeacon of Lismore as well as Dean of Limerick
(1434), and was sent as proxy for William, Bishop of Meath, to the council of BAsle, and on his return the council ordered the bishop to pay all
his expenses-[eec Register Swa ne] :-Poer in 1446 was raised to the
Fronl the
bishopric of Waterford; and, Lstly-, Thomas O'Scmican.
foundation of the cathedral up to this period, thcre were four precentors,
viz.: M. Omelinus (Biack Book), (1204 to 1207); Thornas (ibid., i d )
(1272) ; Dyonysius O'Dea (perhaps a relative of Bishop Cornelius O'Dea),
who obtained leave of absence for five years to go and study in the schools
of Oxfbrd 2nd Cambridge (Robert Patrick Wark), and who in 1421 was
raised to the bishopric of Ossory ;'Maimer Fleming (1426)-(Cod. Clar. 36).
William Crcagh, a native of Limerick, succeeded John Mothel. by Papal
rovision, on the resignation of the latter, and was consecrated in 1459.
b e occupied thc see about thirteen years. H e recovered for the church the
lands of Donoughinore, according to the Black Book, which were usurped
by other^.^ The salary of the organist in his time was 6s. 84d. per a n n ~ m . ~
H e was a distinguished member of a highly distinguished family, which
gave archbisl~opsand bishops to &c Church, commanders to the army,
chief magistrates to the city, and which traces its pedigree to Eugenius,
son of Nial of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaymoyvegan, several
monarchs of Ireland having been of the family.4
Most probably it was during the reign of this prelate that the Galway
monument, or, at all events, the principal portion of that vely remarkable
monumcnt, was erectcd in the cathedral, the inscription on which has
been much dcfaccd, no doubt purposely, and most probably by the soldiers
This Bishop of Ossory may, however, have been of the Kilkenny sept of O'Dea, located near
Waterford.
2 The entry is in his own hand~riting.
Arthbr MSS.
From an old MS:-tt Here followeth the antiquity, geanologie, and explanation of the most
antient family of the Creagbs in dl places where they be, and the reason why they were called
Creaghs, and their pedigree to Eugeniuq son of Nial of the Nync Hostages, son of Eoclia~moyvegan, with accowt of cach monarch of Irclund that had been of tlic ancestors of the said
hmily, with the y&r of the world or of Christ each monarch began their r e i p e , and how many
gears each monarch reigned first, and begin with". Three brother. Pierce, Patrick, and
Jnmes, commanded the party that forced their way through Creagh Gate, which is called sftsr
their name from that day, because they wore green branches in their helmets, to distinguish
themselves from their enemies, the Daues, whom they conquered.
of the Commonwealth, Sir Geofficy Galway, of whoin we have already
written so much (see p. 127), having becn one of the citizens proscribed by
Ireton. The coat of arms, which surmounts the monumcnt, seems to have
been placed above the tomb many years after the erection of the latter.
T h e arms of the Galway family are those of the De Burghs, distinguished
by a bend. On a shield at the right, over the tomb, are the arms of
Galway, impaling those of Stritch; and on a second shield, at the left,
are the Galway arms impaling those of A r t h r . There is a third shield
under the apex of the monument, but we have not been able to ascertain with correctness to whom it belongs. The inscription, as far as i t can
be at present made out, is as follows:vir Ricardus
...
civitaturn Lime xxx.
.
.
.
.
.
ort . ...
roa . . .
anno di rnccccxxxx. . . .
Corgagiae qxx. . . . . .
venerabilis vir Galfiridus
Hic jacet xx. . . . . .
Galwey quondam civis civitatum Limerici Corcag xxx. . . . . .
Waterfbrdie qui obiit
. . Margarite
. Jannarii&lie
anno Domini mccccxlxx urn
talis Eicardi xx. . . . fort
xx filius tdia xx. . . . .
XX.
XL
hunc tumulum fieri fecit.
Thomas Arthur succeeded in 1472, and died on the 19th July, 1486.
H e was the third son of Nicholas Arthur of Limerick, and Catherine
Skyddy of the city of Cork.' His father was one of the most eminent
citizens of his time-(see p. 369), and appears to have been on intimate
terms with the Kings of England, to whom he was accustomed to make
valuable presents. His grandfather, Thon~as,did much, m we hsve seen,
towards the decoration of the cathedral. The bishop had five brothers, dl
of whom rose to distinction in their native city.
Richard, whose surname is not given by our authorities, succeeded in
1486, and died in the same year, in Rome, where he was appointed tci the
see by Pope Innocent VIII. H e never took possession of his see.
John Uunow or Dumow, a canon of Exeter, doctor of laws, 'and, at
the time, ambassador of Henry VIII. to the court of Rome, was nominated, on the 13th of November, 1486, by the Pope's pro.vision, to succeed;
but he also died in Rome the third year after his consecration, before he
had time to visit his see.
John Folan succeeded in 1489. H e was canon of Ferns, rector of
Clonmore, and procurator for Octavian de Palatio, Archbishop of Armagh
at the court of Rome, and was advanced to the see of Limerick by the
Pope, on the 13th of May in the same year. During the episcopacy of
this prelate i n 1449, the nave of the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
which was narrow and mouldering to decay, was enlarged, and several
other additions were made, including the erection of three transepts, as
well as the formation of various aisles. The citizens undertook the duty
of decorating the cathedrals
The Arthurs appear to have given their aid towards these improvements.
Robert Arthur filled the office of mayor at the time, and Christopher
Arthur was one of the bail&. I t was the custom, a few years sfter, if i t
Arth~uMSS.
'Ibid.
518
.B.
ISTORY OF LIMERICK.
579
HISTORY OF LTMERICIL
was not at this period, to apply the fines that were levied by the mayor
on the citizens, towards the restoration and improvement of the cathedral.
Tor instance, during the mayoralty of William Stackpoll, John Everard
and Richard FitzNicholas Creagh, bailiffs, A.D. 1500, the Mayor commanded that the fines which had been imposed on Anthony Galway and
Philip England should be expended on the repairs of the Church of the
Blessed Virgin; and in 1505, William Harrold for the second time mayor,
Nicholas Creagh and John Rochfort, bailiffs, the Mayor expended the
fines im osed on the citizens in the building the Church of the Blessed
Virgin AdarY.'
I n 1518, Geoffrey Arthur, theninth treasurer of the cathedral, according
to Dr. Cotton, died, and his monument, which has been a serious puzzle
to antiquaries and historians, and which Ferrar and Fitzgerald made ridiculous, deserves particular notice. The following is an exact engravin
of a tracing of this monument, made by the author of this work, an
which is followed by the contracted Latin of the original, expanded, with
a translation :-
8
ford and Lismore, and James O'Cor~in,Bishop of Killaloe, also assbted.
A t thii synod power was given to the mayor of Limerick to imprison
ecclesiastical debtors, until they made satisfaction to their creditors, without
incurring danger of excommunication. T h e privilege was sought for by
Nicholaa Stritch, mayor, for himself and his successors, b r t a doubt is
expressed that the concession was valid.' The clergy arraigned the decree as a violation of their canonical privilege ; and judging from the brief
record of the event in the Arthur MSS., it would seem that the laity were
not in favour of it, whatever cause may have impelled the mayor to
demand a power hitherto unknown in the municipal annals. Whilst
John Quin was bishop, there were improvements made in the cathedral
by James Harold, mayor, which we find by a rudely cut tablet, inserted
in recent years, in the wall of the north transept of the cathedral. The
letters are relieved Roman, and the tablet was brou ht from another part
of the cathedral, near the O'Dea monument, during t e alterations in 1861:
%
IE HABOLD
QUI HOC OPV
S BIER1 BECERUPU'
T AII'OIII 1526.
Hic jacet in tumuli fundo sublatus a mundo
Galfridus Arture thesaurarius quondam istius ecclesia
xvi. luce maya requievit in pace perpetua.
Anno crucitixi domini 1519.
Tu transiens cave qui hic dices pater et ave.
"Rere lies, in the bottom of the tomb, removed from the world, Geoffrey
Arture, formerly treasurer of this Church. He rested in perpetual peace on
the 16th day of May, in the ,year of the Crucified Lord 1519. You who pass
by take heed that you here say a Pater and Ave".
John Coyn, or Quin, a Dominican Friar, and, according to Dr. Cotton, a brother of the direct ancestor of the present E w l of Dunraven, succeeded to the bishopric through the immediate influence of the Pope, though
Henry VIII. laboured zealously to substitute in the room of Bishop Folan
Walter Wellesley, Prior of Conal, who was afterwards elevated to the See
of Kildare. Bishop Q,uin, who was consecrated in 1521, resigned on the
9th of' April, 1351, not bein able any longer, through age, want of sight,
and other ;.6;rmities, to ho d the office. H e assisted at the synod held
in Limerick. Ijy Edmund Butler, Archbisho of Cashel, about the festival of
SS. Peter and Paul, 1529, at which ~ichofasComyn, Bishop of Water-
P
The words before 1526 appear to be Aug. 3.
James Harold was mayor, "for the first time", in 1525.' The bishop
was a member of the old family of O'Cuin, of the tribe of Muinter Iffernan,
located at Corofin, in the county of Clare, his brother Jarnes Quin, of IGlmallock, being the direct ancestor of the Right Hon. the Em1 of Dunraven.
I t appears by Dr. Foran's introduction to the Lives of the Arclrbishops
of Dublin, that John C o p , or Quin, for some t h e had a coadjutor named
Cornelius O'Neil, of the Tyrone family. Writing on the authority of
Father Domingo Lopes, the annalist of the Trinitarian Order, whose rare
work was published at Madrid in 1714, he says this coadjutor was a
member of that order, and had acted in preceding years as provincial; that
the convent contained forty-five religious, and that in 1539, when acting as
suffragan, he preached in the cathedral, denouncing the threatened innovathe destruction of the religious houses, and anathematizing
should renounce the saving doctrines of the Cathoiic
had then begun to be preached to them. On the
same evening, 24th Jcne, 1539, in his owi residence, according to the same
authority, his head was struck off by a blow of a sword by one of the
emissaries of the crown. On the 16th January, 1540-41, we find Bishop
Quin at Cahir, where, with the Lord Deputy Sentleger, ;the Archbishop
of Cashel, and the Bishop of Emly, he certified the submission of James
FitzJohn, Earl of Desmond. The Bishop of Limerick is mentioned in
some state papers printed in Lynch's Feudal Uigaities of Ireland(p. 341),
md in the State Papem of H m y VIII.(vol. iii. part iii. %.307), as having
been present at the parliament of 1541, which enacted t at Henry should
3
Arthnr MSS.
The recder is aware that the mayoralty occupied from September t6 Septembef, thus mn.
ping over portions of two years.
SS0
~ I S T O R YOP LIMERICX.
C
581
IIISTORY OF LIMERICK.
.
be king in place of lord of Ireland; but no Christian name is mentioned,
although given as was customary to several other bishops. The list too, as to
numbers, totally disagrees with those mentioned by the Deputy Sentleger;
hence it seems questionable whether he was there, though there is no doubt
he had been summoned. There is little doubt also that Bishop Quin
opposed the progress of the Reformation, as we find in a letter from Sentleger to Secretary Cecil, dated 19th January, 1550-1,' the following statement: "And nowe, as tuching religion, altho it be hard to plante in
men's mynds herein, yet I trust I am not slake to do what I can t'advance
the same. I have caused the whole service of tlie commyon to be
drawen into Latten, mhiche shalbe shortly set furthe in print. I have
caused boks to be sent to the citty of Lymik, who most gladly have
condescended to ymbrace the same with all effecte, altho the Busshop
therr, who is both owlde and blind, be moost agensyt it". According
to Ware and Moi.rin's Patent Rolls, Bishop Quin resigned his see the
9th of April, 1551, and there can be little question but that his resignation was compelled, considering what Sentleger wrote against him,
and that in another letter written by him to the Duke of Somerset,
18th February, 1550-1 (Shirley, p. 49), he mentions that the Lord
Cnancellor, accompanied by the Master of the Rolls, had made a late
journey to Limerick and Galway, and " had established the king's maties.
ordres for religion in such sorte as there is greet assueraunce the same
shalbe duely observed, so as I trust those parties be wthoute suspecte of
adhearing to anny forreigne power". This view is confirmed by the Rev.
James White in his MSS., p. 51, who writes, '' I find by an old MS. in
my possession, that John Coyn was L deposed' by an order of Edward
VI., for being a Catholic bishop, and that William Casey, a conformist,
was put in his place". It was during Q u i d time that a most cruel persecution began to rage, and expended no small share of its fury. He was
fated to witness the suppression of the abbeys in 1538, and the arrival
of Edmond Sexten at Limerick, on special employment by hi royal
master, alienating the property of the churches and uprooting the ancient
landmarks. He saw his cathedral church of St. Mary's, which had f ~ r
centuries been dedicated to the observances of the old faith, handed
over to William Casey, who, at the instance of James Earl of Desmond,
according to Ware, was advanced to this see by Edward Vf., and W&
made bishop by George Browne, the h t Protestant archbishop of Dublin.'
He lived to see himself restcared to his see by the advent of Queen Mary to
the throne of England, but not to find religion in the flourishing state it
several
had been in when he h t enjoyed the episcopal dignity, and dun'n,~
of those years in which he had filled that exdted oace. He saw Thomaa
Creagh, niayor of Limerick, A.D. 1569, proclaim Connor O'Brien, Earl
of Thomond (who had fled to France, and returned and obtained pardon
h London) a traitor.3 I t is strange to observe that on the very eve
of the troubles which brought such deep af3iction on Church and people, $he citizens of Limerick were extending their venerable cathedral, making improvements in it, and decorating it with great taste and
even elegance:- Thus we find that during the episcopacy of our prelate
0
Sbirley's Original Ldtm,p. 47.
2 Casefs Life in Ware, p. 610, shows that he was never canonically appointed.
Sezkm's Annab, ia the British Muaem.
Daniel Fitzgregory Arthur, mayor,
John Quin (A.D. 1532-1533),
George Creagh and William White, bailiffs; the mayor, from a principle
of piety and for thc sake of his offspring, had the three aisles and the whole
choir of the church of the Blcssed Virgin Mary in Limerick, laid with
square polished marble flags, from whence it is to this day called b c caoaniel, (Daniel's pavement or flags) ; and the Lord blessed him with a
numerous ~ffspring".~
Among the deans d~uingthose years, was Andrew Creagh, who resigned in 1543, and reaeived the king's pardon for some unknown offence
on the day when his successor was confirmed (Rot. Put., 35th Henry VIII.).
In the cathedral a stone is placed to his memory with the inscription:
I
i0ecarru$+
I
This rnsrble slab had lain near the great altar; but in the alterations in
1861 it was removed to the north transept, where there are some other
sncient tombstones of an apparently contemporaneous period, a few of
which we shall notice here:
Lying with the head from the western wall of the north transept, is s
h i e l y elaborate cut stone, with floriated ornamentation in hi h relief,
divided into four compartments by a cross embraced in the mi dle by a
~ircle. In each of the compartments is tlie figure of alion passant, the arms
of the O'Briens. This ancient relic is sad to have formed the lid of
a stone coffin, and until the alterations in 1861, it lay near the western
entrance, from which it wag removed to its present place.
The monument of Dean Creagh, above referred to, is placed next to the
above tombstone.
The next in position is a floriated cross on a plain black marble sbb
without any inscription.
A tombstone, apparently be1ong;lg to the Roche or %-ice family, is
placed next to the above.
A monumental slab in black letter, somewhat broken and defawd, is
placed next in order. T i i i monument was erected to Thomas Mahon, and
his wife Creagh;
- the former died 1st November, 1631, the latter November
2nd, 1637.
On the deprivation of William Casey, who had been advanced, as we
have seen, by Edward VI., from the rectory of Kilcornan, on the recommendation of James, Earl of Desmond, Hugh Lacy, or Lees, a canon of
Limerick, was appointed by Queen 3Iary.P The following abstract of the
royal letter is in Monin's Calendar of the Patent Idolls: The queen to
%
Arthur MSS. These, we suppose, were the tiles which were taken up in the repairs of the
cathedral in 1861, and which were similar in many respects to the ancient encaustio tiles found
in Mellifont Abbey, Christ Church, and St. Patrick's. Dublin, and in other abbeys and churches,
a d a dascriptive catalogue of which has been published by Thomas Oldham, Esq, in h
i
s work on
ancient Irish pavement iiles. The tiles of St. Mary's were encaustic, with the lily impressedon them
-me
were vitr&d, and the lily also impressed on them. [I have a few specimens of them.]
S He was of the ,pat De Lacy family of the County of Limerick.
582
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERLCR.
583
i .
the lord deputy, steting that the see of Limerick being vacant, the ope
was pleased, on the recommendation of her majesty, to prefer Hugli Eees,
or Lashy, to that see, as by the bulls sent over would appear, and requiring
tlie lord deputy, therefore, according to the laws and customs of the realm
before the twentieth year of the reign of the late King Henry VIII., to
restore to him all tlie temporalities ofthe bishopric, first requiring him to take
his corporal oath of fealty, truth, and allegiance. He was restored on the 13th
of April, 1557, having first taken such oath, which, as given by Ware,
was as f~llows:-~'I, Hugh, Bishop of Limerick, elected and consecrated,
do acknowledge that I have and hold all the temporal possessions of the
said bishopric from your hands, and from your successors, Kings of England,
as in right of the crown of your Kingdom of Ireland, and to you and to
our successors, Kings of England, faith will bear. So help me God and
%IS holy Gospels". After the accession of Queen Elizabeth lie attended her
first parliament in 1560, in which the act of uniformity was passed, and the
royal supremacy reenacted, but there is no evidence that he supported these
acts or ever conformed: in fact, the evidence is the reverse, for in 1562 we
find David Wolf, a native of Limerick, and Jesuit father, who had been
appointed nuncio for Ireland, residing with him when he was desired to see
"what bishoppes did their dewties there, and what sees ware voyde". And
Dr. Richard Creagh, Archbishop of Armagh, states in his examination
taken by Ousley, Recorder of London, March 17th, 1564,-5,' that on going
out of Ireland to Rome, he obtained from the nuncio forty crowns, and
from the Bysshoppe of Lymericke twelve markes". Previous to his departure Dr. Creagh had, by the directions of his diocesan, been engaged
in denouncing in pnblio and private, in season and out of season, the oath
of supremacy and attendance at the Protestant worship". Inasmuch,
wrote the late Dr. Kelly (Rambler, May, 1853), as the strong attachment
of the citizens to the English crown, and the general ignorance regarding
the precise nature of the changes introduced, endangered the fidelity of the
people".
I n 1565 it seems the English government intended to deprive Dr. Lacy,
as, in the instructions to Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Lieutenant, on assuming
the viceroyalty, it was amongst other matters directed, that " Inquisition
also would be made of the bishoprick of Lymerick, whether it be voyde,
or that by some means some mete person were placed there to serve for the
like purpose in such a counsell". That is, to serve thereafter as a counsellor in Munster for the governance of those parts. Sidney, in the opinion
he gave upon these minutes, states, he would certify the opinion of the Irish
council as to the bishoprick of Limerick, but it does not appear any action
was taken as to it, and as, in the original instructions, the execution ofthe
Ecclesiastical Commission previously issued was directed to be confined to
the English Pale and other obscure places, we may fairly presume that in
the then unsettled state of the south-west of Ireland, Sidney considered it
unwise and imprudent to then interfere with De Lacy.
In January, 1568, Lacy was appointed one of the commissioners of Munster, along wit& Brady, Bishop of Meath, John Plunket, Henry Draycott,
and Justice Edward Fitzsymon, and was directed to join tlie others at
Youglial. H e wrote them from Kilmallock on the l l t h , that he could
not join them for lack of money, after which they wrote him from Cork, re-
* Shirley's
Origfnal Letters, pp. 171,173.
quiring him to repair to them speedily, bringing with him the Countess of
Desmond, if possible, and that they would bear his charges. He, accompanied by the countess, accordinglyreached Cork on the 21st. What was
done there does not appear from the state papers, but on the 19th March,
they wrote a joint letter to the Lord Justice, in which the countess thanks
him for his care of the Earl of Desmond's lands, tenants, and followers
[he was then in London Tower], and beseeching that James Fitzmaurice
might rule in the earl's absence. Shortly after, the bishop wrote to the
Lords Justices complaining of Thomas Lord Hitzmaurice of Kerry. The
nature of the complaint does not appear, but Lord Fitzmaurice, writing from
Lixnaw on the 6th July, calls it a false book. Desmond wrote him from
the Tower on 18th November, requesting liiin to assist in executing justice
to poor and rich, to help in collecting money, that is, the earl's rents, and
stating that Donoghow Casshie,' Chancellor of Limerick, would not give a
penny for his discharge. I n other letters hc frequently and bitterly complains of Casshie's conduct in detaining his money. The very same year,
when Dr. Creagh, before mentioned, was a prisoner in the Tower of
London, it appears by the Consistory Acts in the Vatican Archives, that
O'Hairt, Bishop of Achonry, was recommended by Cardinal Morone to
administer Armagh, and at the same time, the Bishop of Limerick to be
chosen by the Apostolic See togive testimonials for the provinces of Munster
and Leinster to those clergy who went to Rome.
Dr. Lacy is also said to have resigned in 2571; but the real fact is, that
he was deprived of the temporalities, continuing as before to exercise his
S iritual jurisdiction till the time of his death.
Dr. Moran, in the introi c t i o n to his Lives of Be .Arehbirhopa of Dublin, writes: We find him
(Dr. Lacy) petitioning the IIoly See for special faculties for his diocese in
1575 ;and the same year we find the Holy See expediting these faculties
for L 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 Casliel, 'quamdiu ven. frater noster Archiepus. Cassellensis a eua
diocesi et ecclesia et universa provincia abfuerit'. Indeed so high was the
esteem in which Dr. Lacy was held at Rome that he was selected by the
Holy See to recommend members of the Irish Church for the vacant sees.
The see of Limerick, in 1580, is described in a Vatican list asvacant ' per
obitum D. Ugonis Lacy in sua ecclesia defunct?. Thus", continues Dr.
Moran, by the so-called resignation ~f 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 Caith of their fathers". The concluding years of Dr. Lacy's
life are thus summed up by the Rev. Dr. hl'Carthy, in his valuable chapter on the Irish bishops from 1536 to 1600, subjoined to his edition of the
late Rev. M. Kelly, D.D.'s Dissertations on Irisl~Church History. " He,
like his predecessors, was deprived, and died in 1580 (according to White's
MS. p. 52) after three years' imprisonment. H e was confined in Cork jail,
as Bruodin informs us, fled thence to France in the reign of Edward,
returned under hfary, and died in prison under Elizabeth. Rothe, pars
3 8 , p. 4, reckons him among the confessors of the f&thn.
On the death of William Casey, who was restored by Queen Elizabeth,
and to whom the first Protestant dean, viz., Denis Campbell, a native of
Casey.
584
. .IIISTORS
OF LIMERICK,
Scotland, and formerly archdeacon of Limerick, was appointed coadjutor,
John Thornborough, D.D., a native of Salisbury, and educated at Magdalen
College, Oxford, who became Dean of York and chaplain to Queen
Elizabeth, was appointed Protestant bishop, after a lapse of two years
since the death of William Casey. He, however, was translated to Bristol,
A.D. 1603, and subsequently to Worcester, where he died in July, 1641.
A long account is given in Harris's Ware of his monument in Bristol.
From this period till the days of the Confederation, A.D. 1641,
etc., the cathedral appears to have been for the greater part of the time
in the hands of the Protestant bishops and clergy ; nor can we find that any
improvement had been made in i t during the troubled and anxious days
they held possession. I t is true that on the death of Queen Elizabeth
"all the cittyes and towns of Munster entered into arms and put upp
which our authority adds, L' did not continue
masses in their church<
long". W e are informed also? that the utmost joy pervaded the citizens of
Limerick at the removal of the persecuting queen, who had purpled the
scaffold with the blood of so many martyrs on account of the faith, and who
was succeeded by a monarch whose tendencies were thought to be entirely in
favour of the utmost toleration to the religion which had been suffering for
over half a century at the hands of an unrelenting despotism. Among the
English by d e s ~ e n t who
" ~ inhabited the county of Limerick, at the end of
the sixteenth century, there were none who sympathised with the c h a n p
in religion; they were +xis Hibernis Hiberniores; for the mere Irish were
true as steel to their religion; they could not be subdued; and for Edmund
Sexten and his followers to conquer so bold and resolute a band as then
existed thoughout the diocese or to confront them, was impossible. As the
record of the names and districts of the old possessors is of very great interest, we give it, containing, as it does, the names of those who at the
time held the highest positions in county and city, and who never swerved
from the assertion of principle at any cost.
No. 635, Carew MSS., LarrJelh Pakrcs.
Copy of book by S
i
r Hy. Gibert, 1370.
(End of sixteenth century )
LIST OF ENGLISH BY DESCENT.
LIM?CBICK.
H d e s , Supples, P-ll,
G - ~ N
,hcies of Ballingarry.
FBEEROLDERS ABOUT HILEX~LLOCK.
Thomas Brown, Constable of Aney; Thomas Hurley, of Knocklong; John
Brown, of the Hospital.
TXE GENTRY AND FREEHOLDEBB OF OWNEY.
William Leashe (Lacy), of the Browfe, and his son young William; David
Leashe, Alleshaighe; James Fitzmaurice Leashe, of the Clewhir.
THE GENTRY AKD FBEEHOLDERS OF CONNELLOH.
Edye Lacye, of the Browery; Piers Pursell, of the Croagh; John L q , o f
Ballingarry ;x.WilliamLacy, of Ballinderyhly; the Walls, and others.'
Scztcn's Annals.
Caret0 MSS. in the Lambeth Palsce, No. 6.35.
Bmwfe and Browery are now oslled Braff and Bmree.
a Arthur
585
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
XSS.
ENGLISH OF DESCENT.
Erle of ICildare, Lord of Cohonay; Erle of Desmond, Lord of Connologh, was
the second man ; Sir Will. and Sir 12ic. Burghe, Lo. of Clanwilliam ; Burke, of
Limerike; Lo. Burgh, Castelconel ; IIurlics, Casks, Supples, Pursels, Lacies,
of Ballingarry ; Qr. BStie. for Kenry, with. Edm. Fitzdant, clameth ; Welshes,
Keasis, Plants, Jordons, Verdons, Whites.
MLRE IRISBE.
M'Shees, Gullogless ; MLBryan, Ogonaegh, Aregh; Brian
O'Mulrea, O'Brien, Arlogh.
Dnff, O'Brien,
GOOD TOWNS.
Limericke, Eillmalloc, Asketon, Emely.
CASTLES.
Adare, Loghger, Crome, Newcastle, Rallinity, Castleconal.
RIVERS.
Shenan ; Havens, Limerick ; Loughes.
FACTIONS I N MOUNSTEB.
The most part of the Faction: of this Province were grounded in the Erle of
Desmond, who, heinge nowe dead, they are for the most part extinguished. The
Geraldines and the Butlers are naturallie emulous the one of the other.
The hlCSwinesand &16Sheesin faction.
THE NAXES OF THE #BEEHOLDERS AND GENTLEXlSN OF TDB COU*TEIE OF LYSBURYCKE, AS
EOLLOWLTfl.
Imps. Sir William Burcke, of Castleconell, A. Ric. Burck, of Caherconlis, 8.
(Other names as in 635.)
No. 293 Harleian &SS.
DIARY OF EARL OF ESSEX'S PROCEEDINGS, 1599.
' 6 There have come to his lordship, and simply without conditions submitted
themselves to her Majesty's mercy : Vt. Mountgarrett, with his 5 sons and
brother ; the Lord Roche, Vist. Pernloy ; the Lord Baron of Callir; Teige
O'iirien, brother to the Earl of Thomond ; Thomas Bourk, brother of the Lord
Bourk ; Jas. FitzPeerce of the House of Kildare, etc., and others.
No. 627, MSS.
NAYES OF REBELS WITH E A ~ L
DESJIORD, 1584.
(As per Inquis. Ush. MSS. 1589.)
Gibbon, Thos. McShurlye, or Karlye ; Jas. Nagle, alias McErnellen; Ulick
Leashy, gent. We find that the aforesaid U1. Leashy was in rebellion and died
therein, and for any lands he had ignoramus. Gerald Brown, ignoramus; q ~ .
Odonog More, Hugh Lacy, Lord of Glanfleske,' to Cork (qry. England) ; Nagle
Condon, Deanes of Brog;hel.
So far the Harleian MSS. on this subject. W e conclude this chapter
with the names of a few of the Protestant Bishops.
Bernard Adams succeeded John Thornborough as Protestant bishop,
A.D. 1604. He was an A.M. of Trinity College, Oxford, and was appointed
by King James. H e expended large sums in repairing the cathedrltl, and
furnished i t with an organ. H e died on the 22nd of March, 1625; W=
buried near the celebrated Cornelius O'Dea; and on his monument, which
is a mural one, over the tomb of O'Dea, the following inscription was out:BERNABDUS
jacet hic en ADAMUS,
episcopus olim,
Omnia non vidit Solomonis, at omnia vana.
l-O'Donog More mast have been Lord of Glanflesk, not Lacy.
41
HISTORY OX' LIMERICK.
A bishop once, here Bernard's bones remain ;
He saw not all-but saw that all was vain.
Then follow four lines in English :Sufficient God did give me, which I spent;
I little borrowed, and as little lent,
I left them whom I loved enough in store,
Increas'd this bishopric, relieved the poor.
The monumcnt contains these lines aho:
Nemo mihi tvmbam statvat de Marmore faxit
Urnula Episcopolo satis ista Pusilla Pvsillo
Angli quis vivus fveram et testentvr Hyberni
Ccelicolse quis sim defunctus testificentvr.
Which we thus .translate:
Let none erect to me a marble tomb ;
For a little prelate that little urn suffices ;
What I was living, let the English and Irish tell ;
The celestials, what I am now.
On the pillars of tlle monument there appear to have been emblems of
the pssion, the spear, cross, etc. These were dcfawd, as were the ornamental bosses and emblems on the lower part of the monument. At present, too, nothing more than the last lines above given can be read.
Francis Gough, Chancellor of thc Cathedral of Limerick, A.D. 1636,
He m a edwated in New
W* the next Protestant bishop aftcr Adams.
H
e
died
in
Limerick,
29th
August, 1631, and was
College, Oxford.
buried in St. Mury's Cathcdral.
W e sllould have stzted that next to the monument of Geoffrey Arthur is
mother of about equal dimensions, with the following inscription cut in re-
This tablet was removed, in the alterations of 1861, fmm beneath or
near the Comlnunion table to its present place. I t is broken in the centre,
m d some diEculty exists as to that portion of the inscription in which the
st~pposedword "decanusY' occurs. There is no mention, however, of s
John Ffox as dean of St. Mary's C a t h e d d
impposed to b Decnnua-but it is very indistinct.
Chl~r~11,
wbQ died on the 18th
~liethHthe Reverend
~
~ John Ffox, formerly h
~
a
a
nof
h?of the rnontl) AD. 1508, to wbse soul m y God be m d u l n ,
1The
aL
CHAPTER LVIII.
THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS I N SUCCESSION-NACHTEN-MACRAH-RICHARD
AaTHUR-APPOINTHENT
AND DISTRIBUTION O F PREACHERS BY RINUCCINI ON THE RESTORATION OF T H E CATHEDRAL-O'DWYER-NEW PARTICULARS OF THE ATROCITIES DURING IRETON'S OCCUPATION OF LIDXERICKTHE MONUMENTS OF ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL DURING ITS OCCUPATION
BY THE PROTESTANTS-THE PROTESTANT BISHOPS I N SUCCESSION.
ACCORDING to Dr. Rforan,' Cornclius Nachtcn succeeded Hugh Lacy in
1581; in White's MSS., however, there. is a statement to this effect:
c' I have in my possession a dispensation granted in the forbidden degrees of
kindred to Leonard Creagh and JoanWhite in order to be married, which is dated
the 6th of November, 1613, and signedMathew Xacrah, but the place where it
was dated is not mentioned, which induces me to suspect that the said Nathew
Macrah was the Catholic Bishop of Limerick before Xicllard Arthur. Said dispensation is written in Latin, and the granter says he granted it by authority
vested in him by the Holy See".
The name of Mathew Macrah appears in the list of Bishops in Whitc's
MSS. as the Catholic bishop in succession to Hug% Lacy.
On the same authority we learn that in 1623 ltichard Arthur succeeded
in the episcopacy: he was a native of Limerick, and one of the family of
which we have already written so mach in the course of this work. H e
was consecrated by David Rothe, Bishop of Ossory, on the 7th of September in that year, the Bishop of Cork and the Abbot of Holy Cross,
Luke Archer, assisting at the ceremony. H e received the Papal Nuncio,
Rinnccini, in his cathedral of St. Nary's, again rcstored to its ancient
possessors, on the 30th of October, 1645, the clergy and the municipal and
military authorities, in solemn procession having accompanied Rinuccini from St. John's Gate to the cathedral. Dr. Meehanz states that even
i o not but admire thc splendid crozier and mitre which Dr.
the N ~ ~ n ccould
Arthur used in the soIemn function of' receiving the Pope's ambassador on
the threshold of hi metropolitan church. These were believed indeed
by some to be the work of some celestial artificer, and not of mortal
hands, the legend running that on one occasion when there was a synod of
prelates in Dublin, it so happened that the Bishop of Li~nerickwent thither
without his pontificals, and was thus compelled to seek throughout the
metropolis a crozier and mitre. A t length, having given up all hopes of
obtainirig them, a youth just landcd fiom a ship, which a few minutes
before had entered the harbour, approached and presented the bishop a
case in which he told him that he would find the articles he sought for,
and that if he liked hc might keep them. When he sent a messenkr in
haste after the st~angerto pay for the precious objects, the ship had welglied
anchor and vanished beyond the horizon! The mitre, it is further added,
was entrusted to a wealthy Catholic merchant to keep it from falling into
the hands of the reformers, but he abstracted some of its precious stones
and replaced them with false ones, a sacrilege which heaven avenged on
Livm ofthe Archbishops o f Dublin.
&h
Hierarchy in the secenteenth centurg.
41 B
558
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
b
HISTORY O F LIMERICK.
589
.
his posterity, for they all died i n misery. I n the time of Dr. Arthur,
Rinuccini restored the services in the Cathedral of St. hidry's, and
appointed the different preachers and the d ~ y son which they were to
preach. T h e document which shows this, was found, as was the taxation
givcn in the preceding chapter, among thc papers of'the Revcrend Doctor
Jasper White, precentor and parish pricst of St. John the Baptist of
Limerick; and the MS., according to an entry in White's MSS. by Dr.
Young, was in his (Dr. Young's) possession in 1795. T h e following is a
translation of this important document, which a130 gives the names of the
religious orders who were in Limerick at this period:
Distribution of preachers in the cathedral church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
of Limerick, and who are obliged to preach:The Bishop sl~ouldpreach :
2. On the feast of St. Sylvester.
3. On Palm Sunday.
l. Sunday of P entecost.
2. On the Assumption of the Blessed Tlie Prebendary of St. hiunchin's
Virgin BIary.
preaches
3. On the festival of all Saints.
1. On Septuagcsima Sunday,
2. On Easter Tuesday.
4. On the first Sunday of Advent.
The Prebendary of Donnghmore,
5. On Chri~tmash y .
6. On the first Sund:ly of Lent.
1. 011 the 5th Sunday after Yente7. 011the festival of St. Patricl;.
cost,
8. 011the Annuncinliou of the Blcssed 2. Ou the sixth Sunday after the
I<piphany.
Virgin Xitry.
The Prebendary of Ballycnhane,
9. On Easter Sunday.
10. On the ltatival of SS. Peter and 1. On the sixth SLlnclayafter PentePan1 Apostles.
coat,
'I'he Dean is obliged to preach
2. On the second Sunday after Easter.
1. On the Third Suilday of Leut.
The Prebendary of Iliipeacon,
2. On the festival of St. Jolui the 1. On the Seventh Sunday after PenEvangelist.
tecoat,
3. On the Seventeenth Sunday after 2. On the third Sunday after Easter.
Pentecost.
The Prehcndary of Tullebracke,
4. On the I~iventionof the Cross.
1. 011the eighth Sunday after PenteThe Precentor Prcachcs
cost,
l. On the feast of St. Bartholmew the 2. On the fourth Sunday after E ~ a e r .
Apostle.
The Prebendary of' Keilidy,
2. On the feast of St. Andrew the 1. On the ninth Sunday after PenteApostle.
cost,
2. On the fifth Sunday after Easter.
3. On the Sccond Sunday in Lent.
The Chancellor preaches
The Prebendary of Ardcantliy,
1. Ofi the third Sunday after Pente- 1. On the 10th Sunday after Pentecost.
cost,
2. On the feast of Pt. Thomas the 2. On the Gth Sunday after Easter.
Apostle.
The Prebendary of E&.
The Prebendary of Athnid.
3. On the fourth Sunday of Lent.
The P ebendary of Croagh,
The Treasurer preaches
1. On the fifth Sunday after the 1. On the 12th Sunday after Pentecost.
Epiphany,
2. On Easter Monday,
The Prebendary of Desert.
2. On Passion Sunday.
The Rector of Keilchuman preaches,
3. On Dominica in Albis.
On the 13th Sunday after Pentecost.
The Archdeacon preaches
On the 14th Sunday after Pentecost
1. On Trinity Sunday.
The Franciscans pqeach
The Rector of Croom.
On the 15th Sunday after,Pentecost 1. On the Sunday within the octave
of Corpus Christi.
The Rector of Athala&.
On the lGth Sunday aftcr Pentecost 2. On the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
The Rector of Drommin.
On the 18th Sunday after Pentecost 3. On the third Sunday of Advent.
4. On the feast of St.Blatthew, Apostle.
The Rector of Newcastle.
'I'he Augustinians preach
On the 19th Sunday after Pentecost
The Rector of Monaghea.
1. On the feast of St. Micliael the
On the 20th Sunday after Pentecost
Archangel.
2. On the 4th Sunday of Advent.
The Rector of Rat1iron:m.
On the 21st Sunday aftcr Pentecost 3. 'On Ascension Day.
The Jesuits preach
The Rector of Mahunagli.
On the'22nd Sunday after Pentecost 1. On Whitsun Monday.
The Rector of Dundonal.
2. On the feast of St. Matthew, Apostle.
On the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost 3. On the feast of St. Stephen; J'rotoThe ltector of Lisrnakery.
martyr.
On the 29th Sunday after Pentecost 4. On Quinquagesima Sunday.
The Rector of Keilbridy minor.
The Capueliins preach
On the 1st Sunday after the Epiphany 1. On the Epiphany of our Lord.
The Rector of Keilbridy major.
2. On the third Sunday after EpiOn the 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany.
3. On the fourth Sunday after Epiphany
The Rector of Derryghcalvan.
phany.
The Dominicans preach
4. On the Parasceve of our Lord.
1. On the feast of Corpus Christi.
The Car~nelitespreach
2. On the feast of St. Laurence the 1. On the feast of SS. Simon and
Martyr.
Jude, Apostles.
3. On the second Sunday in Advent.
2. On Whitsun Tuesday.
4. On the Purification of the Blessed 3. On the feast of the Holy Innocents.
Virgin Mary.
4. On Sexagesima Sunday".
Richard Arthur appears to have been Vicar General in 1613, and we
learn on the authority of Fitzgerald's MS. narrative i n T.C.D.,but evidently of a subsequent date, under a heading, entitled, '(A note of Archbushoppes and Bushoppes of Ireland consecrated and authorised by the
Pope", under the head, " Elected Bushoppes, but not as yet consccratec
the following, inter alin:
'L Richard Arthure elleeted of Limericke, resident there, and is releeved
by special friends and kinsemen of his owne, and by privie tyethes".
White states'(Considering the troublesome times that he lived in, and that he did not
enjoy the temporalities, get he was a great benefactor to this see, as there are
many valuable presents he gave it still extant. In 1624 he gave two plate
cruets for wine and water, engraved and partly gilt; in 1625 he gave a large
plate @;iltcrucifix hollowed within side for relicts, nicely engraved, with a pedestal
or degrees of plate, set with stones, and in the upper cross there is inlaid in the
form of a cross a very large relic of the holy cross of Christ ; it was designed
to be carried before the bishop in 1627. The same year he gave a large gilded
chalice and patena enamelled ; he gave a plate pax nicely enamelled, and the
enamelled work representing the Crucifixion and the soldier piercing Christ's
side with a lance. In 1634 he gave a gilt plate remonstrance for the sacrament,
supported by four pillars and a cover over it. He was succeeaed in the see of
Limerick by Edmund O'Dwyer".
590
591
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMEXUCK.
Richad Arthur died on the 23rd of May, 1646, and his funeral was
attended by the Pope's Nuncio Rinuccini and all the clergy; he was
buried in the Cathedral of St. Mary's.
During Richard Arthur's episcopacy Richard Webb, D.D., of Oxford,
and chaplain to king Charles L, was Protestant Bishop of Limerick ; he
was consecrated in Lhblin, and died a prisoner in the King's Castle of
Limerick, A.D. 1641.
Robert Sibtliorpe, Bishop of IGlfenora, mas translated to the see, A. D.
1642, but on account of the civil wals he never took possession, and died
in Dublin in 164'3, whcrc: he was buried in St. Werburgh's Church.
A t this time tlicre were several monuments erected by Catholic citizens
in the Catltllcdral of St. Mary's Dr. Thoinas Arthur informs us that he
was dcputcd by his uncle, David Ryce, to compose an epitaph for a monument reccntly built for the Kice faulily in the Cathedral, and that he composed it as follows:-
philosophy, as well as at the Sorbonne, where he won a character for profound knowledge of theology.' Soon after obtaining the degree of doctor
in divinity at Rheims, he returned to Ireland, and became acquainted wit11
Malachy O'Queely, then Vicar Apostolic of Killaloe, and the intimacy
thus formed at the commencement of O'Dwyer's missionary career, ripened
into a warm friendship, which te~minatedonly with the life of the former,
many years after he had been promoted to the archiepiscopalsee of Tuam.
la fact, such was the Archbishop's confidence in O'Dwycr, that he sent him
to Rome as his proctor in 1644, and made him the bearer of a report on
the state of his archdiocese, which. hc drew up for the Congregation de
Propaganda Fide. Along with this valuable document, O'Dwyer was
entrusted with a memorial fi.om the Snprcme Council of the Confederates,
raying his Holiness Urban VIII. to bestow a cardinal's hat on Luke
gr'addiq, in consideration of the groat services he had rendered to the
Irish Catholics then in arms. Pope Urban, howcver, died before O'Dwyer
reached Rome, and the memorials signed by O'Queely, Wdsh, Archbishop
of Cashel; Fleming, Axhbishop of Dublin; Lords Castlehaven, Fermoy,
Netterville, and others, fell into the hands of Wadding, who, instead of
having i t presented to Innoccnt X., the late Pontiff's successor, modestly
buried i t in the archives of St. Isidore's, where it remsins to the present
day. The high opinion which the S ~ ~ p r e m
Council
e
entertained of O'Dwyer,
whom they styled in the mcmorial a Doctor of Divinity, and an ocular
witness of their proceedings", to say nothing of the commendations of
Archbishop O'Queely, must have had great weight with the College of
Cardinals, for, on reaching Paris, on his may to Ireland, afbr some months'
sojourn in Rome, a bull was despatched to the French nuncio, nominating
the Irish priest coadjutor to the then decrepit bishop of Limerick. O'Dwyer
made no d i c u l about acceptino the exalted dignity which the Holy
See conferred on im, and he was &erefore duly consecrated by the Bishop
of Senlis, in the church of St. Lazare, on Sunday the 7th of May, 1645.
W e quote from Dr. Meehan's biography of this remarkable prelate :-
).
r
Quisquis in hoc bnsto Ryceon~mconspicis ossa
Manibus exopta regna beata piis".
Which he thus translates:
You which in this samc Male tumbe the Ryces' bones belouldes,
The blessed Kigdom wish and pruy unto their dcvoute soules".
Artlrur dUS. p. 234-5.
U
riod James Lord Viscount Dillon, of Roscommon,' havlng
fhll in Limcrick, by which he was mortally injured,
having turnblcd down twclve stcps, indicated, by certain signs to those
about him, his dcsbc to bc acIrnitted into the bosom of the Catholic
Church, which hc had bcforc dpscrted, and with profuse tears and every
symptom of contrition repcntcd of his apostacy: hc received absolution and
extrcmc unction, ancl on tllc fourth dsy aftcr the accidcnt died. A monument was erectcd ta. l<s mcmory in thc Church of' the Elessed Virgin
Mary at Limcrick, in the cnd of Octolcr, 164'3. Dr. Artllur says he
wrote the following cpigrani, which WC translntc from the Latin, on him:"Heroic Dillon stood, but sad to tell,
Forsook his ancient iiiith, and badly fell ;
But having fallen, resumed at last with tears
And suppliant heart, his hit11 of fbrmer years.
Safer the fill, which, though his days are past,
Bestored him uprigllt to his God at last".
Upon the dcath of Ric11arLl.d Arthur in '1646, Edinund O'Dwyer waa
promotcd to the sec of Limcrick, i t is supposed by the Pope's Nuncio: who
was thcn in Limerick. EIc was onc of those who were exempted in the
surrender to Ireton. IIc was a native of the county of Limerick, and had distinguished himself ~ L U %his
I ~ collegiate course at Rouen, where he studied
l The Earl $htworth Dillon, son of this Jamcq t h i Earl of Roscommon, was the celebrated, at lcst'the once celebrated, poet who wrote the essay on tmllslrted verse, who translated
"Die6 ku", etcl etc., and of whom Pope says:
"Unhappy Dgdcn! in all Charles' clap
hsc~nunononly h s t s nnpottcd bays".
2
White's MSS.
1
'"Having purchased a goodly supply of vestments, books, and other requirements for the diocese of Limerick, Dr. O'Dwyer set out for Ireland from one of
the French ports; but he had not been many days at sea when the ship in which
he sailed was captured by a Turkish corsair, who carried him and his fellowpassengers as a prize to Smyma. The bishop, however, when he saw that there
was no chance of escaping the pirate, divested himself of all the insignia of his
rank, and heaved overboard the valuable vestments and other sacred objects
which he had collected at Paris, and which he knew would be desecrated, had
the Turks got possession of them. On reaching Smyrna, he was sold as a slave,
adscondemned to work at a mill, with a mask on his face to prevent him
eating the flour; and in this condition he might have lived and died, were it
not for a contingency which seems almost miraculous. An Irish lady, wife of
a French merchant then living at Smyma, happened to visit the mill, and on
discovering that the poor captive was a countryman of her own, and a bishop in
reluctant disguise, she lost no time in reporting the fact to her husband, who at
once paid a ransom for the prisoner;and sent him back to France, where he soon
replaced the sacred frcmiture which he had flung into the sea, as we have
already stated. O'Dwyer returned to Ireland early in the 1646, and, be it
recorded to hi hon~ur,he was the first b i i o p who introduced the missionDr. Meehan's Irish Hicram@ in the Sixfeenth Ceniwy.
592
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
h
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
593
.
aries of St. Vincent de Paul to this country. 8 3 a 'matter of course, he
joined the Supreme Council of the Confederates as a spiritual peer, and in that
capacity secured for himself the esteem of the Pope's nunzio, who in one of
his earliest despatches to the Roman Court, speaks of him in a strain of the
highest praise. Another letter, dated Limerick, July 16, 1646, and addressed
by the same personage to Cardinal Panfilio, mentions the Bishop of Limerick taking part in the grand function solemnized in his cathedral, in thanksgiving for the memorable victory which Owen O'Neill had won at Benburb on
thc 5th of the preceding month. ' At four o'clock, p.m.' writes the nunzio,
' the proccseion rnovcd from the Church of St. Francis, where the thirty-two
stands of colours (taken from the Scotch) had been deposited. The garrison
of Limerick led the van, and the captured colours were carried by the nobility
of the city. Then followed the nunzio, the Archbishop of Cashel, the Bishops
of Linlerick, Clonfert, and Ardfert, and after them the Supreme Council, the
m:ryor and magistrates in their officialrobes. The people crowded the streets
and windows, and as soon as the procession reached the cathedral, Te Deum
was sung by the nunzio's choir, and he pronounced the usual prayers, concluding the ceremony with solemn benediction. Next morning Mass pro gratiurum acthne was sung by the Dean of Fermo, in presence of the aforesaid
bishops and magistrates'.
" I t might, perhaps have been fortunate for Dr. O'Dwyer to have died at that
hour of his country's triumph ; but, as we shdl see, lie was doomed to taste
bitterness and sorrow at home and abroad, and to find his last resting-place far
away from the old cathedral where hie predecessors were entombed. Pious and
zealaus he was, no doubt, in the discharge of his high office, and none could
gainsay the holiness of his life ; but, as gears sped onwards, and as the fortunes of the confederates waned, he unhappily proved himself in the politics of
the period weak and vacillating. His conduct will not suffer us to doubt this,
for instead of adopting Itinuccini's bold and honest policy, which spurned mere
toleration of the Catholic religion, Dr. O'Dwyer allowed hi~nselfto be duped by
the artifices of the lay memhers of the Supreme Council, most of whom were
identified either by blood or by sordid egotism with the crafty enemy of their
creed and race-dames, Marquis of Ormond. Tn fact, the bishop, with several
of his own order, allied himself to Ormond's faction, signed the fatal truce with
Lord Inchiquin, and thus dcserted the straightforward course which Rinuccini
For the last eighteen months', writes
and the old Irish strove to maintain.
the Nunzio (in 1648), the bishop of Limerick, to my utter amazement and that
of every one else, has devoted hi~nselfto the party of Lord Ormond, and this,
indeed, is n sorry return for the benefits bestowed on him by the f-Ioly See;
but he has hxl his reward, for he is now the object of universal odium, and has
separated himself from the sound politics of the rest of the clergy'. Six months
had hardly elapsed since these words were penned, when Rinuccini, finding it
impossible to harnlonize the adverse factions which he strove to govern, or to
bring about a solidarity of interests for the general good, deemed it necessary
to abandon a country ~vhosefeuds were precipitating it to irretrievable ruin.
For some, the last and direst weapon in the Church's armoury had no terror,
aria, unhappily for Dr. O'Dwyer, he was one of the few bishops, who, despite
the nunzio's censures, foolislily adhered to the party of Lord Ormond.
To the bishop's credit, during these awful months, when Ireton beleaguered Limerick from without, and pestilence swept off the ihmishing population within the
walls, there w b no braver man among the besieged than their spiritual chief. He
exhorted the inhabitants to hold out to the last extremity, and to lay down their
lives rather than yield to the lieutenant of the man who could show no lnercy either
at Drogheda or iu Wexford. B~dlyconscious of the doom that awaited such gallant resistance, a multitude of the citizens waited on the bishop, and besought
...
him to give them permission to blow themselves up, rather than fall alive into
the hands of their enemies; but he dissuaded them from such a suicidal proje",,
telling them that it was nobler to die with arms in their hands, than to rush
uncalled into the awful presence of God. S t last, when Limerick was forced
to capitulate .to Ireton (who was indebted for his success to the black treason
of one of ltinuccini's most implacable enemies), Dr. O'Dwyer, finding that he
was excepted from quarter, disguised himself in peasant's garb, and having
snlcared his face with gunpowder, passed unnoticed out of one of the city
gates, and eventually contrived to make his way to Brussels, where he lived
till 1654, eating the salty bread of exile, and, as we may supp?se, repetting
with his latest sigh the fhtal error that helped to bring ruin on his unfortunate
country. On the night of the 6th of April, 1654, his renpins, followed by a
few torch-bearers, were conveyed from the convent in which he breathed his
last, to the Church of St. James in the above-named city, and were there deposited in the subterranean chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, without a
single line to record his virtues or his failings. A career such as his, under
other circumstances, would surely have been thought worthy an epitaph-that
last of human vanities ; but the nocwnal funeral, divested of all ghastly pomp,
and the nameless grave will be suiliciently accounted for by the ~unzio'scensures".
Harris, Writers of Ireland, on the authority of Colgnn7s Trias Thaw
maturgu, says that O1l)wyer wrote two small pieces of poetry, in hexameter and pentameter measure, one on the miracles of St. Brigid and the
other on the inextinguishable fire of St. Brigid at Kildare. I n the &hernia
Donzinicana there are several documents which have the name of Bishop
O'Dwyer to them as one of the subscribers.
I n a previous chapter of this work we have dwelt on the horrors connected
with Ireton's siege, on the cruelties perpetrated after the surrender to the
merciless general of Cromwell, and on the awful death of Ireton a few days
after being summoned'to his last account by the illcstrious martyr bishop
~ which we have had access since the printing
of Emly. i n a m a n ~ s c r i p t ,to
of that chapter, we find with some surprise, that when Major-General
Hugh O'Neill rode on and offered the pommel of his sword to heton, and
desired the benefit of the law of arms, in behalfe of a souldier of fortune
voluntarily yielding himself and the lives of such other souldiers a3 served
1
under his command, ;to his lordshipp's mercy and favour ',-Ireton
gently embraced O'Neill, bade him be of' good cheer, told him he would
receive no prejudice, and commanding his men to ride forward, held alone
a serious rivate discourse with him, and Earthon (Ireton) was so tender
of Major Keyleg (0Neill7s) safotie that before he parted with him he did
commande his propper guarde uppon perrill of deathe to attend only that
gentleman and retire him to a place of safetie, where at their said. perrill
he did not receive the least prejudice, which was exactly performed. His
ennemies running here and there maseacreing and killing everie mother's
child they mett other than the exempted traito1.s. Three days and so
many nights were they in this bloody execution. No grotto, seller, (cellar)
nson, church, or tombe was unsearched, all there found made pea mealls,
Ranged and quartered: T h e writer proceeds to give an account of the
execution of the Bishop of Emly, of Mr. Barron of Clonmel, who dresses
lAphorismical discovery of treasonable faction, by N. S., styling himself secretary to
General Owen Roe U'NeilL-USS. T.C.D.
594
. .HISTORY OF LIMBRICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
himseIf in white taffeta, and was thus hanged", going to the gallows as if
to a wedding feast, joyfully-of the discovery of Dominick Fanning to
the officer of the guard, in the church of St. Frmcis, to which he ( P a w g )
crept cold and starving, from his ancestors' tomb, where he had been
concealed three days and ni&ts before, and of that discovery by the
treachery of a servant of Fanning's, who, contrary to the wish of the
officer, who appeared desirous that Fanning should effect his escape, not
on1 revealed the name of his master, but called the attention of the guards
to &m-said servant being immediately after killed by the guards fbr his
treason to a good master. '" These with several others of both clergie and
laity, were pittifully mangled, massacred, hanged, and dragged, man,
woman, and child, except the traytors, (a great multitude of these same in
that furie perished",) etc. Ireton, as we have narrated, " dics of the plague
and at the pointe of death was so nobly minded that he commanded his
lieutenant-general&Sdmund Ludloe, and the rest of his officers and commanders, to use all good behavior towards the said gedeman (Hugh O'Neill)
-to send him with his own corpse into England,-and he did accompany
Earthon's embalshomed (embalmed) corpse, and carryed it to London", etc.
From this MS. we further learn more of the open treason of Fennel,
and that Cromwell'slife-guard was defeated at Nenagh on the 17th of May,
1652, by Loughlen O'Meara and his foot, supported by Colonel Thibbot
Gawley, where, after a severe skirmish, near the castle of Nenagh, "at
lengthe the Irish had the honnour of the fielde, did kill 24 of the ennemie,
took S prisoners, gott the pilladge of the camp, many tents, and a world
of goods, each ennemie was found with 215 in his pocketts-these men
were never faced in Ireland before this day-being my Lord Cromwell's
Life-guard, all major officers,several taken prisoners in battles and defeates
against the kiige (Charles I.), who vowed never to have seen (for so many)
better soldiers than these Irish".
These events were followed by the almost total prostration of the Catholics of Limerick. The monuments in the cathedral were nearly all shattered,
defaced, or utterly destroyed. By order of the commiss~onersfor the
affairs of Ireland, dated 15th June, 1655, all Irish papists and traders,
servants, shopkeepers, artificers, etc., were ordered to remove forthwith
out of the city,' against which order they presented a petition, as we have
seen, through the hands of Dr. Thomas Arthur, whose estate was saved to
him and his son. From this period, there were no Catholic monuments
erected in the cathedral, and for a short time only, during the reign of
J a m II., was it in possession of the Catholica. I n order, therefore, that
we may bring to a conclusion our history of the cathehal, we will
here give an account of the principal monumenta which remain in it, and
subjoin a list of the Protestant bishops in succession. The altar on which for
ages the lulspotted Sacrifice had been offered, had now given way to the
communion table.
W e roceed with the .monuments:On t%e north side of the communion table is a very large monument
which was,originally e ~ c t e da the Earl of Thomond, who died Sey 4,
1634. It ltcdnaists ofthree compartments, the entire of the back bein b ack
marble, the divisions or c o m p d e n t s red and white marble, wit joint
%
State Papers of Olivm C r o r n d .
595
Corinthian and composite pillars on both sides, also of marble of Limerickthe arms and achievements of O'Brien at the top. The following inscription is cut on a marble tablet, gilt, in Roman capitals:This monvment being defaced in the
time of the late rebellion of Ireland,
was by Henry the I1 Earl of Thomond
of that name re-edifyed, anno 1G78,in memory
of his noble grandfather, Donagh O'Brien,
Earl of Thomond, Baron of Ibreacan,
President of Mvnster, and one of his Majesties
Privy CovnciI; who having derived
his titles from an ancient and honovrable
family, sometime the fovnders of this chvrch,
left them to posterity more ennobled by his
own vertve for giving equal proofs both for
covrage and conduct of his loyalty and
worth ; he was rewarded by the high and mighty
monarchs Queen Elizabeth and King Jarues,
with honours above the nobility of
his time.
filing in two of the compartments are broken effigies, cut out in full, of
granite, and in the fashicn of Queen Elizabeth's days, the gilding and
ornamentation of which are nearly utterly defaced. The effigies represent
the Earl and Countess of Thomond, and were attached to the original
monument. They were broken in pieces by Ireton's soldiers. Beneath ia
the tomb or crypt of the O'Briens; and when the cathedral was recendy
undergoing repairs, skulb of considerable magnitude, and bones were
found m the crypt. For many years, we understand, a sum of £10 w~
paid yearly, b will of the Earl of Thomond, to the verger of St. May's
Cathedral, for eeping the monuments clean. No payment has been made
in latter years. Indeed the monuments generally appear to require much
closer attention than is bestowed upon them.
During the incumbency of the Kev. Dean Hoare, in 1759, while Mr.
Sexton Baylee was mayor, a sum of 51,327 14s. Itd. was expended in
repairs, alterations, and restorations, under the directions of the rev.
entleman. A sum of 2100 was raised by the sale of pews at this peiiod.
f n 1680, the south door and porch (as seen in the view of the cathedral
'ven in Ware's Bishops), were added to the church, and a pavement made
&m them to the main street, or Mary Street. Previous to this, the .nd
entrance was at the western door, to which it has again been chmgefand
where it is likely to remain as required by the conveniences of the a p
preaches, and the disposition, etc., of the interior of the cathedral.
t
596
.H. ISTORY OF LIMERICK.
T h e following on a black marble slab i n a pillar at the entrance to the
choir :This manvment was erected by
WilIiam Yorke, to the memory of his deceased
father Alderman William Yorke,' who
lyes here interred ; was thrice mayor, gave
above fovr hvndred povnds for
bvlding the exchange and freely'bestowed itt
on this corporation; contribvted to
the bells and chymes which were cast
and set up in his maioraltyes ; was charitable
to the poore, constant to his friend;
died in the trve Christian faith, the last year
of his maioralty, April 1, 1679, ztatis
sve 42. leaving William, Itoger, and Jane,
by Anna the davghter of Henry Hart, Esq.
I n the pillar near the western door entrance, is the following curious
inscription quaintly cut in old-fashioned letters, gilt :Mements Mory.
Here lieth littell Samvell
Earrington, that great vnder-:
taker, of famiovs citties
clock and chime maker,
He made his one time goe
early and lattei, bvt now
he is retvrned to God his Creator, the 19th of November then he
west, and for his memory
this here is pleast by his
son Ben.' 1693.
T h e Pery chapel is one of the more recent improvemen& iq the cathedral; it is sitdated i n the south-west aisle, is lar e, and beautifully ornamented; the ceiling is done u p i n bright blue an silver stars, the walls
in gray marble, and underneath are the tombs to which the remains of the
Pery family are consigned. A white marble monument, with a full length
recumbent effigy of Lord Glentworth, admirably executed by Baily, and
of the finest workmanship; is an object of much attraction i n the P e l y
chapel. The monument bears the following inscription :-
d
+'
The family of Alderman Yorke, who was of Dutch origin, is mid to be represented by the
preaent ~nch6ssof Rovigo.
9 Ben having been a clock and chime maker, bad a contract from the corporation of Cashel
for fitting up and making a clock, for five ponnde.
1
HISTORY OF L~MERICE.
Here lie the mortal remains of
Edrnond Henry Lord Glcntworth,
eldest son and heir of
Henry Hartstonge Lord Glentworth, and
Annabella, his wife,
grandson and heir of Edmund Henry,
Earl of Limerick, Viscount Limerick, Baron
Glentworth of Xallow, and Baron Foxford of
Stackpole Court, in the county of Clare, in
the peerage of the United Kingdom.
He was born on the 3rd day of March, 1809,
and married on the 8th of October, 1836,
Eve Maria, second daughter of Henry Villebois,
of AIuham House, in the county of
Norfolk, Esq.
He departed this life on the 16th of February,
In the year of our Lord, 1844.
This monument is erected to the memory of
her beloved husband, by his widow.
T h e Pery chapel, which is railed off by a heavy iron railing or grating,
produces a subdued sombre effect, suggestive of thoughts befitting a resting place sacred to the noble dead. Over the chapel is the hatchment
of the deceased. I t has a stained glass window of thrce lights, and it
also contains the Stackpole and Roche (Catholic) vaults.
I n the north aisle is a tombstone to the memory of Nicholas Rice, Esq.,
counsellor-at-lawn, and his wife Mary Rice:-
Arms of
the Rice family,
cut on a floriated shield.
Here lies interred,
the body of Nicholas Rice, Esq.,
counsellor at law,
who departed this life the
19th day of March, 1509,
aged 56 years,
&d also the body of Mary Bice,
his wife,
who died the 15th day of March, 1724,
aged 54 years.
. .HISTORY OF LIMXRICK.
698
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
Next to this is a slab cut with the Arthur arms and the date 1640.
Adjacent to this are the following:
I
Floriated shield,
Among the tombs in the north transept is this:
I
with the Arthur Arms.
Expectans ultimam resurrectionem
hic Jacet Thomas Arthur
Fitz Francis qui hac vita migravit
Die 6" Junii, anno 1729,
Aetatis vox76,
venit hora qua omnes qui in
monumentis sunt audient vocem
Filii Dei
Jo. v. ver. 28.
l
!
The following mwal tablet in this north transept was taken from its proper place in the same transept, where the Hartstonge family are buried;
and the monument of Geoffrey Arthur, already described, was taken from
the south transept, and placed where this slab had been, much to tho
chagrin of the Earl of Limerick :
This sn;all monument was erected by
Standish Hartstonge, Esq.,
Recorder of this city,
in memory of his deare wife Elizabeth,
daughter of Francis Jermy, Esq.,
of Cuton, in the county of Norfolk,
and by Alice his wife,
the daughter of Anthony Irby,
of Boston, Knt.,
who<diedthe 5th of July, 1663,
and Iyeth buried in this church,
who had issue eleven children, whereof
- seven are 1iri.q.
1677.
There are several fragments of tombs with ancient dates! lying in the
north transept. There is also the great altar stone of the ancient cathedral
with its incised crosses. Outside this transept is a defaced tomb stone with
the word Rice" barely discernible. Among the fragments are the follow-
ing:I
-
I
D.?. M.
Here rests
with several of his children,
In sure and certain hope
of a glorious resurrection,
William Ferrar,
an honest man and a good citizen,
who died August 25th, 1753,
aged 53.
Also Rose hi wife,
who died September 12th, 1772,
aged 57.
The above William Ferrar was father of John Ferrar, the Historian.
Several new monuments have been erected in the cathedral within
later years. The following may be noticed:The monument to the Right Rev. Dr. Jebb is placed in the north
transept. I t represents the bishop seated in canonicals, with a book in his
left hand, the ri6ht arm resting near the knee. I t is admirably wrought out
in all the details, in white marble, being the work of E. M. Baily, R.A., 1836.
On the pedestal, which is of white marble also, is this inscription:To the memory of John Jebb, D.D.
Bishop of Limerick,
this monumental statue is raised
by the friends of religion and literature in
Ireland, England, and America,
in commemoration of benefits conferred by
his life and writings
upon the universal Church of Christ.
Nat. Sep. 27, 1775.
Ob. Decr. 9, 1833.
A list of the subscribers, cut in white marble, is placed against the wall
of the transept behind the statue. As a work of art the statue is highly
admired.
I n 1770,several feet of the church-yard of the cathedral were taken into
Bow Lane; the verger's house, which stood over the Bow", was taken
down; the passage, walls, and gate at the north door of the church, which
served to hide the beauty of the cathedral, were all removed, by which
means a good broad passage has been made to the quay, and carriages can
ap roach close t;o the church door, which they never could do bef0re.l
October, ,809, the passage to the chapter room of the cathedral was
opened under the eastern window, commmcating with the main street.
1 Cotmporary M& The Qonyoctapied the sitsof the present city and county court hwn.
%
600
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
L .
I n 1812, Dean Preston dismantled and removed the old Episcopal
Court, broke a passage through the wall at the back of a bench which was
there, and laid the beams of a new gallery in the south aisle, to correspond
with the gallery which had been recently erected in the north aisle. This
was done for the accommodation of the then Corporation.
February, 1812, the gallery for the military was erected in St. Mary's
Cathedral, by the Rev. Geo. Harte, Chanter.
March-An old house that stood in the S.E. end of Bow Lane, and projected five feet into the main street, was pulled down. While this house
stood, the entrance into Bow Lane was no more than thirteen feet wide.
The lane below this house, leading into the north gate of the church, was
opened and enlarged in the year 1770-(Ferrur, p. 101). The improvement in 1812 was effe,ted by the Rev. Dean Preston. Foundation of
the new structure laid March 23.
I n 1842 Mr. William Bardwell of London, architect, who had been
engaged in supplying a monument to the memory of Daniel Barrington,
Esq., brother of Sir Mathew Barrington, Bart., suggested restorations of
the cathedral, interiorly and exteriorly, and ga7-e drawings which are now
in the verger's lodge of the cathedral. Mr. Bardwell manifested much taste
and cleverness in the suggested restorations, particulary of the exterior,
which, if carried out, would contribute to beautify the appearacce of the
cathedral, and take from it the very heavy and clumsy look which it still has.
H e suggested a variety of pinnacles with stone crosses, a new belfry
independent of the peal of bells in the quadrangular tower, etc. Some of
Mr. Bardwell's suggestions have been acted upon in the recent decorations
and restorations of'the interior of the cathedral, particularly in reference to
the seats. Mr. Bardwell took a plaster covering off the ancient stone
western doorway of the cathedral, and displayed the attractive and beautiful original to the view of the antiquary. From cuts and marks in the
pillars of this doorway, it is probable that it was used by the soldiers that
were quartered in it several times, in and before the last sieges, for the
purpose of sharpening their swords and side arms.
The following is the inscription on the monument to the memory of
Daniel Barrington, Esq., which is made of Caen stone, and very curiously
and elaborately wrought:-
HISTORY OF LIMERICK
601
Saquel Barrington, Esq.,
second son of
Sir Joseph Barrington, Bart.,
born in October, MDCCXXII.,'
died in ~ e b r u a r MDCCSXLII.,
~,
lea~ringAnne, daughter of
Bichard Williams, Esq., his relict, surviving, in
remembrance of his virtues, amiable
qualities, and fraternal affection, strongly
evinced through life,
this monument is erected by his elder
brother Matthew.
Within the last few years, the cathedral has undergone a more thorough
repair and restoration than it got since it was erected-at all events, since
1490, when it was so much enlarged, and the three bodies and aisles
built. The occasion of the lamented death of Augustus O'Brien Stafford,
Esq., M.P., in 1857, was suggested as a fitting opportunity to commence
a work which had beeu rendered so necessary. The interior had been
literally blocked up and rendered hideous by huge timber obstructions
narrowing the nave and aisles, and giving a character of heaviness, gloom,
and ugliness to the whole. A. committee was formed to erect a memorial
to Mr. Stafford; and it was finally decided that this memorial should be a
stained glass window, and, at the same time, Mr. William Slater, of London,
architect, was requested to examine the cathedral, when he found that a
new roof over the chancel was essential, and subsequently, that the ceiling
over the rest of the nave was bad and dangerous. Mr. Slater reported that
it would Fe necessary to remove the modern perpendicular window, which
had not been very many years in existence, and which was put up at very
heavy cost, by Mr. Payne, architect. Contracts were entered into by
Messrs. Clayton and Bell, of London, for the stained glass window, and
with Messrs. Ryan and Son, for the roof and the stone work in the newly
projected window. The Rev. F. C. I-lamilton, and Robert O'Brien, Esq.,
Old Church, aided by John Long, Esq., Hon. Sec., proceeded to raise a
portion of the money necessary for the roof, as the dean and chapter had
not suflicient funds at their disposal to incur the expense. The appeal
was snccessf~~l.I n 210 subscriptions, a sum of &4ti0 was soon raised.
Early in 1860, the dean and chapter sent a letter to the above named
gentlemen to the effect, thnt they had voted a sum of 2305 10s. 7d. for
the new roof, and that thc Right Rev. Dr. Griffin, Protest.int bishop, had
subscribed 250. The contract was entered into with Messrs. Ryan and
Son; the work went on prosperously, and was not long in hands. The
ancient oak roof was found to be in the best order; the oak as sound as ever,
and nearly all that was removed of it aaa purchased .by Mr. Stephen
Hastings, brush manufacturer, who converted it into polished backs
for hair-brushes, and walking canes. I n addition, the organ gallery was
removed from the west to the north side of the cathedral; the arches
which had been blocked with brickwork and sashes were opened up.
Dr. GrifEn contributed 250 more to this work. The dean' provided new
stoves, new seats to the transepts, and soldiers"seats, removing all the
monumental tablets to the 1101th chapel, and cleaned the walls of the
whole building. H e also erected a door to t,he south porch, where there
had been one before, and which was the chief entrance in the earlier part
of the last century. The floor of the choir was extended ; twelve new oak
stall seats were provided, similar to the ancient stall seats, which have been
always looked upon with curiosity, for their strangely sculptured carvings
under the seats, or '' misericordes", as they were called in Catholic times.
Deans' and precentors' seats, cayed in oak, were provided, and a continuation of carved canopies over the stalls. Minton tiles, set in cement over
brickwork, replaced the damp limestone flags and earth, which, in consequence of the numerous graves beneath, caused the floor to be in a bad
state ; the bells, which were deficient, and their working out of gear, were
set right by the Earl of Limerick; carved oak altar table, chairs, and stools,
This is an enror of the soulptor.
' The liberal and learned Very Rev. A. L. Kirwan.
42
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
were provided by the Rev. Maurice de Burgh, and the Rev. F. C. Hamilton, at their own expense ; several other minor improvements and details
were also introduced. The amount received for the m e m o d to Mr.
O'Brien Stafford, was $1,556 18s. 2d. Mr. Ryan's contract for roof, etc.,
was 2876 15s. l l d . ; Mr. Forsyth, for reredos, cornice, and extra work,
S37 15s. Od.; Messrs. Clayton and Bell, stained glass window, $388 ; wire
guard, $25 10s.; fixing same at Limerick, &l5 17s.-in all g429 7s.;
other expenses made U the balance of 21,556 18s. 2d. The mewindow to A u p s t u s & ~ r i e nStaEo,rd, Esq., may be bscnbed as
follows +
St. Mary's Cathedral, Limerick.
The east window erected as a, memorial to the late Augustus O'Brien Stafford,
Esq., M.P. Died 15th Nov., 1857, aged 47. Designed by Wm. Slater,
Architect. Stained glass executed by Messrs. Clayton and Bell. Building
by Mr. John Ryan, Limerick.
NORTH SIDE LIGHT.
No. 1. Burying the Dead.
2. A stranger, and ye took me in".
xxv. Mat. ver. 35.
,, 3. " In prison, and ye came unto me". ,,
ver. 36.
4. "Thirsty, and ye gave me drink".
ver. 35.
,,
,,
,,
CENTRE LIGHT.
'6
The Charity of Dorcas
ix Acts, ver. 39;
OURLORD
SEATED.
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me".
xxv. Mat. ver. 40.
The Good Samaritan.
X. Luk, ver. 33.
SOUTH SIDE LIGHT.
No. 1. Guiding the Blind.
2. U Naked and ye clothed me".
xxv. Mat. ver. 36.
,, 3. Sick and ye visited me".
ver. 36
4. An hungered and ye gave me meat". ,,
ver. 35.
It was intended to place an elaborate stone inscription over the window
as an additional tribute to the memory of Mr. O'Brien Stafford; and the
stone was actually cut for that purpose; but the Dean and Chapter
objected.
A further sum of 21590 3s. 3d. has been expended by the Holi. Robert
O'Brien, raised by subscription, in. restorations, etc. The Rev. P. C .
Hamilton has expended 2240 18s. 2d., and in both instances balances
remained due on the audits of accounts to the Hon R. O'Brien and Rev.
Mr. Hamilton. The interior of the church has undergone quite a renovated appearance since these changes were made; and they have been
followed by others, including a memorial to the Westropp family in the
south transept, including a new roof, a new stone window of five li hts
filled with stained lass, and the complete fitting up of the transepts, &m
a design by Mr later. The subjects in the window are Scriptural,
and are elaborately wrought out in colours particularly bright and well
,,
,,
,,
8
1chosen.
And a monumknt of Bath stone, representing the agony in the garden,
the resurrection, and the taking down from the cross, in three compartm-, erected by Mr. Poole, of Bath.
603
A brass tablet hw this legend:This transept was restored and its stained glass window and monument
erected in the year 1862, by Mrs. Anne Westropp, in memory of
who
years.
died in Madeira, in the year 1830,
her son Thomas Johnston Westropp,
aged 20
The Westropp memorial is said to have cost a sum of about £2000.
Among the objects shown to view by the removal of sundry obstructions, is a beautiful credence arch with a circular window in the chancel.
A stone had been placed here before ; and of the existence of the arch,
etc., there was no knowledge in modern days until the restorations were
undertaken.
The family of the late Archdeacon Maunsell have placed a stone pulpit
in the cathedral, with, carved in relief, representation of the presentation
i11 the temple. I t is very elegant. Other presents are about to be made,
and further im~rovementseEected, so that the traditionarv zeal for the
restoration andlkeeping of St. ~ ' a r ~appears
's
to have i n active existcnce at this moment.
One of the latest memorials in the cathedral is in a western stone window, filled with glass, to Sir Matthew Barrington, Bart. This memorial
was got up by subscription :
This west window was erected as a memorial to the late Sir Matthew Banington,
Baronet. Died 1st April, 1861, aged 72. Designed by William Slater, Esq.,
Stained glass by Messrs. Clayton and Bell. Building by Messrs. John Ryan
and Son, Limerick.
NORTH SIDE LIGHT.
1. The Nativity.
2. Flight into Egypt.
3. Disputation in the Temple.
4. Baptism of Christ.
CENTRE LIQET.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Last Supper.
The Agony in the Garden.
Christ bearing the Cross.
Wouen at the Sepulchre.
Noli me tangere".
SOUTH SIDE LIGHT.
1. St. Peter and St. John at the Sepulchre.
2. Journey to Emmaus.
3. The Ascension.
4. Pentecost.
I n the south transept a mindow has been filled with stained glass to
the memory of Charlotte, wife of Sir Matthew Barrington, Bart. Underneath is a brass tablet with the following inscription:In memory of Charlotte, wife of
Sir Matthew Barrington, Bart.,
who died November 18th, 1858,
this window was filled with stained glass
by her son, Croker Barrington,
as a mark of affection.
604
HISTORY OP LIMERICK.
C
HISTORY OP LIMEBICK.
~articularsof other monuments i n the cathedral :-
RTe subjoi
605
.
Quod vult, Valde vult.
Sacred to the memory of
Lieutenant-Colonel George Maunsell,
3rd or Prince of Wales' Dragoon Guards,
which regiment Ile commanded for
many years, served with it tlirougl~out
the whole Pcnins~~la
mar, and received
medals for the battles of Talasera,
Albuera, Victaria, and Toulouse.
EIe was beloved by his brother soldiers,
and respected by the enemies of
his country.
The Almigllty, who protected him in
the day of battle,
suffered him to depart this life in peace.
Sincere, honourable, gentle, and brave,
his surviving relatives have erected this
testimonial in commemoration of his worth.
Died Sep. 4th 1849.
A monument to Denis Fitzgerald Mahony, Esq., father of Alderman
John Wetson Mahony, J.P., is of white marble, and has the following
inscription :Sacred to the memory of
Denis Fitzgerald Mahony,
Alderman, Chamberlain, and Magistrate
of the city of Limerick,
who died 22nd February, 1840,
aged 67 years.
He was a man of liberality, humanity, and
noderation, a generous friend of the widow and
orphan, a munificent contributor
to the public charities of the city, an
affectionate husband, a kind parent, and a n
humble follower of his Lord and Master.
He lived in the universal esteem of
his fellow citizens, and died in the assured
hope of a joyful resurrection.
His remains are interred in the family vault
of St. Munchin's, in this city.
cc Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord".
Soldier, rest, thy warfare o'er,
Sleep the sleep that knows no breaking,
Dream of battle Gelds no more,
Days of danger, nights of waking.
The following are a few other of the monuments:-
I
T h e n follow the devices or emblems of war, and, we think, wolf dogs, etc.
A handsome brass mural tablet to the memory of Colonel Clouster of
t h e Glst Re g iment, a distinguished Peninsular officer, ~ ~ 1 1died
0 in July,
1861.
T o the p l l e n t Sir Alichael Creagh, K.H., a Lieutenant-Colonel of the
73rd Regiment, his surviving children have placed the following monument
of white marble on a pillar 111 the north transept :--
I n memory of
Sir kichael Creagh, Rnt., K.H.,
Major General in Her Majesty's Army,
and Colonel of'the 73rd Regt.
Born in Limerick, 1787.
Died at Boulogne-sur-mer,
September 14th, 1860, aged 73 years.
Also his wife Elizabeth, only daughter of
the Kight Honourable Charles Osborne,
1
. Judge oft& Court of King's Bench in Ireland,
who died at sea, January 14th, 1833, aged 36 years.
This tablet is erected by their surviving children.
A
Sacred
to the memory of
Louisa,
wife to the Bev. Wm. D. Boare,
who departed this life on the 9th of April, 1809,
having just entered on her 27th year.
This tablet is erected
by her dectionate husbarid as a small mark
of his love to her memory.
She fell asleep in full assnrance
of a blessed and glorious resurrection to
eternal life, through the blood and righteousness
of Him who came into this world t o
save sinzlers.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
HISTORY OF LIrnRICK.
Sacred
to the memory of
Matilda Alexina,
the beloved and only child of
Major penera1 Thomas Erskine Napier, C&.,
commanding the Limerick district,
and BZargaret his wife,
who, after a protracted sickness,
borne with patient resignation
in the will of her Makcr,
died April x n , MDCCCSLIX.,
aged ~ ~ P I I Iyears.
.
This monument is erected by
her beloved and affectionate parents,
who, consoled by the remembrance of
her affectionate disposition, cheerful piety,
and peaceful death,
sorrow not as those without hope for her
who now sleeps in the Lord,
in certain expectation in the resurrection
to Eternal Life through the merits of
Christ Jesus, her Saviour,
AMEN.
-
In the family vault of Caherconliuh,
rest the mortal remains of
Bobert Maunsell Gabbet$, Esq., M.D.,
of Shelbourne House,
who died June 2%d, 1850,
aged 37 years.
This tablet,
sacred to his memory,
is placed here by his brothers,
to record
his amiable qualities as a man,
his good example as a Christian,
and their own deep sorrow
.for the early loss of one who was
universally esteemed and beloved.
U JIark well the perfect man, and behold the
upright, for the end of that man is peace".
37 Psalm, 37 verse.
Sacred to the memory of
Major Thomas Summerfield,
who died at Limerick on the 1st of March, 1833,
in the 66th year of his age,
After a faithful service of nearly forty years
in the 83rd Regiment.
This tablet is raised by his brother officers,
as a tribute to the memory of a gallant veteran,
and to record their feelings of respect
for his character and worth.
In the north transept is a memorial window of stained
Dean Preston, it has the following legend:-
glass to the late
Arms of Preston
Sans Tache.
Arthurus Joannes Preston
Hujus Ecclesise Cathedralis
xxxv annos
Decanus
Nat G Junii MDCCLXZ.
Ob 3 Novembris MDCCCXLIV.
Memoria Justorurn Beata
kestimonium
Hoc Monumenturn pietatis
Posuerunt Filii Ejus
Arthurus et Gulielmus.
T h e following is a list of the Protestant Bishops in succession from
Robert Sibthorpe, which we give from Dr. Cotton's valuable Fasti Eccleeim Ribernice:1660 Edward Synge, D.D. (brother of George Synge, Eishop of Cloyne),
Dean of Elphin, was promoted by patent, dated January 19th, which patent
empowered him to hold the sees of Ardfert and Aghadoe in commendana. He
was consecrated at Dublin on the 27th of the same month. On 21st December, 1663, he was translated to Cork. At this time the sees of Limerick, Ardfert, and Aghadoe were united.
1663 William Fuller, LL.D., a native of London, educated at Westminster
School, and at Oxford, became Chancellor of Dromore, Dean of St. Patrick's,
and Treasurer of Christ Church, Dublin; and was advanced to the united
sees of Limerick, Ardfert, and Aghadoe, by patent, dated March 16th. In
1667 he was translated to the bishopric of Lincoln, and was buried in that
city in 1675. See particulars of his life in Mason's H i s t o q of St. Pd~ck's
Cccticcdrd, p. 192, etc.
..
608
K.
1667 Francis Marsh,' D.D., a native of Gloucestershiie, educated at Cambridge, came to Ireland on the invitation of Bishop Jeremy Taylor, and became
successively Dean of Armagh and Archdeacon of Dromore. His patent for
these bishoprics bears date October 28th, and he was consecrated at Clonmel
on December 22nd. Froin hence he was translated to =lmore and Ardagh,
on 10th January, 167:, and afterwards, in 1681, to Dublin.
167: John Vesey, D.D. (ancestor of the Viscounts de Vesci, and of Lord
Vesey Pitzgerald), was a native of Coleraine, and was educated a t Westminster School and at Dublii University. He became Chaplain to the House of
Commons, and was made Archdeacon of Armagh, and afterwards Dean of
Cork, and Treasurer of Cloyne. He was promoted to this bishopric by patent,
dated January llth, and was consecrated on the following day. In 1678 he
was translated to the archbishopric of Tuam.
167: Simon Digby (son of Dr. Essex Digby, Bishop of Dromore) became a
Prebendary, and afterwards Dean of Kildare: he also held a prebend in the
church of Lismore. His patent for this bishopric bears date March 19th, and
he was consecrated on the 23rd of that month. In the year 1691 he was translated to Elphin.
169: Nathaniel Wilson, D.D., an Englishman, educated at Magdalene Hall,
Oxford, became chaplain to the Duke of Ormond, and was made Dean of
Raphoe. He was raised to the bishopric by patent dated January 20th, and
was consecrated at Christ Church, Dublii, on the 18th of the following May.
On July 27th he was enthroned at his cathedral, He died of apoplexy, supposed to have been caused by a fall from his horse, at Dublin, on 3rd November, 1695 ;and was there buried in Christ Church.
1695 Thomas Smyth, D.D.vgrandfather of the first Viscount Gort), was a
Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and became Precentor of Clogher, Dean of
Emly, and Chancellor of Clogher. He succeeded Bishop Wilson by patent
dated December 2nd, and was consecrated in the Chapel of Trinity College,
Dublin, on the 8th of that month, by William, Archbishop of Cashel, assisted
by the Bishops of Clogher, Killala, Dromore, and Cloyne. He was enthroned
at Limerick, on 30th April, 1696. In 1714 this prelate was appointed ViceChancellor of the University of Dublin. He was a liberal benefactor to the
poor, bcth during his life-time and by his will. After being the founder of a
numerous and distinguished family, he died on 4th May, 1725, and was buried
in St. Munchin's Church at Limerick.
1725 Wiliam Bourscough, D.D., an Englishman, educated at Wadham
College, Oxford, became Chaplain to Lord Carteret, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,
and was wide Dean of Lismore. He, obtained this bishopria by patent dated
June lGth, and was consecrated at Dunboyne in July following by the Archbishop of Armagh. He is'described as a man of great learning and piety, a
good preacher, of a tolerant and kindly disposition to persons of all persuasions,
but unpopular because he did not reside and spend his income in the city.3
After filling the see thirty years, he died in 1755, and was bnried on April
3rd, at his private seat, New Ross, in the county of Tipperary, in the eightieth
year of his age [Xant] in a vault which he himself had made.'
1755 James Leslie, D.D., a native of Kerry, became a Prebendary of Durham. He W= made Bishop of Limerick by patent dated November 4th ; and
w ~ consecrated
s
in St. Andrew's Church, Dublin, on November 16th, by the
1
Marsh wa<bon of Marsh of Edgeworth, Gloucestershiro.
Smyth of Dundrum, gmudhther of first V i w u n t :Gort, oamo tkom Yorkshire, temp.
Charles I.
Whito's MSS.
Ibid.
1
a
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERIC
609
Archbishop of Cashel, assisted by the Bishops of Cork and Killala. He died
at Limerick, on 24th November, 1770, and was buried at St. Munchin's.
1770 John Averill,' D.D., Dean of Limerick, was promoted to the bishopric
by patent dated December 31st, and was consecrated in Christ Church, Dublin,
on 6th of January following, by the Archbishop of Dublin, assisted by the
Bishops of Ossory and Clonfert. He was a man eminent and justly beloved for
his piety and charity ::but his career of usefulness was soon interrupted, for he
was cut off by death on September 14th of that same year, while engaged on
his diocesan visitation at Ennismore, in the County of Kerry. He was interred
in the Cat.hedra1 of Limerick, where the following inscription records his name
and virtues :Hit j m t Recte Johsnnes Averill, D.D.
Episcopus Limericensis obiit 14 mo. Sept. 1 , 1771. iEtatis 68.
Cujus si in Deum pietatem
In Regem fidem
In Ecclesiam amorem
Si in equdes Liberalitatem
In omnes spectes Benevolentiam,
Vix &as ulla tulit parcem
Nulla superiorem1
Though Averill's dust thus humbly here is placed,
With no proud monument or titles graced,
Yet shall he live when Kneller's tints shall fade,
And sculptured trophies moulder in the shade.
The saint-like character his life imprest,
Is stamped indelibly on every breast;
And where the Muse's wail appears too weak
The Poor, the Fatherless, the Widows speak.
1772 William Gore, D.D., Bishop of Elphin, was translated to Limerick by
patent dated March 5th, and was enthroned on March 19th. He bore the
character of a man of great learning and benevolence. He died at Bray, in the
county of Wicklow, on 25th of February, 1784, and was buried in the vault
of his family, in St. Mary's Church, at Dublin.
1784 William Cecil Pery, M.A. (afterwards created Lord Glentworth), was
a native of Limerick, where he was ordained deacon on 9th June, 1740. He
became Chaplain to the Rouse of Commons, and was made successively Dean of
Killaloe, Dean of Derry, and Bishop of Killale. He was translated to Limerick,. by patent dated May 13th, and was onthroned on May 22nd. He died
at Limerick on 4th July, 1794, and was buried in his Cathedral.
1794 Thomas Bernard, D.D. (son of the Bisbop of Derry), became successively Archdeacon of Derry, Dean of the same, and Bishop of Kiilaloe: he was
translated to Limerick by patent dated September 12th. See further particulars of his character among the Bishops of KiUaloe. I5.e died at a very advanced
age, at Wimbledon, in Surrey, on 7th June, 1806.
1806 Charles Mongan Warburton, D.D., Dean of Clonmacnoise, Succeeded
by patent dated July'7th. He was consecrated at St. Patrick's, Dublin, on
July 13th, by the Archbishop of Cashel, assisted by the Bishops of Meath and
Cloyne, and was enthroned in the following month of August. In 1820 he
was translated to Cloyne, where he died in the year 1826.'
1820 Thomas Elrington, D.D., was a Fellow, and afterwards (by patent
dated 15th December, 1811) Provost of Trinity College, Dublin. He was
advanced to this bishopric by patent bearing date September 25th, and was
consecrated in the College Chapel on October &h, by the Archbidop of Dublin,
Averill was a h i v e of the County of Antrim.
Dr. Warbnrton's proper name was Mongan; he
Catholice, and he himself had been a Catholic.
1
WWI
a native of Derry ; kis psrents were
610
.. HISTORY OF LINERICK
HISTORY OF LIMERICK,
assisted by the Bishops of Kildare and Ossory. In 1822 he was translated to
the sees of Ferns and Leighlin.
Bishop Elrington was a man of great atrength of mind, integrity, diligence,
and learning ; a strenuous defender of the Protestant Church, as is evidenced
by his numerous publications.
1822 John Jebb, D.D., a native of Drogheda, Archdeacon of Emly, succeeded, by patent dated December 23rd, and was consecrated in the Cathedral
of Cashel, on January 12th, 1823, by Richard Archbishop of Cashel, assisted
by the Bishops of Waterford and Killaloe.
Bishop Jebb from early youth was a person of retiring and studious habits,
and latterly devoted himself almost entirely to professional studies. The
powers of his mind and the extent of his reading are seen in the quantity of
works which he has left behind him. He W ~ aJ benefactor to his cathedral, to
which, besides other helps, he presented a new altar-cloth and a new pulpit.
For some years previous to his death the Bishop was prevented from discharging his official duties by a paralytic stroke. He died in England, at Easthill,
near Wandsworth, Surrey, on 9th December, 1333, aged 59, and was buried in
the churchyard of the parish of Clapham, near London. A life of him, with a
selection from his letters, was published by his chaplain, Rev. Charles Forster,
3 2 vols. 8v0, London, 1836.
1830 Honorable Edmund Knox, D.D. (son of Thomas, first Viscount Northland), Bishop of Killaloe, was translated to Limerick on the death of Bishop
Jebb.' He died at Birmingham, on his way from London to Limerick, on the
3rd of May, 1849, aged 76.
1849 H. Higgins, Dean of Limerick, removed to Derry, and succeeded by
1834 Henry G r a , D.D., the present bishop, Ex-F.T.C.D., who was consecrated on the 1st of January in that year.
The Protestant episcopal seal of Limerick bears, sap hire, on the dexter
side a crozier crested; on the sinister, a mitre with labe in base; two keys
n saltier, bows downwards, all topaz.
The see is valued in the king's books by an extent returned anno 5
Car. I., at a
0 sterlin , and Ardfert, a see united to it, is valued by an
extent taken anno 26 f3h.,
at $12 13s. 4d. sterling.
The chapter of Limerick is constituted of the following members, viz.,
Dean, Chantor, Chancellor, Treasurer, Archdeacon, and eleven Prebendaries, i.e. St. Munchin's, Donoughmore, Ballycahan, Kilpeacon, Tallybracky, Killeedy, Disert, Ardcanny, Croagh, Ellin, and Athnett, which
ast is the mensal of the bishop.
The diocese is divided into five r u .
deaneries, viz., I(ilmallock, Adare, Garth, alias Ballingarry, Ardagh, and
Rathkeale.
W e have now given in detail the results of much careful inquiry respecting the venerable cathedral of Limerick, whose fortunes have been so
diversified from the time of its foundation by one of the royal O'Briem, to
he date of its reedificati~nunder Protestant hands, and with the assistance
and direction of a descendant of that king9 house. For two hundred
and thirty years, with very short intervals, it has been alienated from the
rofessors of the ancient creed of its founders; and under the various ad$tions which have been made to assimilate it more closely to Anglicm
churches, maay, if not most, of its ancient characteristics have been lost.
P,
CHAPTER LIX.
Wx will now give the lives of the Catholic Bishops of the See of Limerick,
&m the time of Bishop O'Dwyer down to our own day. The catalogue
proves that, though dnven from their possessions, from the Cathedral of
St. Mary's, in which it was designed by its founder that the Mass of the
Blessed Virgin Mary should be perpetually celebrated, and from the temporalities which theu predecessors augmented and husbanded with pious
solicitude for the use of the poor and of the Church, though banned by
iniquitous laws, and forced to fly from the terrors of unheard of persecution~,the succession of the bishops and the faith have been faithfully preserved, and the old religion flourishes even more healthfully than if it had
been fostered by the state, and supported by the most munificent state
endowments. James Dowley succeeded to the mitre of Limerick in 1670-1. H e had
been appointed Vicar-Apostolic about the month of July or Au
On the 23rd of A u e s t in that year he was in Paris, where e wrote a
congratulatory lettervto the Archbishop of Caesarea, on the appointment
of the Most Rev. Dr. Oliver Plunkett, (who suffered martyrdom on the
scaffold at Tyburn not long afterwards) to the primatid chair of
Yt'1663-
cc
MOSTILLus~prousAND REVEREND Lom,
I return exceeding thanks to your Excellency for my election in the last
congregation (through your solicitudeand care) as Vicar-Apostolic of Limerick,
whiist I also find it is
intention to exalt me, though unworthy, to a still
. your
higher dignity.
"Most pleasing to all was the appointment of Dr. Plunkett, and I doubt not
but it will be agreeable to the government, to the secular clergy, and to the
nobility ; and all this we owe to your Escellency. We shall soon return to our
country, when I shall give an accdunt of the flock committed to my cbarge.
J m m DOWLEY.
cc Paris, 23rd August, 1669.
CLTOthe Archbishop of Casarea".
..
A national council or synod was held in Dublin on the 17th June, 1670,
which was presided over by the primate, and at this council or synod a
petition was drawn up and despatched to the Holy See, soliciting the appomtment of some new bishops to the vacant dioceses, and prwnting the
names of clergymen who were deemed most deserving of the episcopal
dignity. For Limerick they named:
"R. D. Jacobus Dulaeus, Vic. Aplicus. Limericen. cnjus etiam doctrina et
vitre integritas Tllmae. Dni. Vrae. probe nota est, pro Dioecesi hericen".
The recommendation was successful. James Dowley was appointed,
and he was consecrated by the Most Rev. Dr. Burgatt, Archbishop of
Caihel. Dr. Dowley iived in troubled and anxious times. Persecution
612
'..
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
raged within and without the city, but he did not quail before i t ; he had
able and learned priests who gave him efficient assistance, and he zealously
exerted himself to preserve the traditions and history of the diocese, as we
find in the MSS. memoranda of the Rev. Dr. Jasper White. A letter of the
primate, dated 20th September, 1671, thus refers to the persecution which
then raged :
6' I sent another parcel", he writes, "to Dr. Dowley, Bishop of Limprick.
This poor man is still in trouble, the Earl of Orrery having published a few days
ago an ediot commanding a l l Catholic ecclesiastics or laymen to depart from,
and live no longer in, that city. Some desired that he, instead of Berkeley, should
be our viceroy ; a good bargain we would have made".'
...
I t would appear, however, that owing to the advanced age and i n h i ties of the Right Rev. Prelate, he was not banished, for we find the Most
Rev. Dr. Brennan, Archbisho of Cashel, writing to Rome on the 21st of
September, 1680, relative to t e then state of the Church :md the persecution of the bishops:The Bishop of Limerick has permission (he says) from the government to
remain in any part of his diocese, on account of hi great age and infirmities".
E
And writing again to the Secretary of the Propaganda, 14th August,
1681, he says:"Two bishops are already in prison, viz., those of Cork and Kildare; but
as yet, it is not known what will be done with them. Of all our prelates, the
Bishop of Limerick is the only one who is tolerated on account of his old age.
Nothing is known about the metropolitan of this province, and should he be
taken, woe to him".
Dr. Brennan, for the purpose of concealing the fact that he was the
writer, in case of the interception of the letter, here speaks of himself in
the third person?
Imme&ately after the accession of King James to the t h r ~ n eof England, his majesty, on the 22nd day of March 1685-6, wrote a letter to
the Most Rev. Dr. Dofninick Maguire, Archbishop of Armagh, in which
he granted pensions to the Irish Catholic bishops. Tne name of Dr. Dowley does not appear on the list, from which we conjecture that he must
have died before that time. W e have no record of the time or the locality
of his death. W e do know, however, that he was regarded with the utmost
reverence by his clergy and people.
The Right Rev. Dr. O'Moloney succeeded in 1687. H e was second
son of John O'Moloney, Esq., of Kiltannon, county Clare. James
O'Moloney, Esq., son of the elder brother of the bishop, served 6rst in
King James's army and afterwards in that of King William? A James
Moloney, most probably the officer in question, appem as lieutenant in
the infant1 regiment of Colonel Charles O'Bryan, a distinguished regiment, whic was principdl formed of the gentry of Clare, whiie m the
same regirqent Daniel MOo n ~ yappears as captain, whose property was
sold in 1703 by the Commissioners of Forfeiture to Thomas St. John, of
i
T
Ibid.
613
Ballymullen Castle, in that county.' Dr. O'Moloney was educated in
the keminary of St. Sulpice, in Paris, where he became a distinguished
student and an ornament to that celebrated seat of ecclesiastical learning.%
H e was yet in Paris in 1669, when OLiver Plunkett was raised to the
primacy; and for that appointment, he wrote from Paris to the Sacred
Congregation, thanking the Propaganda in the warmest terms for giving
so illustrious an archbishop to the Irish Church. At a council convened in
Dublin in June 1670 by Dr. Plunkett, a petition was forwarded to the
Holy See, recommending certain ecclesiastics to Irish sees. The see of
Killaloe was solicited for Dr. O'Moloney, '' a learned and prudent man",
and for Dr. O'Gripha. The choice fell on Dr. O'Moloney, who, in May,
1671, was elected by the Propaganda, and consecrated in Paris shortly
afterwards. Killaloe had been without a bishop since the death in 1650
'
The circumstances here narrated make us revcrt to p. 283, and the history of events of which
that page forms a portion, in order to make clear R circumstance in reference to one of those
distinguished regiments which followed the fortunes of King James to France-we mean the
4th regiment of Disinounted Dragoons, which nas subsequently known in the continental wars
as the regiment of Clare. Ths seventh, an infantry regiment of marines (p. 283), of which
Colonel Nicholas Fitzgerald was lieutcnant-colonel, when he succeeded the Lord Grand Prior
Fitzjames as full colonel, was always afterwzrds known as the regiment of Fitzgerald. Colonel
Nicholas Fitzgerald was wounded at the battle of Oudenard, and died at Ghent in two days
afterwards. He was younger brother of Gerald Fitzgerald, Esq., of Ballinruan, in tile parish
of Inchicronan, county Clare, and was grand-uncle of the Right Hon. James Fitzgerald, father
of Lord Fitzgerald and Vesci. O'Callaghan's Green Book gives a full account of his highly
distinguished military life. The Right Hon. James Fitzgerald was descended through his
mother,eldest daughter and heiress of Pie ce Lynch, Esq., in the fifth degree from Cornelius
O'Brien, second Vicount Clare, through his eldest daughter Ellen, the Knight of Kerry being
descended from a younger daughter. The Right Hon. James Fitzgerald was thus lineally
descended in the seventh degree from Gerald Fitzgerald, the sixteenth Earl of Desmond, through
his eldest daughter and heiress, Lady Catherine Fitzgerald, who married Daniel O'Brien, first
Viscount Clare. No descendant of the third Viscount Clare remains in Ireland, his male h e
having terminated in Charles O'Brien, sixth Viscount Clare, generally known in his after life
as Marshal Count Thomond, he being heir to his cousin, the Earl of Thomond, who died in 1741
(see Historical Memoirqf'fheO'Brieas). He commsnded the Irish cavalry at Foutenoy, and was
mainly instrumental in gaining that battle. The colonelcy of the regiment of Clare had been
presented to h i by the personal interposition of the French king, who, a t the death of his
father the fifth viscount, expressed his repugnance to the idea that a family who, in supporting
the cause they espoused, viz., that of James 11. and the Catholic faith, had sacrificed all except their sword and their honour, should lose the command of their proprietary regiment; the
colouelcy was therefore kept for the Right Hon. James Fitzgerald, now represented by his
grandson G. F. Vesey Fitzgerald, Esq., ot'Crossbcg, county Clare, and Moyvane, county Kerry;
Crossbeg having been purchasca by Mr. James Fitzgerald, after having been ninety years out
of the family descent, having been forfeited in l694 by Daniel O'Brien, third Viscount Clare.
The Right Hon. James Fitzgerald and his son, Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald, were intimately connected
with every measure for relaxing the penal laws against Catholics, from the first relief
act passed in 1783, which was brought in by Mr. James Fitzgerald, to the passing of the
relief act in 1829, which was so closely interwoven with the Clare election, in which public
opinion was brought to a crisis on the question bj- the rejection of Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald in
favour of Mr. O'Connell. Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald, notwithstanding the loss of his position as
member far Clare, had the satisfaction of supporting the bill in his place in the Duke of
Wellington's cabinet, against the influences whch were exerted against i t by the king (Geo.
IV.) Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald assumed the names and arms of Vewy and Fitzgerald, by royal
license in A.D. 1860, in compliance with the wish of hi uncle, RiUiam Lord Fitzgerald and Veaci.
A very large portion of the forfeited estates of Daniel Viscount Clare, and which were purchased
jointly with Francis Burton and Nicholas Wesby, Esqrs., in 1703, by James MacDonnell, Esq.,
of Kilkee, a captain in Lord Clare's Dmgoons in 1689, and a scion of the House of Dunluce,
who married Penelope (sister of Honora, second Viscountess Clare), is now held by his descendant William Edward Armstrong Mac Donnelt, Esq., of New Hall and Kilkee, J.P., D.L., High
Sheriff of Clare in 1853, Major in the Clare Militia, etc., etc., who married in 1868 the IIonourable
Juliaua Cecilia O'Brien, eldest daughter of Lucius, thirteenth Baron of Inchiquin, who has
a son and heir, Charles Randal, born on the 29th of March, 1862, and two daughters, Mary
Gertrude, born on the 9th November, 1859, andHonora Grace, born 29th November, 1860.
Dr. Moran's Lge of O h e r Wtnkect.
614
HISTORY OF L I ~ R I C K .
i .
of his namesake, ~ o h dOadoloney. In October, 1671, the Congregation
dc Propaganda Fide entertained the project of uniting the small diocese
of KiKenora to either of the adjoining sees of Killaloe or Kilmacduagh,
and transferring the then Bishop of Kilfenora, Dr. Andrew Lynch, to
Cork. I t appears by a letter of the internuncio at Brussels, that this
project was approved of by Dr. O'Moloney; but Dr. Lynch declined the
mitre of Cork, preferring to remain as suffragan to the Archbishop of
Rouen ; the proposed union, therefore, was for the present postponed. Dr.
O'Moloney remained in Paris for some time, afraid of the Duke of Orinonde and his satellites;' but the matter having been brought by Dr.
Plunkett under the attention of the viceroy, in January, 1672, his excellency replied that as he had no royal order against Dr. O'Moloney,
he would not, on account of the enmity of an individual, exclude the
subjects of his majesty from the kingdom. During his stay in Paris
he made energetic and successful exertions to establish in that city
a college specially destined for the education of Irish ecclesiastical
students. Owing, however, to the earnest entreaties of the Propaganda to
hasten to his diocese, and ultimately to the positive orders to that effect,
which were issued on the 2nd of August, 1672, he at length left Paris,
and arrived in Dublin early in November of that year; Dr. Plunlrett
and Dr. Brennan, Bishop of Waterford, requesting him not to return
so soon. H e remained in Dublin for some time, where he effected a reconciliation between Colonel Patrick Taibot and Colonel Richard Talbot,
Duke af Tyrconnell, who were, at the time, two of the most influential
Catholics in Ireland; as also between the Primate, Oliver Plunkett, and
Dr. Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin, between whom, for some time previously, a serious misunderstanding had existed respecting the primacy, its
precedence, right of' appeal, and other privileges. He communicated the
result to Rome, in a letter dated from Dublin, 17th November, 1672. In
the year after, he returned to Paris, resolved to forward his favourite pro
ject of the Irish college, and supported on this occasion by the entire
hierarchy of Ireland.
In carrying out this noble design the zealous bishop was materially
assisted by Father Patrick Maguin, a Dominican friar, chaplain to Catherine
of Braganza, queen of Charles II., and whose brother Ronan Maguin,
D.D., was appointed V.A. ofDromore in 167 1 ;as also by Father Lochlan
VKelly, who, out of their private resourccs, repaired the old College
des Lombardes, and endowed it with several burses for the maintenance
and education of lrish priests, merely requiring to be superiors during their
own lives, and to have the power of appointing successors. Dr. O'Moloney
again returned home; but from the year 1678 to 1661, a violent persecution raging against Catholic bishops and priests throughout Ireland, we
find by a letter of Archbishop Brennan of Cashel, dated 12th September,
1680, that he was not in his own district, being compelled to live in
concealment, " as the enemies of the faith bear him great ill will and speak
violently against him". I n 1685 he was one of the bishops to whom,
King James granted pensions, his pension being S150 per annum. If,
however, he. really was in Ireland in that year, hc wan not present at a
council held in Limerick by the Archbishop of Cashel, neither was Dr.
Dr. Moran's Lifeof Oliver Plunkeft.
Dowley, in consequence very likely of his infirmities H e was represented,
however, at the council i n question, by Thomas Kennedy and James
M6Eoery, Vicar-Generals of Killaloe, while Dr. Dowley was represented by John Stretch, Vicar-General of Limerick.'
On the death of Dr. Dowley, Dr. O'Moloney was appointed administrator of the diocese of Limerick, and one of his first acts was the consecration of the Franciscan chapel of the city, on the 1st of October, 1687.
In the same year, on the nomination of King James, he was translated to
the bishopric of Limerick, with the administration of his former see of
Killaloe When his majesty embarked for Ireland from France, in F'ebruary, 1689, Dr. O'Moloney remained in France, and never returned to his
native country. From Paris he wrote on the 8th of March to Dr. Patrick
Tyrrell, Bishop of Clogher and Kilmore, then about to be translated to
Meath, and who became principal secretary of state to the king, a letter,
the original of which was found among Dr. Tyrrell's papers at the battle of
the Boyne. While in Paris he was constantly engaged in negociations
respecting the affairs of Ireland, and it appears quite clear that he, as well
as almost all the Irish hierarchy, was opposed not only to the policy of
King James, but to that of Tyrconnell, as altogether English, for the Irish
hierarchy were gifted with penetration sufficient to discern, what the Earl
of Melfort in one of his state papers admitted, that the king went to
Ireland only in order to go to England as soon the latter was in a condition
to receive him with any proba3dity of success. I t is certain that the Irish
were determined to have the act of settlement fully repealed, as far as the
Cromw-ellian settlers at least were concerned: a measure which the king
never had at heart, ns is plain from his declaration to the people of England,
dated April l7th, 1693. I t is equally certain that at this period the
Irish leaders, in case the king died without issue by Queen Catherine, and
a Protestant king continued on the throne of England, were in favour
of the severance of Ireland from England, and its annexation to some
great Catholic power. In other respects also King aames feU in the esteem
of the lrish hierarchy, and' more particularly of' Dr. O'Moloney, who in
one very important matter also seriously differed with his majesty's ministers, and that was on the question of the regality so far as it re'lated
to the appointment of bishops. No one took a more active part in, the
discussion of this question than did the Bishop of Limerick; 8nd we
shall briefly refer to the grounds on which his oPposition t b ~ ~ ~ f o u n d e d .
An indult" had been conceded by the Holy See to King James, by which
his majesty had the nomination to vacant bishop& in rel land and vicars
apostolic in Englanit, which, after the king's death! was likewib d d e d
to his son and grandson. That the Catholic qhuroh in Itehkd?o&ed
with a jealous eyz ett the exercise of this ower, 1'3 not tx, be wondered at.
The 1ri& ~tholics~iiimembered
with o w e t h h it was the crownappointed bishop of English bhth who were t$e8firstamong the hierarc2iy
to abandon and abjure the faith of that Church from which they derived
their mission and jurisdiction, and became recxants to duty and pIFi&ple
for the sake of mere temporal interest. They rernmbexed that King
g
1 He was son of Thomas Stretch, Mayor of Limerick in 1650, whose life and estates were
forfeited by Cromwell. Dr. James Stretch was nominatedto the see of Emly by King James, on
the 31st of Janua* 1693, but it is believed he never was consecrated, for we find him parish
priest of hthkealie in 1703, and Vicar-General h d Administrator of Limerick.
617
HISTORY OF LIMEBLCK.
James's brother, father, and grandfather had basely deceived them, and
bitterly persecuted their bishops aqd clergy, secular and regular; they
believed that, if the king were restored to his crown, he would be principally advised by Protestant counsdIors, whose object it would -be to
promote improper nominees, partizans of the court, and enemies of the
people; they conceived that by these means the Church would be deprived of its freedom and become the slave of a state party, and that the
old project would be revived of appointing Englishmen to the vacant
mitres, which had been intrigued fbr in the reign of the first Charles. I t
was in reality a veto discussion of the time, and to his honour it must be
said, that no one took a more liveIy part in it, and in the interest of the
Church, than Dr. O'Moloney and his friend Dr. Pierce Creagh, Bishop
of Cork, and afterwards Archbishop of Dublin. The circumstances which
gave rise to this state of affairs we shall shortly refer to. They appear in
the unpublished report of Father John Young, of the Society of Jesus,
addressed to the General Piccolomini, on the incorporation of the Irish
with the English province, and dated at Rome in 1661, where he was then
president of the Irish College. After giving some reasons at great length
against such incorporation, he goes on to say:
U But they who are intimately acquainted with the genius of either country,
and the ineradicable hatred which exists between them, cannot on this point
entertain the slightest doubt. The cause of this alienation I would much rather
express orally than in writing.
" b d , The bishops and prelates of Ireland, who heretofore valued most
highly the Society, will, for the future, consider as suspected, and the opinion
will again revive which arose twelve years since, when the queen of England
was treating with the Pope by her procurator, regarding the propriety of having
English bishops consecrated for Ireland, to which proposition our Irish fathers
were said to be favourable, and a great storm was raised against our order that
the leading men of the kingdom connected with the Supreme Council, and who,
up to this, entertained the deepest respect for us, resolved that, were the matter
to go further, the Society should be expelled the kingdom".
That Dr. O'Moloney was right in believing that Queen Henrietta
Maria's design was entertained by King James, is fully proved by the
king's advice to his son, the Chevalier St. George, supposed to have been
slain in 1690.'
Referring to IreIand he. says:'L As to the Catholic clergy, great care should be taken to fill the dignities
with able, learned, and men of exemplary lives, and to break off that evil
which we have too much practiszd, of giving orders to young men, and then
sending them abroad to study ; and 't woixld not be amiss to make some few
English clergy bishops there, and set up colleges, that the youth might not be
obliged to be sent to study beyond the sea".
In virtue of this indult numerous appointments of Irish bishops were
made? Capara, the agent of Mary of Modena, was the principal negotiator
of these appointments. None of the earlier ones appear to have been
excepted to'by Dr. O'Moloney, who, in fact owed his own appointment to
Clarke's Life of Jam- IT., voi. ii. p. 636.
S
i
r D a d Nairne's Stuart State Papers in the Bodleian Library. Sir David
private secretary of King James formany year&
Nairne was
the mitre of Limerick to the king's influence. But in' 1694, when he
forwarded to Rome, in reply to the memorial of Capara, objections to
Edward Comerford's nomination by the k' to the see of Cashel(15th
August, 1693), and also against Dr. Richar Pierce's nomination to the
see of Waterford, 23rd July, 1694, objections partly political, partly
personal;' he exhibited a very determined spirit against the proceed~ngs
of James. In this, however, he was not successful. The king replied to
remonstrances, showing that Dr. Cornerford was a doctor of the
Sorbonne, that he had been many years on the English mission, and
m q years a parish priest in Ireland, and his majesty insinuated that Dr.
O'Moloney'a oppo8i~onarose because he had declined to appoint him
to'Dublin or to Cashel, or to a point his nephew the Rev.
Moloney,
Vicar of Limerick, to the see o Killaloe. The bishop's representations,
though they retatded these appointments,did not succeed with the Propsganda in preventing the archblsho$s bull being forwarded; he was consecrated b John Ba tist Hayne, Bishop of Cork, assisted by Dr. Robert
Pieme, &shop of
aterford. We have no further incidents relative to
Dr. O'Moloney, except those that prove how influential he was at the
court of Louis, negotiating assistance for Ireland when it was most needed
in a perilous crisis of her fortunes. He died in P& on the 3rd of
September, 1702, in the 78th year of his age, and a mural tablet marks
the spot where his remains are interred (see p. 220).
The see of Limerick, which was governed for many years bp a vicarpneral, in the person of the Very Rev. Dr. Jamea Stretch, or Stntch, P.P.
of Rathkeale, remained without a Catholic bishop from the period of the
death of the Right Rev. Dr. Moloney in 1702, to the year 1720, wholly
owing to the ceaseless penecutions which continued to rage after the suoeeas
of King William, and the passionate vehemence of the dominant faction,
which could 0~x1 satiate its vengeance by depriving the Catholics of every
shred of politics power and social position, in violation of solemn treaties,
and against the dxtates of reason and of 'ustice. At length the Court of
Borne judged it pro er to coder the dignity of the see on Comelius
O'Keeffe, a native o the county Cork, of the ancient family of the
O'Keeffes of Clounna-Phricane. He had studied with distinction at
Toulouse, where he became a doctor of divinit , and he enjoyed the rectorshi of the &h of St. Chmnicleu, in the &ocw of Nantz, when the
See se ected him to supply the position which had been occupied
by a long line of illustrious men who preserved the faith in the midst of
every danaer. Denis O'Keeffe, the
father of the bishop, was expelled
from his o h fatnil estate of L' Dunn, on the river Bride, b the ruthless
Cmmaelln.' ~ i e many
r
hardship he settled at Drum eene, in the
county of Limerick, where he left six sons, viz., Daniel, Dennott,
Philip, Donatus, Luke, and Cornelius, the bishop. In the year above
menboned, Cornelius O'Keeffe took ossession of his see of Limerick,
which he carefully governed for t e space of seventeen yeam, h b
death having taken place in 1737. He founded three bnrses in the
Irish ColIege of Paris for boys of the name of O'Eeeffe, of the family he
was himself; he prescribed rules for the government of the burses, and
I
-
P
f
I
P
H ~ P ~P
h
%
1S
i
r David Nsirne's Shcatl State Papers in the Bodleian Library. Sir David Nairne wsr
of HiJamea for many years.
private aecre
V&n*a";Ls;~o ~ames~s
l r m g List.
43
HISTORY O F LIMERICK.
gave money on his visit in 1731 to Paris for their support.' The w o r d i i
of the will occasioned litigation between Dr. O'Keeffe's successor in the
see of Limerick,.viz., Dr. Robert Lacy, and Dr. Walsh, Bishop of Cork.
The latter persisted on the literal interpretation of the will W being in
favour of the subjects of the Cork diocese. The suit was carried before the
courts of Paris, where it was left re infectu. Dr. Q'Keeffe endured severe
persecution. He with other prelates was denounced to the government by
one Rev. John Hennessey, whom he had suspended, and who in the
old way, for the purpose of revenge, a d to ingratiate himself with the
no- opery faction of the day, fabricated a conspiracy, of which, however,
not ing resulted save some violent resolutions of the House of Commons.
I n the Commom Journal of 1741, we find the following entry of the informatiow of the Rev. John Hennessey:-
1
"The informations of Father John Hennessey state that in August or September, 1729, he was in company with Conor O'Keeffe, popish Bishop of Limerick, Francis Loyd, popish Bishop of Killaloe, and D. Stones, a Franciscan
Friar of the city of Dublin, at the House of Teigue McCarthy, alias Rabah, the
then popish Bishop of Cork and Cloyne, when the said Keeffe and Loyd delivered a letter to the said M'Carthy from Christopher Butler, the popish Archbishop of Cashel, acquainting him that he had received a letter from the Pope's
internunzio at Brussels, that the Pope had complied with the request of the
archbishops of Ireland, that his Holiness had sent him an indulgence for ten
years, in order to raise a sum of money to be specially applied to restore King
James 111. to hia right, and put his then majesty and the royalyd&f
to
the sword".
On the strength of these informations Mr. Law, Collector of M a h ,
seized Dr. MCarthy's papers, and enclosed them to the speaker of the
House of Commons as documents of an actual conspiracy. A committee
of the house was at once appointed to inspect them; their report, filled
with insolence and invective, contained but one fact, viz., that a sum of about
$5 had been collected? On that fact they resolved that under cover of
op osin heads of b i against the Pa is&, great sums of money had been
ooiecte! and raised, and a fund estabhed b the Popish inhabitants of
the kingdom, through the influence of their c ergy, highly detrimental to
the Protestant interest, and of immcnse danger to the present happy onstitution of church and state, and that a humble address be resented to
his Grace the Lord Lieotcnant to issue his proclamation to dmagistrates
to put the hws zy3ainst papacy into execution. As an instance of the
truculence of the tunes, we may here repeat what has already appeared in
a previous chapter, that the Rev. Timothy Ryan was arrested by Lieute~ntrGenera1Pierce, Governor of Limerick, tried, convicted, and hanged
at Gallows Green, for no other crime than that of mga Catholic and
Protestant. Dr. O'Keeffe, however, was not daunted in the midst of
rils. He not only/ revived the canons and chapter of the cathedral,
he made rules d constitutions for the chapter, which, with some
additiom,and modifications by his successors, continue in force in the
diocese of Limerick to this day. The high esteem in which he was held
by the Propaganda, for his prudence, sound judgment, and vtwied abili-
i
Et,
1
White's MS&
Matthew O'Connor'~Hi&orj(of the Itisli Cuiholics.
619
ties, is demonstrated by the fact of his being entrusted in 1732 to act in
the difficult and delicate commissio~of reporting to the Holy See on the
differences which had arisen between Dr. Bernard O'Gara, Archbishop of
Tuam, and the Rev. Patrick Bermingham, Warden of Galws , and the
collegiate clerg ,respecting the jurisdiction of the bishop over t em. As
such delegate, ke proceeded to Galway and investigated the matter in
dispute, when a compromise was entered into by which the right of visitahofi and of hearing appeals was conceded by the warden, etc., to the
archbishop. He also investigated the complicated dispute which arose
in Limerick between the Domifiicans and Franciscans on the one part, and
the Augustinian hermits on the other-a dispute which ended in favour
of the latter on an appeal to the court of Rome. Dr. O'Keeffe died on the
4th of May, 1737, and was interred in St. John's churchyard, but there
is no trace of his tomb.
On the death of the Right Rev. Doctor Cornelius O'Keeffe, Dr. Pierce
Cre~gh,Dean of Limerick, convened the chapter, and they elected Dr. John
Lehy, Pastor of St. John's, and Dr. John Begley, Pastor of Newcastle, to
be capitular vicars during the vacancy of the see. This election was afterwards confirmed by Dr. Christopher Butler, Archbishop of Cashel.' The
same chapter, at the same time, entered on a scrutiny for the electing and
postulating a worthy successor to their deceased bishop, Dr. Cornelius
O'Kecffe, to the see of Limerick, when, after a mature deliberation in the
parish chapel of St. John's, they thought proper to elect and postulate these
three, viz.,Dr. John Lehy, then capitular vicar and pastor of' St. John's,
Dr. Pierce Creagh, then dean and pastor of St. Mary's, and Dr. Robert
Lacy, a child of the diocese, and then su~eriorof the Irish seminary of
Bourdeaux. This postulation was immeitately despatched off to the see
of Rome for its determination. On the evening of the same day the greatest
part, of the members of the chapter, together with most of the parish priests
of the diocese, had a private meeting, where they elected and postulated
solel~sthe Rev. Robert Lacy, superior of the Irish seminary of Bourdeaux,
to be Bishop of Limerick, which postulation was also sent to the court of
Rome, and was attended with success. Dr. Lacy was afterwards named by
the court of Rome as Bishop of Limerick. On the 23rd of February, in
the year 1738, he was consecrated Bishop of Limerick by his Grace the
Eight Rev. Francis Mariban, Archbishop of Bourdeaux, and he landed in
Limerick in the month of September, 17.38.
The following is an account of the parish priests in the diocese of Limerick when the Right Rev. Dr. Cornelius O'Keeffe, Bishop of Limerick, died,
the 4th of May, 1737, and when the Ri ht Rev. Dr. Robert Lacybecame
Bishop of Limerick: consisting then of our decanates:-No. 1. The decanate of Limerick, in Limerick city.
Dr. Pierce Creagh, pastor of St. Mary's, and pastor of St. Nicholas.
Dr. John Lehy, vicar capitular, pastor of St. John's and pastor of St.
Lawerice%.
Rev; Walter Burke, pastor of St. Michael's.
Rev. Patrick ~canla<pastor of St. Munchin's, and of part of Keillely, and of
-part of St. Nicholas.
Rev. Michael MacMahon, vicar of St Mary's.
Rev. Owen Sullivan, vicar of St. John's.
E
P
a
Ibid.
43 B
..
HISTOBP 03
mBICg*
621
HISTORY OX' LIMERICK.
Jn the County C h
Bev. Barth, M'Namara, who died during the vacancy of the see, and succeeded
by the Rev. Christopher Bermingham, pastor of Keilcuan, being part of St,
Patrick's, and of part of St. Munchin's, and of part of Keillel
Rev. John Herbert, pastor of Keilfintsnan, and of Cra oe, being part of
Keillely.
In the County of Limerick.
Rev. W i Murphy,
- . pastor of St. Patrick's, and of Keilmurry, and of
Derrighalavin.
Bea. James White,- -pastor of Donougbore, and of Cabirivahala, and of
9'
c m .
No. 2 The decanate of Kilmallock.
Rev. Francie Nolan, pastor of Fedemore.
&v. Robert Hayes, pastor of Tullybraoky, of Glanogry, of B d , of Kyrane,
of Camas, of Grange, of Kishemedeady.
Rev. John O'Brien, pastor of Kilmallock.
Rev. David Burke, pastor of EEU.
Rev. Patrick Stanton, pastor of Brury.
Rev. Thomas Fitzgersld, pastor of Drommin, of Athlscky.
Rev. John Hayes, pastor of Kilbridymsjor, of Ballinaneasy.
Rev. Timothy Hayes, pastor of Keilfinny.
Rev. John Shinnick, pastor of Darragh.
No. 3. The d e w t e of Adare.
&v, John Hynes, pastor of Mungrett.
Rev. Daniel King, pastor of Adsre, of Keilchidy.
Rev. Ambrose Connorq pastor of Croagh.
Rev. Edmund Higgins, pastor of Croome.
Rev. William Cronine, pastor of Castletown, of Nesntenan.
Rev. Nicholas Moloney, pastor of Keildimy.
Xev. Patrick Moore, pastor of Rathkeale.
Rev. Patrick Myi., pastor of Keilscannell.
No. 4. The decanate of Ballingamy or Ardagh.
Rev. John Begley, capitular vicar, pastor of Newcastle and Monaghea
Rev. Darby Connors, pastor of Ballingarry.
Rev. James O'Brien, pastor of Glin, of Loghill.
Rev. William Hourgm, pastor of Mahnnagh.
Rev. Daniel Hurley, pastor of Knocldery.
Rev. Philip Nolan, pastor of Shamgolden.
&v. Maurice Deeneen, pastor of Rathgonane.
&v. Daniel Rourke, pastor of Ardagh.
Bev. James Barry, pastor of Keilidy.
Rev. Luke Collinq pastor of Abbeyfeale.
Rev. James Scanlan, pastor of Drumcollaher.
ltev. Edmund Dillane, pastor of Asbaton.
Our readers are now aware that there were two bishop Lacy in the
aocese of Liierick, one in the sixteenth century, who suffered much persecution &m Queen Elizabeth, and of whom a tradition prevails m his
family that he was executed. The other bishop, Robert LW
to the religious changes of the revolution, and compelled to de the rehgiow service9 of the C&holic C h d under a bushePSin highwage and
P
bye-ways'. Bishop Robert Lac was one of the sons of Pierre or Pierce
Lacy and Arabella Goold, daug tcr of Robert Goold, of Knockrawn, by
Eda, daughter of Mathew O'Connor.!
Dr. Lacy, while enjoying the bishopric of Limerick, was
administrator of the diocese of Kilfenora, by Dr. Daly, bishop
who remained at Tournay in France. H e conferred h01 orders, and
subsequently, on the 23rd December, 1738, priesthood, on e Rev. James
White, compiler of White's MS§. H e supplied his diocese with clergy by
sending young students to foreign countries to study, where they received
sacred orders, and then came home to the mission, which they generally
discharged with distin~ishedfidelity. During his episcopacy the
of the country ruled w ~ t han iron rod, iespective of lsn or order.
occasion, Thomas O'Dell, Esq., the principal man in the parish of Ballingamy, caused the Rev. Christopher Bermingham to fly to France because he
was obnoxious to him, for no other reason than that he, O'Dell, preferred
the parish should be given to another eler
Owing to the terrible
fawhich prevailed in 1744, Dr. O'Kee e, and'the other bishops of Ireland, granted rr reluxation to the people of the Lenten fast. H e saw religion,
however, revive hsome respects. H e made o surrender of the old parish
chapel outsideThomond Gate,which waa tumblin to decay,and when a little
more freedom was panted, the clergy were ena led to take a small waste
malt house in the Little Island, of which they made a parish chapel, until
they were tolerated to build a better, which was the case in 1749, when the
E
d
r
%
The Bishop, newrding to tho infomntion imparted to us by Messrs. De Lacy Pearce and
Nephewsof London, had several brothers and sisters, one David Lacy, in the Spanish service,
who died 1786. A sister Catherine married to David Mahony, the great grand-parents of the late
celebrated Dublin solicitors, Pierce Mahony and David Mahony, Esqm., of Dublin and county
Kerry (1860). Another brother was Patrick of Rathiogill, who was a colonel in the Spanish service, and died in 1723 in Spain. Another brother, George Lacy, of Leitrim, by marriage with his
eamnd cowin, Fann Lac ,(daughter of Patrick Lacy and Lady Lucy Ankettle, the ancestors of
the RathcahiU and $empf,glantan branch, from which came General Maurice of GrodnoJ united
the two branches of the family, the Spanish and the Austrian exiles. Another of the bwnch wan
Fwnpia Antoine Lacy, afterwards count and general in the Spanish service, and a diplomatist.
He is described in the French biographies as ' I of an ancient and illustrious Irish family, which
resided in Spain under Marshal de Berwick, born in 1731, and commenced his military onreer,
a t the age of sixteen as ensign in the Irish regiment of Ultonia infantry. He served in oampaigns in Italy in 1747, was made colonel of his regiment in 1 7 6 2 - i ~war against Portugal
nominated commander of artilery in 1780, and employed at the famous siege of Gibraltar. After
the peace of 1783 he was minister and plenipotentiary in Russia and Sweden, made commandanty r s l of 1s C6te of Grenada, and died at Barcelona, Dec. 31, 1792, full of honours. Lonia
e Lacy, his descendant, was born on the 11th January, 1775, a t St. Roch, near Gibraltar.
" Ayantprdu de son enfance son pere Patrick de Lacy, qui Btait major du regiment d'Ultonine, et
m mire etant d i e rejoindre wsfr6res officers" in the regiment of Bmssels infant Lacy nt nine
yean entered as cadet in the regiment Ultonia. In 1794 he became captain, anTwas employed
against the French in Catalonia until the peace of Bale in 1795. In 1798 was exiled to the Isle of
For, condemned to imprisonment, sent to Cadiz, and he U solicited the honour to serve as a simple
grenadier in the campaign of 1801 against Portngal. He left for France, and in 1803 smved
a t Boulo e. He entered the 6th regiment of infantry as a common soldier. General Clark&.
de%tre) having narrated the adventures of hi parent to Bonnparte, obtained for Mn
t e brevet of captain in the Irish regiment of O'Conuor, organized at Morlaix. In 1807 he wag
nominated chef du batal. Irlande in the army of Murat in Spain, but Lacy determined not to
war against his country. Disguised as a female he reached Madrid, 2nd May, 1808, was msde
lieutenant-colonel, and after a long series of services to Spain, and promotion and honour in
the wars until the peace of 1815, he in 1817 joined the constitdtionalists, and on the 6th
Aphpril reclaimed it in Valencia. He was abandoned, arrested, and condemned to death, and on
20th ]me, l8l7,shot by w1diers of S Neapolitan regiment. In 1820his body was traqm?ed to
h e l o n a . The Csrtes, for honour of his memory, nominated his eon *premier gmdm of
the S aniah army", who distingaiehed himeelf.
&de% MSS.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
.. HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
622
i
citizens liberally subscribed for what was then designated " a sum tuous
parish chapel", on a plot of ground in the Little Island, which was ta en on
the 20th of March, 1748, from Alderman Ingram, at the yearly rent of S10,
and on which they built the present St. Mary's chapel. I t was ruled that
each parishioner should take his place in the chapel in proportion to the
magmtude of his subscription. The shell of the new house of worship was
finished in the beginning of December, 1749, and first Masses were said in
it within the octave of the ImmacuPate Conccption, on the 10th of that
month, by the Very Rev. Dean Creagh, P.P. of St. Mary's, the Rev. M.
MLMahon, pastor of St. Nicholas' and vicar of St. Mary's, and by the Rev.
James White, pastor of the Abbey of St. Francis.' Dr. O'Keeffe proclaimed
the great Papal jubilee throughout his diocese in 1750, being the fiftieth
year of the century, and granted for the whole ycar by Pope Benedict
XIV. I t is stated that it produced the very best effects on the people.
I n the same year, on the death of the Right Hev. Or. Daly, the diocese of
Kilfenora and Kilmacduagh were united by PO e Benedict, who granted
his bull to that effect to the Right Rev. Dr. Ki likclly, Bishop of KilmacDr. O'Keeffe had frequent interviews during his episcopacy with
the ost Rev. Dr. Christophcr Butler, Archbisho of Cashcl: and his coab
jutor bishop, the Most Rev. Dr. James Butler, W o succeeded him in the
archic iscopacy, particularly in reference to certain scandals which were
cause in the city of Limerick, in consequence of the resistance of the Sev.
Patiick Scanlan, P.P. of St. Munchin's, to his lordship's authority. On
thrcc occasions thc Rev. P. Scanlan appealed to the archbishop and his
grace's coadjutor, and from them to the Papal Nuncio at Brussels, each
and all giving an unqualified decision in favour of Dr. O'Keeffe, who inanifested prudence, firmness, and zeal, in the exercise of his high office.
I n the midst of political feuds he was firm, and resisted, with his
episcopal brethren of Munster, including the Archbishop of Cashel, a
certain pwtoral letter which the Most Rev. Michael O'Reilly, Archbishop
of Armagh, had forwarded to be s h e d by the chiefs of the Roman
Catholic clergy in Ireland, and all &c pansh priests serving in parishes
throughout the kingdom '-a pastoral slavish in its tone to a persecuting
government, and unworth of men who were galled by the i d c t i o n of the
penal laws. After a life o laborious exertion and mwearied zeal, Dr. Lacy
gave up his pure spirit to the Creator, on the 4th August, 1759, at the hour
of a quarter to four o'clqck, a.m., having goverend h s diocese for the space
of twenty-one and a-half years, with the greatest moderation, prudence,
and ap lause"? He had been ill for a few years, and his death was like his
life,
serene, and hopeful. He was slow in punishing, as he used all
other means to reclaim, but resolute and determined when duty called for
the exercise of authority. Entreaties could not move, nor threata deter
him, whenever hi resolution was taken. By Frotestants and Catholics he
W* held in merited respect and re a d .
No man could be at the same
time more loved and feared by his c e r a . His body was removed fEom
P
duae
1
B
1
f
I,
I
' s MSS.
Hi Gnba died at West&
1m
on the 4th September, 1757. He was born at Kiloash, in 1673,
and resigned hispatemalestate mdtheri ht of smxsion to the Duke of Ormonde's estate and
the Earldom of Arran, to his younger brotfer, in order to embrace the ecclesiastical eatate. He
was 45 ears Archbiiop of Caahel, with the greatest applause, aud waa 84 years of age when
died.
was buried in the family mdt of the ~ ~ t l eat
r s~rntcorrrt.
W
if. MS&
8
623
Limerick to M a g h , his native place, on the 5th of August, where, b his
own orders, he was interred with the rest of his family, and where an l! urnble tomb stone, which was erected by the Right Rev. Dr. Young, very
many years afterwards, marks the grave of the apostolic prelate:-Beneath this stone are deposited
the mortal remains of the Rt.
Rev. Dr. Robert Lacy' who was
B. C. B. of Limerick 2 4 yeam
He departed thislife Augt. 4th' 1759.
R. I. P.
Tmmediately after the death of the Right Rev. Dr. Lacy, the Very Rev.
Dean Creagh cited all the members of the chapter, and all the parish
priests of the diocese, to assemble at St. John's chapel, " near the gates
of Limerick",' at eleven o'clock a.m., on the 8th c f August, 1759, for the
purpose of electing a vicar ca~itularto govern the see until a successor to
the decewed bishop should be appointed by the court of Rome. With
exception of three, who were absent from illness, all the parish priesta of
the diocese obeyed the summons of the dean. The pastor of Ki1hane, the
Rev. Timothy Hayes, who was also absent, ap ointed the Rev. John
O'Brien, P.P. of Kilmallock, as his procurator.
t was debated for some
time whether the election lay solely with the canons, of whom seven were
present, or with the canons and ~arish~rieststogether. Without putting
the question to a vote, the canons waived what the conceived to be their
exclusive privilege, lest the Archbishop of Cashe should question their
election or annul it. I t was judged proper, accordingly, in reference to
the tenor of the Papal letter of 1755; that the canons and parish priests
should give their suffrages; when the Very Rev. Dean Creagh appeared
from the scrutiny to have been elected by a great majority of votes; on
which an act to that effect was drawn up and signed by the following
priests, and witnessed and sealed by the Rev. Edward O'Brien, Notary of
the Apostolic See, and the Rev. James White, Notary Apostolic:-
5
r
David Bourke, Chancellor. Daniel O'ICearney, S.F. Par.
Walter Bourke, Prebend.
Doctor and Pastor St. PaLake &Cols, Preb.
trick's.
James Barry, Preb.
John De Lacy, S.T.D. and RecRobert @He%Preb.
tor of Ballingarry.
Edward OBrien, Preb.
Rowland Kirby, Doctor of Thew
John Herbert.
logy, and P.P. of St. MmFrancis Nowlan.
chin's, Limerick.
John Chennigh.
Daniel Gnery.
James Dundon.
John Lyne.
Maurice Welsh.
Thaddew O'Hea.
Matthew Corbett.
John Walsh.
William Marshall.
John Creagh.
John Hanrahan, S.F. Parisi*Paul Slattery.
ensis, Doctor Theologng J w p h Egan.
W i % m Hourigan,
.?avid Hourigan.
Maurice Ley.
Maarice Shaughnessy.
James Lynch.
John O'Brien.
Daniel O'Brien.
Jarnes White.
Constantins O'DanieL
Sylvester Mdcaire.
James Barnett.
Martin O'Cvnnor.
-
On the following day, viz., the 9th of A u p t , at the same place, the
same canons and p&h priests proceeded by scrutiny to postulate and elect
624
. . BISTORY OF LIMERICK.
a proper person to fill the vacant bishopric, when they unmimously chose
the Very Rev. John Creagh, Dean of the diocese, above mentioned, to be
eligible primo loco; the Rev. David Bourke in sccundo loco, and the Rev.
Rowland KirbY in tertio loco, when an act to that effect was solemnly
drawn up and duly signed by the canons and parish priests, and countersigned by the Rev. John De Lacy, Prothonotary Apostolic, and the Rev.
Jameg White, Notary Apostolic. Though, as we have stated, the postulation was unanimous, the court of Rome, nevertheless, in consequence of
an attestation signcd b four bishops in fiivour of Dr. Daniel O'Kearney,
a native of the city o Limerick, a Doctor of the Sorbonne, and parish
priest of St. Patrick's, chose Dr. O'ICearncy, on the 21st of November,
fbr the mitre of Limerick. A t this period there were great troubles and
apprehensions entertained by the govcrnmcnt respectinf a threatened
French invasion of England and Ircland. The Duke o Bedford, lord
lieutenant, signified, in consequence, to the Irish Catholics, the king's wish
that they should manifest a perfcct seal and loyalty ; and in obedience to
the proclamation o; the viceroy, ninety of the principal Catholics of
Limerick signed a most loyal and dutiful addrcss to the throne, but many
others refused signing it.'
I n Cork, onc hundred and thirty Catholics
signed the address, and in Waterford a very large number did the same. It
may be observed as a strangc fact, that the entire t r d c and commerce of
the city of Limcrick were at this time in the hands of Catholic merchants
and traders. By sca and by land the Catholics held uncontrollcd the mercantile aEairs of the city and port in their exclusive posse~sion.~But apprehensions were indulged in, which were soon afterwards realized, that
through the imprudence and avarice of some of the Catholic merchants,
who, for the sake of getting large apprentice fees, took Protestant and
I'resbyterim apprentices, who began to settle in t r d e and business in the
city, the Cathohcs would lose their preEminen~e.~This, however, is a
digression.
I n consequence of the Pope's bull, which bore date the 27th of Novcmber, 1759, the Right Rcv. Dr. O'Kcarney was consecrated, at Thurlr:?,
Bishop of Limerick, on Sunday, the 27th of January, 1760, by his Gracc
the Most Rev. Dr. James Butler, Archbishop of Cashel, two ecclesiastical
dignitaries having assisted in the room of two bishops, by virtue of a Papal
indulgence to that effect. On Tuesday, the 29th of the same month, Dr.
O'ICcarney informed some of his clergy who had assembled at St. Mary's
clmpel, Limerick, of his election and consecration, they having met hicl lordship for that purpose. The court of Rome at the same time granted him a,
bull for the parish of St. John's with all its annexes, which had been before
possessed by the deceased prelate, Dr. Lacy. On the 10th of May,
Dr. O'ICearney was inducted into the parish in question by the Very Rev.
Michael Hoare, ex-Provincial of the Dominicans, by directions of his
grace the Archbishop of Cashel. Though the penal laws existed in their
B
White's MSS.
4 lbid.
Mr. Stephep Roche, Mr. John Browne, Mr. Patrick Plunketf Mr. John Pery, Mr.Edmnnd
Sexton, Mr. Midme1 Itochford, Mr. Putrick Arthur, Mr. Patrick Bluett, Mr. Paul Sdlivan, Mr.
h n r e w e Mihan, were among the Catholic merchants and traders who took Protestant md
Presbyterian apprentices, much to the chagrin and mortification of the Catholic citizens generallv. which was increused consiclerably when these rpprcntioea
afterwards set up in business for
-th~mselvea- lVhilc's MSS.
625
HISTORY 0%' LIMERICK.
full vigour, the loyalty of the bishop, of the clergy, and of the citizens,
was not less warm than it had been. The death of George IT., on the 25th
of October, gave occasion for the expression of that feeling, in an address
from the chief Catholic inhabitants of the city and county of Limerick;
in which the strongest feelings of devotion to the throne were declared,
as well as the deepest regret for the loss of the late king, who had been
mild and merciful in his relations to the Catholic subjects of the crown.'
The Rev. Denis Conway (afterwards Bishop of Limerick) was appointed
by Papal bull, parish priest of St. Patrick's, on the promotion of Dr.
O'Kearney, who was a zealous, learned, and active prelate, thoroughly
versed in the canons and in Scripture, an accomplished theologian, of
kindly and simple manners, but possessed of that strong masculine
common sense whick enabled him to surmount the difEculties at the
critical time, of his appointment and during his episcopacy, of a dangerous
position. Dr. O'Kearney held his first ordination of subjects for his
diocese on the 15th May, 1761, being Friday of Whitsuntide, Quatuor
Tense. On this occasion he exercised his sacred functions open1 notwithstanding the highly penal character of prohibitory laws, whic were not
as yet repealed, and conferred minor orders and subdeaconship on four
young candidates for the ministry, who on the following day received
deaconship, and on the Sunday next succeeding, priesthood. Dr.
O'Kearney witnessed the demolition of the ancient walls of the city, and
the commencement of the new town by Edmund Sexton Pery, and many
other changes in the social and political aspect of his generation. He
attecded a meeting of the bishops of Munster, which was convened by the
Most Rev. Dr. Butler, Archbishop of Cashel, near Cork, on the 15th
of July, 1775, in comequence of the act 13 and 14 George III., which
enabled subjects of all denominations to testify their allegiance upon
oath.
Many Catholics firmly declined to take .the oath prescribed by that Act
of Parliament, not alone because it was insulting in its language, but, ss
they conceived, because it was in downright opposition to what they
beheved to be their conscientious rinciples. To counteract this view on
their part, and to satisfy the scrup es of the people and clergy, the Most
Rev. Dr. Butler called together the Bishops of Munster, and at this meeting
the following declaration was agreed to and subscribed by Dr. O'Kearney,
as well as by the other bishops:-
I'
P
G
' We, the chiefs of the Roman Catholic Clergy of the Province of Munster,
havirig met together near Corke, have unanimously agreed that the oath of
allegiance, prescribed by the act of parliament, anno regni decirno tertio et
quarto Georgii Tertii Begis, contains nothing contrary to the Roman Catholic
Religion"
Dr. O'Kearney also attended another provincial meeting of the Bishops,
held i n Thurles, on the 28th of the same month, in which the able and
enlightened work, entitled H i b m i a Dorninicana, and its supplement,
written by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas de Burgo, Catholic Bishop of' Ossory,
were solemnly disapproved of (except by Dr. McMahon, Bishop of Killaloe),
on the ,pund that they tended to weaken and subvert the allegiance, fidelity,
..
626
HISTORY OF LIMXRICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
and submission which were due tc the kin by raising unnecessary scruples
in the minds of the people, and sowing t e seeds of dissension on points
on which, from their religion and gratitude, they ought to be firmly united.
Than the great work of Dr. Thornas de Burgo, which is a wonderful combination of facts and documents connected with the ecclesiastical history
of Ireland, exhibiting an unequalled amount of industry, patience, research,
and learning, there has never been ublished a work of more inestimable
value to the student of Irish Churc history. That Dr. Butler and the
other bishops condemned it, was a source of pain in many quarters; but
the real cause of its condemnation by this rovincial meeting was, as
stated by His Grace the most Rev. Dr. Butler imself, in his Just; cation
of the Tenets of the Boman Catholic BeReligion, that the Hibe~nwiIfornominicara violently reprobated a similar oath of allegiance to the above, required
by an act of 1756-7. Indeed, Dr. O'Kearney sustained in his own person
strong ideas on the conduct of the government of the day. H e would not
cause to be read a certa;in printed form, which was forwarded from the
Castle of Dublin, and which ordered on the art of the Catholics of Ireland
fast to be observed throughout the Zing4om on the 12th of March,
a ~eneral
1762, to beseech the God of Hosts to bless his Majesty, his officers, and
his troops, and to inspire and direct his councils to grant a glorious and a
happy conclusion to this war, and that a solid, lasting, and advantageous
peace may restrain the effusion of Christian blood". He did not admit that
directions about observing a fast should come from the secular power, and
he deemed it an infringement on the spiritual authority, permitting only so
much of the printed form to be read as he thought proper, and omitting as
much of it as contained an exhortation to the people to observe the fast
exactly according to the tenor of the proclamation for that purpose". Dr.
O'Kearney stoutly and vehemently opposed the movements, the aggressions,
and the violences at the same time of the Levellers and the Whiteboys,
who to the number of some thousands, levelled what they said were
encroachments on commons, wherever these encroachments existed, dug
up the lay rich grounds of those who did not let out land to the poor
for tillage, burned barns and haggards, and by degrees spread a reign of
terrorism over Munster, doing great mischief in the counties of Waterford,
Tipperary, and Cork, as also in the county of Limerick, where they dug
up, in one night, in the parish of Kilfinane, twelve acres of land which
belonged to a Mr. Maxwell.' The bishop issued directions to all the
parish priests to exert themselves, and to speak boldly against these aggresmons, in which, however, Protestants were the chief actors, and into the
causes of which the government at once sped an inquiry, with a view to
redress any real grievance ; but to put down and to punish crime at the
same time, a commission of Oyer and Terminer sat in Limerick on the
31st of May, when, on oath of one Joseph Prest-age, a Protestant, who
became king's evidence, several of those whom he admitted in hi evidence
he had corn elled to perpetrate these outrages, and whom he had f&shed
, and two of them, viz.,
with arms or that purpose, were found
il
ty
were
condemned to death
one Bruyliard, a Protestant, and one Cxy,
for killing cattle. William Fant, a Protestant, who began the troubles,
was condemned to two yews' imprisonment and s fine of S O , while
many others were condemned also to various terms of imprisonment for
the same cause. There was no Catholic of any weight, consequence, or
position involved in these doings, though they were said to be the commencement of a Popish rebellion. They were, nearly altogether, confined to Protestants possessed of afluence, who had made the unsuspecting Catholic peasantry their mere instruments and victims in the
business. The Rev. Father Kennedy, P.P. of Tulla, near the Silvermines,
Co. Tipperary, was one of those who were arrested, and escorted by Sir
Jamcs Caldwell's Light Horse into Limerick, on the 2d of May, charged
with rebellious practices, which existed only in the fertile imagination3 of
his accusers. He was at once discharged when the facts were inquired
into. As in other cases and circumstances, the Catholics were slandered
and denounced for crimes and offences of which they had no cognizance ;
but no prelate could act with more vigour in resisting the disturbers of the
ublic peace, than did Dr. Daniel O'Kearney, who continued to discharge
fis onerous duties with zeal. H e ordained many priestr for the diocese of
Limerick, and afforded the utmost satisfaction to all b the faithful and
perfect discharge of every duty. His Lordship diegat Ballyshannon,
near Limerick, in January, 1778,' full of years and virtues, a noble specimen of an Irish Catholic prelate. His acquirements were of a most varied
character, and his mildness, playfulness, and simplicity, are even yet
remembered in the traditions of the people. The good prelate was interred in St. John's churchyard, and over his remains was placed a tomb
which was situated near the east wall, towards the S. E. end of the
churchyard?
On the death of Dr. O'Kearney, the Very Rev. Denis Conway, P.P.
of Rathkeale, was appointed Vicar-Capitular until the election of tt
successor to the deceased bishop should be made. But, in b e meagtime, His Grace the Archbishop of Cashel, who desired that his kinsman,
the Hon. and Rev John Butler, a brother of Lord Cahii, and a member
of the illustrious Order of Jesus, should be appointed to the vacant see of
Limerick. Accordingly, on the 9th of March, 1778, Dr. Butler, his rela-
P
fl
1
F
627
Walker's Hibernian Magazine.
'Dr. Y01111g'~Note in White's MSS.
In this church-yrrd were also interred the Rev. Dr.
John Lehy, ?P. St. John's, who died 14th December, 1754; the Rev. Denis O'Connor, the
Rev. Owen 0 Sdivan, who was curate to Dr. Lehy, and who died in 1750, aged 60 years, etc.
The names of the Rev. Messrs. Lehy, O'SuUvm, and O'Connor, are inscribed on the same
tombstone, which now (1856) forms the south side of the tomb of the Right Rev. Dr. Conwz~y,
whilst an older tombstone, with the date of 1728, forms the north side of the same tomb Dr.
O'Keamey's tomb is said to have been more northward, near where the tomb oE the Right Rev.
Dr. Michd Peter M'Mahon now is. Dr. MCMahon'stomb has the following inscription, nnd in
the some vault are buried his relative, William Hartney, Esq., and the Rev. John Thayer, the
eminent convert and controversialist:-
I. H. S.
Here lieth the body of the late Right
Rev. Doctor M'Mahon, Romsn
Catholic Bishop of Kihbe, who
departed this life on the second
day of March, 1807, in the 98th yeu of
hissge,and4Othofhis
episcopal dignity. May (i;odbe
mercifaltobissod. Amen.
S29
HISTORY OF LlMERICK.
HIBTOBY OR LIMERICE
tive, the Hon. and Rev. Father John Butler, S.J., signified to him that all
the relates of Munster except on",' viz.: Dr. Carpenter,: who desired
that r. Nihell should be promoted to the mitre: and many other prelates
had cast their eyes upon him as the most worthy person to fill the vacant
see of Limerick under the cixcumstances; that he hoped his humility would
not be alarmed, and that, bearing in mind the joint postulation of the prelates,
the will of Almighty God, he would submit to the order of Providence,
and resign himself to a burthen which the Divine grace would render light
to him and advantageous to the diocese he was invited to govern. To
this communication Father John Butler returned an answer dated Hereford, March 23rd, 1778, in which he announces his determination to resist
the proffered dignity by every means in his power, whilst he expresses
his sincerest thanks to all who have been pleased to entertain so favourable
an opinion of him. The good archbishop, in his reply to this refusal,
states that the postuldon had been forwarded to Rome backed by the signatures of three archbishops and twelve bishops of Ireland; by the Roman
Catholic peers of Ireland; by the united letters of the Nnncios of Paris
and Brussels; of the first president of the parliament of Paris; and of
Monsieur de Vergennes, Ninistre des Affaires Etrangcrs, to Monsieur de
Bernis; and, to crown all, by the letters of the most worthy prelate, Dr.
Walmsley,' in his favour. I t would appear that a strong opposition,
however, had been raised in other quarters to the appointment of' Father
Butler," and that the Propaganda had rejected him as an ex-Jesuit; but
the Pope, in attention to the earnest application which the prelates of the
province of Munster in particular, as well as others, thought it for the interest of religion to make in his favour, oveimled the determination of the
Propaganda, and named him for the vacant mitxe. The Right Rev. Dr.
Wiliiam Egan, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, resident in Clonmel,
wrote a long letter to Father John Butler: in which the right reverend prelate
urged him in the strongest possible manner to accept the dignity, to which
Father Butler at length submitted on this express stipulation, " that whenever the Society of Jesus be restored, 1 shall be at full and perfect liberty
to re6nter the same and retire again to my college, the seat of real virtue
and ha pine~s".~In May the archbishop writes to him to Cahir Castle,
where e had arrived on a visit to his brother Lord Cahir, congratulating
him, and announcing the receipt of a letter fro%the Very Rev. Dr. Conway,
Vicar-Capitular of Limerick, assuring him that he would meet with the
most pleasing reception there both from clergy and laity, and that all ranks
of eople were most impatient for his arrival amongst them. On the 10th
of uly, same year (1778), the archbishop announced that the bulls had
arrived for Father Butler, and had been forwarded to him (the archbishop)
from Paris the preceding week, but that an indispensable journey on his
part had prevented him attending to them before. The Archbishop adds:
Father Butler, however, almoet immediately &er, completely withdrew
from the honour which he had in his hands. I n a meek, courteous, and
respectfirl letter to the Archbishop, in which he cordially thanked hia
Grsoe for the zeal and intezest he had taken in hia promotion, he says:
"I decline the proffered honour, because I redly think myself incapable of
fdfllling the duties of such a station in the Churchn.
628
b
.
g
g
S
"I need not tell you the pleasure it gave me to receive them, and how I
wish and hope that the use which is to be made of them may tend to advance
the glory tf God and the good of tbe diocese of Limerick".
Oliver's Collectiom.
Renehan'a Collections.
Oliver's Collections.
Dr. Oliver's CoZleCtWns.
'
Dr. Carpenter wae Archbishop of Dublin.
r The author of Pasforin's Aopkeeies~
See Dr. Oliver'rr Colledion, for Dr. Egsn'n letter.
The tither of this noble-minded riest waa the ninth Lord Cahir, who
E
waa the eldest son of the eighth ord Cahir and of Frances Butler,
daughter of Sir Theobald Butler, Solicitor-General of James 11.'
Whether there were other reasons than those advanced by Father
Butler in hi letter to the archbishop, which actuated him in his determination not to accept the mitre of Liimerick, we are not aware. I t is true,
indeed, that the majority of the chapter of the diocese of Limerick, including twenty-two beneficed clergymen, had forwarded to the Holy See
a protest: and that there was much inconvenience felt during the time
that had intervened between the death of Dr.O'Kearney and the ultimate
settlement of the grave question as to who was to succeed him and govern
the dimse, the administration of the affairs of which continued in the
hands of Dr. Conway, Vicar Ca it&, who resided in Rathkeale, and
who often consulted his intimate riend, the Rev. John Young, then curate
of St. John'a parish, who was destined to succeed to the see of Limerick,
and whose learning and piety pointed him out as an able and a safe counsellor in difficulties. Dr. Conway was a learned, read , gifted, and piow
man. He visited Father Butler at Cahir Castle, W en that excellent
nest was regarded, what he had h e n for some months, virtually the
gishop of Limerick, but does not sppear ever to have visited the diocese.
He speaks of Lord Cahir, whom he met during one of these visits, as a
fine, sober, ood m m also, who lives like a princen; he states that he met
the Archbis op of Cashel at Cahir Castle, who received him with oordiality and affability, and that there was a rfect reconciliation in refer.
enca to m y misunderstanding that might ve arisen between his Grace
and the chapter of Limerick.
WMst mattem were in this state, the Right Rev. Dr. MacMahon,
Bisho of Killaloe, who had resided generally iz Limerick, blessed the oiL,
in Ho y Week, and performed other episcopal duties. The chapter, meanwhile, continued to a p1 themselves to the court of Rome in the emerency, and the Rev. J r . &elly, then agent of the Irish bishops at the Holy
L e , was frequently written ta by Dr. Conway, who was himself ostulated
for, and who, aftm some months, and after many rumours that t e choice
had fallen upon another, viz., the Rev. John Mullog: received his bulls
of consecration from the Archbishop of Cashel on the 14th of May, 1779
and on the 20th of June in that year, Dr. Conway was consecrated by
His Grace, who decided that Thurles was the fittest place for the ceremonial. Dr. Butler, Bishop of Cork, and Dr. M'Kenna, Bishop of Cloyne,
assisted, whilst the Rev. John Young, on the invitation of his dear &end
P
I
%
C
p
1
1 Augastine Butler, Esq., D.L, Ballyline, Coant Clare,is the great-great-grandson of the
celebratedSir Toby Butler, whose non married s &ughbx of Lord Cahirls, and Lord Cahir'a
son (aftemash Lord C*)
married Sir Toby'e daughter. These marriages took place about
the year 1711.
MS. Correspondence of Dr. Conway.
Thia clergpmap tesid~dh Xilksnny.
Conway Conespondenoe.
630
-..
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
the new prelate, accompanied him to Thurles. The Rev. J. Young continued to be the constant friend and companion, and ultimately the c o d jutor in the episcopacy of Limerick, of Dr. Conway, who was a distinguished student of Louvain. Versed in canon law and in Scripture. a
and correct writer, as we likewise gather from the few letters
which
'leaSinf e has bequeathed, and in which his wit and sprightliness of disposition flash frequently and agreeably, he was received at all times in the
warmest manner by clergy and laity. During the episcopacy of Dr. Conway, St. Michael's Chapel was built, and his lordship presided at the
opening of it on the 29th of September, 1781.
Of the public acts of Dr. Conway we have not many records. H e
attended a meeting of the Bishops of Munster, which was held in Limerick
on the 1st of May, 1784, and which was presided over by the Archbishop
of Cashel, at which a declaration of loyalty to the king and country was
drawn up, agreed to and signed by the bishops, who, at the same time,
enjoined their clergy to exhort the people to industry, sobriety, and a
peaceable denieanour in all things, as a sure means of fulfilling their duty
towards God and the state. H e opposed the Rightboys and the Whiteboys in the most determined manner, and he was one of the Bishops of
Munster who attended a provincial meeting held at Cork on the 26th
of June, 1786, and which was presided over by the Archbishop, at which
decrees were adopted condemnatory of the riotous and illegal proceedings of the Rightboys. A t this meeting regulations were made in reference to the dues of the parochial clergy, m d the restraining of certain
parochial expenses on the part of the pari~hioners.~Dr. Conway was a
benefactor to the religious and charitable institutions of his native city
of Limerick, and a friend of education, as he provsd by his having bequeathed a sum of S415 7s. 8d. towards building a college for the education of Roman Catholic youth, should any such be established in this
kingdom, or towards support of students thereof-(extract f ~ o mzozll,
1794). This money was invested afterwards in building the Catholic
seminary at Park. H e also bequeathed a sum of $92 6s. 2d. upon trust,
for educating, clothing, and maintaining poor children of the charity
school of St. John's parish, a bequest of which there is no account at
present?
He lived to the age of 75 years, and died on the 19th day of June, 1796.
His remains were interred, as were those of his predecessors, D=,
O'I<eeffe and O'Kearnej, in S t John's Churchyard, near the south-east
wall, under a plain limestone tomb, which beam the following inscrip
tion:I. H. S.
In this Sepulchre are deposited
The remains of the Right Revd.
Dennis Conway, Roman
Catholic Bishop of Limerick, and
Parish Priest of St. John's Parish in sd.
City, who departed this life on the
19th of June, 1796, in the 75th year of his age.
HISTORY OP LIMERICK.
631
Previously to the death of Dr. Conway, and owing to his increasing infirmities, the Holy See appointed the Right Rev. John Young, bishop of
Maxula, in p a ~ t i b wivt$deliunc, and Coadjutor-Bishop of Limerick, and he
was consecrated on Whit-Monday, the 20th of May, 1793, at St. May's
chapel, Limerick, by the Most Rev. Dr. Bray, Archbiishop of Cashel,
assisted by the Right Rev. Dr. Conway, Bishop of Limerick, Right Rev.
Dr. MacMahon, the venerable Bishop of Killaloe, the Right Rev. Dr.
Egan, Bishop of Waterford, the Right Rev. Dr. Moylan, Bishop of Cork,
the Right Rev. Dr. Teahan, Bishop of Kerry, and the Right Rev. Dr.
Coppinger, Bishop of Cloyne. Dr. Young was a native of the city of
Limerick, and one of its most distinguished m d illustrious citizens, whether
we regard his great learning, his extraordinary zeal and piety, or the deep
interest he took in every measure calculated to advance the best interests
of reli ion and of his country. He was one of the sons of William Young
and o Mary Cahill, respectable citizens of Limerick; he was born in St.
John's parish on the 9th of April, 1746 ; wlts baptized on the 10th of that
month; was sent, after his reparatory studies, to Louvain, where he
matriculated in 1765 ; he de ended his thesis, and took the degree of
A.M. in that university on the 11th October in 1770; was ordained subdeacon in December, 1768; on the 23rd of September, 1769, deacon;
September 23rd, 2770, priest; deputed missionary to Ireland, 1771;
was curate of St. John's, and Dean and Parish Priest of St. Mary's. His
first appointment as parish priest was to that of BrufT, and he was consecrated bishop, as we have just noticed, on the 20th of May, 1793.' Called
to the active and onerous duties of the episco acy in troubled and anxious
times-in times of great peril likewise, Dr. goung at all times acted with
prudence, firmness, and independence, which formed the most prominent
features of his exalted character. H e showed a bold front to the oppressors
of his country on the one hand, whilst on the other he resolutely set his
face against the wild and delusive schemes which just at this critical juncture were set d o a t by the unhappy policy which resulted a few years
afterwards in the horrors and atrocities of '98. H e subscribed to the defence f i d which was raised in Limerick when the French again menaced
an invasion of Ireland. H e became an active member of the defence committee which was formed for that purpose; and he thus showed that true and
a r d e ~ patriotism,
t
the deepest attachment to his religion, the purest piety,
and the widest charity, were not inconsistent with loyalty to the throne
and a deference to laws which, even yet, scarcely recognized the legal existence of Catholics, and which then proscribed and outraged the Catholic
priesthood and hierarchy.
One of his earliest acts was to establish a school in Newgate Lane for
female poor children, which was presided over with sedulous care by Miss
M a y A m e Young, one of his gifted sisters, who not only hwght the poor
children of St. M q ' s parish, but clothed them, and even to this day her
name is held in deserved honour in the memories of the poor. The bishop
published a catechism for the use of the children of the diocese, which
went through several editions, and this catechism was rinted in Irish and
in English? Dr. Young .lsopublished two or three eztions of the ~tututa
P
P
' Dr.
M e m o m d a ~ c iin
l a fly-leaf of the Conway Correspondence.
Young
them catechism^, etc, printed by Messrs. John and Thornas McAuliff, of
9
Quay h e , who printed aud pablished, besides, many Catholic books which had the seal of hie
lordebip'l3 approvrL
632
633
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
BISTORY OF LIMEBICK.
C
.
D w e d Limerc'cmb,to which he affixed a brief memoir of the life of the
Right Rev. Dr. O'Keeffe, who, as we have seen, was the first to enact
these statutes on the revival of religion after the violation of the treaty of
Limerick. I n the government of the diocese, Dr. Young was strict and
particular, whilst in his demeanour to all classes, he was kindly, cheerful,
and affable. He won the affections by a charming manner, and preserved
that dignity which became the scholar and the prelate, without effort
or sffectation. Devoted to books, he read copiously and profitably; his
reading embraced every variety of subject connected with theology, the
Scriptures, canon law, the classics, history, ancient and modern, antiquities, eta; and his annotations on the booka in his own as well as in the
diocesan libr , are, in some instances, extant, and show the extent and
versatility of is information on almost every sub'ect connected with
aacred and profane literature. He, as well as the o er bishops of Munster, condemned in no measured terms the Rebellion of '98, which the
Irish e isco acy and clergy in general resisted with aU their dombined
strengt an power. We do not find that he issued a pastoral add=
to his flock on the subject, at least we have no record of such as was
and Dr.
addressed by Dr. Moylan, of Cork, Dr. Hussey, of
Michael Peter MacMahon, of Killal~e,~,
who, at the time continued to
reside in Limerick. I n all likelihood, Dr. Young did address a pastoral:
and that he exerted himself with zeal, skill, vigour, and success, in warning
his flock of the danger they incurred, there is no doubt whatever. As we
have already seen, he was one of the first in Limerick to insert his name ss
a subscriber to the &U e fund that was raised for the defence of the county
from the threatened renoh invdon. Whilst he was loyal to the throne,
however, he thought that to afford the government a control over the privileges of the hierarchy in the nomination of bishops, or in any other &a
or form, was to be .esisted by all honourable means and a pliances.
opposed the insidious advances of Mr. Pitt and Lord Cas ereagh as weU
for %hesub-ugation of the Catholic Church ss for the destruction of hi&
freedom. !In January, 1799, a meetin of certain Irish relates W@ held
in Dublin, at which resolutions were a opted in favour o a state provision
for the olergy, and of
a veto on the appointmat of
the bishop. The name
Young does not a
p
among the names of the
resolved on that itcaslon;
but we find bim in 1808,
the Irish hierarchy held in
Dublin in the month of September that ear, denouncing the roposed
change, and statin~in language not to
mistaken or misun erstood,
that it was inexpedient to introduce an alteration in the canonical mode
hitherto observed in the nomination o Irish Catholic Bishops. On the
24th of February, in the year 1810, another meeting of the Irish hierarchy
was held in Dublin, and resolutions to the same effect were adopted The
resolutions of 1808 were not only then confirmed, but their lordships resolved that they neither sought nor desired any other earth1 consideration
for their spiritual minis to their flocks,save what the floc s from a sense
of religioa and duty mig t voluntarily a o r d them. We find his name sub
9
scribed also to an address of the prelates which was issued in the same
month to the clergy and laity of Ireland, reiterating their former resolutions, and further declaring, that during the captivity of the Pope, who
then lay a prisoner in the hands of Napoleon Buonaparte, they would
refuse and reprobate all briefs or pretended briefs, rules and rescripts,
bearing title as from his Holiness, and purporting to be declaratory of his
free", or of any abdication of the papal office, until His Holiness should
enjoy the full exercise of his liberty.
As a friend of education, and one of a family that had afforded so many
brilliant members to the Church, Dr. Young, about the year 1805,conceived
the design of erecting a college in which students destined for the sacrcd
ministry shouldbe educated.' There had been, at Peter's Cell, a small colIege some time before, but it was too contracted for the increasing requirements of the diocese, and Park College, near Park House, the bishop's residence, was at length erected, to the building of which the Catholic citizens of
Limerick contributed cheerfully and liberally. The Grst president of Park
College was Dr. Young, and his lordship was succeeded in tlie presidency by
the Very Rev. Dean Hanrahan, a learned and accomplished dignitary. The
Right Rev. Dr. Milner, the vicar-apostolic of the midlaxd district of England, in the course of his tour through Ireland, visited Limerick in ISOS,
and was hospitably received by Dr. Young, who, to gratify the antiquarian
zeal of the learned and gifted historian of Winchester Cathedral, and the
indefatigable and chivalrous defender of the faith in various important publications, obtained a clever artista to make a drawing of the mitre and crozier
of Cornelius O'Dca, which Dr. Young presented to Dr. Milner, and which
Dr. Milner got engraved afterwards for the Archzeological Society of London, with a letter-press description, as already stated. I t is impossible to
estimate the &mountof good which the apostolic Dr. Young performed in
his time. His name to this day is held in veneration by the people.
He was particularly fond also of encouraging local genius, especially
painters, and to that encouragement may be attributed the number of excellent paintings which adorned the Catholic churches of Limerick, and
some of' which are yet in exi~tence.~Succumbing at length to illness,
a
R'B
9
g
S
P
%
F
7?
L
B
T
1 The episcopal real of the Right Rev. Dr. IthNahn b in the poaseasion of the Right Rev.
Dr. Power, W j u t o r bishop of -0%
who RI oonse~llted.by the Moat Rev. Dr. LesBy,
Lord Archb'ishop of G-hd
Em& attended by 9 tho b&op of Mu~ter,ip Nenagh
Catholio ohpro4 OQ SW*,
JUW%th, 1866.
~
'
The efforts made by the Irish hierarchy and priesthood were constant and snccessful for
education in ancient, as well as in more modem times.
Two colleges were erected for the native Irish, before Trinity College, Dublin, and founded at
Salamanca in 1682.
At the instance of Thomas White, native of Clonmel, one of these
At Alaaln in 1590, by do.
At Lisbon and Genoa, in 1595, by do.
At Douai, in 1596.
At Antwerp, in 1600.
At Tournay, 1607.
At Lille, 1610.
At LOUT 1616.
*-*- $'
At Rome 625, by Luke Wadding.
'.*L --'q..7!>:
,
B Mr. John Gnbbins.
In Dr. Young's time, viz., in 1808, ~ r0nen
. ~adden,arespeotableparislr~mergf
~ h & o n a ~'*
gate, presented Thomondgate chapel with a painting of the Ascension, by Henry Singleton,
A.R.A. for which Mr. Mdden nave fiftv mineas. It was a beautiful picture. but it has been
greatliinjured by injudicious aeaning I&d about tlie same time Fredirick ~ k i Plowman,
a
a clever portrait painter, and student of the R. A. in Sir Joshua Reynolds' time, visited
Limerick, and painted, among other subjects, the Virgin and Child, surrounded by Angels, for
Father DenL Hogan, O.S.F., and a Crucifixionfor him also. These pictures are in the Franciaaan chuwh, Henry Street. Plowman painted a first-ola~aportrait of Father Denis Hogan
-$
d.
U
/
44
634
\.
HISTORY OP LIMERICli.
IILSTORY OF LJMERICK.
caused in a great degree by tlie austerities which he practised, Dr. Young,
after a life of intense labour in the episcopac , died on Wednesday, the
22nd of September, 1813, in the Gsth year o his age. His funeral obsequics werc attended by all the clergy of the diocese, whose loss was incalculable. The remains of tlic learned and zealous prelate were carried to the
cemetery of St. Patrick's on Saturday, the 25th of that month, where
they lay for six or seven years ncar the site of the ancient church of St.
Ptltrick's, until thc vault was built to which they were afterwards consigned, where an llwble mcmorial marks the spot where they rest.
A n inscription cut on a limestone slab, raised on stone of the same descliption, on oue of the panels of which the episcopal arms of the see of
Limerick are broudit out in high relief, and all being enclosed by an irox
railing, tells who lies beneath :
F
This Monumenc was erected at the expense
Of the Parish Clergymen of the Diocese,
To the memory of the Right Rev. John Young,
%.C. Bishop of Limerick, who departed this life
On the 22nd d3y of September, 1813, in the
68th year of his age, and twentieth pear
Of his episcopal dignity. His life
was truly exemplary and apostolical,
He was remarkable for his Piety,
Charity and profound learning.
Humble and mortified in his manner
Of life, lie sought only the honour
And glory of God, not the things
Of this life. He died regretted by all his
Clergymen, to whom he was a
Faithful instructor, and lamented
,by the poor, to whom he was
a pwent and protector.
May his soul rest in peace.
The Right Rev. Dr. Charles Tuohy, a native of the city of Limerick,
was the successor of the Right Reverend John Young, immediately on
whose univenally lamented demise he wa3 elected Vicar-Capitular by the
X.
h. bk. John Gnbbiis painted a small picture of the Annunciation, intended for the sacristy,
on the order of Mr. Jams O'Connor, brothcr of the Right Rev. Daniel O'Connor, O.S.A.,Bish?p
of Sa1des-a native of Limerick, Mr. Gubbins copied also for the Dominican convcnt, where ~t
is at present, from the celebrated picture by Rubens, The Womm aocuscd of Adultery, the
original of which is in Sir John Loiccster's dlery..
635
chapter of the diocese of Limerick, and on the 26th of October, 1813,
received the rcatcst nnmbcr of votcs on the election for bishop. H e
was appointcr f in Rome in 1814, was conoccrated in Cork on 24th of
April, 1815, and through-t his episcopal career was held in sincere esteem
by the clergy and laity of the diocese over which he presided. The question of the veto continued to be warmly discussed both before and during
the episcopacy of Dr Tuohy ; and in these discussions, his lordship took
a prominent part, always in opposition to the favourers of tlie government
design on the independcnce of the Church and its pastors. We find him,
as Vicar Capitular, in Novcmber, 1813, signing the protcst of the bishops
against the rescript of Quarantotti.
On the 16th of February, in that ycar, the celebrated rescript of J. B.
Quarantotti, Vice-President of the Propaganda, which had been addressed
to the Right Rev. Wm. Poynter, Vicar Apostolic of the London district,
recommended the amplest submission to the British Ministcr. I t was stated
in it that LLnothingcan be more agreeable to the Apostolic chair than
that full concord and mutual confidence should prevail bctween your
government and its Catholic subjects". I t went on, "Wherefore we
advise all in the Lord, and especially the Catholic bishops, to lay aside all
contention, and for the edification of others to set an example of unanimity of sentiment . . .
and if the law be carried which frees the
Catholics from the penalties to which they are subjected that they should
receive it with satisfaction; . . . but also return the marmcst thanks
to his Majesty and his most magnificent council for so great a benefit,
and show themselves worthy of it". Copics of the rcscript were sent
to the Irish bishops, who indignantly, and with nearly unanimous accord,
rejected it. The bishops met, the clergy throughout the land met, the
resolutions apinst the Quarantotti manifesto were couched in terms of
earnest repudiation. A meeting of the parish priests of the diocese
of Limerick was held in St.. Michael's cha el on Saturday, the 28th
of May, 1814, the Very Rev. Charles Tuo 7, Vicar Capitular of the
diocese, in the chair. Thirty-eight parish p e s t s were present. They
resolved " that the rescri t of Quarantotti should not be obeyed by the
Catholic Church of Eelan , because they considered its principles dangerous
to our holy religion, and contrary not only to the decision of the Irish
bishops, but to the express sentiments of the Sacred Collegeitself, promulgated in the year 1805". This was unmistakeable. What wm called a
Catholic aggregate meet.ing was held on the 7th of September in the same
year (1814), William Roche, Esq., in the chair.' A series of ambiguous
resolutioils were passed, and TYi1liam Roche, John Howley, junr. (the
present excellent Sir John Howley, Ihiglit, Sergeant, Q.C., Ex Chairman of Tipperary, etc.), Henry Lyons, and Michael Arthur, Esqrs., were
requested to prepare petitions to the legislature in accordance with these
ambiguous resolutions, one of which was unmistaliably retoisticd, which
gave an thing but confidence to the people generally, and which arc
thus spo en of in a periodicad of the time %: "We have noticed these two years past that Limerick is on the decline, its
Catholio spirit is evaporating fast, and the Ccubus which lay on Cork seems to
have been thrown upon it. We regret this much, and we regret still more that,
.
K
J'
l
Mr. Roohe opposedthe veto afterwards.
l%o
Cork Catholic Repertorg..
636
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
the people of Limerick seem not to be aware of it. Is a proof wanting? It
is furnished by the last meeting-first, by having been miserably attendedsecondly, by the very men who are continually framing ambiguous and dangerous
resolutions, and who have been hitherto suspected of an inclination to vetoism,
being the leaders, nay, the sole managers, and four of the very leaders of those
leadors voted to be a standing committee, contrary to the usage of the rest of
Ireland. Close meetings are generally corrupt-they are always suspeded--four
men can more easily combine thanjorty. Open meetings, and every man watching
his neighbour, has kept Ireland honest, and saved us from the Veto. Thirdly,
the Catholic spirit of Limerick must have evaporated, or they would never have
adopted a Veto ltesolution. I shall be told they have a Committee of Independence in Limerick, which is a proof of their spirit. They have for the purpose
of getting into the Corporation ; but if they abandon their religion in this way,
they had better spare themselves time and expense, for by taking the present
Corporation oaths, or by having the Veto granted, there will be no obstacle to
their admission. 0 Limerick! how art thou fallen? Not one voice raised
within thy walls to oppose or to complain of a Veto Resolution! I !-Not one
solitary paragraph of a newspaper to remonstrate with thy recreant children! ! !
-0 Limerick !!!-0 Limerick!! !-0 Limerick !!!-There is but one way off
thy disgrace.
FLING
OFF THOSE WIIO HAVE DISGRACED THEE ! ! ! "l
W
Thc agitation anainst the veto became now fiercer than ever. The Right
Rcv. Dr. Milner Areatened to reaign his office into the hands of His Holincss if thc veto were persevered in. Cardinal Gonsalvi at length arri\ ed in
London on a message of congratulation to the Prince Regent, and avowed
that he never had hcard of the rescript until he came to London. His
Holiness dcnounccd the entire scheme, of which Quarantotti was the instrument, to scrve the interests of certain of those Catholics in England
and Ireland, d o did not care how much the Church was enslaved, so
that their own ends were gained and their interests promoted. The name
of Dr. Tuohy is found in all the protests against the mcasure.
But it was not in his public acts as protesting against the conduct of the
that Dr. Tuohy signalized himself. One of
government ~ n its
d
the greatest boons that ever had been conferred on the Catholics of
Li~ncriclcwas mainly attributable to his exertions. He conceived the
clcsign of calling to the aid of the education of the poor the invaluable
services of the Christian Brothers. The order had been for some few years
established in Waterford by its eminent founder, Mr. Edmond Rice; and
the great bellefit it had conferred on that city was sufficient to induce the
bishop to invite Mr. Rice to Limerick, in order that he might establish
his order in the city. Accordingly, in June, 1816, the Schools in Sexton
Street2 and in Clare Street, Limerick, were established by Mr. =ce, who
sent Mr. Grace and other Christian Brothers to take charge. The year
previous, namely on the 1st of January, 1815, a bell was for the first time
erected in the parochial church of St. Michael's, which, though built
thirty-six years before, had not been furnished with a bell, though six or
seven
-- vears befoie a bell was hung
- over the dwelling of the Franciscan
FatheA in Newgate Lane.
Dr. Tuohy lived to witness many great changes in the position and
~rospects
01
the
. people
- of Ireland, and it must be said that he aided the
L
3.
number of these gentlemen in all was thirty-nine, and they went by the comical name
of the thirty-nine articles afterwards.
The loc&y of theso extensive schools, etc., is now c&d St. Micl~sel'splace.
1 The
struggles of clergy m d people with an undivided heart and a resolute
spirit. He was gifted with much wisdom. Besides his numerous other
accomplishments, he possessed a taste for music. Whila parish priest of
Rathkeale, the people there entered into certain resolutions aga~nstthe
payment of more than a very trivial and insufficient sum to the pastor as
dues at weddings, baptisms, etc. A t a large wedding in Rathkeale,
when the collection for the riest was being made, each person handed
in a shilling, with a dogged etermination to give no more. The good
pastor took the money in the best humour, and asking the instrument
from a performer who was at the feast, he played many airs with a sweetness and truth which were felt by every heart. A t lenoth, having
concluded, he took the plate, saying: " As you havc not paiB the priest,
I am sure you will not forget the musician". This ww enough. Every one
present experienced a sense of the injustice that had been done, and the
utter folly and impropriety of the resolutions. Those who had come to
refuse, and who did refuse, were the first to contribute liberally-a considerable sum of money was cheerfully given to the wise and zealous
pastor, and from that time forward there was an end to the combination
against paying the priest, not only in Rathkeale, but everywhere else
throughout the diocese where the bad spirit had prevailed. Dr. Tuohy
lived on the best terms with the Protestant bishop, Dr. Jebb;' and the
latter spoke in the most earnest and cordial terms of Dr. Tuohy on several
occasions, particulary in reference to his exertions against the Whiteboys.
Dr. Tuohp died on the 13th of March, 1828,. and was interred like his predecessor, m the ancient cemetery of St. Patnck's, where his remains were
placed in the same vault with those of Dr. Young, and where no inscription marks the place of his sepulture.
A few years revious to the death of Dr. Tuohy, his lordship had called
on the Court o Rome to issue a mandate for the election of a coadjutor to
assist him in the weight cares which had pressed so severely and anxiously
on him. Dr. Tuohy esired that the Very Rev. W. A. O'Meara, Provincial of the Franciscan order, a native of Limerick, but then resident in
Cork, should be his coadjutor, and forwarded his name to Rome. Finally,
however, after some demurring on the part of a portion of the secular
clergy, the Holy See thought fit, after due deliberation, to refer the
question to the Most Rev. Dr. Laffan, Archbishop of Cashcl, who selectcd
for the high dignity the Rev. John Ryan, a priest of the archdiocese of
Cashel, and a native of the parish of Thurles, co~mtyof Tipperary, and
who had been parish priest of Doon. Dr. Ryan received the rudiments of
his education in Thurles, and at an early age was sent by the Most Rev.
Doctor Bray, Archbishop of Cashel, to Maynooth College, where he became a distinguished contemporary of many of those admirable ecclesiastics who were destined in after years to fill exalted laces in the church.
Called to the episcopacy as coadjutor bishop to t le Right Rev. Dr.
Tuohy, the consecrat~onof the Right Rev. Dr. Ryan took place in the
old parish Church of St. John's on the 11th of December, 1825. Though
his predecessors had done much for the advancement of religion, it remained for Dr. Ryan not only to perfect the glorious work in which
l'
p
7
In 1821, Bishop Jebb, who mi ht often be seen am-in-arm with some Catholic priest or
other, addressed the veovk after &;ass from the altar of the Roman Catholic church of M u m
with 8 view to d i s s d e ihem from secret societies. The congregation mere affected to tears.-;
Forster's Lifs of Jcbb.
63t3
'.H. ISTORY OF
LIMERICK.
they had indefatigably labourcd, but to extend to every part of his extensive diocese the most enduring monuments of that ardent love for the faith
with which every action of his lordship's episcopal carcer proved that llis
soul was inspired. A native of the archdiocese of Cashel, it was not to
be wondered at that his appointment by the Holy See to the mitre of
Limerick was not regarded in the commencement with favour by a portion
of the clergy. But no sooner had he undertaken the great and important
duties inseparable from his office, than every symptom of coolness and prejudice gave way. H e was blessed with a clew judgment, with admirable
tact and impartiality. His conscientious sense of justice was universally
admitted, so that those who might not at first have looked upon his elevation with hvour became the most ardent among his admirers, the most
attached among his fiiends. All were unanimous in awarding him the most
earnest and unequivocal praise. The chains by which the liberties of our
countrymen were fettered, had not been broken for some fern years after
Dr. Xyan's accession to the episcopal throne of Limerick. Catholics were
excluded fi.om every office of trust and emolument in the state: the old
religion was banned, whilst bishops,.priests, and people were loolrad upon
in no other light than as hclots in the land of their birth. To obtain
emancipation was the Herculean labour to which O'Connell had been
devoting his unparalleled resources; and, though naturally adverse to agitation, the good cause had no more earnest friend than Dr. Ryan, who gave
not only his sympathy, but his support to the efforts of his CO-religionists
to place themselves on an equality with their fcllow-subjects t-houghout he
empire. In the measure of emancipation, at length granted, no one more
cordially rejoiced than Dr. Ryan.
Once fiecd from thc odious trammels to which hostile legislation had for
so protracted a period of gloom, despondency, and terror consigned them,
he saw that Irish Catholics, placed at length on an cquality with their
Protestant fellow-countrymen, were preparcd to vie with them for the supremacy in every field, and often to win the palm of preccdcnce from those
who had so long with impunity tramplcd upon thcm, with contumely sad
scorn. The progress of religion went hand-in-hand with political freedom.
A desire to show forth the results of the independence they had achieved,
soon took posseassion of the Catholic hcnrt and intellect; and giving a right
direction to the impulse, the Right Rev. Dr. Ryan soon found means not
only to extcnd the blessings of religion and education throughout every
parish of his diocese, but to establish and endow convents, to build churches,
to advmce thc position of his devoted clergy, and to obtain from d l that
unqnalificd respect and devotion which nccompnnied l i i s faotstcps mller.
ever he went, and which must have been a solace to him in every one of
his undertaki~!gs. He felt his task an easy one, whether it was to erect a
church or build a cathedral, because it was a pleasure-a delight-to aid
him in evcry may. H e had only to ask and to obtain, because he was
wisc, right-heartcd, and true ; and thus it was that nothing impeded h'~mthat when he S olie, a satisfactory answer was given. Thus, though in
the year 1843 cre was but onc small conventual establishment for nuns
in the City of Limerick, and me believe we are correct in stating not one
elsewherk througi-out the diocesc, there are now five convents in the
city, including the Presentation, the Order of Blercy, p),the Good Shepherd, the E'aithfu companions, (Laurel Hill), whilst elsewhere in the
diocese there &reseveral. In the life of nladame D'Houet, foundressof the
f:
HISTORYOF LIMERICK.
639
order of the Faithful Companions, a tribute of just praise is bcstomd upon
Dr. Ryan and the Very Rev. Dean Cussen for the wonderful servlces
conferred on the great educational project in which that holy nun was engaged; and the first convent of the order in Ireland was established in
Limerick, the splendid convent of Laurel hill. which has been recognised
since its formation as a leading educational establishment of the first class
for young ladies.' In Bruff, the convent of St. Mary's was founded in
1856, and in a few years afterwards, owing to the extraordinary sacrifices
and exertions of the Very Rev. Dean Cussen, a new and beautiful convent was built, which has attained a first.class position as an educational
establishment.' The open sincerity of Dr. Ryan's heart shone in those
features which, even in death, had much bpce and bcnignity im mssed
upon them. I n 1825 there were but few schools in the city and Jocese.
The Christian Brothers had been but a short time bcfore introduced by his
excellent predecessor, Dr. Tuohy. Dr. Ryan not only @ve them every
encouragement, but he aforded them facilities by which they could extend
thcir usefulness, increase the number of schools, and bring to the child of
every poor person in the city all the advantages of an excellent education.
As to higher schooIs, they were extremely few thirty or even twenty years
ago in Limerick. By the earnest zeal of Dr. Ryan for the promotion of
education among the better-to-doclassesof Catholics, the Jesuit Fathers have
been introduced there, and their college at this moment is one of the most
flourishing in the south of Ireland. I t was by Dr. Ryan that the unwealied
and indefitigable Redemptorist Fathem, the sons of St. Alphonsus, have
been introduced to bestow the inestimable blessings and benefits of their
most pious labours on a eople who h o w how to look upon them with
deserved reverence and d c t ~ o n . As if by magic, too, he raised up the
grand Cathedral of St. John's, having only sought assistance, and in a
moment his most sanguine eirpectationa being more thsn realised.
I n addition to hia other admirable traita of character, Dr. Ryan FRS an
ardent friend of temperance, as he was of its apostle, the illustimus Father
Mathew, who ever spoke of him in the kindeat possible terms, as of a prelate
who was among the very first to invite him to leave Cork and administer
the ledge to the millions.
&us Dr. Ryan went on, increasing in years, and not the less increasing
in good works and in the veneration of h s people; and though with the
majority of that people in some of their struggles he did not accord, this
fact did not Iessen or weaken their love for him, who was ever tolerant
and liberal himself, and never yet was known to qnarrel with others for
Vie dc Madame 3 e Bonnault D'Rouei, Paris, 1863. Madame D'Hoaet alao bestowed pm&
on the late Rev. W i h m Bourlie, the active and zealous adminiitrator of St. John's, and afterw d wish priest of Bruree. Ris remains are interred in St. John's Cathedral, which he
exertetf himself with wonderful assiduity to build.
The Very Rev. Robert Cussen, P.P., Y.G., Dean of
died in London on the 13th
of May, 1866,after a short illness. He was a most leamed, exemplary, zealous, pions, and truly
excellent ecclesiastic in every particular. He had reached only his 66th year, and hopes were
entertained that he would live for many e m , an ornament to the ecclesiasticalstate, and a
wurce of support m d strength to the a&ational institutions h which he took so deep an
interest. Dean Cnssen's remains were conveyed for interment to his pprish of Brd, where, smid
the lamentatians of his sincerely attached parishioners and tbe deep r e p t s of the religions
and pupils of S t Mary's Convent, they were consigned to their last restmg-place withim the
church of Bmff, in which he had so long, so faithfully, and so well ministered. Dean Cussen
was a native of the city of Limerick, and be may k rnnked emongst the tmly learned and
estimable of her sons The Very Rev. Archdenwn O'Brien, P.P, Y.G., Newcastle West, sneceded DF. Cuwn as denu, by Papal rescript, dated July 27th 1866. The Very Rev. J m e s
<YRoarke, P.P., atr rick's Well, was tappointed archdeacon ct the same time b? Papal rescript.
640
OF LIMERICK
.HISTORY
.
entertaining opinions different from his, but gave the fullest credit to those
who entertained views opposite to his own on ~ u b l i caffairs. AS r e have
said, though constitutionally adverse to agitation, there was no prelate in
the land who gave larger toleration to the views of others; and lt cannot,
in this brief and hasty sketch of his career, be omitted to state that the
great O'Connell, on the very last occasion he ever visited Limerick, took
occasion not only to make the most articular inquiries aftcr the health of
the Right Rev. Dr. Ryan, but to request tlie Right Rev. Dr. Whelan, who
accompanied him, to make a special visit to Park House in his (the Liberator's) name to pay Dr. XJWIhis compliments, the Liberator being
unable to go himself.
H c breathed his last on the Gtli of Junc, 1864. After his death, the body,
~
robed in episcopal costume, with purple rochet and cross, etc., w i laid
out in tlie lower reception room of his residence, Park House, whcre, in
the course of the afternoon, w r y many of the citizens procecdcd to pay
the sad tribute of their respect to all that was mortal of onc who for SO
long a spaceof time was amon-rst them, a model of everything that was calculated to make man cstima8c.
The remains of the lamented prelate were borne to the Cathedral of St.
John's, in solemn procession, from his residence. The Bishop, the Right
Rev. Dr. Butler, the clergy, the members of the various public bodies of
the city, corporation, chamber of commerce, religious societies, the children
of the Christian Brothers' and Presentation Convent and Sisters of Mercy
Schools, etc., were in the procession in n~o~wning.
The body of the deceased Bishop lay in state in the Cathedral of St.
John's, where, after the procession on Tuesday evening, it was received
by tlie Right Rev. Dr. Butler, and where thousands thronged to pay their
last sad tribute of respect to the remaim of a bishop who, for the greatest
had lived amongst them. Four of the clergy of the
part of half a cent~~ry,
cathedral, including the Very Rev. the Administrator, were present throughout tlie night. The solemn appearance of the cathedral, clothed in b l ~ k
drapery, and lighted with gas pendants, gasaliers, and wax candles, was in
perfect liccping with the solemnity of the occasion.
The arms of the diocese-the mitre, the pastoral staff and crozicr, were
placcd in front of the great organ gallery, which, with the noble organ,
were all draped in black. . The pillars of the church were in alternate
black and yellow drapery of cloth and had a very good effect. Between
t h arches
~
of each pillar festooned curtains of black cloth were arranged.
On tlie following (Wednesday) morning, from the very earliest hour,
clergymen from all parts of the diocese poured into tlie city, and proceeded
to tlic cathedra1, whcre they cclebratcd mass, The lid of the coffin was
closcd down on the remains of the good bishop, on which was the following
inscription on a brass plate:
RIGHT RXV. JOHN RYAN,
LOaD BISHOP OF LIMEBICK.
Sicb
ON THE GTE OF JUNE, 1864,
W THE 8 1 s ~
PEAR OF EIS AGE,
and 39th of his bishopric.
HISTORY OP LIMERICK.
641
At eleven o'clock AN. the cathedral was crowded, and the solemn tones
of the organ were awakened in the dirge notes, and immediately after that
hour began the procession of the clergy, etc., headed by the Lord Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, who had come to pay his respects to the
memory of his old and sincere friend, Dr. Ryan, the Lord Bishop of
Limerick, the Lord Bishop of Bombay, entered the choir, preceded by
acolytes and cross-bearers. After the usual solemn services, the coffin was
lowered into the vault prepared for it, opposite the great altar in the cathedral of St. John's. Thus were laid m the grave the mortal remains of
the venerable bishop who for nearly forty ears had goveraed the see of
Limerick with prudence, justice, and libera 'ty, and who was one of the
moat munificent benefactors to the man convents and religious institutions which are now established throug out the diocese.
I n the year 1860, then grown old, and well nigh unable to undergo the
cares of duty, the Right Rev. Dr. Ryan had called upon tlie Holy See to issue
its rescript for the election of a Coadjutor Bishop. Accordingly on the 2nd
of May in that year, the parish priests met in the old church of St. John's,
and forwarded to the court of Rome the names of the Very Rev. Dr. Gcorge
Butler, Dean of the Diocese of Limerick, and P.P. of St. Mary's ; the Very
Rev. Dr. Robert Cussen,V.G. and P.P. of Bruff; thevery RevJohn Brahan,
V.G., P.P., Newcastle West ; the Very Rev. Dr. O'Reilly, S.J., and the Vcry
Rev. Dr. Kirby, President of the Irish College in Rome. The Holy See at
length thought fit to select the Right Rev. Dr. George Butler, the present
Bishop of Limerick, to whom all his acquaintances wish a long life of' happiness unalloyed and continued usefulness in the ancient See of St. Munchin,
which has been filled by men of most distinguished lives and services to religion mdcountry. Dr. Butler was born in the city of Limerick in the year
1815. A t the age of fourteen years he entered the Diocesan Academy, which
was kept by the Rev. Dr. Carey, under the patronage of the Right Hev. Dr.
Ryan, where he continued for two years. A t the early age of' sixteen, the
young student was sent to Naynooth College, and went through the whole
collegiate course, on the completion of which, in the year 1838, he was
plwed on the Dunboyne Establishment. Towards the end of that year, the
Bshop of Trinidad in the West Indies went to Maynooth for missionaries
for his far distant diocese, the climate of which has been proverbially fatal
to Europeans. The zealous and ardent youthful ecclesiastic, George
Butler, did not hesitate: he, with a few others, including his brother, the
Rev. John Butler, then, also on the Dunboyne Establishment, volunteered
their services. The brothers were both ordained in Maynooth College in
November in that year by the Bishop of Trinidad, the Right Rev. Dr.
Smith, and soon afterwards they set sail for that island, in which one of
them was destined in a very short time to find an early and glorious
grave. The Rev. John Butler lived but nine months after their arrival.
The Rev. George Butler resided for two years in Trinidad: during the
greater part of the time he was curd or Parish Priest of San Fernando, one
of the chief districts of the island. After the premature and lamented
death of his broiher, the health of the survivor became affected, and within
less than a year he had three severe attacks of fever.
Having heard of these circumstances, the Right Rev. Dr. Ryan signified
1Js wish that the Rev. George Butler should return to Limerick. I n
obedience to that wish-for Dr. Ryan was still his bishop-the young
E
l
.HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
642
HISTORY 03 LIMERICK.
I
missionary left the West Indies, and arrived in Limerick towards the end
of 1840, when he wns appointed to the curacy of St. Patrick's, of which
the late lamented Rev. Mathew O'Connor was parish priest. In Saint
Patrick's the Rev. George Butler continued curate fm four years. He was
then appointed to St. John's, where he remai~edfor one yeax, at the expiration of which he was sent to St. Michael's, where he was curate for
twelve years, during the last years of which he was adxinistrator. I n
1857 he was appointed parish priest of Saint Nary's and dean of the
diocese; and in 1861, on the 25th of July, he was consecrated Bishop of
Cidonia in parlibus, and Coadjutor Bishop of Limerick; the consecrating
prelate was the Most Rev. Dr. Leahy, Axchbishop of Cashel, assisted by
the Bisho 3 of Killaloe and Cloyne. The Lord Archbishop of Dublin, and
many o f t e prelates of Munster and Connaught were present, as was also
the Bishop of Bombay, as well 3s the Archimandrite of Lebanon, all attended by their respective chaplains.
The consecration sermon was preached by the Right, Rev. Dr. Moriart ,
Bishop of Kerry. On the 6th of J-me, 1864, on the demise of the Rig t
Rev. Dr. Ryan, the Right Rev. Dr. Butler succeeded to the see of
Limr rkk, of the mitre of which his lordship has in every possible way
Lv7edhimself preminently worthy, and which it is universally hoped
%emay live for very many years to wear.
%
E
CHAPTER LX.
THE Rk LiGIOUS ORDERS.--CATHOLIC CHURCHEX-INSTITUTIONS, ETC.
WE shall devote this chapter to an account of those illustrious religious
orders, which for so many years have made Limerick famous, and contri.buted so materially to keep the faith alive in the city.
THE AUGUSTINIANS.
First then in order of time, as in extent of their privileges, come the
regular canons of St. Augustine,' a distinct order from that of his hermits,
and originated in the regular community founded by St. Augustine
in his own house. The order of the Hermits of St. Augustine, according to the learned Albaa Butler and the ancient writers, dates its foundation from so early an epoch as a.n. 388, when i t was established by
the great saint himself. The convent of the order of the Hermits of St.
Augustine was founded at Limerick in the thirteenth century by OBrien
of the royal race of Limerick and Thomond.' Its site is said to have been
where the city court-house once stood in Quay Lane. Both Canons and
Hermits were branches of the same illustrious order, with which, in Ireland
at least, no other could stand in com etition, being as great in &is country
as the Benedictines were in ~n~lanc! There were also ancient foundations
of Augustinian nuns in Ireland, and all these foundations for men and
women were represented in the city of Limerick, where the Augustinian
nuns were oalled the Canonesses of St. Au stine.
Accordihg to Sir James Ware, a priory or regular Oanons of St. A u p
P
A m r d i i g to many learned writers, the old Irish W e e monks were the sane as the regular canons of Bt. Angnstine, into whose order the ancient monks may have merged. Both
the Cufdaes and secular canons officiated in cathedrsls. Dr. hi,refers the canons to the
eleventh century, but is net generally followed.
Brnodm in Xi. Dom. p 749.
64.3
tine was founded in the reign of King John, anno 1227, by Simon Minor,
a citizen of Limerick, under the invocation'of the Blessed Virgin and St.
Edward the King and Martyr; and according to this author it was the prior
of this house who had the first voice in the election of the Mayor of
Limerick, a privilege,' according to Archdall, which belonged to the
Augustinian Hermits or Austin Friars.
The site of the monastery of the Regular Canons was at the end of the
Fish Lane, and near the site of Sir Harry's Mall. I t had been rented for
some time before its demolition as a fish house by the corporation, the proprietors of the Lax Weir, but not a vestige of it remains at present. I t
totally disappeared nearly a century since. An inquisition was held into
the possessions of this monastery in the 19th Henry VIII;2 and the grant
to Edrnond Sexton is set out in the 29th year of that reign? The priors
having, as stated, had the principal voice in the city election, occupied a
seat in the court house next the mayor. The last prior before the suppression was Patrick Harrold.
I n the year 1472, a command was given by the Most Rev. Father
Aquila, the General of the Order, that regular discipline" should be
observed in the convent of the Augustinian Hermits; and though in the
days of persecution there could hardly have been a regular Augustinian
community in Limerick, there can be no question as to the uninterrupted
existence of the order in the city. The Augustinian Hermits certa~nly
lived in community in Limerick, even in the reign of George 11. The
friars occasionally fled, but they invariably returned. The succession,
so to speak, was never broken. The possessions of the convcnt of the
Holy Cross, consisting of lands and houses through town and country,
were valued at its suppression at S8 6s. Id., equal to &l66 Is. Sd. at present. They are now the property of the Earl of Limerick, to whose
l Archdall refers to an inquisition, 37th Elizabeth (AD. 15951 to prove that the Eremites, not
the Canons Regular, had the privilege. Stephen Sexton, whiie he lived, certainly claimed that
privilege in right of that house, but, as appears from the next note, the prior of the Regulars
claimed the same right. See next page, text and note. Perhaps the Sextons claimed in right
of both houses.
Inpuisitio taken at Lymeric before Nic. Comyn, Mayor, 19th year of King Henry VIII.
I t is found, "That Symon Mynor some'time citezen of the cittie of Lymeryk was fondowr of
S a p t t Mary hows in the worsippe off the Blessytt Yirgin, Saynt Mary, and Sayntt Edward, K p g e
and Martyr. The Prior S
i
r John For lefthe in the sayd hows a chalk, that stands in S t y w p
Creaghe is handes, to pledge of tho sayd Prior for the som of 30s. The jury say thei found on
the hey aulter of the forsayd Saynt Mary hows a table of alabaster, 4 candelstykes, a eenc.
toy payr crnetts, 21 bouks grett and small, holy water stok, a p a y organys, ' *
18 tapers
W=,
try cowpyr crossyr, 3 westymettes, a grett bell, 2 small bells, 3 doss bowls, 2 old coffyrs,
*
beds, a standpge bed, 3 old surplices, a lydge table, 3 small lkblys, 6 tastelles,
2 chayres, 2 candelstykes, 2 broches, a hangynge candylstick, a plateyr, 2 pattengs, a brass
*
3 lowya of glas, a lydge trestell, and 5 fowrmys or beus, whiche were
poth, 2
found both in the c h i d e and hall of the sayd Sayntt Mary hows. That the Prior had the h s t e
W p8 eleccyon of Mayor, Ballyffcs,
* *
er, the K p g e s O5cerys in the say&citie and
sath nexth the Mayor, wt. in the tolse the days off eleccon in chosspg suche offiwres
hawing no room nexth the Mayr nether among the Consayll nor statt but only the sayd days
wt. in the tolse, and was not of the Consayll of the citie ne wyr theles he had ehyfthe
and Mayr as a hlayr 7s pyr beryng there for as any othcr Mayr is pyr and nown other.
September 28th 1537.
S Agrant to Edmond Sexten by Privy Seal, to the Ring's wall beIoved servant Edmond Sexten
Sewer of his Chamber of the Monastery, Priorg or Cell of St. a
y-house, the cite ambit or ground
thereof, and all Lordships, Manors, Lands, Advowsons of Chnrches, Tytheg Chapels, Chantriea,
etc., spiritual and temporal thereto belonging, within the precinct of the city or in the county of
Limerick, in as large and ample manner as Sir Patrick HarroId late Prior had the same
together with the goods and utensils thereof, To hold to the heirs male of his body by the
service of one Kni h t t fee, with directions for a Commission to issue for dissolution of said
~onastery.-Inrol&,
Bo1l.s Om,Dullin, 29th year ofHenry VIII.
...
...
644
..
HISTORY OF LIMERICX.
ancestor, Edmond Sexton, they were granted. White's MSS. assert that,
from the ruins of the monastery of the Canons Regular, the Irish fired
upon the soldiers of King William, as they approached the city from the
heights of Park.
I n 1691, we find there were a communit and convent in Limerick,
De Burgc alludes to a lawsuit between the rior of the convent of St.
Augustine, in Limerick, and one William Lysaght, as to the possession of
their convent. I n that year, the Prior was the celebrated Bernard
O'Kennedy, subsequently Provincid of the Order in Ireland. H e afterwards fled to Spain from the horrors of the persecution of William III.,
where he died in 1704. I n a aetter which he wrote a little before his
death to the province of Ireland, for he was then the Provincial, he
states that he left in trust with a friend in Ireland, a chalice and suit of
vestments for the convent of Limerick, which is a proof that a convent had
been there before his departure from Ireland. We find that almost all the
regular clergy, notwithstanding the numbers banished in 1698, continued
in their native land. I t was not, however, until the end of the reign
of George I., that regular clergy began to live in community and to erect
chapels in the princ~paltowns in Ireland. I n the next reign, as before
mentioned, and for the last century, we find the Augustinians living in community in Limerick.
I n 1736 the Dominicans and Franciscans of Limerick applied to Dr.
O'KeefTe, the bishop, for redress against the Hermits of St. Augustine,
who, as they alleged, had settled themselves in the city without having
any title for so doing, asserting they never had a convent of their order in
the city. The bishop, attended by his secular clergy, often examined
both parties on the merits of this affair, and ultimately passed sentence
against the Augustinians. The Augustinians appealed to Cashel, and
from thence to the Primate of Armagh. The Dominicans and Franciscans
would not acknowledge the Primate's jurisdiction in Limerick, and therefore they appealed to the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda; but nob
withstanding their appeal, the Primate's commissary in absence of the contending parties, pronounced a sentence of absolution in favour of the
Augustinians, who, by virtue thereof, opened their chapel, and ever since
continued to officiate in the city. I n some time after, the Augustinians produced a decree of the Holy Congregation, declaring their censures suspended usque ad emiturn causae; they required this decree in their favour
to be published in all the chapels, which Dr. John Lehy, the VicarGeneral, refused doing, as the Congregation did not send the decree to
him. However, the Augustinians still continued to have their chapel open
and officiated in town equally with the rest of the friars in 1755.'
I n 1778 the Hermits of St. Augustine erected a neat chapel and chapelhouse in Creagh Lane, which they occupied until 1893. Their community were never less than three, and were sometimes four. Their chapel
was the first in the city in which an organ wag erected.
The removal of the community from Creagh Lane to George's Street,
which occurred in 1823, was occasioned by the pressing demands for increased accommodation, and by an opportunity which now occurred of
purchasing the new theatre, which had been recently built, in consequence
White's MSS. The MSS.particulars of the controversy are extant. Fitzgerald statea that
the question in dispute waa "set at rest for ever in 1739 or 1740, by the Canons Regular of
St. Angagtine ceding to the said Hermits all their rights, privileges, and immaeitiea".
HISTORY OB LIMERICK.
645
of the burning of the old one, and which was now brought to the hammer
for the liquidation of arrears of debt. The theatre had been built by subscription in 1810, at the expense of £4,000, but the Very Rev. Father
Cronin, the prior, aided by public liberality, purchased it for 2400, and
having insured the premises, employed an architect to make such alterations as would fit it for the service of religion. I n negociating this purchase the prior was assisted by the Rev. D. O'Connor, now Bishop of
Saldes, a distinguished member of the order, and in a few weeks, the work
having been complete, the church was opened with great solemnity, and
consecrated by the bishop of the diocese, the Right Rev. Dr. Tuohy, the
sermon being preached by the celebrated Dr. Doyle, Bishop of Kildare
and Leighlin, who was himself an Augustinian, and whose successful appeal
on this occasion considerably assisted to liquidate the building debt. The
alterations and improvements cost about £600 in addition to the purchase
money. The interior is about ninety feet in length and sixty in breadth.
The gallery is supported by metal columns and is in the form of a horseshoe. The new and costly altar of marble, etc., is ornamented by the fine
~aintingof the Ascension by the celebrated artist, Timothy Collopy, a
native of the city, of whom we have already written fully (see p. 344).
This excellent church is principally lighted from the roof.
Of the fathers of the convent who have always been held in deserved
respect by the citizens of Limerick, it is only necessary to mention the
names of the Very Rev. Thos. Walsh, the Very Rev. Augustine Aylmcr,
the Rev. Patrick Green, the Rev. Thos. Connolly, the Very Rev. Father
Stephen Egan, and the truly estimable Father Augustine Cronin, who were
all distinguished for piety, learning, and amiability. Father Walsh, who built
thc old convent about one hundred years ago, was Provincial of his Order,
lived to the age of ninety years, and said Mass every day almost to his
death. Father Cronin, who was the principal means of removing the
convent from the old to the new town, did great service to religion by the
establishment of confraternities. He died regretted by all who knew him
in 1835.l
The following is an accurate list of the priors from 1760 to 1865 :
1760-Very Rev. Thomas Walsh.
1770 ,,
,, James Byrne.
1778 ,,
,, Thomas Walsh.
1786 ,,
,, Augustine Aylmer.
,, Stephen Egan.
1811 ,,
,, John Augustine Cronin.
1815 ,,
1819 ,,
,, Stephen Egan.
1823 ,,
,, John Augustine Cronin.
,, Robert Dore.
1835 ,,
1839 ,,
,, James Dundon.
1843 ,,
,, Robert Dore.
1855
,, James Dundon.
1859 ,,
,, Robert Dore.
1863 ,,
,, James Dundon, the present prior, 1865.
,,
The Very Rev. Fathers E p n and Cronin are interred in the old vault on the n ~ r t hside of
St. Patrick's churchyard. The former died on the 26th of June, 1832, sged 76 years; the
latter on the 23rd February, 1835, aged 64 years.
646
.
..HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
The Canonesses of St. Augustine had a nunnery in Timerick, founded
by King Dcna,ld O'Brien in 1171, and dedicated LI? St. Peter, whence its
name of' Peter's Cell. I t stood near the town wall, at the lower end of
Pump Lane or Peter Street. After the suppression, it became the property of Lold Milton. The dissenters of Limerick rented their chapel from
him until 1798. A handsome house was afterwards built onits site, which,
with its fine garden, became the residence of Madame O'Dell. This order
had also three other establishments in the county, viz., at Cluan-Credhail,
founded in the sixth century by St. Ita; at Kilsane, founded by
MacSheehy, an Irish gentleman, and dedicated to St. Catherine; and at
Monaster-na-Calliaghdilff, in the parish of Roberstown, barony of Shanid,
founded by the Clangibbons in the thirteenth century. The Knights Templars had a house in Quay Lane, and a Commandery at Newcastle, of
which there are still some remains. The Knights of St. John of Jerusalenr
had a house at Adare, and a prece tory at Any, both founded in the
thirteenth century, by Geoffry de I aurisco: they had also another estabI:'si~mentat Hospital.
-\A
THE DOMINICANS.
Next in order of time are the Dominicans, whose monastery was situated
within and close by the walls of Limerick, on the north-east of the city,
in a delightful situation, and not far Gom the waters of the Abbey River.
According to the Book of the Friars Preachers of Limerick,' the first
founder of the monastery of Limerick of the Friars Preachers was Donough
Carbraigh O'Brien, who is said to have obtained from St. Dominic some
of his religious to preach amongst the Irish. I t is asserted by certain of the
Dominican writers that St. Dominic himself visited Ireland.* This Donough
Carbraigh, as appears in the ancient calendar and necrology of the monastery
aforesaid, died on the 8th day of March in the year of our Lord 1241. So that
between the confirmation of the order of St. Dominic, which was confirmed by Honorius III., Sovereign Pontiff, in 1216, and the death of the
aforesaid founder, there intervened twenty-five years. The monastery
and church were dedicated to St. Saviour. Of the founder there occur
in the margin of the caalendar, after the last day of the month, the following words:Here lies Lord Donough Carbraigh O'Brien, a valiant leader in arms,
Prince of Thomond, made a knight by the King of England, who caused to
be built the Church of the Friars of the Order of Preachers, who died on the
8th day of the month of March, A.D. 1241 : on whose soul may the Lord have
mercy. Amen. Let each devoutly say a Pater and Ave.
This is confirmed by 0'Heyne3 and De Burgo.'
Sir James Ware states that in his time the statue and the church existed,
but after the two sieges of Limerick in 1650 and 1691, nothing remained
of the tomb or the statue, and of the church and monastery there are only
a few walls standing, which, by lancet windows of great altitude, and the
debris of &me-work and tracery which now lie scattered in confusion
about the convent of the Sisters of Mercy, tell what the monastery and
8
Sloane MSS. in Britieb Mussum, 4793.
Tenda, Mulvenda, efc.
ChronologkoZ Epilogue.
i
* ~ aDom
.
647
church had been in their days of splcndour. I t is said that the soldiers of
King William broke in pieces the statue of Donough Carbraigh, who was
a very religious and devout prince, having built 80 churches, abbeys, and
chapels (according to MacBrody's Chronicles). The Abbey of Ennis for
Franciscans was one of the first he built. He also erected an academy
or seminary for learning at Clonroad, near Ennis, where, according to
many authentic writers, six hundred scholars and a great many monks were
frequently supported at the proper expense of the O'Brien family, until
the reig? of Henry VIII. of England, when the dissolution of abbeys,
seminaries, etc., etc., commenced.'
It was he who also built the noble Cistertian Monastery of Holy Cross
in the County of Tipperary. Ware states that hc was interred in Killaloe;
but it is positively asserted by O'Heyne and others that he was buried in
the Dominican Convent which he founded in Limerick. I n the church
of the same monastery was buried Hubert de Burgo, Bishop of Limerick,
who died on the 15th of September, 2250. Hubert's ancestor was called
pugnator, the " expugnator", because after his arrival in Ireland with
Henry II., he subjected Connaught to the power of its new masters. H e
married, in the first instance, a daughter of the King of England, and
afterwards a daughter of the great Donald O'Bricn, who was the last king
of Cashel? There were, besides, three bishops of Killaloe buried in this
monastery, namely, Donald O'Kennedy, in the year 1252, Mathew O'Hoghain in the month of August, 1281, and Mathew MacCrath on the 1st of
September, 1391. There were also interred in the same monastery the
following bishops of Kilfenora: Christianus, in the year 1254, Siinon
O'Currin in the year 1303, and Maurice O'Brien, in the year 1321. The
fact of Hubert's burial in the Dominican Friar is statcd in the ancient
calendar of the order, and in the Black Book, W ilst in confirmation of the
fact as to the interment of the six bishops, we have it on the authority of
an ancient sepulchral inscription which existed formerly in the archives
of the monastery, and which was preserved in Latin, and which is in
the Book of the Friars Preachers above quoted, the translation of which is
thus given in Ware's Bishops :
E
S
i
x prelates
here do lie, and in their favour
I beg your friendly prayers to Christ our Saviour ;
Who in their lifetime for this house did work,
Bunse,
The first of whom I name was HUBKRT
Who graced the see of Limerick, and MATTHEW,
With DONALD,
Bishops both of KILLALOE
;
CHRISTIAN
and MATJR~CE
I should name before,
Bishops late of FENABORE.
And SIMON,
Therefore, kind Father, let not any soul
Of these good men be lodged in t,he bl:ick hole.
You who read this, kneel down in humble posture,
NOSIER.
Below three AVESsay one PATEX
Whoever for the soul sincerely prays,
Merits indulgence for a hundred days;
And you, who read the verses on this stnne,
Bethink yourself, and make the case your own ;
John Loyd'a Histo y of Clare.
De Burgo, Hib. Domin.
..
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
Then seriously reflect on what you see,
And think on what you are now, and what you'll be ;
Whether you 're greater, equal, less, you must,
As well as these, be crumbled into dust.
I n 1279, according to King, a general chapter of the order was held
there. On the 13th of January, 1330, a " liberate" was issued for the sum
of thirty-five marcs, for the payment of one year's pension to the Dominicans of Limerick, Dublin, Drogheda, Cork, and Waterford.' Nine
liberates had been issued. In 1340 Gerald Rochfort, a renowned knight,
and head of his sept, died on the 29th of March, and according to Ware
was interred here.
About this time, according to the Arthur MSS., Martin Arthur built a
magnificent peristyle of marble to the church of St. Saviour in Limerick.
1345, John O'Grady, Treasurer of Cashel, and for a t h e Rector of
O'Griffin, in the diocese of Killaloe, succeeded by the election of Dean and
Chapter to the Archbishopric of Cashel, and having procured recommendatory letters from the King to the Pope (dated 10th October, 1331) was
by his provision placed in that see (Cashel) in 1332.
A mark", says
Hogan, the author of the Annals of Nenagh '' ofgreat wisdom and industry".
H e died in Limerick on the 8th day of July, 1345, in the Dominican Jmbit,
and was buried there in a monastery of that order. H e made many
donations to his church, and in that particular gave it a large pastoral staff.'
Indeed, according to the book of the Friars Preachers already referred
to: the Dominican monastery of Limerick was famous, among many other
circumstances, for being the place of interment of illustrious Irishmen in
olden days. I t was there, it adds, that its founder 'Oomcao Cuipbpouc
0bpcun, as we have already stated, was Suried. I t was the place of
sepulture, accor?.ing to the same calendar, of De Burgo, alias bupca~.o
" Dux et Capitmeus*,' as well as of many other distinguished leaders of the
Irish nation, who chose it as their last resting place. Many of the
Geraldines were buried there, as we learn on the same authority, and
their anniversaries were commemorated with due solemnity, as is set forth
in the authority in question. The second founder of this convent, viz.,
James Fitz John Earl of Desmond, was buried there in 1462, and it is
recorded that the Friars Preachers were obliged to celebrate a yearly mass
for his own soul, m d for the souls of his parents and of his wife, and of
his successors and their wives. There also, furthermore, was interred the
" Dux et Capitaneus"MacNamara, alias roitbeama? who diedin 1503. The
sept of the O'Ryans had a tomb there also, and the Dux et Ca itaneus of
the sept, viz., Thaddeus Fitz Dermot O'Ryan, who is named in t e ancient
calendar Cuog mc l i t ann meau: was interred there, as were also many
Roches, otherwise l i o i p 6 , whose Dux et Capitaneus was Gerald de Rupe
Forti, a famous soldier, and able and strong in arms, who was buried there
on the 4th Kalend of April, 1349. Many others of the old race and faith
were interred there, as we h d by the Arthur MSS., which mention
several citizens of Limerick who directed that their bodies should rest
there. I n tke year 1504' this convent, with others in Ireland, was reformed
by the Most Rev. Master of the Order, Vincent Bandello, of Castro Novo in
' Archdale's Noncuticon.
9 Ware.
S Sloane MSS. in British Museum, 4793.
The warlike.
'The chief of his family is mennt by this expression.
Thaddeus O'Byan the gentle.
De Burgo, H& Dom
Lombardy! by his own proper authority, as well as by that of Pope Julius
II., and, with four others, it was erected into a university or general study,
by the Chapter Generalissimo of the order in 1644. The other places
thus favoured were Dublin, Cashel, Athenry, and Coleraine-one for
each of the provinaes.' Thomas Curchmus was rior, but in what year is
not certain. Considerable endowments were brmerly bestowed up04
this monastery by James Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond.'
Among the remarkable members of the Domlnicas order of Limerick
oonvent were:John Quin, or O'Quin, Bishop of the Diocese of Limerick (see Bishops),
Terence Albert O'Brien, the martyr and ill~striousBisho of Emnly, of
whose martyrdom we have given an account in the history o Ireton's siege;
and James O'Hurly, the predecessor of Terence Albert O'Brien in Emly.
There were many others also who suffered martyrdom, or who became
distinguished for their sanctified lives.
There was another house of the order at S
i
x Mile Bridge, in the
Connty of Clare, subject to the Limerick convent, of which de Burgo
(Rib.
Dorn.,. p: 213) states, he can add nothing to the fact that it existed,
except that it IS asserted on the authority of O'Heyne, that it was called
in Ineh Abbhutn O'Seayna: from the name of the nver (Ozeayna) which
flows into the Shannon, and that it was demolished in the wars of 1641.
De Burgo further states that he visited the site in the year 1754, on the
5th of May, and that he could find no vestige whatever of the convent of
Six Mile Bridge.
Father John O'Hepe, who is frequently quoted by de Burgo, gives thc
history of the celebrated Convent of the Dominicans of Limerick, and de
Burgo supplements, up to his own t h e , the annals which O'He e began,
but died before he could have finished. O'Heyne also wrote t e history
q
is
of the convent of the same illustrious order at Kilmallock. The work
written in Latin, and is called " O'Heynels Chronological Epilogue ; it
is of extreme rarity, and for the extracts from it, in reference to the
Dominicm Convents of Limerick and Kilmallock, we are indebted to the
Very Rev. Dr. Carbery, Prior of St. Saviour's, Limerick, who obtained
them from the only copy of the book known to be in Ireland, namely,
that in the convent at Esker, County Galway. O'Heyne is said to
have been s native of Kilmallock. Having given a succinct account of
the foundation of the convent, O'Heyie proceeds to enumerate and
give a short history of the many distmguished men who belonged to
it from time to time, and among whom, in the first and most distinguished place, stands the Mart r-Bishop of Emly, the great Terence
Albert O'Brien of Arragh. F a er James Wolfe, the resolute and determined opponent of Cromwell, who was taken while he was celebrating
mrtss, and who was executed in the same year, viz., 1651, in which thc
sainted Bishop of Emly met his death, was also a member of the same convent. H e then tells us of Father Cornelius O'Heyne, who studied in the
College of Minerva at Rome, and taught theology for several years in the
College of the Domi cans at Lisbon, and was rector of this convent, came
to Ireland for subjects for the convent in Lisbon and died there; of another
O'Heyne; of Father John de Burgo, or Burke, who was prior in 1667; of
P
P
K"
K
d
I
DeBurgo, Bib. Dorn., p. 221.
Ware, vol. ii.p. 727.
a River
O'Gemm
45
650
.
HISTOBY OF
IIISTORY OF LIMERICK.
651
LIMERICK.
I
Father Philip Wolfe, "a delightful poet, and a wonderful pro agator of
the devotion of the Rosarr"; of Father James Comin, and of Fat er James
Arthur, both of whom, ike all the preceding, studied abroad ; of Father
Cornelius O'Heyne ; of Fathers Nicholas Roche, Peter Lacy, Denis O'Gallaher, John Halpin, Rancis O'Grady, Patrick Sarsfield, Donatus O'Hehir,
John M'Convin, John Magee, Dominick Roche, James Convill, and
Thomas O'Hurley, all of whom studied in Spain, in Louvain, in Rome, or
in France. Some of these fathers were distinguished abroad; Lacy had
a pension from Louis the Grcat for preaching the faith to heretics, which
he did with much h i t . Some were professors of theology or philosophy
in colleges abroad. De Burgo visited Limerick in 1754, or in 1756, and
states that the following fathers of the convent were then in the city:A. R. P. ex-Provincial Fr. Michael Hoare,. prior, aged 51 years, of his
profession 33 years; A. R. P. Magistcr Fr. Nicholas Quin, aetat. 41, proff.
18 (sent to Cork, where he was Vicar Provincial of Munster, A.D. 1758);
R. P. Praesentatus Fr. Peter MacMahon, &at. 45 years, prof. 23; P. Fr.
Michael O'Loughlen, =tat. 54, proff. 27 ; and P. Fr. Denis Cahill, zetat.
49, ~ r o f E2 3 (died in Limerick in the year 1757).
De Burgo, and after him Archdall and Ferrar, state that a portion of the
p u n d had been converted into a tan yard, and a barrack was built on
another portion of it. The barrack was built on a art of the site which
had been taken by Govcrnrnent in 1679, on a lease or one hundred years.
I t was capable of containingei h t hundred men; it extended two hundred
feet in length, and two hun ed and ninety feet in breadth, and was
strengthened on the east side by a broad deep ditch, etc.' This sumptuous
monastery had grcat possessions in and about the City of Limerick, prior
to the suppression in the reign of Hcnry VIII. I t had the fishery of
the salmon weir at St. Thomas's Island, which, in earlier times, Edward
Bisho of Limerick challenged the right of King Joha to alienate, and
for wKich K i i g John, by way of compromise, granted him ten ounds
of silver in free and perpetual alms annually for ever. Monabra er, or
tlie Friar's Bog, ncar Parteen, belonged to it, as well as several other
possessions.
David Brown, Doctor of Divinity in this monastery, having been sent
by King Henry VIII. as his envoy to Italy on a&irs concerning the state,
continued there till the suppression of rehgious houses, when he returned
to this kingdom, where this truly good and exemplary m m peacefully
ended his days.
Edmond was prior at the time of the general suppression, when he was
scizcd of the site, church, stecple, dormito , three chambers, rt cemetery,
sundry closes, containing an acre and a ha within the precincts, a garden
of four acres without the walls of the monastery, and tlurty acres of amble
and pasture land called Courttrocke, within the libertics of the city. The
site, etc., were valued at 2s., and the garden and land at S 5 2s. Od. sterling yearly.
Jmuary 7th, and 35th Henry VIII., this monastery, with the a purtcnances +ercunto belon,Gg, tithes excepted, and thirty acres of and,
mere grantkd to James Ear1 of Desmond, in capite, at the yearly rent of
5s. 2d. sterling.
And an inquisition taken 23rd August, 1623, finds that James Gould,
1
p
di,
9
P
St. Dominickta WcU is ncar where thc ditch ran.
who died 6th September, 1600, was seized of this priory, and of twentyfour acres of arable land adjacent thereto; also of the castle, town, and
lands of Corbally, and one caracute of land, in free and common soccage.
The Dominican Fathers continued to reside in the city in the very
worst times of persecution. We have seen by De Burgo, that in the lust
century they had a regular convent in the city.
The following is the list of the Priors of the Dominican Convent,
Limerick, from 1730 to the present time, 18G4':About the year 1730, the fathers final1 settled down in Fish Lnnc,
and began to erect a chapel, over which t ey made a dwelling or small
convent. The chapel was a parallelogram, about sixty feet long and
thirty broad. I t was decorated in rather good taste. The galleries wero
supported by accurately elaborated Gorinthian columns. The altar consisted of an entablature supported on pillus of same style. The paintin,n
over the altar was a crucifixion. The only article belonging to tlie old
church of St. Saviour that was to be found in this chapel, was the'oak
statue of the Virgin and Child which was made in Flanders in the early
part of the seventeenth century, and which, after the final dcstruction of
the original church, was buried in the ground for nearly a century. As
soon as the fathers had their new place of worship completed. they brought
in their dear old statue of our Lady, and
it in a shrine prepared
at the epistle side of the altar, where it continued an object of tender
devotion to the faithful, who were ever alive to the pious traditions of the
Fathers of the Rosary, as the Dominicans were thcn frequently callcd. I t
is said that many and great graces were obtained from God by the pious
clients of Mar , who made their devotions before this shrine. We find
at this time, t at Father Albert O'Brien was Prior of Limerick, 1736;
Father Michael Hoare, 1740; Father John Fitzmauricc, 1745; Father
Peter M'Mahon, 1749. A t the chapter held this year, 17 , Fathcr
Hoare was elected Provincial. Father Nicholas O'Quin was Prior in
1761; Father Denis O'Connor, 1765 ; Father John O'Brien, 1769 ; Father
Thomas Ryan, 1775; Father Dionysius M'Grath, 1789; Father Stephen
Roche, 1796 ; Father Richard Roche, 1803; Father Thomas Ryan, 1806 ;
Father Peter Toole, 1810; Father Joseph Harrigan, 1814. Father HanGgan, finding the old chapel in Fish Lane insufficient for the wants of tho
increasing congregation, and at the same time showing great signs of
decay, got from Edmond Henry, Earl of Limerick, on a lease of lives
renewable for ever, at the yearly rent of £54 17s. 8d., the
on which the resent church stands, and which in those
South Priorvs an&. Here Father Harrignn began the
the present church, which in its time was a marvel of architectural splendour. This church was solemnly consecrated by the Right Rev. Dr.
Tuohy on the 6th of July, 1816, with the unctions and blessing of the
Pontifical. H e was assisted in the solemn rite by the bishops of the
province, and a vast number of the clergy. The consecration sermon was
preached by the Rev. Father J. Ryan, O.P., Prior of Cork. H e was a
native of Limerick. Father Harrigan and his community brought their
venerable old statue of our Lady to the new church, where it still remains,
to the great delight of the faithful. I n order to pay the pressing demands
and debts on the new church, the fathers applied for permission to raise
K
i
E
Extmetedfrorn The Acts of the Chapters oftbIrish Dominican Province.
45
B
65 2
h
..HISTORY
OF LIMEBICE.
the sum of S500 on mortgage. Accordingly that sum was given by
Mr. John Connell,' getting as security a mort age on the church and
premises. No interest was required by Mr. J o n Connell. A deed of
release was executed in 1819, on the payment of the above sum by
Father Harrigan.
Father John O'Ryan was Prior in 1821; Father William MIDonnell,
in 1838 ;Father Thomas MIDonnell, in 1834 ; Father William M'Donnell,
in 1836. Father William MIDonnell was elected Provincial in 1836;
Father Luke Conway, from 1840 to 1846 ;Father Thomas MLDonnell,to
1849; Father Luke Conway, 1854; Father William O'Carroll, 1856; and
Father Carbery, 1859. Soon after the installation of Father Carbery, he
began the work of improvement in the church. I n 1860, he completed
the execution of the fee-farm grant of the premises sought for and
procured by his predeccssor, Father O'Carroll. I n 1860, Father Carbery
added the northern porch to the c,hurch. I n the month of May, 1861, he
called a meeting of the citizens in the church, in order to devise a means
of defraying the expenses incurred. The chair was taken by the Mayor,
John Thomas M'Sheehy, Esq. Resolutions were proposed and enthusiastically secondcd by the principal citizens, and the result of the
meeting was, that ovcr h200 were subscribed on the spot. Encouraged
by the proverbial gcncrosity of the people! of Limerick, the prior nndertook the addition of a chancel to the church, the shell of which cost £450.
A benevolent member of the conpewdon gave an order for a new marble
altar for the chancel, and another ?or the northern side chapel. These
altars were erected in 1862. Many a d important improvements were
made in the church during this year. The people, grateful for the ministry
of the fathers, vie with each other in assisting in the good work of the
decoration of God's house. A lady of her own accord made a collection
for the exquisite new communion rail an3 marble pavement of the sanc. I n the year 1863, a gentleman of the congregation gave an order
to t e Prior to procure a marble altar for the chapel of our Lady, as a
tribute of devotion and thanlcsgiving for blessings received for himself and
. Far fiom growing languid, the devot~onof the people increases
for t e time-honoured and venerable statue of our Lady. A silver gilt
crown is offered by an humble woman to the shrine of Mary. During the
May devotions of 1864, the Prior blessed the crown, a d after a solemn
procession round the chvrch with our Lady's statue, in which thousands
joined, there was a ceremony of the crowning of the statue. During the
procession, the crown was borne on an embroidered cushion by a young
lad clothed in the white robe of the order, and followed by over four
hundred persons bearing wax candles lighted, and Singing the Litany of
Loretto. I t was a truly soul-stirring dcvotion; the crowd was so great,
that to keep order it was found necessary to lock the iron gate in front of
the church. At the close of the May devotions that ear, the congregation
offered to God in honour of His holy Mother a magni cent vestment of cloth
of pure gold, and a pair of branches of four lights each, and a pair of
candlesticks in polished brass.
The sacristry was added in the year 1863, and during the year 1864
there was added the handsome stained glass window in the church,
which is the gift of four benefactors, as can be seen from the inscriptions at
I
"9
H
'The celebrated Johny ConneU
the bottom of each light. The centre triplet of the window represents the
Transfiguration of Our Lord, with Moses and Elias, and under them,
Peter, James, and John. The light on the Gospel side represents our
Lady, that on the Epistle side, St. Dominick. In the tracery at the to
we find the Agony in the Garden, the Scourghg, the Crowning wi
Thorns, and Crucifixion. I t was executed by Mr. Wailes, of Newcastleon-Tyne.
The following are the actual members of the community in 1865:A. R. P. J. J. Carbery, P.G., Prior ; A. R. P. Luke Conway, S.T.M.,
Sub- rior ; R. P. Michael Costello, P.G. ; R. P. Hyacinth Condon; with
two ay brothers. W e understand the average number of communions
each week in the church is over one thousand. A good test of the untiring zeal of the fathers.
A figure in stone of St. Dominick is placed in front of the church under
the cross, and on a square stone, over the principal entrance, is the folloming inscription:
A Domino factum est istud et est mirabile
In occulis Nostris Psalnz 118. V. 23.
Deo Auspice conciviumque suorum auxilio.
Niius, ham redem erexit F. J. S. HAXRIGAN,
Prior ordinis sanctrr?predicatorum.
Anno 1815. Episcopo Revd. D. D. C. TUOHY.
Donough Carbrac O'Brien in 1240 founded a second monastery at
Gabally, m the count of Limerick; and a third at Kilmallock, in 1291,
by Gibbon pitzgeral$ ancestor of the White Knights, which waa granted
at the suppression to the Sovereign and Burgesses of Kilmallock.
Maurice Fitzgerald, second Baron of Offaly and Viceroy of Ireland, was
the first who mvited the Dominican and Franciscan Fathers to Ireland, in
5:
P
1230.
THE PRANCISCANS.
Next in point of antiquity and order, after the Dominicans, comes the
Order of St. Francis of Assisium, which has been established in Limerick
for many ages.
Luke Wadding, quoted in the Bibernia Dominicans, states the Franciscans had a monastery dedicated to St. Dominic in Limerick, that it
was founded in the thirteenth century by William (Fion, i.e. handsome)
de Burgo, whose wife was Ania, daughter of Donald O'Brien, king of
Limerick, and that said William (Fion) de Burgo was buiied there in the
year 1287. Thomaa de Clare, of the noble family of the Earls of Gloucester, who died on the 2nd of September, A.D. 1287, was interred in the
abbey also, as was his son Richard in the ear 1318, who was slain,
together with several others, on the Feast of t. Gordian, the 1st of May,
b - ~O'Brien and M'Carthy. Richard, we are told, was inhumanly torn to
leces. I n the year 1293, King Edward I. granted to the Franciscan
!&am of Limerick, Dublin, Waterford, Cork, and Drogheda, an annual
pension of 35 marks.
I n 1356, liberates were granted to the Franciscans.
Thady MIHoune, lecturer of this Friary, died in the ear 1349.
As we have already seen, Peter C m a g h alivr dEagh, Bishop of
Limerick, in the year 1376, treated thc Frmcisw Friars with much
g
654
h
. HISTORY OF LlMERICB
indignity, and excommunicated every person who should repair to their
church for divinc service, or desire burial within their abbey (Ware's
Bislwps). He is said to have laid violent hands on Philip Torrington,
Archbishop of Cashel, who came to Limerick to redress the grievances of
thc Franciscan Fathen, and when cited, refused to appear, and tore the
citation with such force from the archbishop, that he drew his blood. We
n~usttreat these statemcnts with some reserve, as there is no doubt the
abbey was used iu the bishop's time as a place of interment, and many
bequests were made by pious citizens to the fathcrs.
'This monastery was reformed by the Observantines, A.D. 1534, and
Donough was the last guardian.
On the swrcnder of this friary, it was found to contain, within the
precincts, a church, dormitory, cloister, hall, kitchen, three chambers, and
a garden of one acre of the small measure, with ten messua es, and ten
gardcns in and new the site and precincts, which, with t eir appurtenances, wcre thcn of the annual value of 43s. 2d., besides reprises;
it was also found that Donough, the guardian, and the Giars of the house
had voluntarily quittcd thcir prcmkcs.
A u p s t 25tl1, in the 35th year of Hcnry VIII., this fria , with all its
possessions-the tithes excepted, which wcre granted to the ord Baron of
Castlcconncll-was granted to Edinond Scxten for ever, in capite, at
tlw annual rcnt of 2s. 2d. sterling.
Thc friary stood without thc walls, where the old county court-house
was aftcrwds erected, now or lately a corn store in the locaht called the
Abbeyn: the old church had bcen convcrtcd into thc county tospital.
In chapter xiii. of this history, we have giwn dctaih respccting the inquisition that was taken in rcfercncc to this abbcy, 33rd Henry VIIL
Tllc Frmciscans, it is certain, continucd always in the city of Limerick
in tlic rcgular succession of the fathcrs as missionarics, etc., and gave aid
to thc pcoplc in thcir rclieous and political strug$cs in the most pcrilous
tixncs. Bathcr Moroney, 1x1 Eh MS. Bistory o j the Irish Franciscam,
spcaks of the Franciscan Abbey of Limcrick as it was in 1615, when he
visited it, and when its beautiful gardens, as he states, had becn converted
by Scxtcn into tanyards.' H C was dclightcd with the beaut of ita
situation, in an island in the midst of the Shannon, and of t ~ cone
vcnicncc and charms of which he had heard so many s cak in thc
e describes
higl:cst tcrms of praise before hc had laid his eym on them.
thc monastery as placed Gndcr (outside) the walls of the city to the east,
ncar the rivcr, bctwcen the Monastery of Holy Cross to the south, and the
Monastery of St. Dominick to the north. He states that the ancient Abbey
of St. Fmncis had been destroyed as to &c roof, but that the ample and
wcll-proportioned malls were yet standing, and that they indicated the
cxtcnt and naturc of the building, but from bad materials of which it wss
constructed, threatened to 611. He tells us hc had learned that a former
Baron of Castleconnell and his spouse had been the founders of the abbey;
that thcy had their tomb within its prccints; that it was the resting place of
many of thb distinguished citizens; md that when he viewed it, in 1617,
5l
Z
i
K
1Thc words of Fnther Moroney, taken from his invalnable MS, nnd for which we are indebted
to the kindness of the &V. C. P. hIcehan hI.BIA, SS. Michael and John's, Dublin, speak
in tl~omost laudatory terma of the xbbcy. The original MS. was compiled at Loavah in 1617,
and is in the B r n g u u h Libmy, Brus~:Is.
though its attractions had been lost, and ita sacred places pollutcd by being
converted into tan pits, yet its site was such as to command the admiration
of every beholder. Another Theobold de Burgh, Baron of Castleconnell,
however, obtained a atent touching tithcs and spiritual1 dutyes of
St. Francis Abbeyn, and' with Edmond Senten he shared the spoils of
this noble monastery, whose possessions were extensive, and whose gardens
and orchards within the precincts covered some acres of ground.' The
inquisition, ahead referred to, touching the crown's properties in
Limerick (33rd denr VIIL), showed the riches of the abbey's poswssions in its silver an gold vessels, its reliquaries, its chalices, etc., which
went into the desecrated hands of the oiler, at a period when nothing
that was good and useful was spared, an when the rapacity of the governmerit was not satiated without the blood of clergy and people, or with
the wealth and stability of their institutions. Even the Corporation of
Limerick complained to the crown t t Edmond Sexten had obtained the
grant of St. Mary's House', or the Monastery of the Canons Regular, by false
pretences, and etitioned that the grant should be annulled? The Corporation obtaine no redress by their motion; on the contrary, we are
assured that Sexten exercised the power of iolprkning the Mayor and
members of the Corporation on ace*
d o n in the castle of
;'
and we find the grandson of thk same Edmond Sexten, some few years
afterwards, presentin a petitkm to the government which to the last degree was insolent an audacious:
J
?
1
%
" TT
THE W. UEUT. O&BEBhU02 IRELAND.
"The humble p&io d EsfEaon;d fk&n of Limke.
States L by Letters Patents of Wenrp VIE of h o u s memory, to his granfather, Eddin. Sexten, pat is c d l y seyned to him and his heyres male, of
the lat disxllvd monastery or religions houses of St. Blury and St. Franciq,
lying within the citty of Limge., with all libertyss, privilegs, jurisdictions,
immunities, and other appurknltces, etc., in as f d or 'as same hav been
thereof in the hands or pocessio of the
or ought to be befor the snp*
religious psones whoe pocesed the same, and by m& pocesaio of the said lat
Kgs. Matei.', that they might be free fm all tiernporaG jurisdictions, charge, and
taxation whatsoever.
that Maior, bayliffe, Corpatio of
Limke. do daily tax the SW, etc. P q s and command
to same".
To this petition tbe foilowing reply was vouchsafed:" We are of oppinio that the p&& d the free~jesand religious houses ought
to be free of all tmpwal charges and *m, and so much of the lands or houses
thereto belonging, as were free MOT
the ~trpprawioof abbeys, 22 May, 1603.
a Taos. XEDBNIS,
NtC~~bbs
W-,
....
''AlmtY. ~~E~LZGBB.''
Sexton went fwther. H e would not glaze at his own expense one
of those houses which he had obtahed by fraud a d spoliistion, a d in
o r d a to compel the Corporation to do so, he, in 1615, went therein before
Lo. Dep. Chichester and council, with 8 peeitian to this &ect:a Petition of Edmond &ten to the Lord Chichester,
Declsring that when the rectory of St. John%, in the subt&s of Limerike, is
appr~priatedunto St. Mq's House, &er W&. pour pek. houldeth fro. his
htten Patant to TheQbnld W e , Lord Baron of Caatleeom11.
The Augastinbn Friary.
a Harnitton's Csknby of Stste Plrpers
Sertenya Book in tha Bkitish B
Zmum.
656
. . HISTOBY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OJ? L ~ B I ~ ~ .
Matie. by Letters Patents, the gable window in the fromt whereof is to be
glassed, that yr. Lr. may be pleased to give your opinion whether yr. petr. as
psone. [parson?] ought to glass the same, or the perhioners. And wherein wh.
your Petr. tenants dwellinge uppo. the manccs of that church are to be contributary with your petr. in repatio. of the chancel or with peshoners for repatio.
of the church".
The answer was as follows:
The gable of the chancel is to be repld. and mayntayned be whole pish.
The syd. windowes, if any there be, are to be repld. and mayned. by the
psone. This is agreeable bothe to laws and custom. The tenants that do
dwell uppo. the psones. glebe, are to contribut. with the psone. for repation.
of the chancell, and are not to be charged with the boddy of the church.
THOS.DUBLIN CANC.'.
" I am of the same opinion with the Lo. Chancellor, and so it was ordered in
ths Royal1 Visitatio. of Cashell in my psence.
MEYLER CASHELLENSIS".
Sexten wanted not on1 to enjoy his possessions free of cost, as parson,
though he was not in ho y orders, but to com el the people to discharge
the ex enses of repairs. Such waa the unb ushing effrontery to which
the sp$iations and oppressions of the time gave occasion.
Previous to this, the elder Sexten had presented a petition, in which he
bcsought the government to compel the Mayor and Corporation to do
scrvices at the public expense to his property in the abbey:-
r
P
to the h.President and Connsell of Mounster, by Edmonde
Sexten of Limerike, Gent.
< L That when your suppl. as of his inheritance amge. othere things of the
disolvd monastery or abbey of St. Francia, in Limke., with all the lands,
temets., and hdits. thereof, and all other apptences. thereunto belonginge by
patent fro. her Matie,
abbey lye& without the wdls and within the river
that compasseth the sd. city, in such wise, as there is no convenient way thereunto but by and thro. a gate uppo. the walls of the sd. cilty, commonly called
the Freer's Gae, which gate upon the beginning of the last rebellion of
Mounster, was damped and shut uppe by the Maior and bayliffes of the sd.
citty wth. limbe and stone, ptending therebi the better to fo~teffythe sd. citty
for feare of any suddwyne invatio., wherebe yor. suplt. these twoe yeares last,
.have lost the most pte of the pfitt. of his sd. lands" (states application to Mayor
and damages, sx). And forasmuch as your supl. bouldeth the sd. abbey of his Matie. imediately
by a yearly rent and by tenure of knts. service in capite, he humbly prayeth
that the nowe hlaior and bailiffsmay be complld. to open up the sd. gate that
your suplt. and his tenants may have recourse as formerly to sd. lands. 18
Apriell, 1602".
" Petition
The government ordered thc Mayor to answer the complaint, but
answer was given, and then an order to cause the same to be oppened
and so kept at lawful and seasonable tymes, etc."
t a a issued.
Sextcn thus had everything his own way in the teeth of Mayor, Corporation, andxbaiiiffs. H e had determined to make the most he could of the
abbey, and we find that an order soon afterwards came down to provide a seesion$ house for the county convenient to the city, in order
that it should not fall into the hands of the S aniards, who, no doubt,
mould be happy to have so commodious a place or a garrison ;and it was
rcsolved that:
...
P
657
"We conceive the church of the dissolvd monastery of St. Francis Abbey
beinge repd.? will make a very fayre and convayet. house, which monastery is
by his Mjisti. excepted out of the county for that purpose
rents,
repairs, etc.".'
...
The grants to Sexten were confirmed by patent of King Jamee, dated
July, 1609, when not only was St. Francis's Abbey confirmed a part of
the county of Limerick, but was exempted from all jurisdiction of the city
magistrate. I t was in consequence of these grants that Sexten not only
enjoyed two votes in the Corporation of Limerick, but that the Mayor,
s h e d , with their sergean& at mace, etc., were obliged to wait on him
with the iirst salmon taken in the great sea weir, nor could the Mayor
carry his rod into St. Francis's Abbey. An inquiry was instituted by the
Crown in October, 1614, into a complaint preferred by the Corpordon
against Edmond Sexten, but the result was favourable to Sexten, who
obtained a confirmation of his privileges.
W e need not go further into the doings of Sexten in this regard.
Suffice it to state, that the abbey was lost to its ancient possessors; but i t
continued for many years afterwards to be the burid place of eminent men.
The old families had their vaults within its hallowed boundaries; and it was
from one of these vaults, as we have seen, that, numbed with cold, and
reduced to death's door with hunger, Dominick Fanning, the patriotic
Mayor of Limerick, sat to warm himself at the guard fire w i t h i the abbey,
when he was betrayed to CromweU's soldiers by a traitorous servant of his
own.
P h i b p a t e ~Irencuf speaks largely of thc Franciscan Order as takin
a decidedly active part in the cause of the country against those who ha
vacillated during the wars of the Confederation, a circumstance for which
we are not surprised the writer of that remarkable book does not give them
credit.
Father Moroney states that during his visit to Limerick in 1615, the
Franciscan Fathers were residin in " domo conductitia" or a hired house
in the city, and that he preache there, and made a visitation of the place
e t h the Provincial.
On the 8rd of March, 1636, Edmond Sexten, son of the celebrated
Edmond Sexten, died; his funeral was solemnized for two days and two
riights, and he was buried in the ancestral tomb in St. Mary's church, on
Sunday the 5th, with " all the solemnitie the cittie and the couatie made
and could aE~rde".~ On the 23rd of June in the same year, being
midsummer, St. John the Baptists', and all Sexten's tenements in St.
Francis's Abbey, were wholly burned between the hours of two p.m., and
day light, with the exception of '' the house wherein: Robert Coyne lyved".'
The annalist adds that he never heard before that any pt. of Limlk. was
ever burnt (to man's memorie) on the lyke night of St. John'sn. At the
time of the confederation the Abbey church was in the possesion of the
Franciscan Fathers, and again in the reign of James 11. On the 3rd of
October, 1687, the Franciscan Fathers once more took possession of their
old church, which was consecrated by the Right Rev. Dr. Maloney, and
which they rented on this occasion from Lieutenant Pery.
4
%
These documents are extracted from Sexten's book in the British Muaenm.
Vindieiece CatlolicorumH&erniae.
"exten's Book in the British Mmm.
Ibid.
658
BI~TOBYOF ZIMERIC~.
h
.
There was an ancient oratory in the little island opposite the abbey,
which is now a place for growing ~a1l~s.lThis was a place of devotion,
particularly on the festival of St. Anthony, 13th of June, and the people
were wafted across in great crowds the abbey river in boats. The oratory
was in connection with the great convent; there are no remains whatever of
it, but of the abbey itself there are some few remains. Tradition states that
the convent, or rather a portion of it, continued to be occu led by the Franof the last siege of Limeric , when the comwhen they had to hide where best they could
e storm. Four of the fathers are said to have
e or fortress which was in Mary Street, and in
that portion of the street through which Athlunkard Street was cut. The
ruins of this c a d e may now be seen in Athlunkard Street, and a water
tank and fountain, erected by Mr. Malcomson, occupies a portion of the
walls. Four Franciscan Fathers are said to have always remained in the
city, and were accustomed to take advantage of the nights to visit the sick
and dying, and administer consolation to those who dared to remain within
the walls after the siege and surrencler. As soon as the storm had subsided,
and that they could go abroad, the Franciscans ogened a school, classical
and mercantile, in Quay Lane, which was attended by many of the first
Catholics of the city, including the Roches, the Whites, the Kellys, the
Gavins, the Rochfords, the Greaghs, the M'Namaras, the Howleys, the
Meades, the Ryans, Fitz eralds, Connells, Arthurs, etc. There were some
excellent preachers attac ed to the convent in Newgate Lane, including
Father Burke, an eloquent pulpit orator. The names of the other fathers
were, Guilfoyle, O'Regan, Hynes, Kelly, and Denis Hogan, the friend
of O'Connell, a bold and courageous man, who not onIy put up the bell to
his convent, but laughed at the garrison when they in consequence turned
out! and showed the entire posse cornitatus that he was able for them,
setting their fears aside by stating that he had an old woman very deaf in
.his service, and was obliged to put up the bell to awake her.
On Christmas Day, 1782, they opened for the celebration of the sacred
mysteries their cha el in Newgate Lane. The chapel in question was
S acious, and it ha a piece of ground attached to it, on which a house for
8 e Franciscan Fathers was soon afterwards built. The liberal spirit of
the times gave an impetus to the erection of the chapel, to which not only
devoted and pious Catholics gave munificent aid, but to which Protestants,
Dissenters, Quakers, Methodmts, etc., largely contributed. That Limerick
~
Order may be proved, not only by
was almays attached to t h Franciscan
the facts we have advanced, but by the additional one, that Father Marold,
a native of the city, and a learned member of the order, mote the life of
the illustrious Luke Wadding, and gave an epitome of the voluminous
and laborious works of that statesman, patriot, and historiographer. The
date over the principal entrance to this chapel was 1802, though i t was
built many years before. The Franciscans discontinued their school,
which was succeeded by Mr. hlcEligott's, Mr. Nolan's, etc., and about the
year 1815, they established the nunnerj for Poor Clares on the site of the
present Convent of Merc , and erected a school for female children, which
cost ;E1,000, and where t ey had 1,000 children "indaily attendance. They
i
%
B
E
Ware mention#the foundation by Bourke,Baron of Cwtle C o d , of a Commtoal Frsaelsoan Abbey in &e island near Limerick, &D. 1291.
brought nuns Corn Galway and Dublin, Miss Lloyd, Miss C&,
and the
Misses Shannon, nieces of Father Walsh, of Thomond Gate, from the
county Limerick. Miss Meade, a lady of large fortune, joined the order,
which continued nineteen y e m in the city, but owing to a casualty-their
funds being in the hands of parties who failed-they suffered. Their superioress was Mrs. Clancy, of Galway, at whose demise the convent broke up,
and the nuas went to other convents. The convent fell into the hands of the
Very Rev. Father Michael Malone, O.S.F., who called s meeting, and
handed over the convent to Right Rev. Dr. Eyan, the Bisho of Limerick,
for the benefit of the city.' A branch of the Presentation rder came to
the convent in question fbr a short time, but was not successful. I t was then
that the Sisters of Mercy took possession of the convent, on Father Malone's
handing it over to them, for which he deservedly obtained the best thanks
of the citizens? The Poor Clares not only educated the children in
reading, writing, etc., but taught them spinninr knitting, etc. About the
time of giving up the Franciscan Academy, Fat er Xichard Hayes, O.S.F.,
the celebrated pulpit orator, arrived from Rome, where he was sent by the
Catholic Board to expostulate agaiast the veto. This was immediately after
VII. Father Hayes got permission to preach
the restoration of
before the Pope and cardinals, but his speech was so strong, that he had
to leave Rome in consequence. H e first came to Limerick, where he
reached in the Franciscan Church in Newgate Lane, and such was thi:
gre and force of his sermon, that the people became nearly frantic *ith
excitement. H e put an end to the vetoists in Limerick.
The Franciscans continued in Newgate Lane until the year 1822, early
in which year they had to surrender the chapel and convent to Major
Gco. P. Drew, the landlord, who '' permitted" them to remove the fittings,
etc., the lease having expired. The roof was soon removed, and the walls
were speedily levelled with the ground. The convent in which the
Franciscans had dwelt was not taken down. The Franciscans had a temporary chapel in Bank Place until 1825. In the commencement of September
in the year 1824, the foundation of their new convent in Henry Street
was laid with much ceremony and amid great rejoicing. By earnest and
indefatigable labour it was brought to a speedy and most admirable comletion in a comparatively short time. The church since i t was opened
gas been a favourite one with the citizens, and over it are large apartments and halls for the Fathers, who reside there, but who have been
making efforts to provide a more suitable residence, in which they are
likely to succeed. Its situation is picturesque, and it is the;first object
after St Mary's Cathedral that meets the eye of the mariner as he a p
vroaches the citv from the river. The Prior in 1865 is the Very Rev.
SFather ~ a n r a h i kO.S.F.
,
The Conventd Franciscans had conventa also at Askeaton, Ballha*
braher (E'riarstown) fr. C h ~ ~ - ~ b b oAlem.
n s , Cent. 13, granted to Bobert
Browne of Balting1ass.- Ware, vol. ii. p. 276. Ballinwillin, fr. granted
to Robert Browne of Baltinglass.-Ibid.
Island near Limerick, founded
by Bourke, Baron of Castle Connell (A1em.)-Ibid.
Franciscans of third
order, Kihhane, fr. (quere if not mistaken for a Cistertian Convent at
8
1 The Mbst h.
Dr. WHale,Archb'ip of Tnam, on one occasion preached a charity aemon
for the Poor Glares of Limerick.
2 The present benutifd sohoole in front of the etreet were built by the Poor Clarea'
661
. HISTORY OP LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
same place).-lbid., p. 282. Observantin E'ranciscans, Adare, fr. Thomas
Fitzmaurice, Earl of Kildare, and Joan, his wife.-Ibid., . 281, A.D. 1460.
Any one who wishes to visit the sites and remains o f t e oldest reli ious
foundations of Limerick in the shortest space of time, may proceefdue
north, from the Sand Mall opposite Sally Grove, the small willowed Island,
in which there was formerly a Franciscan oratory. The site of the great
Franciscan Abbey 3s now occu ied by the late Mr. G. Sheehy's corn store,
once a court house, and by t!'el adjacent buildin continued in a line
towards the river, and formerly the county hospita When altering the
county court house, about Hty years ago, into a corn store, extensive
vaults were found full of human bones, and one coffin of lead, in which
the skeleton was perfect.
I n Mary Street, within a short distance of Fish Lane, on the left, as you
go towards Ball's Bridge, therp is a fine remain of a chapel, traditionally
said to have belonged to the adjacent Franciscan Abbey, in the back part
of the houses No. 18 and 19, now occupied by Messrs. Dargan and Gennane,
who have obligingly admitted us to examine the localities. Both yards or
gardens are vaulted underneath, and in the part occupied by the former
there are cloisterlike passages through the side walls, in one of which the
remains of the holy water font are still quite perfect. The occupier, who
has still a portion of the old stone baptisterium, gave the cut stone framework of one ofthe windows in the partition wall to the Hon. Robert O'Brien,
of Old Church, who has c t them fixed up in the old church-the ancient
church oratory in his gar en, where the old inscription which they bear,
and which is quite clearly cut, though not of high antiquit , attracts much
attention. The inscription, which occupies the right, eft, and upper
lintels, has been studied and copied by several persons, among the rest by
the Ven. Dr. Todd, Dr. Petrie, etc., etc., but very few have ever attempted
even to guess at the meaning. Some, however, say it is Danish; but this
is a great mistake. I t is about fifteen inches long on each side, and
bears, according to our reading, the following lebters:
remains of another modern ruin, the old chapel of the Augustinian
Eremites. The water fonts are still in good preservation. The roof asd
all the rest but the walls are one. The ancient position of the house of
the Eremites is not given by k h i t e . Ferrar says it was on the site of tha
old city court house, that is, where a school of the Christian Brothers
atancls at present, facing the south entrance of St. Mar s Cathedral in
Quay Lane, now more generally called Bridge Street.
itzgerald states
that the civic privileges of the Canons were ceded to the Eremites
about the year 1736, but there could have been no Canons then. Perhaps, however, he means that the claims of the Eremites as inheriting
of these privileges were then admitted. Archdall distinctly states these
civic privileges belonged to the Eremites; and says that it appears from
an inquisition taken in the thirt seventh year of Elizabeth, that this
ri ht of privileged voting for t e Mayor, etc., belonged to the head
o the Augustinians, meaning no doubt the Eremites. Battersby, in his
history of the order, places the site of the monastery of the Eremites
in the same locality where the canons lived. But this must be a mistake,
for we have not any authority for believing that they succeeded tho
Canons in their monastery, though it appears they did in their civio
privileges. Of the house of the Knights Templars, placed by White in
Quay Lane, I have not been able to find any vestiges. Proceedina still
in a northerly direction, and passing to the left of the resent parish cKapel
of St. Mary's, we come to Peter's Cell, a partly enc osed space, once the
site of the convent of the Canonesses of St. Augustine, and subsequently
occupied by Dominican nuns, as would appear from the map in White's
MS§. Here was Madame O'Dell's house and garden, and more recently
the Catholic College of Peter's Cell. North of Peter's Cell, and separated
from it by the old burial ground of the Society of Friends and the Convent
National School, are the interesting ivy-covered remains of the great
Dominican Convent, of which the north transept wall still remains almost
entire, with its high lancet windows, and looking venerably ancient in comparison with the modern convent of the Sisters of Mercy, now standing
within its precincts. The beautiful little cemetery of these admirable nuns,
ovcrshadowed by a magnificent drooping ssh, now occupies the place of
what was once the sanctuary. Still further north, in St. Thomas's Isle,
are some traces of another Dominican house, but so few as will scarcely
repay a visit. There were, however, large ruins, and many ancient
monuments, some said to have belonged to the ancient bishops of Limerick ;
but they were all destroyed when the island was occupied by Mr. Tuthill.
We next proceed with
660
\
E
5'.
3
" Qgs
r
bagthe in m& bg &$hmaf $nill:*rrlbd".
Passing to the west, we come upon the site of the great house o f &he
Canons Regular of St. Augustine, marked upon all the old maps, but now
utterly demolished, not one stone being left upon another. The ruins were
extant in the time of the last siege, and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
and later, the establishnient still flourished, but owing to the decision
given at that time in favour of the Eremites of St. Augustine, the order
must have been going down. These regulars were essentially different
from the secular canons, who were attached to the cathedral.
Due north of the site of the monastery of the Canons Regular, and
occupying art of Mary Street and Fish Lane, are the still perfect remains
of the late ominican chapel, now a store belonging to Mr. Hayes the
baker. The pillars, floors, and staircases, are pretty much as they were
before the building of the beautiful new Dominican chapel of St. Saviour.
More norherly, and occupying the space adjacent to Mr. McCarthy's
timber yard, between Little and Great Creagh Lane, are the vaulted
The alleged antiquity and simple meaning of this inscription, which belongs apparently to
the year 1500 or thereabouts, will remind our readers of the Stubbs inscription in the Pick-
%
wick Papem,
6
P
i-
P
THE JESUIT FATHERS.
About three hundred Irishmen entered the Society of Jesus, from its
foundation in 1540, to its suppression in 1773. They had twelve colleges
at home, and six abroad for the education of Irish youth. Ten fathers died
for the faith, forty endured the horrors of the prison or the bastinndo, and
forty have left to posterity about one hundred and thirty works, which are
monuments of their genius, patriotism, and piety. Of these writers, half of
whom were men of European reputation, only three, and those perhaps the
least distinguished, were natives of Limerick; yet Limerick had more endearing relations with the society than any other city in Ireland can boast
662
. .III~TORYOF LIBIERICE.
of. Why? Because Limerick was the cradle of the Company of Jesus in
Ireland: i t was the birthplace of the first Irish Jesuit that entered Ireland,
of the first nuncio whom the Pope sent to this country after the Reformation, of the Archbisho of Armagh who "first and most coveted this
company for the Isle o f Saints"; i t was the birthplace of that father who
was the companion and rival of the Venerable Anchieta, the Apostle of
Brazils, and who afterwards was the first to preach the name of Jesus to
the copper-coloured cannibals of the pampas of Paraguay. I n fine, it was
the birthplace of the first Jesuit Father that was hanged, drawn, and
quartered for the faith in Great Britain and Ireland, viz., Father David
Wolf, S.J., 1560, who was " one of the most remarkable men" (says
Dr. Moran) " who laboured to gather together the stones of the sanctuary".
H e spent seven years in Rome, under the immediate guidance of St.
Qnatius and St. Francis Borgia. He was attracted to the young society,
robably, by the example of the first companions of St. Ignatius, Pasquier,
and Alonzo Salrneron, who came to Ireland in 1542 as legate of
the Holy See, invested with all the prerogatives attached to the Apostolic
Nunciatura, and armed by St. Ignatius with written instructions that
would do honour to the most consummate diplomatist. They went all
over Ireland on foot, living on alms as the apostles of old, and at the end
of five weeks they were ordered to Rome by his Holiness, as Henry VIII.
had set a price on their heads, and had decreed confiscation and death
against all who gave them hospitality. St. Pgnatius, whose "first and
dearestn mission Ireland was, declared the embassy of the fathers to be most
successful, and Cox, the Protestant historian, says:,
The observing reader will easily perceive the dismal and horrible effects of
this mission, which hath ever since embroiled Ireland, even to this day".
Thierry writes in his Norman Conquest:
&'Bytheir nuncios in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and above all,
by the Society of Jesus, tvhich showed its usual cleverness in this business, the
Popes succeeded in forming in Ireland a Catholic party, as hostile to the natives
who turned Protestants as to the English themselves".
I n Angust, 1560, Father Wolf arrived in his native city as nuncio G to
the most illustrious princes and to the whole kingdom of Ireland", and hc
at once notified his arrival to the whoIe island. He visited the four chieC
princes of the kingdom, and other leading men ; he visited the bishops and
priests, and helped them,in every way; he guarded the people against false
ministers; hc endeavoured to establish grammar schools, monasteries, and
hospitals; he risked his life for religion, and took no reward, even as an
alms. I n May, 1561, Elizabeth refused to admit the Pope's ambassador
into England, because"'lhe Pope hat.h even at this instant in Ireland a legate who is publicly
joined with certain traitors, and is occupied in stirring up rebellion, having
already by his acts deprived the Queen of her right and title there".
She refuses to send representatives to the Council of Trent, because an
Irishman,had been sent to excite disaffection against her crown. Well,
this Irishman, a few months afterwards, sent representatives to the Council
of Trent. H e wrote from Limerick to the Cardinal Protector, by Dr.
Donald M'Connell, the companion of his journey through the island,
giving details of his tour, and giving a list of priests fit to fill the vacant
HISTORY OB LIHERICK.
greet,
sees. Two of these assisted as bishops six months afterwards at the Council
of Trent-they were his friend X'aonnell and Dr. O'Hart, and all those
recommended by this father proved themselves worthy of their position.
I n this letter from Limerick, he says Christopher Bodkin, Archbishop of
Tuam, was fit for that diocese, because he could defend it, and that the
Dean of Raphoe was unfit for the mitre, because he knew more about the
sword than about the cross".
The following year he sent Dr. Crengh to Rome to be made Archbishop of Cashel or of Armagh. Dr. Creagh had refused the mitres of
Limerick and Cashel before, and had preferred to remain teaching school
at Adare, under the famous Dr. Leverous, the preserver of the Geraldines.
H e asked in Rome to be allowed to enter a religious order; he was refused,
and was consecrated Archbishop of Armagh. l11 1563 he came to Inland
with two Jesuit Fathers, and brought a brief empowering himself and
Father Wolf to erect schools wherever they thought fit, and giving such
schools all the privileges of a university. About this brief Father Fitzsimons, S.J., of Dublin, writes, in a work published in 1610:
"1 shall afford certain arcels of a letter written by a most excellent late
martyr of our country, t e thrice glorious Primate Creagh. In this letter,
which I preserve as a precious pledge and relic, he asked for men by whom the
whole Christian world hath received principal information, and for whose maintenance 11c offered to apply certain vacant benefices. Did modesty permit me
to impart such high commands as he preserteth, the whole might be inserted. He
says: '1 asked his IIoliness to empower the Fathers of the Society to open
schools and a university as soon as possible in Ireland by Apostolic authority.
I obtained my requcst, aud indeed in my opinion, together with all well-wishers
of our nation, the said Fathers are so necessary to our reformation, that they
cannot only not well be spared, but no others are to us in these times so needful. Wherefore by me, in behalf of the whole country, before and above all
others they were fist and most coveted' l'.
I n the same year, 1363, Father Wolf wrote to Father Newman of
Dublin:
I regret that the dangers of the journey prevent me from going into Leinster
in person, and that war and tyranny prevent the Leinster people from coming
to me. I therefore give you full powers for that provincey'.
Three years after St. Pius V. wrote to his nuncio in Madrid:
We have been informed that the Primate of Ireland has been imprisoned
in the Tower of London, and that our beloved son David Wolf, of the Society
of Jesus, is closely confined in the Castle of Dublin, and that both are treated
with the greatest severity. Their suffering5 overwhelm us with aflliction on
account of their singular merits and zeal for the faith. You, therefore, will use
every endeavour with hi Catholic Majesty in our name, that he pay send
letters to hi ambassadors, and to the Queen, to obtain the liberation of these
prisoners. No favour could at this time be more acceptable to us".
Dr. Creagh has given s sketch of his cell in the Dublin Castle where he
was Father Wolf's fellow prisoner:
My ceII might make a strong man wish for liberty, if for his l i e he could.
It was a hole where, without candle, there was no light in the world ;and with a
candle, when I had it, there was such smoke, that, had there not been a little
chink in the door to draw in breath with my mouth set on it, I had been, perhaps, shortly undone".
f:
l
663
664
665
HESTORYOF LIMERICE.
HISTOBY OF LIMERICK.
The Pope's letter was of no use to the prisoners. Dr. Creagh died
poisoned in the Tower, and, as a state paper of the day says,
'&SirDavy Wolf, the priest who so foreswore himself, fled from Dublin
Castle in 1572, and went to Spain, taking with him the son of James Fitzmaurice, and is accompanied by Sir Rice Corbslly. Pitzrnaurice bath sent his
son with Wolf, who is an arrant traitor, into Spain, to practise his old devices".
I n 1575 Fitzmaurice wrote to tho eneral of the society that Father
Wolf had gone to Ireland from St. Mafo, where he had been living with
the Desmond family. In 1577 he was in Munster, and the year a b r an
Irish priest named David Wolf was living in Lisbon, supported by the
enerous contributions of the Holy See. Probably it was our Father
%OK The author of Cmbrensia E v m u s says of this Father:
I have seen a dispensation granted by Father Wolf of Limerick to Richard
Lynch of Galway, in which he is styled nuncio. I have heard that he was a
man of extraordinary piety, and a fearless and strenuous denouncer of crime.
The whole land being a large field of battle, he retired for protection to the
Castle of Clonoan, in Clare, but on hearing that the warders lived by plunder,
he would not eat the meat offered him, and from poor living contracted s disease of which he died",
Clonoan was a castle of the Order of Preachers, in the barony of Inchiquin; it was taken by the English in 1569, and again in 1586.'
The next member of the illustrious order, a native of Limerick, was
Father Edmond O'Donnell, S.J., who was sent to Ireland by Gregory
XIII., and Father General Everard Mercarian. He was imprisoned in
his native city, loaded with irons, insults, and blows. He was thence
dragged and driven to Cork, with his hands bound behind his back, by
brutal troopers, and there being found guilty of being a priest and a Jesuit,
and of refusing to take the osth of supremacy, he was torn, hanged,
drawn, and quartered", on the eve of St. Patrick's Day, 1575.
He was calm in all his sufferings, and after his sentence he was overwhelmed with unbounded joy. Father O'Donnell was the first mart of
the Society of Jesus in the British Isles; he was the first of the ten rish
fathers who suffered death for the faith, and Father Wolf was the first of
the forty who were imprisoned and tortured for the same faith.'
Father Field, another remarkable member of the order, was born in
Limerick, fled from persecution to Rome, where he studied, and was
received into the society by Father Edward Mercurian. Thence he went
to Brazils, where for man years he was the witness and artly the rival of
the wonderful works o the Venerable Anchieta, 8.f the apostle of
Brazils. It is worthy of remark that the last provincial of Brazils was
Father Lynch, a countryman of Father Field's, who, with his confreres,
was expelled from Brazils in the year 1560. They were put in the
hold of a ship and acked and treated as blacks on board a slaver. In the
ear 1586, Father ield and four other fathers were sent by the Venerable
Sather Amhieta to preach in P a r a p y . English privateers boarded their
vessel at t\e mouth of the Silver River, put Father Field in irons, carried
him about-these waters for a long time, beat him, tortured him with
hunger and thirst and insults of every kind, condemned him to be hanged
froin the yard-arm, and then through pity exposed him to the mercy of the
winds and waves in a leaky boat, without rudder, sail, or ropes. He
drifted away, nor thought the rough wind more drear than the foe he left
behind, and under the Protector of innocence, he was wafted into the port
of good winds or Buenos Ayres.'
In 1593, Fathers Field and Ortega went to live among the olive-coloured
cannibal Guaranses, and for eight years could number their days by the
flocks of infidels they brought to the fold"; their labours f:dr exceeded the
strength of the human frame, and their journeys alone would have damped
any other zeal. I n 1610, two hundred families, baptized by Fathers Fleld
and Ortega, were formed into the Reduction of Loretto, the first of the
famous Reductions which will ever be the miracle and glory of the Christian Religion.
The Lord President of Munster says, that, about the year 1600, all the
Munster cities were bewitched by Jesuits, POish Priests, and Serninarists;
and rt Captain Mostian writes to the Genera of the Society, that Father
Archer, S.J., was more to the Irish in Munster, and in the whole kingdom, than a great reinforcement of troops, for at his nod alone the hearts
of men adhere and are held together". This Father Archer was feared by
the English, who thought he could fly through the air, and nicknamed
him Archdevil; he converted Black Thomas, Earl of Ormonde, the destroyer of the Desmonds; he collected money for the support of the Irish
colleges of Salamanca and Composteb, and "had many seminaries on
handn; he had been rector of Salamanca, the first Irish colle e founded
abroad, succeeding in that position Father White, S.J., of C onmel, its
founder and first rector. He and his companion, the lay brother Dominick
O'Calan, encouraged one hundred and forty Irish to defend Dunboy
against thousands, as they hoped that help would come from Spain or the
north of Ireland, and so obstinate a defence, said Lord Carew, " bath not
been seen within this kingdomn. O'Calan was of noble family, and ditinguished himself in France as a cavalry officer, under the name of Captain
Labranch. When the wars of the Le e were over, he went in search
of glory in Spain, and signalized himse f among the first captains of the
Royal Fleet. Having s ent thirteen years in France, and eight in S ain,
he became a Jesuit lay rother, as he thought too humbly of himse f to
become a priest, though his learning and the will of the Father General
marked him out for that position. After his capture at Dunboy he was
offered great rewards and honours if he took the oath of allegiance. His
relatives were brought to back up these promises by their tears and entreaties-he refused, and'by Mountjoy's order was tied to the tails of two
horses, and then hanged, drawn, and quartered for the faith, in hi native
town of Youghal in 160% He was a man of extraordinary piety, and his
Life was written by Father D'Oultreman, and Patripad.'
About the year 1602, and afterwards, Fathers Lynch, Morony, Wall,
and O'Kearney, evangelized all Munster, giving missions and going wherever they were most wanted. Father O'Kearney was brother of the Archbishop of Cashel, and he and his nephew, Father Wall, were hunted up
1 The above details have been taken from Histo& Soc. Jesu.-Father Fitzsimon, Dra.
Lynch, O'Renehq Moran, and Kelly.
1See tha Bktona S. J,, Imagines SJ.,Rothe, Bruodin, eta., etc.
The historians Cordova and Charlevoix give a detailed account of his prooeeding in the
BrsziLa.
See slso O'Sullivau Bcors and Hibmnia Pacata.
C
.
f
d
B
I
"1
P
71
'
'
P
46
666
\
.HISTORY OF LINERICK.
by order of the very judges who, on circuit, declared that these fathers
Itad prevented more robberies and crimes than all the severity of the law
could hinder.
Father O'ICearney wrote four books, laboured forty years in Munster,
and died at the age of seventy-five. Appreciating the missionary labours
of these men, Dr. White, Bishop
- of Waterford, wrote to Cardinal Baronius
in 1606 :'L I beseech your most illustrious lordship to ask Father-General Aquaviva to
send more of his men hither, for as many of them as are here are singularly
distinguished in the batt.le for the glory of God".
I n 1624, Dr. Rothe, Bishop of Ossory, wrote to the Father General to
ask that the fathers, U who had worked with so much fruit here and there
in the different provinces, should have fixed residences". For, said he,
We cannot do without the piety, industry, and erudition of your Society,
which is most necessary here and in every part of the kingdom".
Five years later, Dr. Walsh, Archbishop of Cashel, wrote to the Father
General:
U The affliction of the country is very great, and I see no remedy for it except
the encouragement of yoar mission in this country".
H e was a singular benefactor of the Order, and his life has been written
by his friend, Father St. Leger, who attended him when dying in the
Irish Jesuit college of Compostella.
Accordinw to the Imago P k i Smuli, SJ,there were eleven Jesuit
Colleges in %eland in 1640, and one of them was. in Limerick. Besides,
the Primate of Armagh resolved to found two colleges of the society; the
Archbishop of Cashel, two; the Bishop of Meath, two; the Archbishop of
Tuam, one ;the Bishop of Killalrr, one; and Owen Roe marked out places
for four soon afte.: he came to Ireland, and the Supreme Council resolved
to found a university and college
- under the name of Jesus and under the
care of the fathers. On the 13th of July official news of the victory of Benbtub and thirtythree captured standards were brought to the Nuncio in Limerick by
Father ~ H a r t e ~S.J.,
n , chaplain to-the army, and after a great procession of the soldiers and civilians, were deposited in the Church of St.
Francis. This Father O'Hartegan had been for some years the agent of
the Confederation at the French Court, and h
is letters show him to have
been a ~erfectman of business and a true Irishman. His c o n f r h , Father
plunket, was sent to look after Irish interests in Belgium.
I n 1649, Rinuccini wrote to the Father General praising Father
O'I3urlcy, S.J., rector of the Limerick College, and Father Virher, sent
as visitor to Ireland, gives the following account of Limerick:"The rector is Father miiliim O'Hurley, aged fifty, of noble and ancient
stock, devout, charitable, humble, and learned".
It is mostprobable that he was of Lycodoon castle, and grand-nephew
of Dr. Hurley, and a relative of Sir W i U i i Rinuccini proceeds:
"The Father Jlinister is Father Thomm Burke, ex-professor of polemic
divinity, a good classical scholar, of great family, and a great preacher. He
has converted numbers to the Catholic Faith in Limerick".
667
HISTORY OF LIXERICK.
I t is of this Father, no doubt, that Father Peter Walsh speaks in his
Remonstrance, when he says:
6' The Archbishop of Tuam was removed from Dublin to Connaught in a litter
accompanied by twb Jesuits, one of who n was his nephew, and the other Father
Guin, and he was ever after in the power of these two priests. What a pity !"
Dr. de Burgo, of a junior branch of Clanrickard, was born at Clontuskert, was educated six or seven years at the Irish Jesuit College of Lisbon,
sustained theses at Evora and Salamanca against all corners, and was dubbed
Doctor of Divinity and of Civil and Canon Law. H e was an enthusiastic
admirer of the Jesuits, and advanced them money to maintain a college in
Galway. He returned from exile in 1663, " to sleef, as he said, U in his
native soil". H e died in Tuam, on Holy Thurs ay, 1667, and Father
Guin, " ip whose power he was", celebrated Mass every day in his Grace's
ohamber for some time before his death ; he relnaincd constantly by his
bedside, the minister of his comforts, and the witness of his virtues and
resignation.'
The Father Procurator ofthe Limerick College, S.J., was Father Nicholas
Punch, a man of singular amiability and humility, forty-seven years of age,
and nineteen in the society. The Professor of Ithetoric was Father Jamcs
Forde, a very good and learned man. In 1656, he chose, in the middle of
a vast bog, a spot harder than the rest, and built a hut on it. Thither a
large number of youths soon flocked, erected little huts all round, learned
literature and virtue from the good hther, and imitated him in enduring,
not merely with fortitude, but also with joy, dl the inconveniences of their
position.
To this staff of masters belonged Father Maurice Patrick and Father
Piers Creagh. The latter $tither was born at Carrigeen Castle, which is
three miles from Limerick on the Roxborough road. H e was nephew of
the Primate Martyr Creagh, and brother of the Mayor of Limerick,
who distinguished himself during the siege., and of John, domestic prelate
to Alexander VII., from whom the family got the title of duke and m
addition to their arms. While teaching in the Irish Jesuit College of
Poictiers, Father Creagh directed the education of his nephew and namesake, who beoame an accomplished scholar, spoke Latin, Italiap, French,
Irish, and English with great fluency, and was afterwards Bishop of Cork,
and eventually Archbishop of Dublin. This father was related to the Nettmville family, one member of which, Father Robert Netterville, S.J.,
was beaten to death by the Puritans, whereas Father Nicholas Netterville,
a Jesuit, is said to have been a great friend of Cronwell's, at whose table he
often dined, and from whom he had leave to say Mass every da in Dublin.
Being accused of saying Mass by Captain Nathaniel Foulkes, ather Netverville said: " I am a
General knows it, and tell aU
the towu of it, and that
here every day". H e was a great
scholar and musician,
took a leading part in the debates
about the Remonstrance, and used to go about Dublin disguised as a
cavalier, and was chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, Duke of Tyrconnell.
His brother, Father Christopher Netterville, S.J., was at one time very
near falling a victim to Puritan fury, and had to remain hiding for twelve
months in the vault of his father, Viscount Nctterville. Apropos of
Father Netterville's relation with Crommell, we may ssy that the Re*. Sir
L SBB h WRen&au and Meehm.
S
Francis Slingsby, S.J., was a first cousin of the cruel Sir Charles Coote.
Fathers Robert and Nicholas Nugent were near relatives of Elizabeth,
Countess of Kildare, who was a second mother to the Jesuit mission, and
they are called by Dr. Oliver, uncles of the infamous Earl of Inchiquin, who
killed Father Boyton, S.J., in the rock of Cashel.
Father Christopher Holywood, S.J., of Ashwood, near Dublin, who was
im risoned in the tower of London for five years, was a near relative of the
zea ous Protestant Lord Dunsany; and Father Fitzsimon, S.J., of Dublin,
tells a damaging story of " Adaln Loftus, an apostate priest, and Lord
Primate, who exalted his plentiful brood to knighthood, noble alliance, and
lofty estates7', and ends by saying: " Let me be believed on the word of a
religious man, that not private hate nor any desire to gravel Adam's issue,
art whereof is linked to me in kindred, but truth and the glory of God,
gave occasioned me to narrate the fact, of which I was a witness7'. Primate
Usher's uncle and first cousin, were Jesuits. Father George Dillon, a distinguished theologian and writer, of the Society of Jesus, died a martyr of
charity in Waterford in 1650, invoking the sweet name of Jesus; he was
a holy, hard-working man, a cousin of Primates Plunket and Talbot, and
a son of Robert, the second Earl of Roscommon. The same year, according
to our Arthur MSS., J. Dillon, Earl of Roscommon, his brother, fell down
twelve ste s of stairs in Limerick, and died four days afterwards. In presence
of death, e renounced Protestantism, and received the last sacraments,
and most probably he owed this grace to the prayers of his brother.
To return to Father Creagh: he was afterwards professor and superior of
Poictiers Irish College, which was founded by the exertions of Father
Ignatius Browne, a Waterford Jesuit. This Father Browne, and Father
Meade and Father Maurice O'Conncll, a man of noble family, and probably
of the same stock as the Liberator, formed, as Dr. Oliver says, a glorious
triu~nviratcof the word in those days, and gave missions with wonderful
succcss in the south of Ireland. Anothcr Fathcr Creagh, aged 87, a very
holy man, made his simple vows on the 26th February, 1!;70, and entered
heaven the day after he entered the Society.
Fathcr O'Hartqan, who brought to Limerick the standards taken by
Owen Roe, had been the agent of the Confederation at the court of France.
His letters to the supreme council, in which he s i p s himself, your lordships' faithful servantn, let in a little light on the times.
Father Hartegnan's letterg fell into the hands of Ormonde, who wrote to
Clanrickad, saymg:
"Your lordship will perceive that 1have the honour to wait on you in the
reverend esteem of that father".
Digby consoled the great duke by writing to him, that'6 If O'Hartegan were not a madman, his presumptuous lies would anger
him, for on my soul, no man living is more unbhmished in the Queen's
favour than Ormond".
According to Rinuccini, the most prudent and clever of the Irish were
of his opinlbn, such as Father Bartegan.
We know nothing of Father Hartegan after that till the year 1650,
when twenty-five thousand Irishmen, sold as slaves in Saint Kit.t's and the
adjoining islands, petitioned for a priest. Through the Admiral du Poenry
the petition
placed in Father Hartegan's hands. He volunteered himself and disappeared fiom our view. As he spoke Irish, English, and
7
R
French, he was very fit for that mi&on, which was always supplied with
Irish Jesuits from Limerick for more than a hundred years afterwards. I t
is thought that Father Hartegan assumed the name of De Stritch to avoid
.giving umbrage to the English, for in the year 1650, according to letters
written five years after the petition, an Irish Father de Stritch was welcomed and blessed by the Irish of Saint Kitt's, heard the confessions of
three thousand of them, then went disguised as a timber merchant to Mount
Serrat, employed numbers of Irish as wood-cutters, revealed his real
character to them, and spent the mornings administering the sacraments,
and the day in hewing wood to throw dust in the eyes of the English.
Meanwhile the heretics, jealous of the religious consolations of the Catholics
of Saint Kitt's, treated them with great cruelty, transported one hundred
and fifty of the most fervent and respectable to Crab Island, where they
left them to die of starvation. This blow fell heavy on the heart of poor
Father De Stritch. He got together as many of the Irish of S i n t Kitt'a
as he could, and passed with them to the French island of Guadaloupe,
where he lived a long time with them, now and then going in disguise to
help the Irish of the neighbouring isles.
Not satisfied with instructing and consoling the Catholics, he converted
About the same
in his excursions about eighty Protestants every year.'
time one Thomas Stretch by name, says the Earl of Orrery, a Sesuit, lately
turned schoolmaster, did in the county hall (of Limerick) with his scholars
act a play, whither a great confluence of people repaired, notwithstanding
that
John Andrews, minister of the place, did expressly prohibit him,
because the design of it was to stir up sedition rrnd to show the people his
own condition and hopes',, etc.
Before we leave the Irish slaves we may say one word more of their missionaries. In 1699 Father Garganel, S.J., superior of the island of Martinique, asked for one or two lrish Fathers for that and the neighbouring
isles, which were full of Irish; for, continues he, every year ship-loads of
men, boys, and girls, partly crimped, partly carried off by main force for
purposes of slave trade, are conveyed by the English from Ireland.
Bather Kelly, the rector of Poictiers, writes to the superior of Ireland:
"With most intense delight Father J. GaIwey embraces the mission of Martinique, offered by your reverence: meanwhile do not give him up, but lend
him; for should our affairs lift up their head again in Ireland, he will be very
much wanted at home".
Another Father Galwey, whose mission was connected with Limerick,
distinguished himself some ears before his namesake. He died in Cork
in 1650, afkr having lived g*y-five years in the society. He distinguished
himself in Ireland by his piety and zeal, and did a world of good in his
own country. Not satisfied with that, he went three times on thei Scotch
mission. For this he was well qualified. He had been a merchant in
early life, and he spoke Gaelic. He first entered Scotland disguised as a
merchant, but failed to make much impression, as the people were afraid
of the Duke of Argyle. On his way home the merchant was asked by
the Scotch sailors why he brought no goods back with him, and wh he
went so far, and he answered that he was trying >o buy souls for C ist.
He converted the crew before they reached the lnsh coast. In his second
K,
See a full account of his labours in a Frcnch work called dlission de Cayenne.
670
'HISTORY OF ~ ~ ~ M E R I C R .
and third missions he was more successful, baptized entire villages, parents,
and children, and he laboured so unceasingly in instructing the Highlanders, that for five months he never changed his garments, though often
exposed to wind and rain when going about catechising, or even when
taking. his rest at night. The Protes&ts hated him so intensely that they
gent his likeness about in order to secure his arrest, but he escaped through
the manifest interposition of Providence, and sometimes by travelling as a
merchant with samples of corn. I n his day there were in Scotland two
Franciscans, three Dominicans, six secular priests, and twelve Jesuits.'
This mission was patronized by Daniel Arthur, a merchant of Limerick,
who helped i t with his p r s e as well as with his prayers, and i t was cultivated by the Irish Jesuit Fathers for a hundred years afterwards: a Father
Kaly was there some years after Father Galwey's death; and Father
O'Meara, a Drogheda Jesuit, reconciled two hundxed Scots to the Church
in the year 1712.
The Irish fathers suffered as much in their own isle as in the Caribbee
or Scotch islands. Before the Puritan conquest they numbered eighty,
had six colleges, eight residences, besides many oratories and schools; but
in the universal desolation there were but seventeen fathers, and they were
.~
stripped of everything, cvcn of their breviurics. They offered up M I I in
u cave or granary, or corner before day. Some found a refuge in the
towns and in the huts of the poor, others dragged out a miserable existence in the woods and mountains, consoling and confessing the Catholics;
some as rustics or mendicante, or seanaehies, went from town to town and
from house to house, dwelt in ruined buildings, and slept in the porticoes
of churches, lest they should compromise the Catl~olics. They often had
to live in bogs and mountains to escape the heretic horsemen. One father
was hunted to death, another had to lie hid in his father's sepulchre, one
lived in a deep pit, from which at intervale he went forth on some mission
of charity. The enemy having ascertained his whereabouts, threw big
blocks of' stone into the pit, but fortunately the good father was out?
Just before this persecution broke over the country, the Jesuits of
Limerick were appointed to preach in St. Mary's Cathedral on Quinquagcsima Sunday, Whit Monday, and on the Feasts of St. Matthew, and of
St. Stephen, first martyr?
I n 1663, Father Dominick Kiman made his " third year's probation" in
the presence of the Jesuit Fathers of Limerick, and then went to Galway
to replace Father Maurice Ward. H e was a distbyuished, hardworking
missioner, and he died in exile many years after he bred in Limerick. I n
the year 1687, he signed, with the secular and regular clergy in and near
Galway, n document'stating that the Augustinians could say Mass in the
cmrthousc, and that the secular judges could administer justice in it at the
assizes, witllout sacrilege, or censure of the canons of the Church specially
in Ireland.'
Dr. Oliver, Dr. Momn, and unpublished letters.
Extracted by Dr. Moran from a MS. history of the Irish Jesuits, non in the Irish College,
Rome. Dr. Oliver says of this period, that the fathers went disguised as millerg merchnnts,
carpenters, tailon, with
milkmen, mendi~ants,-~eddlers,
p k a n & thatchers, porters,
needles stuck in their sleoves; herdsmen, and physicians, and military men, etc. So what
Macaday says of the whole society can k applied with truth to the Irish part of it.
White's M.S.
4 Uattcrsbyy'sAupstinian Order.
1
BISTORY OP LIMERICK.
671
Maurice Fitzgerald, one of the informe~sabout the "Popish Plot",
testified'' That in the winter of 1676, Captain Tbornas MacInerina having retured from
France and Flanders, there was a meeting at Colonel Pierse Lacy's house, at
Curra, whither came the Colonel, the Lord of Brittas, Dr. Molony of Killaloe,
Dr. Brennan of Waterford, Dr. Dooly of Limerick, and two Jesuits, whose
names the informant knows not".
I n the year 1728, says the Rev. James White's MS,
" The Rev. Thomas O'Gorman, of the Society of Jesus, settledin Limerick, forwarded James White, the writer of these annals, in his inclination for the
Church, and in 1780, sent him to the Irish seminary of St. Iago, in Spain.
He was the first Jesuit who fixed himself in this residence since the reign of
James 11.".
Dr. Oliver says" That Father O'Gorman came to Ireland in 1724, and distinguished himself
as a preacher in Limerick, Clowel, and Cork".
Father James M6Mahon came to Limerick ten years after Father
O'Goman, and lived there thirteen years, till his death in 1751.
I n 1746, Father Joseph Morony came from Bordeaux to join Father
M'Mahon and others in Limerick. H e was a native of Limerick, and had
become a Jesuit twelve years previously8 and six years afterwards, he
made his profession of the four vows Limerick.'
About the year 1825, Joseph Morony, an architect, and owner of part
of Mary Street, informed the Rev. Father O'Higgin, O.S.F,, that his
father had listened with pride and profit to the sermons of Father Morony,
his kinsman, preached in the Jemt's Chapel in Castle Lane, near LahifYs
Alley. H e often visited the place with Fsther W i g g i n , and made him s
present of the first edition of Borony'a Sermons. The castle has been successively a chapel of the Society of Jesus, a school, a dance house, and
ct candle factory. I n the castle is a stone, with a motto balf effaced,
very like the motto of the society. Near it is a stone, said to have been
taken from it, with the motto, I.H.S., 1642, date of the opening of a Jesuit
school in Limerick. I n a wall behind a tanyard, near St. Mary's chapel
is a stone, said to have belonged to the old castle, on which is the same
motto, with the date 1609. Now, at this time, there were several Jesuits
in Munster, and among them a Father Morony, who was probably a native
of Limerick. Four very old inhabitants have stated that they heard from
their fathers or grandfathers, that Mass was celebrated in that castle by
venerable grayheaded friars. Now, we know that there were Franciscans,
Dominicans, Augustinians, and Jesuits, living in Limerick about 1753; we
know that the first three orders dwelt in Newgate Lane, Fish Lane, and
Creagh Lane; it is probable then that the Jesuits lived in the castle. Every
trace af the presence of the Societ of Jesus in days of long ago has faded
hthe minds of the citizens of Ernerick, but it has not faded from their
lives, and, perhaps, the few records given in the present history,prove that
The celebrated Dr. Gahm published Father Momnf~ -one,
in the title page of which
we read: "Exhortations and Sermons for all the Sundays and Festivals of the Year, on the
Most Sacred Mysteriea and Most Important' Truths of the Christian Reli,&n", by the Rev.
Joseph Morony, S.Jl formerly r celebrated preacher i~
Limerick, Wsterford, and other parts
of the province. of Munster.
672
HISTORY OP LIMERICK.
we owe a little return of thanks to the old Jesuits of Limerick for that faith
and piety which make the birthplace of Wolf and Creagh, O'Donnell and
Field, one of the most Catholic cities of the world.
Joseph Ignatius O'Halloran war born in the North Liberties of Limerick, and was educated at the Jesuit's College of Bordeaux. H e intended
to embrace the medical profession, but after havin gone through his course
of
and letters with singular success, f e entered the Society of
Jesus, and passed through all the degrees with eclat. Appointed professor ofphilosophy, he was the Grst to open the eyes of the University of.
Bordeaux to the respective merits of the systems of Descartes and Newton.
By hi4 own experiments and by those of the most attentive observers of
nature, he sustmned the system of the English philosopher. H e delivered
his lectures in Latin, according to the rules of the university, .and would
have published them in E n lish if duties of more importance m his eyes,
and excessive diffidence ha not prevented him. Some fugitive pieces of
great merit were written by him while he professed Belles Lettms, and
were much admired by the University. H e was successively proSessor of
Rhetoric, Philoso hy, and Divinity, at Bordeaux In the chair of Theology he shone ti l the suppression of hi4 older, when he returned home
and distinguished himself in the ulpit and in teaching~catecl~ism.His
sermons alone, when published, wi 1 be no small gratification to the friends
of religion and morality, and some of his religious tracts have already been
pubfis%ed."'
I supplement this notice from Dr. Oliver and the Memoirs of an Octogenarian, When Father O'Hdloran came home, he accompanied Dr.
Butler (Lord Uunboyne) to Cork, and was attached to the north chapel
for years, where he taught public catechism, preached with great success,
was assiduous in the confessional and in preparing children for first communion. From Cork he went to Dublin, where he died in1800, and was
buried in the vault of the Society of Jesus in Dublin. Noore says of him
in his Travels of an h i s A Gentleman:
"I used to set off early in the morning to
street chapel, trembling all over
with awe at the task that was before me, but finally resolved to tell the wprst.
How vividly do I, even at this moment, remember kneeling down by the confessional, and feeling my heart beat quicker as the sliding panel in the side opened,
and I saw the meek and venerable form of Father O'Halloran stooping to hear
my whispered list of sins. The paternal loolr of the old man, the gentleness of his
voice, even in rebuke, the encouraginghopes he gave of mercy as the sure reward
of contrition and reformation-all these recollections come freshly over my mind.
Shade of my revered pastor ! couldst thou have looked down on me in the midst
of 111yfolios, how it would have grieved thy mcek spirit to see the humble little
xisitor of tlly confessional, him whom thou hast doomed for Lis sins to read the
svven Penitential Psalms evev day, to see him forgetting so soon the docility
of those undoubting days, and setting himself up, God help him ! as a controvertist and Protestant 1"
Father O'Halloran was the brother of Silvester CYHalloran, M.D.,
M.R.T.A., an eminent writer on surgery, who is quoted by Haller, and
&0 B good Irish scholar and histork.
H e was the granduncle of Msjor
O'Halloran Ga&, one of the members for Limerick city.
Laurence Nihill, of the Society of Jesus, was born in Limerick", says
1 History of Limerick, by Ferrar, a Protestant writer.
Ferrar, " in the year 1727, and was made Bisho of Kilfenora in 1784
on account of his piety and learning. I n 1770 e published a work in
Limerick on Ratrional SeljZove, which was much admired in England,
France, and Ireland for its logic, philosophy, and philanthropy. H e is at
present writing a work which may be considered an Introduction to his
brother's Lqe of Christ. Both works will be published under the title of
Bisistoy of the Redemption of Nun, as soon as Bishop Nihill's health allows
him to put a last hand to the book".-F~T~T.
Dr. Nihill's family settled in the south after O'Neill, their chieftain,
was defeated at Kinsale in 1601. They took a district near Killaloe, but
being dispossessed several years afkr, they got considerable lands, and,
formed alliances with respectable families in the west of Clare and
R
Limerick.
f
P
Dr. Arthur attended Downe OINihill in the year 1620, and recorded
it in his diary, which is in our possession.
Colonel Nihill of Dillon's regimens distinguished himself at Lansfelt and
Fontenoy, and Brigadier-General Balthassar Nihill, colonel of the Limerick
regiment in the Neapolitan army, was one of the gallant Irish officers who
disenga ed the king's person at Velletri, when he was surprised b the
imperia general Count Browne, the conqueror of Frederick the &eat.
This Field Marshal Browne was a native of Camus, in the county Limerick,
and was very near being suqrised and put in prison in Limerick some
time afterwards while cxaminlng the'walls of that city in company with a
Mr. Roche, who was a relative of Dr. Nihill's.
Laurence NihiIl's brother was James Nihill, M.D.,who studied medicine
in Paris, Leyden, and Montpellier. H e was invited to Spain by his uncle
Sir John Higgins, first physician to P h i 4 V. of Spain, with a view to
succeed his uncle. H e went, and found his uncle dead and the post filled
He showed a medical manuscript to the famous Dr. Solano of Cadiz,
W o highly approved of it. H e published it in London in 1742, and, on
account of its singular merit, was elected Fellow of the Royal Society
without his own knowledge. H e was the author of other medical and
scientific works, and he left a manuscript life of Christ in the hands of his
brother.
Dr. NihiU had a nephew, Father David Magee, who entered the Society
of Jesus in 2753, and was distinguished as a classical scholar. H e was
related to the families of Colonel Macnamara and of the late Macnamara
Calcutt, M.P., and also to the Woulfes, and to the Butlers of Ballyline.'
Dr. Nihill's seal, which shows he belongs to the O'Neills of the north, is
in the possession of Dr. MbCarthy, the accomplished editor of Dr. O'Renehan's manuscripts. Father Magee wag also related to the Arthum and
Roches of Limerick. Mr. Roche, in his Memoi~sof an Oeto enarian, says:
" Dr. Nihill was related to my father, at whose table I reco ect him as always a welcomeguest, distinguished ss a priest, a scholar, and a gentleman.
I saw hi8 consecration in 1784". The Rev. Father Kirwan, O.S.F., afterwards a Protestant Dean, preached on apostacy, and the Bishop of Cork,
sfterwards Lord Dunboyne, was one of the assisting prelates.
Of the Rev. and Honourable John Butler we have already spoken in our
Eves of the Catholic Bishops. H e was supported for the see of Limerick
Severd letters of hi and of Dr. Niii's were in the possession of Mrs. Mwmara of Moher,
Comtp Clare, who lent them to the late Dr. 0Renehsn.
B
P
-
673
HISTORY OF LIMERLCX.
S
"%'
8
..
674
675
HISTORY OP LIMERIC~.
HISTORY OF Ll%f.ERICK.
by his kinsman, the Archbishop of Cashel, while nr. Carpenter and his
friends used their influence in favour of Dr. Nihill. The former declined the
mitre. Dr. Troy wrote to Dr. Fallon, Bisho of Elphin in 1788 (a Mrs. Fallon
was a sister of Father Magee and niece of Er. ~ i h i l l ) . In this letter he says:
Jesus ! May ! I have been brought up from my boyhood by the most religious fathers of the Society of Jesus; in after years I have been helped by their
salutary counsels. I have loved that society all my life, and I desire to die in it
and to be buried in the same sepulchre with its children", etc.'
"The Archbishop of Cashel has been very successful in:obtaining signatures
in favour of his namesake, and I could not refuse' mine without endangering
my present peaceable position, specially as no reasonable objection could be
made against the Honourable and Rev. Mr. Butler, who, like Mr. Nihill, is an
ex-Jesuit. I was applied to in favour of the latter when it was too late, and I
am perfectly indifferent as to the choice of either"?
When the Primate of Armagh saw the society menaced in 1759, he
wrote to Clement XI11:-
From Dr. Oliver's Collectanea, S.J., I extract the following notice of
Dr. Butler: John Butler, ninth Lord Cahir, was the eldest son of the
eighth Lord of Cahir, and of Frances Butler, daughter of Sir Toby Butler,
Solicitor-general of James 11. H e became a Jesuit in 1745, and was
ordained in 1753. H e was recommended for the mitre of Limerick by
three Archbishops, twelve Bishops, and all the Catholic Peers of Ireland,
by the Nuncios at Paris and Brussels, by the Archbishop of Paris, and by
the President of the Parliament of Paris, by the l b i s t r e des Affaires
Etrangeres, and by Dr.. Walmesley. H e declined the honour most perseveringly: while the Society of Jesus, his mother, was dead", he would
not be consoled, and died at Hereford in 1786. His brother succeeded
to the title, and died unmarried. H e was objected to by the Propaganda
on account of his connection with the suppressed society; but Yius VI.
set aside that objection. Father Butler yielding to the wishes of the
Pope, and to the earnest entreaties of Dr. Egan, was resigned to take the
mitre on condition that he could enter the Society of Jesus whenever it
would be restored.
It is worthy of remark that all the Irish Jesuits believed in the resuscitation of their Order; they sighc+dfor that resurrection, and died with that
hope in their hearts, leaving what money they could dispose of to the
future society. Father Fulham, of Dublin, ,died in 1793. He corresponded
for more than twenty years with an ex-Jesuit, Father Peter Plunket, of
Leghorn, who, after the suppression, held a chair of controversy and
moral theology in a college established by the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Father Fulham made hie executors the ex-Jesuits Father Power of St.
Patrick's, Waterford, and Father O'Callaghan, of Dublin.
In the year 1811, Father Betagh, the last of the Irish Jesuits, died in
Dublin at the age of seventy-three, after having sent Bathers Kenny,
Esmonde, and others, to the novitiate of their dear society.
The last of the old society in Ireland was Claude Jautard, a French
father, who died at CIongowes Wood College, S.J., in the year 1821.
We have seen how the Society of Jesus was brought to Ireland by the
Primates of Armagh; it was f m r e d by Primates Plunket and Talbot, the
Archbishops O'Kearney m d Walsh, the &hops Dease, Rothe, Kinvan,
etc., etc.: i t was revered and loved by the many pious and learned prieste
who we* educated at the Irish Jesuit colleges of Salamanca, Lisbon,
Seville, Corn stella, Rome, and Poictiers. The last will of Dr. Kinvan,
Bishop of &, begins with the following words:l
I d Archbishopr ;Yew& of on Ociogadun; Dr. OGver's Coll&anea.
" Most Holy Father,-Gratitude towards the holy Society of Jesus, and sadness at its suKerings, prompt me to write to your Holiness. I have been brought
up in virtue and learning by these fathers from my early years. I know well
their skiill in educating youth, and their singular piety and zeal. How then
could I not feel at their misfortunes? If no one can be sufliciently thankful
to God, his parents and masters, what must I feel and do, on whom the society
has conferred so many benefits and favours for many years? I ought to shed
my blood for the safety of that society, and indeed I would do so most willingly,
if the occasion presented itself. Defend, Most Holy Father, those men, who are
most devoted to your Holy See, and from whom I have learned and imbibed
that attachment for the same Holy See, which I showed not long ago when
other persons were weak and wavering.'
ANTHONY
OF ARMAGH".
The Fathers of the Society of Jesus opened a school in Limerick on the
10th of March, 1859, about three hundred years after Father David Wolf
came to reside there as nuncio, and got through Dr. Creagh faculties for
the Jesuits to set up schools and a university in Ireland.s This school was
opened at the corner house of the Crescent, which has its entrance at
Hartstonge Street. In l8ti2, the fine house called Crescent House, in the
middle of the Crescent, and opposite the O'Comell monument, was yurchased by them from Richard Kussell, Esq., J.P., and has been occupied
since as the College of St. Munchin's. The first rector was the Very Rev.
Edward Kelly, S.J., who was succeeded in 1.864 by his brother, the Very
Rev. Thomas Kelly, S.J., the present rector, in the rectorship. The
Jesuit Fathers opened St. Patrick's preparatory school at Bedford Row
in 1863.
THE REDEPPTORISTS.
The Redemptorist Fathers, who have obtained so many splendid
triumphs for religion, established themselves permanently in Limerick,
November 30th, 1853, after having given two missions in the citythe fkst in the old chapel of St. John's, October, 1851, the second in the
parish church of St. Michael's, May, 1852. At first they, occupied a
temporary residence in Bank Place, where they opened a small oratory,
which considerable numbers were in the habit of attending. I n May,
1854, they removed to Upper Henry Street, near South Clrcular Road,
where they had built a temporary chapel, close by the site of their present
magnificent church and convent. In August, 1856, the h t stone of the
Lynch's &?a of Dr. Kinoan.
Father R o w s Clement XIIL
The foregoingdetails have been taken from Dr. Oliver's collections: CretineauJoly'a ZEst&e
de & Compagnie, Father D'Oultremads Pasonnages IUustres, Hiptoria Soeictahr, Charlevoir's
Paraguay, Dr. Moran's, Yeehan's, 0'Renehan7s, Brennan's works, Rinaccini's Nunziatura, and
Carte's Omlond, etc. The man118~riptsin the Irish College and the Gesa in Rome, in Stoneyharst, and in the libraries of Spain, Portugal, and France, where the Irish Jesuits had colleges,
with which the mother coantry kept up a constant correspondence, give farther lengthenedand
importnnt details of the proceedingsof this iUnstrious order.
1 Dr.
676
.HISTORY
OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OP LIMERICK.
677
I
new convent was laid by the Right Rev. Dr. Ryan, Bishop of Limerick, and
the Fathers entered i t June 24th, 1858. The first stone of the new church
was laid with becoming solemnities, as already described, May 30th, 1858.
The church was solemnly dedicated December 7th, 1862.
The style of the church is the early pointed Gothic of the 13th century ;
the west front is varied by lines of red marble, which give it a rich
effect; ar,d the principal porch has the tympanum of its outer door adorned
with sculptures on a large scale, representing our Saviour and angels in
adoration: these sculptures are surmounted by the legend, " COPIOSA
APUD
EUN REDEMPTIO".The principal window over the porch is of great
dimensions, and consists of five lancet lights. There is a clerestory and
double transepts. The roof, which is a serni-octagonal ceiling, is supported by principals and collar beams, ornamented with cusped arching
The pillars on each side of the nave are surmounted by foliated capitals
in Bath-stone; the flooring is formed throughout of black and red tiles,
and the sanctuary is floored with encaustic tiles of varied and beautiful
design, by Minton. The arch of the apse is supported on richly sculptured capitols resting on lofty columns of red Clare marble. The length
of the church internally is 173 feet; the extreme breadth 73 feet; the
main breadth throughout is 70 feet; the width of the nave is 36 feet;
the width of the lateral chapels is l 7 feet; the space occupied by the sanct ~ t u yis 38 feet ; the internal height is 68 feet; the external is 75 feet to
tl?e ridge. An organ gallery is placed over the principal entrance, and
there are two spacious sacristies, which adjoin the northern transept.
A t the end of the church, and on the exterior of the apsis, which is
rounded after the ancient Basilican plan, there is a cross of red marble,
with a tablet underneath, containing the following inscription:Revmus. J. Ryan,
Episcopus Limericensis,
Assistente
Revmo. D. Moriarty,
Episcopo Kerriensi,
me posuit,
hac 30 Maii, 1858,
In honorem Sti. Alphonsi.
I n English:
The Right Rev. J. Ryan,
Bishop of Limerick,
Assisted by
The Right Itev. D. Moriarty,
Bishop of Kerry,
placed me,
This 30th of May, 1858,
In honour of St. Alphonsus.
The back windows of the convent command a view of the Shannon, the
The buildings were designed by P.
docks, and the hills of Clare.
Hardwick, Etq., M.B.I.B.A., who drew the plans of St. John's cathedral.
Mr. Corbett superintended the work, and Mr. Wallace wsa the builder.
The high altar, the munificent gift of John Quin, Esq., of Limerick, is
one of the most beautiful works of the kind, for design, materials, and execution, in the empire. It was erected from the designs of G. Goldie, Esq.,
architect, M.K.I.B.A.
This new altar deserves a particular description. This altar may fairly
claim to be the most important work of religious art erected in Great
Britain. As a work of art, and in reference to its extraordinary magnitude, its claims to this description are unquestionable:The altar and reredos stand on the chord of the shallow apse which terminates the chancel of the church. The reredos consists of six niches containing statues nearly life size of angels bearing the emblems of the passion
of our Lord; these niches stand on a lofty base inlaid with various Irish
marbles richly sculptured; they are divided from each other by red marble
shafts, and are snrmounted by pediments which are crocketed and finialed
with elaborate foliage, and between which are figures of the angelic host in
various attitudes of devotion, on a small scale. In the centre of the reredos
arises a canopy surmounting the throne for exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. It is on this portion of the design that the utmost elegance of form and
beauty and elaboration of detail have been lavished; and some idea may be
formed of the general scale of the work when we say, that this canopy measures
no less than forty-one feet in height from the floor of the nave of the church to
the summit of its gilt and jewelled cross. The effect of the whole work is singularly enhanced by the introduction in the leading lines of the structure of
bosses of variously coloured crystals, whilst the whole design is bound together
by a carefully studied application of gilding. The tabernacle for the preservation
of the Host stands at the foot of the throne which we have just described, and,
as far as sumptuousness of material and elaboration of workmanship can go, it
may be said to be somewhat worthy of its most sacred object. It is formed of
polished walnut wood, lined with iron and poplar wood, alsoihighly polishedthe whole of the exterior being overlaid with elaborately engraved brass work,
richly gilt, on which are enchased ruby crystals. The typical peli-a, sculptured and gilt, crowns the cover. The altar itself is comparatively of simple
design, as i t is proposed to use the coloured frontals prescribed by the rubrics
of the church; nevertheless, it is supported by rich columns of polished marble,
and inlaid with the same material; and in the central panel a sumptuous cross
of enamelled and gilt metal work, set with crystals, is introduced. The period
of the architecture is in keeping with the church, being that of the severe thirteenth century Gothic. The general material is the soft magnesian limestone,
derived from the quarries of the north of France, intermixed largely, as we have
above mentioned, with the beautiful native marbles of Ireland, from the counties of Cork and Galway. In addition to the altar and reredos, the chancel or
communion rail has been erected, which extends across the whole width of the
transepts, being upwards of 70 feet long. This railing is composed of a balustrade of red marble columns, each column being surmounted by a capital of
sculptured stone, bearing a.rail of polished Sicilian marble; the spaGes between
the columns are filled with wrought scroll work, enriched with gilt brass foliage,
whilst three elaborate gates of the same material and character give access to
the chancel and the two side chapels. The general effect of the high altar has
been materially improved by the decoration in colour of the shallow apse, to
which we have already referred, the roof being painted of delicate azure and
strewn with golden stars; a rich band of foliage, which embraces various sacred
monograms, separates this portion of the design from the lower part of the walls,
which are painted with conventional representation of drapery, and further
bands of ornament.
The whole work occupied about ten months in its execution and erection, and though most elaborate in its ornament, and perfectly finished in
its every detail, was completed at comparatively moderate expense, to the
entire sirtisfaction of the generous donor and t t e Rev. Fathers of the
678
..
679
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
HISTORY OF LIMERICX.
church. The architect, George Goldie, Esq., may justly pride himself
upon the great success of this, one of the most difficult works of his art.
The altar was unveiled and solemnly dedicated to public worship on
Sunday, the 15th of October, 1865, by the Right Rev. Dr. Butler, Lord
Bishop of Limerick, assisted by a large number of the clergy. The Very
Rev. Dr. Carbery, O.P., prior of St. Saviour's, Limerick, preached on the
occasion.
The whole building is not unworthy of a community who, from the sanctity of their lives, the apostolic simplicity of their manners, and the extensive
utility of their pious labours, have gained for themselves the love and
respeqt of all men, and their significant and well merited appellation of the
Holy Fathers.
The following have been Superiors of the Redemptorist Convent,
Limerick: Very Rev. Louis De Buggenoms, of Belgium, November,
1853, to February, 1854; Very Rev. Bernard Hafkenschied, of Holland,
February, 1854, to March, 1855 ; Very Rev. Louis De Buggenoms, March,
1855, to May, 1857 ; Very Rev. John Baptist Roes, of Belgium, from
May, 1857, to October, 1860, when he died ; Hon. and Very Rev. William
Plunkett (son of the Earl of Pingal), October, 1860, to June, 1865 ; and
the Very Rev. Thomas Edward Bridgett, the present rector, elected June,
1865.
Curragower.' I t is an old plain cruciform structure, originally built in
1744, afterwards rebuilt, and lately repaired, and supplied with a small
sanctuary and altar to the Blessed Virgin. The seats in the gallery have
also been renovated. St. Munchink is remarkable as being the first Catholic
Church publicly erected in Limerick after the Revolution.
ST. MARY'SCatholic Church, a large plain cruciform edifice, was built,
in 1749, on the Little Island. The altar exhibits three styles of architecture, finely combined, and has a fine copy of Michael Angelo's picture
ofthe Crucifixion?presented by John Kdly, Esq., merchant, at whose expense was also built the altar, which was composed of several different kinds
of architecture, and erected in 1760. T h e church has lately undergone
vari?us improvements, with a new tabernacle, and grounds enclosed by a
fine iron balustrade.
ST. PATRICK'S,
Penny Well, wag erected in 1750, chiefly at the expense
of Mr. Harrold. The new church was built in 1816. I t is in the form of
letter T , and is small, but neatly fitted, having the entrance surrounded
by trees. The building was much improved in 1835, and the Rev. Dr.
Meehan, the present parish priest, has lately &ted up an apartment at
the eastern side for a school-house. The chapel of Monaleen, a neat
but small building, about two miles from Limerick, is attached to this parish.
ST..MICHAEL'S
Church, situated in Denmark Street, was buqt in 1719,
when lt was surrounded b apen fields. I t was re-opened for divine service
in 1781, and eonsiderabg enlarged in 1805. The Very Rev. Patrick
Hogan procured an admirable organ for this church in 1816.
I n St. Michael's Church are two mural monuments. One is a handsome
white marble monument in mediseval style to the memory of the .late
Very Rev. Patrick Hogsn, P.P., V.G., and has the following insoription;
PAROCHIAL CATHOLIC CHURCHES AND CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS.
W e shall now allude more particularly to the Catholic parish churches,
and to such other of the religious institutions of I/ime,ick as have not
been already noticed. Before doing so we may observe, ihat among the
old, but not very ancient, religious buildings of Limerick, is that of the
old Franciscan Friary in Newgate Lane, close by the old Post Office,
and facing what is now called Abbe Row Lane. No vestige of it is
left; but it is well remembered. The ouse of the nuns of the Order of
St. Teresa stood on Sir Harry's Nall, and was established more than eighty
years ago. Of the Poor Clares we have spoken before, as well as of the
churches of the regular orders.
In the Catholic arrangement the county of the city is divided into the
arishes or districts of St. Mary, St. John, St. Michael, St. Patrick, and
i t . Munchin.
ST. MUNCHIN'S
Catholic Church, situated on the North Strand, amidst
some fine trees, stands opposite St. John's Castle, at the Clare side of
the Shannon, between the Treaty Stone1 and the site of the old mill of
r
The last publio monument erected in Limeriok is the pediment and enclosure placed for
the protection of the " Treaty Stone? I t is about 12 feet high, of plain limestone, and bears
upon its eastern and west& sides, respectively, the inscriptions: "This pedestal was erected
May, 1865, John Rickard Tinaley, Mayor"; and "The Treaty of Limerick, signed A.D. 1691".
The north and south sides bear the castle, the city arms, with the Vigilian legend: "Urbs
mtiqua fuit stadiisque asprima bellin. Of the Resty Stone itself we speak with some hesitation, for it is mentioned iu none of the old historical documents, and yet the uninterrupted
local tradition is that the treaty was signed upon it. But how? No one could write on it as it
existed, and it was still lower in situation before the erection of the present bridge. Possibly
the stone served a k a reat for a board, or for a chair for those who si4ned that celebrated docnment; for it is not to be imagined that there was no table availableLfor the purpose. In fact,
a table wss advertised years ago for sale in Cork, which, i t wan.stated, wan the identical table
on which the Treaty was signed. I have heard, but not on regable authority, that the Treaty
Stone was removed from the county Clare. O'CPnuell, during his references to the Treaty,
always seemed to recognize the trnth of the tradition. Hiitory says the treaty was signed in
#he osmp
a
I. H. S.
Revo. admodum
Patricio Hogan,
Dicec. Lim. Vic. Generali,
Hujusq Parochiae per XXVI. annos
Pastori Vigili,
Pietate, Zelo, Eloquio
Eximio
Monum. hoc moerentes posuere
Parochiani.
Obiit in Dno. Kal. ApriIis,
mcccXXIX,
Annos sexaginta natus.
Bequiescat in Pace.
Bardwell
K*Y
IWW quite gone Hem two of the Irish eoldierq who
The n a b of C-w81:
Mills
were unavoidably shut out by their friends during a sortie, and who were almost dl m a c r e d
by the English,hid until the p y o f the morning, when they swam over to the f o ~ - * ~
battery. Their names we have heard, were BooL and O'Halloran.
680
HISTORY OP LI~~ERICK.
h
BISTORY 03' LIMERICK.
This monument cost about &300, and is of fine statuary marble, with
several admirably sculptured figures. " Father Pat Hogan", as this noble
hearted priest was familiarly called, and by which designation he is to this
day remembered, was a zealous and indefatigable pastor indeed ; he left a
sum of &2,000 to Park College, if it should be revived. On his generosity to the Presentation Convent we have already dwelt; he caused Mr.
John Gubbins to execute the very fine painting of the Crucifixion which
is placed over the Virgin altar in this church, saying that " a pain% of
the kind is the prayer book of the poor".
The other and older monument isTo the memory of
Patrick Arthur, Esq.,
Who died on the 16th of December, 1799,
in the eighty-second year of his age.
In him the poor have lost a liberal benefactor,
society an example of every Christian virtue,
and his affectionate family a kind and tender parent.
In memoria ~ t e r n aerit justus.
Requiescat in pace.
>arishioners were so little able, however willing, to assist him with large
funds.
The plans for the new church were made and the work commenced,
and the building was about half finished when it began to attract much
attention beyond the parish and those immediately interested in it, and it
was determined to extend the scheme, and make the new church the
Cathcdral of the Diocese of Limerick. This decision rendered some alteration necessary in the arrangements of the building, not so much in the plan,
which had been devised to meet the requirements of a very large congregation, but in the height and decoration of the building; as the plain structure
desigued merely for a pa.rish church was scarccly suitable in character for a
cathedral. I t was unfortunate that this decision had not been sooner arrived
at, as the work was too far advanced ,to alter the extreme simplicit
character already given to the exterior, and which could not we1 be
altered without too extensive changes in what was already executed, and
cost was still a very important consideration. The result, however, is a
certain poverty of appearance in the exterior, unaccountable perhaps to
those who have not heard the ear17 history of thc building we have here
given. The style of the building 1s the architecture of the thi~teenthcentury, for which the hard matenal furnished by the limestone quarries of
the neighbourhood is perhaps better adapted than any other.
The church consists of a nave 97 feet long by 30 feet wide, separated
by piers and five arches from aisles, which arc 19 feet wide. 'rranscpts
extend beyond the nam, and these are the same width as the nave, and
their extrcmc length from north to south is 116 feet. The chancel is 30
feet wide, and 43 feet deep from the end of the transepts. Opening eastwards from the transepts are four chapels, two on the north and two on
the south side ; thcse are 19 feet wide. The total length of the building
internally is 168 feet. The height of the nave and transepts to the apex
of the roof is 80 feet; the height of the aisles is 52 feet.
From the necessity of strictly economizing the funds placed at his command, the architect had to trust to large simple forms for the effect of
the exterior of the building, rather than to any decoration or richness of
detail, which were impossible; and for the interior, to general proportions
and the play of light and shadow obtained by the arrangement of the
transe~tsand cha~els.
I t i's needless 6 say that the roofs wcrc obliged to be, like the rest qf the
fabric, perfectly plain, and are left for coloured decoration at some future
time. Ornamentation of this character has, however, been commenced in
the chancel, and across the chancel arch is placed a rood beam, according
to ancient custom, bearing the figure of our Lord on the cross, with fi,o;ures
of the Blessed Virgin and St. John on each side. These figures are carved
in wood larger than life size, and are the work of Phyffers, a Belgian
sculptor. The most conspicuous and important object m the interior is
very properly the high altar, which is in the ancient form of a can0 y
standing bn four columns, wliich are of the red Limerick marb e.
Stone alabaster, and the same red and other marbles, are used for the materials of this work, which is much decorated by figures and bas-reliefs, also
executed by 31. Phyffera. T l k altar was the munificent gift of one lady,
according to thc ~ecordof an inscription placcd against the chancel pier:
r
Arthur Arms.
Deus Justos Defendat.
ST.JOHN'S
Chapel, near John's Gate, was built in the form of a cross,
and hished in 1753. The altar, which was very handsome, had a picture
of the Crucifixion, by Collopy, the native artist. St. John's chapel was
demolished when the new cathedral was completed. Its site IS now
occupied by s n enclosed garden, adorned with a variety of shrubs and
flowers.
ST. JOEX'S
C A T H E D R A the
L . ~year
~ 1854, the late Right Rev. Dr.
Rysn determined to take down the old Parish Chapel of St. John's, not
-only oh account of it9 being fsr too small for the wants of the lar e congregation and the extensive parish, but also because it was so un t for a
lace of divine worship, being little better in appearance than a barn.
b e late &v. William Bourke was administrator of the parish at the time,
snd gave the project every assistance. When the project of erecting a new
church was first mooted, the intention was, that it should be only a plain
substantial edifice, sufliciently spacious to contain the congregation, but
of the simplqst. character and without ornament-one of the conditions
most imperative1 insiited U on being, that it should cost the smallest
assible a-;
an those who L o w that the arish is principally inhabited
the poorest claw will appreciate the p m! t enae of the projector in not
embarking upon a building of extravagant character, when his own
f
fy
681
.
7
47
682
..
HISTORY OF LIMERICK.
The High Altar
of this Cathedral Church
was given by
Mrs. Frames McNamara,
in memory of her husband,
Mr. Charles McNamara,
and to obtain for him and herself
the prayers of the faithful
who come here to worship God.
One of the most striking of the ornaments of the cathedral is Benzoni's
beautiful statue of the Blcsscd Virgin, presented by the Right Hon. William
Monsell, M.P. I t is of pure white marble, and is supported by a pedestal
of Portland stone, consisting of a slab rresting on a cluster of pilasters with
floriatcd
The statue, which IS of life size, and most exquisitely
cllisellcd, rcprcscnts the Madonna as standing on the crescent and crushing
the serpent's head, in rcfercnce to the third chapter of Genesis and twelfth
of the Apocaly sc. The gracefulness of the figure, the holy beauty of the
countenance, t e dclicacy of'the lineaments, the elegance of the drapery,
and, above all, thc heavcnly air of resignation and lovinY charity that
cllaractcrise this most beautiful icce of statuary, reflect thc nighest credit
0x1 the &st, and rcdizc the hig lest conception of the human presentments
of the mother of the Lord. Near the statue of the Blesscd Virgin is suspcndcd s, glassed frame containing the Italian and Latin originals of the
great indulgence madc by the present Pope Pius IX.!whose sign manual
is attached to them, to those who shal! recite certaln prayers before the
statue, and who contribute to the dccorat~onsof our Lady's Chapel. The
following is a translation:-
E
P
(c Mr. William Monsell, a Catholic member of the British Parliament, having
presented a beautiful marble statue, the work of the sculptor Benzoni, to the
new CiLthedralof Limerick, is anxious that indulgences shall be granted to such
as sllall pray before the statue as well as to those who shall contribute towards
tllc decoration of our Lady's Chapel in the same Cathedral. To render these
indulgences more precious, he requests that they may be subscribed by His
Holiness's own hand.
"Rome, at S. P. 1859, 14th day of January.
MONSGR.
CULLEN.
U We g a n t three hundred days' indulgence to all the faithful who shall
the Litany of 'loretto, and one hundred days' indulgence to those
devoutly
who shall recite three times the Angelica1 Salutation, before the holy image
mentioned above.
We certify and bear witness that the grant of indulgences written on the
other side of this leaf, has been signed by our Moat Holy Father, by Divine
Providence Pope Pius IX.
ALEXANDER G. BARN-~BO,
Prefect, January 14, 1859,
at the House of the Sacred CongreEl,zti&de PropaX
ganda Fide".
The following inscription is appended to this grant:((The first stone of St. John's New Cathedral was laid by the Right Rev.
Dr. K p n , on the 1st of bhy, A.D. 1Y5G"r
HISTORY OF LIMERICE.
689
A remonstrance is preserved in the cathedral, the gift of Thady Quin,
Esq., of Adare, the ancestor of the Em1 of Dunraven, to the Parlsh of St.
John's. I t bears the following inscription:L' EX d o n ~
Thadaei Quin Armigcri de Adare, ad usum Parochiae Sti. Johannis
Limericencis in honorem Venerabilis Sacramenti, A.D. 1725. Qrate pro 00':
I t only remains to speak of the tower, which is placed on the north side
of the church, and is still unfinished. The height to which i t is now
carried is 70 feet, and i t is intended before long to complete it, when its
height will be 253 feet to the apex of the spire. Altogether, this is a
cathedral worthy of the ages of the faith, and a proof that the traditional
love for religion is as active as it ever had been among the Catholios of
Limerick.
Near St. Patrick's Church, but on the opposite side of Clare Street, and
occupying the position which was originally the site of Walker's Lace
Factory, is the noble institution known as the Convent of the Good
Shepherd; originally established as a Magdalen Asylum (which i t still is),
about the year l 8 I d , the funds of which were raised from public aubscrip
tion, charity sermons, the interest of 51,000 given by Miss White (who,
at the same time, subscribed &1,000 towards the Lying-in Hospital then
situate in Nelson Street, now in Henry Street), and by washing. Miss
Rcddan had long presided over the Asylum, until it was placed under the
care of the nuns of the Good Shepherd. The convent, which has been
greatly augmented in latter years, is a spacious, airy building, but without
any special character, and containing, besides an extremely neat chapel
and amph dwelling apartments, a large dormitory, very neatly kept;
a reformator , a wash-house or laundry of great extent, having clothes
airing and cfrying rooms. The chapel has recently been fitted up with
beautiful stalls and altars carved in wood from designs of G. Goidie, Esq.,
architect. The nuns of the Good Shepherd arrived in Limerick from
Angers, in France, in 1849. Mrs. Smith -was the first Superioress,
Madame de Balligand, a native of France, was the second, and Madame Lockhart is the third and present superioress. Very fine Brussels
and Valenciennes lace and vestments are made here by the nuns,
who are twenty-five in number; as also by the penitents, who
seventy-five in number, and who are constantly employed in industrial
occupations. I n connection with the convent, but separated Gom that part
of the building appointed for the penitents, is the reformatory, in which
there are forty-five girls, who are thus preserved from the contaminrrtion
of prisons, and fitted for hones: occupations. I n chapter lii. we have
given an account of the Presentation Convent, the convent of the Sisters
of Mercy, and Orphanage of Mount St. Vincent (attached to this orphanage has been built an asylum for widows); and we have given also elsewhere, in the course of this work, an account of the grand educational
convent of Laurel Hill, etc., and of the other noble Catholic educational
and charitable foundations of the city. Indeed fe W cities of its rank can
boast of so many Catholic religious and charitable institutions as Limerick.