The interesting and very learned article which appeared in the last number
of the _Record_[1] has contributed much to illustrate the life of the
Blessed Thaddeus, and to make known to the Irish Church a distinguished
prelate whose virtues and sanctity adorned our island towards the close
of the fifteenth century, which is precisely one of the darkest eras of
our history. As, however, some of the writer's conclusions can scarcely
be reconciled with the statement which we made in a preceding article on
the Bishops of Cork and Cloyne (_Record_, p. 312), viz., that this holy
Bishop's name was '_Thaddeus Machar or Maher_', we take the liberty of
laying before the reader the reasons on which our opinion was based,
and which compel us, however unwilling, to exclude from the princely
family of the M'Carthys the saintly prelate whose relics now enrich the
cathedral of Ivrea.
1. The town of Ivrea, to use the learned writer's words, is the capital
of the Piedmontese province of the same name, and we may add that it is
most picturesquely situated at the foot of the Alps, and is one of the
first Italian towns which the traveller meets when, having crossed Mount
St. Bernard, he wends his way towards Vercelli or Novara. In medieval
documents Ivrea receives the Latin names of _Eporedia_, _Iporegia_, and
_Hipporegia_, as may be seen in Ughelli's _Italia Sacra_, or in the later
work of Cappalletti, '_Le Chiese d'Italia_' (Venice, 1858, vol. xiv.,
pag. 177), and at the time of which we speak, the see was held by Nicholas
Garigliati, who was appointed its bishop in 1483, and died in 1499.
2. That the Blessed Thaddeus, who by his sanctity and miracles merited
to be numbered amongst the patrons of Ivrea, was Bishop of Cork
and Cloyne, is beyond all controversy. To the arguments advanced by
the writer in the last _Record_ we may add an extract from the _Todd
MSS._ given by Brady in his _Records of Cork_ (vol. iii. pag. 44), in
which Bishop Thaddeus, who was appointed to the see of Cork in 1490, is
said to have "died at the town of _Eporedia_ in Piedmont in 1492". The
date 4th October, is indeed added, but this is probably a mere misprint
for the 24th October, the true date of the demise of our holy bishop.
3. Ware informs us that this Thaddeus was _by some called Mechar_
(pag. 563), and the documents of Ivrea place beyond doubt that such was
his true name. Thus the Bishop of Ivrea writes, "_Thaddaeum Machar_,[2]
Episcopum Hib. illum esse innotuit ex chartis quas deferebat", and the
old parchment record to which the same bishop refers, apparently quoting
from the inscription on his tomb, describes our Blessed Thaddeus as,
"Regia progenies alto de sanguine Machar".
Now the learned editors of the Martyrology of Donegal inform us that
the name _Mechar_ is the same as the _O'Meachair_ which appears so
often in the ancient monuments of our history (see _Martyr. of Donegal_,
published by I. A. S. 1864, pag. 517), and which at the present day has
assumed the Anglicized forms of _Meagher_ and _Maher_.
4. The ancient Latin verses published in the _Record_,[3] present
two important data for determining the family to which this bishop
belonged. One is his native district, which is called _Solum Cariense_:
the other is the royal ancestry to which his family had a just and ancient
claim: "_Regia progenies alto de sanguine Machar_". Now are these data
verified in the family of the O'Meachair? if not, it must be admitted
that it can have no claim to our holy bishop; but if, on the other hand,
those data accurately agree with what the ancient monuments of our
island attest regarding the sept of the O'Meachairs, we must conclude
that no link is wanting in the chain of evidence, and that the Blessed
Thaddeus has justly been referred to that distinguished family.
5. Nothing now remains but to cite some few passages from our early
writers which serve to illustrate these points in the history of the
O'Meachairs.
In the first place, the topographical poem of O'Huidhrin (who died in
1420) has one important passage which not only throws some light on
the family name, but moreover points to the territory of _Ui-Cairin_
as the chief abode of the O'Mahers, precisely as the name _Carinum_
in the Latin poem cited above marks the native district of our holy
Bishop Thaddeus. The translation of this poem of O'Huidhrin was the
last work achieved by our illustrious O'Donovan, and was published by
the I. A. S. in 1862. At page 133 we find the following verse:--
"Mightily have they filled the land
The O'Meachairs--the territory of Ui-Cairin
A tribe at the foot of Bearnan Eile;
It is no shame to celebrate their triumph".
To which lines O'Donovan adds the following notes:
"_The O'Meachairs._ The name of this family is now Anglicized
O'Meagher, but more generally Meagher or Maher, without the
prefix O'. Their territory of Ui-Cairin is now called Ikerrin,
and is a barony in the present county of Tipperary.
"_Bearnan Eile_, i.e. the gapped mountain of Ely, now called in
English the Devil's-Bit Mountain"--(Notes, page lxxxv., n. 71
and 72.)
6. In the _Leabhar na-Ceart_, edited by the same distinguished Irish
antiquary, for the Celtic Society, in 1847, we find some additional
evidence not only for the connexion of the _O'Meachars_ with the
territory of _Ui-Cairin_, but also for the royal descent to which they
laid claim. It is thus that _Leabhar-na-Ceart_ commemorates the tributes
which were due to the king of Eile:--
"Eight steeds to the king of Eile, of the gold
Eight shields, eight swords are due,
Eight drinking-horns to be used at the feast,
Eight coats of mail in the day of bravery"--(pag. 79.)