We are indebted to the learned priest of the Roman Oratory, Father
Theiner, for some valuable papers connected with the See of Ardagh in
the sixteenth century, published in his recent work, "Vetera Monumenta
Hibernorum et Scotorum historiam illustrantia" (_typis Vaticanis_,
1864), the more important on account of the general darkness which
shrouds our Ecclesiastical history of that period, and of the
inextricable confusion in which the succession of bishops in the See of
Ardagh seemed hitherto involved.
During the first years of the century, this see was governed by
Dr. William O'Farrell, who, together with the mitre, retained
the hereditary chieftaincy of his family, and was styled by his
contemporaries Bishop of Ardagh and Dynast of Annaly. The brief of his
appointment to the episcopal see is dated the 4th of August, 1479 (ap.
Theiner, pag. 486), and Ardagh is described as having been rendered
vacant by the demise of John, his immediate predecessor. The new bishop
is said to be descended from the ancient chieftains of that district,
and he is styled Abbot of the Cistercian Monastery of St. Mary's of
Lera, better known by its more modern name of Granard; he is, moreover,
described as remarkable for his learning, piety, and every virtue which
should adorn the episcopal character.
Dr. William O'Farrell governed the see of Ardagh for thirty-seven
years, and died in 1516. The historian Ware, anxious to find room for
two supposed bishops, viz.--_Thomas O'Congalan_, and _Owen_, who should
have presided over this see between 1500 and 1510, asserted that Dr.
O'Farrell resigned his see many years before his death. However, these
two bishops never held the see of Ardagh; they were Bishops of Achonry,
and the Latin name of that diocese, _Achadensis_, probably gave
occasion to the error of the learned writer.
In Father Theiner's collection there is another document of the
year 1517, which illustrates this point. It is entitled "Processus
Consistorialis", that is, a consistorial inquiry for the appointment of
a successor to Dr. O'Farrell. This consistorial record presents to us
a series of very important monuments. It opens with a letter of King
Henry VIII., addressed to the great Pope Leo X., and dated Greenwich,
26th July, 1517. We give the whole original text of this letter, as it
forms such a contrast with the subsequent iniquitous career of that
unfortunate monarch:
"Sanctissimo Clementissimoque Dño. nostro Papae.
"Beatissime Pater, post humillimam commendationem et devotissima
pedum beatorum oscula. Expositum nobis fuit Cathedralem Ecclesiam
Ardakadensem perexigui census ac proventus in dominio nostro Hiberniae
per obitum Reverendissimi in Christo patris, Dñi. Wilhelmi ejus
novissimi Episcopi, impraesentia vacare suoque pastore esse destitutam,
et cogitantibus tum nobis ei providere propositus fuit venerabilis vir
Magister Rogerius O'Moleyn, Cathedralis Ecclesiae Cluamensis canonicus,
vir modestus, circumspectione, probitate et doctrina non mediocriter
probatus, quem et nos idoneum existimavimus cui dictae Ecclesiae
Ardakadensis cura committatur eique praeficiatur. Quocirca Vestrae
Sanctitati eum commendamus ut eundem Magistrum Rogerium praedictae
Ecclesiae praeficere ac Episcopum et Pastorem constituere dignetur,
quod et honori atque utilitati ejusdem Ecclesiae futurum putamus et
nobis erit admodum gratum: et felicissime valeat Vestra Beatitudo. Quam
Deus Altissimus longaevam conservat", etc.
In the next place the Cardinal to whose care had been entrusted the
inquiry as to the merits of Dr. O'Malone, presents a petition to the
Holy Father, in which he states that the Vice-Chancellor of the Roman
Church, to whom the task should belong, being impeded by sickness,
it had become his duty to propose the candidate for the vacant see:
a diligent investigation being made, Roderick O'Malone, canon of
Clonmacnoise, recommended by the English king, was found to be a person
well suited for that important post, and as he was actually present
in the city of Rome, his Eminence prays the Holy Father to sanction
without delay his appointment to the See of Ardagh.
The evidence of three Irish witnesses in regard of the vacant see is
also produced. From their depositions we cull the following particulars:
1. That the Diocese of Ardagh formed part of the Ecclesiastical
Province of Armagh, and was vacant for about a year, by the death of
_William_, its last Bishop.
2. That the town of Ardagh was situated in a hilly country, surrounded
by woods and forests. In this town there were no more than four houses,
all built of wood, and its inhabitants were very few, in consequence of
the continual quarrels between the late bishop and his neighbours; for
Dr. O'Farrell had wished to insist upon his rights as chief dynast of
Annaly; but some of his clansmen refused to recognize his claims, and
having assembled their forces, assailed and reduced to absolute ruin
the mere remnant of the former city of Ardagh.
3. The cathedral shared in the ruin of the metropolitical city. Its
walls alone were now standing. There was only one altar, and it was
canopied by the azure vault of Heaven. Moreover, there was only one
priest in the district, and the Holy Sacrifice was rarely offered up.
There was neither sacristy, nor belfry, nor bell; in fact, there were
scarcely vestments and altar ornaments sufficient for one Mass, and
these were ordinarily kept in a common box in the body of the church.
4. The _Deanery_ is valued at ten ducats, equal to £2 10s. The
archdeacon's revenue was eight ducats. There were also twelve Canons
and a few minor Prebendaries of little or no income. The extent of the
diocese is said to be about twenty miles, and, it is added that there
were some few rural benefices in the patronage of the bishop.
5. As regards the bishop elect, Dr. Roderick O'Malone, he is described
as "honestis parentibus natus aetatis annorum fere XL., sanus mente
et corpore, ac bonae conversationis et famae, in jure canonico bene
instructus et litteratus, ac in sacerdotii ordine constitutus et ad
ipsius Ecclesiae regimen et gubernationem aptus et idoneus" (p. 521.).
The Holy See readily approved of the appointment of such a worthy
successor of St. Mel, and in the hope that through the prudence and
zeal of such a bishop, the ancient Diocese of Ardagh would soon regain
its former splendour, Dr. O'Malone was proclaimed in consistory of 4th
December, 1517. He was moreover permitted to retain his former canonry
and benefice in Clonmacnoise, on account of the poverty of the see of
Ardagh; for, though it was rated in the books of the Apostolic Datary
with the tax of 33-1/3 ducats, its whole annual revenue was now reduced
to the sum of ten ducats.
Such are the principal points of this important consistorial record, as
far as it relates to the Diocese of Ardagh. There are, however, some
incidental statements introduced into it which may not be uninteresting
to the reader:
"The island of Hibernia", it says, "was called Ierne (Iuverna) in the
time of Pliny, and at a later period received from the barbarians the
name Ireland (i.e. Western Land). The inhabitants of the coasts which
look towards England, are somewhat modernized in the usages of life;
the remainder of the island retains its primitive simplicity, and uses
wooden or straw houses. The great majority of the population roams
through the open country following their flocks; they travel barefoot,
and are fond of plunder. The chief produce of the island is corn; its
horses are of a superior merit, being swifter than those of England,
and at the same time having a softer and more agreeable pace. They
were formerly known as _Asturcons_, having come from the Asturias in
Spain. Amongst the chief saints of Ireland are numbered Sts. Malachy,
Cathaldus, and Patrick, by whom the inhabitants were first led to the
fold of Christ. It gave birth to William Ocham, who was famed for his
skill in Dialectics, and flourished under Pope John XXII.; as also to
Richard Fitz Ralph, Archbishop of Armagh and Cardinal, who about 1353
was conspicuous for his learning and writings".
This statement in regard of Dr. Fitz Ralph decides the controversy
which was raised by Ware, as to the fact of this archbishop having
been decorated with the Roman purple. Raffaelle da Volterra expressly
attested it: but Ware deemed the silence of Ciacconius and other
historians conclusive against his claim. However, the Roman Consistory
itself now confirms the statement of Volterra, and hence we may further
deduce another important conclusion, that, viz., in general the silence
of Ciacconius and other such historians is of little weight in regard
of our Irish prelates, especially when their elevation to the purple
has positive testimony in its favour, such, for instance, as is more
than once met with in the writings of Lopez and others.
Dr. Roderick O'Malone continued to govern the see of Ardagh till the
year 1540, under which year his death is recorded in the _Annals of
the Four Masters_. His successor was Dr. Patrick Mac Beathy Mac Mahon,
of the Order of St. Francis, whose appointment is registered in the
Consistorial Acts on 14th November, 1541, the see being described as
vacant _per obitum Roderici_.
During the first years of Dr. Mac Mahon's episcopate, the temporalities
of the see were possessed by Richard O'Ferral, who, being temporal
dynast of the district, wished also to enjoy the episcopate, and
had his usurpation readily confirmed by the crown. The writ for his
consecration bears date the 22nd of April, 1542, when already the
canonically appointed bishop had for six months dispensed the bread of
life to the faithful of Ardagh. It was only in 1553, on the demise of
the schismatical nominee, that the Catholic bishop was allowed his full
rights and privileges, and received possession of the temporalities of
the see.
Dr. Mac Mahon died in 1576, and had for his successor another member of
the Franciscan Order, Richard Mac Brady, who was proclaimed bishop of
Ardagh in the Consistory of 16th January, 1576-7. He, however, held the
see for little more than three years, and was then transferred to the
diocese of Kilmore. His successor as bishop of Ardagh was the renowned
Edmund Mac Gauran, who, being translated to the Primatial See on the
1st July, 1587, closed his career by adding his name to the long list
of the martyrs of Ireland.
It is now time to draw a few practical conclusions from the historical
facts which we have thus faintly sketched.
1. In the first place, the assailants of the Catholic cause contend
that Henry VIII., when assuming to himself the appointment of bishops
to the Irish sees, and rejecting as nugatory the sanction of Rome,
merely continued the long-practised usage of England, and asserted the
time-honoured privileges of his crown. Now we have seen the submissive
letter with which Henry himself petitions Pope Leo to confirm Dr.
O'Malone in the see of Ardagh; and hence it results that the course
subsequently pursued by the English monarch was confessedly an
usurpation of the rights of the Vicar of Christ and a trampling on the
traditions of the kingdom.
2. We have also seen how the schismatical bishop, D. Richard O'Ferral,
can have no claim to be ranked amongst the successors of St. Mel.
The canonically appointed bishop was already engaged for six months
in dispensing the food of life to his flock, when the schismatical
nominee was intruded into the see of Ardagh. During Elizabeth's reign
another Protestant bishop was similarly nominated to this see. His
name was Lisach O'Ferral, and as we learn from Harris, his letters
patent bear date the 4th November, 1583. This date alone suffices for
his condemnation. The Catholic bishop was long before divinely chosen
to rule that spiritual fold; and a rival bishop appointed by royal
authority must be regarded not as a true shepherd, but as a plunderer
whose mission it is to scatter the flock of Christ.
3. We have also seen how the so-called Reformation was ushered into the
diocese of Ardagh. The altar was despoiled, the cathedral was in ruins,
and the general destruction which dismantled the material house of God,
seemed to forebode the spiritual desolation which should soon prevail.
It is now cheering to contemplate the happy change that reigns in that
favoured diocese. Once more the altars are clothed with gladness; a
noble cathedral, which is an ornament not to the diocese alone, but to
the whole island, honours the memory of St. Mel; and we may confidently
hope that under the wise guidance of its holy bishop and clergy, this
material restoration is the harbinger and token of the spiritual
progress of its faithful people, and of the rapid strides made by the
whole country in regaining its former proud position as _Island of
Saints_.