The see of Dromore, though founded by St. Colman, seems for several
centuries to have comprised little more than the abbey of that great
saint and its immediate territory. In the synod of Rathbreasil (A. D.
1118), in which the boundaries of the various dioceses were defined, no
mention is made of Dromore, and the territory subsequently belonging to
it was all comprised within the limits of the see of Connor. The acts of
the synod of Kells held about fifty years later, are also silent as to a
bishop of Dromore; and Cencius Camerarius, compiling his list of sees in
1192, again omits all mention of this see. Nevertheless, the abbot of
the monastery, "de viridi ligno", which gave name to the town of Newry,
ruled this diocese with episcopal authority during the later half of the
twelfth century, and a bishop of this see named Uroneca (_alias_ O'Rony)
is mentioned in a charter of donations to the abbey of Neddrum, about
the year 1190 (see Reeves' _Ecclesiastical Antiquities_, pag. 192).
The last episcopal abbot of this great monastery was _Gerard_, a
Cistercian monk of Mellifont, who, in 1227, was chosen bishop, and died
in 1243. A controversy then arose between the chapter of Dromore and the
monastery of Newry. Each claimed the right of electing the successor to
the deceased bishop; and the Archbishop of Armagh gave judgment in
favour of the former. The matter being referred to Rome, all controversy
was set at rest by Pope Innocent VI., who by letter of 5th March, 1244,
addressed "to the dean and chapter of Dromore", confirmed the decision
of the Archbishop of Armagh, and sanctioned the right of the canons of
Dromore to elect the bishops of the see (_Mon. Vatic._, pag. 42).
Andrew, archdeacon of Dromore, was accordingly elected bishop, and
consecrated in 1245, and the episcopal succession continued
uninterrupted till the latter half of the fifteenth century.
Ware, in his _Bishops_ of this see, and Dr. Reeves, in his
_Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down and Connor_ (pag. 308), tell us that
on the death of the Carmelite bishop, _David of Chirbury_, in 1427, the
see was held by Thomas Scrope, who resigned before 1440; that his
successor, Thomas Radcliffe, also resigned before 1461; that the next
bishop was George Brann, appointed about 1487; and that the see was held
in 1500 by another bishop named William Egremond.
The actual succession of bishops, however, was far different. On the
death of David of Chirbury, Dr. Thomas Radcliffe was chosen his
successor in 1429, as the historians of the Augustinian order expressly
attest. Thus, for example, Herrera writes:
"Thomas Sacrae Theologia professor a Martino V. in Registro
Pontificio an. xii. Pontificatus et Christi 1429. prid. Kal.
Feb. in Hibernia sub Archiepo. Armacano Epus. Dromorensis
instituitur. Hic est ille quem registra ordinis die 19
Martii an. 1426. magistrum Thomam Radclef provinciae Angliae
appellant eique Prior Generalis concedit ut in conventu
Oxoniensi perpetuo stare possit ut eum fratribus destitutum
juvet".
Elsius makes a similar statement (_Encomiast._ page 662), and also tells
us that there is a "Thomas Radclyf, Redcliff, sive Radcliffus, Anglus,
S.T.D., in Anglia natus nobilissima familia ex qua comites Sussessiae
ante an. 1369, prodierunt", who is commended in the records of the order
as illustrious by his virtues and writings. "Intuitu virtutum", he adds,
"Episcopalem Lincolniensem aut Leicestrensem accepit dignitates", which
words acquaint us with the English see to which Dr. Radcliffe was
promoted some few years after his appointment to Dromore.
As the dates of Herrera are taken from the consistorial records and
other official documents, we may rest assured that 1429 was the year of
Dr. Radcliffe's appointment. We cannot fix with the same certainty the
year in which he renounced this see. It is probable, however, that about
1434 he was translated to the diocese of Lincoln in England, and we next
meet with a Dominican Father who was also named _Thomas_, already in
possession of the see of Dromore in 1437. The following is the letter of
Eugene IV., from the papers of Luke Wadding, Rome, which makes known to
us for the first time this worthy successor of St. Colman:--
"Eugenius, etc., ven. fr. Thomae, Episcopo Dromorensi
salutem, etc.
"Personam tuam nobis et apostolicae sedi devotam, tuis
exigentibus meritis paterna benevolentia prosequentes illa
tibi libenter concedimus quae tuis commoditatibus fore
conspicimus opportuna. Cum itaque sicut exhibita nobis pro
parte tua petitio continebat propter bellorum discrimina
quae partes illas diutius afflixerunt prout affligunt etiam
de praesenti, Ecclesia et Episcopalis mensa Dromorensis cui
praeesse dignosceris adeo sit in suis facultatibus diminuta
quod ex illius fructibus redditibus et proventibus vestrae
decentiam Pontificalis dignitatis sustentare et alia Tibi
incumbentia onera commode nequeas supportare: Nos ne in
dedecus Episcopalis dignitatis mendicare cogaris volentes Te
qui etiam in Theologia Magister existis ob virtutum tuarum
merita quibus Te illarum largitor altissimus insignivit
favoribus prosequi gratiosis, tuis in hac parte
supplicationibus inclinati, tecum ut quodcumque Beneficium
Ecclesiasticum cum cura vel sine cura ... dummodo dignitas
hujusmodi in cathedrali major post Pontificalem, aut in
Collegiata Ecclesia hujusmodi, principalis non existat, si
tibi alias canonice conferatur, seu assumaris vel eligaris
ad illud una cum dicta Ecclesia Dromorensi quamdiu illi
praefueris, in Commendam recipere et retinere libere et
licite valeas, quod ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum professor
existis, ac constitutionibus apostolicis, necnon bonae
memoriae Octonis et Octoboni olim in Regno Angliae Sedis
Apostolicae Legatorum, statutis quoque et consuetudinibus
Eccelesiae in qua hujusmodi beneficium forsan fuerit,
juramento, confirmatione Apostolica vel quacumque firmitate
alia roboratis, caeterisque contrariis quibuscumque
nequaquam obstantibus, auctoritate Apostolica, tenore
praesentium de speciali dono gratiose dispensamus, ita quod
hujusmodi durante commenda, fructus, redditus et proventus
beneficii hujusmodi percipere et habere, illosque in tuos et
hujusmodi Beneficii usus et utilitatem convertere et alias
de illis disponere et ordinare libere et licite valeas,
etc., etc.
"Datum Bononiae anno Incarnat. Dom. 1437, 19'o Kal.
Februarii anno 7mo".
This Dominican bishop only held the see till 1440, for, in that year
Dromore is described as vacant in the register of archbishop Swain of
Armagh. We may incidentally here mention that amongst the same Wadding
papers there is another brief of Pope Eugene IV., dated at Florence,
11th of the kalends of December, 1439, confirming the bull of Alexander
V., which commenced _Etsi pro cunctorum_: it is addressed "ad
Praedicatores Hibernos, scilicet ad Vicarium Generalem et alios
fratres".
_Thomas Scrope_, a Carmelite, was Bishop of this see[1] before the close
of the pontificate of Eugene IV., who died in 1447. He was remarkable
for the practice of almost incredible austerities, and it is especially
commemorated of him that he had led an eremitical life for several years
before he was summoned to the onerous duties of the episcopate. He
subsequently was sent by Pope Eugene as apostolic delegate to the
Knights of Rhodes; and Leland adds that "whatever he received out of
his revenues or could get from rich persons, he bestowed among the poor,
or laid out on pious uses". He resigned his see after his return from
Rhodes, and acted as vicar-general of the Bishop of Norwich: he died at
a very advanced age in 1491.
We next meet with a Bishop of Dromore named _Richard Myssin_, a
Carmelite, who on the 29th July, 1457, was advanced to this see, as
appears from the Consistorial acts of Pope Callixtus III. (_Biblioth.
Carmelit._, ii. 965). He was remarkable for the sanctity of his life,
and for his great proficiency in learning.
William Egremond was probably his immediate successor, being appointed
to the see in 1462, as Herrera and the other Augustine writers
attest.[2] The country, however, was so disturbed that this diocese had
few attractions for an English bishop; and hence he abandoned it in
1467, and lived for many years as suffragan of the archbishop of York.
His monument, erected in the cathedral of York, bore the following
inscription:--
"Hic Egremond Will'mus Dromorensis Episcopus olim
Marmore pro nitidis tectis utrinque mitris.
Pavit oves Cithiso qui sub bis Praesule bino
Atque lupi rabiem movit ab Aede trucem.
Unguine quot sanxit pueros, quot Presbyterosque
Astra nisi scirent, credere nemo valet.
Ante prophanus erat locus hic quem dextra beavit
Ejus, et hinc pro se dicito quisquis Ave".
The next mention we find of this see is in a petition of the Archbishop
of Armagh, Octavian de Palatio, addressed to Henry VII. about the year
1487, in which he writes that, "the fruits, rents, and revenues, as well
spiritual as temporal (of Dromore), extend not above the sum of L40 of
the coin of this your land of Ireland, which is less by one-third than
the coin sterling; and that for the expense and poverty of the same, the
see is void and desolate, and almost extinct, these twenty winters past
and more, insomuch that none will own the said bishoprick or abide
thereupon".
Nevertheless, in that very year, 1487, George Brann was appointed to
this see by Pope Innocent VIII. He had lived for several years in Rome
as procurator of the Hospital of the Santo Spirito, and had also
proceeded to Ireland to establish a branch house of that institute. He
held the see till his translation to Elphin on the 18th of April, 1499.
The first bishop of Dromore whom we find commemorated in the sixteenth
century is _Galeatius_, whose death is registered in 1504. Of his
successor, John Baptist, we only know that he was appointed on June
12th, the same year. _Thaddeus_, a Franciscan friar, was next advanced
to the see on 30th April, 1511. He is commemorated in Archbishop
Cromer's register, as still ruling the see in 1518, and we find no other
bishop mentioned till the appointment of _Quintinus Cogleus_ (_i.e._ Con
MacCoughlin), of the order of St. Dominick, in the year 1536 (_Hib.
Dom._, p. 486). This bishop, however, seems to have held the see only
for a short time, for in the Consistorial Acts we soon after find the
following entry:--"An. 1539. Sua Sanctitas providit Ecclesiae Dromorensi
in Hibernia _de persona_ Rogerii".
Ten years later Arthur Magennis was chosen by Pope Paul III. to govern
the diocese of St. Colman. On the 10th of May, 1550, he surrendered his
bulls to the crown, and had in return "a pardon under the great seal for
having received the Pope's bull, and for other misdemeanours". (Reeves'
_Eccles. Antiq._, p. 308. V. Morrin, _Pat. Rolls_, i. p. 205).
Nevertheless, there can be but little doubt as to the orthodoxy of this
prelate. Even Cox (i. 288) attests his devotion to the Catholic cause.
He, moreover, specially names him as an instance of a _Catholic bishop_,
and adduces the fact of his being allowed by the crown to hold peaceable
possession of his see as a proof that "the Reformation made but small
progress in Ireland" at this period. In 1551 he gave a public proof of
his devotedness to the Catholic faith. Edward VI., in the beginning of
February, sent an order to the viceroy, Sir Anthony St. Leger,
commanding the use of the English liturgy in all the churches of
Ireland. On the 1st of March the same year this order was communicated
to the archbishops and bishops assembled in council for that special
purpose; but no sooner had St. Leger made his discourse, commending the
royal prerogative, and extolling the liturgy now proposed to the Irish
clergy, than Dr. Dowdall of Armagh opposed it with all his zeal, and
denounced the measure as anathematized "by the Church of St. Peter, the
Mother Church of Rome". It must ever remain a special glory of the
province of Armagh, that, as Cox informs us (p. 290), one only of the
suffragan bishops of the primatial see--viz., Dr. Staples, who held from
the crown the revenues of Meath--could be found to support the proposal
of the government, whilst all the others adopted the sentiments of Dr.
Dowdall. The year of Dr. Magennis's death is uncertain; he seems,
however, to have survived some years the accession of Queen Elizabeth,
and on his death the see of Dromore became canonically united with
Ardagh.
The name of this illustrious bishop recalls our attention to Dr.
Magennis, bishop of Down and Connor, of whom we treated in the March
number of the _Record_. An esteemed correspondent, in a highly
interesting letter, published in May (p. 385 _seq._), contends that that
prelate, in his public acts at least, deviated from the path of
orthodoxy, and allied himself to the enemies of our holy faith. His
reasons, however, are far from sufficient to justify such a serious
charge.
1. In the first place, he argues from the fact of the bishop of Down
having surrendered his bulls to the crown. However, the bishop of
Dromore did the same, and, nevertheless, no one questions his orthodoxy.
Long before the dawn of Protestantism we find the same course pursued by
some bishops, as, for instance, by the celebrated Oliver Cantwell,
bishop of Ossory, towards the close of the fifteenth century (_Ware_, p.
414). In fact, the surrendering of the bulls was regarded as a purely
civil ceremony, which secured to the canonically appointed bishop the
peaceful possession of the temporalities of his see.
2. The learned correspondent lays special stress on the bulls being
described as "obtained from _Paul, Bishop of Rome_, not _His Holiness_".
However, it is in the letter of the king that this form of expression is
used (_Morrin_, i. 91), and any insult which it may involve must be
referred to the good taste of Henry VIII., and not to the bishop of
Down.
3. It is added: "_It is an oversight to suppose that about 1541 and 1543
the northern chieftains who submitted to Henry VIII. were exempted from
all pressure in matter of religion_". The statement which we made on a
former occasion (p. 268) had reference only to 1543; and it was not
without historic grounds that we asserted that, "the northern chieftains
who _then_ submitted were exempted from all reference to religion when
professing their allegiance to the government". It is true that in 1541
O'Donnell and O'Neil, and other chieftains, acknowledged the king's
supremacy; but it is equally true that this submission of the Irish
princes was an illusory one, and their profession was so lavish of
loyalty that even the government felt that no reliance could be placed
on such declarations. To similar professions, made in 1537, the King
"replied by his letter to the lord deputy, that their oaths,
submissions, and indentures, were not worth one farthing". (_Cox_, p.
253, ad. an. 1537). In fact, we find O'Donnell, in 1542, sending to Rome
a commissioner (whom we shall have to commemorate again as bishop elect
of Raphoe), humbly asking pardon for the guilt of perjury which he had
incurred. However, in 1543 it was far different. The government feared
the reconstruction of the confederation of the Irish chieftains; and
hence, when _the great O'Neil_, as he is styled by Cox (p. 257), sailed
in this year for England and surrendered his estate to the king, the
conditions imposed on him, howsoever humiliating to his national pride,
were wholly silent in regard of religion. These conditions are given in
full by Cox (p. 275).[3] About the same time, O'Brene made also his
submission, and the articles exacted from him omit all reference to the
royal supremacy or other matters of religion. The letter of the King,
March 5th, 1543 (_Morrin_, i. 99), giving instructions to the Deputy
regarding O'Neil Connelaghe, nephew of the earl of Tyrone, in like
manner makes no mention of the religious articles. On the 24th of May an
agreement was made with the Magennises, as Cox informs us, yet without
the obnoxious clauses; and on the 9th of July, 1544, these clauses were
again omitted, when several grants in Dublin, including 140 acres of the
beautiful "Grange of Clonliffe" (_Morrin_, i. 103), were made to the
earl of Desmond. These examples sufficiently prove that the government
in 1543 was anxious to conciliate the Irish princes, and hence was not
particular in exacting the obnoxious declaration of supremacy.
4. That a portion of the diocese of Down and Connor was subject to the
English government in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, admits of no
doubt; but it is equally certain that the greater portion of it remained
under the control of O'Neill. Hence, a Vatican paper, written about
1579, adds to a list of the Irish sees, the following important note:
"Ex praedictis Dioecesibus duae sunt in quibus libere et
sine periculo possunt Episcopi vel Vicarii; residere. Una
est Ardfertensis, quod sita sit in ea Desmoniae parte quae
Kierri nominatur in qua Comes Desmoniae omnino liber est et
jus plane regium habet. Altera est Dunensis et Connorensis
quae in ditione est O'Nellorum qui continenter contra
reginam bellum habent, suntque Catholicissimi
principes".--_Ex Archiv. Vatican._
5. As regards the year of Dr. Macgennis's demise, the letter of the
Queen, dated 6th of January, 1564, appointing his successor, though at
first sight it seems so conclusive an argument, nevertheless, is far
from proving that our bishop had died in 1563. For at the period of
which we treat, January was not the first month of the year 1564, but
was rather one of its concluding months; according to our present manner
of reckoning it would be the 6th of January, 1565. (See Shirley,
_Original Letters_, page 132).
6. The last and weightiest remark of the esteemed correspondent
concerning Dr. Macgennis is, that he "_assisted in consecrating by the
vitiated rite of king Edward_" the unfortunate John Bale of Ossory.
However, we must remark that Dr. Macgennis is certainly not responsible
for the appointment of this unworthy apostate to the see of St. Canice;
and the antecedent character of Bale seems to have been wholly unknown
in Ireland, especially in the _Irish_ districts of the island. Much less
is the bishop of Down responsible for the use of the new-fangled
vitiated rite; for, it was Bale himself that at the very time of the
consecration insisted on the new liturgy being employed:[4] and this
event supplies us with an additional argument in favour of the orthodoxy
of Dr. Macgennis, for, it is expressly recorded that, "in union with the
clergy of Dublin", he entered his solemn protest against this heretical
innovation. We shall return again to this subject when speaking of _the
Bishops of Ossory_. In the mean time we may conclude that there is no
sufficient proof of Dr. Macgennis having swerved from the rule of
orthodoxy; whilst on the other hand the silence of the advocates of the
new creed, who never even whispered his name in connection with their
tenets--the omission of the supremacy clause in his submission to the
crown--his union with Dr. Dowdall in repudiating the English liturgy
when proposed by the viceroy--his protest on the occasion of Bale's
consecration--his retaining the see of Down and Connor during the reign
of Queen Mary--the consistorial entry which subsequently describes the
see as vacant _per obitum Eugenii Magnissae_, seems to us to place
beyond all controversy the devotedness of this worthy prelate to the
Catholic cause.
But to return to the diocese of Dromore. On the death of Dr. Arthur
Macgennis, it was united with the see of Ardagh, and for the remaining
years of the sixteenth century seems to have shared the trials and
sufferings of that diocese. In the consistorial acts the appointment of
Dr. Richard MacBrady is registered on the 16th January, 1576, and it is
added that his see was the "_Ecclesia Ardacadensis et Dromorensis in
Hibernia_". On his translation to Kilmore on 9th of March, 1580, Doctor
Edmund MacGauran was chosen his successor, and thus our see is entitled
to a special share in the glory which this distinguished bishop won for
the whole Irish Church by his zealous labours and martyrdom.
The first Protestant bishop of the see was John Todd, who was appointed
to Down and Connor on 16th of March, 1606, and received at the same time
the diocese of Dromore _in commendam_. We shall allow the Protestant
writers Ware and Harris to convey to the reader an accurate idea of the
missionary character of this first apostle of Protestantism amongst the
children of St. Colman. Ware simply writes:
"In the year 1611, being called to account for some crimes
he had committed, he resigned his bishoprick, and a little
after died in prison in London, of poison which he had
prepared for himself" (pag. 207).
To which words Harris adds:
"The crimes of which he was accused were incontinence, the
turning away his wife, and taking the wife of his
man-servant in her room; to which may be added subornation
of witnesses. It doth not appear that he resigned his
bishoprick voluntarily, but was convented before the High
Commission Court in England in the tenth year of king James
I., and degraded. His case is cited in the long case of the
bishop of Lincoln. Before his deprivation he made a fee-farm
lease of the tithes of his see in the territory of Kilultagh
to Sir Fulk Conway at a small rent", etc. (_Ibid._, pag.
208-9).
We already had occasion to mention this unfortunate man, when treating
of the see of Down and Connor in the March number of the _Record_ (page
271); and surely no words of ours are required to make the reader fully
appreciate the true character and mission of the Establishment in our
see, the life of whose first apostle is described in such language by
the great Protestant historians.