The _Lives of the Irish Bishops_, published by Ware, in 1665, and
rewritten by Harris in the beginning of the last century, have been long
regarded as authentic history; and the statements of these learned
writers have been generally accepted without hesitation, being supposed
to rest on ancient and indubious documents. It is thus, to take a quite
recent example, that the Rev. W. Maziere Brady, D.D., in the third
volume of his _Records of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross_ (London, 1864),
adopts, with only a few verbal variations, the whole narrative of Ware
regarding St. Fachnan and his successors in the see of Ross.
Nevertheless, many of his statements are inaccurate, and some of them,
too, are wholly at variance with historic truth. At the very threshold
of our present inquiry we meet with one instance which alone should
suffice to render us cautious in accepting the assertions of such
historians, when unconfirmed by other authorities.
"One _Thady_" (Ware thus writes), "was Bishop of Ross on the 29th of
January, 1488, and died a little after; but I have not found where he
was consecrated. One _Odo_ succeeded in 1489, and sat only five years.
He died in 1494" (Ware, pag. 587. Brady, _Records_, etc., vol. iii.,
pag. 139).
How many errors are contained in these few words! This _Thadeus_ was
never Bishop of Ross, and so far from Odo being appointed in 1489, he
was already Bishop of the see on the accession of Pope Innocent VIII.,
in 1484. A letter of this Pontiff addressed to _Odo, Bishop of Ross_, on
21st of July, 1488, has happily been preserved, and it presents to us
the following particulars connected with the see. No sooner had the see
of Ross become vacant by the demise of its Bishop about 1480, than Odo
was elected its chief pastor, and his election was duly confirmed by the
Vicar of Christ. A certain person, however, named Thadeus MacCarryg, had
aspired to the dignity of successor of Saint Fachnan, and as he enjoyed
high influence with the civil authorities, he easily obtained possession
of the temporalities of the see. Several monitory letters were addressed
to him from Rome, exhorting him to desist from such an iniquitous
course; but as these were of no avail, sentence of excommunication was
fulminated against him by Pope Sixtus, and promulgated in a synod of the
southern Bishops, held in Cashel in 1484; it was repeated by Innocent
VIII. in 1488. Thus, then, the individual who is described by Ware as
Bishop of Ross, was merely an usurper of the temporalities of the see,
whilst the true Bishop, Odo, continued to govern the diocese till his
death in 1494.
His successor was Dr. Edmund Courcy, who was translated from the see of
Clogher to Ross, by Brief of 26th September, 1494. He was a Franciscan,
and for twenty-four years ruled our diocese. The obituary book of the
Franciscans of Timoleague, when recording his death on 10th March, 1518,
describes him as a special benefactor of their convent, both during his
episcopate and at his death. He enriched it with a library, and built
for its convenience an additional dormitory and an infirmary. He also
rebuilt its steeple, and decorated the church with many precious
ornaments. This Franciscan church continued for nearly one hundred years
a cherished devotional resort of the faithful, till, in Elizabeth's
reign, its fathers were dispersed, and the convent reduced to a heap of
ruins. The chronicler of the order, when registering the destruction of
this ancient sanctuary, dwells particularly on the barbarity of the
Protestant soldiers, who deliberately smashed its rich stained glass
windows, and tore to shreds the costly pictures which adorned it.
A year before his death, Dr. Courcy resigned the administration of his
see, and petitioned the then reigning Pontiff, Leo X., to appoint as his
successor John O'Murrily, Abbot of the Cistercian Monastery of _de Fonte
Vivo_. The deed by which he thus resigned the see of Ross was drawn up
in the presence of three witnesses, one of whom was the Lady Eleanor,
daughter of the Earl of Kildare; and it assigns as the motive of his
resignation, that he had already gained his eightieth year, and that
his increasing infirmities rendered it impossible for him to give due
attention to the wants of the diocese. King Henry VIII. wrote to His
Holiness, praying him to accede to the wishes of the aged bishop, and to
appoint to the see of Ross the above-named Cistercian abbot, who is
described as adorned with every virtue, and especially remarkable for
modesty, mildness, and learning. We give in full this letter of Henry
VIII., as it is a solemn condemnation of the subsequent rebellion of
that monarch against the authority of the Vicar of Christ:--
"Beatissime Pater, post humillimam commendationem et devotissima
pedum oscula beatorum. Exposuit nobis Reverendus in Christo pater
Episcopus Rossensis in dominio nostro Hiberniae, se quibusdam
idoneis caussis moveri ut suam Rossensem Ecclesiam Reverendo patri
Domino Joanni Abbati Monasterii Beatae Mariae de fonte vivo
resignet, quibus caussis a nobis cognitis et probatis, intellectis
praeterea egregiis dicti Domini Joannis virtutibus et imprimis
praecipua modestia, probitate ac doctrina, Vestram Sanctitatem
rogamus ut praedictam resignationem admittere, eundemque Dominum
Joannem ad supradictam Ecclesiam provehere dignetur. Praeterea ut
honestius ac decentius Episcopalem dignitatem sustinere queat,
quoniam dictae Ecclesiae Rossensis reditus et proventus admodum
tenues et perexiles esse cognovimus, Vestram Sanctitatem rogamus ut
una cum eodem Episcopatu Rossensi praedictam Abbatiam S. Mariae cum
nonnullis aliis beneficiis in commendam ei concedere dignetur. Quod
ut gratum nobis erit, sic eidem Ecclesiae utile futurum non
dubitamus. Et felicissime valeat Vestra Sanctitas, etc.
"Ex Regia nostra apud Richemontem die xvii. Julii, 1517"--(Theiner,
_Monumenta_, etc., pag. 520).
Before giving his sanction to the newly-elected bishop, Pope Leo ordered
a consistorial investigation to be made, as was usual with the sees of
all Catholic countries, and fortunately the minute of this inquiry is
still preserved in the Vatican archives. We cull from it the following
interesting particulars:
"The city of Ross was situated in the province of Cashel, in the
middle of a vast plain which stretched along the sea-shore. It
consisted of about two hundred houses, and was encompassed with a
wall. The country around was fertile, yielding an abundance of corn
and fruit. In the centre of the town was the cathedral church,
dedicated under the invocation of Saint Fachnan, an Irish saint,
confessor, whose feast is celebrated on the vigil of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The walls of the church were of cut
stone, and it had two entrances--one lateral, the other in front,
and in both you descended by three steps to the level of the
church. Its floor was unpaved, and its roof was of wood, covered
with slates. The interior of the church presented the form of a
cross, and in size corresponded with the church of S. Maria del
Popolo in Rome. Its central nave was separated by stone pillars
from the aisles. Its choir was of wood, and at the head of the
choir was placed the high altar. Its sacristy was well supplied
with vestments and other sacred ornaments. It had a mitre and
crucifixes; its chalices were of solid silver, some of them being
gilt, and its crozier was also of silver. In the cemetery, outside
the church, there was a belfry built in the form of a tower, in
which there was one large bell. As for the dignitaries of the
church, there was a Dean with a yearly income of 12 marks, an
Archdeacon with 20 marks, and a Chancellor with 8 marks. There were
also twelve Canons, each having a revenue of 4 marks, and four
Vicars with a similar income. All these assist daily in choir, and
celebrate low Mass. On the festival days a solemn Mass is sung. The
Canons reside here and there through the diocese, which is twenty
miles in extent. The Bishop's residence is about half-a-mile from
the city, and is pleasantly situated on the sea-shore. The
episcopal revenue consists of corn, tithes, and pasturage, and
amounts annually to 60 marks. There are also twenty-four benefices
in the Bishop's collation"--(Theiner, _Ib._, pag. 528-9).
Before the close of 1517, Dr. O'Murrily was duly proclaimed in
consistory Bishop of Ross. He governed the see, however, for little more
than one year, and had for his successor a Spaniard named _Bonaventura_,
of whom it is recorded that he founded a monastery in the small island
of Dursey, which lies at the head of the peninsula between Bantry and
Kenmare--(O'Sullivan. _Hist. Cath._, pag. 238). This monastery and its
adjoining church of St. Michael shared the fate of most of the monuments
of our ancient faith during the persecution of Elizabeth, and in 1602
was levelled to the ground.
Of the immediately succeeding Bishops we know little more than the mere
names. Herrera tels us that an Augustinian friar, by name Herphardus,
was promoted to an Irish see in the consistory of 21st February, 1530.
By an error of the consistorial copyist, that see is styled _Sodorensis
in Hibernia_. Elsius and some modern writers supposed the true reading
to be _Ossoriensis_; but this arbitrary substitution is irreconcilable
with the history of the see of Ossory; and it seems much more probable
that the true reading of the consistorial record would be _Sedes
Rossensis in Hibernia_.
The next Bishop that we find is Dermit M'Domnuil, styled in the
consistorial acts _Dermitius Macarius_, who was appointed about 1540,
and died in 1553. He was succeeded by Maurice O'Fihely (or Phelim), a
Franciscan friar, and professor of Theology. The following is the
consistorial entry: "Die 22^o Januarii 1554 providit Sanctitas Sua
Ecclesiae Rossensi in Hibernia vacanti per obitum Dermitii Macarii de
persona D. Mauritii O'Fihely ord. FF. Min. et Theologiae professoris".
Early in 1559 this bishop, too, passed to his eternal reward, and his
successor's appointment is thus registered in the same consistorial
acts: "Die 15 Martii 1559, referente Reverendissimo Dno. Cardinale
Pacheco fuit provisum Ecclesiae Rossensi in Hibernia per obitum bon.
mem. Mauritii O'Phihil (O'Fihely) pastoris solatio destitutae de persona
R. D. Mauritii Hea, presbyteri Hiberni".
Dr. O'Hea for less than two years ruled the diocese of Ross, and in the
consistory of 17th December, 1561, Dr. Thomas O'Herlihy was appointed to
the vacant see: "Die 17^o Decembris 1561, referente Cardinale Morono Sua
Sanctitas providit ecclesiae Rossensi in Hibernia per obitum bon. mem.
Mauritii O'Hea extra Romanam curiam defucti, vacanti, de persona D.
Thomae O'Hierlahii presbyteri de nobili genere ex utroque parente
procreati, vita ac scientia idonei, in curia praesentis, quem pater
David sacerdos Soc. Jesu in Hibernia existens suis litteris commendavit,
cum retentione beneficiorum competentium et jurium quae obtinet".
It would require a much longer article than our present limits allow, to
give an adequate idea of the sufferings and zealous labours of this
illustrious confessor of our holy faith. He was a native of the parish
of Kilmacabea, and many members of his family were reckoned amongst the
ancient dynasts of the district. Being consecrated in Rome, he hastened
to take part in the deliberations of the council of Trent; and in the
metrical catalogue of the bishops of that sacred assembly we find him
described as being in the flower of his age and adorned with the
comeliness of every episcopal virtue. Towards the close of 1563 he
landed on the Irish coast, anxious to share the perils of his faithful
flock and to guard them against the many dangers by which they were now
menaced. O'Sullivan attests that "his labours were incredible in
preaching against heresy, administering the sacraments, and ordaining
youthful Levites for the sanctuary". After some time, however, he was
seized on by the emissaries of Elizabeth, and thrown into the dungeons
of London, where, for three years and seven months, he was the companion
in suffering of the renowned Archbishop of Armagh, Dr. Creagh. After his
liberation, he continued his apostolical labours throughout the whole
kingdom. Many important commissions from the Holy See were confided to
him, as may be seen in the _Hibernia Dominicana_ and elsewhere. A
Vatican paper of 1578, reckoning the strenuous upholders of the Catholic
cause in Ireland, mentions amongst others "Episcopus Rossensis doctus
qui interfuit Concilio Tridentino"; but adds that he was then "an exile
from his see". Many other particulars connected with this holy bishop,
may be seen in _Introduction to the Lives of the Archbishops of Dublin_,
page 137. It is the tradition of the country that he died in prison;
however, Wadding and Ware inform us that he died in the territory of
Muskerry, and was interred in the convent of Kilchree. The day of his
death has, also, been happily transmitted to us; it was the 11th of
March, 1580; or, according to the old computation, the 1st of March,
1579.
His successor was without delay appointed by the Holy See, but owing to
the destruction of the monuments of our Church, his name has not come
down to us. He is thus commemorated in 1583 by the English agent in
Italy: "In April there came from Rome to Naples an Irishman, _whom the
Pope created Bishop of Ross in Ireland_" (_Letter of Francis Touker to
Lord Burghley_, 22nd July, 1583). He is also mentioned by the Bishop of
Killaloe, Dr. Cornelius O'Mulrian, in a letter addressed from Lisbon to
Rome, on the 29th October, 1584: "Episcopus Limericensis et Episcopus
Rossensis postquam venerant Romam in curia Regis Hispaniarum degunt"
(_Ex Archiv. Vatic._) No further particulars connected with this Bishop
of Ross have come down to us. He had for his successor the renowned Owen
M'Egan, who with the title and authority of Vicar-Apostolic of this see
was sent to our island by Pope Clement VIII. in 1601. A bull of the same
Pontiff granting some minor benefices to the same Owen M'Egan in 1595,
is preserved in the _Hibernia Pacata_, page 670. In it he is described
as a priest of the diocese of Cork, bachelor in Theology, master of arts
and "most commendable for his learning, moral conduct, and manifold
virtues". Towards the close of the century he undertook a journey to
Spain to procure aid for Florence M'Carthy and the other confederate
princes of the South: and he himself on arriving in Ireland as
Vicar-Apostolic in 1601, shared all the privations and dangers of the
Catholic camp. At length, as Wadding informs us, he was mortally wounded
while attending the dying soldiers, and on the 5th January, 1602-3,
passed to his eternal reward. The hatred borne to him by the agents of
Elizabeth is the best proof of his disinterestedness and zeal. His
death, says the author of _Hibernia Pacata_, "was doubtlessly more
beneficial to the state than to have secured the head of the most
capital rebel in Munster" (page 662).
As regards the Bishops nominated by the civil power, we find one
commemorated during Henry's reign. So little, however, is known about
him, and that little belonging to a period when a canonically appointed
Bishop held the see, that even Protestant historians scarcely allow him
a place amongst the bishops of Ross. During Elizabeth's reign Dr.
O'Herlihy was indeed deprived of the temporalities of the see in 1570,
yet no Protestant occupant was appointed till 1582. Sir Henry Sidney
wrote to her Majesty in 1576, soliciting this bishopric for a certain
Cornelius, but his petition was without effect. Lyons was more
successful; he not only obtained the see of Ross in 1582, but
subsequently annexed to it the dioceses of Cork and Cloyne. The
following extract contains the local tradition regarding the reception
given to this Protestant Bishop, and has been kindly supplied by a
priest of the diocese, whose parish was, in early times, the theatre of
the apostolate of many a distinguished saint of our Irish Church:--
"Lyons was an apostate from the beginning; he went to England and
acknowledged the Queen's supremacy, and was left in quiet
possession of the revenues of the diocese till his death, a period
of about thirty-five years. On his return from England he was
deserted by his clergy, who secreted all the plate connected with
the cathedral and monastery, as also the bells, and chimes of
bells, all solid silver, which were then valued at L7,000. The
commissioners subsequently hanged all the aged friars that
remained, on pretence that they knew where the above-named property
was concealed, and refused to reveal it. At all events, the plate
remained concealed, and to this day it never has been found.
Tradition says it was all buried in the strand, which contains two
or three hundred acres of waste, covered by every tide, having
three feet of sand in most places, and underneath a considerable
depth of turf mould".
The account here given of the diocesan plate is certainly confirmed by
the consistorial record already cited in the beginning of this article.
Whilst, however, the clergy thus resolved to remove the sacred plate at
least from the grasp of the Protestant prelate, the people were
determined that the old Catholic episcopal mansion should not be
contaminated by his presence. The commissioners of the crown in 1615,
report that he found no house on his arrival in his see of Ross, "but
only a place to build one on". They further add, that he, without delay,
built a fine house for himself which cost L300, but even this "in three
years was burnt down by the rebel O'Donovan"--(_Records of Ross_, etc.,
iii.-50). It will suffice to mention one other fact connected with his
episcopal career. In Rymer we find a patent dated 12th June, 1595, and
amongst others it is addressed to our Protestant dignitary,
commissioning him "to consider and find out ways and means to people
Munster with English inhabitants".--_Rym._, tom. 16, pag. 276.