John MacHale
Encyclopedia
John MacHale was the Irish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and Irish Nationalist.
He laboured and wrote to secure Catholic Emancipation
, legislative independence, justice for tenants and the poor, and vigorously assailed the proselytizers and the anti-Catholic anti-national system of public education. He preached regularly to his flock in Irish
.
. Though Irish
was always spoken by the peasants at that time, the MacHale children were all taught English. When he was old enough John ran barefoot with his brothers to the hedge school
, then the sole means of instruction for Catholic peasant children, who on fine days did their lessons in a dry ditch under a hedge, and in wet weather were gathered into a rough barn. John was an eager pupil, and listened attentively to lives of saints, legends, national songs, and historical tales, related by his elders, as well as to the accounts of the French Revolution
given by an eyewitness, his uncle, Father MacHale, who had just escaped from France. Three important events happened during John's sixth year: the Irish Rebellion of 1798; the landing at Killala
of French troops, whom the boy, hidden in a stacked sheaf of flax, watched marching through a mountain pass to Castlebar
; and a few months later the brutal execution of Father Conroy on a false charge of high treason. These occurrences made an indelible impression upon the child's mind. After school hours he studied Irish history, under the guidance of an old scholar in the neighborhood. Being destined for the priesthood the boy was sent to a school at Castlebar to learn Latin, Greek, and English grammar. In his sixteenth year the Bishop of Killala gave him a busarship
at St Patrick's College, Maynooth
at Maynooth
.
a priest by Daniel Murray
, Archbishop of Dublin. Father MacHale continued his lectures at Maynooth until 1820, when he was nominated professor of theology.
Dr. MacHale was then above medium height, of rather an athletic figure. Dignified and reserved in demeanour, his simple and unassuming manners and attractive conversation procured him many admirers, including the liberal Augustine Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster
, who often invited him to Carton House
, where he had frequent opportunities of meeting men capable of appreciating his intellect and character. About this period he commenced a series of letters signed "Hierophilus", vigorously attacking the Irish Established Church
. They attracted the notice of Daniel O'Connell
and led to a very sincere friendship between these two Irish patriots. In 1825, Pope Leo XII
appointed him titular bishop of Maronia, and coadjutor bishop
to Dr. Thomas Waldron, Bishop of Killala
.
After his consecration in Maynooth College chapel, the new prelate, who was warmly received by Dr. Waldron and his people, devoted himself to his sacred duties. He preached Irish and English sermons, and superintended the missions given in the diocese for the Jubilee of 1825. The next year Dr. MacHale joined Bishop Doyle ("J.K.L") in denouncing the proselytizing Kildare Street Society of Dublin to which the Government gave countenance. He also attended the annual meeting of the Irish bishops, and gave evidence at Maynooth College before the Parliamentary Commissioners then inquiring into the condition of education in Ireland. The Catholic hierarchy's policy in the following decades was to ensure that Irish primary schools for Catholic children were run by Catholics, while the Dublin administration wanted all such schools to be run on a mixed-faith basis. The official world felt that two parallel systems would be too expensive and socially divisive, but the hierarchy felt that this would result in a default system based on the English version of history that had often been anti-Catholic since 1570.
, impeaching in unmeasured terms the severities of the former penal code, which had branded Catholics with the stamp of inferiority. During 1826 his zeal was omnipresent; "he spoke to the people in secret and public, by night and by day, on the highways and in places of public resort, calling up the memories of the past, denouncing the wrongs of the present, and promising imperishable rewards to those who should die in the struggle for their faith. He called on the Government to remember how the Act of Union
in 1800 was carried by William Pitt the Younger
on the distinct assurance and implied promise that Catholic Emancipation, which had been denied by the Irish Parliament, should be granted by the Parliament of the Empire" (Oliver Joseph Burke, The History of the Catholic Archbishops of Tuam, Dublin, 1882).
In two letters written to the Prime Minister, Earl Grey
, he described the distress occasioned by starvation and fever in Connaught
, the ruin of the linen trade, the vestry tax for the benefit of Protestant churches, the tithes to the Protestant clergy, which Catholics were obliged to pay as well as their Protestant countrymen, the exorbitant rents extracted by absentee landlords, and the crying abuse of forcing the peasantry to buy seed-corn and seed-potatoes from landlords and agents at usurious charges. No attention was paid to these letters. Dr. MacHale accompanied to London a deputation of Mayo gentlemen, who received only meaningless assurances from Earl Grey. After witnessing the coronation of William IV
at Westminster Abbey
, the bishop, requiring change of air on account of ill-health, went on to Rome
, but not before he had addressed to the premier another letter informing him that the scarcity in Ireland "was a famine in the midst of plenty, the oats being exported to pay rents, tithes, etc., and that the English people were actually sending back in charity what had originally grown on Irish soil plus freightage and insurance". It may be observed that Dr. MacHale never blamed the English people, whose generosity he acknowledged. On the other hand he severely condemned the Government for its incapacity, its indifference to the wrongs of Ireland, that aroused in the Irish peasantry a sullen hatred unknown to their more simple-minded forefathers. During an absence of sixteen months he wrote excellent descriptive letters of all he saw on the Continent. They were eagerly read in The Freeman's Journal, while the sermons he preached in Rome were so admired that they were translated into Italian. Amid the varied interests of the Eternal City he was ever mindful of Ireland's woes and forwarded thence another protest to Earl Gray against tithes, and proselytism, this last grievance being then rampant, particularly in Western Connaught. On his return he became an opponent of the proposed system of non-sectarian 'National Schools', fearing that the bill as originally framed, was an insidious attempt to weaken the faith of Irish children.
, Archbishop of Tuam, died in 1834, and the clergy selected MacHale as one of three candidates, to the annoyance of the Government who despatched agents to induce the pope not to nominate him to the vacant see. Pope Gregory XVI
dryly remarked:
Disregarding their request, the pope appointed MacHale Archbishop of Tuam. He was the first prelate since the Reformation who had received his entire education in Ireland. The corrupt practices of general parliamentary elections and the Tithe War
caused frequent rioting and bloodshed, and were the subjects of denunciation by the new archbishop, until the passing of a Tithes bill in 1838. Archbishop MacHale now began in the newspapers a series of open letters to the Government, whereby he frequently harassed the ministers into activity in Irish affairs. MacHale also led the opposition to the Protestant Second Reformation
, which was being pursued by evangelical clergy in the Church of Ireland
, including the Bishop of Tuam, Thomas Plunket
.
During the Autumn of 1835, he visited the Island of Achill, a stronghold of the Bible Readers. In order to offset their proselytism, he sent thither more priests and Franciscan
monks of the Third Order
.
MacHale condemned the Poor Law
, and the system of National Schools and Queen's Colleges as devised by the Government. He founded his own schools, entrusting those for boys to the Christian Brothers
and Franciscan monks, while Sisters of Mercy
and Presentation Nuns
taught the girls. Want of funds restricted the number of these schools,which had to be supplemented by the National Board at a later period, when the necessary amendments had been added to the Bill.
, advocated by Daniel O'Connell
, enlisted his ardent sympathy and he assisted the Liberator in many ways, and remitted subscriptions from his priests for this purpose. We are told by his biographer Bernard O'Reilly
, that like his friend, the prelate "was for a thorough and universal organisation of Irishmen in a movement for obtaining by legal and peaceful agitation the restoration of Ireland's legislative independence". The Charitable Bequests Bill, formerly productive of numerous lawsuits owing to its animus against donations to religious orders, was vehemently opposed by the archbishop. In this he differed considerably from some other Irish prelates, who thought that each bishop should exercise his own judgment as to his acceptance of a commissionership on the Board, or as regarded the partial application of the Act. The latter has since then been so amended, that in its present form it is quite favourable to Catholic charities and the Catholic poor. In his zeal for the cause of the Catholic religion and of Ireland, so long down-trodden, but not in the 1830s, Dr. MacHale frequently incurred from his opponents the charge of intemperate language, something not altogether undeserved. He did not possess that suavity of manner which is so invaluable to leaders of men and public opinion, and so he alarmed or offended others. In his anxiety to reform abuses and to secure the welfare of Ireland, by an uncompromising and impetuous zeal, he made many bitter and unrelenting enemies. This was particularly true of British ministers and their supporters, by whom he was dubbed "a firebrand", and "a dangerous demagogue". Cardinal Barnabo, Prefect of Propaganda, who had serious disagreements with Dr. MacHale, declared he was a twice-dyed Irishman, a good man ever insisting on getting his own way. This excessive inflexibility, not sufficiently tempered by prudence, explains his more or less stormy career.
of 1846-47 affected his diocese more than any. In the first year he announced in a sermon that the famine was a divine punishment on his flock for their sins (as did Cardinal Wiseman). Then by 1846 he warned the Government as to the state of Ireland, reproached them for their dilatoriness, and held up the uselessness of relief works expended on high roads instead of on quays and piers to develop the sea fisheries. From England as well as other parts of the world, cargoes of food were sent to the starving Irish. Bread and soup were distributed from the archbishop's kitchen. Donations sent to him were acknowledged, accounted for, and disbursed by his clergy among the victims.
(1847) was a deep sorrow to Dr. MacHale. He was also much grieved at the dissentions of the Repealers
, and the violent tactics of the Young Ireland
party, who would not listen to his wise and patriotic advice. In 1848, he visited Rome
and by his representations to Pope Pius IX
inflicted a deadly blow upon the proposed 'Queen's Colleges'. He also succeeded in preventing diplomatic intercourse between the British Government and Rome. The Synod of Thurles
, held in 1850, emphasized the different views entertained by the hierarchy respecting the education question. On that occasion Dr. MacHale strongly protested against giving any countenance to a mixed system of education already condemned by the pope. During the recrudescence of "No Popery" in 1851, on the occasion of the re-establishment of the English Catholic hierarchy, and the passing of thr intolerant Ecclesiastical Titles Act
that inflicted penalties upon any Roman Catholic prelate who assumed the title of his see
, Dr. MacHale boldly signed his letters to Government on this subject "John, Archbishop of Tuam". This act of defiance so startled the Cabinet that it was considered more prudent not to attempt a prosecution and to allow the Bill to remain a dead letter.
As to the Catholic University, though Dr. MacHale had been foremost in advocating the project, he disagreed completely with Paul Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin (afterward Cardinal), concerning its management and control, and the appointment of Dr. Newman as rector. The want of concord among the Irish bishops on this question, and the honest but totally wrong opinions of Dr. MacHale, handicapped the new university. The archbishop approved of Tenant Right and also of the Irish Tenant League. He wrote to O'Connell's son that it "was the assertion of the primitive right of man to enjoy in security and peace the fruit of his industry and labour". At a conference held in Dublin, men of all creeds supported his views on "fixity of tenure, free sale, and fair rent". Though it is impossible to relate all the events of a life which the Freeman's Journal described as the history of Ireland for the greater part of the nineteenth century, enough has been written to show how by pen, word, and deed, "the Lion of Juda" endeavored to benefit his country. Toward the end of his life he withdrew very much from active politics, though he was happy enough to live to see the dawn of more prosperous days for Ireland.
in 1869. He thought that the favourable moment had not arrived for an immediate definition of the dogma of papal infallibility
. Better to leave it a matter of faith, not written down, and consequently he spoke and voted in the council against its promulgation.
Once the dogma had been defined, he declared the dogma of infallibility "to be true Catholic doctrine, which he believed as he believed the Apostles' Creed". In 1877, to the disappointment of the archbishop who desired that his nephew should be his co-adjutor, Dr. John McEvilly
, Bishop of Galway, was elected by the clergy of the archdiocese, and was commanded by Pope Leo XIII
after some delay, to assume his post. He had opposed this election as far as possible, but submitted to the papal order.
. A marble statue perpetuates his memory in the Cathedral grounds. McHale Park
in Castlebar
, County Mayo
and Archbishop McHale College in Tuam are named for him.
and translations in Irish
of Moore's "Melodies," and part of the Bible
and the Iliad
. He compiled an Irish language catechism
and prayer book
. Moreover, he made translations into Irish of portions of the scriptures as well as the Latin hymns, Dies Irae
and Stabat Mater
.
He laboured and wrote to secure Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
, legislative independence, justice for tenants and the poor, and vigorously assailed the proselytizers and the anti-Catholic anti-national system of public education. He preached regularly to his flock in Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
.
Childhood
He was so feeble at his birth that he was baptized at home by Father Conroy, who, six years later, was hanged during the Irish Rebellion of 1798Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. Though Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
was always spoken by the peasants at that time, the MacHale children were all taught English. When he was old enough John ran barefoot with his brothers to the hedge school
Hedge school
A hedge school is the name given to an educational practice in 18th and 19th century Ireland, so called due to its rural nature. It came about as local educated men began an oral tradition of teaching the community...
, then the sole means of instruction for Catholic peasant children, who on fine days did their lessons in a dry ditch under a hedge, and in wet weather were gathered into a rough barn. John was an eager pupil, and listened attentively to lives of saints, legends, national songs, and historical tales, related by his elders, as well as to the accounts of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
given by an eyewitness, his uncle, Father MacHale, who had just escaped from France. Three important events happened during John's sixth year: the Irish Rebellion of 1798; the landing at Killala
Killala
Killala is a village in County Mayo in Ireland, north of Ballina. The railway line from Dublin to Ballina once extended to Killala. To the west of Killala is a Townsplots West , which contains numerous ancient forts.- History :...
of French troops, whom the boy, hidden in a stacked sheaf of flax, watched marching through a mountain pass to Castlebar
Castlebar
Castlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
; and a few months later the brutal execution of Father Conroy on a false charge of high treason. These occurrences made an indelible impression upon the child's mind. After school hours he studied Irish history, under the guidance of an old scholar in the neighborhood. Being destined for the priesthood the boy was sent to a school at Castlebar to learn Latin, Greek, and English grammar. In his sixteenth year the Bishop of Killala gave him a busarship
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
at St Patrick's College, Maynooth
St Patrick's College, Maynooth
St Patrick's College, Maynooth is the "National Seminary for Ireland" , and a Pontifical University, located in the village of Maynooth, 15 miles from Dublin, Ireland. The college and seminary are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was officially established as the Royal College...
at Maynooth
Maynooth
Maynooth is a town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to a branch of the National University of Ireland, a Papal University and Ireland's main Roman Catholic seminary, St. Patrick's College...
.
Ordination
The emigrant French priests who then taught at Maynooth, appreciated the linguistic aptitude of the young man and taught him not only French, but also Latin, Greek, Italian, German, Hebrew, and the English classics. After seven years of study, he was appointed in 1814 lecturer in theology, although only a sub-deacon. Before the end of the year, however, at the age of twenty-four, he was ordainedOrdination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
a priest by Daniel Murray
Daniel Murray (archbishop)
Daniel Murray was a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.He was educated at Dr. Betagh's school, and at Salamanca, and ordained priest in 1790. After some years as curate in Dublin he was transferred to Arklow, and was there in 1798 when the rebellion broke out...
, Archbishop of Dublin. Father MacHale continued his lectures at Maynooth until 1820, when he was nominated professor of theology.
Dr. MacHale was then above medium height, of rather an athletic figure. Dignified and reserved in demeanour, his simple and unassuming manners and attractive conversation procured him many admirers, including the liberal Augustine Frederick FitzGerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster
Duke of Leinster is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier dukedom in that peerage. The title refers to Leinster, but unlike the province the title is pronounced "Lin-ster"...
, who often invited him to Carton House
Carton House
Carton House was one of Ireland's greatest stately homes and one time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster. Located west of Dublin, in Maynooth, County Kildare, the Carton demesne runs to 1,100 acres . For two hundred years it possessed the finest example in Ireland of a...
, where he had frequent opportunities of meeting men capable of appreciating his intellect and character. About this period he commenced a series of letters signed "Hierophilus", vigorously attacking the Irish Established Church
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
. They attracted the notice of Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
and led to a very sincere friendship between these two Irish patriots. In 1825, Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII , born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.-Life:...
appointed him titular bishop of Maronia, and coadjutor bishop
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
to Dr. Thomas Waldron, Bishop of Killala
Bishop of Killala
The Bishop of Killala is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Killala in County Mayo, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics.-History:...
.
After his consecration in Maynooth College chapel, the new prelate, who was warmly received by Dr. Waldron and his people, devoted himself to his sacred duties. He preached Irish and English sermons, and superintended the missions given in the diocese for the Jubilee of 1825. The next year Dr. MacHale joined Bishop Doyle ("J.K.L") in denouncing the proselytizing Kildare Street Society of Dublin to which the Government gave countenance. He also attended the annual meeting of the Irish bishops, and gave evidence at Maynooth College before the Parliamentary Commissioners then inquiring into the condition of education in Ireland. The Catholic hierarchy's policy in the following decades was to ensure that Irish primary schools for Catholic children were run by Catholics, while the Dublin administration wanted all such schools to be run on a mixed-faith basis. The official world felt that two parallel systems would be too expensive and socially divisive, but the hierarchy felt that this would result in a default system based on the English version of history that had often been anti-Catholic since 1570.
Emancipation campaign, 1820s
About this time he also revised a theological manual On the Evidences and Doctrines of the Catholic Church, afterward translated into German. With his friend and ally, Daniel O'Connell, MacHale took a prominent part in the important question of Catholic EmancipationCatholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
, impeaching in unmeasured terms the severities of the former penal code, which had branded Catholics with the stamp of inferiority. During 1826 his zeal was omnipresent; "he spoke to the people in secret and public, by night and by day, on the highways and in places of public resort, calling up the memories of the past, denouncing the wrongs of the present, and promising imperishable rewards to those who should die in the struggle for their faith. He called on the Government to remember how the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
in 1800 was carried by William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
on the distinct assurance and implied promise that Catholic Emancipation, which had been denied by the Irish Parliament, should be granted by the Parliament of the Empire" (Oliver Joseph Burke, The History of the Catholic Archbishops of Tuam, Dublin, 1882).
In two letters written to the Prime Minister, Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
, he described the distress occasioned by starvation and fever in Connaught
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, the ruin of the linen trade, the vestry tax for the benefit of Protestant churches, the tithes to the Protestant clergy, which Catholics were obliged to pay as well as their Protestant countrymen, the exorbitant rents extracted by absentee landlords, and the crying abuse of forcing the peasantry to buy seed-corn and seed-potatoes from landlords and agents at usurious charges. No attention was paid to these letters. Dr. MacHale accompanied to London a deputation of Mayo gentlemen, who received only meaningless assurances from Earl Grey. After witnessing the coronation of William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, the bishop, requiring change of air on account of ill-health, went on to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, but not before he had addressed to the premier another letter informing him that the scarcity in Ireland "was a famine in the midst of plenty, the oats being exported to pay rents, tithes, etc., and that the English people were actually sending back in charity what had originally grown on Irish soil plus freightage and insurance". It may be observed that Dr. MacHale never blamed the English people, whose generosity he acknowledged. On the other hand he severely condemned the Government for its incapacity, its indifference to the wrongs of Ireland, that aroused in the Irish peasantry a sullen hatred unknown to their more simple-minded forefathers. During an absence of sixteen months he wrote excellent descriptive letters of all he saw on the Continent. They were eagerly read in The Freeman's Journal, while the sermons he preached in Rome were so admired that they were translated into Italian. Amid the varied interests of the Eternal City he was ever mindful of Ireland's woes and forwarded thence another protest to Earl Gray against tithes, and proselytism, this last grievance being then rampant, particularly in Western Connaught. On his return he became an opponent of the proposed system of non-sectarian 'National Schools', fearing that the bill as originally framed, was an insidious attempt to weaken the faith of Irish children.
Archbishop of Tuam
Oliver KellyOliver Kelly
Oliver Kelly was an Irish clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the Archbishop of Tuam from 1815 to 18 April 1834, and was responsible for the building of the The Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuam...
, Archbishop of Tuam, died in 1834, and the clergy selected MacHale as one of three candidates, to the annoyance of the Government who despatched agents to induce the pope not to nominate him to the vacant see. Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
dryly remarked:
- ever since the Relief Bill had passed, the English Government never failed to interfere about every appointment as it fell vacant" (Charles C. F. Greville, "Memoirs", pt. II).
Disregarding their request, the pope appointed MacHale Archbishop of Tuam. He was the first prelate since the Reformation who had received his entire education in Ireland. The corrupt practices of general parliamentary elections and the Tithe War
Tithe War
The Tithe War was a campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience, punctuated by sporadic violent episodes, in Ireland between 1830-36 in reaction to the enforcement of Tithes on subsistence farmers and others for the upkeep of the established state church - the Church of Ireland...
caused frequent rioting and bloodshed, and were the subjects of denunciation by the new archbishop, until the passing of a Tithes bill in 1838. Archbishop MacHale now began in the newspapers a series of open letters to the Government, whereby he frequently harassed the ministers into activity in Irish affairs. MacHale also led the opposition to the Protestant Second Reformation
Second Reformation
The term Second Reformation has been used in a number of contexts in Protestantism, and continues to be used by some to refer to contemporary events. In Germany and Northern Europe generally it is likely to refer to a period of Calvinist pressure on Lutheranism from about 1560–1619...
, which was being pursued by evangelical clergy in the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
, including the Bishop of Tuam, Thomas Plunket
Thomas Plunket, 2nd Baron Plunket
The Right Reverend Thomas Span Plunket, 2nd Baron Plunket , was Bishop of Tuam, Killaly and Achonry.Plunket was the first son of William Plunket, 1st Baron Plunket and his wife, Catherine . He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. On the death of his father in 1854, he became the 2nd Baron...
.
During the Autumn of 1835, he visited the Island of Achill, a stronghold of the Bible Readers. In order to offset their proselytism, he sent thither more priests and Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monks of the Third Order
Third order
The term Third Order designates persons who live according to the Third Rule of a Roman Catholic religious order, an Anglican religious order, or a Lutheran religious order. Their members, known as Tertiaries, are generally lay members of religious orders, i.e...
.
MacHale condemned the Poor Law
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
, and the system of National Schools and Queen's Colleges as devised by the Government. He founded his own schools, entrusting those for boys to the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
and Franciscan monks, while Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
and Presentation Nuns
Presentation Sisters
The Presentation Sisters, also known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary are an order of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland by Nano Nagle in 1775....
taught the girls. Want of funds restricted the number of these schools,which had to be supplemented by the National Board at a later period, when the necessary amendments had been added to the Bill.
Repeal of the Union campaign, 1830s
The repeal of the UnionAct of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
, advocated by Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
, enlisted his ardent sympathy and he assisted the Liberator in many ways, and remitted subscriptions from his priests for this purpose. We are told by his biographer Bernard O'Reilly
Bernard O'Reilly
Bernard O'Reilly was an Australian author and bushman of Irish descent. He was born and raised in the Blue Mountains about 50 km north-west of Sydney and later moved to the McPherson Range near Beaudesert in South East Queensland, Australia.On 20 August 1931 Bernard O'Reilly married Viola...
, that like his friend, the prelate "was for a thorough and universal organisation of Irishmen in a movement for obtaining by legal and peaceful agitation the restoration of Ireland's legislative independence". The Charitable Bequests Bill, formerly productive of numerous lawsuits owing to its animus against donations to religious orders, was vehemently opposed by the archbishop. In this he differed considerably from some other Irish prelates, who thought that each bishop should exercise his own judgment as to his acceptance of a commissionership on the Board, or as regarded the partial application of the Act. The latter has since then been so amended, that in its present form it is quite favourable to Catholic charities and the Catholic poor. In his zeal for the cause of the Catholic religion and of Ireland, so long down-trodden, but not in the 1830s, Dr. MacHale frequently incurred from his opponents the charge of intemperate language, something not altogether undeserved. He did not possess that suavity of manner which is so invaluable to leaders of men and public opinion, and so he alarmed or offended others. In his anxiety to reform abuses and to secure the welfare of Ireland, by an uncompromising and impetuous zeal, he made many bitter and unrelenting enemies. This was particularly true of British ministers and their supporters, by whom he was dubbed "a firebrand", and "a dangerous demagogue". Cardinal Barnabo, Prefect of Propaganda, who had serious disagreements with Dr. MacHale, declared he was a twice-dyed Irishman, a good man ever insisting on getting his own way. This excessive inflexibility, not sufficiently tempered by prudence, explains his more or less stormy career.
The Famine of 1845-49
The Irish famineIrish Potato Famine (1845–1849)
In Ireland, the Great Famine was a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration between 1845 and 1852. It is also known, mostly outside Ireland, as the Irish Potato Famine...
of 1846-47 affected his diocese more than any. In the first year he announced in a sermon that the famine was a divine punishment on his flock for their sins (as did Cardinal Wiseman). Then by 1846 he warned the Government as to the state of Ireland, reproached them for their dilatoriness, and held up the uselessness of relief works expended on high roads instead of on quays and piers to develop the sea fisheries. From England as well as other parts of the world, cargoes of food were sent to the starving Irish. Bread and soup were distributed from the archbishop's kitchen. Donations sent to him were acknowledged, accounted for, and disbursed by his clergy among the victims.
Political matters
The death of Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
(1847) was a deep sorrow to Dr. MacHale. He was also much grieved at the dissentions of the Repealers
Repeal Association
The Repeal Association was an Irish mass membership political movement set up by Daniel O'Connell to campaign for a repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland....
, and the violent tactics of the Young Ireland
Young Ireland
Young Ireland was a political, cultural and social movement of the mid-19th century. It led changes in Irish nationalism, including an abortive rebellion known as the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Many of the latter's leaders were tried for sedition and sentenced to penal transportation to...
party, who would not listen to his wise and patriotic advice. In 1848, he visited Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and by his representations to Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
inflicted a deadly blow upon the proposed 'Queen's Colleges'. He also succeeded in preventing diplomatic intercourse between the British Government and Rome. The Synod of Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
, held in 1850, emphasized the different views entertained by the hierarchy respecting the education question. On that occasion Dr. MacHale strongly protested against giving any countenance to a mixed system of education already condemned by the pope. During the recrudescence of "No Popery" in 1851, on the occasion of the re-establishment of the English Catholic hierarchy, and the passing of thr intolerant Ecclesiastical Titles Act
Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in 1851 as an anti-Roman Catholic measure, repealed 20 years later by the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871...
that inflicted penalties upon any Roman Catholic prelate who assumed the title of his see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
, Dr. MacHale boldly signed his letters to Government on this subject "John, Archbishop of Tuam". This act of defiance so startled the Cabinet that it was considered more prudent not to attempt a prosecution and to allow the Bill to remain a dead letter.
As to the Catholic University, though Dr. MacHale had been foremost in advocating the project, he disagreed completely with Paul Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin (afterward Cardinal), concerning its management and control, and the appointment of Dr. Newman as rector. The want of concord among the Irish bishops on this question, and the honest but totally wrong opinions of Dr. MacHale, handicapped the new university. The archbishop approved of Tenant Right and also of the Irish Tenant League. He wrote to O'Connell's son that it "was the assertion of the primitive right of man to enjoy in security and peace the fruit of his industry and labour". At a conference held in Dublin, men of all creeds supported his views on "fixity of tenure, free sale, and fair rent". Though it is impossible to relate all the events of a life which the Freeman's Journal described as the history of Ireland for the greater part of the nineteenth century, enough has been written to show how by pen, word, and deed, "the Lion of Juda" endeavored to benefit his country. Toward the end of his life he withdrew very much from active politics, though he was happy enough to live to see the dawn of more prosperous days for Ireland.
Vatican Council 1869
MacHale attended the First Vatican CouncilFirst Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
in 1869. He thought that the favourable moment had not arrived for an immediate definition of the dogma of papal infallibility
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
. Better to leave it a matter of faith, not written down, and consequently he spoke and voted in the council against its promulgation.
Once the dogma had been defined, he declared the dogma of infallibility "to be true Catholic doctrine, which he believed as he believed the Apostles' Creed". In 1877, to the disappointment of the archbishop who desired that his nephew should be his co-adjutor, Dr. John McEvilly
John McEvilly
John McEvilly was an Irish Roman Catholic archbishop.Born in Louisburgh, County Mayo, he was ordained in 1842 and became priest of Tuam...
, Bishop of Galway, was elected by the clergy of the archdiocese, and was commanded by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
after some delay, to assume his post. He had opposed this election as far as possible, but submitted to the papal order.
Use of Irish Gaelic
Every Sunday he preached a sermon in Irish at the cathedral, and during his diocesan visitations he always addressed the people in their native tongue, which was still largely used in his diocese. On journeys he usually conversed in Irish with his attendant chaplain, and had to use it to address people of Tuam or the beggars who greeted him whenever he went out. He preached his last Irish sermon after his Sunday Mass, April, 1881.Memorials
He died after a short illness at Tuam on 7 November 1881, and was interred before the high altar in Tuam CathedralTuam Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuam, commonly called Tuam Cathedral, is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam in Ireland. The geographic remit of the Archdiocese includes half of County Galway, half of County Mayo and part of County Roscommon...
. A marble statue perpetuates his memory in the Cathedral grounds. McHale Park
McHale Park
McHale Park is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. It is the home of the Castlebar Mitchels and Mayo Gaelic football teams...
in Castlebar
Castlebar
Castlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
and Archbishop McHale College in Tuam are named for him.
Works
Among his writings are a treatise on the evidences of CatholicismCatholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and translations in Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
of Moore's "Melodies," and part of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
. He compiled an Irish language catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
and prayer book
Breviary
A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
. Moreover, he made translations into Irish of portions of the scriptures as well as the Latin hymns, Dies Irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
and Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...
.