Part 1

Irish Ecclesiastical Record

Volume 1

May 1865

CONTENTS

The See Of Derry. Dr. Colenso And The Old Testament. No. II. Blessed Thaddeus M’Carthy. Liturgical Questions. Correspondence. Documents. Notices Of Books. Footnotes

THE SEE OF DERRY.

The territory of Cineal-Eoghain, from a very early period, formed a distinct diocese, which took its name from the church of Arderath, now Ardstraw, situated on the River Derg, and founded by St. Eugene, first bishop of this see. In the synod of Rathbreasail, an. 1110, it is called “Dioecesis Ardsrathensis” though probably in that very year the city of Derry was chosen for the episcopal residence. “Sedes Episcopalis”, writes Dr. O’Cherballen, bishop of the see in 1247, “a tempore limitationis Episcopatuum Hyberniae in villa Darensi utpote uberiori et magis idoneo loco qui in sua Dioecesi habeatur, extitit constituta”. For some years this arrangement continued undisturbed, till the appointment of Dr. O’Coffy, who about the year 1150 transferred his see to Rathlure, a church dedicated to St. Luroch; and subsequently, for one hundred years, we find the see designated “Dioecesis Rathlurensis”, or “de Rathlurig”, under which name it appears in the lists of Centius Camerarius.

Dr. Muredach O’Coffy was a canon regular of the order of St. Augustine, and “was held in great repute for his learning, humility, and charity to the poor”—(Ware). The old Irish annalists style him “the sun of science; the precious stone and resplendent gem of knowledge; the bright star and rich treasury of learning; and as in charity, so too was he powerful in pilgrimage and prayer”. He assisted at the Synod of Kells, which was convened by Cardinal Paparo in 1152, and in the catalogue of its bishops he is styled from the territory occupied by his see, _the Bishop of Cineal-Eoghain_. His death is marked in our annals on the 10th of February, 1173/4.

Amlaf O’Coffy succeeded the same year, and is also eulogized by our annalists as “a shining light, illuminating both clergy and people”. He was translated to Armagh in 1184, but died the following year. Our ancient records add that “his remains were brought with great solemnity to Derry and interred at the feet of his predecessor”.

Florence O’Cherballen next governed the see, from 1185 to 1230; whilst the episcopate of his successor, Friar German O’Cherballen, embraced well nigh half a century, extending from 1230 to his death in 1279. It was during the administration of this last-named bishop that the episcopal see was once more definitively fixed in Derry. The Holy See, by letter of 31st May, 1247, commissioned the Bishop of Raphoe, the Abbot of the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul in Armagh, and the Prior of Louth, to investigate the reasons set forth by Dr. Germanus for abandoning the church of Rathlure. The following extract from the Papal letter preserves to us the chief motive thus alleged by Bishop Germanus:

“Cum villa Rathlurensis pene sit inaccessibilis propter montana, nemora et paludes, quibus est undique circumcincta, aliasque propter sterilitatem ipsius et necessariorum defectum nequeat ibi dictus Episcopus vel aliquis de suis canonicis residere, nec clerus ejusdem dioecesis illuc convenire ad synodum et ad alia quae saepius expedirent praefatus episcopus nobis humiliter supplicavit ut utilitatibus Rathlurensis Ecclesiae, ac cleri ejusdem misericorditer providentes sedem ipsam reduci ad locum pristinum Darensem villam videlicet de benignitate Sedis Apostolicae faceremus”—(_Mon. Vatic._ pag. 48).

It was also added by Dr. O’Cherballen, that his predecessor, O’Coffy, had himself been born in Rathlure, and that it was through love for his native district he had, by his own authority, transferred the episcopal seat from Derry to Rathlure (illectus natalis soli dulcedine transtulit motu propriae voluntatis).

The appointed deputies approved of the resolution taken by Bishop Germanus, and a few years later (1254), in reply to the Chapter of Derry, the same Pope Innocent IV. thus confirmed this translation of the see:

“Cum, sicuti ex tenore vestrae petitionis accepimus, sedes Anichlucensis(1) Ecclesiae de speciali mandato nostro et assensu etiam venerabilis fratris nostri Archiepiscopi Armachani loci metropolitani ad Darensem Ecclesiam sit translata, nos vestris supplicationibus inclinati translationem hujusmodi, sicut provide facta est, et in alicujus praejudicium non redundat, ratam et firmam habentes, eam auctoritate Apostolica confirmamus. Datum Neapoli, secundo Nonas Novembris, Pontificatus nostri anno duodecimo”—(_Ibid._, 64).

By a previous letter he had, as early as the first of July in the fourth year of his pontificate, in anticipation of this translation of the see, granted to the chapter of the diocese of Derry the same privileges, indulgences, and other special favours which it had hitherto enjoyed in Rathlure (_Ib._, pag. 48).

The successor of Bishop Germanus was Florence O’Cherballen, who held the see from 1279 to 1293. Five other bishops then came in rapid succession. Henry of Ardagh, from 1294 to 1297; Geoffry Melaghlin, from 1297 to 1315; Hugh or Odo O’Neal, from 1316 to 1319; Michael Melaghlin, from 1319 to about 1330; and Maurice, from about 1330 to 1347.

On the death of the last-named bishop, a Dominican, by name Symon, was appointed by Pope Clement VI. to rule the See of Derry. He had indeed already been nominated by brief, dated the 5th of the Ides of May, 1347, to the diocese of Clonmacnoise, but the aged and infirm bishop of that see, who was reported to have passed to a better life, was not yet deceased, and hence, on the vacancy of Derry, Bishop Symon was, by brief of 18th December, 1347, appointed successor of St. Eugene. From the first brief, which nominated him to Clonmacnoise, we learn that Friar Symon was Prior of the Dominican fathers of Roscommon, and was remarkable for his zeal, his literary proficiency, and his manifold virtues. The brief of his appointment to Derry adds the following particulars:

“Dudum ad audientiam apostolatus nostri relatione minus vera perlata, quod Ecclesia Cluanensis per obitum Venerabilis fratris nostri Henrici Episcopi Cluanensis qui in partibus illis decessisse dicebatur, vacabat: Nos credentes relationem hujusmodi veram esse, de te ordinis fratrum Praedicatorum professore eidem Ecclesiae duximus providendum, praeficiendo te illi in Episcopum et pastorem: et subsequenter per Ven. fratrem nostrum Talayrandum Episcopum Albanensem tibi apud sedem Apostolicam fecimus munus consecrationis impendi. Cum autem sicut postea vera relatio ad nos perduxit praefatus Henricus tempore provisionis hujus modi ageret, sicut agere dignoscitur, in humanis, tu nullius Ecclesiae Episcopus remansisti. Postmodum vero Ecclesia Darensi, per obitum bonae memoriae Mauricii Episcopi Darensis qui extra Romanam curiam diem clausit extremum, pastoris solatio destitute, Nos ... cupientes talem eidem Darensi Ecclesiae praeesse personam quae sciret, vellet et posset eam in suis manutenere juribus ac etiam adaugere, ipsamque praeservare a noxiis et adversis, post deliberationem quam super his cum fratribus nostris habuimus diligentem, demum ad te consideratis grandium virtutum meritis, quibus personam tuam Dominus insignivit, convertimus oculos nostræ mentis, etc. Datum Avinione XV. Kalend. Januarii Pontif. Nostri anno octavo”—(_Mon. Vatic._, pag. 292).

Bishop Symon seems to have held the see till the close of this century, and the next bishop that we find was John, Abbot of Moycoscain, or _de claro fonte_, who was appointed to Derry by brief of Pope Boniface IX. on 19th August, 1401. Of his immediate successors we know little more than the mere names. William Quaplod, a Carmelite and a distinguished patron of literary men, died in 1421. Donald for ten years then ruled the diocese, and resigned in 1431; his successor, John, died in 1456. A Cistercian monk, named Bartholomew O’Flanagan, next sat in the see for five years; and Nicholas Weston, a canon of Armagh, who was consecrated its bishop in 1466, held it till his death in 1484.

Donald O’Fallon, an Observantine Franciscan, was advanced to this see by Pope Innocent VIII. on the 17th of May, 1485: “he was reckoned a man of great reputation in his time for learning, and a constant course of preaching through all Ireland, which he continued for full thirty years”—(_Ware_). He died in the year 1500.

James Mac Mahon is the first bishop whose name appears in the sixteenth century. He was Commendatory Prior of the Abbey of SS. Peter and Paul, at Knock, in the county Louth, and died in December, 1517.

William Hogeson, which is probably a corruption of the Irish name _O’Gashin_, was appointed his successor by Pope Leo X. on 8th of August, 1520. He belonged to the order of St. Dominic, and seems to have administered the see till 1529.

Roderick or Rory O’Donnell, Dean of Raphoe, was chosen by Pope Clement VII., on 19th September, 1529, to occupy the see of Derry. This bishop was very much opposed to the religious innovations which Henry VIII. endeavoured to introduce into the Irish Church. In the _State Papers_ (vol. i. pag. 598) there is a letter dated 14th March, 1539, and addressed by Lord Cromwell to the English king, in which the following eulogy is passed on Dr. O’Donnell: “Also there be letters long from an arrant traitor, Rorick, Bishop of Derry, in your grace’s land of Ireland, his hand and great seal at it, to the Bishop of Rome, declaring the calamities of the Papists in Ireland”. It was in the preceding year that Bishop Roderick had mortally offended the agents of King Henry by his efforts to preserve from their grasp the youthful Gerald, who, though yet in his boyhood, was chief of the Geraldines, and destined, it was hoped, to become one day the rallying point of a confederacy of the Irish chieftains. In the month of May Gerald and his faithful escort passed without molestation from the south to the north of Ireland, being hospitably received in Thomond, Galway, and Sligo; and they were safely entrenched within the barriers of Tyrconnell before the government spies had even caught the intelligence of this journey. On the 28th of June the Earl of Ormonde wrote a long letter to the council of Ireland, giving information of the movements of young Gerald. From this letter we learn that it was an Irish rhymist that acted as his spy amongst the Northern chieftains, and that, according to the latest intelligence received from him, “twenty-four horsemen, well apparrelled”, had been appointed to wait upon the young Geraldine. The King of Scotland, too, solicited the Irish princes to commit Gerald to his care. However, in another letter, of 20th July, the same earl writes that this scheme was not pleasing to O’Neil and O’Donnell, but “the Bishop O’Donnell (of Derry), James Delahoyde, Master Levrous, and Robert Walshe, are gone as messengers to Scotland, to pray aid from the Scottish king; and before their going, all the gentlemen of Ulster, for the most part, promised to retain as many Scots as they should bring with them, at their own expense and charges during the time of their service in Ireland”—(_St. Pap._, iii. 52). Another information further states that as a Christmas present in December, 1538, Art Oge O’Toole had sent to Gerald “a saffron shirt trimmed with silk, and a mantle of English cloth fringed with silk, together with a sum of money”—(_Ibid._, pag. 139). And a few months later Cowley writes from Dublin to the English court, that “there never was seen in Ireland so great a host of Irishmen and Scots, both of the out isles and of the mainland of Scotland; whilst at the same time the pretended Earl of Desmond has all the strength of the west”—(_Ibid._, pag. 145). It is not necessary to pursue the subsequent events of this confederacy, as we have no express documents to attest the share taken in it by the Bishop of Derry. One further fact alone connected with our great prelate has been recorded by our annalists, and it, too, regards the closing scene of his eventful life, viz., that before his death he wished to become a member of the Franciscan order, and dying on the 8th of October, 1550, “he was buried in the monastery of Donegal in the habit of St. Francis”—(_Four Mast._, v. 1517).

Eugene Magennis, the next bishop, governed the see from 1551 to 1568. It was during his episcopate that the venerable church and monastery of St. Colomba, together with the town of Derry, were reduced to a heap of ruins. The fact is thus narrated by Cox: “Colonel Saintlow succeeded Randolph in the command of the garrison, and lived as quietly as could be desired; for the rebels were so daunted by the former defeat that they did not dare to make any new attempt; but unluckily, on the 24th day of April (1566), the ammunition took fire, and blew up both the town and the fort of Derry, whereby twenty men were killed, and all the victuals and provisions were destroyed, and no possibility left of getting more, so that the soldiers were necessitated to embark for Dublin”—(_Hist._, part i. pag. 322). This disaster was regarded at the time as a divine chastisement for the profanation of St. Columba’s church and cell, the latter being used by the heretical soldiery as a repository of ammunition, whilst the former was defiled by their profane worship—(_O’Sulliv._, pag. 96).

The next bishop was Raymond O’Gallagher, who, when receiving the administration of the see of Killala, in 1545, is described in the Consistorial Acts as “clericus dioecesis Rapotensis in vigesimotertio anno constitutus”. It was also commanded that after four years, _i.e._ when he would have attained his twenty-seventh year, he should be consecrated Bishop of Killala. In 1569, he was translated from that see to Derry, which he ruled during the many perils and persecutions of Elizabeth’s reign, till, as Mooney writes, “omnium Episcoporurm Europae ordinatione antiquissimus”, he died, full of years, on the 15th of March in 1601. In a government memorial of 28th July, 1592, Dr. O’Gallagher is thus noticed: “First in Ulster is one Redmondus O’Gallagher, Bishop of Derry.... The said Bishop O’Gallagher hath been with divers governors of that land upon protection, and yet he is supposed to enjoy the bishoprick and all the aforesaid authorities these xxvi years and more, whereby it is to be understood that he is not there as a man without authority and secretly kept”—(_Kilken. Proceedings_, May, 1856, pag. 80). The xxvi of this passage has led many into error as to the date of Dr. O’Gallagher’s appointment to Derry, which, reckoning back from 1592, should be placed in 1567. However, that numeral probably is a misprint for xxiii, such mistakes being very frequent in the mediaeval manuscripts, as well as in more modern publications. The following extract from the papers of Cardinal Morone in the Vatican archives, will serve to show that in 1569 the see was vacant by the death of Bishop Eugenius:—

“Litterae Reverendissimi Armachani ad Patrem Polancum: Quod Daniel ab ipso nominatus fiat Episcopus Darensis: contentio de Episcopatu Clogherensi inter duos, videtur ponendus tertius: Rapotensis et Darensis non iverunt ad concilium Provinciale propter bella: Archiepiscopus Armacanus haberet suam Ecclesiam si vellet consentire Reginae: posset mitti subsidium pro Armachano ad Praesidentem Collegii Lovaniensis: Archiepiscopus Armachanus male tractatur in carceribus”.

This minute of Cardinal Morone bears no date, but is registered with a series of papers of 1568 and 1569. The Father Polanco to whom the Primate’s letter was addressed, was the Procurator-General of the Society of Jesus, and was the same who was deputed to be bearer of the blessing of the Holy Father to the dying founder of that great order. To the preceding _minute_ are added the following remarks, which seem to have been presented to the Cardinal by Father Polanco:—

“Archiepiscopus Armachanus scribit expedire ut tertius nominetur Episcopus pro Clogherensi Dioecesi, non tamen favet Domino Milero. Causa posset committi in partibus D. Episcopo Accadensi et aliquibus aliis comprovincialibus Episcopis.

“Episcopatus Darensis in dicta Provincia Armachana vacat nunc per obitum Eugenii ultimi Episcopi. Duo Hiberni dictae Dioecesis pro eo obtinendo venerunt ad curiam: viz. Cornelius O’Chervallan cum quibusdam litteris Patris David Wolff et cum aliis Rectoris Lovanii. Item Magonius (Mac Mahon) Abbas commendatus litteris Episcoporum Rapotensis et Kilmorensis cum approbatione capituli Darensis”.

Dr. O’Gallagher, however, was the person chosen by the Holy See, and was proclaimed in consistory before the close of 1569. A few years later we find faculties communicated to him by Rome for his own diocese, and for the whole province of Armagh, “quamdiu venerabilis frater Richardus Archiepiscopus Armachanus impeditus a Dioecesi et Provincia Armachana abfuerit”—(13 April, 1575, _Ex. Secret. Brev._). About 1594 other special faculties were again communicated to him through Cardinal Allan—(ap. _King, Hist._, pag. 1213); and we soon after meet with him in the camp of O’Donnell, when that chieftain was gathering his forces to cut short the military career of General Norris: “There were there”, writes O’Sullivan, “some ecclesiastics, and especially Raymond O’Gallagher, Bishop of Derry, and Vice-Primate of Ireland, who absolved from the excommunication which they had incurred, those troops that passed from the Elizabethan ranks to the Catholic army”—(_Hist. Cath._, p. 181). It was in 1596 that Norris set out with about 10,000 men to invade North Connaught and Tyrconnell. That general was flushed with his victories in France and Belgium, nevertheless he was obliged to ignominiously retreat from the Ulster frontiers, being unable even to bring to battle the chosen army of 5,000 men which was led by the brave O’Donnel.

On the 22nd of July, 1597, an Irishman named Bernard O’Donnell was arrested at Lisle, and brought before the royal court, accused of carrying on treasonable intercourse with the Spanish government, and of being bearer of despatches from the Irish bishops and chieftains to the authorities in Spain and Rome. From one of the questions proposed to him at his cross-examination, we glean some further particulars connected with our Bishop of Derry:—

“Respondes tibi nulla fuisse negotia ab Hibernis commissa: et tamen reperimus prae manibus tuis litteras cujusdam Gabrielis Vasci (Vasquez), Theologi Societatis Jesu ex Hispania decimo die mensis Junii superioris (1596) scriptis Romam ad Franciscum Rodrigum (Rodriquez) Societatis Jesu, quibus te illi unice commendat scribitque te eo profecturum fuisse negotiorum publicorum causa. Simul etiam invenimus exemplum manu tua scriptum epistolae cujusdam a Remundo Derensi Episcopo ad summum Pontificem, ex qua apparet, te, post tuum ex Hispania ad Hibernos reditum, nobiles Hibernos firmasse et illis animum addidisse ad arma suscipienda contra Reginam Angliae: idemque rogat summum Pontificem, ut tibi fidem adhibeat in multis quae illi dicenda tibi commisit. Invenimus etiam prae manibus tuis exemplum litterarum manu tua exaratum quibus O’Nellus ille summum Pontificem rogat ut tibi fidem adhibeat non modo in his quae illi dicturus eras de beneficiorum Ecclesiasticorum dispensatione apud Hibernos, sed etiam de omnibus rebus publicis Hibernorum? _Resp._ Agnosco equidem illa omnia exemplaria litterarum fuisse mea manu scripta: sed ad cumulandam commendationem meam”.

Fortunately, appended to this examination, the letter itself of the Bishop of Derry has been preserved to us. We present it in full to the reader, as it is the only letter of this great bishop that the calamitous era of persecution has permitted to reach us:—

“Copie de lettre escrite au Pape par Remond Derensis Episcopus.

“Tuam Sanctitatem latere non arbitramur quam alacri et excelso animo nostrae nobilitatis praecipui, Sancti haud dubie Spiritus instinctu, tyrannicae Anglorum pravitati ausi sunt resistere: omnem ipsorum virulentiam et Satanici furoris artificia, aperto marte viriliter irritando. Tametsi quis facile enumeret quae quotidie volvantur et emergant quibus ut animum adderet, ipsosque in hoc pulcherimo instituto spe subsidii confirmaret, stabiliretque, cum lator praesentium N. (_sic._) ex Hispania novissime venisset, cuncta ita uti sunt Catholicae majestati fideliter relaturus, volumus atque monemus ut Tua quoque Sanctitas fidem incunctanter eidem adhibeat; ac luctuosae tuae Hiberniae et innumeris cladibus ab haereticis jamdiu afflictae, squalidam ac funestam faciem benigno vultu aspiciat et egregiam hanc occasionem divinitus, ut credimus, oblatam opportune arripiat, memor quam eadem esse soleat occipiti calvo: suisque fidelissimis non modo ab ineunte Christianismo clientibus, sed ab aliquot annorum centuriis regio jure subditis, quam maturee poterit clementer prospiciat, ac expectationis nostrae ac Tabellarii, cui pleraque Tuae Sanctitati nuncianda relinquimus, desiderio satisfaciat: cujus etiam nos, generis, industriae, nobilitatis, ac sinceri et vehementis in religionem et patriam affectus, rationem habentes, Tuam oramus Sanctitatem ut eundem benigno favore prosequatur, ipsique de dignitate _N._ providere non cunctetur nostrum in hac re judicium auctoritate sua comprobando”—(_St. Pap._, Public Rec. Off. London).

With this evidence before him, the reader may fully appreciate the favourite modern theory of the defenders of the Protestant Establishment, that, forsooth, the Irish bishops during Elizabeth’s reign abandoned the faith of their fathers, and became liege servants of the church by law established! Dr. Cotton when speaking of our see makes a somewhat more reserved, but equally erroneous statement: “Redmond O’Gallagher”, he says, “was bishop at this time, but whether recognised as such by Queen Elizabeth and the Protestant Church _does not appear_”—(_Fasti_, iii. 315). Why, it does appear as plainly as the noon-day sun that he was the determined enemy of the Protestant queen and her establishment: throughout his whole episcopate he was a devoted pastor of the Catholic Church, and thus his fidelity and devotion to the cause of God merited for him in death the martyr’s crown. First on the list of those who suffered for the faith during the reign of Elizabeth is reckoned by Dr. Mathews, Archbishop of Dublin, in 1623, “Redmondus Galluthurius Darensis Episcopus et Martyr”—(_Relat. ad. S. C. de Prop. Fid._) Mooney, writing in 1617, also styles him a martyr: “Episcopus Redmondus Gallaher martyr obiit anno 1601”; and O’Sullivan Beare, about the same time, adds some of the circumstances of his death: “Raymundus O’Gallacher”, he writes, “Derii vel Luci Episcopus, ab Anglis bipennibus confessus, et capite truncatus annum circiter octogesimum agens”—(_Hist. Cath._, pag. 77). The Four Masters (ad an. 1601) also mention his being put to death by the English; and Rothe reckons him amongst those who suffered for the faith. Tradition still points out the spot on which the venerable bishop was slain, almost midway on the high road between O’Kane’s Castle and Dungiven. (See Dr. Kelly’s _Essays_, with the additions of Dr. M’Carthy: Dublin, 1864, pag. 425).

It now only remains to notice some few popular errors connected with this see.