THE SEE OF DOWN AND CONNOR.
The united dioceses of Down and Connor present many themes of special interest to the student of the ecclesiastical history of our island, and have engaged more than any other diocese of Ireland the attention of Irish antiquarians. Suffice it to mention the learned work of Dr. Reeves, entitled Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, etc., published in 1847, and presented by the author to the Irish Archaeological Society. Nevertheless, even in this favoured see, the succession of bishops, as published by Ware and Harris, and subsequently adopted, with few variations, by Reeves and Cotton, abounds with errors and anachronisms; and hence, that the reader may learn to receive with caution the statements even of our most esteemed antiquarians when they are unsupported by ancient records, we propose to present a more accurate list of the bishops of this see, from the arrival of the English, down to the close of Elizabeth's reign.
When De Courcy invaded Ulster in 1177, he found the Diocese of Dundalethglas, i.e. Down, governed by a Bishop Malachias, who was third in succession from the great St. Malachy. This Bishop subsequently accompanied De Courcy into England, and was instrumental in the donations made by that nobleman to the Abbey of St. Werburga in Chester, and to other religious houses. He died in 1201.
Ralph, Abbot first of Kinloss and afterwards of Melross, in Scotland, was chosen his successor, and was confirmed by Cardinal John de Salerno, legate of Pope Innocent III. in 1202. Having governed this see for eleven years, he had for his successor, in 1213, Bishop Thomas, during whose episcopate many donations were made by Hugh de Lacy to the monastery of Dundalethglas. Matthew Paris records some facts connected with this prelate, and especially his having held an ordination in the great monastery of St. Alban's; he also consecrated there three churchyards, and dedicated an altar to St. Leonard. He died in 1242.
A contest then arose between the abbeys of Down and Bangor as to which belonged the right of electing the bishop of the see. The Abbot of Bangor claimed it as an ancient privilege of that great monastery, whilst on the other hand the Benedictine Monks of Dundalethglas put forward their claim, as constituting the chapter of the Cathedral Church. Rome referred the question to the decision of the Archbishop of Armagh, who, with his suffragans, in 1243, pronounced judgment in favour of the abbey of Down, and this sentence was ratified by Pope Innocent IV., on the 3rd of the Nones of March, 1243/4—(Theiner, Monumen. Vat., page 42).
Randal (in Latin Ranulfis) was then appointed bishop of this see. He died in 1253, and the chapter of Down chose, without delay, a successor in the person of Thomas Liddell, who is styled in the brief of his appointment Rector Ecclesiae del Rathlonge, Carnotensis (a mistake for Connorensis) Dioecesis. King Henry III. refused to sanction this election, and nominated Reginald, Archdeacon of Down, to the vacant see. The chapter could not be induced to ratify this nomination; nevertheless, the king issued a writ, commanding the Archbishop of Armagh to consecrate Reginald, who took possession of the see in 1258. The chapter appealed to the tribunal of the successors of St. Peter, and after a long and tedious examination of the whole controversy, judgment was given by Pope Clement IV., in 1265, declaring that Dr. Liddell was the canonically elected bishop, and that the appointment of Reginald had been from the beginning null and void. Reginald submitted with alacrity to the decree of Rome, and was soon after appointed to the Diocese of Cloyne. The Holy See, moreover, was pleased to confirm all the parochial appointments which Reginald had made during the period of his disputed appointment, adding only the clause, that the clergy thus appointed by him should otherwise be free from all canonical impediments, and capable of discharging the functions confided to them. The brief of Pope Clement IV. granting this favour is dated from Perugia, the 30th April, 1265, and begins: "Tuae devotionis promeretur affectus, ut petitionibus tuis, quantum cum Deo possumus, favorabiliter annuamus"—(Mon. Vat., page 96). Two months later the bull sanctioning the appointment of Dr. Liddell to the See of Down, was published with due solemnity in Viterbo, where the Pontiff then resided. It begins with the statement of the controversy which had deprived that diocese of a chief pastor for so many years, and terminates with the hope that "eadem Dunensis Ecclesia per tune circumspectionis industriam salubria in spiritualibus et temporelibus suscipiat incrementa"—(Ibid., page 101). Thus, then, the name of Reginald, which stands so prominent in the lists of Ware, Reeves, and Cotton, must be cancelled from the canonical order of episcopal succession in the See of Down.
In 1276 Dr. Liddell was summoned to his eternal reward, and had for his successor, the same year, Nicholas, who, from being Prior of the Monastery of Down and treasurer of Ulster, was elected bishop by the chapter, and confirmed by Rome. During his episcopate a controversy was carried on, as to the rights of the Archbishop of Armagh whilst performing the visitation of his suffragan sees. Pope Nicholas III., in 1279, commissioned the Bishop of Clonfert to examine into the various allegations which had been made, and authorised him to cite the Archbishop to Rome, should it be discovered that the visitation of the see had been uncanonically performed. From this letter of the Holy Father it incidentally results that the Archbishop of Armagh had the privilege not only of personally making the visitation of the suffragan episcopal sees, but also, "should any necessity so demand", of deputing a simple clergyman to make similar visitation in particular churches or districts of such sees—(Mon. Vatic., pag. 121).
Dr. Nicholas died in 1304. His successor was Thomas Kittel, pastor of Lesmoghan, who received possession of the temporalities of the see on the 1st of July, 1305, and died in 1313. The chapter of St. Patrick's, according to their no-longer disputed privilege, made choice of Thomas Bright, prior of the cathedral, who received consecration at the hands of Roland De Jorse, Archbishop of Armagh, in 1314. He was, in 1322, nominated by the Holy See to inquire into the various accusations which had been made against the Primate by the English government and others. He died in 1327, and was buried in his own cathedral of St. Patrick.
Reeves commemorates as his successor John of Baliconingham, rector of Arwhyn, and there is no doubt that this prelate was chosen by the English king, and held for some time possession of the temporalities of the see. However, he never was Bishop of Down. Ralph, or Rodulfus, of Kilmessan, in the diocese of Meath, a Franciscan friar, was appointed by Pope John XXII. on the 12th of December, 1328, and consecrated in Avignon by Bertram, the Cardinal Bishop of Tusculum. Even the English government made no opposition, and he received the temporalities of the see on the 1st of April, 1329. The above pastor of Arwhyn was, however, promoted by the same pontiff to the See of Cork, and when, towards the close of 1329, both bishops petitioned the Holy Father to be allowed to exchange their sees, a letter was addressed from Rome to the Archbishop of Armagh, dated the Nones of January, 1330, empowering him to grant this favour to these bishops, should they persist in desiring it, and should he deem it beneficial to their respective sees—(Mon. Vatican., pag. 249). Stephen Segrave then held the primatial see, and he seems to have judged such an exchange of dioceses inopportune or unnecessary, and hence Bishop Rodulfus continued to hold the See of Down till his death in 1353.
In the first year of Pope Innocent VI. (1353) it was represented that the See of Down was vacant by the death of Rodulfus: "dicta Ecclesia per obitum Rodulphi, qui in partibus illis, Praedecessore nostro vivente, debitum naturae persolvit"; and hence Gregory, provost of Killala, was appointed bishop on the 29th January, 1353, and was consecrated at Avignon by Cardinal Peter, Bishop of Palestrina. The infirm Bishop Rodulfus, however, was not yet deceased, and Gregory was immediately promoted to some titular bishopric. When Rodulfus finally passed to a better world, in August, 1353, the clergy and chapter of Down petitioned to have Richard Calf, who was prior of the monastery, advanced to the vacant see. This petition was readily granted, and the appointment of Dr. Richard was registered on the 2nd of the Nones of December, the same year. A few days later he was consecrated in Avignon, by order of his Holiness, and on the 23rd of December the following beautiful letter was addressed to him by the Holy Father:
"Pridem Dunensi Ecclesia Pastoris solatio destituta, Nos ad personam tuam claris virtutum titulis insignitam nostrae mentis aciem dirigentes, te de fratrum nostrorum consilio eidem Ecclesiae in Episcopum praefecimus et pastorem, curam et administrationem ipsius Ecclesiae tibi in spiritualibus et temporalibus plenarie committendo prout in litteris nostris inde confectis plenius continetur. Cum autem postmodum per ven. fratrem nostrum Petrum Episcopum Bottentonensem tibi fecerimus apud Sedem Apostolicam munus consecrationis impendi, fraternitati tuae per apostolica scripta mandamus, quatenus apostolicae sedis beneplacitis te conformans, ad praedictam Ecclesiam cum nostrae benedictionis gratia te personaliter conferens, sic te in administratione ipsius, diligenter et sollicite gerere studeas, ut utilis administratoris industriae non immerito gaudeat se commissam, ac famae laudabilis tuae odor ex tuis probabiliter actibus latius diffundatur, et praeter aeternae retributions praemium nostrae benevolentiae gratiam et favorem exinde uberius consequaris"—(Mon. Vatic., p. 306).
Dr. Richard governed the diocese till his death in 1365. His successor, the Archdeacon William, hold the see only three years, and died in August, 1368. Ware and subsequent writers commemorate John Logan as the next bishop. However, the bull of appointment of Richard, prior of the Benedictine monastery of Down, which is dated 19th February, 1369, styles him the immediate successor of William, and thus leaves no room for Dr. Logan. The chapter was unanimous in presenting the name of Richard to the Holy Father, and the proofs which were added "de religionis zelo, litterarumque scientia", rendered delay unnecessary in appointing him to the vacant see—(Mon. Vatic., p. 332). He ruled the diocese till his death on the 16th of May, 1386. Joannes Rossensis, from being prior of the monastery, was next elected by the chapter, and confirmed by the Holy See. He died six years after his consecration, and had for his successor John Dougan, who, in 1394, was translated to this see, not from Derry, as Ware imagined, but from the diocese of the Isle of Man, the Latin name for which see, i.e. Sodorensis, led the learned author into this error. The Archives of Rome preserve several documents connected with this prelate, some of which were published by my esteemed friend Professor Munch, in his learned notes to the Chronicle of Man, edited for the Royal University of Christiania, in 1860. The first letter which we find regarding him is a brief of Urban V., dated January 23rd, 1367, which commences: "Probitatis et virtutum merita super quibus apud nos fidedignorum commendaris testimonio, nos inducunt ut tibi reddamur ad gratiam liberales". It subsequently addresses Dr. Dougan as Pastor of Camelyn, in the Diocese of Down, and appoints him Archdeacon of the see, the former Archdeacon, William, having been elevated to the episcopacy early in the preceding year. The office of Archdeacon of Down is further described as having attached to it the care of souls, and as usually conferred on persons not belonging to the cathedral chapter. Its annual revenue, too, is described as not exceeding forty marks. Soon after, we find this Archdeacon appointed Apostolic Nuncio for Ireland, and on 13th March, 1369, the privilege was granted to him of choosing as his confessor any member of the secular or regular clergy. The brief according this privilege thus begins: "Benigno sunt tibi illa concedenda favore per quae sicut pie desideras conscientiae pacem et salutem animae, Deo propitio consequi merearis. Hinc est quod nos tuis devotis supplicationibus inclinati tibi Apostolica auctoritate indulgemus ut quamdiu nostri et Ecclesiae Romanae servitiis institeris aliquem idoneum et discretum in tuum possis eligere confessorem, etc." (Dat. Romae ap. S. Petrum, 3º ld. Martii, Pontif. N. an. septimo).
The Bull appointing John Dougan, Archdeacon of Down, to the See of Man, is dated November 6th, 1374, and addressed to "Joanni electo Sodorensi". It mentions as a chief motive for this appointment, that the clergy and people of Man had earnestly solicited it: "pro quo etiam dilecti filii, clerus civitatis et Dioecesis Sodorensis per eorum patentes litteras nobis super hoc humiliter supplicarunt". The Cardinal who consecrated Dr. Dougan was the celebrated Simon de Langham, who held successively the posts of Prior and Abbot of Westminster, Bishop of London and of Ely, Chancellor of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Priest of S. Prassede, and at the time of which we speak was Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina. Of our prelate, it is recorded in the Chronicle of Man that he was elected Bishop on the feast of Corpus Christi, was confirmed by the Pope on the feast of St. Leonard, and was consecrated on St. Catherine's Day. When returning to his diocese he was arrested and thrown into prison in the city of Boulogne, and only after several months was liberated on the payment of a fine of five hundred marks. The motive of this imprisonment has not been recorded. It was probably in connection with his office of papal Nuncio, for he continued, even when Bishop of Man, to exercise the duties of Nuncio of the Holy See for Ireland—(Mon. Vatican. pag. 365: Munch, loc. cit. pag. 31). In 1395 Dr. Dougan was, by Bull of Pope Boniface III., translated to Down. He received many favours from King Henry IV., and on the 16th of September, 1405, we find a commission addressed to him (published by Rymer), authorizing him and Jenico d'Artois to negociate a peace between the Irish northern chieftains and the "Lord of the Isles". Dr. Dougan died in 1412.
The next Bishop of Down was John Sely, who had hitherto been a Benedictine monk, and prior of the Cathedral of St. Patrick. He governed this diocese from 1413 to 1441, when it was united to the See of Connor. The bishops of both sees had more than once represented to the king and to the Holy See the inadequacy of their respective revenues to support with due decorum the episcopal dignity. On the 29th of July, 1438, a royal decree was published permitting these bishops to sue in Rome for a union of their sees: it states as the motive for granting this permission that both sees, "uti fidedigna relatione suscepimus, adeo tenues sunt et exiles ut ipsarum neutra in suis fructibus et proventibus decentiae sufficiat Episcopali". Pope Eugene IV. lent a willing ear to the petition of the Bishops, and no sooner had the Bishop of Down resigned his see than John, Bishop of Connor, was by a special brief constituted at the same time Bishop of Down, and in the following year a papal constitution was published, instituting a real and perpetual union of both sees. Many controversies subsequently arose, especially in regard to the temporalities of the See of Down; Bishop John, however, continued in undisturbed possession of the united dioceses till his death, in 1450, and his successors have ever since retained the title of Bishops of Down and Connor.
The chapter of the united dioceses elected Robert Rochfort to fill the vacant see. He was also strongly recommended to the Holy Father by Primate Mey, who, writing to Pope Nicholas V., on 10th of April, 1451, mentions among his other good qualities that he was "lingua Anglicana et Hibernicâ facundus". Pope Nicholas, however, had already chosen another pastor for that fold, and Richard Wolsey, of the order of St. Dominick, was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor by brief of 21st June, 1451. In this brief the See is described as vacated by the demise of "Thomas, last Bishop of the canonically united Dioceses of Down and Connor". It is added that the new bishop, Dr. Wolsey, was a professed member of the order of St. Dominick, remarkable for his zeal, and prudence, and other virtues—(De Burgo, pag. 474). He held the see for more than five years, and had for his successor Thomas, prior of St. Catherine's, Waterford, who was consecrated by Archbishop Mey on the 31st of May, 1456. His Episcopate lasted for thirteen years, and we find a letter of Paul II. addressed to him on the 16th of April, 1469, empowering him to grant to the friars observant of St. Francis some houses which had been abandoned by the conventual branch of the Franciscan order. This beautiful letter thus begins: "Inter caeteros ordines in agro dominico plantatos sacrum ordinem beati Francisci gerentes in visceribus caritatis, ad ea ex pastorali officio nobis Divina dispensatione commisso libenter intendimus, per quae ordo ipse ad laudem Dei et exaltationem fidei Catholicae ubilibet reflorescat"—(Mon. Vatic., page 461).
He was succeeded by Thadeus, who was consecrated at Rome, in the Church of St. Mary Supra Minervam, on the 10th of September, 1469. His death is registered in the year 1486, and his successor, Tiberius, during along and eventful episcopate, governed this see till his death in 1519. Ware, indeed, supposed that his episcopate continued till circa an. 1526; but Reeves discovered an ancient record which describes the see as vacant by our bishop's death in 1519—(Ec. Antiq., page 160).
The historians of the Augustinian order mention a Bishop Thadeus, who seems to have succeeded in 1520, and held the see till 1526. Robert Blyth, a Benedictine and abbot of the monastery of Thorney, in Cambridgeshire, received this diocese in commendam by royal privilege in 1526. Dr. Cromer, Archbishop of Armagh, refused to give his sanction to this commendatory jurisdiction, and appointed to various benefices of Down and Connor, assigning as his motive the absence of the bishop, "in remotis agentis sine licentia summi Pontificis aut Metropolitani sui". Dr. Blyth, however, continued to administer the diocese till 1540, when he resigned this charge, and had for his successor Eugene Magennis, who was proclaimed in consistory Bishop of Down and Connor in 1541. This Bishop submitted his Bulls to the crown in 1542, and hence was admitted not only to the temporalities of the see, but received in addition other ecclesiastical benefices. On May 9th, 1543, a further writ of pardon was issued in his favour (see Morrin, i. 91); but in all these acts of submission no mention is made of the royal supremacy. The position of his see rendered his submission in temporals too important to the crown to introduce any such embittering clause, and, in fact, the northern chieftains who submitted at the same time were exempted from all reference to religion when professing their allegiance to the government. At all events, no doubt can be entertained of the orthodoxy of this prelate, and in addition to the proofs adduced by other writers, we may mention the consistorial record for the appointment of his successor, in which the see is described as vacant, not by the apostacy or deposition, but simply as is usual in regard of the Catholic bishops, per obitum Eugenii Magnissae.
The precise date of Dr. Eugene's death cannot be fixed with certainty. There is a petition addressed from Carrickfergus to the crown, printed by Shirley (page 132), which is generally supposed to fix the see as vacant in 1563. This petition, however, merely sets forth the desire that, "for the better establishment and countenance of the religion of the Gospel", her Majesty might prefer "some worthy learned man to the Bishopric of Down, a goodly benefice, within the Pale ... who might with special severity establish order in the Church". No mention is made of the death of Dr. Eugene, or of the vacancy of the see; and the desire of the petitioners to have a Protestant bishop, without mentioning such a vacancy, seems to us rather to be a proof that the orthodox bishop was still living. However, the petition bears no date, and Shirley merely marks it as, "supposed date, 1563", under which heading he includes the first month of 1564.
Miler M'Grath, the next bishop, was appointed in consistory of 12th Oct., 1565: "Referente Eminentissimo Cardinali Simonetta, Ecclesiae Dunensi et Connorensi vacanti per obitum Eugenii Magnissae, praefectus fuit fr. Milerius Macra eodem loco Dunii oriundus professus ord. S. Francisci conventualium Presbyter", etc. The appointment of M'Grath had been earnestly opposed by the holy Primate Dr. Creagh, as he himself attests in his depositions made in the Tower of London. Indeed the only recommendation which seems to have been made was from the northern princes, many of whom solicited his appointment to the see, because he was foster-brother of their cherished chieftain, Shane O'Neill. This relationship between O'Neill and M'Grath is expressly mentioned in a Vatican paper, and is the sole key to many documents of the period which hitherto have been an enigma to our ecclesiastical historians. Though M'Grath after a few years embraced a schismatical connection with the Elizabethan government, Rome, through respect for his family, and in hopes that reflection would bring him back from his iniquitous course to the path of truth, delayed sentence of deposition against him till the close of 1578/9. We make this statement on the authority of a Vatican list of Irish sees, drawn up in 1579 or 1580, which expressly describes the See of Down as vacant, "per depositionem Milerii ab hac sancta Sede factam anno praeterito".
Donatus O'Gallagher was appointed his successor, being translated from the See of Killala to Down, in the first months of 1580. In less than two years he was summoned to his eternal crown, and on 27th of April, 1582, we find the following entry in the consistorial record: "Cardinalis Senonensis proposuit Ecclesiam Dunensem et Connorensem vacantem per obitum, de persona Cornelii O'Duibenid ord. min. de observantia, praesentis in curia". Much might be said of the merits of this great bishop. Whilst as yet a simple religious, he displayed an ardent zeal for the conversion of souls to God. When consecrated bishop, this ardour was increased an hundredfold. More than once he was subjected to the hardships of imprisonment; nevertheless, he lived to witness the triumph of the Irish Church over all the efforts of Elizabeth, and having handed down to more youthful pastors the sacred deposit of faith, his life of devotedness and charity merited for him the martyr's crown, which he happily attained on the 11th of February, 1612.
We must now give a glance at the claims of those whom the Established Church reveres as its first fathers in this ancient see. It suffices merely to state their claims, to discern whether they are to be reckoned amongst the true shepherds of the flock, or amongst those wolves whose mission it is to rend and scatter the sacred fold of Christ.
On the 6th of January, 1565, instructions were sent to the Lord Justice of Ireland to advance James MacCaghwell to the bishopric of Down. It was, however, too perilous an experiment for a nominee of Elizabeth to appear as bishop within the territory of Shane O'Neill; and hence we find Loftus of Armagh, and Brady of Meath, petitioning Sir William Cecil, on 16th May, 1565, to have MacCaghwell provided with some other see, since "he durst not travel to Down through fear of bodily harm"—(Shirley, pag. 192).
For this reason it was not deemed expedient to have MacCaghwell consecrated for the See of Down, and as Dr. Mant, the late Protestant occupant of the see informs us, John Merriman was its first Protestant bishop (vol. i., pag. 296). He was chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, and in 1568 was consecrated by Lancaster of Armagh, in St. Patrick's, Dublin. As there was already a canonically appointed bishop holding the See of Down, no doubt can be entertained as to the true nature of Dr. Merriman's mission. He died in 1572, and Queen Elizabeth wrote to the Lord Deputy Sydney, on 6th November, 1572, commanding him "to prefer one Brown, if he knew no better, to these sees"—(Harris' Ware, pag. 205). Hugh Allen, however, a colonist of the Ards, was the individual selected by the Lord Deputy, and in the month of November, 1573, he was constituted successor of Dr. Merriman. The canonical bishop, however, still held the see, and Dr. Allen must again be stigmatized as an intruder. On his translation to Ferns, in 1582, the crown did not even attempt to nominate a Protestant bishop till the year 1593; and Dr. Mant adds that this vacancy shows "a neglect on the part of the government rather to be lamented than explained".
Thus, then, Dr. O'Deveny was not only the canonically appointed bishop, but was for ten years in possession of his see, and engaged in feeding there the flock of Christ, when Edward Edgeworth was nominated by Elizabeth, in 1593, Bishop of Down and Connor. This dignitary, indeed, seems never to have even seen his see; other crown nominees, however, soon followed in rapid succession—John Charldon, in 1596; Robert Humston, in 1602; and John Todd, in 1606, who, as Ware informs us, was, in 1611, deposed for his public immorality and other crimes, and "soon after died in prison in London, of poison, which he had prepared for himself"—(Harris' Ware, pag. 207). The true pastor, Dr. O'Deveny, was all this time at his perilous post, in season and out of season, ruling, by divine authority, the spiritual fold assigned to his charge; and whilst the Protestant nominee was so unhappily terminating his earthly career, the faithful shepherd was in the very same year laying down his life for his flock. We will conclude this hurried sketch with the words of the Four Masters when commemorating the death of this holy bishop: "There was not a Christian in the land of Ireland whose heart did not shudder within him at the terror of the martyrdom which this chaste wise divine, and perfect and truly meek righteous man suffered for the reward of his soul. The faithful of Dublin contended with each other to see which of them should have one of his limbs; and not only of his limbs, but they had fine linen in readiness to prevent his blood from falling to the ground, for they were convinced that he was one of the holy martyrs of the Lord"—(iii. p. 2,371).