The Ballymartle Chalice 1780-2023
Four generations of one family and 175 years of connection to the Ballymartle Chalice
site last updated: 11 August 2023
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Introduction
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Rev Daniel Murphy (1755-1839)
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Rev Denis Murphy (1800-1868)
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Rev William Berry (1829-1878)
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Rev P.B.Murphy (1850-1929)
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1929-2023
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The Ballymartle Chalice |
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Introduction
The history of Ireland is a story of struggle, adversity and triumph, of a people who endured centuries of hardship, dispossession, uprisings, insurrections, political and social disunity, twin holocausts of famine and massive emigration and all largely through their shared resilience and perseverance. Throughout this tumultuous period, the Catholic Church in Ireland played a central role in the lives of the people, providing spiritual guidance, community support, tradition, service, a political voice and a sense of identity.
For one Irish extended family, the Murphy's of Knockanemore, Ovens, Co. Cork, this tradition of faith and service within the Church was to span four generations, from the mid-18th century to the early 20th. Their story is one of dedication and sacrifice, of four priests who served their communities through some of the most challenging and difficult periods in both Ireland and the Irish diaspora history but with a further common link between all - a simple, hammered gold-gilt silver chalice - the most important of all vessels in church use, made in Cork City around 1780 by John and Samuel Nicholson.
Still in use today, this chalice began a tradition within the Murphy family, to hand the sacred vessel down from one generation of priests to the next for almost a century and a half before donation to it's namesake Cork parish in 1954.
The chalice stand is inscribed (c.1890) with the names of four of its related Roman Catholic clerical holders:
Rev Dl. Murphy. 1804
Rev. Denis Murphy. 1827
Revd. Wm. Berry. 1854
Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy. 1885 (to which is added) U.S.S. Volunteers, 1898
The story of four generations of clerics in this family is all the more remarkable given the challenges of the time. From ministering in Ireland during the Penal Laws era, the struggle for religious equality & emancipation, the catastrophe that was the Great Famine of the 1840s to the emigrant Irish & their church in pre-Civil War Kentucky and mid Victorian industrial Britain, to Cuba & the Spanish American conflict of 1898 - political and social upheaval was never far from the lives of these four men connected by family and an heirloom chalice.
Despite these challenges, the family of Irish Catholic priests at the centre of this story remained dedicated to their faith and their communities. Their story is a testament to the power of their faith and family in the face of adversity.
For one Irish extended family, the Murphy's of Knockanemore, Ovens, Co. Cork, this tradition of faith and service within the Church was to span four generations, from the mid-18th century to the early 20th. Their story is one of dedication and sacrifice, of four priests who served their communities through some of the most challenging and difficult periods in both Ireland and the Irish diaspora history but with a further common link between all - a simple, hammered gold-gilt silver chalice - the most important of all vessels in church use, made in Cork City around 1780 by John and Samuel Nicholson.
Still in use today, this chalice began a tradition within the Murphy family, to hand the sacred vessel down from one generation of priests to the next for almost a century and a half before donation to it's namesake Cork parish in 1954.
The chalice stand is inscribed (c.1890) with the names of four of its related Roman Catholic clerical holders:
Rev Dl. Murphy. 1804
Rev. Denis Murphy. 1827
Revd. Wm. Berry. 1854
Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy. 1885 (to which is added) U.S.S. Volunteers, 1898
The story of four generations of clerics in this family is all the more remarkable given the challenges of the time. From ministering in Ireland during the Penal Laws era, the struggle for religious equality & emancipation, the catastrophe that was the Great Famine of the 1840s to the emigrant Irish & their church in pre-Civil War Kentucky and mid Victorian industrial Britain, to Cuba & the Spanish American conflict of 1898 - political and social upheaval was never far from the lives of these four men connected by family and an heirloom chalice.
Despite these challenges, the family of Irish Catholic priests at the centre of this story remained dedicated to their faith and their communities. Their story is a testament to the power of their faith and family in the face of adversity.
Background
Colm O'Sullivan is a fourth cousin of mine and we are among the numerous descendants of the Murphy of Knockanemore, Ovens, Co. Cork family line, and it was Colm who came up with the idea during the winter of 2022: 'Why not research the story of the Ballymartle Chalice and it's four priest owners?'. With no religious affiliation or interest myself, this initially appeared to be a somewhat onerous task, but I had not counted on Colm's enthusiasm and drive to promote, encourage and at times, prod this particular project along. Without his support, interest and suggestions, his photographs and uncannily timed emails, this article would still be on an ever-increasing 'To Do List'! But with months of research and a journey of discovery into the lives of these shared distant relatives, an understanding and appreciation of their individual life's long-forgotten ministry has gradually been revealed
Piecing together and verifying this shared family history has not been without its challenges and difficulties. As with most research of this period, the lack of primary & even secondary documents presents a significant obstacle. Records were often lost or destroyed during times of conflict and turmoil, and many were simply never created in the first place due to religious persecution as well as a lack of legal requirement. With such a dearth of material for a myriad of reasons, understanding all of the nuances & mores of these eras is challenging in itself let alone trying to piece together four distinct individual life stories from incomplete archival records, sparse newspaper reports, few & fragile surviving family letters and a handful of time faded recollections. Just to add to this task was that these four life stories of related clergymen were spread between three nations, Ireland, England and the United States and each individual strongly influenced by the social, political & religious issues of their eras.
Despite these challenges, it is still possible to knit a hopefully, compelling narrative of this family's journey over the generations. Through careful research, a combination of available primary and secondary sources available through various archives in Ireland and online, mixed with the all important co-incidence and a degree of luck in searching archives; it is possible to gain a glimpse into the lives of these remarkable men, their extended families, the communities in which they served and the social and political events of their times - and how differently organised religion and faith were regarded during these priest's lives in comparison with today.
During the ministry of these four priests, the Catholic Church was gradually becoming a dominant force in Irish society, eventually holding significant political and social power in shaping & influencing national issues and policy. The Church for generations, controlled many aspects of Irish life, including education, healthcare, and marriage laws and the hierarchy in Irish society was generally revered and respected but also perhaps with hindsight, to an extent feared.
During the late 19th century and during the Revolutionary Period, the Church went on to play a significant role in advocating for Irish independence and in shaping the Irish cultural identity. But with independence, it would seem we exchanged one colonial master for another as the church became an un-elected government partner for many years, dictating and influencing Irish policy and decisions. frequently with disastrous results.
Today, the Church's influence on political & social issues in Ireland has thankfully, long since declined, with many Irish citizens advocating for more progressive policies, such as same-sex marriage, women's rights and abortion rights, which are somewhat at odds with the Church's teachings. The Irish Catholic Church today has faced significant, ongoing and certainly deserved criticism, censure and reputational loss due to a series of scandals, including sexual abuse by clergy and the Church's role in Ireland's long history of institutional abuse. Many Irish Catholics have simply become disillusioned with the Church, its teachings, relevance and it's once powerful influence has diminished significantly with secularisation, education, demographics and a changing social attitude towards organised religion.
However, this story of four related Irish Catholic priests during the 18th, 19th and part of the 20th centuries is a powerful reminder of an era when clerics largely spoke publically and supported the un-represented people, those in need and those without a voice, the tenant farmer, the emigrant and the poor. This is the story of an enduring legacy of faith, family, and tradition in the context of an era when religion in particular, was a key aspect of societal structure. It is a story of personal sacrifice and dedication in the face of hardship and change, and also is a testament to the once vital role that the Catholic Church and it's clergy once played in Ireland and among the emigrant Irish in Britain & the United States.
As we delve deeper into this history of a family, we are also reminded of the importance of preserving and documenting our extended family histories for future generations. That our stories, and the stories of our ancestors, are an essential part of our shared history and identity and how the society, tradition and culture of an era shapes each of us - for better or worse.
Ruairi Lynch
Editor
April 2023
Editor
April 2023
The Nicholson Silversmiths of Cork
The Murphy story opens with the Ballymartle Chalice and its makers, the Nicholson Silversmiths of Cork, Ireland.
The Chalice silversmith maker's marks indicate the chalice was made c.1780 in Cork City by John Nicholson Senior & Sam Nicholson of the Nicholson family partnership of silversmiths & goldsmiths, possibly in their workshop at 70 Grand Parade.
According to Church laws up to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), a chalice, or at least the cup of it, was to be made either of gold or of silver, and in the latter case the bowl was to be gilt on the inside. In circumstances of great poverty or in time of persecution a calix stanneus (pewter) was permitted, but the bowl of this also, like the upper surface of the paten, was to be gilt.
"During the eighteenth century immense quantities of silver were manufactured in Cork; and the business was so lucrative, that some of the best county families in the South of Ireland were glad to apprentice their younger sons to leading goldsmiths in "the capital of Munster," and some of these apprentices became wealthy merchants, and high office-holders in the municipality.."
The Goldsmiths of Cork (1895). Cecil C. Woods.
No consistent assay office existed in Cork at the time and each silversmith identified their work with a specific & unique punched mark. Until the mark can be verified, the Nicholson Silversmith that produced this chalice was either John Nicholson Senior, producing silverware from 1756 to 1802, or the partnership of brothers John Nicholson Senior & Samuel Nicholson who produced between 1775-1797.
None of the Nicholson manufacturing records survive today - what Cork Silversmith records that had existed were collected and archived within an extensive Cork City and County archives maintained by a Dr Caulfield up to 1888 when these archives and other historically valuable city & county records were deposited for safe-keeping in the Cork Courthouse archives. However, three years later, these archives were completely destroyed by fire on Good Friday 27 March 1891(1)
The Murphy story opens with the Ballymartle Chalice and its makers, the Nicholson Silversmiths of Cork, Ireland.
The Chalice silversmith maker's marks indicate the chalice was made c.1780 in Cork City by John Nicholson Senior & Sam Nicholson of the Nicholson family partnership of silversmiths & goldsmiths, possibly in their workshop at 70 Grand Parade.
According to Church laws up to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), a chalice, or at least the cup of it, was to be made either of gold or of silver, and in the latter case the bowl was to be gilt on the inside. In circumstances of great poverty or in time of persecution a calix stanneus (pewter) was permitted, but the bowl of this also, like the upper surface of the paten, was to be gilt.
"During the eighteenth century immense quantities of silver were manufactured in Cork; and the business was so lucrative, that some of the best county families in the South of Ireland were glad to apprentice their younger sons to leading goldsmiths in "the capital of Munster," and some of these apprentices became wealthy merchants, and high office-holders in the municipality.."
The Goldsmiths of Cork (1895). Cecil C. Woods.
No consistent assay office existed in Cork at the time and each silversmith identified their work with a specific & unique punched mark. Until the mark can be verified, the Nicholson Silversmith that produced this chalice was either John Nicholson Senior, producing silverware from 1756 to 1802, or the partnership of brothers John Nicholson Senior & Samuel Nicholson who produced between 1775-1797.
None of the Nicholson manufacturing records survive today - what Cork Silversmith records that had existed were collected and archived within an extensive Cork City and County archives maintained by a Dr Caulfield up to 1888 when these archives and other historically valuable city & county records were deposited for safe-keeping in the Cork Courthouse archives. However, three years later, these archives were completely destroyed by fire on Good Friday 27 March 1891(1)
(1) On the Cork City Court House Fire - this occurred on Good Friday 1891 as the court was in afternoon session. Interestingly enough, the court was hearing a case brought against men arrested in a melee in Tipperary following a trial against Parnell's National Land League. Cork wags had it that Almighty himself was displeased with court business being conducted on a Good Friday. As flames engulfed the building, (destroying virtually all of the Caulfield Archives and much of Cork's early history) the largest cheer from the crowd went up as the British flag caught fire and burned. News reports on the event and the crowd's reaction to the Union Jack burning later prompted Rudyard Kipling to write of this in his 'The British Flag' published in 1891:
"The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and brag,
They are lifting their heads in the stillness to yelp at the English Flag!"
See: https://www.echolive.ie/nostalgia/arid-40128170.html & https://muse.jhu.edu/article/233185/pdf
The first owner of the 'Ballymartle Chalice'
Research indicates that the chalice was produced in 1780 and that there is a strong probability that the chalice was commissioned either by Rev. Daniel Murphy's family or by Rev. Daniel Murphy himself to commemorate his ordination of c.1780, after an estimated eight plus years education in a European Irish College - possibly Toulouse, France.
Rev. Daniel Murphy's ownership period is engraved on the chalice as between the years 1804-1827 by presumably the third owner, Rev. P.B.Murphy during the 1890s. (While a reasonable attempt at historical accuracy, the date of 1804 is probably incorrect and should read as 1780-1827 or perhaps from the date of his appointment as Parish Priest in 1802.)
Research challenges & lack of Irish Church Records
A major difficulty facing historians and researchers of Ireland during the late 16th century to Famine era, is the dearth of primary source material which, as historian P.J.Corish remarked in 1981, as requiring “a complex story to be pieced together from evidence usually no better than fragmentary”.
This lack of source material has a number of complex explanations, including cultural & practical but primarily, the cause was both political and religious.
Foremost were the series of harsh laws and restrictions which penalised the majority of the Irish population from 1550 which culminated with the imposition of Penal Laws in Ireland 1695-1728. This was a British government legislative effort to force Irish Catholics and to a lesser extent Protestant dissenter Ulster Presbyterians and Quakers to accept the established Anglican Church of Ireland but also to remove land & property ownership, educational, political and civil rights from the Catholic majority of Ireland. These laws, while not prohibiting practice of the Catholic religion, did place severe limitations on the clergy and people. While Parish Priests were allowed officiate in Ireland provided they registered with the authorities, all other clergy, from friars to curates, bishops and archbishops were banned, forced into precarious secrecy and if discovered or betrayed, subject to transportation or death. These laws notably included the Education Act 1695, the Banishment Act 1697, the Registration Act 1704, the Popery Acts 1704 and 1709, and the Disenfranchising Act 1728 - all of which contributed towards a lack of written records within the Irish Catholic community. So, theoretically at any rate, the intention was to prevent all new ordinations of priests and that the Catholic Church in Ireland would eventually die out.
Here's a summary of the Penal laws from the 1865 Catholic Directory Almanac & Registry of Ireland, England and Scotland:
Mere possession or discovery of parish records could also have condemned the Catholic clergy. For example, under the terms of the Acts of Banishment (1698) and Registration of the Clergy Act (1703), parish registers or correspondence found in the hands of Catholic parish priests or their relatives could be used as incriminating evidence against them. Therefore, for most of the Irish clergy, one of the few potential originators of source material for the era, a low-profile exercise of their pastoral duties, rather than the keeping of records would appear to have been their main concern.
Despite the intentions, the Catholic faith did not die out, mainly due to the reality that the religious sections of the Penal Laws were applied far less severely in practice than theory as enforcement was impossible. The Church held the support of the vast majority of the population and to supress the church would have meant suppression of the entire island. The Church built further bonds with the majority of the population, who deprived of all civil and political rights, saw the Church as their one representative organisation and their priest as spokesman and arbitrator. Education and training for the Irish & English priesthood, though banned in both countries, continued throughout this period in various Irish & English Colleges in Europe.
While the majority of these penal laws were removed in the period 1778–1793, the last of any significance were finally removed after extensive political campaigning, by Catholic Emancipation in 1829.
Following Emancipation, the onus on maintaining any form of church record was left largely to the Parish Priest - and not all were either overly concerned or for that matter, diligent in keeping records of their flocks until civil record keeping and registration began for Ireland on January 1st, 1864. However, Protestant marriages (more properly Non-Catholic marriages, as this also contain religious groups such as Jews and Protestant Dissenters) were legally required from April 1st 1845. These Civil registration records dating from 1845 were not affected by the destruction of the Four Courts archives complex in 1922 at the opening of the Irish Civil War. However, an enormous treasure trove of Irish historical archives were lost.
With such little surviving primary source material, researching individuals in the one hundred & fifty years of 1700-1850 in Cork city and county is particularly difficult. What few surviving records available today has been severely limited as most extant regional archives were destroyed in two major archive losses: the Cork Courthouse fire of 1891 & destruction of the Four Courts Public Record Office archive complex during the Civil War in 1922. However, Civil registration records dating from 1845 were not affected by the destruction of the Four Courts archives complex in 1922 as these had remained with individual parishes of all faiths and today provide a valuable research resource.
The few surviving civil & church records & references that survive pre 1845 tend to be brief and sketchy. However, some information can be gleaned from surviving Parish Registers, land & rent records, online newspaper archives, National Library of Ireland archives, family records, previously published research works, Tithe records, the Griffith's Valuation and some Irish Diocesan Archives. Spreading the net wide does occasionally return some interesting items but at present, much of the remaining archives of this period are yet to be digitised and placed online. Those that are online are not name indexed, so name searches are by necessity page by page, methodical and subject to misinterpretation, misreading and chance. Serendipity as always with her co-companion to all historical research, luck, also plays a large part in any work in progress.
To help build a picture of the elusive Rev. Daniel Murphy and others, I've researched most of the available online archives (listed in References & Sources at the end of each article), matching individuals within the time period of 1790-1840 and using the following assumptions:
1. The Rev. Daniel Murphy was born in the parish of Ovens/Ballincollig (c.1740-1780) and was a blood relative of the Murphy family of Knockanemore & Mologhroe.
2. As the Rev Murphy was in all probability born in the Diocese of Cork, he may have almost certainly been educated & possibly ordained in an Irish seminary college in France (due to the strict Penal laws of the era preventing Catholic education and certainly prohibiting seminarian education and that each Irish diocese held a preference for certain Irish Colleges in Europe).
Although no definitive evidence has been found to date, existing records and research indicate a high possibility that Rev. Murphy may have attended either of the Irish Colleges in Paris, Bordeaux or 'Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne', Toulouse. This latter French seminary was used almost exclusively by both the Diocese of Cork and the Diocese of Cloyne & Ross for its Cork City & County students during 1669 until 1793 (when it was closed due to the French Revolution, forcing staff & students to flee overland to Spain.) Records within French archives also remain sketchy for this era, due in part to destruction of archives & other clerical records during the Revolution.
Of course there is every possibility that Denis Murphy may have attended any one of some 36 centres of clerical education that existed in Penal times throughout Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium and even Prague & Wielun, Poland or perhaps secretly, here in Ireland. Common diocesan practice for Cork, Cloyne & Ross, as with all other diocese at the time, was to educate suitable men for the priesthood overseas in European Irish colleges. After some seven years of education, the newly ordained priest was then expected to return to Ireland for pastoral duty either in the city and/or county of Cork - therefore searches for Daniel Murphy have concentrated largely on both of the Diocese - that of Cork and of Cloyne & Ross. Cork & Cloyne were one diocese between 1429-1748 with Ross operating as a separate diocese until joined with Cork in 1659. All three were separated in 1748 with the Diocese of Ross formally attached to Cloyne and Cork standing alone. This remained the status-quo until 1958 when Ross was re-joined once again to Cork.
3. While information on a specific individual matching both name and era has been found, it's largely subjective pending ongoing & further research to conclusively and positively identify this clergyman as Rev. Denis Murphy, an ancestor of the Murphy families of Knockanemore & Mologhroe.
Two individual priests named Rev. Daniel Murphy were Catholic pastors during this time period.
The first Rev. Daniel Murphy was a Parish Priest of Nenagh Co. Tipperary (Diocese of Killaloe). Born in 1755, appointed in 1802 and who notably organised the building of the first St Mary of the Rosary church, Nenagh in 1804. His date of death is recorded as 1818, which along with service in the Diocese of Killaloe perhaps confirms that he was not related to the Murphy family of Knockanemore.
[Nenagh's Rev. Daniel Murphy's (d.1818) details can be found in a 1989 study of gravestones in St Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary: https://tipperarystudies.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/A.%20Vol%2018%20Parish%20of%20Nenagh%20reduced.pdf ]
Daniel Murphy - Parish Priest of Youghal
The Second Rev. Daniel Murphy is recorded as born around the same time (1755) as his Tipperary namesake at an unknown location. He was also appointed as a Parish Priest in 1802, and for this Daniel Murphy, to the parish of Youghal, Co. Cork in the Diocese of Cloyne and held that position until his recorded death aged 84 in August 1839. This priest's background and period of pastoral service matches known periods and family connections, makes him a strong potential candidate as the first holder of the Ballymartle Chalice.
Denis Murphy's college of seminarian education is currently unknown and no reference to this has been discovered so far. According to the 1695 Penal Education Act, while all Catholics were prevented from attending schools & any form of formalised education, families were permitted to educate their children at home, but this was simply an option only for the wealthy. The majority of the native Irish population that received some form of fleeting education during the Penal Laws era was via underground schools. These hedge-schools were transient establishments at the best of times and scarcely conducive to learning. The wise parent with 'an easy conscience' frequently sent his son to a Protestant school, apparently quite a common move at the time. It's generally understood that in the 17th and early 18th Century, virtually every Irish student for the priesthood in Europe came from a relatively prosperous background. There were no funded scholarships available and all expensive education costs, bed, board & books had to be provided for by the student's family.
By the time of Daniel Murphy's vocation in the 1770s, the majority of Irish students for the priesthood were now the sons of successful tenant-farmers, merchants, artisans and perhaps even the nouveaux riche of the cities and towns. Included in this grouping were the sons of many families that had married into the Protestant faith - the usual undertaking was that possibly one son was educated for the Roman Catholic priesthood while the remainder of the family remained staunchly within the Church of Ireland.
For young Irish men wishing to join the priesthood, no formal seminary college existed in Ireland after 1695 (as Catholic seminary education was prohibited) and the first established was in 1782 in Carlow (but due to protracted disputes with the local Church of Ireland Bishop, only began taking students for the priesthood in 1793). The only available option for seminarian education was travel abroad, either with a scholarship or financed by family, where training was provided at one of the many Irish colleges established in the university cities & towns of France, Spain, Belgium & Italy.
This European clerical education was a crucial development within the Irish Catholic hierarchy. The presence of an educated, articulate and 'European' ministry in the 18th and early 19th century helped maintain & hold the allegiance of a growing middle-class Catholic population to the church, despite some very clear, sectarian educational, employment, political & public service discrimination.
The Irish Colleges were simple enough institutes of learning which had originally started out as ex-patriate fraternal societies:
Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987). L. W. B. Brockliss and P. Ferté. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature. Vol. 87C (1987), pp. 527-572 (46 pages) Published by: Royal Irish Academy
Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25506154
Ireland in the mid 18th Century
1750s
Around the time of Daniel Murphy's birth in Knockaneroe, Ovens, Co. Cork, economic hardships had plagued Ireland for decades and the internalised harvest-dependant economy keeps Ireland on the brink of calamity. Low prices cause a bank failure in 1733 and famine strikes in 1740 resulting in bread riots in Dublin. The next year brought dysentery and 400,000 die in the 'Year of the Slaughter'. The suggestion to cultivate the sturdier corn is met by calls of unfair competition from Britain, and famine returns once again in 1744.
Politically, Catholics remain un-represented and with no political or civil rights. Ironically, political talk of independence and the rights of Ireland began with the people who were excluding the Catholic majority, the Protestants of Ireland also known as The Ascendancy. An apt description as not only were they educated and above the majority, but they also had some rather high aspirations themselves. An opposition group in the Irish Parliament known as the 'patriots', pushes for greater independence from Great Britain. They succeed in embarrassing the crown government, especially in 1753, when their influence causes the rejection of a Money Bill which would have given the King the right to dispose of surplus revenue. The Irish nationalism of the colonists was beginning.
The Ascendancy again benefits in 1758 when exports of cattle and beef are reinstated. Many landlords expand their estates into common pastures lands at the expense of their Catholic tenants. Fences are erected, and soon, Catholic tenant farmer secret societies form, violently opposed the erosion of their rural livelihood. They destroy fences and livestock, and protect farmers from eviction over extortionate tithes. Secret societies address grievances with violence, yet government attempts to halt them are unsuccessful.
The prosperity of the mid-1700's, in part aided by growing overseas markets, begins a population boom. Famine had kept the population around 2 million but would double by the end of the 1700s. Agriculture, pasturing, and the promotion of cottage industries have caused the deforestation of much of the landscape by this century. The population is concentrated in the east, and quite sparse in the west, with the majority of people speaking the Irish or Gaelic language. Even in Ulster, Gaelic is spoken by the descendants of Scottish colonists of the last century.
In 1752, Great Britain adopts the Gregorian Calendar. The date is progressed 11 days to match the European date in use since 1583. While the Whigs continue their control of Parliament, and new King George II remains as uninterested in ruling as his father had been, a Jacobite revolt occurs in Scotland. The "Young Pretender", Catholic grandson of James II, Bonnie Prince Charlie leads the Scots into England, but is tragically defeated at Culloden Moor in 1746. This is the last great dynastic battle over British rule, and the last land battle in England or Scotland. European nations begin allying against expansionist Prussia, who attacks and begins a Seven Years War in 1756. Britain joins Prussia and attacks France, finally defeating her in Europe in 1759. A more important gain for Britain is won in her battles with the French North American Colonies. The British under Wolfe defeat the French under Montcalm near Quebec City's Plains of Abraham. Britain takes possession of New France and now controls about half of North America.
1760s
The growth of both political extremes: the Catholic agrarian secret societies and the Protestant parliamentary Patriots, show there was a common shared desire for freedom from oppression. Their views on oppression are contrasting, however, as the British imposed religious inequalities create socio-economic and judicial disadvantages for Catholics. Granted, by now there had been two generations of peace since the Williamite Protestant victory and mutual trust was increasing. Yet, the traditional religious opposition and growth of extremism were tragic weaknesses that would plague both sides' efforts for freedom in the late 1700's.
The agrarian secret societies want better governance than the Protestants can provide -- whether they be Irish or British. They want freer lands for grazing, markets for their goods, and protection from famine and poverty. Poor harvests in Ulster prompt further violence against the British rule, yet not all Catholics support secret societies. In 1759, French defeat in British North America opens the way for many better-off farmers to emigrate and escape both famine and religious persecution.
The Patriots want freedom from the British parliament in Westminster, and eventually a self ruling Protestant nation. Under the leadership of Henry Flood, the Patriots succeed in passing the Octennial Act, an effort to further strengthen parliament and its accountability to the franchise. At a time when the British stir over King George III's stacking of the parliament in his favour, the Octennial Act increases elections to at least once every eight years giving the Irish Protestant voters more influence of its elected members. Previously, an Irish parliament, once elected, lasted throughout a sovereign's reign.
The colonies in British North America continue to agitate, as taxes have been raised to pay for the recent war effort. The colonies now feel that British rule is irrelevant with New France conquered. The conflicts center around principle, not action, and do not appear to be resolvable.
In England, George III has assumed the throne, and unlike his father and grandfather, George desires a more powerful monarchy. He stacks the Parliament in his favour, but meets with public disapproval.
Economically, Britain is moving ahead while Ireland languishes as a largely agricultural economy. Canals begin to improve transportation, factories spring up as improved iron smelting allows factories nearer coal fields, especially in the Midlands area to the north. Coal use promotes steam-powered inventions and by 1765, James Watt improves the original Newcomen steam engine, and its efficiency in manufacturing begins mechanization of production. The age of exploration continues and in 1770 Captain Cook claims Terra Australis Incognita (the unknown southern land) Australia for Britain, landing in Botany Bay.
Denis Murphy - Seminarian c.1771-1780
Assuming the identified Denis Murphy (1755-1839) entered a seminarian college aged 16-17 in c.1771, he would have completed the required eight plus years of education between 1771-1779 before ordination as a priest in 1780 at the age of 25 (the minimum age of ordination of a Roman Catholic priest as ruled by the Council of Trent in 1563), before returning to Ireland and taking up pastoral duty around the same year.
Incidentally, the year 1780 is another potential confirmation that we are dealing with the familial Rev. Murphy (1755-1839) as it coincides with the date of the Ballymartle chalice manufacture by the Nicholson Silversmiths in Cork.
While it is virtually certain that Denis Murphy attended an Irish College seminary in Europe, what is unknown at present is which of these thirty-six or so Irish Colleges scattered throughout the Continent he attended, the years he was educated and which year he was subsequently ordained in. Multiple online resources were examined but many records from this era do not survive either in Ireland or in France.
As his home diocese was Cork, the statistically most probable Irish Colleges attended by Denis Murphy were French; and of these, most probable were The Irish College in Paris or Bordeaux or in particular, Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne in Toulouse.
[Some initial research shows that there is an ad-hoc register of students that attended this college in the archives of the Royal Irish Academy. Most of the Irish Colleges left little to no archival material but some are kept in the Bibliotheque National, Paris. The exception appears to be Toulouse, with more detailed surviving archival records of graduates in all fields dating from 1622 maintained at the Bibliotheque Interuniversitaire de Toulouse and Archives Departementales de Haute-Garonne (Toulouse). Unfortunately, none are digitised and online to date]
That Denis Murphy possibly attended Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne is largely based on a decade of research conducted in the 1970s & 1980s on surviving records by L. W. B. Brockliss and Patrick Ferté: "Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987)." and working on earlier studies (Boyle 1901 & Walsh 1954) which indicate that the Irish College in Toulouse was heavily favoured during the 17th & 18th centuries by both the Cork and Cloyne & Ross diocese as a centre of education for future diocesan clerics, followed closely by the Irish College in Paris and then Bordeaux. For example, during its 133 years history, Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne was geographically narrow in its student selection. 92% of all students attending Toulouse originated from Munster with the Diocese of Cork taking 57%, Cloyne & Ross 11% and the combined diocese of Aghadoe, Ardfert, Limerick, Emly-Cashel and Killaloe accounting for 32% between them.
Toulouse drew in so many Cork and Munster based students that it almost become almost a de-facto college of choice and a pied-à-terre, home from home for future clerics from Cork, Cloyne & Ross. Equally, other Irish colleges in France such as Lille were quite specific and had strictly enforced rules when it came to accepting Irish students - there it was exclusively men from Co. Meath - other counties of Ireland need not apply.
Assuming the identified Denis Murphy (1755-1839) entered a seminarian college aged 16-17 in c.1771, he would have completed the required eight plus years of education between 1771-1779 before ordination as a priest in 1780 at the age of 25 (the minimum age of ordination of a Roman Catholic priest as ruled by the Council of Trent in 1563), before returning to Ireland and taking up pastoral duty around the same year.
Incidentally, the year 1780 is another potential confirmation that we are dealing with the familial Rev. Murphy (1755-1839) as it coincides with the date of the Ballymartle chalice manufacture by the Nicholson Silversmiths in Cork.
While it is virtually certain that Denis Murphy attended an Irish College seminary in Europe, what is unknown at present is which of these thirty-six or so Irish Colleges scattered throughout the Continent he attended, the years he was educated and which year he was subsequently ordained in. Multiple online resources were examined but many records from this era do not survive either in Ireland or in France.
As his home diocese was Cork, the statistically most probable Irish Colleges attended by Denis Murphy were French; and of these, most probable were The Irish College in Paris or Bordeaux or in particular, Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne in Toulouse.
[Some initial research shows that there is an ad-hoc register of students that attended this college in the archives of the Royal Irish Academy. Most of the Irish Colleges left little to no archival material but some are kept in the Bibliotheque National, Paris. The exception appears to be Toulouse, with more detailed surviving archival records of graduates in all fields dating from 1622 maintained at the Bibliotheque Interuniversitaire de Toulouse and Archives Departementales de Haute-Garonne (Toulouse). Unfortunately, none are digitised and online to date]
That Denis Murphy possibly attended Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne is largely based on a decade of research conducted in the 1970s & 1980s on surviving records by L. W. B. Brockliss and Patrick Ferté: "Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987)." and working on earlier studies (Boyle 1901 & Walsh 1954) which indicate that the Irish College in Toulouse was heavily favoured during the 17th & 18th centuries by both the Cork and Cloyne & Ross diocese as a centre of education for future diocesan clerics, followed closely by the Irish College in Paris and then Bordeaux. For example, during its 133 years history, Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne was geographically narrow in its student selection. 92% of all students attending Toulouse originated from Munster with the Diocese of Cork taking 57%, Cloyne & Ross 11% and the combined diocese of Aghadoe, Ardfert, Limerick, Emly-Cashel and Killaloe accounting for 32% between them.
Toulouse drew in so many Cork and Munster based students that it almost become almost a de-facto college of choice and a pied-à-terre, home from home for future clerics from Cork, Cloyne & Ross. Equally, other Irish colleges in France such as Lille were quite specific and had strictly enforced rules when it came to accepting Irish students - there it was exclusively men from Co. Meath - other counties of Ireland need not apply.
The Irish College, Toulouse - Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne (1660-1793)
This was a seminary similar to other Irish Colleges in Continental Europe, set up to train men for the priesthood during the Penal Laws era which prevented the training of priests in Ireland. Established in 1618 and given royal assent as Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne in 1659, and in 1660, was formally linked to the University of Toulouse with a staff of twelve 'educator' Irish priests from Munster.
The number of students per year never exceeded twenty, but the majority were chosen chiefly from the province of Munster and most of the administration & teachers were also Irish from the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne & Ross. Specific Irish colleges in Europe were favoured by the various Irish diocese for students from their areas, and also maintained by some financial support which came from the home diocese. Toulouse was the smallest seminary in comparison with others at the time (Douai, Bordeaux and Nantes were three moderate sized establishments with 30-80 students while Paris had a college of 180.)
Students in Irish Colleges were funded through a number of means - usually scholarships or a bourse was awarded by the home diocese or by funding from wealthy merchants & Bishops in student's home towns or parishes, which covered travel, basic needs and education. Further sponsorship for colleges was forthcoming from Royalty and the wealthy in their host countries along with charitable bequests and donations. Less frequently, independently financial families were in a position to support their son's education in Europe - and it wasn't cheap.
From its founding in 1660 up to the early 1700s, the Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne was engulfed in disorder, troubled with student unrest and malpractice. Several superiors of the seminary managed the institution's funds somewhat creatively, accounts remained unaudited, and many maintained a false set of books. (One even multiplied non-existent legal suits, registered the 'expenses' and pocketed the cash.) This Irish College's first forty years were beset by scandal, abuses, insubordination, clashes with Ecclesiastical authority, ongoing student misbehaviour and the seminary languished largely impoverished with its superiors behaving 'like corrupt petty tyrants in a fashion quite out of character with the spirit of Counter-Reformation Catholicism and the Irish mission'
L. W. B. Brockliss and Patrick Ferté. "Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987). P553.
The Archbishop of Toulouse had to visit the College several times each year to re-establish discipline and order and yet disorder continued intermittently. By the late 1690s, ongoing reports of the college's lack of resources were of sufficient concern to merit a full and detailed investigation by the Archbishop & a team of specialists. His conclusion was that the College was so poor that 'sometimes after having nourished and reared its alumni as far as the priesthood, it cannot provide them with the travelling expenses to return to Ireland and give them the lay dress needed to hide their identity' and that he found 'three priests all ready to depart but lacking the necessary funds' and had subsequently authorised the seminary to organise a collection.'
L. W. B. Brockliss and Patrick Ferté. "Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987). P553.
By the time Daniel Murphy may have attended Toulouse c.1771, the College had been thoroughly and efficiently administered for much of the previous seventy years. It's course of studies, as with all of the Irish Colleges were well established and extended over a period of eight years or more. These usually began with a thorough grounding in Latin and over six years, with the humanities & theological studies in local universities. Two further years followed in moral and dogmatic theology, philosophy and rhetoric before ordination. Further studies were also possible and many clerics, perhaps reluctant to return to Ireland or with an eye to a senior hierarchical position, took advantage of higher degrees of study.
From all indications, the Murphy family in Knockanemore, Ovens were a reasonably prosperous farming class - certainly so in the early 19th century and quite possibly part of the emerging Irish Catholic middle class of the 18th century. This degree of affluence would have assisted in Denis Murphy's further education in France. Unlike earlier students to Irish Colleges in Europe, by the mid 18th Century, many colleges now required payment - in advance - including Toulouse and Paris.
Historian Patrick Ferté argues this point in his 2010 work 'List of superiors of the Irish college, Toulouse (1618-1793'
This was a seminary similar to other Irish Colleges in Continental Europe, set up to train men for the priesthood during the Penal Laws era which prevented the training of priests in Ireland. Established in 1618 and given royal assent as Le Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne in 1659, and in 1660, was formally linked to the University of Toulouse with a staff of twelve 'educator' Irish priests from Munster.
The number of students per year never exceeded twenty, but the majority were chosen chiefly from the province of Munster and most of the administration & teachers were also Irish from the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne & Ross. Specific Irish colleges in Europe were favoured by the various Irish diocese for students from their areas, and also maintained by some financial support which came from the home diocese. Toulouse was the smallest seminary in comparison with others at the time (Douai, Bordeaux and Nantes were three moderate sized establishments with 30-80 students while Paris had a college of 180.)
Students in Irish Colleges were funded through a number of means - usually scholarships or a bourse was awarded by the home diocese or by funding from wealthy merchants & Bishops in student's home towns or parishes, which covered travel, basic needs and education. Further sponsorship for colleges was forthcoming from Royalty and the wealthy in their host countries along with charitable bequests and donations. Less frequently, independently financial families were in a position to support their son's education in Europe - and it wasn't cheap.
From its founding in 1660 up to the early 1700s, the Séminaire Royal de Sainte Anne was engulfed in disorder, troubled with student unrest and malpractice. Several superiors of the seminary managed the institution's funds somewhat creatively, accounts remained unaudited, and many maintained a false set of books. (One even multiplied non-existent legal suits, registered the 'expenses' and pocketed the cash.) This Irish College's first forty years were beset by scandal, abuses, insubordination, clashes with Ecclesiastical authority, ongoing student misbehaviour and the seminary languished largely impoverished with its superiors behaving 'like corrupt petty tyrants in a fashion quite out of character with the spirit of Counter-Reformation Catholicism and the Irish mission'
L. W. B. Brockliss and Patrick Ferté. "Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987). P553.
The Archbishop of Toulouse had to visit the College several times each year to re-establish discipline and order and yet disorder continued intermittently. By the late 1690s, ongoing reports of the college's lack of resources were of sufficient concern to merit a full and detailed investigation by the Archbishop & a team of specialists. His conclusion was that the College was so poor that 'sometimes after having nourished and reared its alumni as far as the priesthood, it cannot provide them with the travelling expenses to return to Ireland and give them the lay dress needed to hide their identity' and that he found 'three priests all ready to depart but lacking the necessary funds' and had subsequently authorised the seminary to organise a collection.'
L. W. B. Brockliss and Patrick Ferté. "Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987). P553.
By the time Daniel Murphy may have attended Toulouse c.1771, the College had been thoroughly and efficiently administered for much of the previous seventy years. It's course of studies, as with all of the Irish Colleges were well established and extended over a period of eight years or more. These usually began with a thorough grounding in Latin and over six years, with the humanities & theological studies in local universities. Two further years followed in moral and dogmatic theology, philosophy and rhetoric before ordination. Further studies were also possible and many clerics, perhaps reluctant to return to Ireland or with an eye to a senior hierarchical position, took advantage of higher degrees of study.
From all indications, the Murphy family in Knockanemore, Ovens were a reasonably prosperous farming class - certainly so in the early 19th century and quite possibly part of the emerging Irish Catholic middle class of the 18th century. This degree of affluence would have assisted in Denis Murphy's further education in France. Unlike earlier students to Irish Colleges in Europe, by the mid 18th Century, many colleges now required payment - in advance - including Toulouse and Paris.
Historian Patrick Ferté argues this point in his 2010 work 'List of superiors of the Irish college, Toulouse (1618-1793'
By the time Denis Murphy was ordained and returned to Ireland in 1780, the social fabric of France was unravelling.
Rapid population growth in France, unemployment, economic depression, inequality and rising food prices were all contributing to a growing social, political and economic crisis that would culminate in revolution. This caused a massive shift of power from the Catholic Church to the state. As the church was the largest individual landowner in France, controlling nearly 10% of all property, re-distribution was swift and complete. Toulouse was closed in 1793 as were all the other Irish clerical colleges in French-controlled areas. The College administration and students at the time wisely escaped overland to Spain, where their education continued. The Toulouse building and property were confiscated by the Revolutionary Directorate and sold by the French Government in 1805.
As for the Irish College in Paris, College des Lombards, Daniel Murphy may also have studied there as it was amongst the favoured schools by the Cork Hierarchy. During 1740-1790, there were on average 150 Irish students attached annually, each on a minimum six year stay but this number may have been higher as many students resided elsewhere. Largely well administered and controlled, it churned out some 150 ordinations annually with a large number going on for further studies in the capital.
On completion of seminarian education, a number of students once awarded their degrees, decided not to continue towards ordination. The drop-out rate was far more prevalent in Paris but less so in regional colleges. For those that continued to ordination, these young Irish priests (if not continuing further theological studies) were expected to return to the mission in Ireland. This repatriation was facilitated by all Colleges with the gift of a viaticum*, a sum of money that varied but was usually of 200 Livres** (valued at some €52.8k in 2023 values). This viaticum was intended to provide for their passage back to Ireland (in earlier days necessitating disguise or secret landings off the Irish coast) and to assist in their re-integration back to Irish society, purchase vestments, repay any family or community loans for their education, contribute towards their new parish or even perhaps fund the purchase of a paten & chalice.
* The word viaticum is a Latin word meaning "provision for a journey", from via, or "way" and refers to the Roman provision or allowance for travelling, originally of transportation and supplies, later of money, made to officials on public missions; mostly simply, the word, a haplology of viā tēcum ("with you on the way"), indicates money or necessities for any journey. Viaticum can also refer to the enlistment bonus received by a Roman legionary, auxiliary soldier or seaman in the Roman Imperial Navy. Today in the Catholic church, a viaticum is Communion & part of the Last Rites administered to a dying member of the faith.
** A Livre was the standard currency of France between the reign of Charlemagne in 781 and its replacement in 1795 with the Franc following the revolution. It's value was a notional one pound of silver sub-divided into 20 sous. In 2022 values, 1 pound of silver is €264.12 (03.12.22) so at an estimate, the average viaticum was worth about €52,825. Not a bad little departure gift for a new cleric)
However, human nature being what it has always been, it was not unknown for the newly ordained Padre to pocket the viaticum grant and remain on in Europe perpetually to the extent that some Irish Diocese Bishops during much of the 18th Century, complained vociferously that not enough Irish students were returning from their education abroad.
Research by Brockliss and Ferté described many of these newly ordained Irishmen as 'the reluctant missionaries', unwilling to return to Ireland and preferring to remain in their adopted homeland. Brockliss and Ferté further discovered that as few as 10% of the newly ordained Irish priests educated & ordained through the Irish College in Paris, returned to minister in Ireland during the 1750s.
Whatever the percentage that chose to remain in Europe, they were not acting in any way dishonestly or dishonourably. Only students who were provided for by a scholarship or bourse that specifically required it's recipient to go on the mission were duty & honour bound to return to Ireland. Some social historians argue that while many 18th Century emerging middle class Irish families certainly saw a successful future for a bright son with a vocation within the church, this future church had to be of the French, Spanish or Italian variety - anywhere in fact, but Ireland. This Irish Catholic elite frequently encouraged their expensively educated European based offspring to remain on the Continent and the concept of a permanent clerical émigré was quite acceptable given the conditions endured for the best part of a century by most priests in Ireland. As a bonus, this also simplified any potential complicated issues of inheritance in Ireland.
There was also a subtle social cause & effect. The extended duration of these young men's education abroad was largely what created the difficult decision for some newly ordained priests - whether to remain in the country where they had spent the last eight plus formative years, where they spoke the language fluently and understood it's culture & society or to return to a somewhat alien nation and culture to face the very real prospect of hardship & persecution.
For some Irish students, the decision had already been made for them on a practical basis. Many had simply lost the ability to speak the Irish language during their years of education in Europe and so it was decided that they could not possibly return to Ireland to preach the Gospel and administer sacraments to a still largely native Irish speaking population.
Naturally, some of these newly ordained priests were so completely emotionally disconnected from their earlier lives in Ireland, they may also have had little desire or motivation to return. Perhaps far better to remain in their new homeland and seek a clerical appointment or work as a tutor, chaplain or spiritual advisor to a wealthy family or institution such as a hospital or college rather than a difficult & dangerous ministry in Ireland. As early as 1700, the trouble-shooting Archbishop of Toulouse with long experience of difficulties with the staff and students of the local Irish College, recognised the language problems and ruled that Irish students were permitted to speak only Irish and Latin within the building and grounds - and certainly not the French or English languages.
Rev. Murphy return to Ireland 1780
The newly ordained Rev Daniel Murphy returned to Ireland in c.1780.
Ireland had changed substantially during his absence. The eloquent Dublin lawyer, Henry Grattan takes the leadership of the Patriots in 1775 and watched with interest the American Revolution break out. As British forces move from garrisons in Ireland to North America, Grattan convinces the Dublin parliament to authorise an armed volunteer Protestant militia to guard against a possible Franco-Spanish revolutionary invasion. The Volunteers also come to exert political force and non-importation associations follow their lead in promoting Irish goods over imports. By decade's end, they are rallying for freer trade, supporting the Patriots in the Irish parliament. In 1779, Lord North, British Prime Minister, responds by removing trade barriers, substantially increasing export revenues.
No information has been discovered so far of Rev. Daniel Murphy's early appointments within the Diocese of Cork and that of the Diocese of Cloyne & Ross.
The future 'Ballymartle Chalice' is made by the Nicholson Silversmiths in Cork and quite probably commissioned by the Murphy family or Daniel Murphy himself to mark the ordination.
The newly ordained Rev Daniel Murphy returned to Ireland in c.1780.
Ireland had changed substantially during his absence. The eloquent Dublin lawyer, Henry Grattan takes the leadership of the Patriots in 1775 and watched with interest the American Revolution break out. As British forces move from garrisons in Ireland to North America, Grattan convinces the Dublin parliament to authorise an armed volunteer Protestant militia to guard against a possible Franco-Spanish revolutionary invasion. The Volunteers also come to exert political force and non-importation associations follow their lead in promoting Irish goods over imports. By decade's end, they are rallying for freer trade, supporting the Patriots in the Irish parliament. In 1779, Lord North, British Prime Minister, responds by removing trade barriers, substantially increasing export revenues.
No information has been discovered so far of Rev. Daniel Murphy's early appointments within the Diocese of Cork and that of the Diocese of Cloyne & Ross.
The future 'Ballymartle Chalice' is made by the Nicholson Silversmiths in Cork and quite probably commissioned by the Murphy family or Daniel Murphy himself to mark the ordination.
above: The 'Ballymartle Chalice', makers hallmark stamp of the Nicholson partnership (1775-1797) and side view showing simple engraved crucifix.
Following Church laws, before the chalice and paten are used in Church services, they require consecration. This rite is carried out according to a form specially provided in the "Pontificale" [This is the Catholic liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy Orders]. The consecration must be performed by a bishop (or in the case of chalices intended for monastic use, by an abbot possessing the privilege), and a bishop cannot in an ordinary way delegate any priest to perform this function in his place. Further, if the chalice lose its consecration — which happens for example if it be broken or the cup perforated, or even if it has had to be sent to have the bowl re-gilded—it is necessary that it should be re-consecrated by the bishop before it can again be used. Strictly speaking, only priests and deacons are permitted to touch the chalice or paten, but leave is usually granted to sacristans and those officially appointed to take charge of the vestments and sacred vessels.
Ireland in the 1780s
Henry Grattan, now the Irish nationalist leader and bolstered by recent cooperation from the British parliament in Westminster, suggests home rule in the Dublin parliament in 1780. The suggestion was rapidly defeated by British interests, but sympathy for the American colonies and those Irish who have joined them prompts disobedience to the crown in even local magistrates. In 1782, as the American Colonies win their independence, Grattan leads parliament to demand greater legislative separation from Britain. Current Prime Minister Lord Rockingham repeals the Sixth of George I Act and the Irish parliament may now control law making in Ireland. Although they proudly call this stronger body Grattan's Parliament, as a legislative council, it's corrupt and disunited.
Henry Flood, now dominating the Volunteers, criticizes Grattan for not going far enough. He forces the Renunciation Act in 1783 to further establish Irish legislative independence. Pushing for the reform of parliament itself, Flood is voted down and the Volunteers' power vanishes. Grattan does manage to give Catholics greater freedom of education and land ownership, but the parliament would extend them no political rights. To the Ascendancy, Catholic rights would threaten their prosperity - having to compete for land they won through religious inequality. The growing disrespect for the corruption and disunity of parliament damages Ireland and negates any positive sentiments among Catholics. Although gains have been made on both sides, their is great disagreement on the speed and direction of reform.
In Britain, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger is forced by local merchants to hold back on free trade agreements with Ireland. The insanity of George III and the revolution in France in 1789 further strengthens his desire to actually dissolve the Irish parliament and join Ireland with Great Britain.
Ireland in the 1790s
Ireland during the 1790s was a deeply divided and unequal society, marked by political and social unrest and growing demands for reform and independence. Under British rule, the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain was complex and often strained. One of the most significant issues of the time was the question of Irish independence.
The United Irishmen, a revolutionary group founded in 1791, saw the 1789 revolution in France as an expression of their own desires for the freedoms and inherent rights of humanity, and called for an end to British rule and the establishment of an independent Irish Republic. This movement gained significant support among both Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with the British administration and the desire for greater political autonomy.
The Penal Laws, which restricted the civil and religious rights of Catholics, were still in effect in the 1790s, although some limited reforms had been introduced. One of the most significant political and social changes during this period was the Catholic Relief Act of 1793, which granted Catholics the right to vote and hold certain public offices but remain excluded from many areas of public life and faced significant discrimination.
This Relief Act however allowed the Catholic clergy to become more involved in political affairs and to advocate for the rights of their parishioners. The Catholic clergy also continued to play an important role in promoting education and literacy among the Irish population, establishing a number of schools and colleges, which helped to improve the educational opportunities for both Catholics and Protestants. Despite these positive developments, the Catholic majority continued to face significant challenges and discrimination during this period. They were still excluded from many areas of public life, and their religious practices were often met with suspicion and hostility. In addition, the Catholic Church in Ireland was also facing significant internal challenges, including a shortage of priests and a lack of resources. Many of the clergy were poorly paid and had to rely on the support of their parishioners to survive.
The Protestant Orange Society now emerges as a counter-force to pro-Catholic reforms, and violence results in their competition for land and local control in Ulster. As the Catholic agrarian secret societies had done a generation before, Protestant groups now battle for control of the province and prompt many Catholic tenant farmers to join the United Irishmen. Competition for land is further heightened by a spike in population growth. Whereas the population of Ireland had remained fairly constant since the mid 1600's, it has doubled to 4.4 million in the previous forty years.
The 1790s was also a period of economic hardship for many Irish. The country was still predominantly agricultural, and the economy was heavily dependent on the export of goods such as wool and linen. However, a series of poor harvests and economic downturns had led to widespread poverty and unemployment, particularly in rural areas.
In Europe, monarchies reel as revolutionary French ideals spreading to their peoples. The French repel all European attacks, and with the fervour of revolutionary freedom, declare war on Britain. Wolfe Tone seeks French support in his growing drive against British rule, and when the government tries to suppress the United Irishmen, Tone takes them underground and plans an Irish Revolution. Grattan, Patriot leader in the Irish Parliament, desires a free Ireland without violence, and criticises both the United Irishmen and the reactionary government.
The Insurrection Act of 1796, and the addition of a Protestant land-owning Yeomanry to the militia, gives the government the strength to destroy revolutionary groups that are appearing all across Ireland. Their efforts increase when a potential French invasion landing force of 43 ships and 14,000 troops arrive in Bantry Bay, Co. Cork and land a small force ashore. Hampered by poor weather conditions, which prevented them from receiving reinforcements or supplies from France, the invasion failed, and the French troops were forced to withdraw in January 1797. The attempted invasion did, however, have a significant impact on Irish politics and nationalist sentiment. It demonstrated the potential for foreign intervention in Irish affairs and further fuelled calls for Irish independence.
The 1798 Rising
In May of 1798 the reduced revolutionary forces, deprived of their quarrelling leadership, began with a coordinated uprising in the counties of Kildare, Carlow, Wicklow, and Wexford. The rebels were initially successful, capturing several towns and cities and inflicting heavy losses on British forces. However, the rebellion was ultimately suppressed by the British army, which was aided by loyalist militias and the arrival of reinforcements from England.
The rebellion was marked by a series of brutal battles and atrocities committed by both sides. The most notorious incident of the rebellion was the Wexford massacre, in which hundreds of Protestant civilians were killed by rebel forces. In response, the British army launched a brutal campaign of repression, including the execution of rebel leaders and the imprisonment and deportation of thousands of suspected rebels.
As for Irish clerics such as Daniel Murphy, their European seminar education had certainly influenced their own beliefs in the long standing French tradition that the clergy should keep out of politics and that violent opposition to a properly constituted authority was illegal if not immoral. This no doubt contributed towards the Irish Clergy's condemnation of the 1798 Rising with many openly hostile to the rebellion and worked to prevent their congregations from getting involved. Archbishop John Troy of Dublin, for example, issued a pastoral letter condemning the rebellion and calling on his parishioners to remain loyal to the British authorities.
Several Catholic priests were involved in the planning and execution of the rebellion, including Father John Murphy in Wexford, Father James Coigly in Dublin, and Father Nicholas Sheehy in Tipperary. Father Murphy, in particular, played a prominent role in leading the Wexford rebels, and his leadership was crucial to the early successes of the rebellion.
In general, the Irish Catholic clergy were deeply divided over the question of the rebellion. Many were sympathetic to the grievances of the rebels, particularly the economic and social inequalities that had fuelled the uprising. However, they were also concerned about the potential violence and bloodshed that would result from an armed rebellion and the risk of further persecution and repression by the British authorities. After the rebellion was suppressed, the Catholic clergy faced significant persecution and repression from the British authorities. Many were imprisoned or deported, and the church as a whole was subjected to increased scrutiny and control by the British government.
Despite its ultimate failure, the 1798 Rising had a significant impact in Ireland.
One of the most immediate effects of the rebellion was a massive crackdown by the British authorities on Irish nationalism and republicanism. The British government introduced a series of repressive measures, including the suspension of habeas corpus, the establishment of military courts, and the deployment of additional troops to Ireland. These measures were aimed at suppressing any further rebellions and consolidating British control over the country. The Rising also led to the Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain in 1801, which abolished the Irish parliament and integrated Ireland into the United Kingdom.
In the longer term, the 1798 Rising helped to galvanize support for Irish nationalism and independence. The rebellion had been largely driven by grievances over economic and social inequality, as well as the discrimination faced by Catholics under British rule. These issues remained pressing concerns for many Irish nationalists, and the memory of the rebellion served as a powerful symbol of resistance against British rule. The 1798 Rising also helped to lay the groundwork for the emergence of Irish republicanism as a political force in Ireland. The rebellion had been led by groups such as the United Irishmen, who were committed to the establishment of a republican form of government in Ireland. While the rebellion ultimately failed, these ideas continued to influence Irish politics in the years that followed.
Finally, the 1798 Rising contributed to a growing sense of Irish national identity and pride. The rebellion had brought together people from different religious and social backgrounds in a shared struggle against British rule, and this shared experience helped to foster a sense of national unity and common purpose.
In contrast to these political and economic challenges, Ireland in the 1790s was also a period of significant cultural and artistic flourishing. This was particularly true in Dublin, which was a centre of literary and artistic activity. Notable writers and artists of the time included playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, poet Thomas Moore, and painter James Barry.
Ireland 1800-1809
This period was a time of significant change and upheaval in Ireland, as the country adjusted to new political, economic, and social realities and continued to grapple with ongoing issues of national identity and sovereignty.
The rebellion begun by the United Irishmen in 1798 confirmed British Prime Minister Pitt's fear that Ireland could no longer be governed as a colony. Although Grattan's parliament vetoes Pitt's proposal for union in 1799, the opposing members are either bought out or removed from office by the parliamentary chief secretary and the Acts of Union pass as the decade opens. The Irish parliament disappeared into history, absorbed into the Westminster parliament and Ireland becomes part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.
This was a controversial move that was opposed by many Irish nationalists who saw it as a loss of Irish sovereignty and an erosion of Irish identity. The Act of Union also had significant economic implications for Ireland, as it removed many trade restrictions but also eliminated certain protections for Irish industry. To satisfy both reformers and anti-reformers, Pitt explains this will give Catholics a voice in a larger forum. It did not.
The years following the Act of Union were marked by ongoing tensions and conflict between Irish nationalists and the British government. Many Irish nationalists continued to call for greater autonomy or even independence for Ireland, and several rebellions and uprisings occurred during this period, including the 1803 Rebellion led by Robert Emmet.
In addition to political upheaval, Ireland also experienced significant economic and social changes during this period. The country was hit hard by the economic downturn following the Napoleonic Wars, which led to widespread poverty and unemployment. This period also saw the growth of industrialisation in Ireland, particularly in the textile industry, which had significant impacts on traditional rural communities. The trend towards smaller farm plots and larger family size continues in the rural Catholic communities. Famine is common, and agrarian secret societies continue their violent acts against the British rule and its Protestant ascendancy. The government passes Coercion Acts to deal more absolutely with suspects as well as criminals, increasing misery. Two petitions for the removal Catholic restrictions on government participation are rejected by large parliamentary majorities, although Pitt implied Union could lead to Catholic Emancipation.
Despite these challenges, there were also significant cultural and literary developments during this period. The Irish literary revival was beginning to take shape, with writers such as Thomas Moore, Maria Edgeworth, and Sydney Owenson gaining prominence.
Youghal 1802
Rev. John Maguire, parish priest of Youghal (1768-1802) for the previous, largely difficult 34 years, died.
Rev. Daniel Murphy was appointed as Parish Priest (by Bishop William Coppinger 1753-1831) to replace Rev. John at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Youghal and was to minister for almost as long as predecessor, some thirty years until his death in 1832. Youghal parish and the majority of Catholic parishes in Diocese of Cloyne were by all accounts, somewhat affluent as Martin Mellerick discovered:
"In 1800 the average cash income for Cloyne’s Catholic parish priests was estimated at between £100 and £120 per annum. In Raphoe diocese, Co. Donegal, it was £55.17. By 1825 the estimated average yearly benefice for Cloyne’s Catholic parishes was £220-£250 per annum. It must also be pointed out that these figures relate to cash incomes only. When other customary entitlements such as agricultural produce and labour are taken into account, the living standards of Cloyne’s priests may have been impressive...Unresolved sectarian and social class tensions lay beneath such seemingly favorable circumstances. By the early nineteenth century, east Cork was undergoing such a profound and rapid transition that Miller suggests it could be described as almost schizophrenic. Intense religious devotion, both modern and customary, co-existed alongside popular anti-clerical traditions and more modern expressions of popular alienation. However dysfunctional this part of the diocese may have become, it is possible that, similar to other parts of the Catholic core region it retained a capacity to “graft innovations onto a traditional stock" Revising Whelan’s Model of Tridentine Catholicism in Ireland: The Experience of Cloyne Diocese, County Cork, c.1700 to 1830 Martin Millerick Department of Geography National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Youghal, located in east County Cork, was then an important, bustling seaport town, with a population of around 7,000 people. The town was known for its important trading activities, particularly in the wool and linen industries. During this period, Youghal was also undergoing significant development and modernisation. Connected to other parts of Ireland through some newly-built turnpike roads, these facilitated the transport of goods and people. Additionally, the town's harbour was improved and deepened to accommodate larger ships and increased trading activity. Youghal was also home to a number of important institutions, including a courthouse, a jail, and several churches. The town experienced significant poverty and unemployment, particularly following the economic downturn after the Napoleonic Wars. In response, several charitable institutions were established to provide relief to the most vulnerable residents, including a local society for the relief of the poor and a dispensary for medical care.
Ireland in the 1780s
Henry Grattan, now the Irish nationalist leader and bolstered by recent cooperation from the British parliament in Westminster, suggests home rule in the Dublin parliament in 1780. The suggestion was rapidly defeated by British interests, but sympathy for the American colonies and those Irish who have joined them prompts disobedience to the crown in even local magistrates. In 1782, as the American Colonies win their independence, Grattan leads parliament to demand greater legislative separation from Britain. Current Prime Minister Lord Rockingham repeals the Sixth of George I Act and the Irish parliament may now control law making in Ireland. Although they proudly call this stronger body Grattan's Parliament, as a legislative council, it's corrupt and disunited.
Henry Flood, now dominating the Volunteers, criticizes Grattan for not going far enough. He forces the Renunciation Act in 1783 to further establish Irish legislative independence. Pushing for the reform of parliament itself, Flood is voted down and the Volunteers' power vanishes. Grattan does manage to give Catholics greater freedom of education and land ownership, but the parliament would extend them no political rights. To the Ascendancy, Catholic rights would threaten their prosperity - having to compete for land they won through religious inequality. The growing disrespect for the corruption and disunity of parliament damages Ireland and negates any positive sentiments among Catholics. Although gains have been made on both sides, their is great disagreement on the speed and direction of reform.
In Britain, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger is forced by local merchants to hold back on free trade agreements with Ireland. The insanity of George III and the revolution in France in 1789 further strengthens his desire to actually dissolve the Irish parliament and join Ireland with Great Britain.
Ireland in the 1790s
Ireland during the 1790s was a deeply divided and unequal society, marked by political and social unrest and growing demands for reform and independence. Under British rule, the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain was complex and often strained. One of the most significant issues of the time was the question of Irish independence.
The United Irishmen, a revolutionary group founded in 1791, saw the 1789 revolution in France as an expression of their own desires for the freedoms and inherent rights of humanity, and called for an end to British rule and the establishment of an independent Irish Republic. This movement gained significant support among both Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with the British administration and the desire for greater political autonomy.
The Penal Laws, which restricted the civil and religious rights of Catholics, were still in effect in the 1790s, although some limited reforms had been introduced. One of the most significant political and social changes during this period was the Catholic Relief Act of 1793, which granted Catholics the right to vote and hold certain public offices but remain excluded from many areas of public life and faced significant discrimination.
This Relief Act however allowed the Catholic clergy to become more involved in political affairs and to advocate for the rights of their parishioners. The Catholic clergy also continued to play an important role in promoting education and literacy among the Irish population, establishing a number of schools and colleges, which helped to improve the educational opportunities for both Catholics and Protestants. Despite these positive developments, the Catholic majority continued to face significant challenges and discrimination during this period. They were still excluded from many areas of public life, and their religious practices were often met with suspicion and hostility. In addition, the Catholic Church in Ireland was also facing significant internal challenges, including a shortage of priests and a lack of resources. Many of the clergy were poorly paid and had to rely on the support of their parishioners to survive.
The Protestant Orange Society now emerges as a counter-force to pro-Catholic reforms, and violence results in their competition for land and local control in Ulster. As the Catholic agrarian secret societies had done a generation before, Protestant groups now battle for control of the province and prompt many Catholic tenant farmers to join the United Irishmen. Competition for land is further heightened by a spike in population growth. Whereas the population of Ireland had remained fairly constant since the mid 1600's, it has doubled to 4.4 million in the previous forty years.
The 1790s was also a period of economic hardship for many Irish. The country was still predominantly agricultural, and the economy was heavily dependent on the export of goods such as wool and linen. However, a series of poor harvests and economic downturns had led to widespread poverty and unemployment, particularly in rural areas.
In Europe, monarchies reel as revolutionary French ideals spreading to their peoples. The French repel all European attacks, and with the fervour of revolutionary freedom, declare war on Britain. Wolfe Tone seeks French support in his growing drive against British rule, and when the government tries to suppress the United Irishmen, Tone takes them underground and plans an Irish Revolution. Grattan, Patriot leader in the Irish Parliament, desires a free Ireland without violence, and criticises both the United Irishmen and the reactionary government.
The Insurrection Act of 1796, and the addition of a Protestant land-owning Yeomanry to the militia, gives the government the strength to destroy revolutionary groups that are appearing all across Ireland. Their efforts increase when a potential French invasion landing force of 43 ships and 14,000 troops arrive in Bantry Bay, Co. Cork and land a small force ashore. Hampered by poor weather conditions, which prevented them from receiving reinforcements or supplies from France, the invasion failed, and the French troops were forced to withdraw in January 1797. The attempted invasion did, however, have a significant impact on Irish politics and nationalist sentiment. It demonstrated the potential for foreign intervention in Irish affairs and further fuelled calls for Irish independence.
The 1798 Rising
In May of 1798 the reduced revolutionary forces, deprived of their quarrelling leadership, began with a coordinated uprising in the counties of Kildare, Carlow, Wicklow, and Wexford. The rebels were initially successful, capturing several towns and cities and inflicting heavy losses on British forces. However, the rebellion was ultimately suppressed by the British army, which was aided by loyalist militias and the arrival of reinforcements from England.
The rebellion was marked by a series of brutal battles and atrocities committed by both sides. The most notorious incident of the rebellion was the Wexford massacre, in which hundreds of Protestant civilians were killed by rebel forces. In response, the British army launched a brutal campaign of repression, including the execution of rebel leaders and the imprisonment and deportation of thousands of suspected rebels.
As for Irish clerics such as Daniel Murphy, their European seminar education had certainly influenced their own beliefs in the long standing French tradition that the clergy should keep out of politics and that violent opposition to a properly constituted authority was illegal if not immoral. This no doubt contributed towards the Irish Clergy's condemnation of the 1798 Rising with many openly hostile to the rebellion and worked to prevent their congregations from getting involved. Archbishop John Troy of Dublin, for example, issued a pastoral letter condemning the rebellion and calling on his parishioners to remain loyal to the British authorities.
Several Catholic priests were involved in the planning and execution of the rebellion, including Father John Murphy in Wexford, Father James Coigly in Dublin, and Father Nicholas Sheehy in Tipperary. Father Murphy, in particular, played a prominent role in leading the Wexford rebels, and his leadership was crucial to the early successes of the rebellion.
In general, the Irish Catholic clergy were deeply divided over the question of the rebellion. Many were sympathetic to the grievances of the rebels, particularly the economic and social inequalities that had fuelled the uprising. However, they were also concerned about the potential violence and bloodshed that would result from an armed rebellion and the risk of further persecution and repression by the British authorities. After the rebellion was suppressed, the Catholic clergy faced significant persecution and repression from the British authorities. Many were imprisoned or deported, and the church as a whole was subjected to increased scrutiny and control by the British government.
Despite its ultimate failure, the 1798 Rising had a significant impact in Ireland.
One of the most immediate effects of the rebellion was a massive crackdown by the British authorities on Irish nationalism and republicanism. The British government introduced a series of repressive measures, including the suspension of habeas corpus, the establishment of military courts, and the deployment of additional troops to Ireland. These measures were aimed at suppressing any further rebellions and consolidating British control over the country. The Rising also led to the Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain in 1801, which abolished the Irish parliament and integrated Ireland into the United Kingdom.
In the longer term, the 1798 Rising helped to galvanize support for Irish nationalism and independence. The rebellion had been largely driven by grievances over economic and social inequality, as well as the discrimination faced by Catholics under British rule. These issues remained pressing concerns for many Irish nationalists, and the memory of the rebellion served as a powerful symbol of resistance against British rule. The 1798 Rising also helped to lay the groundwork for the emergence of Irish republicanism as a political force in Ireland. The rebellion had been led by groups such as the United Irishmen, who were committed to the establishment of a republican form of government in Ireland. While the rebellion ultimately failed, these ideas continued to influence Irish politics in the years that followed.
Finally, the 1798 Rising contributed to a growing sense of Irish national identity and pride. The rebellion had brought together people from different religious and social backgrounds in a shared struggle against British rule, and this shared experience helped to foster a sense of national unity and common purpose.
In contrast to these political and economic challenges, Ireland in the 1790s was also a period of significant cultural and artistic flourishing. This was particularly true in Dublin, which was a centre of literary and artistic activity. Notable writers and artists of the time included playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, poet Thomas Moore, and painter James Barry.
Ireland 1800-1809
This period was a time of significant change and upheaval in Ireland, as the country adjusted to new political, economic, and social realities and continued to grapple with ongoing issues of national identity and sovereignty.
The rebellion begun by the United Irishmen in 1798 confirmed British Prime Minister Pitt's fear that Ireland could no longer be governed as a colony. Although Grattan's parliament vetoes Pitt's proposal for union in 1799, the opposing members are either bought out or removed from office by the parliamentary chief secretary and the Acts of Union pass as the decade opens. The Irish parliament disappeared into history, absorbed into the Westminster parliament and Ireland becomes part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.
This was a controversial move that was opposed by many Irish nationalists who saw it as a loss of Irish sovereignty and an erosion of Irish identity. The Act of Union also had significant economic implications for Ireland, as it removed many trade restrictions but also eliminated certain protections for Irish industry. To satisfy both reformers and anti-reformers, Pitt explains this will give Catholics a voice in a larger forum. It did not.
The years following the Act of Union were marked by ongoing tensions and conflict between Irish nationalists and the British government. Many Irish nationalists continued to call for greater autonomy or even independence for Ireland, and several rebellions and uprisings occurred during this period, including the 1803 Rebellion led by Robert Emmet.
In addition to political upheaval, Ireland also experienced significant economic and social changes during this period. The country was hit hard by the economic downturn following the Napoleonic Wars, which led to widespread poverty and unemployment. This period also saw the growth of industrialisation in Ireland, particularly in the textile industry, which had significant impacts on traditional rural communities. The trend towards smaller farm plots and larger family size continues in the rural Catholic communities. Famine is common, and agrarian secret societies continue their violent acts against the British rule and its Protestant ascendancy. The government passes Coercion Acts to deal more absolutely with suspects as well as criminals, increasing misery. Two petitions for the removal Catholic restrictions on government participation are rejected by large parliamentary majorities, although Pitt implied Union could lead to Catholic Emancipation.
Despite these challenges, there were also significant cultural and literary developments during this period. The Irish literary revival was beginning to take shape, with writers such as Thomas Moore, Maria Edgeworth, and Sydney Owenson gaining prominence.
Youghal 1802
Rev. John Maguire, parish priest of Youghal (1768-1802) for the previous, largely difficult 34 years, died.
Rev. Daniel Murphy was appointed as Parish Priest (by Bishop William Coppinger 1753-1831) to replace Rev. John at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Youghal and was to minister for almost as long as predecessor, some thirty years until his death in 1832. Youghal parish and the majority of Catholic parishes in Diocese of Cloyne were by all accounts, somewhat affluent as Martin Mellerick discovered:
"In 1800 the average cash income for Cloyne’s Catholic parish priests was estimated at between £100 and £120 per annum. In Raphoe diocese, Co. Donegal, it was £55.17. By 1825 the estimated average yearly benefice for Cloyne’s Catholic parishes was £220-£250 per annum. It must also be pointed out that these figures relate to cash incomes only. When other customary entitlements such as agricultural produce and labour are taken into account, the living standards of Cloyne’s priests may have been impressive...Unresolved sectarian and social class tensions lay beneath such seemingly favorable circumstances. By the early nineteenth century, east Cork was undergoing such a profound and rapid transition that Miller suggests it could be described as almost schizophrenic. Intense religious devotion, both modern and customary, co-existed alongside popular anti-clerical traditions and more modern expressions of popular alienation. However dysfunctional this part of the diocese may have become, it is possible that, similar to other parts of the Catholic core region it retained a capacity to “graft innovations onto a traditional stock" Revising Whelan’s Model of Tridentine Catholicism in Ireland: The Experience of Cloyne Diocese, County Cork, c.1700 to 1830 Martin Millerick Department of Geography National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Youghal, located in east County Cork, was then an important, bustling seaport town, with a population of around 7,000 people. The town was known for its important trading activities, particularly in the wool and linen industries. During this period, Youghal was also undergoing significant development and modernisation. Connected to other parts of Ireland through some newly-built turnpike roads, these facilitated the transport of goods and people. Additionally, the town's harbour was improved and deepened to accommodate larger ships and increased trading activity. Youghal was also home to a number of important institutions, including a courthouse, a jail, and several churches. The town experienced significant poverty and unemployment, particularly following the economic downturn after the Napoleonic Wars. In response, several charitable institutions were established to provide relief to the most vulnerable residents, including a local society for the relief of the poor and a dispensary for medical care.
"But in common with much of Ireland at the time, beneath the surface simmered sectarian tension. Youghal, where, by the 1740s, its religious balance continued to favour Protestants, but only just, led to the burning and looting of the town’s Catholic chapel by some of its Protestant inhabitants and soldiers in 1743.
Following the 1744/5 Stuart uprising in Scotland, crackdowns on the Catholic Clergy were widespread. At Youghal, its mayor reported that both of its Catholic priests had “narrowly escaped my hands”
Tension was by no means confined to Youghal. At Bandon, Crofton Croker observed in 1824 that “over the principal gate an inscription once stated that Jew, Turk or Athiest may enter here but not a Papist”. In Cork city in 1747 it was reported that “There is no walking Cork streets without insult if you do not wear an orange cockade”.
Reflecting upon events at Youghal in 1798, Catholic Bishop William Coppinger recalled that relations had deteriorated to such an extent that “a rising of Orangemen” was expected. By 1804, matters had improved, and Bishop Coppinger continued to remind his readers, however, that “A curse prevailed in the south of Ireland when signal evil was wished to an enemy, may the devil take him to Youghal” By 1820, further changes had taken place. Only 15% of the town’s population were now Protestant, with Catholics having moved into what were once Protestant core areas of the town."
The Roman Catholic Communities of Cloyne Diocese, Co. Cork, 1700 -1830. Martin Millerick B.A. Thesis, Maynooth University. April 2015. https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/9120/1/Cloyne.pdf
St Mary's Catholic church was built in the 1790s by public subscription, assisted by a donation of £700 from Dr. Coppinger, Bishop of Cloyne, under whose patronage it was erected.
Initially, the very thought of 'Papists' errecting churches 'to the Romish faith' in East Cork was strongly discouraged by the Protestant gentry. However, in the wake of the events of the 1780s and ’90s, the gentry's support for Catholic chapel building underwent a significant improvement. After all, if the French had landed on the Cork coast, it was likely that landlords such as the Earls of Shannon would have needed to rely upon the Catholic majority to protect their properties.
In 1799, when requested to do so, Richard Boyle, the Second Earl of Shannon wrote: “[T]ho’ I have no great passion for subscribing towards chapels, yet in consequence of it I desire to be put down for a sum not exceeding 30 guineas.”. At Youghal, Bishop Coppinger reported receiving £50 towards the construction of St. Mary's as a small token of the Second Earl’s “perfect approbation of the undertaking.”
The simple basic design was typical of the type of church that Catholics were building at this period – the urgent need was for solid structures to accommodate a rapidly increasing population and so decorative embellishment were a secondary consideration. The church was transformed externally in 1841 into the then popular Gothic style by Edward Fitzgerald, a local builder and architect, who also added the tower. The pointed arch windows, pinnacles and limestone buttresses are features of the mid nineteenth century renovations. The tower had a copper spire which was removed in 1919 as it had become structurally dangerous. The interior retains its simple and elegant late eighteenth century U-plan gallery, a feature which is now found in only a handful of Roman Catholic churches and gives the atmosphere of a Wren church in London or a New England Congregational church. Today, this church is the oldest and still functioning church in the Catholic diocese of Cloyne.
Initially, the very thought of 'Papists' errecting churches 'to the Romish faith' in East Cork was strongly discouraged by the Protestant gentry. However, in the wake of the events of the 1780s and ’90s, the gentry's support for Catholic chapel building underwent a significant improvement. After all, if the French had landed on the Cork coast, it was likely that landlords such as the Earls of Shannon would have needed to rely upon the Catholic majority to protect their properties.
In 1799, when requested to do so, Richard Boyle, the Second Earl of Shannon wrote: “[T]ho’ I have no great passion for subscribing towards chapels, yet in consequence of it I desire to be put down for a sum not exceeding 30 guineas.”. At Youghal, Bishop Coppinger reported receiving £50 towards the construction of St. Mary's as a small token of the Second Earl’s “perfect approbation of the undertaking.”
The simple basic design was typical of the type of church that Catholics were building at this period – the urgent need was for solid structures to accommodate a rapidly increasing population and so decorative embellishment were a secondary consideration. The church was transformed externally in 1841 into the then popular Gothic style by Edward Fitzgerald, a local builder and architect, who also added the tower. The pointed arch windows, pinnacles and limestone buttresses are features of the mid nineteenth century renovations. The tower had a copper spire which was removed in 1919 as it had become structurally dangerous. The interior retains its simple and elegant late eighteenth century U-plan gallery, a feature which is now found in only a handful of Roman Catholic churches and gives the atmosphere of a Wren church in London or a New England Congregational church. Today, this church is the oldest and still functioning church in the Catholic diocese of Cloyne.
Ireland 1810-1819
Economic depression came to Ireland following the end of the Napoleonic wars with final British victory over France, and the War of 1812 with the United States. Ireland's agriculture-based economy was shifting slowly towards manufacturing and industry, particularly in the textiles sector. However, this transition was not without its challenges, and many communities struggled with poverty and unemployment.
For the majority of the population, the hope of Catholic Emancipation - greater participation in government, faded with little opposition from church leaders. In 1819 Grattan's emancipation bill fails, but just barely. After more than a decade of union with Great Britain, still no Catholic is able to sit in the Westminster parliament.
In 1816, Ireland was hit hard by the "Year Without a Summer," a global climate event that led to poor harvests and widespread famine. The famine led to significant social and economic upheaval in Ireland and highlighted the country's vulnerabilities in the face of global events.
Culturally, the Irish literary revival continued to gain momentum, with writers such as Maria Edgeworth and John Banim gaining prominence. The period also saw the emergence of the Gothic literary genre, with writers such as Charles Maturin and Bram Stoker drawing inspiration from Irish folklore and history.
Youghal 1819
The next reference to Rev. Daniel Murphy discovered is a newspaper clipping from March 16, 1819 and the Freemans Journal reports on the departure from Youghal of Rev. John Power, the 'coadjutor' or curate to Rev. Daniel Murphy:
Ireland 1820-1829
Both Protestant landowner and Catholic tenant farmer have perceived a weakening of their positions. A generation has passed since the turbulent 1790's. Then, an equality minded reformist group grew into a mainly anti-Protestant movement. There was insurrection and then the dissolution of the Irish parliament. The role of the Protestant landowner is now marginalized by union with Great Britain, and promises of greater government participation made to the Catholics are unfulfilled.
Political developments during this period in Ireland included ongoing efforts to secure greater political rights and autonomy. In 1823, Daniel O'Connell founded the Catholic Association, which aimed to secure Catholic emancipation and greater political representation for Irish Catholics. The Association was successful in mobilising widespread support for these goals. Membership blossoms when in 1824, a subscription of a penny a month is created so all may participate. In the 1826 general election they surprise even O'Connell. Catholic voters oust old members of parliament in favour of emancipation supporters. O'Connel, himself, is elected a member from County Clare, but refuses his seat in parliament as it still requires a renunciation of Catholicism. Now the Catholic majority have proven the power of their vote, and O'Connell becomes known as the Great Liberator, allowing Catholics to participate in Irish nationalism as the Protestants did before. Fearing revolution may follow, the government in Westminster is persuaded to free Catholics from further restrictions.
The last Catholic Relief Act is passed in 1829, confirming all but the highest positions in government open to both Catholics and Protestants across the United Kingdom. Just as the tide of Catholic power seems to be swelling, the government suppresses the Catholic Association and raises the property requirements to vote from £2 (a.k.a. 40-Shilling freeholders), to £10. Those eligible to vote drop by 80%, and the higher requirements exclude most of the poor that supported O'Connell and strengthens the position of the Anglo-Irish gentry. The government in Westminster could not prevent Emancipation, but they succeed in reducing its effects.
In the north-east, the mechanization of industry continues and some reforms in areas of worker unions, strikes, and crime and punishment take place. The majority of wealth remains based on agricultural lands owned by gentry. The farming of food crops increased as did the price of grains during the last decade's Napoleonic War. Now, however, as world grain prices fall, the British government imposes artificially high pricing through "corn laws" to benefit landlord growers throughout the United Kingdom. Farmland in Ireland is the most dense in all of Europe due in part to the potato. It has become a staple of the rural population who may include it in two or three meals daily, as the price of grains is too high. The population continues it's upward climb, surpassing 7 million this decade.
The 1820s were also marked by significant social and cultural developments in Ireland. The Irish literary revival continued to gain momentum, with writers such as Thomas Moore and Sydney Owenson gaining prominence. The period also saw the emergence of new cultural movements, such as the Irish Gothic revival, which sought to celebrate and revive Ireland's rich cultural and artistic heritage.
Despite these developments, the period between 1820 and 1829 was also marked by significant social and economic challenges. The Famine of 1822-1823, which was caused by a combination of poor harvests and the ongoing economic downturn, led to widespread hunger and hardship throughout Ireland. This period of famine and economic distress highlighted the vulnerability of many Irish communities, and underscored the need for continued efforts to improve the country's social and economic conditions.
Youghal 1821: '…absurdly and Contemptibly Liberal'
So wrote the Catholic Bishop of Cloyne & Ross, Bishop Coppinger on his 1821 visit to the Parish of Youghal and examination of the stewardship of it's priest, Rev. Daniel Murphy.
This intriguing observation appears in the Bishop's personal 'Episcopal Visitations of Parishes' ledger book, held in the Cloyne Diocesan Archives. This was a written record of Coppinger's formal & periodical assessment of the parish, as Irish ecclesiastical historian, Vera Moynes explains:
"On the occasion of their visitations, bishops fulfilled their canonical obligation to examine many aspects of parochial life: infrastructure and governance, provision for schooling and teaching personnel, midwives, confirmation of children and adults, creedal and liturgical observation by the laity. The ultimate aim of the visitation was to correct abuses and instruct the clergy and laity on their temporal and spiritual obligations. The visitations also provide insights into the governance of the diocese, the governing style of each bishop and patterns in clerical appointments and patronage."
Each diocese Bishop would record their formal visits to parishes throughout their areas of responsibility, in Visitation Books, a large vellum paged, leather bound ledger (many of which survive today) and these record the minutiae of each Parish visit.
Some Bishops had a remarkably keen, perhaps even a gimlet eye for detail and observation which they duly described, recorded in elegant cursive longhand in their visitation books - other Bishops were rather more perfunctory and brief. Coppinger was one of the latter, preferring brevity.
William Coppinger (1753- August 1831) was certainly a colourful cleric. His family background were the Coppingers of Barryscourt, one of the leading Catholic landowning and clerical families in Cork in the era of the Penal Laws, which restricted Catholic civil liberties (c1695-1827). A Stephen Coppinger, having fled to France following the defeat of the Catholic King James II by King William of Orange in the 1690s, returned to Ireland in the early 1700s, leasing lands at Barryscourt from the earl of Barrymore. The family farmed extensive estates at Barryscourt and at Ballyvolane, Co Cork. Unusually, the Coppingers held the right to present parish priests to the Catholic parishes of St Mary’s, Shandon, and SS Peter and Paul, both in Cork city, a privilege enjoyed since medieval times but which was to fall into abeyance in the late eighteenth century, and to be finally extinguished in the early nineteenth century.
Prohibited by the Penal Laws from obtaining a liberal education at home, he studied successfully on the continent. He considered a military career and applied for a commission in the French army, but dissuaded by some friends, decided instead to train for the priesthood at the Irish College, Paris. He was ordained in 1780. Coppinger returned to Ireland becoming a curate at his home parish, and then parish priest first at Carrigaline, and then at Passage in County Cork. In 1786 Bishop Francis Moylan of Cork named Coppinger vicar-general of the diocese, and shortly thereafter arranged for Coppinger to be appointed coadjutor to Bishop Matthew McKenna of Cloyne. McKenna was not pleased that he had not been consulted before being landed with a coadjutor and over the next three years lodged many official complaints against him. Matters did not improve significantly when Coppinger succeeded MacKenna (4 June 1791) and the Catholic gentry remained suspicious of him.
As Bishop of Cloyne and Ross, Dr. Coppinger, served as a trustee of Maynooth College upon its establishment in 1795. He was a strong opponent of the Veto giving the crown a say in episcopal appointments. With the failure of the French Expédition d'Irlande, Coppinger issued a pastoral letter in 1797 urging his clergy to offset "the suggestion of designing men" and "confound the malice of agitators". He strongly opposed the Irish Rebellion of 1798, partly due to the anti-religion ethos of the French Revolution which inspired it, and partly because he believed that the government was attempting to provoke the people. He produced a social pastoral against rebellion, arguing fairly reasonably, that the poor would remain poor no matter what type of government was in power.
"Bishop Coppinger next called for Catholics to surrender their arms for their own good. Yet he ridiculed what he perceived to have been the ideals of the United Irish movement. “How can there be cultivation” he asked “when there are no tillers? And where shall you find tillers, if all become gentlemen? Rank and property must go hand in hand, and the inequality of both in every civilised country must be as various as the talents of men.” In 1803 he re-iterated his opinion that “The United Irish Association, organised upon the Gallic model, I well knew it tended, not alone to induce temporal misery, but the total overthrow of religion, which I deem a far greater misfortune.” France, he thought, had become a “colossal monster and enemy of all religion"."
Revising Whelan’s Model of Tridentine Catholicism in Ireland: The Experience of Cloyne Diocese, County Cork, c.1700 to 1830 Martin Millerick Department of Geography National University of Ireland, Maynooth
During the rebellion he fled Youghal and went to Midleton, where he lived until 1812; he subsequently resided at Cobh. Nevertheless, he was regarded with some suspicion by the government for many years after the rebellion, especially after his unwillingness to support the act of union (1800): he insisted throughout his life that he was ‘little in the habit of bowing at the Castle’. Bishop Coppinger supported Daniel O'Connell's, Catholic Association, whose methods he approved of. Died in 1831 and today rests in Cobh Cathederal.
1821
In his Visitation Book for the Diocese of Cloyne, Bishop William Coppinger writes at the beginning of the volume dated 1821 (perhaps by means of explanation or mission statement) that there are five main components of visitation to parishes within the diocese:
Throughout his various Visitation Books, Bishop Coppinger went to great effort and concern to record the names of the landed proprietors of the parishes that he visited along with some interesting if personal observations:
Coppinger goes on to record an interesting visit to the parish of Youghal and then 66 year old Parish Priest, Rev. Denis Murphy. Although the Bishop managed to confirm a surprising 1,200 children during the visit, he little else to add at the time, except to caustically observe that in the Youghal parish;
‘The upper Classes of men neglecting the sacraments … [are] ignorantly & presumptuously self sufficient & arrogant, absurdly & contemptibly liberal.’
Throughout the visitation registers for 1818, 1821 and 1824, Bishop Coppinger routinely listed the condition of the parish 'ornaments' (church decorations and functional items) and on numerous occasions instructed parishes to take a greater role in providing the priests with acceptable vestments.
In his detailing of church ornamentals, he noted the ability of parishes to preserve and maintain church artefacts. For instance he noted that Killerinmore had a silver chalice dating from 1601 and Clonakilty had a silver chalice with a hexagon foot dating back from 1618. Bishop Coppinger had an eye for the unusual and occasionally took fancy to a chalice owned by a priest of the parish, but once described, adds the following comment, almost in a disappointed way … 'owned by the Priest'.
Sadly, he makes no reference to chalices in Youghal at any stage during the records of his visitations - either as church or private property. This would have provided some confirmation of the 'Ballymartle Chalice' location and definitive confirmation of Rev. Murphy's family ancestry to 21st Century family descendants.
Bishop Coppinger's remarkable list of deceased clergy: 1770-1779
As an aside, here's an item discovered by Historians Eric Derr and Matt MacKenna from their study: “Episcopal Visitations of the Dioceses of Cloyne and Ross, 1785-1828".
Bishop Coppinger, some 225 years ago, wrote in one of his visitation ledgers, a collection of names. Not just a random collection of names, but a truly remarkable list of the 'deceased clergy 1770-1799' of the diocese of Cloyne & Ross. In this list, there are few examples of the 'great and the good' and most of the clergy which The Bishop recorded from memory, appear to have had multiple difficulties, primarily with alcohol, insanity and some very individual little idiosyncrasies. Poverty amongst the clergy of the era is also evident. This makes for fascinating reading and an extraordinary insight into the rank and file clerics of the time.
For example, there's a Fr Thomas Flynn who was described by his Bishop as unemployed, a drunk and died in a prison ship. Then there's a Fr Pat Hallahan, also described as unemployed - but was also known as 'a fairy hunter and drunkard'. Alcoholism appears frequently such as Fr Pierce Mansfield of Churchtown who died of the gout but was a 'good natured, ignorant drunkard' and Fr. William Wallace who died an 'old, ignorant drinking man aged 84'.
There are very few positives character references in this collection of deceased clerics: For instance, Fr Reardon of Ballyvourney who 'died old & had a bad character'; Fr William Delay 'a drunk, died in a hut near Muskerry mountain' and Fr Lewis Walsh of Ross 'an insignificant little fellow, died rather old'. Then there's the rather sad examples, such as Fr. Daniel Sheehan who the Bishop described as 'an old reprobate, died by a hedge in Duhallow' and Edmond Donnegan, Castlemagner who died of 'scurvy and gout'.
However special ire was reserved for the occasional cleric who renounced religion completely and maybe, just maybe even married a Protestant. Bishop Coppinger writes of Fr John McMahon from an unspecified parish: 'Turned apost. married & was a man of execrable behaviour'. [apost. was Coppinger's shorthand for apostasy]
The full Coppinger's List of deceased clergy appears below:
Prohibited by the Penal Laws from obtaining a liberal education at home, he studied successfully on the continent. He considered a military career and applied for a commission in the French army, but dissuaded by some friends, decided instead to train for the priesthood at the Irish College, Paris. He was ordained in 1780. Coppinger returned to Ireland becoming a curate at his home parish, and then parish priest first at Carrigaline, and then at Passage in County Cork. In 1786 Bishop Francis Moylan of Cork named Coppinger vicar-general of the diocese, and shortly thereafter arranged for Coppinger to be appointed coadjutor to Bishop Matthew McKenna of Cloyne. McKenna was not pleased that he had not been consulted before being landed with a coadjutor and over the next three years lodged many official complaints against him. Matters did not improve significantly when Coppinger succeeded MacKenna (4 June 1791) and the Catholic gentry remained suspicious of him.
As Bishop of Cloyne and Ross, Dr. Coppinger, served as a trustee of Maynooth College upon its establishment in 1795. He was a strong opponent of the Veto giving the crown a say in episcopal appointments. With the failure of the French Expédition d'Irlande, Coppinger issued a pastoral letter in 1797 urging his clergy to offset "the suggestion of designing men" and "confound the malice of agitators". He strongly opposed the Irish Rebellion of 1798, partly due to the anti-religion ethos of the French Revolution which inspired it, and partly because he believed that the government was attempting to provoke the people. He produced a social pastoral against rebellion, arguing fairly reasonably, that the poor would remain poor no matter what type of government was in power.
"Bishop Coppinger next called for Catholics to surrender their arms for their own good. Yet he ridiculed what he perceived to have been the ideals of the United Irish movement. “How can there be cultivation” he asked “when there are no tillers? And where shall you find tillers, if all become gentlemen? Rank and property must go hand in hand, and the inequality of both in every civilised country must be as various as the talents of men.” In 1803 he re-iterated his opinion that “The United Irish Association, organised upon the Gallic model, I well knew it tended, not alone to induce temporal misery, but the total overthrow of religion, which I deem a far greater misfortune.” France, he thought, had become a “colossal monster and enemy of all religion"."
Revising Whelan’s Model of Tridentine Catholicism in Ireland: The Experience of Cloyne Diocese, County Cork, c.1700 to 1830 Martin Millerick Department of Geography National University of Ireland, Maynooth
During the rebellion he fled Youghal and went to Midleton, where he lived until 1812; he subsequently resided at Cobh. Nevertheless, he was regarded with some suspicion by the government for many years after the rebellion, especially after his unwillingness to support the act of union (1800): he insisted throughout his life that he was ‘little in the habit of bowing at the Castle’. Bishop Coppinger supported Daniel O'Connell's, Catholic Association, whose methods he approved of. Died in 1831 and today rests in Cobh Cathederal.
1821
In his Visitation Book for the Diocese of Cloyne, Bishop William Coppinger writes at the beginning of the volume dated 1821 (perhaps by means of explanation or mission statement) that there are five main components of visitation to parishes within the diocese:
- Absolution of souls of the faithful departed
- Gathering information on the organisation and ‘state’ of the parish
- punishment by ecclesiastical censure of those not adhering to the teachings of the Church administration of ‘relief to such penitents’
- and the administration of the sacrament of confirmation
Throughout his various Visitation Books, Bishop Coppinger went to great effort and concern to record the names of the landed proprietors of the parishes that he visited along with some interesting if personal observations:
Coppinger goes on to record an interesting visit to the parish of Youghal and then 66 year old Parish Priest, Rev. Denis Murphy. Although the Bishop managed to confirm a surprising 1,200 children during the visit, he little else to add at the time, except to caustically observe that in the Youghal parish;
‘The upper Classes of men neglecting the sacraments … [are] ignorantly & presumptuously self sufficient & arrogant, absurdly & contemptibly liberal.’
Throughout the visitation registers for 1818, 1821 and 1824, Bishop Coppinger routinely listed the condition of the parish 'ornaments' (church decorations and functional items) and on numerous occasions instructed parishes to take a greater role in providing the priests with acceptable vestments.
In his detailing of church ornamentals, he noted the ability of parishes to preserve and maintain church artefacts. For instance he noted that Killerinmore had a silver chalice dating from 1601 and Clonakilty had a silver chalice with a hexagon foot dating back from 1618. Bishop Coppinger had an eye for the unusual and occasionally took fancy to a chalice owned by a priest of the parish, but once described, adds the following comment, almost in a disappointed way … 'owned by the Priest'.
Sadly, he makes no reference to chalices in Youghal at any stage during the records of his visitations - either as church or private property. This would have provided some confirmation of the 'Ballymartle Chalice' location and definitive confirmation of Rev. Murphy's family ancestry to 21st Century family descendants.
Bishop Coppinger's remarkable list of deceased clergy: 1770-1779
As an aside, here's an item discovered by Historians Eric Derr and Matt MacKenna from their study: “Episcopal Visitations of the Dioceses of Cloyne and Ross, 1785-1828".
Bishop Coppinger, some 225 years ago, wrote in one of his visitation ledgers, a collection of names. Not just a random collection of names, but a truly remarkable list of the 'deceased clergy 1770-1799' of the diocese of Cloyne & Ross. In this list, there are few examples of the 'great and the good' and most of the clergy which The Bishop recorded from memory, appear to have had multiple difficulties, primarily with alcohol, insanity and some very individual little idiosyncrasies. Poverty amongst the clergy of the era is also evident. This makes for fascinating reading and an extraordinary insight into the rank and file clerics of the time.
For example, there's a Fr Thomas Flynn who was described by his Bishop as unemployed, a drunk and died in a prison ship. Then there's a Fr Pat Hallahan, also described as unemployed - but was also known as 'a fairy hunter and drunkard'. Alcoholism appears frequently such as Fr Pierce Mansfield of Churchtown who died of the gout but was a 'good natured, ignorant drunkard' and Fr. William Wallace who died an 'old, ignorant drinking man aged 84'.
There are very few positives character references in this collection of deceased clerics: For instance, Fr Reardon of Ballyvourney who 'died old & had a bad character'; Fr William Delay 'a drunk, died in a hut near Muskerry mountain' and Fr Lewis Walsh of Ross 'an insignificant little fellow, died rather old'. Then there's the rather sad examples, such as Fr. Daniel Sheehan who the Bishop described as 'an old reprobate, died by a hedge in Duhallow' and Edmond Donnegan, Castlemagner who died of 'scurvy and gout'.
However special ire was reserved for the occasional cleric who renounced religion completely and maybe, just maybe even married a Protestant. Bishop Coppinger writes of Fr John McMahon from an unspecified parish: 'Turned apost. married & was a man of execrable behaviour'. [apost. was Coppinger's shorthand for apostasy]
The full Coppinger's List of deceased clergy appears below:
Aside from Bishop Coppinger's observations on some of his clergy, in some circles, there was a degree of romanticisation of the Catholic Parish Priest in 1820s rural Ireland - take this comment by O'Driscoll in 1823:
In reality, this older generation of priests (including Rev. Denis Murphy) were inured to what might be termed today 'a low profile' given their uncertain and unequal situation. 'Pious, and moral, and resigned' and 'by long bending they had become bent…[and while] the scourge had ceased, and the fetter had been unlocked; but for years afterwards the scar and the brand remained'
1829. Historical Sketch of the Late Catholic Association of Ireland; Volume 1. Thomas Wyse
1829. Historical Sketch of the Late Catholic Association of Ireland; Volume 1. Thomas Wyse
1824
Another rare press clipping - this time from The Freemans Journal of 8 May 1824 as Rev. Daniel Murphy makes his Parish church available for a meeting on 'Catholic Rent'.
The "Catholic Rent" was a term used to describe a fund that was established in Ireland in the 1820s to support the campaign for Catholic Emancipation. The idea behind the Rent was to raise funds from members of the faith across Ireland to support a campaign for Catholic emancipation in the British Parliament. The Catholic Rent was structured as a subscription, with contributions of one penny per month. The money was then used to finance political campaigns and legal challenges aimed at overturning discriminatory laws and securing emancipation.This quickly became a major force in Irish politics, financing a range of political campaigns and legal challenges, including O'Connell's successful bid for a seat in Parliament in 1828. The Rent was also significant in that it helped to galvanise support for the cause of emancipation across Ireland and transformed the Association, pushing forward the campaign for emancipation to become the first populist movement in Europe.
1827
According to Rev. P.B.Murphy writing in the 1890s, the Ballymartle Chalice was given to Rev. Daniel's nephew, Rev. Denis Murphy in 1827.
1828
July 6th and it was another Episcopal visitation to Youghal, this time by the Coadjutor of Cloyne & Ross Diocese, Rev. Michael Collins (1781-1832). Rev. Murphy was in his mid-seventies at this stage. Collins noted that the town's Free Schools under the jurisdiction of Rev. Daniel Murphy “excel any schools in Cork, and excel any in the diocese of Cloyne or Ross.".
Here's what Collins wrote of the day in the Diocese Visitation ledger:
According to Rev. P.B.Murphy writing in the 1890s, the Ballymartle Chalice was given to Rev. Daniel's nephew, Rev. Denis Murphy in 1827.
1828
July 6th and it was another Episcopal visitation to Youghal, this time by the Coadjutor of Cloyne & Ross Diocese, Rev. Michael Collins (1781-1832). Rev. Murphy was in his mid-seventies at this stage. Collins noted that the town's Free Schools under the jurisdiction of Rev. Daniel Murphy “excel any schools in Cork, and excel any in the diocese of Cloyne or Ross.".
Here's what Collins wrote of the day in the Diocese Visitation ledger:
Rev. Michael Collins had a somewhat chequered clerical history - born in Clonakilty, Co. Cork in 1771, entered the Maynooth seminary in 1798 where he quickly rose to the top of his class. However, he and four fellow students were subsequently expelled for ‘inciting insubordination’ during the 1798 Rebellion. He then entered Carlow College to complete his studies. After various parish positions in County Cork he became a confidant of the Bishop of Cloyne & Ross, Bishop Coppinger (1753-1831). Throughout the 1820s Collins made poor relief a priority. He played a leading role on the Committee for relief of industrious poor which served Skibbereen and surrounding communities. As such, he became a vocal opponent of the local protestant gentry, in particular the sixth baron Carbery, John Evans-Freke (1765–1845). In 1824 Collins was summoned to London where he gave testimony before the House of Commons established to investigate poor relief in Ireland and reported that private charitable groups saved his people from starvation. This testimony cemented Collins’ rise within the diocesan clergy and resulted in his appointment as coadjutor bishop of Cloyne and Ross on 24 April 1827 & consecrated at Maynooth on 1 July 1827. Less than three weeks after his consecration there was an attempt on Collins’ life by a priest named O’Brien who ‘fancy[ed] that his temporal prospects were endangered by the elevation’ of Collins. As coadjutor bishop, Collins was given complete jurisdiction over the diocese of Ross and represented Coppinger at Episcopal meetings of the Irish hierarchy. Collins succeeded Coppinger on 9 August 1831 but his episcopacy was brief as he succumbed to the cholera epidemic on 8 December 1832. He was buried in St. Patrick’s Cathedral at Skibbereen, a cathedral Collins had built for the diocese of Ross.
Ireland in the 1830s
Although more of the Penal Laws were repealed, and Catholic Emancipation in 1829 ensured political representation at Westminster, significant anti-Catholic hostility remained especially in Belfast where the Catholic population was in the minority. In the same year, the Presbyterians reaffirmed at the Synod of Ulster that the Pope was the anti-Christ, and joined the Orange Order in large numbers when the latter organisation opened its doors to all non-Catholics in 1834. As the Orange order grew, violence against Catholics became a regular feature of Belfast life.
The Age of Reform continues as voters social and economic influence grew. The current Tory government believed electoral reforms would lead to revolution, but the death of King George IV results in a shift of power, and the Whigs soon control Westminster. Riots ensue as successive reform bills fail, and when the Reform Act finally passes in 1832, it is a greater benefit to England than Ireland. The 40-Shilling freeholders remain excluded from voting, but due to the mutual support between the Whigs and O'Connell's followers, reform slowly takes hold in Ireland. For instance, by 1831, a national school board is instituted and separate Protestant and Catholic schools established. Although half the population still speaks Gaelic, all schooling is conducted in English. Reforms also abolish the act of slavery in all British possessions, and improve child labour laws.
A Tithe War breaks out in Munster in 1830 when the newly assessed payments to the Church of Ireland exceed reasonable expectations. The poorest are required to pay more, and agricultural depression drives landholders to withhold their tithes. By 1833, civil disobedience spreads throughout Ireland with the support of both landowners and the Catholic Bishops and is the most widespread agrarian protest yet. After violent attacks by police & army appropriating property, and the reprisals made against them by tenant farmers, collections cease that year. By 1838 tithes are converted to fairer rents and the unrest subsides.
The British Poor Law arrives in 1838, bringing the dreaded workhouse where the destitute, aged and sick could find "relief". Each workhouse was supported by the landlords in it's Poor Law union, and unlike England where all had the right to apply for relief, the local landlords voted in a commission to oversee policies. The workhouses were degrading, removed the poorest from their land, often separating families and removing all possibility of a return to self-sufficiency for its users.
A modern postage system is developed this decade. Dickens writes his novels -- Oliver Twist especially brings to light the plight of child workers. Daguerre invents rudimentary photography. The reign of Queen Victoria begins in 1837, ushering in the Victorian Era. Hans Christian Andersen's Tales Told for Children is published, among others. Steamship service begins on the Atlantic with a record crossing time of 15 days.
1839
The Catholic Directory and Annual Register for 1839 records the 84 year old Rev. Daniel Murphy as Parish Priest in Youghal with curates Rev. Michael Scannell and Rev. John Egar.
The Catholic Directory and Annual Register for 1839 records the 84 year old Rev. Daniel Murphy as Parish Priest in Youghal with curates Rev. Michael Scannell and Rev. John Egar.
1839 - August
Rev. Daniel Murphy, dies in Youghal aged 84.
The Kerry Evening Post of August 21 reports on his passing:
above: Final resting place of Rev. Daniel Murphy in St. Mary's Church, Youghal. Note the design & Christian iconography carved on the clerical gravestone - Bible, chalice, Sacred Heart and representation of a church stained glass window with the crucifix uppermost. Photos thanks to Colm O'Sullivan.
below: base of the Ballymartle Chalice with engravings of it's four clerical holders - beginning with Rev. Daniel Murphy and 1804 as the date of appointment as Parish Priest of Youghal, Co. Cork. This engraving was made on it's underside and is believed to have been added by the fourth & last family holder of the chalice, Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy c.1900. It's understood that Rev. Daniel Murphy was appointed as Parish Priest to Youghal in 1802.
The Ballymartle Chalice story continues with Daniel's nephew, Rev. Denis Murphy (1800-1868). A priest during one of the most challenging periods of Irish history, Denis Murphy ministered in Co. Cork throughout the calamity that was the Irish Famine. Scroll to the top to select his story tab.
Primary Sources
- Catholic Parish Registers - National Library of Ireland. Records are mostly consecutive but with some omissions. Searchable by parishes
- Parish of Youghal - Link: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0100: Baptisms: 1803-1881 (mostly consecutive); Marriages: 1801-1881 (mostly consecutive)
- Parish of Ovens - link: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0087: Baptisms: 1816-1877; Marriages: 1816-1877
Publications
- Woods, Cecil C. “The Goldsmiths of Cork.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 5, no. 3, 1895, pp. 218–23. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25508237.
- Thurston, Herbert. "Chalice." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03561a.htm>.
- List of superiors of the Irish college, Toulouse (1618-1793). Patrick Ferté. Archivium Hibernicum. Vol. 63 (2010), pp. 285-298 (14 pages). Published by: Catholic Historical Society of Ireland. Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41756695
- Nicholson Silversmith History source: https://www.925-1000.com/IProv_Nicholson.html. Further information, useful/interesting background to Cork of the era & genealogy of the Nicholson family here: https://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40296
- 1865 Catholic Directory Almanac & Registry of Ireland, England and Scotland. John Mullany, London. P428
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=o6gpAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PP7 - Irish Clerics in France in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Statistical Study (1987). L. W. B. Brockliss and P. Ferté. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature. Vol. 87C (1987), pp. 527-572 (46 pages) Published by: Royal Irish Academy Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25506154
- 1839 The Catholic Directory and Annual Register. Simpkin and Marshall, London. P140. Source: https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=k-MNAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PP5&hl=en
- Derr, Eric A., and Matt MacKenna. “Episcopal Visitations of the Dioceses of Cloyne and Ross, 1785-1828 [with Index].” Archivium Hibernicum, vol. 66, 2013, pp. 261–393. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43857869.Also available at : https://www.academia.edu/5996623/Prosopography_of_Irish_students_admitted_to_the_Irish_College_Rome_1628_1798_with_index_
- Brockliss, L. W. B., and Patrick Ferté. “Prosopography of Irish Clerics in the Universities of Paris and Toulouse, 1573-1792.” Archivium Hibernicum, vol. 58, 2004, pp. 7–166. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/25529635. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.
- Martin Millerick. The Roman Catholic Communities of Cloyne Diocese, Co. Cork, 1700 -1830. (2015) https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/9120/1/Cloyne.pdf
- BRADY, Records of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross (Dublin, 1864);
- BRADY, Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland (Rome, 1876);
- CAULFIELD, ed., Rotulus Pipæ Clonensis (Cork, 1869); ARCHDALL (ed. MORAN), Monasticon Hibernicum (Dublin, 1873); Irish Catholic Directory (Dublin, 1907).
- O'Riordan, John. "Diocese of Cloyne." The Catholic Encyclopaedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 5 Dec. 2022 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04072a.htm>.
- Gentleman Magazine (1827), 199;
- W. A. Copinger (ed.), History of the Copingers or Coppingers (1884), 213–14;
- J. C., ‘Nine recent catholic bishops of Cloyne’, Cork Hist. Soc. Jn., xl (1935), 22–8;
- C. Meagher, ‘Calendar of Bray papers’, Cork Hist. Soc. Jn., lxxv (1970), 64;
- James Coombes, ‘Doctor William O'Brien of Glenanaar’, Cork Hist. Soc. Jn., lxxxii (1977), 117;
- Desmond Keenan, The Catholic church in nineteenth century Ireland (1983); NHI, ix (1984), 36;
- Oliver MacDonagh, The Hereditary Bondsman (1988);
- Brian MacDermot (ed.), Scully papers (1988);
- Evelyn Bolster, A history of the diocese of Cork: from the penal era to the famine (1989);
- Brian MacDermot, The Irish Catholic Petition of 1805 (1992);
- Thomas Bartlett, Rise and fall of the Irish Nation (1992);
- Daire Keogh, The French Disease (1993);
- Vincent McNally, Reform, Revolution and Reaction: Archbishop John Thomas Troy and the Catholic Church in Ireland, 1787–1817 (1995);
- Hugh Fenning, ‘Cork imprints of catholic historical interest, 1723–1804’, Cork Hist. Soc. Jn., c (1995), 129, 139–44, 148; id.,
- ‘Some broadsides, chiefly from Cork, 1709–1821’, Collect. Hib., xxxviii (1996), 118–19, 125–8, 130–36;
- Thomas McGrath, Politics, Interdenominational Relations and Education in the public ministry of Bishop James Doyle . . . (1999)
Resources & Archives
- Irish Newspaper Archives.
- https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08158a.htm - listing of the Irish Colleges in Europe.
- Villanova University
- US Library of Congress
- National Library of Ireland
- Boston College Archives
- Family Search - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- JSTOR - papers & periodicals
- Irish Manuscripts Commission
- Virtual Treasury of Ireland archives
- Genealogy Projects Ireland
- Catholic Archives Ireland
- Diocese of Cork & Ross
- Diocese of Cloyne
- Prerogative & Diocesan Wills 1596-1858
- Online Parish Records - Youghal & Ovens
- Wikipedia for general references and background details.
- Thanks to Colm O'Sullivan for photos of St Mary's and Rev. Murphy's gravestone.
- Thanks to Fr. Regan, Parish Priest of Clontead for permission to view and photograph the Ballymartle Chalice, August 2023.
Denis Murphy was born c.1800 in Knockanemore, Ovens, Co. Cork - the second-eldest of eight children of tenant farmer Michael Murphy (? - 1827).
A substantial farmer for the era, Michael farmed c.161 acres of land in the town-land of Knockanemore on an extended lease from two local Anglo-Irish land holders; Thomas Coppinger (?-?) and John Hawkes (1802 - 3 Jan 1883). Both Michael and his unnamed wife farmed the holding, and had raised a family of at least six known children: Patrick Denis (c.1786-1870), Rev. Denis (c1800-1868), Bartholomew Martin (c.1798-1883), Dr. John Golden (? - 1854), Margaret (?-?) (an only daughter) & the youngest, Michael (c.1801-1871).
Michael Murphy Snr certainly appears to have been one of the small and newly emerging native middle class of early 19th century Ireland. While most of this social grouping were primarily professionals such as lawyers, doctors and merchants and concentrated in urban areas, middle class farmers were a relatively smaller and uncommon class. Most farmers in Ireland at the time were smallholders or tenants, who rented land from larger landowners and often existed in a perpetually precarious economic situation. However, there were some farmers who were more prosperous as they had acquired larger lease holdings - as in Michael Murphy's example, farming 161 acres of land from two separate land holders. These farmers quickly benefitted from simple economies of scale, were often able to further invest in their land, improve their agricultural practices, and increase their productivity and profits.
The economic boom resulting from the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) also helped this new farming middle class prosper, (for much of the period, the Irish economy provided cheap agricultural products such as grain, livestock & vegetables, and raw materials including timber, slate & marble to the far more industrialised British economy) but also suffered less significantly with economic downturns. The farming middle class may also have had other sources of income, such as trade or industry, which allowed them to accumulate some wealth and move further up the social ladder a little.
These more prosperous farmers would likely have been, somewhat reluctantly, considered as part of the middle class in Irish society, although their status and influence would have been limited by their rural location and their dependence on larger landowners and political elites. It's also worth noting that the political and economic context of early 19th century Ireland was complex and dynamic, with rapid changes in agriculture, industry, and social relations. As a result, the middle class in Ireland at the time was a diverse and evolving group, with different backgrounds, interests, and levels of influence.
Michael Murphy Snr. had been able to afford to educate two of his sons to an unusually high level for an Irish Catholic tenant farmer's children in the early 19th century (Rev. Denis to the Roman Catholic clergy through St. Patrick's College Seminary, Maynooth & John Golden as a medical doctor via an unknown medical school) he had also assisted Patrick Denis set up a farm in the neighbouring town-land of Mologhroe (farming another substantial spread of 148 acres leased from Lord Carbery of Castlefreke) as well as 'setting aside' the customary dowry for his only daughter, Margaret.
Michael Snr had next planned to sub-divide his home holding in Knockanemore, Ovens, between both of his younger sons, Bartholomew & Michael Jnr once they had come of age. But, as the Scottish poet of the era, Robbie Burns put it 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry'
Ireland in the 1820s
The 1820s were a turbulent decade in Irish history, marked by a series of social, economic, and political events that would have a significant impact on the country's future. Ireland had remained largely agrarian, working class, un-educated and Catholic. While the mechanisation of what little industry was on the island continued and some reforms in areas of worker unions, strikes, and crime and punishment were beginning to take place, particularly in the North-East, the majority of wealth remained based on agricultural lands owned by the Anglo-Irish & Protestant gentry.
The farming of food crops increased as did the price of grains during the previous decade's Napoleonic War. Now, however, as world grain prices fell and an international depression settled between 1815-21, the British government imposes artificially high pricing through "corn laws" to benefit landlord growers throughout the United Kingdom & Ireland. Alongside continued population growth in Ireland, larger landlords converted cropland into rangeland by securing the passage of tenant farmer eviction legislation in 1816, which led, because of the Irish workforce's historic concentration in agriculture, to a greater subdivision of remaining land plots and increasingly less efficient and less profitable subsistence farms. In particular, both the law and social tradition provided for subdivision of land, with all sons inheriting equal shares in a farm, meaning that farms became so small that only one crop, potatoes, could be grown in sufficient amounts to feed a family. Furthermore, many estates, from whom the small farmers rented, were poorly run by absentee landlords and in many cases heavily mortgaged.
Farmland in Ireland had become the most densely cultivated in all Europe due in part to a 'fertile alliance' of the potato and people. The crop had become a staple of the rural population who depended upon it particularly as the price of grains was too high. From about 1750, available land was used to grow wheat, oats, and barley - all to pay the rent and of which a good deal was exported to Britain. But labourers and small landholders—the groups were virtually indistinguishable—tilled tiny plots to grow potatoes. The potato patches provided cheap food that served as the economic base for marriage. By the end of the eighteenth century marriage was the almost universal condition for Irish men and women. They did not marry particularly young—normally in their early twenties—but that so many young men and women entered the matrimonial state contributed to a high level of general fertility. Potatoes kept husbands and wives and their children healthy and Ireland's population continued it's inexorable upward climb, surpassing 7 million during the 1820s.
By this time, both Protestant landowners and their Catholic tenant farmers had certainly perceived a weakening of their respective positions. A generation had passed since the turbulent 1790's, with insurrection, the threat of invasion from Republican France and then the dissolution of the Irish parliament. The role of the Protestant large landowner had now been largely marginalised by union with Great Britain, and promises of greater government participation made to the Catholics went unfulfilled as the Penal Laws remained in place.
The Penal Laws
The Penal Laws were a series of laws that were passed by the British government in the 17th and 18th centuries to oppress the Catholic population in Ireland. These laws were designed to limit the rights and freedoms of Catholics and to maintain the dominance of the Protestant Church of Ireland. First introduced in the late 17th century, following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The new Protestant government in England feared that the Catholic population in Ireland would support the deposed Catholic King James II, and so a series of laws were quickly enacted to limit the power and influence of the Catholic Church and majority population in Ireland. One of the most significant Penal Laws was the Popery Act of 1695. This law prohibited Catholics from holding public office or serving in the military, and it also restricted their right to own land. The law required that Catholics take an oath of loyalty to the Protestant king, which many Catholics refused to do because it conflicted with their religious beliefs.
Another significant law was the Penal Laws (Ireland) Act of 1703. This law prohibited Catholics from owning firearms, and it also restricted their right to practice their religion. Catholic priests were required to register with the government, and they were not permitted to preach or teach without a license from the government. All Catholic schools and education were also banned under this law. The Penal Laws also had a significant impact on the economic and social lives of Catholics in Ireland. They were barred from joining trade guilds, which restricted their ability to work in certain industries. They were also subject to discriminatory taxes, such as the "hearths tax," which required them to pay a higher tax rate than their Protestant brethren.
In the 18th century, the Penal Laws became even more oppressive. The Penal Laws (Ireland) Act of 1728 prohibited Catholics from inheriting property from Protestants, which meant that Catholic families were unable to acquire wealth or property through inheritance. The same law also prohibited Catholics from buying or leasing land for more than 31 years. These laws had a profound impact on Irish society, leading to widespread poverty, illiteracy, and disenfranchisement among the Catholic population.
Political momentum towards Emancipation
One of the most significant political events of the 1820s in Ireland was the establishment of the Catholic Association in 1823. This political association was founded by Daniel O'Connell, a prominent Irish nationalist who had long campaigned for Catholic emancipation. The Association aimed to promote the rights of Irish Catholics, who were subject to a range of legal and social restrictions under British rule and was one of the first mass-membership political movements in Europe.
Initially a peaceful and legal organisation, the Association soon became a powerful political force in Ireland. Unusualy, the Association's members included both Catholics and Protestants, and it drew support from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. The Association used a variety of tactics to advance its agenda, including public rallies, petitions, and the formation of a nationwide network of branches. One of the key achievements of the Catholic Association was the Emancipation Act of 1829, which finally granted Catholics the right to vote and hold political office.
Another significant event of the 1820s was the emergence of the Home Rule movement. Founded by Isaac Butt, a prominent Irish lawyer and politician who believed that Ireland should have greater autonomy within the British Empire. Butt's vision for Home Rule was based on the concept of "self-government" for Ireland, with a separate Irish parliament and government that would have control over local affairs. The Home Rule movement gained support from a wide range of Irish people, including both Catholics and Protestants. However, the movement faced significant opposition from the British government, which saw Home Rule as a threat to its authority in Ireland. Despite this opposition, the Home Rule movement continued to grow throughout the 1820s, and it laid the foundation for later movements for Irish independence. The idea of Home Rule would remain a key part of Irish political discourse for many years to come.
Overall, the 1820s were also a difficult time for the majority of Irish people, who faced significant economic struggles. The country was still recovering from the effects of the Irish famine (1740-41), which had killed 15-20% of the Irish population & devastated the Irish economy. Many Irish were unemployed or underemployed, and poverty was widespread. In addition to these economic struggles, many were also subject to high levels of taxation. The British government imposed a range of taxes on the Irish population, including taxes on land, income, and goods. The struggle for economic justice would become a key part of the future Irish nationalist movement, and it would fuel many of the social and political movements that emerged in the decades that followed.
Catholic Church in the 1820s
The Catholic Church also played a crucial role in Ireland during this era. It had become a powerful cultural and social institution that provided not only spiritual guidance but also a sense of identity and community for many of the Irish population. The church offered a degree of stability and continuity in a society that was largely impoverished, with high levels of hunger, poverty, deprivation and urban squalor, while undergoing significant changes due to the effects of industrialisation, mechanisation and economics.
The Church was instrumental in promoting education and literacy in Ireland during this period. Many schools were privately run by the church and it played a key role in establishing a system of rudimentary national education that aimed to provide a basic education for all children, regardless of their social background. Much to the disgust of many, the church was increasingly involved in politics, both directly and indirectly. Although it did not officially support any political party, it did use its influence to promote certain causes, such as the campaign for Catholic emancipation and the struggle for independence. Importantly, the Church played a significant role in charitable work, providing support for the poor, the sick, and the elderly. This work was carried out by a network of religious orders, which established hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions across the country.
Denis Murphy was evidently a bright and intelligent child and so either by choice or by family influence, his future was to lie within a vocation for the Catholic priesthood. Around 1819, he left his home in Knockanemore, Ovens and travelled to Co. Kildare where he joined St. Patrick's Seminary, Maynooth to begin his course of studies which eventually led to his ordination in 1826.
St. Patrick's Seminary, Maynooth, Co. Kildare c.1819-26
"...a taste for religious controversy and a keen anti-British feeling are the leading features of Maynooth'
John Leslie Foster 1824
Unlike his clerical uncle, Daniel Murphy (brother of Michael Murphy Snr) who was educated on the Continent, Denis was among the first generation of Irish students to attend an Irish seminary since the Reformation era.
As all education was prohibited in Ireland under the draconian Penal Laws, any intending Irish middle-class clerical or lay student had relied on his education in various Irish colleges throughout Europe, and in particular, France. However, following the French Revolution of 1789, the First Republic's revolutionary government (1792-1804) viewed the Catholic Church as a threat to the nation's new values of liberty, equality, and fraternity and began a process of radical secularization known as laïcité, which aimed to separate church and state and to reduce the power and influence of the Church. The leaders of the Republic believed that the Church had played a key role in supporting the Ancien Régime (the pre-revolutionary Monarchist regime in France) and that it was an obstacle to the creation of a modern, secular society. In 1793, the Republic declared a policy of de-christianization, which involved the closure of all churches & seminaries and the destruction of religious symbols and artefacts. With it went all of the Irish Colleges, including Daniel Murphy's alma mater along with any potential for Denis Murphy to attend a French seminary.
The effects of the Revolution, emerging Enlightenment thinking, and the fact that Britain was at war with France led London to appease the increasingly restive Irish population by relaxing, somewhat, the virulently anti-Catholic (and incidentally also anti-non conformist Protestant) Penal Laws. At the same time, the Irish bishops fearing that any young Irish clerical students on the Continent might be influenced by the ‘contagion of sedition and infidelity’ and perhaps bring back some unwelcome revolutionary thoughts, requested permission from London to endow ‘academies or seminaries’ in Ireland for the education of suitable candidates for the priesthood. The Irish hierarchy's political advisers also managed to persuade the Bishops to extend the college project to also include laymen and as largely a humble and accommodating body, the Hierarchy even agreed to London's demands of their support for the proposed union between Britain and Ireland and also accepting of an unlimited government veto on appointments to vacant sees.
And so, the Irish parliament passed an ‘Act for the Better Education of Persons professing the Popish or Roman Catholic Religion’ in 1791 and the Catholic Relief Act of 1793. These in turn led to the foundation of Maynooth College in 1795, and permission to educate up to 500 students for the Catholic Priesthood of whom some 90 would be ordained each year, and was to become at one time, the largest seminary in the world.
On opening, it certainly encountered difficulties finding teaching and administrative staff in a country when there had never been a seminary. Fortunately there was a solution in the many émigré priests who had fled the French Revolution. Some were French, some Irish, the latter being strongly Francophile in culture. In consequence, the College had a strong ‘Continental' flavour at the beginning, which with the passage of time brought its inevitable ‘greening’. As for funding, this was provided by the British government with an annual grant of £8,000 (£1.2m in 2023 values). The rate remained unchanged from 1809 to 1845, when PM Robert Peel proposed it be increased to £26,000 annually and ignited a major political controversy.
Once established, the college authorities also had to step carefully with one eye on the government grant and another on their permission to educate. There were some expulsions of students following the 1798 Rebellion and again at the time of Robert Emmett’s Irish Rebellion of 1803. For their part, Irish Catholics were at first naturally suspicious of a government-subsidised institution but by the 1820s, when Maynooth priests were beginning to predominate numerically among the Irish clergy, they had become the largest supporters of Daniel O’Connell’s campaign for Catholic Emancipation.
To many British & Irish Protestants however, Maynooth appeared to hold a somewhat sinister fascination and it became a celebrated place for writers and tourists to inspect; the cachet of a peep inside the training ground for Catholic priests is apparent from the travel and tourist literature of the period. Typical of the predictable reaction from one such visit was that of John Leslie Foster who compared the Maynooth priests in 1824 to '...a class with the foreign educated clergy', and concluded newly ordained priests left Maynooth 'with as great an ignorance of the world as they brought into it' except that they had acquired 'an Esprit de Corps which it is impossible to describe, of which a taste for religious controversy and a keen anti-British feeling are the leading features. These are just the men to influence the people and to be led themselves by a bold demagogue…' 1
In reality, while the content of Denis Murphy's seminarian education during 1819-26 may have been narrowly theological with some study of the sciences and philosophy, there was no doubting the 'loyal conservative bias of the College authorities'. Over the years it was well observed that Maynooth 'is but Ireland drawn to a small scale' and in this era, politics let alone progressive thinking was neither taught nor encouraged.
Since the establishment of Maynooth in 1795, there had been growing recognition of the need to provide further educational opportunities for all Catholics in Ireland. During May 1826, Sir Francis Burdett, a Whig MP, introduced the Irish College Bill which received support from a wide range of politicians and public figures. It proposed the establishment of a Catholic university in Ireland, funded by the British government and overseen by a board of trustees, including Catholic bishops. However, the bill was strongly opposed by some ( including the Duke of Wellington, then PM), who argued that such a college was an unnecessary government expense at a time of financial difficulty and that anyway, it would give far too much power to the Catholic Church not to mention the political implications such as a resurgence of nationalism and educating some to potentially undermine the Union and of course, the Protestant Ascendancy class in Ireland.
Despite these objections, the bill was passed by the House of Commons in June 1826. However, it was then defeated in the House of Lords. The failure of the Irish College Bill was a setback for the growing Catholic emancipation movement in Ireland, but it paved the way for further reforms in the years to come, including the establishment of Queen's University Belfast in 1845 and the Catholic University of Ireland in 1854.
Ordination - 22 May 1826
In the midst of this political manoeuvring, Denis Murphy was ordained in Maynooth on 22 May 1826.
(While his birth date remains unknown, he was at least aged 25 on ordination - the minimum age for ordination as stipulated by the Council of Trent (1545-63). This would give Denis a birth date of around 1800-1801, however based on other available family history, there are indications that he was quite possibly older.)
In the year of Murphy's ordination, Maynooth produced just over half of Ireland's annual requirement of clergy with the balance coming from two other seminaries in Ireland and over thirty colleges in Europe.
Rev. Denis Murphy's life as a Catholic priest was destined to be complex, challenging & difficult - not merely from a religious role; providing spiritual guidance, administering the sacraments, charitable work and education but also in leading the community during an era of significant and widespread social, economic and political change.
Over the next twenty-two years of Rev. Daniel Murphy's ministry, four curacies in the mid-west and south of County Cork followed between 1826-1848. This formative period of the young cleric's service in Cork coincided with the emergence of the Catholic clergy as a key democratic influence in Irish politics which began with the Catholic Emancipation campaign of the 1820s, removing centuries of significant restrictions and discrimination under the British administration & Penal Laws.
The Maynooth educated parochial clergy gradually became the local political activists in virtually every parish in Ireland. As Fergus O'Ferrall later observed on the influence of St Patrick's Seminary from the 1820s: 'It became almost incontrovertible that the 'Maynooth priest' was 'the agitating priest'.2
This period was also to prove key to Murphy's later activities & ministry during the catastrophic period of mass starvation, disease, death and emigration in Ireland that occurred between 1845 and 1852 with the Great Famine. Murphy further risked censure & punishment from both the State and Ecclesiastical authorities for efforts to improve the lives of his congregations, organising relief efforts, raising & distribute funds during the Famine years. As Parish Priest during the post-Famine years and in later life, he was to be directly involved in the 'Devotional Revolution' religious revival but also divisive personal family issues.
Here we trace Daniel Murphy's ministry, his connection to the Ballymartle Chalice and events in Ireland from his first curacy at Kilmurry, Co. Cork in 1826 to his last as Parish Priest in Ballinhassig, Co. Cork, forty two years later.
As no personal papers of Rev. Murphy survive, use of Parish Registers 3, Dicoesan & National Library archives and press clippings have provided primary sources.
Footnotes:
1 & 2: O’Ferrall, Fergus. “‘The Only Lever . . .’ The Catholic Priest in Irish Politics 1823-29.” Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, vol. 70, no. 280, 1981, pp. 308
John Leslie Foster was one of the Royal Commission for 'inquiring into the nature and extent of the Instruction afforded by the several Institutions in Ireland established for the purpose of Education' In this office Foster is reported by the Roman Catholic politician and barrister, Richard Lalor Sheil, to have taken the part of “a knight-errant against popery” whose “object was to bring out whatever was unfavourable to the Catholic Priesthood; while [his fellow Commissioner] Mr Blake (himself a Roman Catholic) justly endeavoured to rectify the mis-constructions of his brother inquirer”.
3: Parish registers in Ireland during the 19th century were official records kept by the various Christian denominations of sacraments performed within their parishes. These registers included information about baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place within the parish. They were typically maintained by the parish priest or minister, and in some cases, by the parish clerk. The keeping of parish registers became a legal requirement in Ireland in 1844 with the introduction of the Registration Act. Prior to this, keeping records of baptisms, marriages, and burials was a local custom but was not standardised or regulated by law. The Registration Act required all churches and chapels in Ireland to keep accurate records of all baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place within their parish. The information contained in parish registers can be an invaluable resource for researchers of Irish genealogy, as they can provide important information about individuals and families, including names, dates, and locations. However, it's important to note that not all parish registers have survived, and some may have been damaged or destroyed over time, particularly during times of social upheaval or conflict. Many parish registers from the 19th century have been digitised and made available online. Links to the various Parish records in which Rev. Denis Murphy was based are provided in each section. The main Irish Parish Records archive is maintained by the National Library of Ireland and is available here or at https://registers.nli.ie/
A substantial farmer for the era, Michael farmed c.161 acres of land in the town-land of Knockanemore on an extended lease from two local Anglo-Irish land holders; Thomas Coppinger (?-?) and John Hawkes (1802 - 3 Jan 1883). Both Michael and his unnamed wife farmed the holding, and had raised a family of at least six known children: Patrick Denis (c.1786-1870), Rev. Denis (c1800-1868), Bartholomew Martin (c.1798-1883), Dr. John Golden (? - 1854), Margaret (?-?) (an only daughter) & the youngest, Michael (c.1801-1871).
Michael Murphy Snr certainly appears to have been one of the small and newly emerging native middle class of early 19th century Ireland. While most of this social grouping were primarily professionals such as lawyers, doctors and merchants and concentrated in urban areas, middle class farmers were a relatively smaller and uncommon class. Most farmers in Ireland at the time were smallholders or tenants, who rented land from larger landowners and often existed in a perpetually precarious economic situation. However, there were some farmers who were more prosperous as they had acquired larger lease holdings - as in Michael Murphy's example, farming 161 acres of land from two separate land holders. These farmers quickly benefitted from simple economies of scale, were often able to further invest in their land, improve their agricultural practices, and increase their productivity and profits.
The economic boom resulting from the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) also helped this new farming middle class prosper, (for much of the period, the Irish economy provided cheap agricultural products such as grain, livestock & vegetables, and raw materials including timber, slate & marble to the far more industrialised British economy) but also suffered less significantly with economic downturns. The farming middle class may also have had other sources of income, such as trade or industry, which allowed them to accumulate some wealth and move further up the social ladder a little.
These more prosperous farmers would likely have been, somewhat reluctantly, considered as part of the middle class in Irish society, although their status and influence would have been limited by their rural location and their dependence on larger landowners and political elites. It's also worth noting that the political and economic context of early 19th century Ireland was complex and dynamic, with rapid changes in agriculture, industry, and social relations. As a result, the middle class in Ireland at the time was a diverse and evolving group, with different backgrounds, interests, and levels of influence.
Michael Murphy Snr. had been able to afford to educate two of his sons to an unusually high level for an Irish Catholic tenant farmer's children in the early 19th century (Rev. Denis to the Roman Catholic clergy through St. Patrick's College Seminary, Maynooth & John Golden as a medical doctor via an unknown medical school) he had also assisted Patrick Denis set up a farm in the neighbouring town-land of Mologhroe (farming another substantial spread of 148 acres leased from Lord Carbery of Castlefreke) as well as 'setting aside' the customary dowry for his only daughter, Margaret.
Michael Snr had next planned to sub-divide his home holding in Knockanemore, Ovens, between both of his younger sons, Bartholomew & Michael Jnr once they had come of age. But, as the Scottish poet of the era, Robbie Burns put it 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry'
Ireland in the 1820s
The 1820s were a turbulent decade in Irish history, marked by a series of social, economic, and political events that would have a significant impact on the country's future. Ireland had remained largely agrarian, working class, un-educated and Catholic. While the mechanisation of what little industry was on the island continued and some reforms in areas of worker unions, strikes, and crime and punishment were beginning to take place, particularly in the North-East, the majority of wealth remained based on agricultural lands owned by the Anglo-Irish & Protestant gentry.
The farming of food crops increased as did the price of grains during the previous decade's Napoleonic War. Now, however, as world grain prices fell and an international depression settled between 1815-21, the British government imposes artificially high pricing through "corn laws" to benefit landlord growers throughout the United Kingdom & Ireland. Alongside continued population growth in Ireland, larger landlords converted cropland into rangeland by securing the passage of tenant farmer eviction legislation in 1816, which led, because of the Irish workforce's historic concentration in agriculture, to a greater subdivision of remaining land plots and increasingly less efficient and less profitable subsistence farms. In particular, both the law and social tradition provided for subdivision of land, with all sons inheriting equal shares in a farm, meaning that farms became so small that only one crop, potatoes, could be grown in sufficient amounts to feed a family. Furthermore, many estates, from whom the small farmers rented, were poorly run by absentee landlords and in many cases heavily mortgaged.
Farmland in Ireland had become the most densely cultivated in all Europe due in part to a 'fertile alliance' of the potato and people. The crop had become a staple of the rural population who depended upon it particularly as the price of grains was too high. From about 1750, available land was used to grow wheat, oats, and barley - all to pay the rent and of which a good deal was exported to Britain. But labourers and small landholders—the groups were virtually indistinguishable—tilled tiny plots to grow potatoes. The potato patches provided cheap food that served as the economic base for marriage. By the end of the eighteenth century marriage was the almost universal condition for Irish men and women. They did not marry particularly young—normally in their early twenties—but that so many young men and women entered the matrimonial state contributed to a high level of general fertility. Potatoes kept husbands and wives and their children healthy and Ireland's population continued it's inexorable upward climb, surpassing 7 million during the 1820s.
By this time, both Protestant landowners and their Catholic tenant farmers had certainly perceived a weakening of their respective positions. A generation had passed since the turbulent 1790's, with insurrection, the threat of invasion from Republican France and then the dissolution of the Irish parliament. The role of the Protestant large landowner had now been largely marginalised by union with Great Britain, and promises of greater government participation made to the Catholics went unfulfilled as the Penal Laws remained in place.
The Penal Laws
The Penal Laws were a series of laws that were passed by the British government in the 17th and 18th centuries to oppress the Catholic population in Ireland. These laws were designed to limit the rights and freedoms of Catholics and to maintain the dominance of the Protestant Church of Ireland. First introduced in the late 17th century, following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The new Protestant government in England feared that the Catholic population in Ireland would support the deposed Catholic King James II, and so a series of laws were quickly enacted to limit the power and influence of the Catholic Church and majority population in Ireland. One of the most significant Penal Laws was the Popery Act of 1695. This law prohibited Catholics from holding public office or serving in the military, and it also restricted their right to own land. The law required that Catholics take an oath of loyalty to the Protestant king, which many Catholics refused to do because it conflicted with their religious beliefs.
Another significant law was the Penal Laws (Ireland) Act of 1703. This law prohibited Catholics from owning firearms, and it also restricted their right to practice their religion. Catholic priests were required to register with the government, and they were not permitted to preach or teach without a license from the government. All Catholic schools and education were also banned under this law. The Penal Laws also had a significant impact on the economic and social lives of Catholics in Ireland. They were barred from joining trade guilds, which restricted their ability to work in certain industries. They were also subject to discriminatory taxes, such as the "hearths tax," which required them to pay a higher tax rate than their Protestant brethren.
In the 18th century, the Penal Laws became even more oppressive. The Penal Laws (Ireland) Act of 1728 prohibited Catholics from inheriting property from Protestants, which meant that Catholic families were unable to acquire wealth or property through inheritance. The same law also prohibited Catholics from buying or leasing land for more than 31 years. These laws had a profound impact on Irish society, leading to widespread poverty, illiteracy, and disenfranchisement among the Catholic population.
Political momentum towards Emancipation
One of the most significant political events of the 1820s in Ireland was the establishment of the Catholic Association in 1823. This political association was founded by Daniel O'Connell, a prominent Irish nationalist who had long campaigned for Catholic emancipation. The Association aimed to promote the rights of Irish Catholics, who were subject to a range of legal and social restrictions under British rule and was one of the first mass-membership political movements in Europe.
Initially a peaceful and legal organisation, the Association soon became a powerful political force in Ireland. Unusualy, the Association's members included both Catholics and Protestants, and it drew support from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. The Association used a variety of tactics to advance its agenda, including public rallies, petitions, and the formation of a nationwide network of branches. One of the key achievements of the Catholic Association was the Emancipation Act of 1829, which finally granted Catholics the right to vote and hold political office.
Another significant event of the 1820s was the emergence of the Home Rule movement. Founded by Isaac Butt, a prominent Irish lawyer and politician who believed that Ireland should have greater autonomy within the British Empire. Butt's vision for Home Rule was based on the concept of "self-government" for Ireland, with a separate Irish parliament and government that would have control over local affairs. The Home Rule movement gained support from a wide range of Irish people, including both Catholics and Protestants. However, the movement faced significant opposition from the British government, which saw Home Rule as a threat to its authority in Ireland. Despite this opposition, the Home Rule movement continued to grow throughout the 1820s, and it laid the foundation for later movements for Irish independence. The idea of Home Rule would remain a key part of Irish political discourse for many years to come.
Overall, the 1820s were also a difficult time for the majority of Irish people, who faced significant economic struggles. The country was still recovering from the effects of the Irish famine (1740-41), which had killed 15-20% of the Irish population & devastated the Irish economy. Many Irish were unemployed or underemployed, and poverty was widespread. In addition to these economic struggles, many were also subject to high levels of taxation. The British government imposed a range of taxes on the Irish population, including taxes on land, income, and goods. The struggle for economic justice would become a key part of the future Irish nationalist movement, and it would fuel many of the social and political movements that emerged in the decades that followed.
Catholic Church in the 1820s
The Catholic Church also played a crucial role in Ireland during this era. It had become a powerful cultural and social institution that provided not only spiritual guidance but also a sense of identity and community for many of the Irish population. The church offered a degree of stability and continuity in a society that was largely impoverished, with high levels of hunger, poverty, deprivation and urban squalor, while undergoing significant changes due to the effects of industrialisation, mechanisation and economics.
The Church was instrumental in promoting education and literacy in Ireland during this period. Many schools were privately run by the church and it played a key role in establishing a system of rudimentary national education that aimed to provide a basic education for all children, regardless of their social background. Much to the disgust of many, the church was increasingly involved in politics, both directly and indirectly. Although it did not officially support any political party, it did use its influence to promote certain causes, such as the campaign for Catholic emancipation and the struggle for independence. Importantly, the Church played a significant role in charitable work, providing support for the poor, the sick, and the elderly. This work was carried out by a network of religious orders, which established hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions across the country.
Denis Murphy was evidently a bright and intelligent child and so either by choice or by family influence, his future was to lie within a vocation for the Catholic priesthood. Around 1819, he left his home in Knockanemore, Ovens and travelled to Co. Kildare where he joined St. Patrick's Seminary, Maynooth to begin his course of studies which eventually led to his ordination in 1826.
St. Patrick's Seminary, Maynooth, Co. Kildare c.1819-26
"...a taste for religious controversy and a keen anti-British feeling are the leading features of Maynooth'
John Leslie Foster 1824
Unlike his clerical uncle, Daniel Murphy (brother of Michael Murphy Snr) who was educated on the Continent, Denis was among the first generation of Irish students to attend an Irish seminary since the Reformation era.
As all education was prohibited in Ireland under the draconian Penal Laws, any intending Irish middle-class clerical or lay student had relied on his education in various Irish colleges throughout Europe, and in particular, France. However, following the French Revolution of 1789, the First Republic's revolutionary government (1792-1804) viewed the Catholic Church as a threat to the nation's new values of liberty, equality, and fraternity and began a process of radical secularization known as laïcité, which aimed to separate church and state and to reduce the power and influence of the Church. The leaders of the Republic believed that the Church had played a key role in supporting the Ancien Régime (the pre-revolutionary Monarchist regime in France) and that it was an obstacle to the creation of a modern, secular society. In 1793, the Republic declared a policy of de-christianization, which involved the closure of all churches & seminaries and the destruction of religious symbols and artefacts. With it went all of the Irish Colleges, including Daniel Murphy's alma mater along with any potential for Denis Murphy to attend a French seminary.
The effects of the Revolution, emerging Enlightenment thinking, and the fact that Britain was at war with France led London to appease the increasingly restive Irish population by relaxing, somewhat, the virulently anti-Catholic (and incidentally also anti-non conformist Protestant) Penal Laws. At the same time, the Irish bishops fearing that any young Irish clerical students on the Continent might be influenced by the ‘contagion of sedition and infidelity’ and perhaps bring back some unwelcome revolutionary thoughts, requested permission from London to endow ‘academies or seminaries’ in Ireland for the education of suitable candidates for the priesthood. The Irish hierarchy's political advisers also managed to persuade the Bishops to extend the college project to also include laymen and as largely a humble and accommodating body, the Hierarchy even agreed to London's demands of their support for the proposed union between Britain and Ireland and also accepting of an unlimited government veto on appointments to vacant sees.
And so, the Irish parliament passed an ‘Act for the Better Education of Persons professing the Popish or Roman Catholic Religion’ in 1791 and the Catholic Relief Act of 1793. These in turn led to the foundation of Maynooth College in 1795, and permission to educate up to 500 students for the Catholic Priesthood of whom some 90 would be ordained each year, and was to become at one time, the largest seminary in the world.
On opening, it certainly encountered difficulties finding teaching and administrative staff in a country when there had never been a seminary. Fortunately there was a solution in the many émigré priests who had fled the French Revolution. Some were French, some Irish, the latter being strongly Francophile in culture. In consequence, the College had a strong ‘Continental' flavour at the beginning, which with the passage of time brought its inevitable ‘greening’. As for funding, this was provided by the British government with an annual grant of £8,000 (£1.2m in 2023 values). The rate remained unchanged from 1809 to 1845, when PM Robert Peel proposed it be increased to £26,000 annually and ignited a major political controversy.
Once established, the college authorities also had to step carefully with one eye on the government grant and another on their permission to educate. There were some expulsions of students following the 1798 Rebellion and again at the time of Robert Emmett’s Irish Rebellion of 1803. For their part, Irish Catholics were at first naturally suspicious of a government-subsidised institution but by the 1820s, when Maynooth priests were beginning to predominate numerically among the Irish clergy, they had become the largest supporters of Daniel O’Connell’s campaign for Catholic Emancipation.
To many British & Irish Protestants however, Maynooth appeared to hold a somewhat sinister fascination and it became a celebrated place for writers and tourists to inspect; the cachet of a peep inside the training ground for Catholic priests is apparent from the travel and tourist literature of the period. Typical of the predictable reaction from one such visit was that of John Leslie Foster who compared the Maynooth priests in 1824 to '...a class with the foreign educated clergy', and concluded newly ordained priests left Maynooth 'with as great an ignorance of the world as they brought into it' except that they had acquired 'an Esprit de Corps which it is impossible to describe, of which a taste for religious controversy and a keen anti-British feeling are the leading features. These are just the men to influence the people and to be led themselves by a bold demagogue…' 1
In reality, while the content of Denis Murphy's seminarian education during 1819-26 may have been narrowly theological with some study of the sciences and philosophy, there was no doubting the 'loyal conservative bias of the College authorities'. Over the years it was well observed that Maynooth 'is but Ireland drawn to a small scale' and in this era, politics let alone progressive thinking was neither taught nor encouraged.
Since the establishment of Maynooth in 1795, there had been growing recognition of the need to provide further educational opportunities for all Catholics in Ireland. During May 1826, Sir Francis Burdett, a Whig MP, introduced the Irish College Bill which received support from a wide range of politicians and public figures. It proposed the establishment of a Catholic university in Ireland, funded by the British government and overseen by a board of trustees, including Catholic bishops. However, the bill was strongly opposed by some ( including the Duke of Wellington, then PM), who argued that such a college was an unnecessary government expense at a time of financial difficulty and that anyway, it would give far too much power to the Catholic Church not to mention the political implications such as a resurgence of nationalism and educating some to potentially undermine the Union and of course, the Protestant Ascendancy class in Ireland.
Despite these objections, the bill was passed by the House of Commons in June 1826. However, it was then defeated in the House of Lords. The failure of the Irish College Bill was a setback for the growing Catholic emancipation movement in Ireland, but it paved the way for further reforms in the years to come, including the establishment of Queen's University Belfast in 1845 and the Catholic University of Ireland in 1854.
Ordination - 22 May 1826
In the midst of this political manoeuvring, Denis Murphy was ordained in Maynooth on 22 May 1826.
(While his birth date remains unknown, he was at least aged 25 on ordination - the minimum age for ordination as stipulated by the Council of Trent (1545-63). This would give Denis a birth date of around 1800-1801, however based on other available family history, there are indications that he was quite possibly older.)
In the year of Murphy's ordination, Maynooth produced just over half of Ireland's annual requirement of clergy with the balance coming from two other seminaries in Ireland and over thirty colleges in Europe.
Rev. Denis Murphy's life as a Catholic priest was destined to be complex, challenging & difficult - not merely from a religious role; providing spiritual guidance, administering the sacraments, charitable work and education but also in leading the community during an era of significant and widespread social, economic and political change.
Over the next twenty-two years of Rev. Daniel Murphy's ministry, four curacies in the mid-west and south of County Cork followed between 1826-1848. This formative period of the young cleric's service in Cork coincided with the emergence of the Catholic clergy as a key democratic influence in Irish politics which began with the Catholic Emancipation campaign of the 1820s, removing centuries of significant restrictions and discrimination under the British administration & Penal Laws.
The Maynooth educated parochial clergy gradually became the local political activists in virtually every parish in Ireland. As Fergus O'Ferrall later observed on the influence of St Patrick's Seminary from the 1820s: 'It became almost incontrovertible that the 'Maynooth priest' was 'the agitating priest'.2
This period was also to prove key to Murphy's later activities & ministry during the catastrophic period of mass starvation, disease, death and emigration in Ireland that occurred between 1845 and 1852 with the Great Famine. Murphy further risked censure & punishment from both the State and Ecclesiastical authorities for efforts to improve the lives of his congregations, organising relief efforts, raising & distribute funds during the Famine years. As Parish Priest during the post-Famine years and in later life, he was to be directly involved in the 'Devotional Revolution' religious revival but also divisive personal family issues.
Here we trace Daniel Murphy's ministry, his connection to the Ballymartle Chalice and events in Ireland from his first curacy at Kilmurry, Co. Cork in 1826 to his last as Parish Priest in Ballinhassig, Co. Cork, forty two years later.
As no personal papers of Rev. Murphy survive, use of Parish Registers 3, Dicoesan & National Library archives and press clippings have provided primary sources.
Footnotes:
1 & 2: O’Ferrall, Fergus. “‘The Only Lever . . .’ The Catholic Priest in Irish Politics 1823-29.” Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, vol. 70, no. 280, 1981, pp. 308
John Leslie Foster was one of the Royal Commission for 'inquiring into the nature and extent of the Instruction afforded by the several Institutions in Ireland established for the purpose of Education' In this office Foster is reported by the Roman Catholic politician and barrister, Richard Lalor Sheil, to have taken the part of “a knight-errant against popery” whose “object was to bring out whatever was unfavourable to the Catholic Priesthood; while [his fellow Commissioner] Mr Blake (himself a Roman Catholic) justly endeavoured to rectify the mis-constructions of his brother inquirer”.
3: Parish registers in Ireland during the 19th century were official records kept by the various Christian denominations of sacraments performed within their parishes. These registers included information about baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place within the parish. They were typically maintained by the parish priest or minister, and in some cases, by the parish clerk. The keeping of parish registers became a legal requirement in Ireland in 1844 with the introduction of the Registration Act. Prior to this, keeping records of baptisms, marriages, and burials was a local custom but was not standardised or regulated by law. The Registration Act required all churches and chapels in Ireland to keep accurate records of all baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place within their parish. The information contained in parish registers can be an invaluable resource for researchers of Irish genealogy, as they can provide important information about individuals and families, including names, dates, and locations. However, it's important to note that not all parish registers have survived, and some may have been damaged or destroyed over time, particularly during times of social upheaval or conflict. Many parish registers from the 19th century have been digitised and made available online. Links to the various Parish records in which Rev. Denis Murphy was based are provided in each section. The main Irish Parish Records archive is maintained by the National Library of Ireland and is available here or at https://registers.nli.ie/
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Kilmurry Parish in Co. Cork is located between Ballincollig and Macroom and includes the villages of Farnanes, Aherla, Cloughduv, Crookstown, Lissarda, Canovee and Kilmurry and formed the parishes of Kilmurry, Cannaway, Dooniskey, Moviddy and Kilbonane
In Lewis Topographical Dictionary of 1837, a unique picture of Ireland just before the Famine is available and where Kilmurry is noted as "..containing 4,147 inhabitants. Its surface is undulating, and its substratum slate: the soil is generally cold and badly cultivated, except the demesne farm of Sir Augustus Warren, Bart., of Warren’s Court, which is a large and handsome house in an extensive and well-planted demesne, in which are the ruins of the old church of Kilbarry or Macloneigh...At the village is a constabulary police station, and fairs are held on Feb. 1st, May 1st, Sept. 8th, Nov. 1st, and Dec 21st., principally for horned cattle and pigs. It is an impropriate cure, in the diocese of Cork; the rectory is impropriate in the Duke of Devonshire, who pays the curate of Moviddy a stipend for performing the parochial duties. The tithes amount to £750, but have not been paid for forty years. In the R. C. divisions it forms part of the union or district of Kilmichael, and has a small chapel in the village. There are four hedge schools, in which are about 180 children. Here is the shattered ruin of the ancient castle of Clodagh, built by McCarty More. The remains of the old church are near the village; and near the boundary of Kilmichael parish are the ruins of Dunisky church." Click the parish map to read the 1837 Lewis Topographical Dictionary entry for Kilmurry. Click here to view the available National Library Baptism & Marriage Records for the Parish. Parish registers at the National Library of Ireland show Rev. Denis Murphy was one of three priests in this parish during 1826-39 (along with Parish Priest, Rev John Callaghan & Curate, Rev. David Crowley). As a no doubt enthusiastic newly ordained curate, Rev. Murphy would have certainly been confronted with some of the major issues facing the church throughout Ireland of the late 1820s. Issues such as the still existing Penal Laws, social inequality, extreme poverty and lack of education affected every parish on the island. Hedge Schools such as the four noted in Kilmurry in 1837 educating 180 children, provided in many cases, a fairly good if basic education. Priests and churches were few but congregations were increasingly large and growing. The condition of the Church was far from edifying. A low level of attendance, a lack of relevance and an even lower use of the sacraments which had become commonplace over time. Then there was the ongoing social issue of remarkably lax behaviour, avarice, drunkenness and unchastity (with little diocesan control incidentally) of some clerics and the encroaching effects of evangelical drives by Protestant churches in Irish cities and towns. There were simply not enough priests or churches to cope with the religious needs of an overcrowded country, as historian George Dangerfield commented 'where people lived in unimaginable squalor on the dreary margins of subsistence' However, the key national event during the early years of Murphy's curacy in Kilmurry was that of Catholic Emancipation. Prior to 1829, all Catholics in Ireland were subject to various forms of discrimination, held few civil, religious or political rights and were barred from holding many positions in government and civil society. They were also denied the right to vote, sit in Parliament, own property or practice their religion freely. A long campaign led by Daniel O'Connell, an Irish lawyer and politician who founded the Catholic Association in 1823 to mobilise support for the cause of religious & social equality. O'Connell became the first to use peaceful, popular and legal means to put pressure on the British government, including organising large rallies 'Monster Meetings' and Parliamentary & Royal petitions. To help finance the campaign, O'Connell called for an monthly subscription of one penny (or more if forthcoming) from every Catholic in Ireland, which became known as the 'Catholic Rent'. As most bishops and priests had become strong supporters of O'Connell's drive for emancipation, the clergy were the obvious engine for this organisation from it's founding in 1823 - they had moral influence with the people, a nationwide network of communication and influence and it just so happened that there was common purpose between the Irish Church and O'Connell's political aims. This fundraising was now actively promoted, supported, controlled & managed by parish clergy. Collection was organised at local parish level throughout the island & money raised was used to fund a network of Catholic associations, which in turn organised rallies, meetings, and petitions to demand the repeal of the Penal Laws that restricted the rights of all Catholics. However, the involvement of the clergy in the Catholic Rent was not without controversy. Some Protestant and Tory Party critics accused the Catholic Church of using the fund to exert political influence and undermine the government, and there were concerns about the potential for the campaign to become far more radical and violent. As Irish political activities and clerical involvement became more effective in opposition to the established opinion, so too did the propaganda on Irish stereotypes of the 'vulgar Maynooth 'peasant' priest' and the 'surpliced ruffians' who were believed to be replacing the 'well educated 'gentleman' priest'. Maynooth educated clerics were now beginning to be viewed by both the Irish and English establishment, as troublesome. After all, it was reasoned, in the old days it cost far more to travel abroad to become a priest than it did to be educated in Maynooth, and by that it was inferred that the continental-trained padres were drawn from a wealthier social group and were thus, educated gentlemen and probably more loyal to London than the current crop. In reality, this older generation of priests were inured to what might be termed today 'a low profile' given their uncertain and unequal situation during the Penal era. This previous generation of priests were described as 'Pious, and moral, and resigned' and 'by long bending they had become bent…[and while] the scourge had ceased, and the fetter had been unlocked; but for years afterwards the scar and the brand remained' 1829. Historical Sketch of the Late Catholic Association of Ireland; Volume 1. Thomas Wyse Nevertheless, 'Catholic Rent' became a symbol of Irish Catholic solidarity and political activism, and it helped to mobilise a large number of people in support of the campaign for Emancipation. O'Connell's movement not only provided a national framework and a clear political policy for the re-emerging Catholic Church as well as the Irish Catholic population but an unexpected side effect was that this also further politicised and largely empowered the clergy as one of the few voices of the un-represented majority of Irish people. |
In the 1826 general election, a major upset to the existing political status-quo occurred as eligible Catholic voters ousted old members of parliament in favour of emancipation supporters. O'Connell was elected a member from Clare, but refuses his seat in parliament as it still required a renunciation of Catholicism.
As the drive towards Catholic Emancipation gathered speed, every member of the Irish hierarchy had at least formally joined the Catholic Association and were nominally at any rate, politically involved in constitutional agitation.
The turning point came in 1828, when two factors came into play. The first was that the Catholic Church took over the collection of the Catholic Rent and effectively the Catholic Association itself. The other was that by 1828 Daniel O'Connell's reputation had increased dramatically. O'Connell was an internationally recognised figure and was seen as one of the leading figures in liberal thinking and managed to push the emancipation process along in an organised way.
1827 - The Ballymartle Chalice passes to a new generation & the passing of the old...
During the year, the Rev. Daniel Murphy of Youghal, Co. Cork began a century long tradition as he passed his personal chalice, later to become known as 'The Ballymartle Chalice' to his nephew, Rev. Dennis Murphy.
On 9 July 1827, the family patriarch, Michael Murphy (brother of Rev. Daniel Murphy and father of Rev. Denis Murphy) died at his home in Knockanemore, Ovens. Prior to his death, having already provided for most of his family through education, a dowry and farm leases, Michael had next planned to divide the lease rights to his c.161 acre home farm holding in Knockanemore between his two remaining sons; c.91 acres to Bartholomew Martin on lands leased from and owned by John Hawkes and c.70 acres with the family home to the youngest, Michael - on lands leased from and owned by Thomas Coppinger.
However, when Michael unexpectedly died at the family home in Knockanemore on 9 July 1827, he was intestate.
As Michael had left no Last Will or other written instructions (but no doubt verbally indicated his intentions to family members and the local landowners), leases on his land holdings were urgently re-negotiated the following day, 10 July, with both landowners; John Hawkes & Thomas Coppinger. Bartholomew negotiated personally and directly with Hawkes while the newly ordained Rev. Denis Murphy negotiated with Coppinger on behalf of his brother, Michael. Both were successful and with renewed leases of unknown duration (but believed to be of at least 60-80 years), continued farming adjacent to each other.
All of the Murphy children married with the exception of Michael, who remained a bachelor for life. Margaret married Walter Baldwin in1839, Bartholomew to Margaret Batten (year unknown) and Michael Golden to Susan Kate O'Mahony of Grenagh in 1846. Some thirty years later, siblings Michael, Rev. Denis, Margaret and their sister in law Susan Kate were to become embroiled in a family dispute which culminated in a detailed and well reported court case.
Catholic Emancipation 1829
Under increasing & considerable political pressure, Prime Minister Peel submitted the Catholic Relief Bill to Parliament in February 1829. The bill was quickly passed through both houses and once law, finally allowed Catholics to hold public office and sit in Parliament for the first time in over 200 years. This was a significant moment in Irish history and marked a major milestone in the struggle for religious and political freedom as it helped to pave the way for further reforms in the country, including the eventual push for Irish independence. Legal restrictions that had forbidden the Catholic Church to maintain parish registers were now lifted and allowed freedom for parishes to record vital events. Emancipation was a momentous victory for O'Connell and the Catholic middle class (less so for the numerous poor), and he became known as 'The Liberator' and the "uncrowned king of Ireland".
The government shortly afterwards suppressed the Catholic Association and raised the property requirements to vote from £2 pounds (the 40-Shilling freeholders - see an earlier article here) to £10. Those eligible to vote dropped immediately by 80%, and the higher requirements excluded most of the poor that supported O'Connell and further reinforced the position of the Anglo-Irish gentry. While the government in Westminster could not prevent Emancipation, they certainly succeeded in reducing its effects. With the success of Emancipation, the Irish Hierarchy now opted to remove itself entirely from any further political engagement. In 1830 & 1834, bishops counselled all of the clergy to keep aloof from political activity of every kind in the future and prohibiting the use of church buildings for any use other than charity or religion. Such admonitions to keep the Church out of politics went largely unheeded by most.
Below: A copy of the Kilmurry Parish Register of Baptisms for January 1831 - ceremonies completed by Rev. Denis Murphy who also maintained the register. Source: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0070
As the drive towards Catholic Emancipation gathered speed, every member of the Irish hierarchy had at least formally joined the Catholic Association and were nominally at any rate, politically involved in constitutional agitation.
The turning point came in 1828, when two factors came into play. The first was that the Catholic Church took over the collection of the Catholic Rent and effectively the Catholic Association itself. The other was that by 1828 Daniel O'Connell's reputation had increased dramatically. O'Connell was an internationally recognised figure and was seen as one of the leading figures in liberal thinking and managed to push the emancipation process along in an organised way.
1827 - The Ballymartle Chalice passes to a new generation & the passing of the old...
During the year, the Rev. Daniel Murphy of Youghal, Co. Cork began a century long tradition as he passed his personal chalice, later to become known as 'The Ballymartle Chalice' to his nephew, Rev. Dennis Murphy.
On 9 July 1827, the family patriarch, Michael Murphy (brother of Rev. Daniel Murphy and father of Rev. Denis Murphy) died at his home in Knockanemore, Ovens. Prior to his death, having already provided for most of his family through education, a dowry and farm leases, Michael had next planned to divide the lease rights to his c.161 acre home farm holding in Knockanemore between his two remaining sons; c.91 acres to Bartholomew Martin on lands leased from and owned by John Hawkes and c.70 acres with the family home to the youngest, Michael - on lands leased from and owned by Thomas Coppinger.
However, when Michael unexpectedly died at the family home in Knockanemore on 9 July 1827, he was intestate.
As Michael had left no Last Will or other written instructions (but no doubt verbally indicated his intentions to family members and the local landowners), leases on his land holdings were urgently re-negotiated the following day, 10 July, with both landowners; John Hawkes & Thomas Coppinger. Bartholomew negotiated personally and directly with Hawkes while the newly ordained Rev. Denis Murphy negotiated with Coppinger on behalf of his brother, Michael. Both were successful and with renewed leases of unknown duration (but believed to be of at least 60-80 years), continued farming adjacent to each other.
All of the Murphy children married with the exception of Michael, who remained a bachelor for life. Margaret married Walter Baldwin in1839, Bartholomew to Margaret Batten (year unknown) and Michael Golden to Susan Kate O'Mahony of Grenagh in 1846. Some thirty years later, siblings Michael, Rev. Denis, Margaret and their sister in law Susan Kate were to become embroiled in a family dispute which culminated in a detailed and well reported court case.
Catholic Emancipation 1829
Under increasing & considerable political pressure, Prime Minister Peel submitted the Catholic Relief Bill to Parliament in February 1829. The bill was quickly passed through both houses and once law, finally allowed Catholics to hold public office and sit in Parliament for the first time in over 200 years. This was a significant moment in Irish history and marked a major milestone in the struggle for religious and political freedom as it helped to pave the way for further reforms in the country, including the eventual push for Irish independence. Legal restrictions that had forbidden the Catholic Church to maintain parish registers were now lifted and allowed freedom for parishes to record vital events. Emancipation was a momentous victory for O'Connell and the Catholic middle class (less so for the numerous poor), and he became known as 'The Liberator' and the "uncrowned king of Ireland".
The government shortly afterwards suppressed the Catholic Association and raised the property requirements to vote from £2 pounds (the 40-Shilling freeholders - see an earlier article here) to £10. Those eligible to vote dropped immediately by 80%, and the higher requirements excluded most of the poor that supported O'Connell and further reinforced the position of the Anglo-Irish gentry. While the government in Westminster could not prevent Emancipation, they certainly succeeded in reducing its effects. With the success of Emancipation, the Irish Hierarchy now opted to remove itself entirely from any further political engagement. In 1830 & 1834, bishops counselled all of the clergy to keep aloof from political activity of every kind in the future and prohibiting the use of church buildings for any use other than charity or religion. Such admonitions to keep the Church out of politics went largely unheeded by most.
Below: A copy of the Kilmurry Parish Register of Baptisms for January 1831 - ceremonies completed by Rev. Denis Murphy who also maintained the register. Source: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0070
Ireland in the 1830s
The Age of Reform continued in the United Kingdom & Ireland. Voters had tasted reforms in the last decade and their social and economic influence was now growing as never before. The ruling Tory government believed electoral reforms would lead to revolution, but the death of King George IV results in a radical shift of power, and the Whigs soon control Westminster. Riots ensue as successive reform bills fail, and when the Reform Act finally passes in 1832, it is a greater benefit to England than Ireland. The 40-Shilling freeholders remain excluded from voting, but due to the mutual support between the Whigs and O'Connell's followers, reform slowly takes hold in Ireland.
The economy of Ireland during the 1830s remained largely agricultural, with the country heavily dependent on the export of food, particularly wheat, corn, and beef. However, the economy was also struggling due to a number of factors, including high taxes, poor infrastructure, and limited access to credit. The British government had imposed a number of tariffs and duties on Irish exports, which had a long term, negative impact on the country's economy.
One of the most significant political events of the 1830s was the emergence of the Repeal Association, founded by Daniel O'Connell in 1830. The Association called for the repeal of the Act of Union, which had merged Ireland and Great Britain into a single entity in 1801. The movement gained widespread support, and the repeal of the Union became a key political issue in Ireland throughout the decade.
Also in 1831, a Tithe War breaks out in Munster & Leinster when the newly assessed payments to the Church of Ireland exceeded reasonable expectations. The poorest were now required to pay more, and a widespread agricultural depression drove landholders to withhold their tithes in a peaceful campaign. This initially peaceful non-payment of tithes turned violent in 1831 when the newly founded Irish Constabulary in lieu of tithe payments, began to seize property and conduct evictions. By 1833, civil disobedience and disturbances had spread throughout Ireland with the support of both landowners and the Catholic Bishops and was the most widespread agrarian protest then seen. Tithe collections quickly ceased that year and by 1838 the much hated Tithes were converted to and included in fairer rents, collected directly by the Landlords and the unrest gradually subsided.
By 1831, a National school board is instituted and teaches to separate Protestant and Catholic schools. Although half the population still speaks Irish/Gaelic, all schooling is conducted in English. Reforms also abolish the act of slavery in all British possessions, and improve child labour laws.
The British Poor Law arrives in 1838, bringing the dreaded workhouse where the destitute, aged and sick could find "relief". Each workhouse was supported by the landlords in it's Poor Law union and by rates levied on all land holders, including tenant farmers, and unlike England where all had the right to apply for relief, the local landlords voted in a commission to oversee policies. The workhouses were degrading, removed the poorest from their land, often separating families and removing all possibility of a return to self-sufficiency for its users.
The Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, with the political and religious rights restored to the majority, had a profound impact on the political landscape of the country. The act had ended centuries of discrimination against Catholics, who had previously been excluded from political office and the political process in general, a significant step towards the modernisation of Irish society, giving greater power and voice to previously marginalised groups. Thomas Drummond, as under-secretary of Ireland, re-organised the Royal Irish Constabulary as a less coercive police force, and reduced the power of the Orange Order.
Socially, the 1830s was a time of significant change in Ireland. The Catholic Emancipation Act had removed many of the legal barriers that had previously prevented Catholics from participating fully in society, and this led to a subtle shift in power and influence. The emergence of the Repeal Association also gave a voice to those who had previously been excluded from the political process. However, there were still significant social issues that needed to be addressed. The country was divided along religious and political lines, and sectarianism was still a significant problem. Poverty was widespread, and living conditions were often squalid, particularly in the cities.
A modern postage system is developed this decade. Dickens writes his novels -- Oliver Twist especially brings to light the plight of child workers. Daguerre invents rudimentary photography. The reign of Queen Victoria begins in 1837, ushering in an era that was to last until 1901. Hans Christian Andersen's 'Tales Told for Children' is published, among others. Steamship service begins on the Atlantic with a record crossing time of 15 days. The first Opium War between China and Britain began in 1839, which ultimately led to China's defeat and the forced opening of Chinese ports to foreign trade. The Trail of Tears in the United States, which began in the late 1830s, saw the forced relocation of tens of thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands to reservations in the West. Meanwhile, the Industrial Revolution continued to transform economies and societies around the world, with new inventions and technologies such as the steam engine and the telegraph paving the way for further innovations.
However, a calamity was waiting in the wings.
Between the Act of Union and 1838, one hundred and fourteen Royal Commissions and sixty-one parliamentary committees had investigated and reported on the condition of Ireland. All had reported on the recklessness of the landlord class, the avarice of the middleman, the steady growth of the population, the crowding of more and more people on to less and less land. These reports also commented on the dependency of so many on a single crop (and the propensity of the potato to disease), the 'beggary and death or emigration' which inevitably befell the evicted tenant and the probability of a future famine. All of these reports were duly noted and shelved as the British Government and Irish Administration went on to other matters.
1839: A 'Sacerdotal Squabble' in Kilmurry
In 1838/39, following instructions from Bishop Murphy, the Kilmurry Parish Priest, Rev. John Callaghan and his two curates, Rev. Dennis Murphy and Rev. David Crowley moved to adjacent parishes with Rev. Murphy taking up the curacy of Enniskeane.
The traditional three clergy parishes of Kilmurry, Cannaway, Dooniskey, Moviddy and Kilbonane now received it's new priests, Parish Priest Rev. James Daly (d.1869) moving from PP of Ovens, & curates Rev. John Kelleher & Rev. John Hawkes. However, curate Rev. Hawkes was moved to another parish in early 1839 & there appeared to have been some delay in appointing his successor by Bishop Murphy (1772-1847). Both priests were required to muddle through running the combined parishes for a number of months waiting on the arrival of the second curate, but when this new curate, the Rev. O'Callaghan eventually arrived, an unseemly clerical difference of opinion erupted. The Cork Constitution newspaper reported somewhat gleefully and in detail on the resulting 'Sacerdotal Squabble', highlighting some remarkable social differences within the clergy of the era along with an entertaining description of events.
Briefly, the first Curate, Rev. Kelleher who was already 'well known in the annals of agitation', had certainly not endeared himself to his new congregation of Kilmurry and with the arrival of the young Rev. O'Callaghan, both Rev. Daly & Kelleher were none too pleased, apparently at the prospect of parish fees divided further. Rev. O'Callaghan was promptly rejected and refused permission to assume the curacy by Daly, but nevertheless, the following Sunday, said Mass in Cannovee much to the disgust of the Parish Priest, who had arrived on the scene just as mass ended. Furious, Daly ordered the congregation to return to the church so that he himself could say mass, colourfully adding that the new curate & brother cleric; 'had no authority...that he could no more say Mass than a dog, or give the Sacrament than a horse..'. The congregation disagreed.
The Cork Constitution continues with it's assesment:
'Mr Callaghan, as we are informed, is a man of another mind. He is 'better bred' than the regular run of Romish Priests. His education being Continental, he had escaped the bigotry as well as the Greek of Maynooth, and he is no intermeddler in matters that do not concern his vocation. Thus favourably contrasted, and backed by the authority of his Bishop, he is more acceptable to the congregation than either of the functionaries previously in possession...'
Bishop John Murphy's previous issues with recalcitrant clergy was pounced upon in the article. Born in 1772 & educated in Paris, while later undertaking his priestly duties in SS Peter and Paul’s in Cork, Murphy realised he could not communicate with many of his Irish-speaking parishioners and so set about learning the language. Ordained Bishop by Bishop Coppinger of Cloyne & Ross in 1815, Murphy, already with a reputation for pugnacity and somewhat of a cantankerous nature, now with hierarchical authority, clashed with many in Irish as well as English and Latin. He argued with the Franciscans, with the Presentation Brothers and with the Dominicans as well as the great and the good of the city. He regularly disagreed with Fr. Theobald Matthew, a Franciscan famous for his promotion of temperance. Neither was he very enthusiastic about the establishment of Queen’s College Cork (UCC) in 1845 but did co-found the Cork Savings Bank in 1817. Amongst the majority, the bishop was viewed as vigorous, kindly, and popular; the description of him by Thomas Davis as ‘a glorious hearty Johnsonian bookman’ He died suddenly at a time when the diocese was in crisis, caused by the Great Famine.
The Kilmurry Parish registers for 1840 show the eventual outcome of the squabble. Rev. Callaghan was moved elsewhere as in July 1840, a new curate Rev. Thomas Walsh appears in the registers performing baptisms and marriages along with Parish Priest James Daly and fellow curate John Kelleher. Rev. Daly was to remain as PP of Kilmurry until his death in 1869.
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Rev. Denis Murphy was moved as Curate from Kilmurry to the nearby parish of Enniskeane & Desertserges in 1839 for a short period of some two years.
The Parish Priest of the time was Fr. Joseph O'Sullivan and the parish included the townlands of Ballineen, Enniskeane, Coppeen, Castletown-Kenneigh, Desert, Lyre, Ahiohill and Pedlar’s Cross. Here's what Lewis Topographical Dictionary has to report on the village in 1837: 'INNISKEEN, or ENNISKEEN, a village in the parish of KINNEIGH, Western Division of the, barony of EAST CARBERY, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 8 miles (W.) from Bandon, on the road to Dunmanway; the population is returned with the parish. This village, which is situated on the River Bandon, in the southern part of the parish, and is also called Inniskean, is said to have derived its name from Kean Mac Moile More, ancestor of the Mahony family of Castle Mahon, now Castle Bernard.. A paper-mill affords employment to about 30 persons, and about the same number are employed in the slate quarries near the place. The village has a penny post to Bandon, and fairs on April 5th, June 22nd, Aug. 12th, and Oct. 2nd, chiefly for livestock and pedlery; they are toll free and well attended. It also contains a small R. C. chapel.' Click the parish map to read the 1837 Lewis Topographical Dictionary entry for Enniskeane. Click here to view the available National Library Baptism & Marriage Records for the Parish. |
The political landscape of Ireland in the 1840s was characterised by a growing sense of nationalism and a desire for self-determination. The Repeal Movement founded in 1840, led by Daniel O'Connell, called for the repeal of the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland, which had been passed in 1800. O'Connell organised large rallies and petitioned the British government for Irish self-rule and the restoration of an Irish Parliament , but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
Another significant political movement that emerged in the 1840s was Young Ireland. This group of young nationalists, including Thomas Davis and John Mitchel, advocated for Irish independence, democratic reform and cultural revival. They believed that Irish culture had been suppressed by centuries of British rule, and they sought to revive the Irish language, literature, and music. However, the movement was short-lived, and many of its leaders were arrested and exiled after an attempted insurrection in 1848.
The 1840s was to see the emergence of a movement for tenant rights in Ireland. Many tenants organised to demand better conditions and protection from eviction, and there were widespread protests and demonstrations across the country. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1844 was passed in response to these demands, but it was limited in its scope and did little to improve the situation for most.
During January 1839, the Night of the Big Wind: a severe windstorm sweeps across Ireland killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless. 1840 saw the issue of the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp. In July, the Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service, the Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union & the Vaccination Act provides for free vaccination for the poor. August 1840 & Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act 1840 prohibits the employment of children under the age of 21 as chimney sweeps. Chartists are also agitating for further reform, and were often imprisoned or transported to Australia. Further scandals concerning forced labour of women and children, especially in mines, are discovered. Cooperatives are created in response to continued poverty and unemployment. Eventually, rich manufacturers see the Corn Laws as damaging to trade, imposing such high tariffs.
In 1841, the first complete census of Ireland & Britain takes place and the population of Ireland is calculated to be just under 8.2 million, Daniel O'Connell is elected as the first Roman Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin in centuries, The Cork Examiner newspaper is founded by John Francis Maguire and Anthony Trollope moves to Ireland as an official of the General Post Office. Britain occupies Hong Kong, the first known reference to Groundhog Day in North America appears in the diary of a James Morris, William Henry Harrison is sworn in as the ninth President of the United States and some weeks later becomes the first President to die in office and at one month, the American president with the shortest term served. He is succeeded by Vice President John Tyler, who becomes the tenth President of the United States. New Zealand becomes a separate British colony, having previously been administered as part of the Colony of New South Wales and Thomas Cook arranges his first railway excursion, in England. July 1841 & the first edition of the humorous magazine Punch is published in London.
Below: The Catholic Directory and Annual Register of Ireland for 1839 is published showing some of the clergy of Cork. Also a page from the Enniskeane Parish Register showing marriages performed by Rev. Murphy in August 1840 & January 1841.
Another significant political movement that emerged in the 1840s was Young Ireland. This group of young nationalists, including Thomas Davis and John Mitchel, advocated for Irish independence, democratic reform and cultural revival. They believed that Irish culture had been suppressed by centuries of British rule, and they sought to revive the Irish language, literature, and music. However, the movement was short-lived, and many of its leaders were arrested and exiled after an attempted insurrection in 1848.
The 1840s was to see the emergence of a movement for tenant rights in Ireland. Many tenants organised to demand better conditions and protection from eviction, and there were widespread protests and demonstrations across the country. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1844 was passed in response to these demands, but it was limited in its scope and did little to improve the situation for most.
During January 1839, the Night of the Big Wind: a severe windstorm sweeps across Ireland killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless. 1840 saw the issue of the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp. In July, the Cunard Line's 700-ton wooden paddle steamer RMS Britannia departs from Liverpool bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service, the Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union & the Vaccination Act provides for free vaccination for the poor. August 1840 & Chimney Sweepers and Chimneys Regulation Act 1840 prohibits the employment of children under the age of 21 as chimney sweeps. Chartists are also agitating for further reform, and were often imprisoned or transported to Australia. Further scandals concerning forced labour of women and children, especially in mines, are discovered. Cooperatives are created in response to continued poverty and unemployment. Eventually, rich manufacturers see the Corn Laws as damaging to trade, imposing such high tariffs.
In 1841, the first complete census of Ireland & Britain takes place and the population of Ireland is calculated to be just under 8.2 million, Daniel O'Connell is elected as the first Roman Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin in centuries, The Cork Examiner newspaper is founded by John Francis Maguire and Anthony Trollope moves to Ireland as an official of the General Post Office. Britain occupies Hong Kong, the first known reference to Groundhog Day in North America appears in the diary of a James Morris, William Henry Harrison is sworn in as the ninth President of the United States and some weeks later becomes the first President to die in office and at one month, the American president with the shortest term served. He is succeeded by Vice President John Tyler, who becomes the tenth President of the United States. New Zealand becomes a separate British colony, having previously been administered as part of the Colony of New South Wales and Thomas Cook arranges his first railway excursion, in England. July 1841 & the first edition of the humorous magazine Punch is published in London.
Below: The Catholic Directory and Annual Register of Ireland for 1839 is published showing some of the clergy of Cork. Also a page from the Enniskeane Parish Register showing marriages performed by Rev. Murphy in August 1840 & January 1841.
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Rev. Denis Murphy's third curacy was for almost three years in the Parish of Courceys (Ringrone) near Kinsale with Joseph O'Sullivan, Parish Priest. This parish includes the townlands of Ballinadee, Balinspittle, Kilbrittain, Kilroan, Rathclarin and Templetrine and churches in Ballinspittle and Ballinadee.
Here's what Lewis Topographical Dictionary has to report on the parish in 1837: "RINGRONE, or RINGORAN, a parish, partly in the barony and liberties of KINSALE, and partly in the Eastern Division of the barony of EAST CARBERY, but chiefly in the barony of COURCIES, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER; 2½ miles (S. W.) from Kinsale, from which it is separated by the river Bandon, containing, in 1831, 4813 inhabitants, since which time the population has considerably increased. This place, from the peculiarity of its situation, projecting far into the sea on the south, and on the east and north completely commanding the entrance of the celebrated and ancient harbour of “Cean Sailah,” now Kinsale, has from a very early period been distinguished as a place of importance. On the conquest of Ireland, the surrounding territory was granted to John de Courcy, afterwards Earl of Ulster, who erected a strong castle at Duncearma, near the old head of Kinsale, and another at this place, opposite to that town. The former of these castles was for many generations the baronial residence of his descendants; and the latter was occupied by a formidable garrison for the protection of the port and the ferry leading to it. Near the fortress, which, during the occupation of Kinsale by the Spaniards in 1600, and also during the war of the Revolution, was an object of severe contest, was a royal dock-yard, where the whole of the King’s ships on this station employed in the war as convoys were refitted and repaired. The parish, which is situated on the southern coast and on the shore of Kinsale harbour, comprises 9586 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £6887 per annum: the northern portion, immediately opposite to the town of Kinsale, is bounded by the river Bandon; the southern stretches out into the long promontory called the old head of Kinsale, and on the east is a peninsula projecting boldly into the entrance of the harbour. The soil is light but fertile, and, especially in the western part of the parish, the land is rich and in good cultivation: the system of agriculture is improved; in some places green crops are cultivated with success. The cliffs around the shore are in many places strikingly bold and interesting, and there are numerous pleasing and picturesque glens; the schistose formation is generally prevalent in the hills, changing into all the varieties of transition rock, with extensive veins of quartz traversing them in every direction. Near the Old Head is an extensive tract of land covered with sand blown in from the bay, which is every year increasing; there is no other waste land, and very little bog; the want of fuel is consequently much felt...There are coast-guard stations at Howes Strand, the Old Head, and Sandy Cove, forming three of the eight that constitute the district of Kinsale...On the head is a well-built lighthouse, the lantern of which has an elevation of 294 feet above the level of the sea, and contains 27 lamps, exhibiting a bright steady light which in clear weather is visible at a distance of 23 nautical miles...In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Courcies; the chapel is at Ballinspittle...Opposite Kinsale are the ruins of Ringrone castle and Old Fort, or Castle-ne-Park; the latter a very strong citadel with extensive bulwarks, ramparts, and fosses; in the inner court are the remains of the two towers of the gateway entrance and drawbridge. The old castle of Ringrone gives the title of Baron to the ancient family of de Courcy." Click the parish map to read the 1837 Lewis Topographical Dictionary entry for Courceys. Click here to view the available National Library Baptism & Marriage Records for the Parish. |
The new Curate, Rev, Denis Murphy appears to have been a regular fund-raiser for the Association for the Propagation of the Faith - remitting on average £4 to £5 (£525-650 in 2023 values) quarterly from the townlands of his parish (judging by the frequent acknowledgement notices in the Freeman's Journal, Dublin.)
During the 1840s, the Association for the Propagation of the Faith (founded in Lyon, France in 1822) was active in Ireland as part of its global mission to support Catholic missionary work. In Ireland, the Association focused on raising funds to support the work of Irish missionaries who were serving in various countries around the world. Many Irish Catholics at the time saw missionary work as a way to help spread the Catholic faith and combat the influence of Protestantism, which was dominant in Ireland and other parts of the British Empire. The Association also supported the training and education of Irish priests and religious, who would then go on to serve as missionaries in other parts of the world. With the Famine, the Association provided aid to those affected including funding for the construction of new churches and schools, as well as ongoing support for missionary work among the Irish diaspora in other parts of the world. These parochial collections, according to the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, throughout Ireland usually garnered from the congregations in the region of £6,000–£7,000 (£725-925k) before and after the Famine and around £3,000–£4,000 during it. These were transmitted directly to the central fund in Paris and disbursed from there to various causes.
Below: an example of one of the frequent printed acknowledgements, Dublin Freeman's Journal of 6 November 1841 noted another of Rev. Murphy's contribution from the parishes of Courcey (Ringrone) and Ballinadee, the sum of £7.3.0 (£965 in 2023 values).
During the 1840s, the Association for the Propagation of the Faith (founded in Lyon, France in 1822) was active in Ireland as part of its global mission to support Catholic missionary work. In Ireland, the Association focused on raising funds to support the work of Irish missionaries who were serving in various countries around the world. Many Irish Catholics at the time saw missionary work as a way to help spread the Catholic faith and combat the influence of Protestantism, which was dominant in Ireland and other parts of the British Empire. The Association also supported the training and education of Irish priests and religious, who would then go on to serve as missionaries in other parts of the world. With the Famine, the Association provided aid to those affected including funding for the construction of new churches and schools, as well as ongoing support for missionary work among the Irish diaspora in other parts of the world. These parochial collections, according to the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, throughout Ireland usually garnered from the congregations in the region of £6,000–£7,000 (£725-925k) before and after the Famine and around £3,000–£4,000 during it. These were transmitted directly to the central fund in Paris and disbursed from there to various causes.
Below: an example of one of the frequent printed acknowledgements, Dublin Freeman's Journal of 6 November 1841 noted another of Rev. Murphy's contribution from the parishes of Courcey (Ringrone) and Ballinadee, the sum of £7.3.0 (£965 in 2023 values).
Kinsale Poor Law Workhouse
Described as "the most feared and hated institution ever established in Ireland", the story of the Irish Workhouses is not a pleasant one. Today, the haunting aura of the old stone remains of workhouses all over Ireland serve as a chilling reminder of some of Ireland's darkest history - even as many have been re-purposed and re-developed over the years as community centres and as with Kinsale, community hospitals. The Kinsale Poor Law Union was officially declared in 1839 and covered an area of 121 square miles. The Workhouse was opened in September 1841 on a six acre site at a cost of £6,900. It was built to house a maximum capacity of 500 'inmates', people from the areas of Ballyfeard, Ballyfoyle, Ballymartle, Carrigaline, Cullen, Courcies, Kilmanogue, Kilpatrick, Kinnure, Kinsale, Leofany, Liscleary, Nohoval, Templebredy, and Tracton. An elected Board of Guardians of 21 (representing the 16 electoral divisions in the area) and also 7 ex-officio Guardians, making a total of 28. The population within the Union at the 1831 census was 41,929 and the first persons admitted took place on 4 December 1841. The Kinsale Wokhouse site is now occupied by the Kinsale Community Hospital with some of the original buildings still surviving and the associated burial ground is marked with a memorial stone. |
Religious tensions in 1840s Ireland
During the 1840s, Ireland was a deeply traditional religious country, but it was also marked by complex and multifaceted differences and tensions between faiths. Catholicism was the dominant religion in Ireland, with over 80% of the population identifying as Catholic. However, there was also a significant Protestant minority, divided into a number of different denominations, including Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and others. The Anglican Church (the Church of Ireland), was the established church and had significant political and social power.
The relationship between faiths in Ireland in the era was marked by frequent tensions and conflict. These tensions were fuelled by a number of factors, including historical grievances, cultural, economic and social disparities, political and religious differences. One of the main sources of tension was the issue of land ownership, with the Anglo-Irish Protestant landlords often controlling large estates and Catholic tenant farmers subsisting and struggling to make a living. There were also differences in political views, with many Catholics supporting Irish nationalism, self-government and the push for Irish independence, while many Protestants, naturally enough, favoured continued union & support with Great Britain.
Catholics often were marginalised and discriminated against by the Protestant-dominated political and social structures. This in turn led to a strong sense of Catholic identity and solidarity, particularly during the 1840s, and during the Famine, when the Catholic Church played a key role in providing support and relief. The Church was also deeply involved in many aspects of Irish life at parish level, including education, healthcare, and social welfare and played a key role in Irish politics (as discovered during the long process of Catholic Emancipation), advocating for the rights of the majority and pushing for greater political representation and social justice.
For the many marginalised Irish, religion provided a sense of community, identity, and purpose, and it was seen as a source of hope and comfort in the face of the many challenges and hardships of daily life. The parish and it's clergy provided a range of services and support to the Irish people, including schools, hospitals, and charitable organizations, which helped to alleviate some of the worst effects of poverty and deprivation.
Ireland 1841-44
The Repeal Movement, led by Daniel O'Connell, continued to gain momentum, with O'Connell organising large rallies and petitioning the British government for Irish self-rule. In 1843, O'Connell organised a monster rally in Dublin, attended by an estimated 100,000 people, to demand the repeal of the Act of Union. Despite the growing support for the movement, however, the British government remained opposed to Irish independence, and the Repeal Movement ultimately failed to achieve its goals.
Another significant political event of this period was the emergence of the Young Ireland movement. This group of young Irish nationalists, including Thomas Davis and John Mitchel, sought to promote Irish independence and cultural revival. They believed that Irish culture had been suppressed by centuries of British rule, and they sought to revive the Irish language, literature, and music. The Young Ireland movement gained significant support among the Irish population, but its leaders were ultimately arrested and exiled.
In addition to these political events, the period between 1841 and 1844 was marked by a growing sense of unrest among Irish tenants. Many tenants organized to demand better conditions and protection from eviction, and there were widespread protests and demonstrations across the country. In response to these demands, the British government passed the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1844, which sought to improve the situation for tenants. However, the act was limited in its scope and did little to address the root causes of the tenants' grievances.
The period between 1841 and 1844 was also marked by the beginnings of the Great Famine, which would have a profound impact on Irish society and culture. In 1841, the potato crop, which was the main staple food of the Irish population, began to fail due to a blight. This led to localised then widespread food shortages and rising food prices, which disproportionately affected the poor and vulnerable. The famine would continue to worsen over the next several years, leading to mass starvation, death, disease and a mass exodus of people from the country.
The economic landscape of Ireland during this period was also characterised by significant challenges. The country was heavily dependent on agriculture, and the failure of the potato crop was to also have a profound impact on the economy. The famine led to widespread poverty and economic hardship, with many people struggling to make ends meet. The government's response to the crisis was inadequate, with relief efforts being limited in their scope and effectiveness.
In c.1844, Denis' Brother-in-Law, Walter Baldwin died leaving Margaret a widow with two young sons.
By October 1844, the Rev. Denis is recorded on registers as officiating at baptisms in Innishannon Parish, although not formally not part of the parish. He was to move from Courceys/Ringrone to the parish full time from January 1845.
During the 1840s, Ireland was a deeply traditional religious country, but it was also marked by complex and multifaceted differences and tensions between faiths. Catholicism was the dominant religion in Ireland, with over 80% of the population identifying as Catholic. However, there was also a significant Protestant minority, divided into a number of different denominations, including Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and others. The Anglican Church (the Church of Ireland), was the established church and had significant political and social power.
The relationship between faiths in Ireland in the era was marked by frequent tensions and conflict. These tensions were fuelled by a number of factors, including historical grievances, cultural, economic and social disparities, political and religious differences. One of the main sources of tension was the issue of land ownership, with the Anglo-Irish Protestant landlords often controlling large estates and Catholic tenant farmers subsisting and struggling to make a living. There were also differences in political views, with many Catholics supporting Irish nationalism, self-government and the push for Irish independence, while many Protestants, naturally enough, favoured continued union & support with Great Britain.
Catholics often were marginalised and discriminated against by the Protestant-dominated political and social structures. This in turn led to a strong sense of Catholic identity and solidarity, particularly during the 1840s, and during the Famine, when the Catholic Church played a key role in providing support and relief. The Church was also deeply involved in many aspects of Irish life at parish level, including education, healthcare, and social welfare and played a key role in Irish politics (as discovered during the long process of Catholic Emancipation), advocating for the rights of the majority and pushing for greater political representation and social justice.
For the many marginalised Irish, religion provided a sense of community, identity, and purpose, and it was seen as a source of hope and comfort in the face of the many challenges and hardships of daily life. The parish and it's clergy provided a range of services and support to the Irish people, including schools, hospitals, and charitable organizations, which helped to alleviate some of the worst effects of poverty and deprivation.
Ireland 1841-44
The Repeal Movement, led by Daniel O'Connell, continued to gain momentum, with O'Connell organising large rallies and petitioning the British government for Irish self-rule. In 1843, O'Connell organised a monster rally in Dublin, attended by an estimated 100,000 people, to demand the repeal of the Act of Union. Despite the growing support for the movement, however, the British government remained opposed to Irish independence, and the Repeal Movement ultimately failed to achieve its goals.
Another significant political event of this period was the emergence of the Young Ireland movement. This group of young Irish nationalists, including Thomas Davis and John Mitchel, sought to promote Irish independence and cultural revival. They believed that Irish culture had been suppressed by centuries of British rule, and they sought to revive the Irish language, literature, and music. The Young Ireland movement gained significant support among the Irish population, but its leaders were ultimately arrested and exiled.
In addition to these political events, the period between 1841 and 1844 was marked by a growing sense of unrest among Irish tenants. Many tenants organized to demand better conditions and protection from eviction, and there were widespread protests and demonstrations across the country. In response to these demands, the British government passed the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1844, which sought to improve the situation for tenants. However, the act was limited in its scope and did little to address the root causes of the tenants' grievances.
The period between 1841 and 1844 was also marked by the beginnings of the Great Famine, which would have a profound impact on Irish society and culture. In 1841, the potato crop, which was the main staple food of the Irish population, began to fail due to a blight. This led to localised then widespread food shortages and rising food prices, which disproportionately affected the poor and vulnerable. The famine would continue to worsen over the next several years, leading to mass starvation, death, disease and a mass exodus of people from the country.
The economic landscape of Ireland during this period was also characterised by significant challenges. The country was heavily dependent on agriculture, and the failure of the potato crop was to also have a profound impact on the economy. The famine led to widespread poverty and economic hardship, with many people struggling to make ends meet. The government's response to the crisis was inadequate, with relief efforts being limited in their scope and effectiveness.
In c.1844, Denis' Brother-in-Law, Walter Baldwin died leaving Margaret a widow with two young sons.
By October 1844, the Rev. Denis is recorded on registers as officiating at baptisms in Innishannon Parish, although not formally not part of the parish. He was to move from Courceys/Ringrone to the parish full time from January 1845.
St. Mary’s Church, Innishannon. With it’s gothic architectural features,was built between 1810 and 1826, on a hill behind the village of Innishannon. The land was part of the Frewen Estate and was given by the local landlord, Edward Hale Adderley, who, as the story goes, shortly afterwards had a change of heart about his generosity. Before he could change his mind, the parish priest ,Fr. Cohalan, buried the first four parishioner's corpses at his church in the four corners of the site. The church was built by local tradesmen, under the direction of Fr. Field (plaque erected at rear of church). The church was built without a steeple under Penal Laws but this was commenced about 50 years afterwards. The spire came from St. Lukes Church in Cork. It was bought by Cannon Holland P.P. for £250.Stone by stone was numbered, taken down and brought the 16 mile journey to Innishannon village and erected again. Its beautiful stained glass window was shipped from Germany.
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Rev. Denis Murphy's next posting was as curate of Innishannon which also included the townlands of Crossbarry, Knockavilla and Upton. With Fr. Michael John Field, Parish Priest, both ministered during the height of the Famine.
Here's what Lewis Topographical Dictionary has to report on the parish in 1837: "INNISHANNON, a post-town and parish, partly in the Eastern Division of the barony of EAST CARBERY, but chiefly in the barony of KINNALEA, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 12 Miles (S.W.) from Cork, and 138 (S. W.) from Dublin, on the river Bandon, and on the mail coach road from Cork to Bantry; containing 3840 inhabitants, of which number, 653 are in the town. This place, which was formerly of considerable importance, and, according to Smith’s History of Cork, was walled and had several castles in it, was, together with its ferry across the Bandon, granted by Hen. V. to Philip de Barry in 1412... The present town consists principally of one neatly built street, containing 108 houses, of which several are of a very superior description, and has a cheerful and pleasing appearance. The river Bandon is crossed here by a neat bridge of six arches, over which the new line of road is carried; and its situation on the river, which is navigable for vessels of 200 tons’ burden up to Colliers’ quay, and for lighters into the town, is well adapted for an extensive trade. A canal to Bandon was contemplated some short time since, and a rail road to Bantry is at present under consideration. The cotton-manufacture was formerly carried on here to a considerable extent, but is now almost extinct. Fairs are held on May 29th, and Oct. 3rd; a constabulary police force is stationed here, and petty sessions are held on alternate Tuesdays in a sessions-house. The parish comprises 7080 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, and valued at £5815 per annum: the land is in general good, though in some parts the soil is light and shallow, the substratum being generally schistus based on argillaceous grit; the system of agriculture has been lately much improved. There are about 300 acres of woodland in gentlemen’s demesnes, and a tract of turbary of about 100 acres. Indications of copper exist, but no attempt has been made to work it. The alternation of greenstone and freestone is singularly curious, and the sudden transitions of the rocks also render the parish interesting to the geologist. The scenery is beautifully picturesque; the vale in which the town is situated is covered with hanging woods extending on the west to Bandon, and on the east to Shippool, and is on both sides embellished with pleasing villas and thriving plantations, among which the tower of the church forms a picturesque feature. The principal seats are Downdaniel, the residence of the Rev. R. L. Conner, a modern mansion near the site of the castle of that name, partly built with the materials of the ancient structure, and commanding a fine view of the vale; Fir Grove, of R. Quin, Esq.; Shippool House, of Capt. Herrick, R.N.; Woodview, of F. Seely, Esq.; Sunning Hill, of Mrs. Quinn; Belmont, of Major Meade; Cor Castle, of Chambre Corker, Esq.; Frankfort, of Major Westcott; the residence of the Rev. T. Meade: and Rock Castle, of E. Becher, Esq., on the lawn of which and on the margin of the river were the ruins of Cariganass castle...The river above the town abounds with fish, and is much frequented by anglers. The living is a rectory and vicarage, in the diocese of Cork, and in the patronage of the representatives of the late Jas. Kearney, of Garrettstown, Esq.; the tithes amount to £632. 6. 11.; the tithes of thploughland of Skevanahish, amounting to £42. 10., are appropriated to the see, and payable to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. There is no glebe-house, and the glebe comprises only about half an acre. The church, situated in a thick plantation near the river, is a very neat edifice with a square tower. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also the parishes of Brinny, Knockavilly, and Leighmoney; the chapel was built at an expense of £1500, in 1829, on a site of two acres presented by E. Hale Adderley, Esq. There is also a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. About 100 children are taught in two public schools, of which the parochial school is supported by a grant of £30 per annum, from the trustees of Erasmus Smith’s fund..." Click the parish map to read the 1837 Lewis Topographical Dictionary entry for Innishannon. Click here to view the available National Library Baptism & Marriage Records for the Parish. |
'An Gorta Mor' - The Great Hunger (1845–52)
Remembrance of traumatic national events in our past is certainly not easy and no single event in Irish history is more emotive to this day than the Great Famine, 'An Gorta Mór'. Time passes, and as memories fade & die, remembrance becomes more elusive and nuanced, inherited emotions can be further heightened as the years blur and colour a narrative, but the one truth remains - that of historical reality.
The Great Hunger was the single largest demographic catastrophe in Ireland and 19th-century European history.
Over one million people died—terrifyingly, painfully and avoidably—and a further one million more emigrated.
Over a 50-year period, almost half of the population of the country disappeared and the effects continue around the world, as Ireland’s diaspora is estimated to reach around 70 million today.
The Famine became the 'turning point in a century-long logic of disintegration, the outcome of systematic neglect by the richest empire in the world.' and it's legacy was a political, economic, moral and cultural crisis that lingers even to this day.
"The Irish Famine of 1845 to 1852 was the greatest social calamity, in terms of mortality and suffering, that Ireland had ever experienced"
Michael D. Higgins. President of the Republic of Ireland. "The judgment of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson, that calamity must not be too much mitigated…The real evil with which we have to contend is not the physical evil of the Famine, but the moral evil of the selfish, perverse, and turbulent character of the people." Charles Trevelyan, senior civil servant in charge of administering relief during the Famine. "It is no exaggeration to say that Ireland in 1847 was like a battlefield, and that the battle was waged without mercy against unarmed opponents, with weapons more deadly than the sword." Asenath Nicholson, American philanthropist who worked in Ireland during the Famine. |
above: 'The Victim' artist: Rowan Gillespie (b.1953). Date Created: 1997. Medium: Bronze.
The Victim - a gift of the Lender family to help start building the Great Hunger collection at Quinnipiac University. It was part of a series of works commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Famine, executed by Gillespie as studies for the dramatic Famine memorial on Custom House Quay in Dublin. In the memorial, seven larger-than-life figures, and a dog, stagger toward the docks to board the Perseverance, which sailed on St. Patrick’s Day, 1846, landing in New York two months later. The Victim is a quintessential figure, representing each and every one of the millions who died from starvation or disease, or emigrated; its strength lies in its scale and isolation. The scale of the figure contrasts with the scale of the horror. He has suffered pain, loss and humiliation, he sees nothing, hears nothing, utters nothing. As Gillespie says, “My work is figurative; it is about the miracle of human life in a galaxy of indifference.” Thanks to Ireland's Great Hunger Museum, Hamden, CT
above: 'Am Gorta Mór'. artist: Robert Ballagh (b.1943). Date Created: 2012. Medium: Stained Glass Window
An Gorta Mór is the first work that Ballagh produced in stained glass. A triptych, on the left we are introduced to a typical Irish peasant family toiling in their potato field with evidence of a comfortable though modest home, next is the humble potato plant. Ballagh has illustrated the extreme devastation caused by this fungus and the rapidity with which it destroyed the potato crop by confining the leap from flourishing to foul in a single panel and in fact a single plant.The potato was not only a vital food crop, but also a crop that they sold for money to pay rents and to purchase other life necessities. Without it they would find themselves starving, penniless, and when they could no longer pay their rent, homeless as a result of evictions. Ballagh illustrates the plight of these evictions the center of the third panel. The line of those displaced trudging along the road on the lower portion of the panel is one that the newly evicted family in the center must now join to hopefully survive. On the far right of the work we can see ships waiting at sea to carry passengers to begin again in a new land. Two million would travel across the North Atlantic or the Irish Sea at great risk in hopes of finding a new beginning. One million would never find their way to a ship and perish in their Ireland from starvation and disease while the British government failed them and all of Ireland. Thanks to Ireland's Great Hunger Museum.
Rather than repeat another history of the Famine, we will simply concentrate here on aspects of Rev. Denis Murphy's experiences during his curacy of Innishannon, Co. Cork.
For an overview of the Famine, read the History Cooperative's article here and Wikipedia's detailed summary here.
The Hunger: The Story Of The Irish Famine. Liam Neeson narrates this two-part RTE documentary marking the 175th anniversary of The Famine, exploring it's international origins, development and legacy. Click below to view.
With such divisions and inaction within the hierarchy, any publicity, organised relief attempts and disbursements were largely left to the discretion of the local parish clergy. Rev. Denis Murphy was certainly one cleric ready to take up pen and paper to call for help - both nationally and specifically towards the Irish in America. In doing so, he trod a fine line between censure from his bishop and also, censure from the Government.
This called for a degree of diplomacy which can be noted in two letters he wrote on the Famine as he observed in his parish of Innishannon. In a letter dated 30 December 1846 to the editor of The Cork Examiner, he cautiously and carefully wrote of the extent and effect of starvation in a letter titled 'Irish Distress - Irish-American Aid'. However in a follow up letter to the Boston Pilot Newspaper titled 'A Letter to America', Rev. Denis Murphy was far more forthright to the extent of possibly being viewed by both the hierarchy and British administration as being 'outspoken'.
These first hand accounts of famine in the parish of Innishannon, Co. Cork and further afield, despite the strict formality and verbosity of the period, are both striking & stark:
This called for a degree of diplomacy which can be noted in two letters he wrote on the Famine as he observed in his parish of Innishannon. In a letter dated 30 December 1846 to the editor of The Cork Examiner, he cautiously and carefully wrote of the extent and effect of starvation in a letter titled 'Irish Distress - Irish-American Aid'. However in a follow up letter to the Boston Pilot Newspaper titled 'A Letter to America', Rev. Denis Murphy was far more forthright to the extent of possibly being viewed by both the hierarchy and British administration as being 'outspoken'.
These first hand accounts of famine in the parish of Innishannon, Co. Cork and further afield, despite the strict formality and verbosity of the period, are both striking & stark:
Clipping 'Irish Distress - Irish-American Aid' below - followed by a transcript:
Transcript of letter dated 30 December 1846 to The Boston Pilot & printed in The Cork Examiner, 18 January 1847:
Irish Distress - Irish-American Aid
To The Editor of The Boston Pilot 1
Innishannon, December 30, 1846
Dear Sir, - Deeply impressed with the most lively feeling for the afflictions of our poverty-stricken and famishing people, the dire effects of the total failure of this year's potato crop, may I supplicate for them the assistance of their Transatlantic friends, through the medium of your far-famed and widely circulating Journal - a journal not less remarkable for the genius it displays, than for the genuine patriotism it breathes through its columns. One would suppose when it pours forth in harmonious strains the praises of our ancestors, and the former glories of the Emerald Isle - alas! Herself no more - that it is her own immortal bard that touches the lyre, and writes the verses. When it exposes her wrong, and confounds her oppressors, it appears as if giving expression to the combined powers of Shiel and O'Connell 2 pleading her case before the British Synod.
But to revert to my subject. Famine and Death, like twin sisters go hand in hand, carrying on and completing the work of destruction amongst our devoted people. The cries of famished children, the sighs and tears of their disconsolate mothers, the loud complaints of the once hard, but now enervated labourer, the bitter wailing of the skilful artist, who, when trade flourished and provisions could be procured at a moderate price, saw better days, swell into one universal, loud and continued call for food, which pierces the heart, and is heard by all save such as are deaf to the call of humanity, and are obdurate enough to resist the benign influence of Divine Charity. Their mingled voice pervades the streets of every town and city in Ireland, and is heard everywhere throughout the county, exciting the sympathies of the humane and charitable, and storming at the gates of the obdurate rich. No district, however favoured by its natural fertility or soil, aided by the skilful industry of the agriculturalist, and enriched by a sufficiency of the most productive manure, has been exempt from the general blight; and therefore the cry of famine has become as general as the common air we breathe. In proof that my statement of the general calamity which befell our country is not overwrought, bear the account given of it by some of our most esteemed Provincial Journals.
The Cork Examiner of Monday, December 21st sums up the state of popular feeling in a few words 'Their firm unbounded belief is, that they are all reserved for the same fate as is daily occurring to their neighbours - that they are doomed without either expectation of relief or release to expire before the termination of a few months - that they will be found either in the fields or on the mountains without either the consolations of clergy or comfort of friends"
The same account of the popular feeling is echoed in Conciliation Hall and constantly repeated in all the papers throughout the kingdom, ever since the commencement of the total failure of this year's potato crop; so that it may be fairly said of us, that we live 'in the reign of terror'
Amongst us famine generally precedes death, and leaves her victims strongly impressed with her appalling and characteristic features - the languid eye, the pale and emaciated countenance, the attenuated form, the weak and tottering step - the squalid rags that cover their skeleton limbs (their better clothes being pawned in order to raise some little that would enable them to prolong a miserable existence_ - sufficiently prove them to be the victims of famine, and fast approaching the arms of death by which only they expect a release from their mortal suffering.
One can scarcely stir outside doors but his way is beset by a wretched group of living spectres, telling the length of time they have lived without food, and praying for some relief that would rescue them from the pangs of death. Among them how many brothers and sisters and aged parents are to be found, shivering with cold within the mud built walls of their thatched cabins, pervious by a thousand chinks and holes to the frozen blasts of this sever winter, pining away for want of the necessaries of life, and fast sinking under the weight of their affliction! Others, yielding to sickness and infirmities, the natural effects of such destitution lie, on the verge of death, in their beds of sickness, whilst these poor Christians, that may be designated as the Sons of Misery, steeped to the very lips in the waters of bitterness, have some of them children, others sisters and brothers with your relatives enjoying all the comforts, and some of them the luxuries of life, in your fertile, favoured land.
No tongue could express, no pen adequately describe the variety and intensity of our poor people's sufferings. In my constant intercourse with them, when administering the consolations of religion, I have been solicited on all occasions for relief, which I could be seldom afford them, and heard their complaints against their American friends and relatives who had neglected them in such extreme necessity. I now, on their behalf, and at their request, beseech, entreat these American friends and relatives, not to neglect the relatives and friends they have left after them in Ireland, who are suffering want and privations, in the general calamity which befell their country - worse than did the Israelites in the land of Egypt - but to send them immediate relief that would save them, for the present, from death by famine and prolong their lives to see better days, perhaps with themselves in America. By so doing they will only comply with those duties which nature and religion impose, and the neglect of which God punishes with the severest chastisements, as he rewards their performance with the highest fervour - 'Depart from me' (will the Judge say on the last day to those who now neglect deeds of charity by relieving the distresses of the poor) you cursed into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me not to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me not in. Naked, and you covered me not. Sic and in prison and you did not visit me'. But the charitable and truly religious he will reward on the last day with an invitation to his kingdom - 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. Naked, and you covered me. Sick, and you visited me'
Such is the reward, and such is the punishment which God has decreed for the performance or neglect of charity 'Life everlasting' or everlasting punishment'
When I consider the large amount of subscription that have been sent us, from Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and other places to the Repeal Fund 3, and for other political purposes, I am sure this appeal in the cause of charity, the object of which are the immediate relatives of the contributors themselves, will be warmly taken up, and readily responded to by their generous, charitable, and wealthy friends and relatives in the places I have named as well as in other parts of America. How great the number of those friends in, may be judged from the fact that out of every house in which I have a held a station in the last fortnight, there were either a brother, or sister, or some of the householders' children living in the ever fertile regions of the West; and I may add that the entire family o each house expressed a desire of being settled for life in the same country as them.
When we consider the quantity of waste land to be reclaimed, the bogs to be drained, the metallic mines to be opened and worked, the railroads and canals to be made through the vast districts of the Western Hemisphere, and more than all, when we consider its abundance of provisions to supply the wants of its people, which to use the words of the President of Congress, is so great that the United States can from their immense surplus supply not only the home demand but the deficiencies of the whole world, how the heart sickens at the folly of our rulers who squander immense sums in their endeavours to support an over grown population, in this country at the expense of the British Exchequer, who, for want of useful employment, are set at work doing mischief - such as spoiling old roads, and making unnecessary new ones. How much better would it be to free their passage for our poor people to the western continent, where they would get a cordial reception from their friends and where they would get enough to eat and wear, and be usefully employed at profitable works, than to be kept here in a starving condition.
I remain your obedient and much obliged servant.
Denis Murphy, RC.C., of Innishannon.
[R.C.C. - Roman Catholic Curate]
footnotes
1. The Boston Pilot Newspaper: is the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston and claims the title of "America's Oldest Catholic Newspaper", having been in continuous publication since its first issue on September 5, 1829. The paper was the premier communication channel for Boston Irish for much of the nineteenth and early 20th centuries. The 1840s, due to the huge influx of Catholic immigrants into Boston and the political activity in Britain and Ireland in this period, document a particularly dynamic time for these immigrants.
2. Richard Lalor Sheil (August 1791–May 1851), Irish politician, writer and orator who worked closely with Daniel O'Connell on Catholic Emancipation and religious rights. Daniel O'Connell (1775–1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilization of Catholic Ireland, down to the poorest class of tenant farmers, secured the final instalment of Catholic emancipation in 1829 and allowed him to take a seat in the United Kingdom Parliament to which he had been twice elected. At Westminster, O'Connell championed liberal and reform causes (he was internationally renowned as an abolitionist) but he failed in his declared objective for Ireland—the restoration of a separate Irish Parliament through the repeal of the 1800 Act of Union. Against the backdrop of a growing agrarian crisis and, in his final years, of the Great Famine, O'Connell contended with dissension at home. Criticism of his political compromises and of his system of patronage split the national movement that he had led.
3. The Repeal Fund: This was a political movement in Ireland in the mid-19th century that aimed to repeal the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland, which had been passed in 1800. The Repeal movement was led by the famous Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell, who sought to restore Ireland's independence and self-governance. The Repeal Fund was created in 1841 as a means of raising money to support the Repeal movement and to fund O'Connell's political campaigns. The Fund was supported by donations from Irish citizens and emigrants, and by the sale of Repeal-themed merchandise such as badges, flags, and pamphlets. Largely a peaceful movement, it relied on peaceful protest and agitation to achieve its aims. O'Connell organized mass rallies and meetings, and the Repeal movement gained widespread popular support in Ireland. However, the British government was opposed to Repeal and feared that it would lead to Irish independence. In 1843, the British government banned a planned Repeal rally in Dublin, leading to a confrontation between the police and Repeal supporters that became known as the "Battle of Clontarf." Following this event, the British government arrested O'Connell and several other Repeal leaders, effectively ending the Repeal movement.
The Boston Pilot Newspaper published Rev. Murphy's letter on 27 February 1847. noting that it was received via the trans-Atlantic sailing vessel, the Cambria. As mentioned earlier, Murphy's letter to the Editor of the Boston Pilot differs substantially from the item published by the Cork Examiner and both have been included here for comparison. Possibly feeling less constrained in his letter to Boston than with the local Cork Examiner, Rev. Murphy's letter to the readers in the United States was a first hand account of the truly dreadful famine and it's effect upon his parishioners:
"One can scarcely stir outside doors but his way is beset by a wretched group of living spectres, telling the length of time they have lived without food, and exhibiting in their persons the undeniable proofs of their poverty. In administering the consolations of religion to the famished multitude and in preparing those who have been brought to the verge of death, what scenes of misery have been revealed me! No tongue could sufficiently express, no pen adequately describe, the variety and intensity of our pauper’s sufferings. Were I to enumerate the scenes of misery that I have witnessed in the discharge of my ministry, since the commencement of the prevailing famine, I may as well set about writing a volume on the subject...."
Rev. Denis Murphy. January 11, 1847
Cutting from the Boston Pilot Newspaper, 27 February 1847 below & transcript.
A LETTER FROM IRELAND.
We have received the following letter by the Cambria, to which we solicit the earnest attention of our readers:— Innishannon, County Cork , Jan. 11. Sir, —-'Deeply impressed with the most lively feeling for the miseries of our poverty-stricken and famishing people, the dire effects of the total failure of this year’s potato crop, may I supplicate for them the assistance of their transatlantic friends through the medium of your far-famed and widely-circulating journal. It would appear almost unwarrantable obtrusion in me, a stranger, to require a place in your invaluable paper, did not the wants of our people, which are as urgent as death, impose on me the obligation of so doing ; and, were I not encouraged thereto by the consideration of the high character it bears for genius, philanthropy, and genuine patriotism. One would suppose, when it pours forth in harmonious strains he praises of our ancestors and the former glories of the Emerald Isle, alas herself no more, that it is her own Immortal Bard that touches her lyre and writes the verses. When it exposes her wrongs and confounds her oppressors, it appears as if giving expression to the combined powers of Shiel and O’Connell, pleading her cause before the British Senate. But to return to my subject. Famine and death continue to make rapid and awful strides amongst us. They march like twin sisters, —hand in hand, — leaving their progress through this ill-fated island marked with the most appalling spectacles of desolation. The cries of famished children —the sighs and tears of their discomfited mothers—the loud complaints of the once hardy, hut now enervated labourer —the bitter wailing of the skilful artist who, when trade flourished and provisions could be purchased at a reasonable price, saw better days, swell into one loud, universal and continued call for food, which pierces the heart and is heard by all save such as are deaf to the calls of humanity and are obdurate enough to resist the benign influence of divine charity. Their mingled voice pervades the streets of every town and city in Ireland, and is heard in the country wherever it is supposed the slightest succour could be obtained. No territory, no district, however favoured by its natural fertility of soil aided by the skilful industry of the agriculturist, has been exempt from the general blight; and in consequence the cry of famine has become as general as the common air we breathe. In proof that my statement of the general calamity which befell our country is not over wrought, hear the account given of it by some of our most esteemed provincial journals.
The Cork Examiner of Monday, December 21, sums up the state of public feeling in a few words—“ Their firm and undoubted belief is that they are all reserved for the same fate as is daily occurring to their neighbours—that they are doomed without either expectation of release or relief—to expire before the termination of a few months—that they will be found either in the fields or on the mountains, without either the consolations of clergy or the comfort of friends.” The same account of the national feeling is echoed in Conciliation Hall, and repeated over and over in all the public papers, both Whig and Tory, ever since the first announcement of the total failure of last year’s potato crop. But, why waste time and paper to prove a public national calamity the weight of which we sorely feel pressing on us with fatal and ruinous effect, and which you must have long since heard of, from the accounts given of it in the public press? Were it an evil of short duration, some ray of hope would flash through the dark cloud which now lowers on us, to dispel the gloom and raise our hopes, we would console ourselves with the expectation of being soon released from our perilous situation by a sufficient supply of the necessary food. But no; our fears for the future are only on the increase as the scarcity becomes more generally felt, and the market prices of flour and grain continue on the rise,—so that it may be said of us that we live in the reign of terror. Amongst us famine generally precedes death and leaves her victims strongly impressed with her appalling and characteristic features; the languid eye, the pale and emaciated countenance, the attenuated form, the weak and tottering step, the squalid rags that cover their skeleton limbs (their better clothes being deposited in pawn in order to raise some little food that would enable them to prolong a miserable existence), sufficiently prove them to be victims of famine and fast approaching the ruthless blow of Death, by which only they expect a release from their mortal sufferings.
One can scarcely stir outside doors but his way is beset by a wretched group of living spectres, telling the length of time they have lived without food, and exhibiting in their persons the undeniable proofs of their poverty. In administering the consolations of religion to the famished multitude and in preparing those who have been brought to the verge of death, what scenes of misery have been revealed me! No tongue could sufficiently express, no pen adequately describe, the variety and intensity of our pauper’s sufferings. Were I to enumerate the scenes of misery that I have witnessed in the discharge of my ministry, since the commencement of the prevailing famine, I may as well set about writing a volume on the subject. I shall try to sketch off a few out of innumerable instances.
A day or two ago, I was called to prepare a man for his departure out of this world of woes who, according to the account I received, was dying of hunger.— On entering his hovel I found a man lying on a bed of straw or hay who may, without exaggeration, be described as a living skeleton, and as fit a subject for an Anatomical School as could be imagined. His limbs, to which the skin clung tight, were as bare of flesh as any skeleton —his bones with their nerves, junctures, and ligatures were as easy discernable as those of a subject that had been anatomized—his eyes sunk —his tongue parched—his voice slender, and as if coming out of an empty barrel—all together exhibited him the most pitiful object the human eye could dwell on. And, on his withered frame not a shirt, not a night covering of any sort could be seen, save the humid rags he wore by day which emitted a stench most offensive to smell and destructive to life and health. On quitting this scene the sick man’s son, who was about twenty years of age, told me that his father, whom I attended, with the entire family were in a starving condition a long time before he yielded to his sickness, the natural effects of exhaustion; that for three months previous to his sickness he and the entire family lived on less than half their usual fare; that for the last four days they lived on three meals of turnips which were accidentally provided by his sisters; and, that himself felt so weak for want of the necessary food that he feared he would drop before he returned home. The sick man’s name is John Corcoran, living near Knockavilla 1 churchyard. I am sure he has been known by many who formerly lived in Knockavilla and are now residents of Boston.
Need I mention more? A short time before I was called to prepare Corcoran, I had to perform the same duty for a Widow living at Barna Cross 2, contiguous to the mail-coach road. She was, not long before, a comfortable farmer’s wife (I would give her name but respect for the feelings of some of her relatives prevents me from so doing). She was, if possible in a worse state than Corcoran, for besides her want of the necessaries of life she laboured under a complication of diseases, produced by hunger and cold, to which her poverty and the uncovered state of her cabin exposed her.
1 have often had in the course of one day no less than seven calls to the sick, and 1 can aver that in all these cases, very few excepted, hunger, either immediately or gradually and remotely, produced their sickness. Many a family, satisfied with the necessaries of life, enjoyed peace and contentment, and may be considered as prosperous through life, now exhibit fear and famine strongly developed in their countenance. What numbers have I seen shivering with cold within the mud-built walls of their thatched cabins pervious by a thousand chinks and holes to the frozen blasts of (his severe winter, pining away for want of the necessaries of life and fast sinking under the accumulated weight of such miseries. In my constant intercourse with them, whether administering to them the consolations of religion by the bed-side of sickness and sorrow, or speaking with them on their personal sufferings and the
national calamity, I have been almost on all occasions solicited for relief, which I but seldom could afford them, and have heard their complaints against their American friends who neglected them in such extreme necessity. I now, on their behalf and at their request, beseechingly entreat those American friends and relatives not to neglect their brothers, sisters, or aged parents, nor their other relatives, who, though distant from then, are still so closely allied to them by the dearest ties of friendship, kindred, and affinity. When 1 consider the large amount of subscriptions that have been sent from Boston, Philadelphia, New York and other places to the Repeal Fund, and for other purposes merely political, I am sure the appeal to them in the cause of charity, the objects of which are the immediate relatives of the contributors, will be warmly taken up and readily responded to by their generous, wealthy and charitable friends in America. By so so doing they only comply with those duties which nature and religion impose, and the neglect of which God punishes with the severest judgment as he rewards their performance with the highest favours. “ Depart from me (will the Judge say on the last day) ye accursed into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, for 1 was hungry and you gave me not to eat: thirsty and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger and you took me not in: naked and you covered me not: sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” — But to the charitable He will say “ Come ye blessed of my Father, possess you the Kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me to eat: thirsty and you gave me to drink. I was a stranger and you took me in : naked and you covered me : sick and you visited me.” Having been frequently selected by our people to make their destitution known to their American friends and relatives, I thought it better to address them at large than to write to them individually which could afford but partial relief in the general distress. With sentiments of the most profound respect and esteem, 1 have the honour to subscribe myself, Your obedient, humble servant, Denis Murphy, R.C.C. Innishannon.
P.S. As this letter is to appear in this day’s Examiner , I have to remark that I wrote this letter from memory and not from the one I sent to the Examiner, which will explain any discrepancies, should any appear between the publication of it in the Pilot and that of the Examiner.
The Boston Pilot. Vol 10. No.9. 27 February 1847. Courtesy of Boston College Libraries.
1. Knockavilla (Irish: Cnoc an Bhile) is a small village in County Cork, Ireland, a few of kilometres from Crossbarry and Innishannon.
2. Barna Cross - about 2.5kms north-east of Innishannon.
A small note appears on the bottom of page 2 in the January 13, 1847 edition of the Cork Examiner:
"We are unavoidably compelled to hold over the admirable letter of the Rev. Denis Murphy C.C. to the Editor of the Boston Pilot"
Writing from Carlow in Janurary 1847, Bishop Haly observing the widespead misery said: “No imagination can conceive, no pen can describe it. To have anything approaching a correct idea of the suffering of the poor, you should be here on the spot and see them with your own eyes, the deaths from starvation average more than fifty per diem, and in one of the Dublin workhouses, it appears the deaths were fifty a week, so crowded were the unhappy imates.” Writing to Dr Paul Cullen, Rector of the Irish College in Rome, he said: “if the government have been only partial successful, we must recollect that is a nation that suffers; it is a nation that cries for food.” Later when he was forced by pressure from the government to censure a priest of the diocese who had been outspoken, he refused, stating trenchantly “that all his priest was doing was protesting the Extermination.”
Rev. Denis Murphy's letter to the Boston Pilot coincided with an urgent fund-raising mission by the city's Bishop Fitzpatrick. In just one month, March 1847, over $20,000 (€735k) had been raised, mostly from local Catholics, although the funding was for distribution to all creeds in Ireland. Famine relief efforts continued throughout the world as word of the Irish famine spread.
Also in March 1847. Pope Pius IX took the unprecedented step of issuing a papal encyclical to the international Catholic community, appealing for global support of the victims of the Famine. As a result, large sums of money were raised by worldwide congregations and sent to Ireland. But funds were also raised not just by Catholic congregations. There was the now well-known donations from Native Americans, impacted by poverty themselves, but there was also an appeal launched by Queen Victoria, assistance from Irish Americans, the Tzar of Russia, the Sultan of Turkey and British officers in India.
The Irish hierarchy next disagreed on how this money should be distributed. Archbishops Murray and Crolly wanted to give these moneys to the Central Relief Committee in Dublin, an interdenominational body, whereas Archbishops MacHale and Slattery insisted that funds subscribed by Catholics for Irish Catholics should be directed straight to the bishops in the dioceses which needed them for distribution to the parishes. The latter view prevailed.
Despite the unique intervention by Pope Pius IX, the Irish bishops also failed to acknowledge the encyclical letter until forced to do so by Dr Paul Cullen in Rome. Cardinal Fransoni, an adviser to the pope, even accused the Irish bishops of laziness in fund-raising for the poor, even though he had given them official permission to do whatever needed to be done. The thanklessness of the Irish bishops and their wrangling with one another lost them further vital support in Rome. In October 1847 the bishops finally published a stinging collective statement challenging English views of the Irish, asserting the right to life as superior to property rights, and denouncing the government’s policy on the famine in the strongest manner.
England’s efforts at Famine relief were often ineffective and even callous. London not only mismanaged the problem of famine relief but they did so in a bleak and unimaginative way. With an aversion to just dishing out charity, the government organised public works – hard labour with small payments so that the poor could buy food like the imported cheap corn. One official wrote that the work should be “as repulsive as possible”. An observer wrote that the country was “riddled with useless roads”, Famine Roads that went nowhere, though useful work was done in the building of piers and harbours that have lasted. Following a financial crisis in England later in 1847, the dire edict went forth that famine relief was to be transferred to the Irish Poor Law and the workhouses.
The pope’s concern and support for Ireland came to an abrupt end in 1848, when the revolutionary struggle in Italy forced him to flee Rome. Dr Paul Cullen endeavoured to raise what funds he could for the starving people at home, writing in 1848:
“I do not know what will become of Ireland. It is now going on four years since famine and disease set in. What will the poor do at present? All their little means must now be exhausted and if great exertions be not made, they will be doomed to starvation.”
No doubt, the future Archbishop Cullen was aware of the superstitious belief of some of the folk at home that the famine was caused by divine anger at the acceptance of a government grant by the college of Maynooth. In Britain, similiar opinions were expressed that the famine in Ireland was God's retribution for the sinful, Catholic Irish. Charles Trevelyan, Assistant Secretary to the Treasury believed that the Famine “had been ordained by God to teach the Irish a lesson”. And, lest there be any doubt, these critics in high places saw the failings of the Irish as ultimately a product of their faith. Here is Lord Farnham: “There is no thinking man who does not perceive in the preponderance of the Roman Catholic religion in this country, the fruitful source of most of the calamities and agitations with which it is afflicted”.
As for Rev. Daniel Murphy, his stewardship as Curate of Innishannon resulted in his advancement to that of Parish Priest, of the nearby parish of Clountead, Ballingarry & Ballymartle.
Rev. Denis Murphy's letter to the Boston Pilot coincided with an urgent fund-raising mission by the city's Bishop Fitzpatrick. In just one month, March 1847, over $20,000 (€735k) had been raised, mostly from local Catholics, although the funding was for distribution to all creeds in Ireland. Famine relief efforts continued throughout the world as word of the Irish famine spread.
Also in March 1847. Pope Pius IX took the unprecedented step of issuing a papal encyclical to the international Catholic community, appealing for global support of the victims of the Famine. As a result, large sums of money were raised by worldwide congregations and sent to Ireland. But funds were also raised not just by Catholic congregations. There was the now well-known donations from Native Americans, impacted by poverty themselves, but there was also an appeal launched by Queen Victoria, assistance from Irish Americans, the Tzar of Russia, the Sultan of Turkey and British officers in India.
The Irish hierarchy next disagreed on how this money should be distributed. Archbishops Murray and Crolly wanted to give these moneys to the Central Relief Committee in Dublin, an interdenominational body, whereas Archbishops MacHale and Slattery insisted that funds subscribed by Catholics for Irish Catholics should be directed straight to the bishops in the dioceses which needed them for distribution to the parishes. The latter view prevailed.
Despite the unique intervention by Pope Pius IX, the Irish bishops also failed to acknowledge the encyclical letter until forced to do so by Dr Paul Cullen in Rome. Cardinal Fransoni, an adviser to the pope, even accused the Irish bishops of laziness in fund-raising for the poor, even though he had given them official permission to do whatever needed to be done. The thanklessness of the Irish bishops and their wrangling with one another lost them further vital support in Rome. In October 1847 the bishops finally published a stinging collective statement challenging English views of the Irish, asserting the right to life as superior to property rights, and denouncing the government’s policy on the famine in the strongest manner.
England’s efforts at Famine relief were often ineffective and even callous. London not only mismanaged the problem of famine relief but they did so in a bleak and unimaginative way. With an aversion to just dishing out charity, the government organised public works – hard labour with small payments so that the poor could buy food like the imported cheap corn. One official wrote that the work should be “as repulsive as possible”. An observer wrote that the country was “riddled with useless roads”, Famine Roads that went nowhere, though useful work was done in the building of piers and harbours that have lasted. Following a financial crisis in England later in 1847, the dire edict went forth that famine relief was to be transferred to the Irish Poor Law and the workhouses.
The pope’s concern and support for Ireland came to an abrupt end in 1848, when the revolutionary struggle in Italy forced him to flee Rome. Dr Paul Cullen endeavoured to raise what funds he could for the starving people at home, writing in 1848:
“I do not know what will become of Ireland. It is now going on four years since famine and disease set in. What will the poor do at present? All their little means must now be exhausted and if great exertions be not made, they will be doomed to starvation.”
No doubt, the future Archbishop Cullen was aware of the superstitious belief of some of the folk at home that the famine was caused by divine anger at the acceptance of a government grant by the college of Maynooth. In Britain, similiar opinions were expressed that the famine in Ireland was God's retribution for the sinful, Catholic Irish. Charles Trevelyan, Assistant Secretary to the Treasury believed that the Famine “had been ordained by God to teach the Irish a lesson”. And, lest there be any doubt, these critics in high places saw the failings of the Irish as ultimately a product of their faith. Here is Lord Farnham: “There is no thinking man who does not perceive in the preponderance of the Roman Catholic religion in this country, the fruitful source of most of the calamities and agitations with which it is afflicted”.
As for Rev. Daniel Murphy, his stewardship as Curate of Innishannon resulted in his advancement to that of Parish Priest, of the nearby parish of Clountead, Ballingarry & Ballymartle.
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Rev. Daniel Murphy was now elevated to Parish Priest of Ballymartle (years later to become part of the amalgamated parishes of Ballingarry and Ballymartle in 1859 & Clountead, Ballingarry & Ballymartle in 1860.) After a twenty-two year career as Curate in four other parishes, he had no doubt earned the privilege as Parish Priest of Ballymartle and was to remain here for almost twelve years. However, Ballymartle was no glamour posting as at that time it was a poor parish, with equally poor church facilities and a troubled earlier relationship between clergy and parishioners. One legacy remains in that the chalice passed down to him by his uncle, Rev. Daniel Murphy, over the years became known simply as 'The Ballymartle Chalice'.
Here's the 1837 assessment of the parish from Lewis' Topographical Dictionary: "BALLYMARTLE, a parish, in the barony of KINNALEA, county of CORK, and province of MUNSTER, 4 miles (N. by E.) from Kinsale; containing 1706 inhabitants. This parish derives its name from the ancient family of Martel, to whom it formerly belonged; it is situated on the old road from Cork to Kinsale, and contains 5452 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act and valued at £3994 per ann. About 40 or 50 acres are woodland; 100 acres, young plantations; and the remainder, except a very small portion of bog at Scart, is arable and pasture. The soil, though generally light, is tolerably fertile; in that part of the parish bordering on Templemichael, on the west, it is of a very superior quality, being a yellow loam of some depth and bearing excellent crops. About three-fourths of the land are under tillage, and the remainder generally in large dairy farms. Sand and other marine manures are brought up within a mile of the parish, and are extensively applied by the farmers, affording employment to a considerable number of persons. There is a small oatmeal-mill, and in the southern part of the parish is a flour-mill. The principal seats are Ballintober, the residence of the Rev. J. Meade; Ballymartle, of W. R. Meade, Esq.; Coolkirky, of T. Herrick, Esq.; Glendoneen, of the Rev. J. Stoyle. They are all finely wooded; the proprietor of the last has planted 180,000 trees on his demesne, which are in a very flourishing state, and the whole forms a very interesting and beautiful feature in the view of a country so generally destitute of wood. Near the church is a constabulary police station; and petty sessions are held in the village every alternate Monday. The living is a rectory, in the diocese of Cork, and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes amount to £424. 12. 4. The church is a small, plain ancient structure, and contains a monument to Sir John Meade, Bart., grandfather of the first Lord Clanwilliam, and judge of the palatine court of the county of Tipperary, who was buried there. The glebe comprises 5¾ acres, but there is no glebe-house. In the R. C. divisions the parish is the head of a union or district, comprising also that of Cullen; the chapel, near the village, is a plain modern edifice. A Sunday school is supported by the rector; and there are two pay schools, in which are 30 boys and 11 girls." Click the parish map to read the 1837 Lewis Topographical Dictionary entry for Ballymartle. Click here to view the available National Library Baptism & Marriage Records for the Parish. |
Throughout the 19th Century, Ballymartle was the major village and population centre in the parish (replaced from c.1910 onwards by Riverstick) and large portions of the parish records survive. The Catholic Parish Baptism & Marriage registers of adjoining parishes for 1808-1836 were believed missing (maintained by Rev. Dominic O'Gara, OP, PP Clontead, 1808-1837). Towards the end of the 1890s, these registers were discovered, sealed up in the walls of a ruined church near Ballingarry. Many of the pages are in poor condition, with frayed edges, etc but are available to view online today (with registers from 1836-1878) at the National Library of Ireland here.
Rev. O'Gara was suceeded by Rev. Fr. Jeffords, who it appears managed to put the parishioners combined noses out of joint during 1843, judging by a letter to the editor of the Cork Constitution, re-published in the Kerry Evening Post on 12 April.
Rev. O'Gara was suceeded by Rev. Fr. Jeffords, who it appears managed to put the parishioners combined noses out of joint during 1843, judging by a letter to the editor of the Cork Constitution, re-published in the Kerry Evening Post on 12 April.
Tariffs were a monetary charge expected for the provision of certain church services by the clergy, and frequently, was a major source of income for a priest in a poor parish. Equally, such tariffs were occasionally misused by avaricious parish clergy such as what apparently took place in Ballymartle during 1843.
Rev. P.J.O'Sullivan later suceeded Rev. Jefford in 1843 until replaced by Rev. Denis Murphy in 1848. |
Ballymartle parish in 1844
Just before the Great Famine of 1845-52 and before Griffith's Valution of the 1850s, the British government had set up a Commission to investigate how Irish land was occupied. This forerunner of the Land Commission visited from town to town taking evidence from landowners and tenant farmers - but no testimony of course from agricultural laborers. Kinsale was visited by the Commissioners on 12 September 1844, and among the interviews was that of one of Ballymartle's old families and largest landowners, the Meades. William R. Meade (d.1894) of Ballymartle House was working as a Barrister in Dublin before returning to manage his Ballymartle estates in 1836. His testimony is a unique record of the parish just before the Famine:
Just before the Great Famine of 1845-52 and before Griffith's Valution of the 1850s, the British government had set up a Commission to investigate how Irish land was occupied. This forerunner of the Land Commission visited from town to town taking evidence from landowners and tenant farmers - but no testimony of course from agricultural laborers. Kinsale was visited by the Commissioners on 12 September 1844, and among the interviews was that of one of Ballymartle's old families and largest landowners, the Meades. William R. Meade (d.1894) of Ballymartle House was working as a Barrister in Dublin before returning to manage his Ballymartle estates in 1836. His testimony is a unique record of the parish just before the Famine:
"The parish consists of two very different kinds of land. The part that is best managed consists of pretty good land, and is chiefly occupied by dairy farms. Part is very poor land and there is no dairy kept on it, it is principally occupied by small farmers. I think, except for draining and generally speaking, improving the agriculture, there is no very great improvement to the whole district practicable, it is all cultivated. The state of agriculture is improving very slowly, in my recollection. It has improved before I was acquainted with it, I understand. The principal manure used here is sea sand, besides the farm-yard manure or what they make as a substitute for it - the earth they collect from ditches and the sides of the fields. We have a farming society which we call the Kinsale Union Farming Society, it is making some improvements, but rather slowly. There was a farmers' farming society some years ago, which made great improvements, but in the distressed times, after the peace, it was broken up and from that time till lately there was no attempt at improving cultivation whatever. I think each farm is, on the average putting large and small together, about sixty acres, or something more, at present. I hold near 400 acres. The farms are all sizes but not many under twenty acres. On the good land the farms are generally large, on the poor land, they are generally small. The usual succession of crops grown are potatoes, wheat, oats, and sometimes that repeated again; and then they let the land rest until it will bear that rotation again. Of course, among the ordinary class of farmers, some are better than others. The general size of the grazing farms is 100 acres. Nothing under 100 acres can be called a Dairy Farm. I consider that they are increasing."
Next, Meade was asked about Landlord-Tenant Relations:
"I am afraid that labourers under the ordinary class of farmers are not improving. There is an anxiety among the gentry to have their labourers more comfortable, but it is not extended yet to the farmers. Their houses are very wretched indeed, in the northern part of the district. The labourers hold nothing under the farmers but their cabins. It is hard to say exactly what they usually pay for their cabins. The usual agreement between the farmer and the labourer is not a money matter; they get so much for their yearly labour; they get a house and so much potato ground, manure, barrels of coal, and some other things. They do not get any money and they make fresh agreement every year. Scarcely any of the better class of farmers give any money to their labourers. I do not think the system at all a desirable one. The quantity of ground that they have from the farmers depends largely on the quality of the ground. They would rather have one acre of good potato ground than two bad ones. They are very anxious to get good potato ground. It varies from one acre to two. When men are hired by the day by the farmers, which is not often done, they are paid 8 pence a day or 5 pence and their diet. No man will take a labourer on the 25th of March unless he ascertains that he has potatoes enough to sustain him till his potatoes come in; and then he has only to depend upon casual employment, which is rare and they are then reduced to very great distress. There have been no agrarian outrages in my recollection. This has always been, I believe, a particularly quiet district."
Little documentary evidence survives of Rev. Denis Murphy's ministry in Ballymartle Parish other than the Parish Registry entries for births and marriages and press report attendance listings at various funerals, church consecrations and a number of political meetings dealing with Tenant Rights. There is also little documentary evidence of the effects of the Famine in the parish.
Tenant Rights
The issue of tenant rights in Ireland during 1845-1865 was both contentious and complex. The Irish tenant farmers, who rented land from wealthy Anglo-Irish landlords, faced numerous challenges and abuses at the hands of their landlords, who had significant power and control over their lives. One of the main issues was the system of tenant eviction, which was often carried out without warning or justification. Landlords had the power to evict tenants at any time, and many farmers were forced to leave their homes and land with little or no compensation. Another issue was the lack of security of tenure for tenants. Many landlords only offered short-term leases, which left tenants vulnerable to sudden eviction and made it difficult for them to invest in their land or plan for the future.
Additionally, tenants were often required to pay high rents for poor-quality land, and were subject to arbitrary rent increases. This made it difficult for them to make ends meet and provide for their families. This lack of tenant rights led to widespread poverty and hardship among Irish tenant farmers, and contributed to the broader social and political tensions that would eventually lead to the Irish Land War of the 1880s and the demand for land reform.
1848 Young Irelander Rebellion
In the midst of the Famine, the Irish Uprising of 1848, also known as the Young Irelander Rebellion took place. This was a failed attempt by a group of Irish nationalists to overthrow British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish republic. The rebellion was led by a group of young, impetuous, radical intellectuals known as the Young Irelanders, who were inspired by the European revolutionary movements of the time. In early 1848, the Young Irelanders, led by Thomas Francis Meagher, William Smith O'Brien, (an upper class Protestant and former MP) and 'the wildest of them all', a son of a Ulster Presbyterian minister, John Mitchel, organized a series of rallies and demonstrations calling for Irish independence and the establishment of a democratic republic. They also published a newspaper 'The Nation', which became a powerful voice for Irish nationalism and anti-British sentiment. The columns of this newspaper had for some time been calling for a common nationality to embrace both faiths in Ireland.
In July 1848, a group of Young Irelanders staged an unsuccessful uprising in the town of Ballingarry in County Tipperary, in an attempt to seize a cache of arms and start a wider rebellion. The uprising was quickly suppressed by British forces, and the leaders of the rebellion were arrested and sentenced to transportation to Australia. The failure of the uprising marked a turning point in Irish nationalism, as the Young Irelanders lost support and influence among the Irish population. However, the ideas and ideals of the Young Irelanders continued to inspire later generations of Irish nationalists, and the struggle for Irish independence continued in various forms for many decades to come.
Clontead parishioners deaths in Kinsale Workhouse
Between 1845 and 1849, general starvation and disease were responsible for more than one million excess deaths in Ireland, most of them attributable to fever, dysentery and smallpox. These three highly contagious diseases, which had long been endemic in Ireland, swept the country and their destructiveness was further intensified by the presence of other epidemic infections, especially tuberculosis, bronchitis, influenza, pneumonia, diarrhoea and measles.
The arrival of Asiatic cholera as a pandemic in 1848-49 further exacerbated the situation. This fearsome disease added to the physical and mental suffering of the beleaguered population and increased the overall mortality. The Dublin administration sent circulars to all the Workhouse Boards of Guardians warning them of the epidemic and instructing them to make preparations for the sick. However, any extra costs incurred were to be paid from the Union funds. While some fever hospitals were opened and ancillary buildings used, the disease swept through the Kinsale workhouse in May 1849.
On May 18th & 19th 1849, the bodies of 85 men, women and children were buried in a mass grave in Clontead Cemetery - victims of cholera who died in Kinsale Workhouse during the Great Famine. Officiated by the Parish Priest, Rev. Dennis Murphy. A memorial was erected in their memory by the Clontead History Project team in 2020.
As can be noted from Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory (1850), Rev. Denis Murphy was the Roman Catholic Chaplain to the Kinsale Workhouse. One of the few favourable things that can be said about the workhouses and the Poor Law system under which they operated was the absence of religious discrimination or Proselytism . Poor Law legislation clearly laid down the principles that were to direct religious instruction in the workhouse: that children would be instructed in religion and that their parents or guardians were to decide which creed they would be instructed in. This choice was to be respected by the Poor Law Commissioners who undertook to ensure through the boards of guardians that the children would be instructed in the chosen creed and no other.
The Poor Law specified that each workhouse should have, "one fit person appointed chaplain to the workhouse" being in holy orders and of the established church, one other fit person being a protestant dissenter and one other fit person being a priest or clergyman of the R.C. church. The chaplains were to be paid a salary and if possible were to come from a parish within in the union. The duties of the chaplain included: To celebrate divine service and preach to the paupers every Sunday, to examine and instruct the children at least once a month and to record the progress of the children.
The Poor Law specified that each workhouse should have, "one fit person appointed chaplain to the workhouse" being in holy orders and of the established church, one other fit person being a protestant dissenter and one other fit person being a priest or clergyman of the R.C. church. The chaplains were to be paid a salary and if possible were to come from a parish within in the union. The duties of the chaplain included: To celebrate divine service and preach to the paupers every Sunday, to examine and instruct the children at least once a month and to record the progress of the children.
1849 Encumbered Estates Act
In the midst of the Famine, the Encumbered Estates Act of 1849 was passed by the British Parliament to deal with the problem of landlords in Ireland who were heavily in debt and unable to manage their estates. The act allowed landlords to sell their land voluntarily or under court order, with the proceeds used to pay off their debts. The act was aimed at facilitating the sale of land belonging to bankrupt Irish landlords to new, more solvent owners. Under the act, landowners could petition the Encumbered Estates Court to sell their land to pay off their debts. The court would then sell the land to the highest bidder, without regard for the tenant farmers who lived on it. This often resulted in the eviction of tenants who were unable to pay higher rents to the new landlords. The act was certainly controversial at the time, as it was seen as benefiting wealthy English and also Irish investors at the expense of Irish tenant farmers. Nevertheless, it had a significant impact on Irish landownership, as many large estates were broken up and sold to smaller landowners or tenant farmers. This, in turn, helped to create a more diverse and prosperous Irish agricultural sector.
1850s
As the immediate tragedy of the Famine passed in the 1850s, its social and economic impact created new imperatives for land holding and marriage that would fundamentally reshape Irish society. The subdivision of land to provide a smallholding for the next generation came to end as small landholdings were consolidated into larger units. Unsustainable holdings were cleared by death and emigration, consolidated often by the local Irish agents of the absent Anglo-Irish landlords. The Catholic ‘strong farmer’ class was now emerging.
Farmers continued to hold land in lease arrangements from the landlords but would use their increasing political power to look for better terms over the coming decades. As successive generations deepened their hold on the land, they would wage a long battle – sporadically violent, mainly political – to secure ownership, culminating in the Wyndham Land Acts of the early 20th century that gave them title to their land and sounded the death knell of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy.
For the Irish Catholics that survived the Famine and resisted emigration to remain in Ireland, a further great change was taking place. A 'Devotional Revolution' began, a disciplinary reform within the clergy and a religious revival among the population. In 1850, Paul Cullen, Rector of the Irish College in Rome was elevated and transferred back to Ireland as the Archbishop of Armagh and in 1852, moved to Dublin. 'He was a disciplinarian with a strong missionary spirit, sweeping away abuses long sanctioned if not sanctified by custom - a great promoted of pilgrimages, processions, triduums, novenas and all the varieities of organised devotion' George Dangerfield. 'The Damnable Question - a study in Anglo-Irish relations' 1977. Constable, London.p12
While somewhat hampered by the hierarchy, Cullen's 'Devotional Revolution' was assisted by a combination of the Famine, survivor's guilt and the increase of clergy to laity following the massive losses to death and emigration. Changes were implemented at parish level and reform soon followed as administration became both efficient and austere. Socially, dramatic changes were already underway. While early marriage was customary, even encouraged pre-Famine, marriages became later with resultant drop in birth-rate. A new Irish piety now emerged, reflected in the iconography of the landscape (Churches and statues), of the home (Sacred Hearts, images of Christ and the Virgin Mary) and of the person (rosary beads, miraculous medals, scapulars). Mass going, recitations of the rosary, pilgrimages and reverent observance of Holy Days would condition the rhythm of life, reinforcing submission to Catholic morality.
Obedience to the Catholic Church’s sexual ethics was now beginning to be fused with the imperative of preserving the integrity of the family farm; an unexpected pregnancy and forced marriage would upset the careful sequence of inheritance. Family and Church interests were now firmly forged together. The impact of the new pattern of inheritance on male-female relations had myriad personal, familial, psychological and cultural consequences.
"The church that became such a dominant force in the State was largely constructed after the Famine. It gave order to a traumatised society, and its international reach gave shape and continuity to the ever-growing diaspora. It fused spiritual and temporal power, gradually creating a virtual monopoly in the ownership and management of education, healthcare and the fearful archipelago of repressive institutions that kept the population under control. It set limits on what politicians could do and on what people could say. Its key teachings on sexuality and reproduction were enshrined in law, and often in the Constitution. This too was highly distinctive – there were other societies where the church had this kind of power (Spain under Franco, Portugal under Salazar) but none of them claimed to be democratic republics."
Fintan O'Toole. Irish Times. 30 June, 2018
Beyond its demographic impact, the Great Famine shaped Ireland through its impact on landholding and inheritance. The imperative was now to pass the farm on intact to one son, not subdividing it between two or more. If the non-inheriting sons were lucky and well educated they could get a job in the civil service or the bank, become a teacher or even a priest in the newly elevated Church; become a barman or shop clerk; join the British Army. If not, the emigrant ship beckoned. Women faced reduced marriage prospects because marriage now depended on inheriting the farm. They had far fewer local economic opportunities than males. No surprise then that in the last quarter of the 19th century more women than men would emigrate.
The Famine also dealt a near fatal blow to the Irish language not just because many of those who died as a direct result of the failure of the potato crop were native Irish speakers but because speaking English became a skill for survival, advancement and, for many, emigration: the Irish language was now burdened with the stigma of failure. Census returns would show the children of Irish speakers becoming bilingual and their children monolingual English.
Rev. Denis Murphy appears in the Battersby's Register for the Whole World Catholic Directory published in 1851:
The Murphy Family during the 1850s
c.1852, Rev. Denis Murphy's only sister, Margaret Baldwin & her two sons returned to the Murphy family home & farm in Knockanemore, Ovens where her youngest brother, Michael farmed. With his blessing, Margaret and her sons took up residence on an adjacent small acreage with house owned by Michael, named Hill's Lot. For the next almost twenty years, she 'kept house' for Michael and she and her children worked his farm - unpaid, but with a tacit understanding over time that the Baldwin boys would inherit the farm leasehold from their bachelor uncle on his death. However, nothing was formally agreed or a deed finalised. This was to lead to further complications and legal proceedings years later.
In 1854, another brother, Dr. John G. Murphy died leaving Susan Kate a widow, with a son and daughter. Of apparent independent means, Susan Kate Murphy resided in Sunday's Well but was close to her brothers-in-law, Michael and in particular, Rev. Denis Murphy, visiting both frequently.
1854: The Ballymartle Chalice passes to the next generation
By 1850, the decision as to who would be the third generational holder to the Ballymartle Chalice had already been made.
Of the immediate Murphy and extended family, just one relative showed any indication or promise to continue the family tradition of taking Holy Orders and perhaps to become the third generational holder of the now seventy year old Chalice.
William Dorgan Berry (1829-1878) then aged 21, was mid-way through his studies (c1847-54) for Holy Orders in St Patrick's College Seminary, Carlow and certainly appeared to be the natural successor. The eldest of five known children born to James Berry (c1795 - 21 December 1858) and Jane Murphy (c.1800 - 11 July 1878), William Dorgan was born c.1829 at Maglin House, Maglin, Ballincollig, Co. Cork. While the definitive family link remains to be established, research shows that William's mother, Jane Murphy was very probably a niece of Rev. Daniel Murphy (1755-1839) and a cousin of Rev. Denis Murphy (c.1801-1868).
Berry was ordained as Deacon in 1854 and destined for the 'American Missions' in Kentucky for ordination later that year. Probably before his emigration to these American 'Missions', he was given the Ballymartle Chalice by his cousin Fr Dennis Murphy then Parish Priest of Ballymartle Parish (1848-1860) in Co. Cork. William Berry was to hold the Ballymartle Chalice for the next twenty four years, used in daily Eucharistic liturgical service in the United States, England and Ireland until his death in 1878. William's story features further on this website.
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Now aged around sixty, Rev. Denis Murphy after twelve years as Parish Priest of the adjacent parish of Ballymartle, was now moved to the smaller parish of Ballinhassig (which included the parishes of Ballinaboy, Dunderrow, and Templemichael- de-Duagh, and containing chapels at Ballyheedy and Killeedy Hill.) Here's what Lewis Topographical Dictionary has to report on the parish in 1837:
BALLINAHASSIG, a village, in that part of the parish of Ballinaboy, which is in the barony of Kerricurrihy, county of Cork, and province of Munster, 6 miles (S.) from Cork, on the road to Kinsale; containing 147 inhabitants. It was distinguished as the scene of a battle which took place in 1600, between a party of English and the insurgent forces under the command of Florence McCarthy. Here are mills belonging to Mr. D. Keller, capable of making 7000 barrels of flour annually, which, together with three or four houses and about twice as many cabins, constitute the village. Fairs are held on May 2nd, June 29th, Aug. 10th, and Sept. 29th; and here is a dispensary. It is the head of a R.C. union or district, comprising the parishes of Ballinaboy, Dunderrow, and Templemichael- de-Duagh, and containing chapels at Ballyheedy and Killeedy Hill. BALLINABOY, a parish, partly in the county of the city of Cork, and partly in the baronies of East Muskerry and Kerrycurrihy, but chiefly in the barony of Kinnalea, county of Cork, and province of Munster, 6 miles (S. S. W.) from Cork, on the road to Kinsale ; containing 2887 inhabitants. This place, which is situated on the river Awinbuoy, formerly be- longed to the abbey of St. Finbarr, and, in 1582, was, with other lands, granted by Queen Elizabeth to Henry Davells ; it subsequently became part of the estate of the first Earl of Cork, from whom the property descended to the Earl of Shannon, the present owner. |
In 1600, Florence McCarthy assembled here 2000 of his followers, and made a desperate attack on the English, whom he compelled to take refuge behind the walls of an old castle. During their retreat a party of English musqueteers, having concealed themselves behind the bank of a ditch, fired upon the Irish forces, and the English cavalry charging them at the same time, put them completely to the rout.
The parish comprises about 8219 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, of which 6903 are arable, 1000 pasture, 300 waste, and 16 woodland. The land on the north side of the river is cold and mountainous, and 500 or 600 acres are covered principally with heath ; the system of agriculture is in a very unimproved state. There being no bog, fuel is obtained from the bog of Annagh, in the adjoining parish. Ballinaboy House, the seat of J. Molony, Esq., is a handsome modern mansion surrounded with young and thriving planta- tions : the other seats are Tuligmore House, the resi- dence of D. Keller, Esq. ; Mount-Mary, of W. Fortune, Esq: ; Barretts Hill, of James Donagan, Esq. ; and Glenview, of the Rev. T. Beamish. There is a flour-mill at Five-mile-bridge belonging to Mr. Herrick ; and there is also another in the village of Ballinahassig. At a short distance from the latter place a fine arch, 50 feet in height and nearly of the same span, has been thrown over the glen, at the back of Mount-Mary, over which the high road passes from Ballinahassig to Innishannon. A new road now forming from Cork to Kinsale will contribute to the improvement of this place. At the Half-way House is a constabulary police station. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Cork, and in the patronage of the Earl of Shannon, the im- propriator, who contributes £25 per ann. towards the curate’s stipend, which is augmented to £75 from Pri- mate Boulter’s fund : the tithes are estimated at £500, and have long since merged into the rent. The church is a small dilapidated building, said to have been new- roofed about 60 years since. There is neither glebe- house nor glebe. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Ballinahassig, in which there are two chapels. There is a pay school, in which are 50 boys and 20 girls.
Click the parish map to read the 1837 Lewis Topographical Dictionary entry for Ballinhassig.
Click here to view the available National Library Baptism & Marriage Records for the Parish.
The parish comprises about 8219 statute acres, as applotted under the tithe act, of which 6903 are arable, 1000 pasture, 300 waste, and 16 woodland. The land on the north side of the river is cold and mountainous, and 500 or 600 acres are covered principally with heath ; the system of agriculture is in a very unimproved state. There being no bog, fuel is obtained from the bog of Annagh, in the adjoining parish. Ballinaboy House, the seat of J. Molony, Esq., is a handsome modern mansion surrounded with young and thriving planta- tions : the other seats are Tuligmore House, the resi- dence of D. Keller, Esq. ; Mount-Mary, of W. Fortune, Esq: ; Barretts Hill, of James Donagan, Esq. ; and Glenview, of the Rev. T. Beamish. There is a flour-mill at Five-mile-bridge belonging to Mr. Herrick ; and there is also another in the village of Ballinahassig. At a short distance from the latter place a fine arch, 50 feet in height and nearly of the same span, has been thrown over the glen, at the back of Mount-Mary, over which the high road passes from Ballinahassig to Innishannon. A new road now forming from Cork to Kinsale will contribute to the improvement of this place. At the Half-way House is a constabulary police station. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Cork, and in the patronage of the Earl of Shannon, the im- propriator, who contributes £25 per ann. towards the curate’s stipend, which is augmented to £75 from Pri- mate Boulter’s fund : the tithes are estimated at £500, and have long since merged into the rent. The church is a small dilapidated building, said to have been new- roofed about 60 years since. There is neither glebe- house nor glebe. In the R. C. divisions the parish forms part of the union of Ballinahassig, in which there are two chapels. There is a pay school, in which are 50 boys and 20 girls.
Click the parish map to read the 1837 Lewis Topographical Dictionary entry for Ballinhassig.
Click here to view the available National Library Baptism & Marriage Records for the Parish.
Ireland in the 1860s
One of the most significant developments of the 1860s was the expansion of the railway network in Ireland. This opened up new opportunities for trade and commerce, and helped to connect different parts of the country. The railway's continued expansion in the 1860s helped to support the growth of the Irish economy.
Meanwhile, the Irish economy remained heavily reliant on agriculture, and the majority of the population lived in rural areas, where they worked as tenant farmers on large estates owned by English landlords. The system of tenant farming was deeply exploitative, with many farmers struggling to pay their rent and facing eviction and destitution. The Land War of the 1870s and 1880s, which saw a series of protests and agitations by tenant farmers and their supporters, eventually led to significant reforms in the Irish land system.
Politically, the 1860s was a time of transition for Ireland. The Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 had failed to achieve its goals, and many Irish nationalists were looking for new ways to advance the cause of Irish independence. The Fenian Brotherhood, a secret society dedicated to Irish republicanism, which emerged in the United States & Ireland in 1858, began to gain support among the Irish population in Ireland. The 1860s also saw the emergence of the Home Rule movement, which sought to establish a devolved parliament in Ireland with significant autonomy from the British government.
In 1867, the Fenians launched an unsuccessful uprising in Ireland, which was quickly suppressed by British forces. The leaders of the rebellion were arrested and sentenced to death, but their sentences were later commuted to penal servitude.
The 1860s was also the beginnings of a cultural revival in Ireland, as Irish nationalists sought to promote Irish language, literature, and traditions. This cultural nationalism was exemplified by the Gaelic Revival movement, which sought to promote the Irish language and revive traditional Irish customs and culture. This movement was to later have a significant impact on Irish literature, with writers such as W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and J.M. Synge drawing on Irish mythology and folklore in their work.
1860
The Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act of 1860 amended the existing landlord and tenant laws in Ireland and was aimed at improving the relationship between landlords and their tenants. Under the act, tenants were granted greater security of tenure, with the right to compensation for improvements made to their property. The act also allowed for the revision of rents, which could be challenged if they were deemed to be unfairly high. This helped to provide some protection for tenants against the arbitrary actions of their landlords. The act was significant because it helped to address some of the grievances of Irish tenants who had long suffered from the power imbalance between themselves and their landlords. However, it was also criticized at the time for not going far enough to address the underlying issues of landownership and distribution of wealth in Ireland.
One of the most significant developments of the 1860s was the expansion of the railway network in Ireland. This opened up new opportunities for trade and commerce, and helped to connect different parts of the country. The railway's continued expansion in the 1860s helped to support the growth of the Irish economy.
Meanwhile, the Irish economy remained heavily reliant on agriculture, and the majority of the population lived in rural areas, where they worked as tenant farmers on large estates owned by English landlords. The system of tenant farming was deeply exploitative, with many farmers struggling to pay their rent and facing eviction and destitution. The Land War of the 1870s and 1880s, which saw a series of protests and agitations by tenant farmers and their supporters, eventually led to significant reforms in the Irish land system.
Politically, the 1860s was a time of transition for Ireland. The Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 had failed to achieve its goals, and many Irish nationalists were looking for new ways to advance the cause of Irish independence. The Fenian Brotherhood, a secret society dedicated to Irish republicanism, which emerged in the United States & Ireland in 1858, began to gain support among the Irish population in Ireland. The 1860s also saw the emergence of the Home Rule movement, which sought to establish a devolved parliament in Ireland with significant autonomy from the British government.
In 1867, the Fenians launched an unsuccessful uprising in Ireland, which was quickly suppressed by British forces. The leaders of the rebellion were arrested and sentenced to death, but their sentences were later commuted to penal servitude.
The 1860s was also the beginnings of a cultural revival in Ireland, as Irish nationalists sought to promote Irish language, literature, and traditions. This cultural nationalism was exemplified by the Gaelic Revival movement, which sought to promote the Irish language and revive traditional Irish customs and culture. This movement was to later have a significant impact on Irish literature, with writers such as W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and J.M. Synge drawing on Irish mythology and folklore in their work.
1860
The Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act of 1860 amended the existing landlord and tenant laws in Ireland and was aimed at improving the relationship between landlords and their tenants. Under the act, tenants were granted greater security of tenure, with the right to compensation for improvements made to their property. The act also allowed for the revision of rents, which could be challenged if they were deemed to be unfairly high. This helped to provide some protection for tenants against the arbitrary actions of their landlords. The act was significant because it helped to address some of the grievances of Irish tenants who had long suffered from the power imbalance between themselves and their landlords. However, it was also criticized at the time for not going far enough to address the underlying issues of landownership and distribution of wealth in Ireland.
1867
In the summer of 1867, Rev. Denis' youngest brother, Michael who farmed in Knockanemore, Ovens, suffered a stroke, was moved to his brother's presbytery in Ballinhassig and for a period, was not expected to survive. Although he rallied somewhat, Michael's precarious health issues prompted both Denis and sister-in-law, Susan Kate Murphy, widow of Dr. John Golden Murphy to 'encourage' Michael to sign a formal will or deed, disposing of his leasehold of lands at Knockanemore on his death. This was duly completed by a deed with the leasehold on the farm and 'Hill's Lot' granted to just two beneficiaries - Rev. Denis Murphy and Susan Kate Murphy. His sister, Margaret Baldwin was not advised that a deed had been drafted and as later discovered, she and her family were not beneficiaries. Perhaps Rev. Murphy's intention had been to safeguard a share for his sister, Margaret, but this was not to be.
Further reading on this family issue, click here and select '1828-1873'
1868
In January, the era of penal transportation from Britain to Australia ends with arrival of the convict ship Hougoumont in Western Australia after an 89-day voyage from England. Amongst the convicts were 62 Fenian political prisoners, (including 17 military Fenians serving in the British Army) transported for their part in the Fenian Rising of 1867. The transportation of political prisoners contravened the agreement between the United Kingdom and Western Australia, and news of their impending arrival caused panic in Western Australia. The presence of Fenians amongst the convicts meant that there were many more literate convicts on board than was usual for such a voyage. Consequently, a number of journals & letters of the voyage survive, and many articles about the voyage were later written by Fenians who went on to become journalists, such as John Boyle O'Reilly. O'Reilly was to later dramatically escape from Western Australia, settled in the United States and become a close friend of Rev. P.B.Murphy, the future fourth holder of the Ballymartle Chalice.
Benjamin Disraeli succeeds the Earl of Derby as Prime Minister in February following Derby's resignation due to ill-health and on 4 February, Constance Gore-Booth (later Markievicz) born, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil TD, member of 1st Dáil, Cabinet Minister. Also the first woman elected to the House of Commons but did not take the seat under SF abstentionist policy. (died 1927). On 7 May, a fellow 1916 revolutionary, John MacBride was born (executed 1916). On 26 May, the last public hanging in Britain - that of Fenian bomber Michael Barrett outside Newgate Prison in London by William Calcraft for his part in the Clerkenwell explosion of 1867. Three days later, the Capital Punishment Amendment Act abolishes public hanging in Britain followed by the first non-public hanging in Britain – Thomas Wells inside Maidstone Prison by William Calcraft on 13 August.
The revolutionary socialist, trade unionist, nationalist, rebel and Easter Rising leader, James Connolly was born in Scotland on 5 June. (executed 1916). During July, the Representation of the People (Ireland) Act extends the franchise in parliamentary boroughs and the foundation stone of St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, laid.
Below: From the Ballinhassig Parish Register - the last recorded baptisms performed by Rev. Denis Murphy - August 1868.
Late September 1868 and the Ardagh Hoard is discovered at Ardagh Fort, County Limerick. This hoard, best known for the Ardagh Chalice (below), is a hoard of metalwork from the 8th and 9th centuries. Found by two young local boys, Jim Quinn and Paddy Flanagan, it is now on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. It consists of the chalice, a much plainer stemmed cup in copper-alloy, and four brooches - one of the brooches dates from c.900 AD which indicates it was hidden during the Viking raids era.
October, and the astronomer Norman Lockyer observes and names the D3 Fraunhofer line in the solar spectrum and concludes that it is caused by a hitherto unidentified chemical element which he later names helium.
During 15–24 November, a general election was held in Britain and Ireland, the first under the extended franchise of the Reform Act 1867 with the Liberal Party victorious. William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister on 2nd December.
Rev Denis Murphy died 10 December 1868 at his residence in Ballinhassig and was buried in Kilcrea Abbey on the 12th.
During 15–24 November, a general election was held in Britain and Ireland, the first under the extended franchise of the Reform Act 1867 with the Liberal Party victorious. William Ewart Gladstone becomes Prime Minister on 2nd December.
Rev Denis Murphy died 10 December 1868 at his residence in Ballinhassig and was buried in Kilcrea Abbey on the 12th.
As the Cork Examiner eulogised on the day of his burial, Rev. Denis Murphy was 'a respected and venerable clergyman. It would be scarce doing justice to his worth and his position amongst the clergy of his diocese if we did not bid that his career was a long life spent in works of usefulness, piety and true chastity. He was for forty three years a missionary priest, of these twenty years were spent as Parish Priest. During that period, he never awakened an enmity, while on the other hand, he aroused for himself the warmest feelings of gratitude and affection.'
For further reading on the Murphy family, Ovens during this era - click here
The story of the Ballymartle Chalice continues with that of Rev. William Berry. Scroll up to select.
For further reading on the Murphy family, Ovens during this era - click here
The story of the Ballymartle Chalice continues with that of Rev. William Berry. Scroll up to select.
- 1839 The Catholic Directory and Annual Register (1839) Simpkin and Marshall, London. P140 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=k-MNAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PP5&hl=en
- 1865 Catholic Directory Almanac & Registry of Ireland, England and Scotland. John Mullany, London. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=o6gpAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PP7
- 1851 Battersby's Register for the Whole World Catholic Directory 1851. W.J.Battersby, Dublin. P365 https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=8ogCAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PP5&hl=en
- MacDonagh, Oliver. “The Politicization of the Irish Catholic Bishops, 1800-1850.” The Historical Journal, vol. 18, no. 1, 1975, pp. 37–53. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2638467.
- MacDonagh, Oliver. “The Irish Catholic Clergy and Emigration during the Great Famine.” Irish Historical Studies, vol. 5, no. 20, 1947, pp. 287–302. JSTOR,
- National Library of Ireland - Parish Registers. https://registers.nli.ie/
- Lewis Topographical Dictionary 1837. https://www.logainm.ie/download/logainm.ie-a-topographical-dictionary-of-ireland-samuel-lewis.pdf
- Wikipedia for general references and background details.
By 1850, the decision as to who would be the third generational holder to the Ballymartle Chalice had already been made.
It's holder for the previous 23 years since 1827 was Rev. Denis Murphy, then in his fifties and Parish Priest of Ballymartle, Co. Cork.
Of the immediate Murphy and extended family, just one relative showed any indication or promise to continue the family tradition of taking Holy Orders and perhaps to become the third generational holder of the now seventy year old Chalice.
William Dorgan Berry (1829-1878) then aged 21, was mid-way through his studies (c1847-54) for Holy Orders in St Patrick's College Seminary, Carlow and certainly appeared to be the natural successor.
The eldest of five known children born to James Berry (c1795 - 21 December 1858) and Jane Murphy (c.1800 - 11 July 1878), William Dorgan was born c.1829 at Maglin House, Maglin, Ballincollig, Co. Cork. He was followed by Mary (c.1832 - ?), Jane (c.1836-28 December 1891), Nicholas (1837-?) & Thomas (c.1841-1876).
While the definitive family link remains to be established, research shows that William's mother, Jane Murphy was very probably a niece of Rev. Daniel Murphy (1755-1839) and a cousin of Rev. Denis Murphy (c.1801-1868).
Born in the Murphy family home of Knockanemore, Ovens, Co. Cork, Jane in 1828 married a near neighbour, James Berry who farmed 109 acres in the Parish of St Nicholas, Townland of Maglin, Ballincollig.
James appears in Griffiths Valuation of 1852 as leasing 109 acres of land (a rather sizable holding for the time) from the land owner John Popham.* This holding contained the family home of Maglin House plus three other homes nearby which he sublet as a landlord. The entire property was valued at £115.8.0 (£20.6k in 2023 values) for the purposes of Poor Law valuations (land held as £109.2.0 (£19.5k) plus houses and outbuildings valued at £6.6.0 (£1.1k)).
The three families that sublet are also recorded in Griffiths as Timothy Riordan and Patrick Noonan both in houses valued at 12 shillings (£107) and 10 shillings (£89) per year. Ellen Lyons is recorded as renting a modest house valued at 4 shillings (£35) and a little strip of land noted as 15 perches or one tenth of an acre, enough to grow some potatoes and valued at 2 shillings (£18). Her valuation was a very modest 6 shillings per year.(£53). All three were probably employed on the Berry Farm, providing labour at a fixed rate and cultivating a small holding under the system known as cottier tenure.
* The Popham family were among the Puritan settlers in Bandon, Co. Cork in the 1620s. Benjamin Popham and other members of the family held property in and around Bandon at the time of Griffith's Valuation. John Popham and others held land in the parish of St Nicholas, barony of East Muskerry, in the mid 19th century. Further details on the Popham family and land holdings thanks to NUI Galway Landed Estates project here.
It's holder for the previous 23 years since 1827 was Rev. Denis Murphy, then in his fifties and Parish Priest of Ballymartle, Co. Cork.
Of the immediate Murphy and extended family, just one relative showed any indication or promise to continue the family tradition of taking Holy Orders and perhaps to become the third generational holder of the now seventy year old Chalice.
William Dorgan Berry (1829-1878) then aged 21, was mid-way through his studies (c1847-54) for Holy Orders in St Patrick's College Seminary, Carlow and certainly appeared to be the natural successor.
The eldest of five known children born to James Berry (c1795 - 21 December 1858) and Jane Murphy (c.1800 - 11 July 1878), William Dorgan was born c.1829 at Maglin House, Maglin, Ballincollig, Co. Cork. He was followed by Mary (c.1832 - ?), Jane (c.1836-28 December 1891), Nicholas (1837-?) & Thomas (c.1841-1876).
While the definitive family link remains to be established, research shows that William's mother, Jane Murphy was very probably a niece of Rev. Daniel Murphy (1755-1839) and a cousin of Rev. Denis Murphy (c.1801-1868).
Born in the Murphy family home of Knockanemore, Ovens, Co. Cork, Jane in 1828 married a near neighbour, James Berry who farmed 109 acres in the Parish of St Nicholas, Townland of Maglin, Ballincollig.
James appears in Griffiths Valuation of 1852 as leasing 109 acres of land (a rather sizable holding for the time) from the land owner John Popham.* This holding contained the family home of Maglin House plus three other homes nearby which he sublet as a landlord. The entire property was valued at £115.8.0 (£20.6k in 2023 values) for the purposes of Poor Law valuations (land held as £109.2.0 (£19.5k) plus houses and outbuildings valued at £6.6.0 (£1.1k)).
The three families that sublet are also recorded in Griffiths as Timothy Riordan and Patrick Noonan both in houses valued at 12 shillings (£107) and 10 shillings (£89) per year. Ellen Lyons is recorded as renting a modest house valued at 4 shillings (£35) and a little strip of land noted as 15 perches or one tenth of an acre, enough to grow some potatoes and valued at 2 shillings (£18). Her valuation was a very modest 6 shillings per year.(£53). All three were probably employed on the Berry Farm, providing labour at a fixed rate and cultivating a small holding under the system known as cottier tenure.
* The Popham family were among the Puritan settlers in Bandon, Co. Cork in the 1620s. Benjamin Popham and other members of the family held property in and around Bandon at the time of Griffith's Valuation. John Popham and others held land in the parish of St Nicholas, barony of East Muskerry, in the mid 19th century. Further details on the Popham family and land holdings thanks to NUI Galway Landed Estates project here.
Griffith's Valuation
In the early 19th century, taxes in Ireland were based on property owned or let and methods of calculation varied from county to county. Following the success of the mapping of Ireland by the Ordnance Survey, the British administration in Dublin Castle wanted to create a more consistent, rigorous system and to do so, needed to find out who it's people were, where they resided and, in the nature of governments, how much they might be able to tax them.
Richard Griffith, then director of the Valuation Office in Dublin, was tasked to carry out a land survey of the entire island of Ireland which was completed townland by townland between 1848 & 1864. The result was Griffith's Valuation – or more correctly it's full name was 'The General Valuation of the Rateable Property in Ireland' but also known as the 'Primary Valuation (of Tenements)' Griffith's Valuation covered who owned what & where but also who rented what & where in mid 19th Century Ireland, and assessed the value on which each identifiable 'parcel' of land and/or property should be taxed. While not a Census, it does identify the head of each household but no other family information. The very poorest i.e. those who lived on the verge of vagrancy in makeshift or temporary hovels were excluded. The Valuation is arranged by county, barony, Poor Law Union, civil parish and townland (see Irish land divisions for further details of these terms).
During the 19th century, a considerable number of the Irish population existed in extreme poverty. How to respond to poverty in Ireland and to the social problems associated with it, exercised the early 19th century minds of economists, politicians and philanthropists and led to more than three decades of inquiry and debate over the desirability and feasibility of introducing a statutory system of assistance to the poor through what was termed 'poor relief'. Finally, in 1838, the Irish Poor Law was passed by the Westminster Parliament. Modelled on the new English Poor Law of 1834, this act introduced a nationwide system of poor relief based on the workhouse and financed by a local property tax. Geographical areas were grouped into Poor Law Union Areas (for example, the Berry's holding in Maglin, Ballincollig area was categorised as part of the Cork City Poor Law Union while Jane Berry's parent's home in Knockanemore, just 8km distant was regarded as part of the Macroom Poor Law Union). All property owners & occupiers, be they tenant or landlord were now liable to pay an annual Poor Law rate which went to finance relief schemes, assistance and the operation of the dreaded Workhouse. Each year, a rate was 'struck' and collected from all residents in a Union area by Poor Law Rate Collectors. This varied by by Union Area but was on average around 1 shilling per pound sterling valuation.
And where did the assessments as to property valuation and their owners come from? Yes, Griffith's Valuation.
James Berry's farm and residences are noted as valued at £115.8.0 in 1852 and totalled some 109 acres. Based on an average of one shilling per pound valuation for the Poor Law rate assessment, James Berry's average payment made to the Union workhouse per annum from 1852 would have been around 115.4 shillings or £5.15.0 (roughly £1,027 in 2023 values). This was in addition to land rental paid to landlords (which from 1838 included tithes due to local Church of Ireland clergy) and from 1853, income tax imposed by the British government.
Further reading on Griffith's Valuation? James R Riley's - Associate Editor of 'The Irish-at home & abroad' explains here
To search Griffith's Valuation - click here
Marriage between James Berry & Jane Murphy. c. 1828
In an not unusual marriage for the time, James was a member of the Church of Ireland community while Jane was Roman Catholic - an interfaith relationship in a time when one's church & religion was an integral aspect of society. Both were from similiar middle-class tenant farmer backgrounds living locally and it appears from research that James and Jane had opted to raise & educate the eldest, William, in the Catholic faith and subsequent children within the Anglican church.
While both churches held a significant influence on Irish society in the 1830s, not all of the congregation necessarily followed church or clerical teachings on aspects such as interfaith marriage.
Take John Troy (1739-1823), the Catholic Bishop of Ossory's pronouncement on such relationships some years earlier:
“Marriage between Protestants and Catholics is unlawful, wicked, and dangerous..."
Prior to 1850, interfaith marriages were frequent but with some reservations from both churches. Conquest, colonisation and the Reformation had established religion as a political identity whereby Protestantism became associated with a colonising alien force in Ireland, and Catholicism became a symbol of dispossession. Some difficulties surrounding such marriages in Ireland stemmed not only from some theological objections, but also from perceived political affiliations and under the Penal Laws; legislation.
Parliament had effectively banned interfaith marriages with some heavy penalties for the participating Catholic priest if he dared solemise such a relationship. For example, up to 1793 it was a capital offence for a priest to officiate at an interfaith marriage and the last hanging for this was in 1726. From 1793 to 1833 this capital offence detterent was reduced to a powerful financial detterent - a fine of £5,000 [just under £1m in 2023 values]. In one of the rare examples of the Catholic clergy agreeing with aspects of the Penal Laws, the Bishop of Ossory, later Archbishop of Dublin, the Dominican John Troy, somewhat Jesuitically belted all and sundry with his crozier pronouncing that: “marriage between Protestants and Catholics is unlawful, wicked, and dangerous. The Penal Laws should not be repealed because they act as a deterrent.”
Notwithstanding such declarations, interfaith marriages post 1829 Catholic Emancipation were reatively common up until c.1850 when the Catholic Synod of Thurles finally pronounced that a 'mixed marriage' would in future required not only a difficult to obtain Papal Dispensation but also an oath from both partners to raise all of the children from the relationship as Catholic. In 1858, Rome weighed in further and decreed that interfaith marriages could not take place in a church. This decision effectively barred any future such marriages. By the end of the 19th century, the Vatican was on a ‘tidy up’ of all its voluminious & encompassing Canon Law legislation with one result being the Ne Temere (not casually) decree of 1908.
With this church legislation, interfaith marriage was allowed but with strict provisos: as before, both partners were obligated to bring up all of the children from the relationship as Roman Catholic, but in addition, the Catholic partner was 'to work' to convert the other, that the marriage could not take place in a Church and there would be no ceremony, only the exchange of vows. This remarakably divisive church policy continued until consigned to history in 1970.
Ireland in the 1830s
Ireland, by the time of William Berry's birth, had more than two million people teetering on the edge of starvation, many living a life that was nasty, brutish and short, dependant on a strip of land that had sub-divided over generations until just big enough to accommodate a mud hut and a garden of potatoes. 'The State of the Poor in Ireland' (1820) a report by a parliamentary commission (one of 114 commissions & 61 committees between 1801 & 1833 to assess and consider the situation in Ireland) makes for prescient reading as it details the reasons for the disastrous state of the huge Irish underclass of the time; religious differences, political extremism, absentee & reckless landlords, the avarice of the middleman, lack of investment, unemployment, poor living conditions, lack of education, evictions, an expanding population dependent on a single crop, prevalence of alcoholism and the 1800 Act of Union.
This 1800 Act supressed the Irish Parliament and transferred the Irish seat of government to Westminster but with it also went the large land holders, the professional and moneyed classes - those that had the money, the initiative and the ability to bring about social change. Over the following years, despite the initiation of a public health system in 1805 and primary education in 1831, there was little more than political inaction, a booming population crowding onto less and less land and all dependent on a single crop. The stage was largely set for the defining moment in Irish history.
Famine
By the summer of 1845, the dimensions of the looming catastrophe in Ireland were becoming apparent as at first, field after field of the annual potato crop failed. This localised crop failure quickly spread to townlands, localities and entire counties. Despite multiple warnings over previous decades, a cold Malthusian, laizzez-faire British government approach was adopted which when combined with hunger, neglect, repression and evictions inevitably resulted in famine, disease and death throughout the island. The Famine years cut the Irish population from some 8 million to 6 million - a million died in Ireland and its effects permanently changed the island's demographic, political, and cultural landscape, producing an estimated additional million refugees fleeing Ireland and spurring a century-long population decline. For both the native Irish and those in the resulting diaspora, the famine entered bitter folk memory. The strained relations between many Irish and their ruling British government worsened further due to the famine, heightening ethnic and sectarian tensions and boosting nationalism and republicanism both in Ireland and among Irish emigrants around the world.
The famine remains a controversial event in Irish history. Debate and discussion about whether the British government's lack of response to the failure of the potato crop and the continued exportation of food crops and livestock during the famine, constituted a genocide, remains a subject of political debate. As the English Liberal, Sydney Smith declared in 1807:
'The moment the very name of Ireland is mentioned, the English seem to bid adiu to common feeling, common prudence and common sense, and to act with the barbarity of tyrants and the fatuity of idiots'
Coogan, Tim Pat. Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson (2000) p117
By 1847, as the Famine continuing to ravage the island, William Dorgan Berry had decided he held a vocation for the Catholic priesthood, and so applied and was accepted to St. Patrick's College Seminary, Carlow. This began a thirty-one year service to the Catholic church which would bring him to the United States and England, and a life's mission of ministering to emigrant Irish congregations.
Murphy & Berry Family Tree
To give some context as to the Berry ancestry, a Murphy& Berry Family Tree below shows the inter-relationships of the time ( based on research as of February 2023):
In an not unusual marriage for the time, James was a member of the Church of Ireland community while Jane was Roman Catholic - an interfaith relationship in a time when one's church & religion was an integral aspect of society. Both were from similiar middle-class tenant farmer backgrounds living locally and it appears from research that James and Jane had opted to raise & educate the eldest, William, in the Catholic faith and subsequent children within the Anglican church.
While both churches held a significant influence on Irish society in the 1830s, not all of the congregation necessarily followed church or clerical teachings on aspects such as interfaith marriage.
Take John Troy (1739-1823), the Catholic Bishop of Ossory's pronouncement on such relationships some years earlier:
“Marriage between Protestants and Catholics is unlawful, wicked, and dangerous..."
Prior to 1850, interfaith marriages were frequent but with some reservations from both churches. Conquest, colonisation and the Reformation had established religion as a political identity whereby Protestantism became associated with a colonising alien force in Ireland, and Catholicism became a symbol of dispossession. Some difficulties surrounding such marriages in Ireland stemmed not only from some theological objections, but also from perceived political affiliations and under the Penal Laws; legislation.
Parliament had effectively banned interfaith marriages with some heavy penalties for the participating Catholic priest if he dared solemise such a relationship. For example, up to 1793 it was a capital offence for a priest to officiate at an interfaith marriage and the last hanging for this was in 1726. From 1793 to 1833 this capital offence detterent was reduced to a powerful financial detterent - a fine of £5,000 [just under £1m in 2023 values]. In one of the rare examples of the Catholic clergy agreeing with aspects of the Penal Laws, the Bishop of Ossory, later Archbishop of Dublin, the Dominican John Troy, somewhat Jesuitically belted all and sundry with his crozier pronouncing that: “marriage between Protestants and Catholics is unlawful, wicked, and dangerous. The Penal Laws should not be repealed because they act as a deterrent.”
Notwithstanding such declarations, interfaith marriages post 1829 Catholic Emancipation were reatively common up until c.1850 when the Catholic Synod of Thurles finally pronounced that a 'mixed marriage' would in future required not only a difficult to obtain Papal Dispensation but also an oath from both partners to raise all of the children from the relationship as Catholic. In 1858, Rome weighed in further and decreed that interfaith marriages could not take place in a church. This decision effectively barred any future such marriages. By the end of the 19th century, the Vatican was on a ‘tidy up’ of all its voluminious & encompassing Canon Law legislation with one result being the Ne Temere (not casually) decree of 1908.
With this church legislation, interfaith marriage was allowed but with strict provisos: as before, both partners were obligated to bring up all of the children from the relationship as Roman Catholic, but in addition, the Catholic partner was 'to work' to convert the other, that the marriage could not take place in a Church and there would be no ceremony, only the exchange of vows. This remarakably divisive church policy continued until consigned to history in 1970.
Ireland in the 1830s
Ireland, by the time of William Berry's birth, had more than two million people teetering on the edge of starvation, many living a life that was nasty, brutish and short, dependant on a strip of land that had sub-divided over generations until just big enough to accommodate a mud hut and a garden of potatoes. 'The State of the Poor in Ireland' (1820) a report by a parliamentary commission (one of 114 commissions & 61 committees between 1801 & 1833 to assess and consider the situation in Ireland) makes for prescient reading as it details the reasons for the disastrous state of the huge Irish underclass of the time; religious differences, political extremism, absentee & reckless landlords, the avarice of the middleman, lack of investment, unemployment, poor living conditions, lack of education, evictions, an expanding population dependent on a single crop, prevalence of alcoholism and the 1800 Act of Union.
This 1800 Act supressed the Irish Parliament and transferred the Irish seat of government to Westminster but with it also went the large land holders, the professional and moneyed classes - those that had the money, the initiative and the ability to bring about social change. Over the following years, despite the initiation of a public health system in 1805 and primary education in 1831, there was little more than political inaction, a booming population crowding onto less and less land and all dependent on a single crop. The stage was largely set for the defining moment in Irish history.
Famine
By the summer of 1845, the dimensions of the looming catastrophe in Ireland were becoming apparent as at first, field after field of the annual potato crop failed. This localised crop failure quickly spread to townlands, localities and entire counties. Despite multiple warnings over previous decades, a cold Malthusian, laizzez-faire British government approach was adopted which when combined with hunger, neglect, repression and evictions inevitably resulted in famine, disease and death throughout the island. The Famine years cut the Irish population from some 8 million to 6 million - a million died in Ireland and its effects permanently changed the island's demographic, political, and cultural landscape, producing an estimated additional million refugees fleeing Ireland and spurring a century-long population decline. For both the native Irish and those in the resulting diaspora, the famine entered bitter folk memory. The strained relations between many Irish and their ruling British government worsened further due to the famine, heightening ethnic and sectarian tensions and boosting nationalism and republicanism both in Ireland and among Irish emigrants around the world.
The famine remains a controversial event in Irish history. Debate and discussion about whether the British government's lack of response to the failure of the potato crop and the continued exportation of food crops and livestock during the famine, constituted a genocide, remains a subject of political debate. As the English Liberal, Sydney Smith declared in 1807:
'The moment the very name of Ireland is mentioned, the English seem to bid adiu to common feeling, common prudence and common sense, and to act with the barbarity of tyrants and the fatuity of idiots'
Coogan, Tim Pat. Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson (2000) p117
By 1847, as the Famine continuing to ravage the island, William Dorgan Berry had decided he held a vocation for the Catholic priesthood, and so applied and was accepted to St. Patrick's College Seminary, Carlow. This began a thirty-one year service to the Catholic church which would bring him to the United States and England, and a life's mission of ministering to emigrant Irish congregations.
Murphy & Berry Family Tree
To give some context as to the Berry ancestry, a Murphy& Berry Family Tree below shows the inter-relationships of the time ( based on research as of February 2023):
The church William Dorgan Berry was to spend his life with, was just beginning to undergo an historic & rapid transformation. In pre-Famine Ireland, the Catholic clergy were remarkably lax, with a great many given to avarice, drunkenness and certainly far from celibate and the condition of the church ministry and leadership overall was far from exemplary. While some Bishops had made attempts to discipline their diocesan clergy during the Penal era, it was generally ignored as centuries of persecution and sectarian differences had already taken a toll. This began to change with Catholic Emancipation in 1829, but gathered pace following the loss, death and destruction of the famine years and of course, increased, somewhat authoritarian control from Rome.
St Patrick's College, Carlow
In the late 1840s, the college was still a relatively young institution, emerging from centuries of cultural, educational, and religious repression of the penal era and at a time when the pursuit of Holy Orders was very much a mercantile & middle class option. It's early student & professor lists of St. Patrick's College reads as a veritable 'Who's Who' of 19th-century middle class Catholic farming & mercantile families.
While Catholic clerical education had been forbidden during the Penal era, most education was undertaken secretly in eighteen Irish Colleges and numerous religious order colleges in Europe with newly ordained priests returning to minister in Ireland (see separate section on Rev. Daniel Murphy). There was a high price to pay for this seminary education - not only financially but individually - the best a returning priest could hope for in Ireland in the Penal era was a life of hunger, poverty and persecution, a life on the run. The worst? A martyr's fate by hanging, drawing and quartering.
From around 1793 with the Age of Enlightenment, the British Government began to relax it's anti-Catholic legislation which then allowed a number of students study for the priesthood in Ireland without the necessity to travel to Europe. However, prior to 1844 and in some instances after, most student families footed the bill for their clerical son's education either in Europe or later in Carlow or at another seminary, and this certainly did not come cheaply. For families that could afford it, Carlow quickly became highly regarded as a seminarian college, and as most of the early staff had themselves been educated on the Continent, at Paris, Louvain, Lisbon and other centres, this education came with a strong European dimension which, at times, did not altogether mesh with either the Irish Hierarchy or the Vatican.
In 1844, the Foreign Missions Fund at St Patrick's was established after a bequest from Rev Maurice Kearney, which allowed diocesan Bishops in Foreign Missions to 'adopt' promising students and students to avail of bursaries to help towards cost of education. While this opened up a clerical calling for many who could not afford education, the only stipulation was that the newly professed cleric serve a number of years within the sponsor's diocese - where ever that may be.
[The Foreign Missions Fund in Ireland was a charitable organization established in Ireland in the 19th century to support Catholic missions overseas financially and with clergy. At that time, Ireland was a predominantly Catholic country, and many felt a strong sense of obligation to support their fellow Catholics abroad facing persecution or who lacked access to basic services such as education and healthcare. The Foreign Missions Fund was an important part of the Irish Catholic Church's efforts to expand its reach and influence beyond Ireland's borders, and it was also a way for Irish people to express their solidarity with their brethren in other parts of the world. It's worth noting that this type of organization was not unique to Ireland and was a common model for supporting virtually all Christian missions of various denominations throughout the world during the 19th century.]
In the 1850s, Irish seminarians were studying a comprehensive & rigorous variety of subjects concentrating mainly on Latin, theology and canon law as part of their preparation for ordination as Catholic priests. This curriculum had been designed to weed out the incapable, while providing seminarians with a solid foundation in doctrine along with the skills necessary for the effective pastoral care of their community. However, such an education was largely self-limiting due to a lack of diversity and inherent rigid formalism. Seminarian education of the era was strongly influenced by the prevailing theological and spiritual trends such as ultra-montanism and devotionalism, as well as by then current social needs such as education and priorities of the local Church. In addition to their academic studies, Irish seminarians were expected to demonstrate a strong commitment to their vocation, including leading a life of celibacy, prayer, example and service to others. This was viewed as crucial in helping them to develop the character and qualities required of a priest, such as compassion, humility, and a strong sense of faith with an ability to serve both their church and parishioners.
All very laudable of course, but such an education was also isolated from the broader intellectual and cultural trends of the era and far removed from the realities and future challenges of pastoral leadership that most were to face.
St Patrick's College, Carlow
In the late 1840s, the college was still a relatively young institution, emerging from centuries of cultural, educational, and religious repression of the penal era and at a time when the pursuit of Holy Orders was very much a mercantile & middle class option. It's early student & professor lists of St. Patrick's College reads as a veritable 'Who's Who' of 19th-century middle class Catholic farming & mercantile families.
While Catholic clerical education had been forbidden during the Penal era, most education was undertaken secretly in eighteen Irish Colleges and numerous religious order colleges in Europe with newly ordained priests returning to minister in Ireland (see separate section on Rev. Daniel Murphy). There was a high price to pay for this seminary education - not only financially but individually - the best a returning priest could hope for in Ireland in the Penal era was a life of hunger, poverty and persecution, a life on the run. The worst? A martyr's fate by hanging, drawing and quartering.
From around 1793 with the Age of Enlightenment, the British Government began to relax it's anti-Catholic legislation which then allowed a number of students study for the priesthood in Ireland without the necessity to travel to Europe. However, prior to 1844 and in some instances after, most student families footed the bill for their clerical son's education either in Europe or later in Carlow or at another seminary, and this certainly did not come cheaply. For families that could afford it, Carlow quickly became highly regarded as a seminarian college, and as most of the early staff had themselves been educated on the Continent, at Paris, Louvain, Lisbon and other centres, this education came with a strong European dimension which, at times, did not altogether mesh with either the Irish Hierarchy or the Vatican.
In 1844, the Foreign Missions Fund at St Patrick's was established after a bequest from Rev Maurice Kearney, which allowed diocesan Bishops in Foreign Missions to 'adopt' promising students and students to avail of bursaries to help towards cost of education. While this opened up a clerical calling for many who could not afford education, the only stipulation was that the newly professed cleric serve a number of years within the sponsor's diocese - where ever that may be.
[The Foreign Missions Fund in Ireland was a charitable organization established in Ireland in the 19th century to support Catholic missions overseas financially and with clergy. At that time, Ireland was a predominantly Catholic country, and many felt a strong sense of obligation to support their fellow Catholics abroad facing persecution or who lacked access to basic services such as education and healthcare. The Foreign Missions Fund was an important part of the Irish Catholic Church's efforts to expand its reach and influence beyond Ireland's borders, and it was also a way for Irish people to express their solidarity with their brethren in other parts of the world. It's worth noting that this type of organization was not unique to Ireland and was a common model for supporting virtually all Christian missions of various denominations throughout the world during the 19th century.]
In the 1850s, Irish seminarians were studying a comprehensive & rigorous variety of subjects concentrating mainly on Latin, theology and canon law as part of their preparation for ordination as Catholic priests. This curriculum had been designed to weed out the incapable, while providing seminarians with a solid foundation in doctrine along with the skills necessary for the effective pastoral care of their community. However, such an education was largely self-limiting due to a lack of diversity and inherent rigid formalism. Seminarian education of the era was strongly influenced by the prevailing theological and spiritual trends such as ultra-montanism and devotionalism, as well as by then current social needs such as education and priorities of the local Church. In addition to their academic studies, Irish seminarians were expected to demonstrate a strong commitment to their vocation, including leading a life of celibacy, prayer, example and service to others. This was viewed as crucial in helping them to develop the character and qualities required of a priest, such as compassion, humility, and a strong sense of faith with an ability to serve both their church and parishioners.
All very laudable of course, but such an education was also isolated from the broader intellectual and cultural trends of the era and far removed from the realities and future challenges of pastoral leadership that most were to face.
Yet, despite this, there was no shortage of willing students. Vocations to the priesthood and the religious life had increased dramatically in Ireland during and after the Famine as a result of the Devotional Revolution and the Irish Catholic church, as a result, had far more well educated clergy than they needed for the country's parishes and religious institutions.
With plenty of priests for the home missions, Irish seminaries began to prepare their future priests for foreign ministry. By the 1850s, over half of all the eccleastical students in St. patrick's were studying for foreign dioceses and within 30 years, all were destined for overseas work. This surplus of priests and seminarians proved to be a windfall for the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and a variety of other countries lacking native-born clergy and largely dependent on Irish born & educated clerics. (This devotional revolution was to also have a significant future impact on the broader Irish society during the 19th century and for much of the 20th, shaping the country's cultural, educational and spiritual landscape and reinforcing the then central role of the Catholic Church in Irish life. It was to play an important part in the resurgence of Irish nationalism and the development of Irish cultural identity, and it helped to establish a distinct and vibrant Catholic centred culture in Ireland but on hindsight, insular, dangerously inward looking and far from progressive.)
Recognised as one of the brighter seminarians, William Berry was ordained as a sub deacon in St Patrick's College, during 1851 when he was aged 22. This sub deaconate was the lowest of three clerical orders within the church and a transitional step towards deacon and then priesthood. Their duties included carrying chalices with wine to the altar, preparing the necessaries for the Eucharist, and to read the Epistles before the people. Within the Latin church at the time, there were seven orders: priests, deacons, sub deacons, acolytes, exorcists, readers (or lectors), and doorkeepers (sacristans).
An acolyte was the fourth and highest minor order in the Latin Church. The chief duties of an acolyte were to light altar candles, to carry these in procession, and during the solemn singing of the Gospel; to prepare wine and water & to assist ministers at the Mass, and other public services of the Church. In the ordination of an acolyte, the bishop presented an extinguished candle and an empty cruet, using appropriate words expressive of these duties. Altar boys were often designated as acolytes and were ranked above the next minor level pecking order, the Exorcists. This ecclesiastical term is somewhat misleading today as the early church considered all baptised members to be capable of performing as exorcists, banishing evil by simply reciting certain prayers. For centuries, the 'Exorcists' function within the seven orders was largely ceremonial - usually completed by specially appointed members of the congregation or those studying for the priesthood. This involved performing what were ceremonial duties of 'exorcism' over adults preparing to be baptised into the church and for infants, such as the imposition of hands, prayer and exsufflation (breathing upon the candidate) before the rite of baptism was performed by a priest. For anything else remotely concerning demonic possession, an ordained and specially trained priest was required to perform the sacramental duty of the Rite of Exorcism and then only with the permission of a Bishop. In 1972, all of these minor orders were reformed; men preparing to be ordained as Catholic priests or deacons would no longer receive the minor order of subdeacon or exorcist as these were removed and the remaining minor orders of acolyte, lector and doorkeepers were retained, but redesignated as ministries.
Following his ordination as subdeacon & exorcist, William Berry continued his studies in St. Patrick's and it's assumed he was then assigned to the American Missions and the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, United States in early 1854 and from where he would be ordained later that year in October. That Berry was expected to move to Covington so that he could be ordained was possibly a clear indication that he was to spend his life within the American Missions.
Probably before his emigration to these American 'Missions', he was given the Ballymartle Chalice by his cousin Fr Dennis Murphy then Parish Priest of Ballymartle Parish (1848-1860) in Co. Cork. William Berry was to hold the Ballymartle Chalice for the next twenty four years, used in daily Eucharistic liturgical service in the United States, England and Ireland until his death in 1878. Unfortunately, few records and no family correspondence survives relating to the Berry family of this era, but newspapers can be a reliable source of information for other, perhaps more mundane items of interest.
A civil bill Court case involving James Berry appears in a January 1854 edition of the Cork Examiner. It seems James had sold an 'unsound' horse to a Michael McSheehy of Killarney in 1853, who when discovering the fact and seemingly discussing this with the vendor, was given short-shrift and advised that the nag had been sold without warranty. McSheehy promptly sued for damages and on his day in court before a jury, was awarded £10.0.6 plus £3 costs - or around £2.1k in 2023 values.
Ireland in the 1850s
As for Ireland of the early 1850s - this period was marked by a number of political and social issues, some of which had been simmering for years while others were more recent developments. These issues were both intertwined and complex, and had a significant impact on the lives of the Irish people and were to shape Irish politics and society for decades.
One of the major political issues of the early 1850s was the question of Irish self-government. The repeal of the Act of Union, which had merged Ireland with Great Britain in 1801, had been a major political goal of Irish nationalists for decades. The movement for repeal was led by Daniel O'Connell, who had achieved great success in mobilizing mass support for the cause following his success pushing Catholic Emancipation through in 1829. However, by the early 1850s, O'Connell's health was failing and the repeal movement had lost momentum. There were also divisions within the movement over whether to pursue repeal through peaceful means or through armed rebellion. Another political issue of the time was the question of land ownership. The vast majority of land in Ireland was owned by British landlords, and many Irish tenant farmers were forced to pay high rents for land they had traditionally considered their own. This had led to widespread poverty and naturally, some resentment. The issue was further complicated by the fact that many of the landlords lived in England and had little direct involvement in the management of their Irish estates.
Social issues of the time included widespread poverty and famine. The Great Famine of 1845-1852, had devastated the Irish population and it's after effects were still evident through emigration, hunger & want. Religious tensions were also high in the early 1850s as the Catholic Church was also embroiled in a power struggle with the Protestant Church of Ireland, which had traditionally enjoyed a more privileged position in Irish society.
Elsewhere, war broke out in the Crimea in early 1854 as Britain and France declared war on Russia. This was one of the first conflicts in which military forces used modern technologies such as explosive naval shells, railways and telegraph. The war was also one of the first to be documented extensively in written reports and in photographs and quickly became a symbol of logistical, medical and tactical failures and of gross mismanagement. The reaction in Britain led to a demand for army reform & professionalisation of medicine, most famously achieved by Florence Nightingale, who gained worldwide attention for pioneering modern nursing while she treated the wounded.
American influence continued to grow internationally as United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry signed the Convention of Kanagawa with the Japanese government (the Tokugawa shogunate), opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade and re-opening Japan after centuries of isolation. In Ireland, the Catholic University of Ireland (forerunner of University College Dublin) was founded and in late summer, an epidemic of cholera in London kills over 10,000. Dr John Snow traced the source of one outbreak (that killed 500) to a single water pump, validating his theory that cholera is water-borne, and forming the starting point for epidemiology. Meanwhile in the goldfields of Victoria, the first stirrings of Australian republicanism occur when the Eureka Stockade Miners' Rebellion breaks out in Ballarat.
In the United States, the Treaty of Medicine Creek is signed in Washington Territory, United States. Through this, the U.S. acquires land from various Native American tribes and in return creates three reservations. A new era begins as Professor Benjamin Silliman, Jr. of Yale University, using the fractional distillation process becomes the first person to fractionate petroleum into its individual components by distillation, producing gasoline and kerosene. With this discovery begins the oil industry & internal combustion engine era. Meanwhile in California, the Gold Rush running since 1848 is beginning to peter out as more prospectors head to the new goldfields of Australia and at the 1854 New York World's Fair, Elisha Otis publicly debuts his safety elevator.
Born in Ireland in 1854 included Oscar Wilde, playwright, novelist, poet (died 1900) as was the barrister who later led the prosecution in Wilde's Libel Trial of 1895, Edward Carson, Baron Carson, Irish Unionist leader, barrister and judge (died 1935), Percy French, civil engineer, songwriter, entertainer and artist (died 1920) and Horace Plunkett, politician, agricultural reformer and writer (died 1932).
As for Ireland of the early 1850s - this period was marked by a number of political and social issues, some of which had been simmering for years while others were more recent developments. These issues were both intertwined and complex, and had a significant impact on the lives of the Irish people and were to shape Irish politics and society for decades.
One of the major political issues of the early 1850s was the question of Irish self-government. The repeal of the Act of Union, which had merged Ireland with Great Britain in 1801, had been a major political goal of Irish nationalists for decades. The movement for repeal was led by Daniel O'Connell, who had achieved great success in mobilizing mass support for the cause following his success pushing Catholic Emancipation through in 1829. However, by the early 1850s, O'Connell's health was failing and the repeal movement had lost momentum. There were also divisions within the movement over whether to pursue repeal through peaceful means or through armed rebellion. Another political issue of the time was the question of land ownership. The vast majority of land in Ireland was owned by British landlords, and many Irish tenant farmers were forced to pay high rents for land they had traditionally considered their own. This had led to widespread poverty and naturally, some resentment. The issue was further complicated by the fact that many of the landlords lived in England and had little direct involvement in the management of their Irish estates.
Social issues of the time included widespread poverty and famine. The Great Famine of 1845-1852, had devastated the Irish population and it's after effects were still evident through emigration, hunger & want. Religious tensions were also high in the early 1850s as the Catholic Church was also embroiled in a power struggle with the Protestant Church of Ireland, which had traditionally enjoyed a more privileged position in Irish society.
Elsewhere, war broke out in the Crimea in early 1854 as Britain and France declared war on Russia. This was one of the first conflicts in which military forces used modern technologies such as explosive naval shells, railways and telegraph. The war was also one of the first to be documented extensively in written reports and in photographs and quickly became a symbol of logistical, medical and tactical failures and of gross mismanagement. The reaction in Britain led to a demand for army reform & professionalisation of medicine, most famously achieved by Florence Nightingale, who gained worldwide attention for pioneering modern nursing while she treated the wounded.
American influence continued to grow internationally as United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry signed the Convention of Kanagawa with the Japanese government (the Tokugawa shogunate), opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade and re-opening Japan after centuries of isolation. In Ireland, the Catholic University of Ireland (forerunner of University College Dublin) was founded and in late summer, an epidemic of cholera in London kills over 10,000. Dr John Snow traced the source of one outbreak (that killed 500) to a single water pump, validating his theory that cholera is water-borne, and forming the starting point for epidemiology. Meanwhile in the goldfields of Victoria, the first stirrings of Australian republicanism occur when the Eureka Stockade Miners' Rebellion breaks out in Ballarat.
In the United States, the Treaty of Medicine Creek is signed in Washington Territory, United States. Through this, the U.S. acquires land from various Native American tribes and in return creates three reservations. A new era begins as Professor Benjamin Silliman, Jr. of Yale University, using the fractional distillation process becomes the first person to fractionate petroleum into its individual components by distillation, producing gasoline and kerosene. With this discovery begins the oil industry & internal combustion engine era. Meanwhile in California, the Gold Rush running since 1848 is beginning to peter out as more prospectors head to the new goldfields of Australia and at the 1854 New York World's Fair, Elisha Otis publicly debuts his safety elevator.
Born in Ireland in 1854 included Oscar Wilde, playwright, novelist, poet (died 1900) as was the barrister who later led the prosecution in Wilde's Libel Trial of 1895, Edward Carson, Baron Carson, Irish Unionist leader, barrister and judge (died 1935), Percy French, civil engineer, songwriter, entertainer and artist (died 1920) and Horace Plunkett, politician, agricultural reformer and writer (died 1932).
"No Nation contributed as much as Ireland to the vast expansion of the Catholic Church in the United States of America in the nineteenth Century"
Coogan, Tim Pat. Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson (2000) p295
As the United States expanded across the west of the continent in the 1850s, immigration from Europe soared as social, cultural, religious and racial differences began dividing the emerging nation. Despite growing internal conflict on immigration, the issue of slavery was above all else, highly contentious & divisive; splitting families, churches and faiths, political parties and eventually the nation itself. It would take the looming Civil War and more than 625,000 dead to decide the fundamental proposition that all men are created equal.
Until about 1845, the Roman Catholic population of the United States was a small minority of mostly English Catholics, who were reasonably well educated & socially accomplished. But when several years of the devastating potato famine led millions of Irish Catholics to flee to the United States in the mid 1840s, the face of American Catholicism began to change drastically and permanently. In the space of fifty years, the Catholic population in the United States suddenly transformed from a tight-knit group of landowning, educated aristocrats into an incredibly diverse mass of urban and rural immigrants who came from many different countries and regions, spoke different languages, held different social statuses & political beliefs, and emphasised different parts of their shared religious heritage.
Not just Irish Catholics of course, but many nationalities & members of many faiths arrived in the successive waves of massive immigration to the United States between the 1840s and 1920s. But Catholics from various countries were the most numerous—and the most noticed. In 1850 Catholics made up only five percent of the total U.S. population. By 1906, they made up seventeen percent of the total population (14 million out of 82 million people)—and constituted the single largest religious denomination in the country.
'The Vatican Empire beyond the seas'
The Catholic Church in America during the 1850s was primarily focused on establishing its presence and building its institutions, and it faced some significant challenges to do so, including anti-Catholic prejudice, a shortage of clergy, and limited resources to assist the spiritual and material needs of its growing community.
As theologian Sheridan Gilley observed: "Quite the most remarkable achievement of nineteenth century Ireland was the creation of an international Catholic Church, throughout the Celtic diaspora in the British Empire and North America. A true Irish Empire beyond the seas..."
Coogan, Tim Pat. Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson (2000)
Irish immigrants in the United States naturally enough demanded that Irish-born priests be assigned to their parishes. Richard Purcell wrote, ‘In Ireland and in Irish colonies in America, it was believed that Irish priests must be obtained to manage their countrymen and to preach in the English tongue’. American bishops, a growing number of whom were Irish-born or of Irish heritage, now began to recruit priests from Irish seminaries as well as other priests from throughout Europe for their dioceses. The conventional wisdom of the time was that other foreign-born priests would most likely want to assist their fellow countrymen in America not the recent Irish immigrants and that the Irish-born priests, since they spoke English, would blend more easily into American society than those from France, Germany or Austria.
In addition, the new Irish padres were considered far more suitable as they tended to be traditional upholders of Catholic values & education and importantly, far more obedient to hierarchical control than perhaps other groups such as the independent thinking, Jansenist (reform beliefs that questioned papal authority in theological matters) leaning French padres. The militant, bureaucratic, and strict style of this era's emerging American Catholicism can be largely attributed to the Irish clerics and anyway, they were far better at developing parishes than the French.
Many aspiring priests jumped at the opportunity to follow family members and to also minister to their countrymen in the United States and actively volunteered or sought out bishops for sponsorship in Irish seminaries. American bishops ‘adopted’ or paid the account or pension of many seminarians in exchange for their services to the diocese for an agreed number of years once ordained to the priesthood. It would appear that this was possibly the arrangement between William Dorgan Berry and George Aloysius Carrell (1803-1868), the first Bishop of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky .
As Roger Finke and Rodney Stark state, ‘Without these Irish “imports” it is hard to imagine how American churches could have possibly met their staffing needs’. By the mid-1800s, 59% of the priests in the diocese of New York were Irish-born and at the beginning of the twentieth century, 62% of the bishops were Irish-American and more than half of them were native Irish-born. Despite their shared heritage, these American bishops were hard nosed realists, constantly reminding the rectors of Irish seminaries that they did not want sickly or unfit seminarians adopted for their dioceses. Due to the incidence of tuberculosis in Ireland, American bishops were highly suspicious that some seminarians were more interested in coming to America for health reasons than for serving as priests. Not only were bishops concerned about the health of their sponsored seminarians, some went as far as to request that they also refrain from alcohol and take the temperance pledge during their studies and certainly on arrival to take up their first clerical posting. Visible moral leadership and leading by example was a necessity not an aspiration.
Whether or not the young, motivated Catholic clergy had taken the pledge before moving to the States, there was a far more tangible and dangerous threat lurking. Deep seated religious & racial prejudice, slavery and sectarianism were an integral part of the fabric of mid-19th century American society and soon began to find expression as mass immigration numbers boomed throughout the eastern United States in the 1840s.
Anti-Catholic Sentiment
Anti-Catholic sentiment was a significant challenge faced by both the church and the Irish in America during this period and was deeply rooted in a number of factors, including religious prejudice, political and economic competition, and naturally, historic & cultural differences.
Many Protestant Americans viewed Catholicism as a foreign and superstitious religion that was incompatible with American values and beliefs. They also saw the Catholic Church as a powerful and centralised institution that threatened their own hard fought religious and political freedoms. This prejudice was further fuelled by a degree of realism through political and economic competition. Irish, Italian and German Catholic immigrants, who made up a significant portion of the Catholic population in America during the 1840s and 1850s, were often viewed as a significant threat to American's jobs and economic opportunities by established workforces but welcomed as a source of cheap labour by most businesses. Then of course, these new arrivals were also different. Irish and German Catholic immigrants brought with them their own unique cultures, customs, language and traditions, which at times clashed with the prevailing American culture.
Historians have long studied the motivations for anti-Catholicism in the history of the United States. Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. characterized prejudice against Catholics as "the deepest bias in the history of the American people." John Higham described anti-Catholicism as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history" while Joseph G. Mannard says that America's wars did reduce anti-Catholicism somewhat: "enough Catholics supported the War for Independence to erase many old myths about the inherently treasonable nature of Catholicism. ... During the Civil War the heavy enlistments of Irish and Germans into the Union Army helped to dispel notions of immigrant and Catholic disloyalty.".
Anti-Catholic rhetoric in American society had existed from colonial days and largely derived from the theological heritage of the Protestant Reformation and the European wars of religion and the secular variety of anti-Catholicism which was xenophobic, ethnocentric, nativist and racist compounded with a distrust of increasing waves of impoverished Roman Catholic immigrants, particularly from Ireland, Italy, Poland, Cuba, and Mexico. This usually focused on the Pope's control of bishops, priests, and deacons and as one American minister in the 1850s described Catholicism as "the ally of tyranny, the opponent of material prosperity, the foe of thrift, the enemy of the railroad, the caucus, and the school". Such fears encouraged a wide range of conspiracy theories regarding papal intentions of subjugating the United States through a continuing influx of Irish Catholics controlled by Irish bishops whose first allegiance would be to Rome rather than their adoptive homeland. These views were further fed by allegations that the Irish in particular were destroying the culture of the United States through the spreading of violence, disease, crime & drunkenness.
Overall, this new wave of Irish and European immigration contributed to a general sense of unease and distrust among many Protestant Americans towards Catholicism and was soon to find an outlet.
Coogan, Tim Pat. Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson (2000) p295
As the United States expanded across the west of the continent in the 1850s, immigration from Europe soared as social, cultural, religious and racial differences began dividing the emerging nation. Despite growing internal conflict on immigration, the issue of slavery was above all else, highly contentious & divisive; splitting families, churches and faiths, political parties and eventually the nation itself. It would take the looming Civil War and more than 625,000 dead to decide the fundamental proposition that all men are created equal.
Until about 1845, the Roman Catholic population of the United States was a small minority of mostly English Catholics, who were reasonably well educated & socially accomplished. But when several years of the devastating potato famine led millions of Irish Catholics to flee to the United States in the mid 1840s, the face of American Catholicism began to change drastically and permanently. In the space of fifty years, the Catholic population in the United States suddenly transformed from a tight-knit group of landowning, educated aristocrats into an incredibly diverse mass of urban and rural immigrants who came from many different countries and regions, spoke different languages, held different social statuses & political beliefs, and emphasised different parts of their shared religious heritage.
Not just Irish Catholics of course, but many nationalities & members of many faiths arrived in the successive waves of massive immigration to the United States between the 1840s and 1920s. But Catholics from various countries were the most numerous—and the most noticed. In 1850 Catholics made up only five percent of the total U.S. population. By 1906, they made up seventeen percent of the total population (14 million out of 82 million people)—and constituted the single largest religious denomination in the country.
'The Vatican Empire beyond the seas'
The Catholic Church in America during the 1850s was primarily focused on establishing its presence and building its institutions, and it faced some significant challenges to do so, including anti-Catholic prejudice, a shortage of clergy, and limited resources to assist the spiritual and material needs of its growing community.
As theologian Sheridan Gilley observed: "Quite the most remarkable achievement of nineteenth century Ireland was the creation of an international Catholic Church, throughout the Celtic diaspora in the British Empire and North America. A true Irish Empire beyond the seas..."
Coogan, Tim Pat. Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson (2000)
Irish immigrants in the United States naturally enough demanded that Irish-born priests be assigned to their parishes. Richard Purcell wrote, ‘In Ireland and in Irish colonies in America, it was believed that Irish priests must be obtained to manage their countrymen and to preach in the English tongue’. American bishops, a growing number of whom were Irish-born or of Irish heritage, now began to recruit priests from Irish seminaries as well as other priests from throughout Europe for their dioceses. The conventional wisdom of the time was that other foreign-born priests would most likely want to assist their fellow countrymen in America not the recent Irish immigrants and that the Irish-born priests, since they spoke English, would blend more easily into American society than those from France, Germany or Austria.
In addition, the new Irish padres were considered far more suitable as they tended to be traditional upholders of Catholic values & education and importantly, far more obedient to hierarchical control than perhaps other groups such as the independent thinking, Jansenist (reform beliefs that questioned papal authority in theological matters) leaning French padres. The militant, bureaucratic, and strict style of this era's emerging American Catholicism can be largely attributed to the Irish clerics and anyway, they were far better at developing parishes than the French.
Many aspiring priests jumped at the opportunity to follow family members and to also minister to their countrymen in the United States and actively volunteered or sought out bishops for sponsorship in Irish seminaries. American bishops ‘adopted’ or paid the account or pension of many seminarians in exchange for their services to the diocese for an agreed number of years once ordained to the priesthood. It would appear that this was possibly the arrangement between William Dorgan Berry and George Aloysius Carrell (1803-1868), the first Bishop of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky .
As Roger Finke and Rodney Stark state, ‘Without these Irish “imports” it is hard to imagine how American churches could have possibly met their staffing needs’. By the mid-1800s, 59% of the priests in the diocese of New York were Irish-born and at the beginning of the twentieth century, 62% of the bishops were Irish-American and more than half of them were native Irish-born. Despite their shared heritage, these American bishops were hard nosed realists, constantly reminding the rectors of Irish seminaries that they did not want sickly or unfit seminarians adopted for their dioceses. Due to the incidence of tuberculosis in Ireland, American bishops were highly suspicious that some seminarians were more interested in coming to America for health reasons than for serving as priests. Not only were bishops concerned about the health of their sponsored seminarians, some went as far as to request that they also refrain from alcohol and take the temperance pledge during their studies and certainly on arrival to take up their first clerical posting. Visible moral leadership and leading by example was a necessity not an aspiration.
Whether or not the young, motivated Catholic clergy had taken the pledge before moving to the States, there was a far more tangible and dangerous threat lurking. Deep seated religious & racial prejudice, slavery and sectarianism were an integral part of the fabric of mid-19th century American society and soon began to find expression as mass immigration numbers boomed throughout the eastern United States in the 1840s.
Anti-Catholic Sentiment
Anti-Catholic sentiment was a significant challenge faced by both the church and the Irish in America during this period and was deeply rooted in a number of factors, including religious prejudice, political and economic competition, and naturally, historic & cultural differences.
Many Protestant Americans viewed Catholicism as a foreign and superstitious religion that was incompatible with American values and beliefs. They also saw the Catholic Church as a powerful and centralised institution that threatened their own hard fought religious and political freedoms. This prejudice was further fuelled by a degree of realism through political and economic competition. Irish, Italian and German Catholic immigrants, who made up a significant portion of the Catholic population in America during the 1840s and 1850s, were often viewed as a significant threat to American's jobs and economic opportunities by established workforces but welcomed as a source of cheap labour by most businesses. Then of course, these new arrivals were also different. Irish and German Catholic immigrants brought with them their own unique cultures, customs, language and traditions, which at times clashed with the prevailing American culture.
Historians have long studied the motivations for anti-Catholicism in the history of the United States. Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. characterized prejudice against Catholics as "the deepest bias in the history of the American people." John Higham described anti-Catholicism as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history" while Joseph G. Mannard says that America's wars did reduce anti-Catholicism somewhat: "enough Catholics supported the War for Independence to erase many old myths about the inherently treasonable nature of Catholicism. ... During the Civil War the heavy enlistments of Irish and Germans into the Union Army helped to dispel notions of immigrant and Catholic disloyalty.".
Anti-Catholic rhetoric in American society had existed from colonial days and largely derived from the theological heritage of the Protestant Reformation and the European wars of religion and the secular variety of anti-Catholicism which was xenophobic, ethnocentric, nativist and racist compounded with a distrust of increasing waves of impoverished Roman Catholic immigrants, particularly from Ireland, Italy, Poland, Cuba, and Mexico. This usually focused on the Pope's control of bishops, priests, and deacons and as one American minister in the 1850s described Catholicism as "the ally of tyranny, the opponent of material prosperity, the foe of thrift, the enemy of the railroad, the caucus, and the school". Such fears encouraged a wide range of conspiracy theories regarding papal intentions of subjugating the United States through a continuing influx of Irish Catholics controlled by Irish bishops whose first allegiance would be to Rome rather than their adoptive homeland. These views were further fed by allegations that the Irish in particular were destroying the culture of the United States through the spreading of violence, disease, crime & drunkenness.
Overall, this new wave of Irish and European immigration contributed to a general sense of unease and distrust among many Protestant Americans towards Catholicism and was soon to find an outlet.
(above) Thomas Nast’s anti-Catholic cartoon in Harper’s Weekly in 1875. It depicts Roman catholic bishops as crocodiles attacking public schools. Photograph: Public Domain. (below) Popular anti-Irish cartoons of the era such as Ireland's poor shipped en-masse to the United States and caricatures of an Irishman threatening Congress.
In the 1830s and 1840s, prominent Protestant leaders, such as Lyman Beecher and Horace Bushnell, publically attacked the Catholic Church, not just by accusing it of being theologically unsound, but also of being an enemy of the United States government & citizen's values. Beecher's well-known 'Plea for the West' (1835) urged Protestants to exclude Catholics and by extension, the Irish & Germans, from western settlements. The Catholic Church certainly did not help matters as it's official silence (and sadly, willing involvement) on the matter of slavery of African-Americans also garnered the enmity of the majority of northern Protestants as the anti-slavery movement grew.
As far as Catholicism goes, the Church has been the largest denomination in the United States since 1850 because of the massive waves of Irish—and then German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, and Latin American—immigration that began hitting the shores of New York and Massachusetts in the 1830s. Indeed, between 1830 and 1860, the Catholic population in the United States grew by more than 900 percent. The sheer numbers of immigrants and the perceived threats from these new arrivals fueled a growing American Nativist movement.
"These “nativists,” as the highly organized anti-Catholics were called, included Protestant fundamentalists who saw the Catholic Church as the handiwork of Satan and superstition, intellectuals who considered Catholicism incompatible with democracy, ethnocentric cultural purists who believed the United States should be a land for Anglo-Saxons, and pragmatic citizens who thought it not worth the trouble to integrate so many culturally different immigrants. The nativists counted among their number many of America’s elite, including John Jay, John Quincy Adams, John Calhoun, Stephen Douglas, and P. T. Barnum, all of whom spoke publicly against the Catholic Church and the threat to liberty that allowing Catholics into the country would create. In Boston a mob led by Congregationalist minister Lyman Beecher, the father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, burned a convent to the ground; church burnings were common. Samuel Morse tapped out rumors of Catholic conspiracies against liberty on his Atlantic cable long before such trash circulated on the Internet. Books depicting concupiscence in convents and sex in seminaries were everywhere."
Historian William J Stern.
Nativism becomes politicised - growth of 'The Know Nothings'
By the late 1840s, nativist supporters and activists morphed into a powerful political party which became known as the 'Know Nothings'. Members were secretive about their plans and always claimed to “know nothing’ when asked about their organisation – hence their nickname. An example was provided by the Covington Journal editor when he first reported of a rumored “wigwam” or lodge being established in the city in 1854. It's editor, who had come to embrace Know Nothing principles, commented simply, “of the truth of the rumor we know nothing.”
At its height in the 1850s, the Know Nothings grew dramatically, renamed itself politically as 'The American Party' included more than 100 elected congressmen, eight governors, a controlling share of half-a-dozen state legislatures from Massachusetts to California, and thousands of local politicians. Party members supported deportation of foreign beggars and criminals; a 21-year naturalization period for immigrants; mandatory Bible reading in schools; and the elimination of all Catholics (and in particular, the Irish) from public office. Conversely, while opposing slavery, the Know Nothings also supported the states that maintained the practice. Overall the party wanted to restore their vision of what America should look like with temperance, Protestantism, self-reliance, American nationality and work ethic enshrined as the nation's highest values - and certainly nothing to do with those dodgy, underhand, plotting 'followers of the Rome'
However, with hindsight, apparent differences between faiths certainly seems to have been a two way street. Catholic religious and ethnic parochialism from the 1840s was actively encouraged and strongly supported by Catholic leaders like Archbishop John Hughes of New York and Archbishop Francis Kenrick of Philadelphia. Maura Jane Farrelly & Gary Wills have highlighted this aspect of Irish American social development in their research:
"While it is true that Protestants did not want “slavish” Catholics threatening their supposedly free and liberal society, it is also true that many Catholic clergy did not want their parishioners fraternising too closely with dangerously individualistic Protestants. As a consequence, from the 1840s until the end of the Second World War—if not the post-Vatican II era of the 1960s and 1970s—Catholicism in America was characterized by what historian Garry Wills has called a “ghetto mentality” that encouraged Catholics to settle in the same urban enclaves, send their children exclusively to Catholic schools, and cluster in occupations that were dominated not just by Catholics, but often by people who had the same ethnic backgrounds."
Maura Jane Farrelly, “Catholicism in the Early South,” Journal of Southern Religion 14 (2012): http://jsr.fsu.edu/issues/vol14/farrelly.html
Slavery in the Southern United States, the Irish & the Catholic Church
Here's a difficult reality that is only recently beginning to be fully recognised: The largest corporate slaveholder in the United States up until 1859 was the Catholic Church.
This reality runs counter to the origin story traditionally told of the Catholic Church in the United States; that this was the church fighting for the oppressed, the church of the immigrant, the church of the despised and denigrated by the majority, the provider of succor and support in the face of adversity. The reality, as in so many instances involving the Catholic Church before and since, was otherwise - it depended on one's race.
Irish American anti-slavery myths have existed for generations with most claiming that African-American enslavement to Catholics & Irish-Americans was at most, minimal and certainly far more benign than amongst Protestant counterparts; that enslaved people were contented; that Catholic bondspeople rarely resisted. While some of these earlier versions of historical reality defend the Church’s slaveholding by repeating slaveholders’ justifications that they brought the faith to enslaved people, others claim, remarkably, that Catholicism left no lasting impact upon people in bondage.
New scholarship, however, is taking a far more critical and investigative look at slavery and the Catholic Church. The historical reality, supported with documentary evidence and historical testimony, as with other investigations worldwide into Church sanctioned or tolerated abuse, is in a word: horrific.
The early U.S. Government’s policy of allowing states to make their own decisions on the legality of slavery meant that while the Southern States (including Kentucky) chose to preserve the institution, slavery had no real economic relevance in the North, where the influx of poor European & Irish immigrants provided a cheap and very affordable workforce.
In the 1850s, slavery was still a significant and strong institution in Kentucky. According to the 1850 census, there were over 225,000 slaves in the state, making up nearly 25% of the population & primarily concentrated in the central and western counties, where large cotton and tobacco plantations were common. Despite its status, Kentucky was also home to a significant number of abolitionists, who sought to end slavery both in Kentucky and throughout the United States. These individuals and groups organized anti-slavery societies, wrote and distributed anti-slavery literature, and helped enslaved people escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Slavery in Kentucky was defined by laws and practices that severely restricted the rights of enslaved people, including the denial of their freedom, their ability to own property, and their right to family life. Enslaved people were considered property and could be bought, sold, and traded. They were subjected to physical abuse, sexual violence, and inhumane living conditions that were largely regarded within the state society by most, as acceptable even essential.
Slavery in the southern United States was both pervasive and widely practised pre 1865 by congregations and churches of all Christian Faiths but frequently divided on the issue of slavery. While many religious leaders attempted to legitimise the practice through intepretations of the Bible, virtually all of the Protestant faiths split on the matter, dividing their national denominations into sectional factions that either were pro or anti slavery. The Presbyterians split in 1837, Baptists in 1844 and the Methodists in 1846. The Catholic church was no exception but instead of splitting, a policy of silence was maintained. Slavery was neither condoned nor encouraged.
Prior to abolition, it was a greater anomaly for a Catholic religious order or group not to hold people in slavery. Before 1830, the most concentrated groups of Catholics lived in slaveholding regions: Maryland, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Missouri. When the Church established the first U.S. dioceses, those states were immersed in slaveholding, as were the religious orders, educational institutions, and charitable works within them. Slavery made possible the expansion of new dioceses across the United States, carrying their slaveholding practices with them.
No less than any other enslaved person, people enslaved to members of the Catholic Church, endured abysmal conditions and abuse. Records of people enslaved to the Jesuits during the 1820s, detail strict rationing of food and clothing and calculations for maximizing enslaved people’s labor time. In 1838, the Jesuits sold some of their 'chattels'; 272 slaves in order to save their college in Washington DC from financial ruin (this college later became Georgetown University & in 2016 the faculty acknowledged the wrong and offered a public apology)
Despite ecclesstical regulations against separating enslaved families, religious orders regularly sold people away for economic motives, as punishment, or without justification at all. Catholic religious also manipulated their own rules and withheld information from bondspeople to keep them in bondage and few Catholic religious or Catholic slave owners outright emancipated their enslaved peoples.
To the great majority of Southerns of all religious faiths, slavery was not perceived as either sinful or immoral - after all, in their narative, slaveholders provided their slaves with Christian instruction and 'rescued them from barbarism and heathenism', defending the practice as a 'positive good'. As for Northerners, they were not exactly moral crusaders. There, the majority were fearful of economic competition from black labour, class tension than of potential unrest within the Union. The recent addition of California, Utah and New Mexico to the Union and whether these were to be slave or free states along with a desire to reduce any potential conflict within the states resulted in the 1850 Compromise. California was admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico residents were to vote on the matter and the highly controversial 'Fugitive Slave Act', in existence since 1793, was given new teeth. It now became an offence for any citizen, in a slave or free state, to resist or refuse to assist in the recapture of suspected runaway slaves.
As to other corporate slaveholders from 1859 until the abolition of slavery nationwide in 1865? One such firm was the banking and financial services company J.P. Morgan Chase (formerly known as J.P. Morgan & Co.). While J.P. Morgan Chase is now one of the world's largest financial institutions, in the mid-19th century it was primarily a merchant banking firm that financed a variety of industries, including agriculture. According to historical records, J.P. Morgan Chase became the largest corporate shareholding slaveholder in America following its acquisition of the Louisiana and Texas Railroad in 1859. The railroad company owned over 1,100 enslaved people who were used to maintain and operate the railroad, and their labor was crucial to the company's profitability. At its peak, J.P. Morgan Chase owned more than 13,000 enslaved people across its various business interests, including railroad and steamship companies, plantations, and other ventures. While the company eventually divested its slave holdings following the Civil War, its legacy as one of the largest corporate slaveholders in American history remains a controversial part of its corporate history.
Further reading on this subject from The Charles and Margaret Hall Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame (widely recognized as the leading center for the historical study of Roman Catholicism in the United States) is available here
Details of the 1838 Jesuit Slave sale here
The Irish in Covington & Northern Kentucky
America's urban growth during the 1840s & early 1850s was the greatest such growth in the nation’s history and the Irish accounted for the substantial number of new world arrivals. They represented virtually all religious creeds and included thousands of Methodists, Baptists, Irish Presbyterians and many more Catholics. Covington became home to many of these Irish immigrants and local churches quickly reflected their presence with surging increases in memberships.
Irish immigration to Northern Kentucky can basically be divided into two phases. The first phase arrived prior to the 1850s and were mostly from Ulster and mostly Presbyterian. Many settled in Virginia, North and South Carolina and by the time the first census of the United States was taken in 1790, these first Irish immigrants (after 1850 preferring to be known as Scotts-Irish to differentiate themselves from the newly arriving Irish hoi-polloi) had made their way as far west as Kentucky, including Northern Kentucky. Thomas Kennedy, one of the original founders of the city of Covington, was of Irish descent.
The second phase were the Famine Irish from the 1840s from the rest of Ireland; poor, illiterate, unskilled and Catholic.
Most arrived at the port of New York after crossing the Atlantic on what were termed “the coffin ships.” As Thomas Sowell so vividly describes this journey in Ethnic America, the Irish packed into the holds of cargo ships, with no toilet facilities; filth and disease were rampant. They slept on narrow, closely stacked shelves. Women were so vulnerable to molestation that they slept sitting up. In 1847 about 40,000 died making the voyage, from disease and vessel sinkings, a mortality rate much higher than that of slaves transported from Africa in British vessels of the same period.
In New York these impoverished Irish took up residence in homes intended for single families, which were subdivided into tiny apartments. Cellars became dwellings, as did attics three feet high, without sunlight or ventilation, where whole families slept in one bed. Shanties sprang up in alleys. Without running water, cleanliness was impossible; sewage piled up in backyard privies, and rats abounded. Cholera broke out constantly in Irish wards. Observers have noted that no Americans before or since have lived in worse conditions than the New York Irish of the mid-nineteenth century.
Death was everywhere. In 1854 one out of every 17 people in the NY sixth ward died. In Sweeney’s Shambles the rate was one out of five in a 22-month period. The death rate among Irish families in New York in the 1850s was 21 percent, while among non-Irish it was 3 percent. Life expectancy for New York’s Irish averaged under 40 years. Tuberculosis, which New York's Bishop Hughes called the “natural death of the Irish immigrants,” was the leading cause of death, along with drink and violence.
Inflamed by this spectacle of social ruin, nativist sentiment grew and took a nastier, racist turn, no longer attacking primarily the superstition and priestcraft of the Catholic religion but rather the alleged genetic inferiority of the Irish people. Gifted diarist and former mayor George Templeton Strong, for example, wrote that “the gorilla is superior to the Celtic in muscle and hardly their inferior in a moral sense.” In the same vein, Harper’s in 1851 described the “Celtic physiognomy” as “simian-like, with protruding teeth and short upturned noses.”
Despite these difficulties, the Famine Irish found work as cheap and dispensable labour digging canals, building railroads and as day laborers, gradually spreading out throughout the nation. The Irish emigrants gradually made their way west to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and Irish Catholic parishes were soon established. The traditionally Irish Catholic Parishes in Northern Kentucky were St. Mary (later the Cathedral), St. Patrick and St. Ann in Covington; Immaculate Conception in Newport; St. James in Ludlow and St. Anthony in Bellevue. Irish Catholic parochial schools soon followed, all staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth of Kentucky.
As far as Catholicism goes, the Church has been the largest denomination in the United States since 1850 because of the massive waves of Irish—and then German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, and Latin American—immigration that began hitting the shores of New York and Massachusetts in the 1830s. Indeed, between 1830 and 1860, the Catholic population in the United States grew by more than 900 percent. The sheer numbers of immigrants and the perceived threats from these new arrivals fueled a growing American Nativist movement.
"These “nativists,” as the highly organized anti-Catholics were called, included Protestant fundamentalists who saw the Catholic Church as the handiwork of Satan and superstition, intellectuals who considered Catholicism incompatible with democracy, ethnocentric cultural purists who believed the United States should be a land for Anglo-Saxons, and pragmatic citizens who thought it not worth the trouble to integrate so many culturally different immigrants. The nativists counted among their number many of America’s elite, including John Jay, John Quincy Adams, John Calhoun, Stephen Douglas, and P. T. Barnum, all of whom spoke publicly against the Catholic Church and the threat to liberty that allowing Catholics into the country would create. In Boston a mob led by Congregationalist minister Lyman Beecher, the father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, burned a convent to the ground; church burnings were common. Samuel Morse tapped out rumors of Catholic conspiracies against liberty on his Atlantic cable long before such trash circulated on the Internet. Books depicting concupiscence in convents and sex in seminaries were everywhere."
Historian William J Stern.
Nativism becomes politicised - growth of 'The Know Nothings'
By the late 1840s, nativist supporters and activists morphed into a powerful political party which became known as the 'Know Nothings'. Members were secretive about their plans and always claimed to “know nothing’ when asked about their organisation – hence their nickname. An example was provided by the Covington Journal editor when he first reported of a rumored “wigwam” or lodge being established in the city in 1854. It's editor, who had come to embrace Know Nothing principles, commented simply, “of the truth of the rumor we know nothing.”
At its height in the 1850s, the Know Nothings grew dramatically, renamed itself politically as 'The American Party' included more than 100 elected congressmen, eight governors, a controlling share of half-a-dozen state legislatures from Massachusetts to California, and thousands of local politicians. Party members supported deportation of foreign beggars and criminals; a 21-year naturalization period for immigrants; mandatory Bible reading in schools; and the elimination of all Catholics (and in particular, the Irish) from public office. Conversely, while opposing slavery, the Know Nothings also supported the states that maintained the practice. Overall the party wanted to restore their vision of what America should look like with temperance, Protestantism, self-reliance, American nationality and work ethic enshrined as the nation's highest values - and certainly nothing to do with those dodgy, underhand, plotting 'followers of the Rome'
However, with hindsight, apparent differences between faiths certainly seems to have been a two way street. Catholic religious and ethnic parochialism from the 1840s was actively encouraged and strongly supported by Catholic leaders like Archbishop John Hughes of New York and Archbishop Francis Kenrick of Philadelphia. Maura Jane Farrelly & Gary Wills have highlighted this aspect of Irish American social development in their research:
"While it is true that Protestants did not want “slavish” Catholics threatening their supposedly free and liberal society, it is also true that many Catholic clergy did not want their parishioners fraternising too closely with dangerously individualistic Protestants. As a consequence, from the 1840s until the end of the Second World War—if not the post-Vatican II era of the 1960s and 1970s—Catholicism in America was characterized by what historian Garry Wills has called a “ghetto mentality” that encouraged Catholics to settle in the same urban enclaves, send their children exclusively to Catholic schools, and cluster in occupations that were dominated not just by Catholics, but often by people who had the same ethnic backgrounds."
Maura Jane Farrelly, “Catholicism in the Early South,” Journal of Southern Religion 14 (2012): http://jsr.fsu.edu/issues/vol14/farrelly.html
Slavery in the Southern United States, the Irish & the Catholic Church
Here's a difficult reality that is only recently beginning to be fully recognised: The largest corporate slaveholder in the United States up until 1859 was the Catholic Church.
This reality runs counter to the origin story traditionally told of the Catholic Church in the United States; that this was the church fighting for the oppressed, the church of the immigrant, the church of the despised and denigrated by the majority, the provider of succor and support in the face of adversity. The reality, as in so many instances involving the Catholic Church before and since, was otherwise - it depended on one's race.
Irish American anti-slavery myths have existed for generations with most claiming that African-American enslavement to Catholics & Irish-Americans was at most, minimal and certainly far more benign than amongst Protestant counterparts; that enslaved people were contented; that Catholic bondspeople rarely resisted. While some of these earlier versions of historical reality defend the Church’s slaveholding by repeating slaveholders’ justifications that they brought the faith to enslaved people, others claim, remarkably, that Catholicism left no lasting impact upon people in bondage.
New scholarship, however, is taking a far more critical and investigative look at slavery and the Catholic Church. The historical reality, supported with documentary evidence and historical testimony, as with other investigations worldwide into Church sanctioned or tolerated abuse, is in a word: horrific.
The early U.S. Government’s policy of allowing states to make their own decisions on the legality of slavery meant that while the Southern States (including Kentucky) chose to preserve the institution, slavery had no real economic relevance in the North, where the influx of poor European & Irish immigrants provided a cheap and very affordable workforce.
In the 1850s, slavery was still a significant and strong institution in Kentucky. According to the 1850 census, there were over 225,000 slaves in the state, making up nearly 25% of the population & primarily concentrated in the central and western counties, where large cotton and tobacco plantations were common. Despite its status, Kentucky was also home to a significant number of abolitionists, who sought to end slavery both in Kentucky and throughout the United States. These individuals and groups organized anti-slavery societies, wrote and distributed anti-slavery literature, and helped enslaved people escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Slavery in Kentucky was defined by laws and practices that severely restricted the rights of enslaved people, including the denial of their freedom, their ability to own property, and their right to family life. Enslaved people were considered property and could be bought, sold, and traded. They were subjected to physical abuse, sexual violence, and inhumane living conditions that were largely regarded within the state society by most, as acceptable even essential.
Slavery in the southern United States was both pervasive and widely practised pre 1865 by congregations and churches of all Christian Faiths but frequently divided on the issue of slavery. While many religious leaders attempted to legitimise the practice through intepretations of the Bible, virtually all of the Protestant faiths split on the matter, dividing their national denominations into sectional factions that either were pro or anti slavery. The Presbyterians split in 1837, Baptists in 1844 and the Methodists in 1846. The Catholic church was no exception but instead of splitting, a policy of silence was maintained. Slavery was neither condoned nor encouraged.
Prior to abolition, it was a greater anomaly for a Catholic religious order or group not to hold people in slavery. Before 1830, the most concentrated groups of Catholics lived in slaveholding regions: Maryland, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Missouri. When the Church established the first U.S. dioceses, those states were immersed in slaveholding, as were the religious orders, educational institutions, and charitable works within them. Slavery made possible the expansion of new dioceses across the United States, carrying their slaveholding practices with them.
No less than any other enslaved person, people enslaved to members of the Catholic Church, endured abysmal conditions and abuse. Records of people enslaved to the Jesuits during the 1820s, detail strict rationing of food and clothing and calculations for maximizing enslaved people’s labor time. In 1838, the Jesuits sold some of their 'chattels'; 272 slaves in order to save their college in Washington DC from financial ruin (this college later became Georgetown University & in 2016 the faculty acknowledged the wrong and offered a public apology)
Despite ecclesstical regulations against separating enslaved families, religious orders regularly sold people away for economic motives, as punishment, or without justification at all. Catholic religious also manipulated their own rules and withheld information from bondspeople to keep them in bondage and few Catholic religious or Catholic slave owners outright emancipated their enslaved peoples.
To the great majority of Southerns of all religious faiths, slavery was not perceived as either sinful or immoral - after all, in their narative, slaveholders provided their slaves with Christian instruction and 'rescued them from barbarism and heathenism', defending the practice as a 'positive good'. As for Northerners, they were not exactly moral crusaders. There, the majority were fearful of economic competition from black labour, class tension than of potential unrest within the Union. The recent addition of California, Utah and New Mexico to the Union and whether these were to be slave or free states along with a desire to reduce any potential conflict within the states resulted in the 1850 Compromise. California was admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico residents were to vote on the matter and the highly controversial 'Fugitive Slave Act', in existence since 1793, was given new teeth. It now became an offence for any citizen, in a slave or free state, to resist or refuse to assist in the recapture of suspected runaway slaves.
As to other corporate slaveholders from 1859 until the abolition of slavery nationwide in 1865? One such firm was the banking and financial services company J.P. Morgan Chase (formerly known as J.P. Morgan & Co.). While J.P. Morgan Chase is now one of the world's largest financial institutions, in the mid-19th century it was primarily a merchant banking firm that financed a variety of industries, including agriculture. According to historical records, J.P. Morgan Chase became the largest corporate shareholding slaveholder in America following its acquisition of the Louisiana and Texas Railroad in 1859. The railroad company owned over 1,100 enslaved people who were used to maintain and operate the railroad, and their labor was crucial to the company's profitability. At its peak, J.P. Morgan Chase owned more than 13,000 enslaved people across its various business interests, including railroad and steamship companies, plantations, and other ventures. While the company eventually divested its slave holdings following the Civil War, its legacy as one of the largest corporate slaveholders in American history remains a controversial part of its corporate history.
Further reading on this subject from The Charles and Margaret Hall Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame (widely recognized as the leading center for the historical study of Roman Catholicism in the United States) is available here
Details of the 1838 Jesuit Slave sale here
The Irish in Covington & Northern Kentucky
America's urban growth during the 1840s & early 1850s was the greatest such growth in the nation’s history and the Irish accounted for the substantial number of new world arrivals. They represented virtually all religious creeds and included thousands of Methodists, Baptists, Irish Presbyterians and many more Catholics. Covington became home to many of these Irish immigrants and local churches quickly reflected their presence with surging increases in memberships.
Irish immigration to Northern Kentucky can basically be divided into two phases. The first phase arrived prior to the 1850s and were mostly from Ulster and mostly Presbyterian. Many settled in Virginia, North and South Carolina and by the time the first census of the United States was taken in 1790, these first Irish immigrants (after 1850 preferring to be known as Scotts-Irish to differentiate themselves from the newly arriving Irish hoi-polloi) had made their way as far west as Kentucky, including Northern Kentucky. Thomas Kennedy, one of the original founders of the city of Covington, was of Irish descent.
The second phase were the Famine Irish from the 1840s from the rest of Ireland; poor, illiterate, unskilled and Catholic.
Most arrived at the port of New York after crossing the Atlantic on what were termed “the coffin ships.” As Thomas Sowell so vividly describes this journey in Ethnic America, the Irish packed into the holds of cargo ships, with no toilet facilities; filth and disease were rampant. They slept on narrow, closely stacked shelves. Women were so vulnerable to molestation that they slept sitting up. In 1847 about 40,000 died making the voyage, from disease and vessel sinkings, a mortality rate much higher than that of slaves transported from Africa in British vessels of the same period.
In New York these impoverished Irish took up residence in homes intended for single families, which were subdivided into tiny apartments. Cellars became dwellings, as did attics three feet high, without sunlight or ventilation, where whole families slept in one bed. Shanties sprang up in alleys. Without running water, cleanliness was impossible; sewage piled up in backyard privies, and rats abounded. Cholera broke out constantly in Irish wards. Observers have noted that no Americans before or since have lived in worse conditions than the New York Irish of the mid-nineteenth century.
Death was everywhere. In 1854 one out of every 17 people in the NY sixth ward died. In Sweeney’s Shambles the rate was one out of five in a 22-month period. The death rate among Irish families in New York in the 1850s was 21 percent, while among non-Irish it was 3 percent. Life expectancy for New York’s Irish averaged under 40 years. Tuberculosis, which New York's Bishop Hughes called the “natural death of the Irish immigrants,” was the leading cause of death, along with drink and violence.
Inflamed by this spectacle of social ruin, nativist sentiment grew and took a nastier, racist turn, no longer attacking primarily the superstition and priestcraft of the Catholic religion but rather the alleged genetic inferiority of the Irish people. Gifted diarist and former mayor George Templeton Strong, for example, wrote that “the gorilla is superior to the Celtic in muscle and hardly their inferior in a moral sense.” In the same vein, Harper’s in 1851 described the “Celtic physiognomy” as “simian-like, with protruding teeth and short upturned noses.”
Despite these difficulties, the Famine Irish found work as cheap and dispensable labour digging canals, building railroads and as day laborers, gradually spreading out throughout the nation. The Irish emigrants gradually made their way west to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and Irish Catholic parishes were soon established. The traditionally Irish Catholic Parishes in Northern Kentucky were St. Mary (later the Cathedral), St. Patrick and St. Ann in Covington; Immaculate Conception in Newport; St. James in Ludlow and St. Anthony in Bellevue. Irish Catholic parochial schools soon followed, all staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth of Kentucky.
Covington, Kentucky was a rapidly growing, affluent river city in the 1850s, located across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio. It was an important & thriving commercial center for the region in the midst of the national economic boom as the steady stream of California gold fueled both steady investment and with it, rising inflation. The city quickly grew to become a key transportation hub with a number of steamboat docks, warehouses, and factories. The city's population of some 11,000 in 1854 was certainly diverse for the era, with a mix of native-born Americans, Irish and German immigrants, and enslaved African Americans. The Irish and German immigrants made up a significant portion of the population, and naturally, they brought with them their own unique cultures, customs, and traditions. So much so, that one citizen noted in 1854 that "the Irish migration continues with fearful steadiness,” while others remarked on the large and growing number of local German singing-type saloons, saying "Covington could easily be thought of as “a land flowing with beer and harmony.”
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky provided many employment opportunities for Irish immigrants in the pre-war era. As early as 1839, the Western Globe (Covington) reported that Irish workers (whom they called the ‘salt of the earth’) for public works were employed among the construction crews of the Covington and Lexington Turnpike, and later on the Covington and Lexington Railroad. Jobs for men in construction were not the only employment opportunities. Sometimes this Irish immigration assumed a form unlike that of other earlier and later immigrant groups, in that a mother or eldest daughter often was sent to the US first. She would obtain employment, usually as a domestic servant, would save money, and then would send for the next oldest daughter, etc., until the husband and sons joined the family in America. This was the case with an Irish mother of seven children who, the Covington Journal reported in 1851, initially immigrated to Covington, became a domestic servant, saved money, sent for her eldest and second daughters, and finally, her husband, three sons, and two youngest daughters.
Tensions between Irish and German Catholic settlers were also growing during this period. With high wages paid for labour, some national differences began to surface in the city in the ever present competition for work and accomodation. The Germans stereotyped the Irish as being little more than wasteful spendthrifts, while the Irish in turn viewed the Germans as the “damn Dutch,” and scab laborers, and expanded to include ridiculing them as being “tight with a penny,” and even miserly.
The Catholic Irish of the Great Famine and afterwards were as a rule devoutly religious. St. Mary Catholic Church in Covington (founded 1833; renamed the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption) served their needs, as did the English-speaking congregations of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Newport (established 1855), St. Patrick Catholic Church in Covington (organized 1872). St. Anthony Catholic Church in Bellevue (founded 1889), and St. James Catholic Church in Ludlow (founded 1886). The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Ky., an English-speaking sisterhood, taught many of the Irish children in Northern Kentucky and also established two schools of their own, LaSalette Academy in Covington and Immaculata Academy in Newport. Peversely, the number of African-American people the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Dominican sisters, and Lorettines held in bondage in the region grew exponentially in the decades following their establishment. Where no evidence other than secondary references survive to indicate ownership, many educational orders have been proven to have participated in the Southern States slave society. The Sisters of Mercy, for instance, may not have been slaveholders, but in Missouri the Jesuits assigned them to supervise and catechise the women they had enslaved. Likewise, the De La Salle Christian Brothers taught at schools supported by slaveholding dioceses and religious orders. Even Catholics who were not slaveholders generally accepted slavery as part of the status-quo, with few Catholic leaders, if ever, condemning it.
Kentucky's Irish-American priests, like Rev. Patrick Guilfoyle (1817-1892) of Immaculate Conception Church and Rev. Thomas McGrady of St. Anthony were well-beloved by their congregations. Guilfoyle believed that every family should be able to own a home, so he invested church funds in building about 500 affordably-priced houses in Newport that were then sold on to parishioners at cost. In these parishes, a priest held most of the power - after all, this representative controlled education, morality, encouraged family life and marriage as well as entry to the next world and did so with the powerful Catholic sense of guilt and sin. Irish immigrants, of various denominations, found comfort and refuge in their faiths from the hardships of daily life. Many relied on the solace of religion as a means of overcoming their sense of isolation. Patrick Murphy, for example, was an educated immigrant and building contractor further south in Natchez, Mississippi. He kept detailed diaries during the 1850s of his experiences, revealing a man who felt isolated, depressed, and homesick. Murphy dreamed of being on board “a ship sailing home” only to wake up alone: “it is miserable to live in such a world.”
In parts of Kentucky, a frontier Catholicism of sorts existed for most with little in the way of comprehensive ecclesiastical authority or material and monetary resources. This was familiar to most Irish settling in the region as prior to the famine, many were accustomed to a lack of priests and insufficient church institutions due to poverty and volume of the laity. The practice of “stations” was widespread in Ireland, where priests said mass and heard confession in the homes.
While the Church hierarchy disdained the unstructured nature of the Irish Catholic Church and the prevalence within it of old religious and heterodox custom, for those who migrated to rural parts of Kentucky, the use of homes, tents, and crude log-built chapels was both familiar and sufficient for religious practice. The tyranny of distance and the lack of clerics posed constant difficulties for the urban clergy based in Louisville & Covington. On a rota basis, each clergyman would make rounds of the various outlying districts in the region, often absent for months traveling alone on horseback or single buggy, staying with parishioners, saying mass in homes, performing various baptismal and marriage ceremonies, annointing the sick and attending burials - much as was done at the height of the Penal days in Ireland.
In addition to religious institutions, the Irish emigrants quickly established a number of fraternal and political organizations. These included the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which had chapters in Covington and Newport, the National Land League (Parnell Branch, No. 1, Newport), and the Fenians (The Irish Republican Brotherhood) of the second half of the nineteenth century. An estimated 150 Fenians from Covington and Newport joined the 1866 failed Fenian invasion of British Canada. The Friends of Irish Freedom, whose members supported the cause of Irish independence and Irish-American interests purchased Republic of Ireland Bonds, founded Covington, Newport, and Ludlow branches in 1920.
The formation of these numerous all-Catholic organisations, drew the ire of many native-born Covington residents who felt such organisations fostered bloc voting along religious and ethnic lines. The Covington Journal heartily condemned such groups and claimed on 24 May 1856: "Irish or German political associations; Irish or German military companies; St. Patrick societies and Turner associations are all wrong in principle because . . . each, besides keeping up old-country ideas and prejudices, creates a special interest . . . and serves to build up a clannish power.”
When established in 1853, the new Catholic Diocese of Covington, Kentucky covered some 17,286 square miles - over half the size of the island of Ireland. The city itself had a growing population of around 11,000 in 1854 and as the number of Catholic immigrants to Kentucky continued to increase, attracted to the glassworks, stove factories and tobacco production, so too grew the Nativist, Know Nothing Party. Covington was the first Kentucky city to report the establishment of a Know Nothing lodge in 1853 and by the summer of 1854, Kentucky’s nativist organizations undertook their first organized political move. In Louisville, Lexington, and Covington, home to the three largest concentrations of Irish & German immigrants in Kentucky, nativist lodges and their political allies barnstormed local elections and took all available seats.
Into this challenging & politically charged American society, the young Subdeacon William Dorgan Berry, fresh from St. Patrick's College, Carlow arrived in October 1854.
(l-r) Very Rev. Thomas Roche Butler, Pastor of St. Mary’s from 1851 to 1867, with the first Bishop of the Diocese of Covington, Right Rev. George Aloysius Carroll, circa 1855. Courtesy of Archives of the Diocese of Covington. Carroll was familiar with the Covington. As a Jesuit priest, he had served as president of St. Xavier College in Cincinnati before his appointment as bishop.
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William Berry's journey to his first clerical posting & ordination was undoubtedly both an adventure and an ordeal - joining Irish and other immigrants on sailing ships that were making their return voyage to the United States after having carried tobacco or cotton to Europe.
These ocean voyages took between 40 and 90, very unpleasant days, depending very much on favourable winds and weather and the destination port. In steerage, ships were crowded (each passenger having about two square feet of space) and dirty (lice and rats abounded), and passengers had little food and ventilation and frequently battled epidemics of typhus and cholera. 'Saloon Class' which Sub deacon Berry would have availed of was a little better - but not by much. Atlantic crossings were risky at the best of times and each year a number of vessels sank close to shore or disappeared at sea without trace. In 1854 alone, some 2,000 people were lost at sea in the Atlantic. RMS Tayleur ran aground off the east coast of Ireland on her maiden voyage out of Liverpool with the loss of at least 300. The British Inman Line's SS City of Glasgow from Liverpool to the United States with 480 on board is lost without trace. Another British Inman Line's, the SS City of Philadelphia is wrecked off Cape Race (Newfoundland) on her maiden voyage but without loss of life. The American paddle steamer SS Arctic sinks after a collision with the much smaller French ship SS Vesta, 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of Newfoundland, with approximately 320 deaths. This was followed shortly afterwards by the United States packet ship Powhattan, wrecked off the New Jersey shore, with more than 200 victims. Poor shipping regulations and the vagaries of weather resulted in the very real & continued risk of never reaching port but conditions for passengers improved somewhat following the 1855 Passenger Act. This laid down minimum standards for rations, space and sanitation, but even so, between 10-20% of those who left Europe died en-route with around 10% shortly after arrival. Shipping lists show frequent losses with passengers that died and buried at sea noted during voyages. It's currently uncertain where William Berry landed in the United States. He may have landed at New York and travelled for another 4 or 5 days by train and overland to Kentucky, or he may have possibly landed in New Orleans and then travelled up the Mississippi river and on to Kentucky via the Ohio River system before finally arriving in Covington, some three to four months after leaving Ireland. We pick up Berry's archive trail again with The Catholic Telegraph, published in Cincinnati, Ohio, reporting on his arrival in Covington on page 4 of it's October 7, 1854 edition: The planned ordination ceremony for 15 October 1854 was delayed for two weeks due to an unknown reason, reported as to take place instead on 29 October.
Berry was duly ordained firstly as Deacon in the newly completed St Mary's Cathederal, Covington on 28 October 1854 and as priest the following day by the diocese Bishop, George Aloyisus Carroll.
Then, as now, the Rite of Ordination occurs within the context of Mass. After being called forward and presented to the assembly by Bishop Carroll, William Berry was interrogated and promised to diligently perform the duties of the Priesthood and to respect and obey his ordinary (bishop or religious superior). Then, he lay prostrate before the altar, while the congregation joined in the singing of the Litany of the Saints. The essential part of the rite was when the bishop silently laid his hands upon Deacon Berry (followed by all priests present), before offering the consecratory prayer, invoking the power of the Holy Spirit upon those being ordained. After the consecratory prayer, the newly ordained Fr. Berry was vested with the stole and chasuble of those belonging to the Ministerial Priesthood and then the bishop anoints his hands with chrism before presenting him with the chalice (presumably the Ballymartle Chalice) and paten which he was to use when presiding at the Eucharist. Stationed at the Cathederal, Fr. Berry also served in various outlying parishes throughout the diocese (which was half the size of the island of Ireland) until c.1857 - an eventful four years. |
A selection of items from the weekly Covington Journal of 4 November 1854. From a $100 reward offered for a 'runaway' slave to an amusing misunderstanding in the Glengarriff parish church and the Post Office advising of uncollected mail held in the Covington GPO as Poste Restante. However, note the presence of some mail for a Mrs Jane Berry. Coincidence perhaps or did sub-deacon William Dorgan Berry travel with his mother to Covington and was she present for his ordination?
William Berry's arrival in America coincided with a period of unprecedented strong economic growth, social change and technological developments. Despite the American states sharing a common sense of nationhood, many political differences had never been resolved. In particular, a growing number of Americans fundamentally disagreed over the place of slavery in the nation's future and the Federal government's role in upholding it. Tensions were running high between North and South as most Americans remained indifferent or hostile to the aspirations of blacks, but many in the North feared that the Southern domination of the Federal government could lead to the spread of slavery as new states entered the Union. As the American population grew 35% between 1850 & 1860, immigration exacerbated national and religious differences but the matter of slavery was splitting increasingly dis-United States.
Covington as with much of North Kentuck had continued to grow strongly during the mid 1850s largely due to a heavy dependence on the 981 mile (1579km) long Ohio River for transportation and trade. Seasonal extremes invariably brought all commerce and activities to a halt as water levels fell due to droughts upstream and winter as the river froze. As the river is the southern border of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, it was part of the border between free states and slave states in the years before the American Civil War. The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of Upper South slaves, especially from Kentucky, who were shipped via the Ohio and Mississippi to cotton and sugar plantations in the Deep South.
William Berry's first Kentucky winter of 1854-55 was a particularly hard season as Eleanor Childs Meehan recalled in 1923:
"The Ohio River was frozen over (some thought to the bottom) [between Covington and Cincinnati] and booths were erected on the ice where hot refreshments were served to skaters and visitors, and heavily loaded wagons crossed constantly. The ice was a playground between the two cities. To suffer from floods in the spring was common, necessitating much inconvienience and suffering among the lowland residents and the shifting of the ferry landings."
Eleanor Childs Meehan 'Supplement to Old Covington, Kentucky and personal recollections of an octogenarian. 1923.
Winter months when the river froze solid also provided opportunities for slaves to escape from their Southern owners and plantations, across the 1 kilometer wide frozen river to freedom in the neighbouring state of Ohio. The Covington area provided the setting for many such dramatic escapes and some historians claim the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was inspired by local slave activity. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, first published in book form on March 20, 1852, was well-received locally where the owner of the Covington Book Store was hard pressed to keep in stock a sufficient number of the sensational book. Southerners deeply resented it's potrayal of slavery and the Northern woman that dared condemn it. She received thousands of abusive letters from the South, including one which contained an African-American's ear. The book went on to sell more copies than the Bible for the rest of the century and created an emotional & moral climate that made many more citizens receptive to anti-slavery appeals and sectional claims of the moral superiority of the free states.
William Berry's arrival in America coincided with a period of unprecedented strong economic growth, social change and technological developments. Despite the American states sharing a common sense of nationhood, many political differences had never been resolved. In particular, a growing number of Americans fundamentally disagreed over the place of slavery in the nation's future and the Federal government's role in upholding it. Tensions were running high between North and South as most Americans remained indifferent or hostile to the aspirations of blacks, but many in the North feared that the Southern domination of the Federal government could lead to the spread of slavery as new states entered the Union. As the American population grew 35% between 1850 & 1860, immigration exacerbated national and religious differences but the matter of slavery was splitting increasingly dis-United States.
Covington as with much of North Kentuck had continued to grow strongly during the mid 1850s largely due to a heavy dependence on the 981 mile (1579km) long Ohio River for transportation and trade. Seasonal extremes invariably brought all commerce and activities to a halt as water levels fell due to droughts upstream and winter as the river froze. As the river is the southern border of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, it was part of the border between free states and slave states in the years before the American Civil War. The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of Upper South slaves, especially from Kentucky, who were shipped via the Ohio and Mississippi to cotton and sugar plantations in the Deep South.
William Berry's first Kentucky winter of 1854-55 was a particularly hard season as Eleanor Childs Meehan recalled in 1923:
"The Ohio River was frozen over (some thought to the bottom) [between Covington and Cincinnati] and booths were erected on the ice where hot refreshments were served to skaters and visitors, and heavily loaded wagons crossed constantly. The ice was a playground between the two cities. To suffer from floods in the spring was common, necessitating much inconvienience and suffering among the lowland residents and the shifting of the ferry landings."
Eleanor Childs Meehan 'Supplement to Old Covington, Kentucky and personal recollections of an octogenarian. 1923.
Winter months when the river froze solid also provided opportunities for slaves to escape from their Southern owners and plantations, across the 1 kilometer wide frozen river to freedom in the neighbouring state of Ohio. The Covington area provided the setting for many such dramatic escapes and some historians claim the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was inspired by local slave activity. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, first published in book form on March 20, 1852, was well-received locally where the owner of the Covington Book Store was hard pressed to keep in stock a sufficient number of the sensational book. Southerners deeply resented it's potrayal of slavery and the Northern woman that dared condemn it. She received thousands of abusive letters from the South, including one which contained an African-American's ear. The book went on to sell more copies than the Bible for the rest of the century and created an emotional & moral climate that made many more citizens receptive to anti-slavery appeals and sectional claims of the moral superiority of the free states.
Ohio had prohibited slavery and since 1841, stipulated that once a slave set foot in the state, they automatically became free. By 1850, Ohio was a vital transit state on the 'Underground Railroad' - the network of clandestine routes and safe houses established throughout the United States used by enslaved African Americans to escape into free states, Canada & Mexico. However, following controversial Federal legislation known as 'The Compromise of 1850' passed in September 1850, this freedom was frequently only token. This Act required that all escaped slaves, upon capture anywhere in the United States including free & slave states, be returned to the enslaver and that officials and citizens of free states were legally obliged to cooperate.
Instead of carrying enslaved peoples further north to freedom on the underground railroad, many more were instead railroaded further south to captivity. Abolitionists nicknamed it the "Bloodhound Bill", after the dogs that were used to track down people fleeing from slavery. The Compromise Act contributed to the growing polarization of the nation over the issue of slavery and became one of the factors that led to the American Civil War. |
1855: Immigrant & political tensions explode in Louisville & Covington, Kentucky
Rising tensions between the Know Nothing supporters and Irish & German settlers in Kentucky continued to escalate during the early 1850s. Differences had been simmering for years. During Kentucky's Constitutional Convention of 1849, attendees fiercely debated whether foreign-born Kentuckians (both Irish and Germans) ought to have the right to vote at all, and if so, for how many years they must have lived in the state before being permitted to vote or run for office.
A string of victories for Know Nothing candidates in local and state elections around the country during January 1855 (including the entire Covington municipal ticket) mobilised support for the party in Kentucky, largely due to rising anxiety on the growing numbers of immigrants in the north of the state, who they believed put undue stress on the cities prisons, hospitals and alms-houses. Not only did the party attract those who were anti-foreign, anti-Catholic or pro-slavery, but also counted among its adherents many who were sincerely concerned about the survival of the Union itself and the membership included a majority of Covington's leading citizens.
With the growth of the Know Nothing/American Party, so too did local opposition. A state-wide counter-society was formed in April 1855 calling itself the 'Sag Nichts' or 'Say Nothings' and German groups such as The Turner Society rallied to help local communities. (The Turner Society or Turnverein were German-American political and social centres for new immigrants. Traditionally far slower than other nationalities to assimilate, these clubs helped new arrivals from Germany integrate through social events, providing libraries, reading rooms, hosting lectures and helping find employment and accommodation. Despite the groups stated purpose of integration of new settlers, they were frequently regarded by Nativists as a potentially dangerous bunch of “free thinking socialists and agnostics".)
Across the Ohio River in Cincinnati, growing tension followed the April 1855 elections when the Know Nothings nominated a slate of candidates with James Taylor, the populist anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic editor of the Cincinnati Times, as candidate for mayor. Taylor's inflammatory attacks on immigrants caused rising tension in the city, with fighting breaking out on election day. The day after, a mob of nativists attacked a German neighbourhood, causing a riot in which several men died. The Germans organized into militia units, built a barricade across Vine Street, and successfully defended their homes and neighbourhood, at one stage firing a canon over the attacking Know Nothing mob.
The anti-foreign sentiments sweeping Kentucky and the nation now led to open violence in May in Covington with a near riot between Know Nothing supporters and The Covington Turner Society members and families during a social picnic.
The Irish, like the Germans, were frequent targets of Know Nothing ridicule. An example was provided by the Covington Journal in a short piece from May 27, 1855 about an Irish woman who had unexpectedly given birth to a baby girl while crossing the nearby Licking River suspension bridge. The Journal ended with the sardonic suggestion the child be named “Bridget.”
Tensions continued to grow, and fester during the summer of 1855. In the months leading up to Kentucky's gubernatorial election of August 1855, George D. Prentice, the local editor of the Louisville Journal, ran several editorials that warned against the influence of the immigrant population and espoused the Know Nothing platform — including a story that ran on the morning of the election in which he tried to convince Kentuckians that foreigners and Catholics were looking to infiltrate America through the vote. Prentice wrote on August 6, 1855:
"Rally to put down an organization of Jesuit Bishops, Priests, and other Papists, who aim by secret oaths and horrid perjuries and midnight plotting to sap the foundation of our political edifices — state and national."
Local opponents of the Know Nothing party tried, to no avail, to meet with Know Nothing party members to ensure that naturalised immigrant voters would have uninterrupted access to the polls throughout the state. But by the time voting began on the morning of August 6, 1855, armed guards stood before the voting booths, intimidated voters who failed to utter passwords agreed upon by local Know Nothings, and refused entry to individuals dressed in clothes or speaking with accents that marked them as "foreign." Before long, voter intimidation turned into outright violence. Know Nothing supporters, who outnumbered immigrants and were better armed, beat, stabbed, lynched and shot Irish and German immigrants in Louisville. They vandalized and set fire to immigrant-owned homes, businesses and storefronts. When the riot turned toward the Catholic Church, the town's mayor and other prominent community members convinced them to turn back.
While the actual figures are unknown, its estimated that between 22 and 100 Irish & German immigrants were killed and many more injured on what became known as 'Bloody Monday'.
This wave of violence and unrest now spread some 100 miles upstate to Covington on August 6 when a mob of Know Nothing supporters attacked & besieged St. Mary's Cathedral and the homes of several Catholic residents, causing extensive damage and injuring several people. While news reports are sketchy & selective at best depending on the editorial policy of the reporting newspaper, it appears that Fr. Berry and the church's priests & some parishioners barricaded the cathedral entry points and prevented access to the rioters, holding the mob off for much of the day until order was restored and damage was limited to some church windows, fittings and grounds.
Newspaper reports published in the days after the riot featured mixed interpretations of what had occurred and who was responsible. Papers in support of the Know Nothing party claimed that it was Irish immigrants who planned a premeditated attack against native-born Americans. In these accounts, the Know Nothings claimed the riot as an example of a larger plot of immigrant violence against Americans and proof if needed that immigrants should now be barred not only from the electoral process, but also from the country. Papers opposing the Know Nothing Party, meanwhile, reported that the party had been strategizing for weeks to limit as much as possible the number of Irish and German immigrants arriving at the polls by any means necessary — including violence.
The anti-immigrant violence and voter intimidation of Bloody Monday in Lousiville, Covington and other centres in Kentucky brought about an overwhelming electoral victory for the Know Nothing gubernatorial candidate in the State. But the following year's presidential election of 1856, quickly turned to electoral disaster for Know Nothing candidate Millard Fillmore, and marked the beginning of the end of the party as a viable political force. Although anti-immigrant sentiment has never been far from American politics, the country's division over slavery leading up to the Civil War — and the fact that many thousands of immigrants enlisted and fought on both sides in the war — stalled the Know Nothings and their momentum.
The Know Nothings were not the only ones to suddenly leave Kentucky. In her study 'Nativism in Kentucky to 1860', Agnes Geraldine McGann writes of a large exodus of Irish & German immigrants from both Louisville & Covington after the election day riot of 1855.
Somewhat galvanised by the riots & opposition from anti-Catholic groups, various churches and schools began to spring up in various parts of the diocese, and strides were rapidly made in education. Bishop Carrell introduced into the diocese the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, the monks and nuns of the Order of Saint Benedict, the Sisters of the Visitation, and the Ursuline Nuns. Education and ministry had now become the key Church objectives within the state. The ladder to a improved future was through education and it was the nuns who held that ladder.
1856
1856 continued with growing prosperity for Covington. Jobs were plentiful and despite an looming and threatening North-South political rupture, the local economic outlook continued to be optimistic. Southern economic development surged as railway mileage quadrupled, with much of the track laid by slaves, cotton, liquor & tobacco exports were booming and the South was about to become the fourth wealthiest nation on earth. Abolition groups continued to grow and the threat of slavery being extended into the new states of Kansas, California and New Mexico transformed the formerly rag-tag coalition known as The Republicans into a powerful sectional party that contested the 1856 Presidential election. (Amongst the party membership was a former member of the Whig Party, Abraham Lincoln, the son of a poor Kentucky farmer. Lincoln was still to run for the Senate (1858) and eventually as the Republican candidate for the US Presidency in the 1860 election.)
European immigration continued and grew, with large numbers of Irish & German settlers arrived continuing to swell the city's population. The German language had become a second language by a significant number of native-born Covingtonians, including some of the town’s free blacks and even a few slaves. The Germans however, still found little favor with the local Irish. The general dislike the Irish held for them stemmed not only from their divergent speech and old-world backgrounds but even more from their economic rivalry. The Germans impressed the Irish as being all too willing to accept jobs as scab laborers replacing any Irish that employers felt to be troublesome. Sectarianism was not exclusively that of the Nativist, American Protestatant population - the Irish also were strong supporters of religious divide and maintaining separateness from both their Lutheran & Catholic German brethern as well as their American Protestant neighbours.
In February 1856, the Council of the Sisters of Charity announced plans for the opening of the diocese’s first academy, the Academy of Our Lady of LaSalette, the name selected by Bishop Carrell. The new school, with grades one through 12, was established in a two-story, six-room brick home and operated until 1977. Many parents however, found difficulty paying the one dollar monthly tuition rate in cash and substituted farm produce or products from their small businesses and factories. Such a payment method for debts or fees was not unusual at that time. Even local newspaper publishers often accepted farm produce in lieu of cash. When the publisher of the Licking Valley Register set his newspaper’s pre-paid subscription rate at two dollars a year, he included the following provision: "Farmers residing in the country, who find it difficult to raise money, can pay in produce at the market price. Wheat, Corn, Tobacco, Beeswax, Tallow, Bacon, hemp, etc., will be received, if delivered at some point which shall be agreed upon.."
Internationally, the Crimean War ends with the Treaty of Paris and the National Dress Reform Association is founded in the United States to promote "rational" dress for women. American clipper ships Driver and Ocean Queen leave Liverpool and London respectively; both will be lost without trace in the Atlantic, perhaps due to ice, killing 374 and 123. The American Know Nothing Party convenes in Philadelphia to nominate their first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore. In November's elections, Democrat James Buchanan defeats Fillmore, representing a coalition of Know Nothings and Whigs, and John C. Frémont of the fledgling Republican Party, to become the 15th President of the United States.
The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India officially gives 'Peak XV' (later to be named Mount Everest) the height of 29,002 ft (8,840 m). 'Peak IX' (Kangchenjunga), previously thought to be the world's highest, is confirmed as 28,156 ft (8,582 m). The Great Train Wreck (the worst railroad calamity in the world to date) occurs near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Gregor Mendel starts his research on genetics and the British Guiana 1c magenta postage stamp is issued in British Guiana in limited numbers; the one surviving specimen will become regarded as the world's rarest stamp (valued at $8.3m in 2021)
Born in Ireland in 1856; John Lavery, artist (died 1941), William Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1925), Matt Talbot, manual labourer and ascetic (died 1925), George Bernard Shaw, playwright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) (died 1950), Catherine Coll, mother of Éamon de Valera (died 1932), Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Irish language writer and fisherman (died 1937) and on 8 December, Father Theobald Mathew, temperance reformer died (born 1790).
Other notable births in 1856 included: Keir Hardie, Scottish trade unionist and politician, founder of the Independent Labour Party (died 1915), Philippe Pétain, French soldier, statesman (d. 1951, Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist (d. 1939), Robert Peary, American Arctic explorer (d. 1920), L. Frank Baum, American author, poet, playwright, actor and independent filmmaker (The Wizard of Oz) (d. 1919), Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American inventor (d. 1943)& Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1924)
1857
January 1857 brought another severe winter freeze to Covington. This caught the city's coal dealers with their supplies at a low level and river ice prevented boats from bringing additional supply. Homeowners resorted to burning more and more wood and those fortunate enough to have a supply of coal resorted to placing, of all things, explosives in their coal piles. This could not prevent theft of their fuel, but it did serve to give the thief cause to later regret raiding that particular coal pile. The fuel shortage caused cancellation of many social affairs, public meetings, and virtually all week-night church services. Factories were forced into brief shutdowns, while school trustees closed all the town’s schools and “suspended the teachers’ salaries.”
International events during 1857 included France and the United Kingdom formally declare war on China, in the Second Anglo-Chinese War and further casualties in British coalfields as an explosion at Lundhill Colliery in the South Yorkshire Coalfield kills 189 miners. Born in Dublin, Margaret Pearse, future mother of Patrick Pearse and Willie Pearse (died 1932).
In Washington D.C., James Buchanan is sworn in as the 15th President of the United States and at Savannah, Georgia, the largest slave auction in U.S. history is held, dubbed The Weeping Time. Over a 2-day period (starting March 2), Pierce M. Butler sells 436 men, women, children, and infants, all of whom are kept in stalls meant for horses at a racetrack in Savannah for weeks beforehand. The Dred Scott v. Sandford case was ruled on: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that blacks are not citizens and slaves can not sue for freedom, driving the U.S. further towards the American Civil War (the ruling is not overturned until the 14th Amendment is adopted in 1868). Meanwhile in New York, Elisha Otis' first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway, New York City.
11 March – Tom Clarke, nationalist, rebel and organiser of the Easter Rising was born in England. (executed 1916). April and the Indian Rebellion of 1857 breaks out with the Sepoys mutinying against the British. Weeks later, Delhi falls to the rebels as troops are rushed from Ireland and Britain to counter the spreading insurgency as Lucknow and Kanpur are beseiged. Trouble flares in Belfast during the 12 July parades. Scuffles and confrontations between crowds of Catholics and Protestants turn into 10 days of rioting, exacerbated by the open-air preaching of Evangelical Presbyterian minister "Roaring" Hugh Hanna, with many of the police force joining the Protestant side. There are also riots in Derry, Portadown and Lurgan.
In Britain, the Matrimonial Causes Act removes divorce from ecclesiastical jurisdiction and makes it possible by order of a new civil Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, removing the necessity of parliamentary approval. This was followed by the Obscene Publications Act makes the sale of obscene material a statutory offence.
[However, the Act did not define "obscene", leaving it to the courts to devise a test, based on the common law. This took place some 11 years later in 1868 & involved one Henry Scott, who resold copies of an anti-Catholic pamphlet of material popular at the time entitled "The Confessional Unmasked: showing the depravity of the Romish priesthood, the iniquity of the Confessional, and the questions put to females in confession." When the pamphlets were ordered destroyed as obscene, Scott appealed the order to the court of Quarter Sessions. Benjamin Hicklin, a London magistrate, revoked the order of destruction holding that Scott's purpose had not been to corrupt public morals but to expose problems within the Catholic Church; hence, Scott's intention was innocent. The authorities appealed Hicklin's reversal, bringing the case to the consideration of the Court of Queen's Bench. Chief Justice Cockburn, reinstated the order of the lower court, holding that Scott's intention was immaterial if the publication was obscene in fact. Justice Cockburn reasoned that the Obscene Publications Act allowed banning of a publication if it had a "tendency ... to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences, and into whose hands a publication of this sort may fall." This test became known as the Hicklin test and allowed portions of a suspect work to be judged independently of context. If any portion of a work was deemed obscene, the entire work could be outlawed.]
While little archival detail relating to Fr. Berry's presence & ministry in Kentucky has been located to date (for example there is no Census data record as William Berry served in Covington between United States Census years of 1850 & 1860). Few church records of this period survive and records that do are scant and few online. Newspapers appear to indicate that the church and it's priests kept a remarkably low profile with virtually no references, even from publications which would have been considered liberal and pro-Catholic. The only indications of Berry's presence is through various Church publications & almanacs of the period. In these, he is recorded as a priest of the parish between 1854 and 1857 and then, suddenly, no longer appears in publications after 1858.
Further research eventually established that William Berry ended his ministry as a priest of the Covington diocese and was transferred from Covington, Kentucky during the summer of 1857, either by request or more probably, by instructions from the diocesan hierarchy. This does appear to be somewhat unusual. Were there disagreements between clergy? Did Berry believe he could be more effective in another mission area? Or perhaps there was a pressing need for clergy to serve elsewhere? William Berry was a relatively common name in 19th Century Britain and the United States - as was the title Rev. William (or Wm.) Berry - the surprisingly numerous 'non-conformist' clerical references throughout the US and pre 1850 Britain certainly slowed research. A matter of deduction allowed research to move to Britain 'and the colonies' when our William Berry no longer appeared in the US/Canada & Ireland registers.
Berry's departure from Covington coincided with a dramatic downturn in the city's fortunes.
Covington, as with many other cities in the US had been experiencing an economic boom since 1850 with banknote circulation and bank loans reaching record highs and monthly doublings of paper fortunes commonplace. Rampant optomism & over-speculation eventually began to take its toll and when an Ohio financial institution closed its doors in August 1857 following widespread embezzlement, many eastern banks panicked and suspended payments. In turn, that brought on a nationwide bank run triggering 'The Panic of 1857' which rapidly turned into a full-fledged bank & credit failure. Businesses around the nation failed and the United States lapsed into a depression and the first contagion of financial markets occured as the crisis extended to Europe.
As for Fr. William Berry? It took some time to research and to positively locate his next posting, but once again, the various church almanacs recorded his presence. After checking Australian, New Zealand, South African, Irish and Asian almanacs, he was eventually run to ground. William Berry had moved from an affluent but divided American community where animosity, distrust, racism and sectarianism ran deep and would continue to do so for many more decades, to an impoverished but equally divided community in the newly emerging Catholic Missions, in England.
Fr. Berry was appointed as Parish Priest to the small Catholic community of Tunstall (a pottery manufacturing & mining town in the Potteries of North Staffordshire in England's industrial Midlands) where he took up his position during late 1857 and where he was to remain until 1868.
Background 1534-1829
England's long connection with Rome lasted from the 6th century until King Henry VIII ended it in 1534 with the Reformation and the creation of The Church of England. The advisers of his son Edward VI (1547-1553) introduced changes that made the church Calvinist, but this was reversed by Henry's Catholic daughter Mary who reigned 1553-1558. Her sister and successor Elizabeth I recreated a separate Church of England and in 1559, introduced the Act of Uniformity - this imposed fines on all men who refused to attend Church of England services at their parish church and banned all Catholic religious observances. Thereafter Catholic observance became a furtive and dangerous affair, with heavy penalties levied on those known as recusants, who refused to attend Anglican church services. The seeds of a new underground church were planted with the foundation in 1568 of the English College at Douai in Flanders (now northern France), from which missionary priests were trained and sent out to sympathetic safe houses in England. Many of these priests, if caught, were executed.
Holders of public office and many others were now required to swear an oath of loyalty to the English Sovereign as head of the Church and records were kept of people who did or did not take these Oaths of Allegiance. Catholics could not accept the monarch as head of the Church, and so were not considered as loyal subjects in the eyes of the law. In 1563, the Thirty Nine Articles sought a middle path between Catholicism and Protestantism. The Anglican Church of England now became the state church with the Monarch as it's Supreme Governor and thus became the majority religion. Catholics and other non Anglican faiths (including the Society of Friends, Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists) traditionally collectively referred to as 'Non-confirmists' were now persecuted.
While the British Penal Laws remained on the statute books, violent persecution diminished somewhat under the Stuarts, although Catholic hopes for improvement were not helped by the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which prompted further executions and suspicion. In the later Stuart period, the situation was made more complicated by the open or private Catholic faith of some monarchs, and by their Catholic marriages. James II was openly Catholic and on his accession in 1685 the penal laws were quickly suspended, ecclesiastical hierarchy restored, and the country divided into four Districts, each led by a Vicar Apostolic (bishop to missionary territories). These developments were nipped in the bud by James II’s subsequent flight in 1688 and the accession of William III, ushering in the 'Glorious' or Protestant Revolution of 1688. The penal laws were rapidly re-established, and practising as a Catholic priest made punishable with life imprisonment (the last priest to be so punished being as late as 1767). Catholics were further prevented from buying new land and inheriting land, barred from the professions, army and universities and forbidden to own a horse worth more than £5 (c.£1.4k in 2023). Catholic religious activity naturally declined, and open displays of Catholic allegiance were seldom seen. A notable exception being in central London, where public worship took place unhindered in chapels attached to the embassies of foreign Catholic monarchies. The building of Catholic churches and chapels and education of Catholics was also declared illegal. Prohibited from education, many were forced to seek both academic & seminarian training in Catholic Europe.
Relief Acts to Emancipation: 1778-1829
Following the death of the Jacobite claimant to the British throne James Stuart on 1 January 1766, the Pope recognised the legitimacy of the Hanoverian dynasty, which began a process of rapprochement between the Catholic Church and the United Kingdom. Over the next sixty-three years, various bills were introduced in Parliament to repeal restrictions against practise of the Catholic faith, but these bills encountered political opposition, especially during the Napoleonic Wars.
A Catholic Relief Act also known as The Papists Act was brought before Parliament in 1778 & allowed Catholics to buy and inherit land and protected clergy from prosecution for fulfilling their priestly role, but made no specific provision for church building. The Act prompted a fierce public backlash, culminating in the Gordon Riots of 1780, when many Catholic properties were destroyed with between 300-700 deaths. The Second Catholic Relief Act of 1791 allowed Catholics, subject to the swearing of an oath of loyalty to the monarch, to practice their religion without fear of prosecution, and this included the building of churches. However bells and steeples were not permitted, and as a rule church buildings of the early post-Relief Act years were architecturally understated.
Formal emancipation finally came in 1829 with the Roman Catholic Relief Act and official persecution against non-Anglican Christian groups ended. Despite the Emancipation Act, however, anti-Catholic attitudes persisted throughout the 19th century, particularly following the sudden massive Irish Catholic migration to England during the Great Famine.
England's long connection with Rome lasted from the 6th century until King Henry VIII ended it in 1534 with the Reformation and the creation of The Church of England. The advisers of his son Edward VI (1547-1553) introduced changes that made the church Calvinist, but this was reversed by Henry's Catholic daughter Mary who reigned 1553-1558. Her sister and successor Elizabeth I recreated a separate Church of England and in 1559, introduced the Act of Uniformity - this imposed fines on all men who refused to attend Church of England services at their parish church and banned all Catholic religious observances. Thereafter Catholic observance became a furtive and dangerous affair, with heavy penalties levied on those known as recusants, who refused to attend Anglican church services. The seeds of a new underground church were planted with the foundation in 1568 of the English College at Douai in Flanders (now northern France), from which missionary priests were trained and sent out to sympathetic safe houses in England. Many of these priests, if caught, were executed.
Holders of public office and many others were now required to swear an oath of loyalty to the English Sovereign as head of the Church and records were kept of people who did or did not take these Oaths of Allegiance. Catholics could not accept the monarch as head of the Church, and so were not considered as loyal subjects in the eyes of the law. In 1563, the Thirty Nine Articles sought a middle path between Catholicism and Protestantism. The Anglican Church of England now became the state church with the Monarch as it's Supreme Governor and thus became the majority religion. Catholics and other non Anglican faiths (including the Society of Friends, Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists) traditionally collectively referred to as 'Non-confirmists' were now persecuted.
While the British Penal Laws remained on the statute books, violent persecution diminished somewhat under the Stuarts, although Catholic hopes for improvement were not helped by the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, which prompted further executions and suspicion. In the later Stuart period, the situation was made more complicated by the open or private Catholic faith of some monarchs, and by their Catholic marriages. James II was openly Catholic and on his accession in 1685 the penal laws were quickly suspended, ecclesiastical hierarchy restored, and the country divided into four Districts, each led by a Vicar Apostolic (bishop to missionary territories). These developments were nipped in the bud by James II’s subsequent flight in 1688 and the accession of William III, ushering in the 'Glorious' or Protestant Revolution of 1688. The penal laws were rapidly re-established, and practising as a Catholic priest made punishable with life imprisonment (the last priest to be so punished being as late as 1767). Catholics were further prevented from buying new land and inheriting land, barred from the professions, army and universities and forbidden to own a horse worth more than £5 (c.£1.4k in 2023). Catholic religious activity naturally declined, and open displays of Catholic allegiance were seldom seen. A notable exception being in central London, where public worship took place unhindered in chapels attached to the embassies of foreign Catholic monarchies. The building of Catholic churches and chapels and education of Catholics was also declared illegal. Prohibited from education, many were forced to seek both academic & seminarian training in Catholic Europe.
Relief Acts to Emancipation: 1778-1829
Following the death of the Jacobite claimant to the British throne James Stuart on 1 January 1766, the Pope recognised the legitimacy of the Hanoverian dynasty, which began a process of rapprochement between the Catholic Church and the United Kingdom. Over the next sixty-three years, various bills were introduced in Parliament to repeal restrictions against practise of the Catholic faith, but these bills encountered political opposition, especially during the Napoleonic Wars.
A Catholic Relief Act also known as The Papists Act was brought before Parliament in 1778 & allowed Catholics to buy and inherit land and protected clergy from prosecution for fulfilling their priestly role, but made no specific provision for church building. The Act prompted a fierce public backlash, culminating in the Gordon Riots of 1780, when many Catholic properties were destroyed with between 300-700 deaths. The Second Catholic Relief Act of 1791 allowed Catholics, subject to the swearing of an oath of loyalty to the monarch, to practice their religion without fear of prosecution, and this included the building of churches. However bells and steeples were not permitted, and as a rule church buildings of the early post-Relief Act years were architecturally understated.
Formal emancipation finally came in 1829 with the Roman Catholic Relief Act and official persecution against non-Anglican Christian groups ended. Despite the Emancipation Act, however, anti-Catholic attitudes persisted throughout the 19th century, particularly following the sudden massive Irish Catholic migration to England during the Great Famine.
By the late 1840s, Catholic churchgoers numbered around 2% of the British population and had freedom of expression over two decades of toleration in England, but the church was governed by vicars apostolic rather than bishops and there was no diocesan or parish organization.
In 1850, Pope Pius IX restored the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales, with the creation of thirteen new dioceses, each headed by a diocesan bishop. At this time there was a considerable under-provision of churches to cater for the growing, mainly industrial and working class Catholic population. The census of 1851 recorded just over 250,000 attending Sunday Mass out of an estimated Catholic population of over 600,000. Many of these were recent Irish immigrants, escaping the privations of the Great Famine (1845-52). The second half of the 19th century saw an enormous building programme, focusing primarily on schools, with churches following as funds permitted. Many buildings served as dual purpose school-chapels until a permanent church could be built. |
To British liberals, the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in England was but a logical extension of toleration and full religious liberties for all British citizens. However well intentioned such religious freedom were, this re-establishment of the Catholic Church was followed by a strong increase in anti-Catholic sentiment.
Anti-Catholicism was undoubtedly a significant feature of the Victorian period. It was manifested in sermons, petitions, tracts, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and popular fiction. The Victorian novel certainly dramatized the supposed evils of Catholicism and the pervasive English Protestant obsession with Rome was as Susan Griffin in 'Anti-Catholicism and Nineteenth-Century Fiction' (2004) argues; “distilled to provide Victorians with a set of political, cultural, and literary tropes through which they defined themselves as Protestant and therefore normative.”
From Sarah Josepha Hale, Charlotte Bronte, Benjamin Disraeli, Henry James, Frances Trollope, and Charles Kingsley, Victorian fiction provided more than enough plots, characters, and imagery for any febrile anti-Catholic imagination.
Just emerging from a semi-illegal status of over two centuries, the minority Catholic faith in Britain was embattled and faced extreme reaction, prejudice and bigotry in daily life - such as the vehement thundering's of The Bulwark or Reformation Journal, which equated Catholicism with moral and political "blight," superstition, depravity, and corruption and feared that "Papal Aggression" was bent on the re-conquest of Protestant England. In streets and at festivals, mobs burned effigies of the Pope and English Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman (1802-65), rioting resulted in many Catholic churches & homes damaged and "No Popery" processions were held throughout England. Sectarianism in Britain was not just practised against the Catholics of the state but also the Jews. In 1858, after a ten-year campaign led by David Salomons, the first Jewish lord mayor of London, the Jewish Relief Act was passed granting full civil and political rights to Jews. The first Jewish MP, Baron Lionel de Rothschild, took his seat the same year. Benjamin Disraeli, who was from a Jewish family, became Prime Minister in 1868.
Anti-Catholicism in the Victorian period, as in other periods of English post-Reformation history, was sometimes fostered for political purposes as an expression of fear and dislike or a general reaction and outlet for hostility. With the mass migration of Irish Catholics during and following the Famine of 1845-52, the view grew that this Catholic racial group were not only responsible for the spreading of all things anti-social including crime, disease and poverty but also with the hidden agenda of seeking to undermine the established Protestant Church of England.
Overall, anti-Catholic sentiment in England during the 1850s was a significant aspect of English society and reflected the deep-seated religious and cultural differences between the Protestant majority and the Catholic minority.
Meanwhile, the British Protestant religious trend in the 1850s was towards evangelism and social reform, fighting against alcoholism and prostitution and also establishing an education system to help the poor of both Britain and Ireland. To these improvements, a major missionary society was started which worked throughout the British Empire, and then the Bible Society which enabled the Bible to be read all over the world thanks to its translation into many local dialects. These Protestant evangelists fought against corruption in public life and endeavoured to establish the Sabbath as a day of rest, forbidding any form of work. The Anglican church advocated an anti-dogmatic, tolerant, inclusive faith which welcomed the Non-Conformists but remained somewhat wary of Catholics.
This gulf between faiths was to exist for generations.
Anti-Catholicism was undoubtedly a significant feature of the Victorian period. It was manifested in sermons, petitions, tracts, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and popular fiction. The Victorian novel certainly dramatized the supposed evils of Catholicism and the pervasive English Protestant obsession with Rome was as Susan Griffin in 'Anti-Catholicism and Nineteenth-Century Fiction' (2004) argues; “distilled to provide Victorians with a set of political, cultural, and literary tropes through which they defined themselves as Protestant and therefore normative.”
From Sarah Josepha Hale, Charlotte Bronte, Benjamin Disraeli, Henry James, Frances Trollope, and Charles Kingsley, Victorian fiction provided more than enough plots, characters, and imagery for any febrile anti-Catholic imagination.
Just emerging from a semi-illegal status of over two centuries, the minority Catholic faith in Britain was embattled and faced extreme reaction, prejudice and bigotry in daily life - such as the vehement thundering's of The Bulwark or Reformation Journal, which equated Catholicism with moral and political "blight," superstition, depravity, and corruption and feared that "Papal Aggression" was bent on the re-conquest of Protestant England. In streets and at festivals, mobs burned effigies of the Pope and English Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman (1802-65), rioting resulted in many Catholic churches & homes damaged and "No Popery" processions were held throughout England. Sectarianism in Britain was not just practised against the Catholics of the state but also the Jews. In 1858, after a ten-year campaign led by David Salomons, the first Jewish lord mayor of London, the Jewish Relief Act was passed granting full civil and political rights to Jews. The first Jewish MP, Baron Lionel de Rothschild, took his seat the same year. Benjamin Disraeli, who was from a Jewish family, became Prime Minister in 1868.
Anti-Catholicism in the Victorian period, as in other periods of English post-Reformation history, was sometimes fostered for political purposes as an expression of fear and dislike or a general reaction and outlet for hostility. With the mass migration of Irish Catholics during and following the Famine of 1845-52, the view grew that this Catholic racial group were not only responsible for the spreading of all things anti-social including crime, disease and poverty but also with the hidden agenda of seeking to undermine the established Protestant Church of England.
Overall, anti-Catholic sentiment in England during the 1850s was a significant aspect of English society and reflected the deep-seated religious and cultural differences between the Protestant majority and the Catholic minority.
Meanwhile, the British Protestant religious trend in the 1850s was towards evangelism and social reform, fighting against alcoholism and prostitution and also establishing an education system to help the poor of both Britain and Ireland. To these improvements, a major missionary society was started which worked throughout the British Empire, and then the Bible Society which enabled the Bible to be read all over the world thanks to its translation into many local dialects. These Protestant evangelists fought against corruption in public life and endeavoured to establish the Sabbath as a day of rest, forbidding any form of work. The Anglican church advocated an anti-dogmatic, tolerant, inclusive faith which welcomed the Non-Conformists but remained somewhat wary of Catholics.
This gulf between faiths was to exist for generations.
Mention Tunstall, Staffordshire today and many may recognise the town as the birthplace of ceramics designer Clarice Cliff (1899-1972), singer and descendant of Irish emigrants from Co. Kilkenny, Robbie Williams or perhaps as inspiration for local writers such as Arnold Bennett and Charles Shaw.
Fr. William Berry's connection with the town was for some ten or eleven years between 1857 and 1868 as Parish Priest of the small Catholic and predominantly Irish community.
In 1858, William Berry's archival trail is picked up again in that year's Catholic Directory Almanac and Registry of England.
With information provided in 1857, an entry appears for the parish of Tunstall, Staffordshire, England for St. Mary's:
Fr. William Berry's connection with the town was for some ten or eleven years between 1857 and 1868 as Parish Priest of the small Catholic and predominantly Irish community.
In 1858, William Berry's archival trail is picked up again in that year's Catholic Directory Almanac and Registry of England.
With information provided in 1857, an entry appears for the parish of Tunstall, Staffordshire, England for St. Mary's:
Either by request or by hierarchical decision, the 28 year old Fr. Berry had been promoted and relocated to quite probably, the polar opposite of his last posting in Kentucky. He was now the mission Parish Priest of Tunstall, a small pottery manufacturing working class industrial town in North Staffordshire. This new parish was founded just five years earlier as part of the Birmingham diocese of England's West Midlands was in an era and an area in the midst of dramatic social, industrial and political change.
Within an area of just over 20 square miles in North Staffordshire, the six towns of Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke-upon-Trent and Tunstall – collectively known as ‘The Potteries’ – became one of the notable developments of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and a centre for pottery, ceramics, porcelain, brick and tile manufacture, producing most of the ceramics in Britain by the 1860s. There was also a thriving coal mining industry locally. The coal mines in the area provided the fuel necessary to fire the thousands of kilns used to produce ceramics, and the combination of the two industries helped to make the Potteries one of the most economically prosperous regions in England.
However, with this prosperity also came widespread deprivation, poverty, pollution and premature death.
During the 1850s and 1860s, many workers in the pottery industry, including children, worked long hours in dangerous and unhealthy conditions for low wages. Housing was often cramped and overcrowded, and many families lived in poverty, struggling to meet their basic needs. The economic conditions in the Potteries were shaped by a number of factors, including the growth of the pottery industry, the rise of industrialization, and the general state of the economy. The boom-and-bust cycles of the pottery industry resulted in periods of high unemployment and poverty, and many workers faced difficult and uncertain economic conditions. In addition, there were also significant social and cultural issues, including poverty, disease, and limited access to education and healthcare. Many families lived in poverty, and were unable to afford basic necessities such as food, clothing, and medical care. At the same time, the region was affected by widespread outbreaks of disease, including cholera and typhoid.
Despite these challenges, there were also efforts to address the issues of poverty and deprivation in the Potteries during the 19th century. Reformers, philanthropists & religious leaders worked to improve the lives of workers and their families through education, healthcare, and other social initiatives, and there were also efforts to improve working conditions and to advocate for workers' rights. One of these religious leaders was to be the new Parish Priest of Tunstall, William Berry.
Tunstall was initially described in 1795 as 'the pleasantest village in the pottery'. However such days were long past by the time Fr. William Berry arrived in 1857 as the village had developed rapidly after 1816, when extensive coal seams and commercial quantities of clay suitable for pottery manufacture were discovered. By the late 1840s, the village was now an early industrial town and was stated to have been built 'not altogether without a plan'. Tunstall had transformed from a small un-touched rural North Staffordshire village into a bustling mid-Victorian era manufacturing area where squalor, exploitation greed and progress had yet to be tempered by humanity and life for most, including children, was short, tough and at times, brutal.
Tunstall native, Charles Shaw (1830-1906) in his classic working class autobiography 'When I was a Child' captures the changes experienced in the town during a few short years in the late 1840s (and later to provide Arnold Bennett with inspiration for his 'Clayhanger' novel):
Within an area of just over 20 square miles in North Staffordshire, the six towns of Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke-upon-Trent and Tunstall – collectively known as ‘The Potteries’ – became one of the notable developments of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and a centre for pottery, ceramics, porcelain, brick and tile manufacture, producing most of the ceramics in Britain by the 1860s. There was also a thriving coal mining industry locally. The coal mines in the area provided the fuel necessary to fire the thousands of kilns used to produce ceramics, and the combination of the two industries helped to make the Potteries one of the most economically prosperous regions in England.
However, with this prosperity also came widespread deprivation, poverty, pollution and premature death.
During the 1850s and 1860s, many workers in the pottery industry, including children, worked long hours in dangerous and unhealthy conditions for low wages. Housing was often cramped and overcrowded, and many families lived in poverty, struggling to meet their basic needs. The economic conditions in the Potteries were shaped by a number of factors, including the growth of the pottery industry, the rise of industrialization, and the general state of the economy. The boom-and-bust cycles of the pottery industry resulted in periods of high unemployment and poverty, and many workers faced difficult and uncertain economic conditions. In addition, there were also significant social and cultural issues, including poverty, disease, and limited access to education and healthcare. Many families lived in poverty, and were unable to afford basic necessities such as food, clothing, and medical care. At the same time, the region was affected by widespread outbreaks of disease, including cholera and typhoid.
Despite these challenges, there were also efforts to address the issues of poverty and deprivation in the Potteries during the 19th century. Reformers, philanthropists & religious leaders worked to improve the lives of workers and their families through education, healthcare, and other social initiatives, and there were also efforts to improve working conditions and to advocate for workers' rights. One of these religious leaders was to be the new Parish Priest of Tunstall, William Berry.
Tunstall was initially described in 1795 as 'the pleasantest village in the pottery'. However such days were long past by the time Fr. William Berry arrived in 1857 as the village had developed rapidly after 1816, when extensive coal seams and commercial quantities of clay suitable for pottery manufacture were discovered. By the late 1840s, the village was now an early industrial town and was stated to have been built 'not altogether without a plan'. Tunstall had transformed from a small un-touched rural North Staffordshire village into a bustling mid-Victorian era manufacturing area where squalor, exploitation greed and progress had yet to be tempered by humanity and life for most, including children, was short, tough and at times, brutal.
Tunstall native, Charles Shaw (1830-1906) in his classic working class autobiography 'When I was a Child' captures the changes experienced in the town during a few short years in the late 1840s (and later to provide Arnold Bennett with inspiration for his 'Clayhanger' novel):
This lovely, peaceful, and fruitful valley is now choked with smoke and disfigured by mining and smelting refuse. If Cyclops with his red-handed and red-faced followers had migrated upwards from the dim regions below and settled on the surface amid baleful blazes and shadows, a greater transformation could not have taken place. Huge mounds of slag and dirt are seen now, filling the valley, burning for years with slow, smoky fires within them. Poor Chatterly Farm stands like a blasted wraith of its once rural buxomness...
Pigot's 1841 entry for Tunstall in his 'Typology of England' records the town in a more businesslike & prosaic style:
TUNSTALL, or TUNSTALL COURT, is a market town and liberty, forming part of the borough of Stoke, in the parish of Wolstanton, four miles north by east from Newcastle Under Lyme. Considerable manufactories of porcelain, earthenware, blue bricks and tiles, and some chemical works, afford employment to several hundred persons; and veins of coal, fine clay, limestone, iron ore, and other mineral strata, abound in the vicinity. The Grand Trunk canal passes within half a mile of the town; and the Harecastle tunnels, which run nearly two miles in length, are within a short distance.
Local boy, playwright, writer & journalist, Arnold Bennett called the Potteries landscape "slatternly" but he didn't just leave it at that and went further in 'The Old Wives Tale' to describe the area as a...
… singular scenery of coal dust, potsherds, flame and steam … It was squalid ugliness, but it was squalid ugliness on a scale so vast and overpowering that it became sublime. Great furnaces gleamed red in the twilight, and their fires were reflected in horrible black canals; processions of heavy vapour drifted in all directions across the sky, over what acres of mean and miserable brown architecture! The air was alive with the most extraordinary, weird, gigantic sounds....
Arnold Bennett. The Old Wives Tale. 1908
Bennet's literary succesor, J.B. Priestley recalls being struck most forcibly during a visit to the area of hundreds of kiln chimneys dotted around the urban landscape..
"...a fantastic collection of narrow-necked jars or bottles peeping above the housetops on every side, looking as if giant biblical characters, after a search for wine or oil, had popped them there, among the dwarf streets."
With few surviving or accesible archive records, Rev. William Berry's position as Parish Priest of St. Mary's, Tunstall and parish history is confirmed in the 1907 'Historical Notes on English Catholic Missions' by Bernard W Kelly:
From this 20 square miles of North Staffordshire and from five towns, world-renowned brands, such as Doulton, Wedgwood and Minton produced high-quality table & decorative wares that were widely used domestically and throughout British territories whilst hundreds of small to medium sized firms were actively manufacturing products that were sold throughout Britain & Ireland including tiles, bricks and a surprsingly large market for inexpensive domestic ceramic decorations & statuary. With the development of canal transport systems, rural areas around and between the six towns were given over to growing clusters of coal fired pot works producing various ranges of ceramic wares, bricks and tiles.
By the 19th century, the Adams family owned & operated numerous factories in the Potteries and a large tile works based in Tunstall. Hundreds of bottle-shaped ovens belching coal smoke day and night dominated the industrial skyline of the Potteries from the 1800s until the 1960s with some 1,000 bottle ovens operating across the six towns at it's peak in the late 1890s. World famous tableware designs such as the Asiatic Pheasant and Willow Pattern were all manufactured in Tunstall.
By the 19th century, the Adams family owned & operated numerous factories in the Potteries and a large tile works based in Tunstall. Hundreds of bottle-shaped ovens belching coal smoke day and night dominated the industrial skyline of the Potteries from the 1800s until the 1960s with some 1,000 bottle ovens operating across the six towns at it's peak in the late 1890s. World famous tableware designs such as the Asiatic Pheasant and Willow Pattern were all manufactured in Tunstall.
Life in Tunstall 1850-1870
Life for much of the working population in The Potteries held significant social, physical and economic challenges, with poverty, disease, political unrest, and a lack of educational and cultural opportunities all contributing to an increasingly difficulty existence for the majority.
Poverty & deprivation were the main social issue of the region. The area was home to a large working-class population, many of whom worked in the potteries, living in cramped, unsanitary conditions. Low wages and long hours of work in the potteries, combined with high levels of unemployment, meant that many people struggled to make ends meet. These poor living conditions and the polluted air from the potteries contributed to high rates of respiratory diseases, such as tuberculosis and bronchitis. The mortality rate in the area was far higher than the national average, with chest diseases and lead poisoning caused through exposed long hours working with coal and clay among the leading causes of death, and the average life span of a pottery worker during the nineteenth century was 10 years less than that of employees in other industries. Almost half of the total number of cases of lead poisoning that were reported in England during 1898 were attributed to workers based in The Potteries and it was noted that there was ‘a somewhat excessive death rate from pneumonia and bronchitis’. In reality, there was a severe crisis in public health, but the complications associated with the pottery industry would not be fully understood until the turn of the century, as exemplified by one report from 1871 that incorrectly concluded that ‘the industry, generally, is a healthy one’.
There were also issues of social and political unrest. The working-class population was increasingly politically active, and there were calls for better working conditions and higher wages. This led to a series of strikes and demonstrations, particularly in the late 1850s and early 1860s, which were often met with violent resistance from the authorities. To these social issues was added the lack of educational and cultural opportunities. Many people were illiterate, and there were few schools or libraries in the area. This, combined with the long hours of work and the general poverty, meant that many people had limited access to education and culture.
Child labour was a widespread issue in Victorian Britain and the Potteries was no exception. During this period, children as young as four years old were often sent to work in factories, mines, and other hazardous industries for long hours and low wages. Many children also worked in textile mills, where they would operate dangerous machinery, and in domestic service, where they would work as servants in wealthy households. Industry viewed children as a convenient source of cheap, exploitable labor. At the same time, poverty and limited opportunities for education meant that many families had little choice but to send their children to work in order to survive. The pottery industry was a major source of employment and children as young as five years old worked long hours in the factories and kilns to help supplement family incomes. As cheap labour, they were often put to work performing dangerous tasks, such as carrying heavy loads of clay or operating machinery before being apprenticed at 14. Children also faced poor working conditions, including cramped and dirty factory spaces, lead & arsenic poisoning, and inadequate ventilation and lighting. They often worked 12 hours or more per day, six days a week, and were paid low wages that barely covered their basic needs. The situation was further compounded by the limited educational opportunities available to child laborers. Many children were unable to attend school and were denied an education, so perpetuating the cycle of poverty and exploitation. It wasn't until the passage of the Factory Act of 1833 that child labor in the Potteries began to be regulated. The act limited the working hours of children and required employers to provide safe working conditions. However, enforcement was difficult and child labor remained a serious issue.
Charles Shaw (1832-1906) who grew up in Tunstall recalled street life at the time in 'When I Was a Child' (1903):
In every street where there was a beershop, there would probably be a couple of men stripped to the waist, pounding at each other in regular fisticuff order, till they battered each other black and red, or else a couple of bulldogs would be devouring each other amid a howling ring of brutal men. Sometimes the women would scream at these sights, and the constable might hear them, or some women would run to tell him what was going on. If not engaged elsewhere, he would come hurriedly, not with the modern bobby pace, and as soon as he was seen there was a cry raised, "The constable is coming."
That cry never failed to disperse a crowd. Fighting men would pick up their clothes and run as if for life. Backers of dogs would rush the mangled animals away or carry them in their arms. There was a potency in the word " constable " which I have never seen in the word policeman, But we live in progressive times...
"The fag-end of the world..." The Irish Experience in The Potteries
Irish, Scottish & English migration into the Potteries area had begun by the 1820's, and by the early 1850's, the Irish Catholics migration to the area numbered well over 2,000 in a population of c.9,500.
As Famine forced the Irish to move from their home parishes to seek work, sustenance and shelter overseas, an intolerable strain was placed on the already threadbare social fabric of Britain. As church historian Patrick Comerford notes, most of the Irish flocking to the Potteries in this era were impoverished:
"The people who arrived in Staffordshire in a new ‘influx of Irish’ in the early 1850s were described by one priest as ‘mostly very destitute.’ Mother Margaret Hallahan, a Dominican nun who established a convent at the Foley in Fenton in 1851 [20 miles to the north-east of Tunstall] before moving to Stone in 1853, described the area as ‘a complete range of dust hills. The people say it is the fag-end of the Potteries; I think it is the fag-end of the world"...The Rugeley mission [27 miles to the south-west] was described in 1847 as ‘paralysed with poverty.’ At Walsall [31 miles south] the priest said an early mass on Sunday mornings in 1851 ‘for poor people who from want of proper clothes do not like to appear out of doors at a later period of the day.’
These Irish migrants to Britain faced significant additional challenges, including severe poverty, blatant discrimination and social exclusion. Many Irish workers found themselves from necessity in low-skilled, low-paying jobs, such as manual labor in factories or on construction sites, and they often lived in crowded and unsanitary conditions with frequent outbreaks of disease such as typhus (which became known as 'The Irish fever'). Anti-Irish prejudice was common, and many Irish people were subject to bigotry and discrimination, particularly in the workplace.
'The Irish were lumped together by Punch cartoonists as murderous simian creatures, made up in equal parts of cruelty, depravity and un-trustworthiness...'
Coogan, Tim Pat. Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora. Hutchinson (2000) p168
With an already large and increasing population, the newly formed Catholic diocese of Birmingham founded the Tunstall parish mission in 1853, the first to be started in the area since the middle-ages. Thsi mission worked from nearby Cobridge and covered Tunstall, Goldenhill, Red Street, Kidsgrove, and Norton-in the-Moors, with a dual use school & chapel in Plex Street dedicated to St. Mary. The parish mission continued to be served from Cobridge until 1854 when it received its first resident priest, Fr. Henry Davey. The presbytery at first adjoined the chapel but was later moved to a house in Chatterley Road, opposite the end of Plex Street, 'a commodious residence with well laid out grounds...castellated walls and strong heavily studded gateways'; the site is now occupied by the Cottage Hotel built in 1875.
Unlike some other Catholic congregations in the south of the county, Tunstall in North Staffordshire had an almost exclusively artisan and working class congregation. In other 'old Catholic' parishes patronised by middle & upper class patrons, a more established structure predominated with little class interaction between co-religionists. Catholicism had survived the Reformation in Staffordshire far more strongly that anywhere else in England (with the exception of Lancashire) and many long established gentry and aristocratic families had continued to practice their 'recussant' faith and financially support parish clergy & churches. However, a shared religion was the only connecting bond between the English and Irish Catholics, and the bond was far too frail to survive prejudice, suspicion, and misunderstandings from their co-religionists. These Irish immigrants suffered both from the prejudice of English Catholics as well as English Protestants.
Some English Catholic priests certainly showed distinct prejudice towards both their Irish flock and their Irish confreres. Priests in the London area in the 1850s described their Irish immigrant's religious state as a mixture of "indifference, apathy and neglect." Wiseman called them the "dense sinful masses." Father Burke, who founded the Rotherhite Catholic mission in 1853, later recorded his first impressions of his Irish congregation as 'badly dressed, poor, perished-looking . . . through neglect, disorderly habits and . . . drink were in a state of deepest poverty and degradation . . . the . . . children . . . like wild Indians [with] wild disregard of order or of our authority.' English Catholics' long experience from Protestant prejudice and hostility did not result in the English and Irish co-religionists joining forces and sharing resources, in fact this was quite the opposite. English Catholics shared too many of the existing Protestant bias towards the Irish to contemplate such a "disgraceful alliance."
Gilley describes the conundrum facing the English Catholic clergy of the time as having ministered to a devout gentry, they now also had to serve a pious proletariat:
The English Catholic Church confronted in the Irish a manner of men utterly remote from its own experience. Its priests ministered to a devout gentry; they had now to serve a pious proletariat. The faith in England had survived in the country; the Irish flocked to the towns. English congregations were small, and mostly worshipped in manor chapels; the Irish multitudes would require cathedrals. The English Catholic squire resembled his heretical neighbours both in their virtues and their vices; and his exclusion from English public life had preserved in him the insular prejudice of a simpler age. Class, culture and a uniquely quietist traditional piety shut him off from the Irish poor, and created the distinctions which a common creed might alone hope to overcome.
Gilley, S. (1969). The Roman Catholic Mission to the Irish in London, 1840–1860. British Catholic History, 10(3), 123-145
Missions on the other hand, as in Tunstall, were largely ministering to the 'pious proletariat' Irish emigrants by Irish clergy.
In general, the role of the parish priest then as now was to serve as the spiritual leader of the community, and to provide a wide range of support and services to the people in his care. This involved not only leading religious services and sacraments, but also providing guidance, assistance, and comfort to the members of his parish.
Education was certainly a high priority for these new missions but for most families, the day to day priority was simply survival. For most of the 19th century in Britain, girls education lagged well behind that of boys due to poverty. Girls were more likely to remain at home or working as 'half-timers' in local factories and their education was not viewed as of benefit to the family. Gradually, most parents and guardians realised that the route out of poverty was education - but who was to pay for it? Meanwhile, religious and emotional support for the flock in a foreign land was at times, more immediate and needed. Anti-Catholic and anti-Irish agitation had grown, as with much of England, throughout the West Midlands since the Restoration of the Hierarchy in 1850 but the ‘Papal Aggression’ agitation seems to have brought little evidence of any recorded direct violence against Catholic residents or property in the Potteries. That's not to say, of course, that there was none.
Despite anti-Catholic & anti-Vatican protest meetings, petitions, demonstrations, marches and addresses to the Queen, there is no recorded instance of anti-Irish or religious riots within town of Tunstall unlike many other areas. However, records and recollections of discrimination in employment, education, and other areas of life based on religion exist along with examples of intimidation, political & social exclusion from certain employment, activities and organisations and denial of admission to certain schools or institutions. Anti-Irish & Catholic sentiment was certainly fueled by propaganda and misinformation, including false claims about the beliefs and practices of Catholicism and exaggerated accounts of the influence and power of the Catholic Church and clergy.
Despite these difficulties, the Irish immigrants in Britain formed tight-knit communities, centered around their local Catholic churches. These communities provided support and assistance to one another, and helped to preserve Irish culture and traditions in Britain
Even in the midst of such societal & religious unrest in Britain, there was a few quid to be made and the pottery industry took full advantage. Most potteries catered to a range of different religious views with a wide range of religious & political ceramic figures. The Staffordshire potteries alone mass produced around 5,000 earthenware religious themed models which covered just about every subject and some which today raise more than a quizical eyebrow.
This response by the pottery firms to market demand produced a large variety of biblical figures and a surprising number of anti-Catholic items ranging from dramatic intrepretations of Protestant martyrs executed during the reign of Mary Tudor ('Bloody Mary') to more subtle images such as the pair ‘Popery’ and ‘Protestantism’ (opposite) depicting a priest and a young woman bearing blatantly anti-Catholic inscriptions, the flag on the back of ‘Popery’ ends with the line “Therefore a nation of Catholics is a nation of Slaves” which is quite suggestive of some of the popular views towards Catholicism during this period.
Despite the anti-Catholic messages seen within some figures, there was still (albeit a smaller) English, Irish & French Catholic market, and where there was a market, the Staffordshire potteries would certainly attempt to profit. Non-Coformist preachers featured and sold well but there was a striking absence of Anglican clerics but exotic animals, rural scenes and temperance subjects were the most popular. Opposite is a small figure of Father Theobald Mathew that was probably modelled from an engraving of him administering the ‘Temperance Pledge’ during the Temperance campaign in Ireland during the 1830s. |
1858
Although the Great Famine had ended in 1852, its effects were still being felt throughout Ireland in 1858. The famine had resulted in the death of over a million people and the emigration of millions more, and its aftermath had a profound impact on the country and its people. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing in Ireland, Britain, Europe & the United States in 1858, bringing with it significant economic growth and increased prosperity. However, it also led to social and political upheaval, as workers struggled to adapt to the new industrial economy. Ireland was experiencing a wave of industrialisation and modernisation, with new factories and industries springing up across the country. This was a significant change from the agrarian-based economy that had characterised Ireland for centuries, and it marked the beginning of a new era of economic development. The Atlantic Telegraph Company was launched in 1858, with the aim of laying the first transatlantic cable. The company was based in Dublin and was seen as a symbol of Ireland's growing importance as a centre of commerce and industry.
The internet of it's day began in August 1858 as the first transatlantic cable was successfully laid & opened, connecting Europe and North America. This greatly improved the speed and efficiency of international communication and had a profound impact on trade, commerce, and diplomacy. Meanwhile in Belfast, Edward Harland buys the small shipyard on Queen's Island, Belfast, from his employer Robert Hickson in conjunction with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff.
In July, papers by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace announcing a theory of evolution by natural selection read at the Linnean Society of London to little reaction. However, this led to the publication of Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life' the following year which produced an intellectual and cultural tsunamai.
Nationalism was emerging as a powerful force in Europe in 1858, with many nations seeking independence and self-determination. This was reflected in the growing popularity of nationalistic movements and the rise of the nation-state as a political entity. In Ireland, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), a secret society dedicated to achieving Irish independence was founded by James Stephens. The IRB were to later play a significant role in the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence. In April, a future revolutionary leader and participant in 1916, Tom Clarke was born. The same year saw the Origin of the Modern European State System when the Treaty of Stockholm was signed and which has since become a cornerstone of international relations. The treaty provided for the peaceful settlement of disputes and helped to reduce the threat of war in Europe.
Throughout the 1850s, Britain continued to expand its empire, acquiring new territories and consolidating its hold over existing colonies. 1858 was no exception, with Britain acquiring control over various territories, including present-day Nigeria and parts of East Africa. In India, an uprising by Indian soldiers against the British East India Company broke out as did the Second Opium War between Britain and China. This conflict was sparked by China's opposition to Britain's opium trade, which was causing widespread addiction and social problems in China. The war lasted for three years and ended with the Treaty of Tientsin, which granted Britain greater trading rights and influence in China.
William's father, James Berry died in West Maglin, Ballincollig on 21 December 1858, aged 63 and he was interred in Kilshannig, Dromahane, near Mallow, Co. Cork. James Berry's Will was eventually probated almost 12 years later by his widow, Jane on 24 June 1870 and shows effects valued at under £300. The original will does not survive and is believed lost in the destruction of the Custom House, Dublin in 1922.
Although the Great Famine had ended in 1852, its effects were still being felt throughout Ireland in 1858. The famine had resulted in the death of over a million people and the emigration of millions more, and its aftermath had a profound impact on the country and its people. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing in Ireland, Britain, Europe & the United States in 1858, bringing with it significant economic growth and increased prosperity. However, it also led to social and political upheaval, as workers struggled to adapt to the new industrial economy. Ireland was experiencing a wave of industrialisation and modernisation, with new factories and industries springing up across the country. This was a significant change from the agrarian-based economy that had characterised Ireland for centuries, and it marked the beginning of a new era of economic development. The Atlantic Telegraph Company was launched in 1858, with the aim of laying the first transatlantic cable. The company was based in Dublin and was seen as a symbol of Ireland's growing importance as a centre of commerce and industry.
The internet of it's day began in August 1858 as the first transatlantic cable was successfully laid & opened, connecting Europe and North America. This greatly improved the speed and efficiency of international communication and had a profound impact on trade, commerce, and diplomacy. Meanwhile in Belfast, Edward Harland buys the small shipyard on Queen's Island, Belfast, from his employer Robert Hickson in conjunction with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff.
In July, papers by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace announcing a theory of evolution by natural selection read at the Linnean Society of London to little reaction. However, this led to the publication of Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life' the following year which produced an intellectual and cultural tsunamai.
Nationalism was emerging as a powerful force in Europe in 1858, with many nations seeking independence and self-determination. This was reflected in the growing popularity of nationalistic movements and the rise of the nation-state as a political entity. In Ireland, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), a secret society dedicated to achieving Irish independence was founded by James Stephens. The IRB were to later play a significant role in the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence. In April, a future revolutionary leader and participant in 1916, Tom Clarke was born. The same year saw the Origin of the Modern European State System when the Treaty of Stockholm was signed and which has since become a cornerstone of international relations. The treaty provided for the peaceful settlement of disputes and helped to reduce the threat of war in Europe.
Throughout the 1850s, Britain continued to expand its empire, acquiring new territories and consolidating its hold over existing colonies. 1858 was no exception, with Britain acquiring control over various territories, including present-day Nigeria and parts of East Africa. In India, an uprising by Indian soldiers against the British East India Company broke out as did the Second Opium War between Britain and China. This conflict was sparked by China's opposition to Britain's opium trade, which was causing widespread addiction and social problems in China. The war lasted for three years and ended with the Treaty of Tientsin, which granted Britain greater trading rights and influence in China.
William's father, James Berry died in West Maglin, Ballincollig on 21 December 1858, aged 63 and he was interred in Kilshannig, Dromahane, near Mallow, Co. Cork. James Berry's Will was eventually probated almost 12 years later by his widow, Jane on 24 June 1870 and shows effects valued at under £300. The original will does not survive and is believed lost in the destruction of the Custom House, Dublin in 1922.
Ledger Gravestone of the Berry Family in Kilshannig Graveyard, Newberry, Kilshannig, Dromahane, (near Mallow) Co. Cork. "THIS STONE HAS BEEN ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF JAMES BERRY OF MAGLIN WHO DIED THE 22ND DEC. 1858 AGED 63 YEARS BY HIS BELOVED WIFE JANE BERRY WHO DIED JULY 11TH 1878 AGED 78 YEARS. ALSO HER SON THOMAS WHO DIED FEBRUARY 19TH 1876 AGED 35 YRS" Graveyard location and details: https://historicgraves.com/graveyard/newberry-kilshannig/co-ksng. Coordinates: 52.123095, -8.707330 |
1860s
The 1860s was a period of great scientific and cultural progress. Advances in fields such as medicine, physics, and engineering helped lay the foundations for further progress in the coming decades. The cultural scene was also vibrant, with the publication of works by writers such as Charles Darwin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Gustave Flaubert. At the same time, new ideologies and movements were emerging, including nationalism, socialism, and anarchism. These ideas would go on to shape the continent's political and social landscape in the coming decades.
The American Civil War, which began in 1861, had a significant impact. The conflict divided British public opinion, with some supporting the Union and others supporting the Confederacy. The war also had an impact on Britain's economy, as trade with the Confederate states was disrupted. Many Irish Americans fought in the war on both sides, and the conflict helped to raise awareness of the issue of Irish independence and galvanize the nationalist movement.
The Home Rule Movement, which sought greater political autonomy for Ireland within the British Empire, was growing in popularity in the 1860s. The movement was led by figures such as Charles Stewart Parnell and gained significant support among the Irish population. The Fenian Movement was a nationalist organization that sought Irish independence from Britain. The movement emerged in the 1860s and gained significant support among the Irish population, particularly among young men. Ireland was still recovering from the Great Famine of the 1840s, and the 1860s saw further economic hardship and poverty for many Irish people. The famine caused widespread suffering and led to significant emigration from Ireland, as people sought better opportunities abroad.
The Industrial Revolution continued to shape Britain in the 1860s, bringing significant changes to the country's economy, society, and culture. New technologies and innovations were driving economic growth, and Britain was becoming an increasingly industrialised and urbanised nation. The Trade Union Movement was growing in strength and influence as workers sought to improve their rights and working conditions. The movement was a response to the widespread poverty and hardship faced by working-class people and helped to lay the foundation for the modern labour movement. The Reform Act of 1867 was a significant piece of legislation that expanded the franchise and increased the representation of the working class in Parliament. The act was a major step forward in the development of British democracy and helped to give a voice to previously underrepresented groups.
The British Empire continued to expand in the 1860s, as Britain acquired new colonies and territories around the world. This expansion brought Britain new wealth and resources, but also created new challenges and tensions, as the country sought to maintain control over its far-flung empire. Meanwhile one of the major events of the decade was the unification of Italy in 1861, which brought together a number of small states and city-states into one country for the first time in centuries. The German states also underwent a process of unification during this decade, culminating in the creation of the German Empire in 1871.
Life as a Mission Catholic priest in England during the 1860s was certainly challenging in many ways. It was a time of great social and religious change while the clergy were expected to uphold traditional values and beliefs, while also adapting to new ideas and changing attitudes. There were also significant economic challenges. Many of Britain's Irish clergy lived, as their parishoners, in poverty and struggled to support themselves. Despite these difficulties, priests played an important role in their communities, providing spiritual guidance, comfort, and support to their parishioners. They also played an important role in educating and empowering people, particularly women and children, through their involvement in schools and charitable organisations. .
During the 1860s, the relationship between the Catholic Church and the British state was tense and strained, marked by distrust, prejudice and conflict. Despite being a minority religion in Britain, Catholicism had a long history in the country and a significant following, particularly among Irish immigrants. However, the Catholic Church was often seen as a foreign and divisive influence by the established Protestant majority, and it faced significant discrimination and prejudice. One of the major issues was the question of education. The Catholic Church had long been involved in education and operated a large network of schools, but these were often seen as a threat to the state-run educational system. The government attempted to curb the influence of Catholic schools by introducing legislation that limited their ability to receive public funding, which was viewed as an attack on religious freedom by the Catholic Church.
The 1860s was a period of great scientific and cultural progress. Advances in fields such as medicine, physics, and engineering helped lay the foundations for further progress in the coming decades. The cultural scene was also vibrant, with the publication of works by writers such as Charles Darwin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Gustave Flaubert. At the same time, new ideologies and movements were emerging, including nationalism, socialism, and anarchism. These ideas would go on to shape the continent's political and social landscape in the coming decades.
The American Civil War, which began in 1861, had a significant impact. The conflict divided British public opinion, with some supporting the Union and others supporting the Confederacy. The war also had an impact on Britain's economy, as trade with the Confederate states was disrupted. Many Irish Americans fought in the war on both sides, and the conflict helped to raise awareness of the issue of Irish independence and galvanize the nationalist movement.
The Home Rule Movement, which sought greater political autonomy for Ireland within the British Empire, was growing in popularity in the 1860s. The movement was led by figures such as Charles Stewart Parnell and gained significant support among the Irish population. The Fenian Movement was a nationalist organization that sought Irish independence from Britain. The movement emerged in the 1860s and gained significant support among the Irish population, particularly among young men. Ireland was still recovering from the Great Famine of the 1840s, and the 1860s saw further economic hardship and poverty for many Irish people. The famine caused widespread suffering and led to significant emigration from Ireland, as people sought better opportunities abroad.
The Industrial Revolution continued to shape Britain in the 1860s, bringing significant changes to the country's economy, society, and culture. New technologies and innovations were driving economic growth, and Britain was becoming an increasingly industrialised and urbanised nation. The Trade Union Movement was growing in strength and influence as workers sought to improve their rights and working conditions. The movement was a response to the widespread poverty and hardship faced by working-class people and helped to lay the foundation for the modern labour movement. The Reform Act of 1867 was a significant piece of legislation that expanded the franchise and increased the representation of the working class in Parliament. The act was a major step forward in the development of British democracy and helped to give a voice to previously underrepresented groups.
The British Empire continued to expand in the 1860s, as Britain acquired new colonies and territories around the world. This expansion brought Britain new wealth and resources, but also created new challenges and tensions, as the country sought to maintain control over its far-flung empire. Meanwhile one of the major events of the decade was the unification of Italy in 1861, which brought together a number of small states and city-states into one country for the first time in centuries. The German states also underwent a process of unification during this decade, culminating in the creation of the German Empire in 1871.
Life as a Mission Catholic priest in England during the 1860s was certainly challenging in many ways. It was a time of great social and religious change while the clergy were expected to uphold traditional values and beliefs, while also adapting to new ideas and changing attitudes. There were also significant economic challenges. Many of Britain's Irish clergy lived, as their parishoners, in poverty and struggled to support themselves. Despite these difficulties, priests played an important role in their communities, providing spiritual guidance, comfort, and support to their parishioners. They also played an important role in educating and empowering people, particularly women and children, through their involvement in schools and charitable organisations. .
During the 1860s, the relationship between the Catholic Church and the British state was tense and strained, marked by distrust, prejudice and conflict. Despite being a minority religion in Britain, Catholicism had a long history in the country and a significant following, particularly among Irish immigrants. However, the Catholic Church was often seen as a foreign and divisive influence by the established Protestant majority, and it faced significant discrimination and prejudice. One of the major issues was the question of education. The Catholic Church had long been involved in education and operated a large network of schools, but these were often seen as a threat to the state-run educational system. The government attempted to curb the influence of Catholic schools by introducing legislation that limited their ability to receive public funding, which was viewed as an attack on religious freedom by the Catholic Church.
This photograph was taken in January 1964 looking westwards along Plex Street from the corner of Roundwell Street (formerly Well Street) in Tunstall. The building on the right was originally St Mary's Roman Catholic school & chapel, opened in 1853. By the 1930s it had become part of F Buckley & Son's Staffs Tea Set Company decorating earthenware. Production had ceased by the 1960s and the works was demolished in the mid-1970s and replaced with housing. Houses on the right date from the mid 1800s and like the chapel have been replaced. Image courtesy of: Stoke on Trent City Archives.
1861
Rev. William Berry appears amongst the 11,860 residents in Tunstall in the Sunday 7 April, 1861 England, Scotland & Wales Census as the Head of the Household living at King Street, Tunstall Court, Staffordshire England. Occupation listed as a Roman Catholic Priest aged 32 and born in Ireland c.1829. Interestingly, we also discover a previously unknown brother, Nicholas Berry (born c.1837) then aged 24 and a student who was also sharing the parochial house on Census Night. Also in the parochial house was a 29 year old Irish teacher who was boarding with the Berrys, Ann Hickey and 18 year old domestic servant, Catherine Loned:
"England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWM4-P1Y : 23 September 2020), William D Berry, Tunstall Court, Staffs, from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
During the 1860s, the Catholic Church throughout Europe had been on the defensive against the main philosophical trends of the period such as rationalism, Darwinism, liberalism, socialism, communism and secularism. Political leaders in many countries endeavored to strip the church of secular powers, whereas in earlier times the church and state were integrally connected; to reduce the duties of the church to spiritual affairs by secularising the public sphere and by separation of church and state; and to assert the supremacy of the state, especially in education.
The Catholic Church resisted this development, which it portrayed as an attack on religion, and it sought to maintain and strengthen its strong role in the state and society. With the growing influence of enlightenment and after having lost much of its wealth, power, and influence in the course of the mediatization and secularization of the early 19th century, the church had been in a state of decline. The church now strove to regain its influence and to hold sway in such matters as marriage, family, and education. It initiated a Catholic revival by founding associations, papers, schools, social establishments, and new orders, and encouraging religious practices such as pilgrimages, mass assemblies and devotion to the Virgin Mary & the veneration of relics. In 1864, Pope Pius IX issued The Syllabus of Errors, a document that listed 80 modern ideas and propositions that were seen as heresies & unacceptable to the Catholic Church and therefore to it's adherents.
The Syllabus was an expression of the Church's concern about the growing spread of liberal and modern ideas in Europe and the Americas, which were seen as a threat to the traditional values and beliefs of the Church. The 80 propositions listed in the Syllabus covered a wide range of subjects, including religious freedom, the separation of Church and State, the role of the Pope, and the nature of truth. Some of the key ideas opposed in the Syllabus included the idea that civil authority had the right to control and limit the actions of the Church, that individuals had the right to freedom of conscience and religion, and that the Church should be subject to the laws and regulations of the state. The Syllabus was quickly and widely criticized by liberal and progressive groups, who saw it as an attempt by the Church to restrict intellectual and religious freedom. The document was also seen as out of touch with the modern world and as an obstacle to the progress of society.
The 1865 Catholic Directory Almanac and Registry, English Ecclesastical Register under the Diocese of Birmingham, shows Rev. William D. Berry continuining his minstry as Parish Priest of Tunstall, Staffordshire Potteries, St. Mary's:
The Parish in Tunstall later became known as the Parish of the Sacred Heart, and according to it's website (24.11.22), Fr. William Berry served as Parish Priest from 1857 to 1868, taking over from Henry Davey and later succeeded by Clement J Harris. The Parish record for William Berry's service as Parish Priest is from 1857-68 while the Historical Notes volume states 1858-1872.
A new church of St. Mary and a presbytery were erected in Sun Street (now St. Aidan's Street) in 1869 and remained in use until 1930 when the present church of the Sacred Heart in Queen's Avenue, begun in 1925, was opened.
A new church of St. Mary and a presbytery were erected in Sun Street (now St. Aidan's Street) in 1869 and remained in use until 1930 when the present church of the Sacred Heart in Queen's Avenue, begun in 1925, was opened.
Fr. Berry's youngest sister, Mary, married Richard Bolster of Skehanna, Doneraile in April 1866.
In the 1860s, the IRB began to step up its activities in Britain, establishing cells in several major cities, including London and Liverpool. The IRB next carried out a number of attacks and bombings in an effort to draw attention to the cause of Irish independence and to put pressure on the British government to grant independence. These attacks included the bombing of several public buildings, including the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament.
1867
In November 1867, Despite a highly publicized and well-supported campaign for clemency, three Irish nationalist activists (William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O'Brien) were publically executed in Manchester, England, for the murder of a police officer. The following month, the IRB bombed a prison in Clerkenwell, London where several Irish nationalist activists were being held, with the aim of freeing them. However, the attack resulted in significant damage to the surrounding area and several civilian casualties. The attack was widely condemned both in Britain and internationally, and was seen as a major setback for the Irish independence movement. The British government responded with increased repression of Irish nationalist activities, including arrests, trials, and further executions.
1868
Penal transportation from Britain to Australia ended in January with the arrival of the convict ship Hougoumont in Western Australia, after an 89-day voyage from England. There are 62 Fenians among the transportees including John Boyle O'Reilly who was later to sensationally escape from prison in Fremantle and settle in the United States where he became a renowned poet, journalist and writer and also a close personal friend of the fourth holder of the Ballymartle chalice, Rev. P.B.Murphy.
In February, Disraeli succeeded the Earl of Derby as Prime Minister following Derby's resignation due to ill-health.
Disraeli's first premiership was dominated by the heated debate over the Church of Ireland. Although Ireland was largely Roman Catholic, the Church of England represented most landowners. It remained the established church and was funded by direct taxation, which was greatly resented by the Catholics and Presbyterians. An initial attempt by Disraeli to negotiate with Archbishop Manning the establishment of a Catholic university in Dublin foundered in March when Gladstone moved resolutions to disestablish the Irish Church altogether. The proposal united the Liberals under Gladstone's leadership, while causing divisions among the Conservatives.
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh (and the 'Royal Spare') was in Sydney, Australia, at a fundraising event for the Sydney Sailors Home on March 12. There, as the guest of honour was feted in the beachfront suburb of Clontarf, a man stepped from the crowd, pulled out a revolver and shot the Duke in the back. The would be assassin was Henry James O'Farrell, an Irishman and member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood - The Fenians. He was later described by the Colonial governor as 'an inmate of a lunatic asylum', a polite way of saying in those days that he was Irish and politically inclined. The attempted assassination resulted in tremendous embarrassment and public remorse expressed by all of the Australian colonies, but either way, the Prince made a speedy recovery. The luckless O'Farrell on the other hand was quickly tried and promptly hanged for his impertinence.
The last public hanging of a woman in Britain took place on April 2 as Frances Kidder took the long drop outside Maidstone Prison by William Calcraft for drowning her stepdaughter.
10 May and a riot provoked by William Murphy who gave virulently anti-Catholic lectures occurred in the nearby town of Ashton-under-Lyne. Two Catholic chapels were burned down, a hundred shops and homes ransacked and one man killed in fighting between Catholic and Protestant residents. This public disorder was followed on 26 May with the last public hanging in Britain; that of Fenian bomber Michael Barrett outside Newgate Prison in London by William Calcraft for his part in the Clerkenwell explosion of 1867. Three days later, Parliament passes the Capital Punishment Amendment Act, ending the practice & the spectacle of public hanging.
The first Trades Union Congress is held on 2 June in Manchester and later that month, Fr Berry moved from Tunstall where he had ministered for the previous eleven years, to serve as Parish Priest in the town of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, 110 miles to the north-west.
1867
In November 1867, Despite a highly publicized and well-supported campaign for clemency, three Irish nationalist activists (William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O'Brien) were publically executed in Manchester, England, for the murder of a police officer. The following month, the IRB bombed a prison in Clerkenwell, London where several Irish nationalist activists were being held, with the aim of freeing them. However, the attack resulted in significant damage to the surrounding area and several civilian casualties. The attack was widely condemned both in Britain and internationally, and was seen as a major setback for the Irish independence movement. The British government responded with increased repression of Irish nationalist activities, including arrests, trials, and further executions.
1868
Penal transportation from Britain to Australia ended in January with the arrival of the convict ship Hougoumont in Western Australia, after an 89-day voyage from England. There are 62 Fenians among the transportees including John Boyle O'Reilly who was later to sensationally escape from prison in Fremantle and settle in the United States where he became a renowned poet, journalist and writer and also a close personal friend of the fourth holder of the Ballymartle chalice, Rev. P.B.Murphy.
In February, Disraeli succeeded the Earl of Derby as Prime Minister following Derby's resignation due to ill-health.
Disraeli's first premiership was dominated by the heated debate over the Church of Ireland. Although Ireland was largely Roman Catholic, the Church of England represented most landowners. It remained the established church and was funded by direct taxation, which was greatly resented by the Catholics and Presbyterians. An initial attempt by Disraeli to negotiate with Archbishop Manning the establishment of a Catholic university in Dublin foundered in March when Gladstone moved resolutions to disestablish the Irish Church altogether. The proposal united the Liberals under Gladstone's leadership, while causing divisions among the Conservatives.
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh (and the 'Royal Spare') was in Sydney, Australia, at a fundraising event for the Sydney Sailors Home on March 12. There, as the guest of honour was feted in the beachfront suburb of Clontarf, a man stepped from the crowd, pulled out a revolver and shot the Duke in the back. The would be assassin was Henry James O'Farrell, an Irishman and member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood - The Fenians. He was later described by the Colonial governor as 'an inmate of a lunatic asylum', a polite way of saying in those days that he was Irish and politically inclined. The attempted assassination resulted in tremendous embarrassment and public remorse expressed by all of the Australian colonies, but either way, the Prince made a speedy recovery. The luckless O'Farrell on the other hand was quickly tried and promptly hanged for his impertinence.
The last public hanging of a woman in Britain took place on April 2 as Frances Kidder took the long drop outside Maidstone Prison by William Calcraft for drowning her stepdaughter.
10 May and a riot provoked by William Murphy who gave virulently anti-Catholic lectures occurred in the nearby town of Ashton-under-Lyne. Two Catholic chapels were burned down, a hundred shops and homes ransacked and one man killed in fighting between Catholic and Protestant residents. This public disorder was followed on 26 May with the last public hanging in Britain; that of Fenian bomber Michael Barrett outside Newgate Prison in London by William Calcraft for his part in the Clerkenwell explosion of 1867. Three days later, Parliament passes the Capital Punishment Amendment Act, ending the practice & the spectacle of public hanging.
The first Trades Union Congress is held on 2 June in Manchester and later that month, Fr Berry moved from Tunstall where he had ministered for the previous eleven years, to serve as Parish Priest in the town of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, 110 miles to the north-west.
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Built: 1865-8. Architect, M E Hadfield and Son. Small church in red brick with blue
brick band. Welsh slate roof with ridge tile and stone coped gable ends. 4
small arched windows with stone band at cills and blue brick band at impost height.
Gabled porch with ashlar dressings to west elevation. Nave and 1 aisle. Small
wood gallery. 2 octagonal piers
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In 1868, Gainsborough was the third largest town located in the West Lindsey district in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It was a bustling market town with a population of around 10,000.
Textile production was a major source of employment in the town, with several large factories producing a range of products, including woolen and worsted cloth. Many workers also were involved with the manufacture of agricultural machinery, steel & iron production and brewing. The town's location on the River Trent made it an important center for transportation with direct connections to the North Sea, inland waterways and the town was served by several railway lines and several docks along the river. Despite its prosperity, the town was not without its challenges. Working conditions in the textile factories were often dangerous, harsh, with long hours and low wages. The town's growth also placed strain on its infrastructure and housing, with many families living in cramped and unsanitary conditions. Workers in the textile mills typically worked long hours, often up to 12 hours a day, six days a week in crowded, noisy, and poorly ventilated factories. Safety was a low priority with workers frequently injured or killed by the mill's machinery. In addition to these physical hardships, workers in the textile mills were low paid and many were women and children - particularly vulnerable to the harsh working conditions. Many women worked in the mills to support their families, and they were often paid less than men for doing the same work. Children as young as six years old were also employed in the mills, working long hours for low wages. These working conditions and use of child labour led to the growing labor reform movement of the time. Many faith's co-existed in the town. Non-conformism historically flourished in Gainsborough and some of the Mayflower Pilgrims worshipped in secret before sailing for Holland in 1609. A small Jewish population were present along with a growing Catholic population. White's History, Gazeteer & Directory of Lincolnshire from 1872 lists the 'Dissenting Chapels' in Gainsborough, then numbering six:
Catholic presence in Gainsborough An attempt to establish a Catholic mission in 1821 foundered after a few years, but was revived in 1848 by the small community in the town with Mass & other curch services & events celebrated in various rented rooms in the town. Fr Michael Scully was appointed in 1861, who also served Retford, Brigg and Crowle. The church and presbytery were built between 1866 and formally opened in June 1868, the first of several churches in North Lincolnshire largely paid for by Thomas Arthur Young (1805-91) of Kingerby Hall, near Market Rasen, and designed by Matthew Ellison Hadfield (1812-55) of Sheffield. Hadfield was an early follower of the Gothic Revival movement led by A W N Pugin. The cost for both buildings in 1868, excluding land was £1,200. Named "St Thomas of Canterbury" Parish, Rev. William Berry began almost a decade of ministry here in June 1868 and was to be his final parish. |
Rev. Berry was in somewhat familiar environment with his new posting. Then aged around 39, he had over eleven years of what must have been exceptionally difficult pastoral service in the industrial heart of the Potteries. Now in a new town, a newly built parish church and presbytery, while his personal living conditions had no doubt improved, just as many old social issues faced his new parishioners.
From the late 1860s, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire experienced social issues common to most industrial towns of the time. The growth of the textile industry in the town had led to an increase in the number of people employed in what were low-paying and exceedingly dangerous factory jobs. This resulted in widespread poverty, with many families struggling to make ends meet and facing poor living conditions. The rapid growth of the town placed significant strain on its housing stock, with many families living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. This was due in part to the lack of investment in the town's infrastructure and housing stock, as well as the pressure to maximize profits in the highly competitive textile industry. This industry was characterized by long hours, low wages, and dangerous working conditions. Workers, including children, were often subjected to harsh conditions and had limited rights and protections.
This combination of poverty, overcrowding, and industrial pollution created significant health and sanitation problems in Gainsborough during the 1870s. Many residents suffered from poor health and disease, and the town's water and sewage systems were inadequate to deal with the growing population. Despite these challenges, this was a period of increased political and social activism, with workers and residents organising to demand better working conditions, higher wages, and improved living standards. This activism eventually led to the formation of trade unions and the introduction of labour laws and regulations designed to protect workers and improve working conditions.
As we've seen during this period, Anti-Catholic sentiment was a common issue in many parts of England in the mid 19th century, and Gainsborough was no exception. Many of the established Anglican Church viewed the Catholic Church as a powerful and influential institution that posed an overt threat to the established political and social order in Britain. In addition, the growth of Irish immigration to England during this period, including to Gainsborough, fueled a degree of anti-Catholic sentiment, as many also viewed these Irish Catholics as a potential source of political and social unrest. Economic tensions also contributed to lingering anti-Irish & anti-Catholic sentiment, with many people blaming the Irish for much of the social and economic problems of the time, including poverty, unemployment, and disease. This sentiment was often fueled by propaganda and misinformation, which portrayed the Irish as being responsible for these problems and as a threat to the wellbeing of English society - as after all, they were evidently incompatible with traditional English values and customs.
A degree of interest and curiosity was raised when Pope Pius convoked The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, on 29 June 1868, the first to be held in three centuries since the Council of Trent of 1545-63 and was scheduled to open in December 1869. The council was convoked to respond to the rising influence of rationalism, liberalism, and materialism.
For the migrating Irish and the seasonal workers, matters such as the First Vatican Council were irrelevant. The more pressing concern was earning an income, and in all parts of Britain, the local Catholic church provided a convenient meeting place, a source of shelter and, through the priest, a sympathetic ally who knew of suitable lodgings and of employment. Seasonal migrant Irish farm labour, mostly from the west of Ireland was a large part of the Lincolnshire agricultural season for decades up to the late 1860s. As Sarah Barber in “Irish Migrant Agricultural Labourers in Nineteenth Century Lincolnshire.” mentions that:
'…specially chartered trains of cattle trucks brought five hunded Irishmen at a time into the towns. The Catholic Churches were filled to overflowing throughout the summer and the labourers were frequently noisy, boisterous and drunk. In such cases the local police had no control over the Irish, but the threats of the Catholic priest brought immediate calm…'
Irish migrant workers declined during from the late 1860s onwards as mechanisation affected the demand for labour and both the British & Irish agricultural depression of the 1870s virtually ended the tradition.
In late September, a sensational archaelogical find – the Ardagh Hoard is discovered at Ardagh Fort, County Limerick.
Major political changes were underway in the November 1868 United Kingdom general election - the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, & greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections. It was the first held in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes cast compared to the previous election of 1865. The result saw the Liberals, led by William Gladstone, again increase their majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives to more than 100 seats. Many Liberal reforms were passed during this first ministry, including cruicially in Ireland, the dis-establishment of the Church of Ireland and the introduction of secret voting.
1868 also saw the births of Constance Gore-Booth (later Markievicz), Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil TD, member of 1st Dáil and Cabinet Minister (died 1927) was born in Ireland (Feb 4), W. E. B. Du Bois, African American civil rights leader (d. 1963) (Feb 23), Maxim Gorky, Russian author (d. 1936) (March 28), Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918) (May 6), John MacBride, republican (executed 1916) on 7 May, 5 June – James Connolly, socialist, trade unionist, nationalist, rebel and Easter Rising leader (executed 1916). 6 June – Robert Falcon Scott, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1912) and 7 June, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect (d. 1928).
It was also the end of another era as on December 16th, Rev. Dennis Murphy, the second holder of the Ballymartle Chalice passed away in Ballinhassig, Co. Cork and was interred in Kilcrea, Ovens.
1869
July 26 – the royal assent is given to the Irish Church Act, disestablishing the Church of Ireland with effect from 1871 and abolishing payment of tithe, the legislation having passed through the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and House of Lords.
During August, anti-Irish riots at Pontlottyn in the Rhymney Valley of Wales break out and result in one death. Scientist Mary Ward is killed in a steam car accident at Parsonstown, Ireland's first victim of a mechanically propelled road vehicle and the Debtors Act abolishes indefinite imprisonment for civil debt in England and Wales with effect from 1870.
In October, the 'Edinburgh Seven', led by Sophia Jex-Blake, start to attend lectures at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, the first women in the UK to do so (although they will not be allowed to take degrees), the Red River Rebellion against British forces begins in Canada and in November, clipper ship Cutty Sark is launched in Dumbarton, Scotland; she is one of the last clippers built, and the only one to survive in the UK.
December: First Vatican Council in over 300 years convenes
During the 1860s, European states had become increasingly critical of the Vatican's refusal to distinguish between secular allegiance due to nations by its Catholic citizens on one hand and the expectation of spiritual obedience to Rome on the other. Such was the concern within the Church hierarchy at the perceived threats of the age, from rising nationalism and modernity to the perceived challenges posed by secularism and Protestantism, that the First Vatican Council was convoked in 1868. This was more than three centuries after the last Papal Council, the Council of Trent (1545-63 which had been prompted by the Protestant Reformation and was to become the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.)
One of the most significant outcomes of the First Vatican Council was the promulgation of the doctrine of papal infallibility, which holds that the pope is preserved from error when speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals. This controversial doctrine was opposed by some Catholics, as well as by many non-Catholics, who saw it as an affront to the principles of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
In Britain and Ireland, the reaction to the First Vatican Council was mixed. Many in both countries welcomed the Council's reaffirmation of traditional Catholic teachings, while others were deeply critical, concerned about the implications of the doctrine of papal infallibility and an unwarranted extension of papal authority. Some were particularly uneasy about the Council, as they feared that it would lead to increased centralisation of power in the church and undermine their traditional forms of religious expression. In Ireland, the reaction to the council was complicated by the fact that it took place at a time of intense political and social upheaval. The Irish population was heavily divided over issues like home rule and land reform, and many saw the council's emphasis on the authority of the papacy as a threat to their national aspirations.
Elsewhere, there was an immediate reaction to the political & social implications of the doctrine of infallibility on the sovereignity of secular states. Most of the European kingdoms and republics took rapid action against the Catholic Church in a wave of anti-clericalism and checks to perceived Papal agression unseen since the Reformation. The Austrian Empire annulled the 1855 Concordat, in Prussia, the anti-Catholic Kulturkampf broke out and the French Third Republic revoked it's concordat of 1801, completely separating the Church from the State. In Britain, the public perception of Catholic citizens as paying just lip service to the state was merely confirmed. British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, publicly attacked Vatican I, stating that Roman Catholics had "forfeited their moral and mental freedom." He published a pamphlet titled 'The Vatican Decrees in their Bearing on Civil Allegiance' in which he described the Catholic Church as "an Asian monarchy: nothing but one giddy height of despotism, and one dead level of religious subservience." He further claimed that the Pope wanted to destroy the rule of law and replace it with arbitrary tyranny, and then hide these "crimes against liberty beneath a suffocating cloud of incense." Secular British politicians further pondered whether "Catholicism and allegiance to the modern liberal state were not mutually exclusive". For European liberalism, the dogmas were perceived as a declaration of war against the modern state, science, and spiritual freedom.
From the late 1860s, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire experienced social issues common to most industrial towns of the time. The growth of the textile industry in the town had led to an increase in the number of people employed in what were low-paying and exceedingly dangerous factory jobs. This resulted in widespread poverty, with many families struggling to make ends meet and facing poor living conditions. The rapid growth of the town placed significant strain on its housing stock, with many families living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. This was due in part to the lack of investment in the town's infrastructure and housing stock, as well as the pressure to maximize profits in the highly competitive textile industry. This industry was characterized by long hours, low wages, and dangerous working conditions. Workers, including children, were often subjected to harsh conditions and had limited rights and protections.
This combination of poverty, overcrowding, and industrial pollution created significant health and sanitation problems in Gainsborough during the 1870s. Many residents suffered from poor health and disease, and the town's water and sewage systems were inadequate to deal with the growing population. Despite these challenges, this was a period of increased political and social activism, with workers and residents organising to demand better working conditions, higher wages, and improved living standards. This activism eventually led to the formation of trade unions and the introduction of labour laws and regulations designed to protect workers and improve working conditions.
As we've seen during this period, Anti-Catholic sentiment was a common issue in many parts of England in the mid 19th century, and Gainsborough was no exception. Many of the established Anglican Church viewed the Catholic Church as a powerful and influential institution that posed an overt threat to the established political and social order in Britain. In addition, the growth of Irish immigration to England during this period, including to Gainsborough, fueled a degree of anti-Catholic sentiment, as many also viewed these Irish Catholics as a potential source of political and social unrest. Economic tensions also contributed to lingering anti-Irish & anti-Catholic sentiment, with many people blaming the Irish for much of the social and economic problems of the time, including poverty, unemployment, and disease. This sentiment was often fueled by propaganda and misinformation, which portrayed the Irish as being responsible for these problems and as a threat to the wellbeing of English society - as after all, they were evidently incompatible with traditional English values and customs.
A degree of interest and curiosity was raised when Pope Pius convoked The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, on 29 June 1868, the first to be held in three centuries since the Council of Trent of 1545-63 and was scheduled to open in December 1869. The council was convoked to respond to the rising influence of rationalism, liberalism, and materialism.
For the migrating Irish and the seasonal workers, matters such as the First Vatican Council were irrelevant. The more pressing concern was earning an income, and in all parts of Britain, the local Catholic church provided a convenient meeting place, a source of shelter and, through the priest, a sympathetic ally who knew of suitable lodgings and of employment. Seasonal migrant Irish farm labour, mostly from the west of Ireland was a large part of the Lincolnshire agricultural season for decades up to the late 1860s. As Sarah Barber in “Irish Migrant Agricultural Labourers in Nineteenth Century Lincolnshire.” mentions that:
'…specially chartered trains of cattle trucks brought five hunded Irishmen at a time into the towns. The Catholic Churches were filled to overflowing throughout the summer and the labourers were frequently noisy, boisterous and drunk. In such cases the local police had no control over the Irish, but the threats of the Catholic priest brought immediate calm…'
Irish migrant workers declined during from the late 1860s onwards as mechanisation affected the demand for labour and both the British & Irish agricultural depression of the 1870s virtually ended the tradition.
In late September, a sensational archaelogical find – the Ardagh Hoard is discovered at Ardagh Fort, County Limerick.
Major political changes were underway in the November 1868 United Kingdom general election - the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, & greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections. It was the first held in which more than a million votes were cast; nearly triple the number of votes cast compared to the previous election of 1865. The result saw the Liberals, led by William Gladstone, again increase their majority over Benjamin Disraeli's Conservatives to more than 100 seats. Many Liberal reforms were passed during this first ministry, including cruicially in Ireland, the dis-establishment of the Church of Ireland and the introduction of secret voting.
1868 also saw the births of Constance Gore-Booth (later Markievicz), Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil TD, member of 1st Dáil and Cabinet Minister (died 1927) was born in Ireland (Feb 4), W. E. B. Du Bois, African American civil rights leader (d. 1963) (Feb 23), Maxim Gorky, Russian author (d. 1936) (March 28), Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918) (May 6), John MacBride, republican (executed 1916) on 7 May, 5 June – James Connolly, socialist, trade unionist, nationalist, rebel and Easter Rising leader (executed 1916). 6 June – Robert Falcon Scott, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1912) and 7 June, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect (d. 1928).
It was also the end of another era as on December 16th, Rev. Dennis Murphy, the second holder of the Ballymartle Chalice passed away in Ballinhassig, Co. Cork and was interred in Kilcrea, Ovens.
1869
July 26 – the royal assent is given to the Irish Church Act, disestablishing the Church of Ireland with effect from 1871 and abolishing payment of tithe, the legislation having passed through the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and House of Lords.
During August, anti-Irish riots at Pontlottyn in the Rhymney Valley of Wales break out and result in one death. Scientist Mary Ward is killed in a steam car accident at Parsonstown, Ireland's first victim of a mechanically propelled road vehicle and the Debtors Act abolishes indefinite imprisonment for civil debt in England and Wales with effect from 1870.
In October, the 'Edinburgh Seven', led by Sophia Jex-Blake, start to attend lectures at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, the first women in the UK to do so (although they will not be allowed to take degrees), the Red River Rebellion against British forces begins in Canada and in November, clipper ship Cutty Sark is launched in Dumbarton, Scotland; she is one of the last clippers built, and the only one to survive in the UK.
December: First Vatican Council in over 300 years convenes
During the 1860s, European states had become increasingly critical of the Vatican's refusal to distinguish between secular allegiance due to nations by its Catholic citizens on one hand and the expectation of spiritual obedience to Rome on the other. Such was the concern within the Church hierarchy at the perceived threats of the age, from rising nationalism and modernity to the perceived challenges posed by secularism and Protestantism, that the First Vatican Council was convoked in 1868. This was more than three centuries after the last Papal Council, the Council of Trent (1545-63 which had been prompted by the Protestant Reformation and was to become the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.)
One of the most significant outcomes of the First Vatican Council was the promulgation of the doctrine of papal infallibility, which holds that the pope is preserved from error when speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith and morals. This controversial doctrine was opposed by some Catholics, as well as by many non-Catholics, who saw it as an affront to the principles of religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
In Britain and Ireland, the reaction to the First Vatican Council was mixed. Many in both countries welcomed the Council's reaffirmation of traditional Catholic teachings, while others were deeply critical, concerned about the implications of the doctrine of papal infallibility and an unwarranted extension of papal authority. Some were particularly uneasy about the Council, as they feared that it would lead to increased centralisation of power in the church and undermine their traditional forms of religious expression. In Ireland, the reaction to the council was complicated by the fact that it took place at a time of intense political and social upheaval. The Irish population was heavily divided over issues like home rule and land reform, and many saw the council's emphasis on the authority of the papacy as a threat to their national aspirations.
Elsewhere, there was an immediate reaction to the political & social implications of the doctrine of infallibility on the sovereignity of secular states. Most of the European kingdoms and republics took rapid action against the Catholic Church in a wave of anti-clericalism and checks to perceived Papal agression unseen since the Reformation. The Austrian Empire annulled the 1855 Concordat, in Prussia, the anti-Catholic Kulturkampf broke out and the French Third Republic revoked it's concordat of 1801, completely separating the Church from the State. In Britain, the public perception of Catholic citizens as paying just lip service to the state was merely confirmed. British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, publicly attacked Vatican I, stating that Roman Catholics had "forfeited their moral and mental freedom." He published a pamphlet titled 'The Vatican Decrees in their Bearing on Civil Allegiance' in which he described the Catholic Church as "an Asian monarchy: nothing but one giddy height of despotism, and one dead level of religious subservience." He further claimed that the Pope wanted to destroy the rule of law and replace it with arbitrary tyranny, and then hide these "crimes against liberty beneath a suffocating cloud of incense." Secular British politicians further pondered whether "Catholicism and allegiance to the modern liberal state were not mutually exclusive". For European liberalism, the dogmas were perceived as a declaration of war against the modern state, science, and spiritual freedom.
1870
1871
In January, the Irish Church Act finally came into force on 1 January 1871 and a key move in dismantling the Protestant Ascendancy which had dominated Ireland for several centuries previously. . The Act meant the Church of Ireland was no longer entitled to collect tithes from the people of Ireland. Existing clergy of the church received a life annuity in lieu of the revenues to which they were no longer entitled: tithes, rentcharge, ministers' money, stipends and augmentations, and certain marriage and burial fees. The passage of the Bill through Parliament caused acrimony between the House of Commons and the House of Lords with the result that Queen Victoria had to personally intervened to mediate.
Also in January, James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon and later to be the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland born (died 1940), Rugby Football Union established in London and The Franco Prussian war came to an end as Paris fell on 28 January. The war had a lasting impact on Europe, by hastening German unification and significantly altering the balance of power. The new German nation state supplanting France as the dominant European land power, gave Bismarck another twenty years of power and finally ending imperial rule in France, replacing it with its first lasting republican government. Resentment over France's defeat triggered the Paris Commune, a revolutionary uprising which seized and held power for two months before its bloody suppression.
February brought what became known as 'The Great Gale' in the North Sea: 28 ships wrecked and total fatalities are estimated at over fifty, including six crew of Bridlington life-boat Harbinger. March and the first rugby international (played in Edinburgh) results in a 4–1 win by Scotland over England and the Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria; incorporating a grand organ by Henry Willis & Sons, the world's largest at this time.
Meanwhile, April in New York and P.T. Barnum opens his three-ring circus, hailing it as "The Greatest Show on Earth", U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Civil Rights Act of 1871 in Washington DC. In Dublin, John Millington Synge, dramatist, poet and writer (died 1909) born and the fifth United Kingdom Census 1871 was held on Sunday 2 April 1871. It added the categories of "lunatic" and "imbecile" to those recorded as infirm. The total population of England, Wales and Scotland was recorded as 26,072,036 but unable to locate a record for Rev. William D. Berry. He may have been visiting family in Ireland at the time and so may have been recorded. However, the original census returns for 1861 and 1871 were destroyed shortly after the censuses were taken. Those for 1881 and 1891 were pulped during the First World War, probably because of the paper shortage. The returns for 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were, apart from a few survivals, notably for a few counties for 1821 and 1831, destroyed in 1922 in the fire at the Public Record Office at the beginning of the Irish Civil War.
May 10 – The Treaty of Frankfurt is signed, confirming the frontiers between Germany and France. The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine are transferred from France to Germany while Ireland and Britain's first ever bank holiday was held on Whit Monday.
During June, the Westmeath Act is enacted in Ireland allowing arrest and detention without trial. Formally known by it's more long winded title: The Protection of Life and Property in certain parts of Ireland Act 1871 or Protection of Life and Property (Ireland) Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict c 25). It was one element of the special emergency legislation that had been applied to Ireland by Westminster and permitted the arrest and detention without trial of persons reasonably suspected of membership in a secret society and it effectively suspended habeas corpus in Ireland. Meanwhile on 29 June, trade unions were legalised by Trade Union Act.
August – Nine Hours Strike begins on Tyneside in favour of a shorter working day; employers capitulate after 14 weeks. October 11 – Heinrich Schliemann begins the excavation of Troy and Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall is arrested for bribery, ending his grip on New York City.
November : Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born correspondent for the New York Herald, locates missing Scottish explorer and missionary Dr. David Livingstone in Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika, and greets him by saying, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?", the sale of commissions in the British Army is abolished as part of the Cardwell Reforms, and technology shrinks the world further as the London–Australia telegraph cable is brought ashore at Darwin.
December : Uproar as German chancellor Otto von Bismarck tries to ban Catholics from the political stage, by introducing harsh laws concerning the separation of church and state. On the 24th, the opera Aida opens in Cairo, Egypt and gold is discovered at Pilgrim's Creek, South Africa triggering a gold rush. 26th, the Victorian burlesque Thespis, first of the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera collaborations, premières at the Gaiety Theatre, London. It does modestly well, but the two composers will not again work together until 1875.
In January, the Irish Church Act finally came into force on 1 January 1871 and a key move in dismantling the Protestant Ascendancy which had dominated Ireland for several centuries previously. . The Act meant the Church of Ireland was no longer entitled to collect tithes from the people of Ireland. Existing clergy of the church received a life annuity in lieu of the revenues to which they were no longer entitled: tithes, rentcharge, ministers' money, stipends and augmentations, and certain marriage and burial fees. The passage of the Bill through Parliament caused acrimony between the House of Commons and the House of Lords with the result that Queen Victoria had to personally intervened to mediate.
Also in January, James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon and later to be the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland born (died 1940), Rugby Football Union established in London and The Franco Prussian war came to an end as Paris fell on 28 January. The war had a lasting impact on Europe, by hastening German unification and significantly altering the balance of power. The new German nation state supplanting France as the dominant European land power, gave Bismarck another twenty years of power and finally ending imperial rule in France, replacing it with its first lasting republican government. Resentment over France's defeat triggered the Paris Commune, a revolutionary uprising which seized and held power for two months before its bloody suppression.
February brought what became known as 'The Great Gale' in the North Sea: 28 ships wrecked and total fatalities are estimated at over fifty, including six crew of Bridlington life-boat Harbinger. March and the first rugby international (played in Edinburgh) results in a 4–1 win by Scotland over England and the Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria; incorporating a grand organ by Henry Willis & Sons, the world's largest at this time.
Meanwhile, April in New York and P.T. Barnum opens his three-ring circus, hailing it as "The Greatest Show on Earth", U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Civil Rights Act of 1871 in Washington DC. In Dublin, John Millington Synge, dramatist, poet and writer (died 1909) born and the fifth United Kingdom Census 1871 was held on Sunday 2 April 1871. It added the categories of "lunatic" and "imbecile" to those recorded as infirm. The total population of England, Wales and Scotland was recorded as 26,072,036 but unable to locate a record for Rev. William D. Berry. He may have been visiting family in Ireland at the time and so may have been recorded. However, the original census returns for 1861 and 1871 were destroyed shortly after the censuses were taken. Those for 1881 and 1891 were pulped during the First World War, probably because of the paper shortage. The returns for 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were, apart from a few survivals, notably for a few counties for 1821 and 1831, destroyed in 1922 in the fire at the Public Record Office at the beginning of the Irish Civil War.
May 10 – The Treaty of Frankfurt is signed, confirming the frontiers between Germany and France. The provinces of Alsace and Lorraine are transferred from France to Germany while Ireland and Britain's first ever bank holiday was held on Whit Monday.
During June, the Westmeath Act is enacted in Ireland allowing arrest and detention without trial. Formally known by it's more long winded title: The Protection of Life and Property in certain parts of Ireland Act 1871 or Protection of Life and Property (Ireland) Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict c 25). It was one element of the special emergency legislation that had been applied to Ireland by Westminster and permitted the arrest and detention without trial of persons reasonably suspected of membership in a secret society and it effectively suspended habeas corpus in Ireland. Meanwhile on 29 June, trade unions were legalised by Trade Union Act.
August – Nine Hours Strike begins on Tyneside in favour of a shorter working day; employers capitulate after 14 weeks. October 11 – Heinrich Schliemann begins the excavation of Troy and Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall is arrested for bribery, ending his grip on New York City.
November : Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born correspondent for the New York Herald, locates missing Scottish explorer and missionary Dr. David Livingstone in Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika, and greets him by saying, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?", the sale of commissions in the British Army is abolished as part of the Cardwell Reforms, and technology shrinks the world further as the London–Australia telegraph cable is brought ashore at Darwin.
December : Uproar as German chancellor Otto von Bismarck tries to ban Catholics from the political stage, by introducing harsh laws concerning the separation of church and state. On the 24th, the opera Aida opens in Cairo, Egypt and gold is discovered at Pilgrim's Creek, South Africa triggering a gold rush. 26th, the Victorian burlesque Thespis, first of the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera collaborations, premières at the Gaiety Theatre, London. It does modestly well, but the two composers will not again work together until 1875.
1872
"Ireland in 1872: A tour of observation. With remarks on Irish Public Questions" by James Macaulay was published in January 1873 by H.S. King, London. James Macaulay (1817 – 1902) was a Scottish doctor, journalist and author, best known as an anti-vivisectionist and periodical editor. In this book he recounts his visit through Ireland during 1872 and provides some insight into both the era and the British view of Ireland and the Irish.
In March, the Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park and later that month, in the first ever final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest football competition, Wanderers F.C. defeat Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London. While Trade unions are finally legalised in Canada, the Jesuits also known as The Society of Jesus were pronounced illegal in the German Empire.
In July, explorer William Gosse reached Uluru in central Australia and named it Ayers Rock and the nearby Olgas ranges. In August, the Australian Overland Telegraph Line is completed, providing a telegraphic link between Australia and the rest of the world for the first time.
November and Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horace Greeley in the U.S. presidential election. During polling for that election, in defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time (on November 18 she is served an arrest warrant and in the subsequent trial is fined $100 - which she never pays). The Mary Celeste sets sail from New York, bound for Genoa on 7 November, only to be found, crewless and drifting on 4 December. The Great Boston Fire of 1872 began in November 14: In Boston, Massachusetts, a large fire begins to burn on Lincoln Street. The two-day event destroys about 65 acres (260,000 m2) of city, 776 buildings, much of the financial district and causes US$60 million in damage.
"Ireland in 1872: A tour of observation. With remarks on Irish Public Questions" by James Macaulay was published in January 1873 by H.S. King, London. James Macaulay (1817 – 1902) was a Scottish doctor, journalist and author, best known as an anti-vivisectionist and periodical editor. In this book he recounts his visit through Ireland during 1872 and provides some insight into both the era and the British view of Ireland and the Irish.
In March, the Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park and later that month, in the first ever final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest football competition, Wanderers F.C. defeat Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London. While Trade unions are finally legalised in Canada, the Jesuits also known as The Society of Jesus were pronounced illegal in the German Empire.
In July, explorer William Gosse reached Uluru in central Australia and named it Ayers Rock and the nearby Olgas ranges. In August, the Australian Overland Telegraph Line is completed, providing a telegraphic link between Australia and the rest of the world for the first time.
November and Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horace Greeley in the U.S. presidential election. During polling for that election, in defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time (on November 18 she is served an arrest warrant and in the subsequent trial is fined $100 - which she never pays). The Mary Celeste sets sail from New York, bound for Genoa on 7 November, only to be found, crewless and drifting on 4 December. The Great Boston Fire of 1872 began in November 14: In Boston, Massachusetts, a large fire begins to burn on Lincoln Street. The two-day event destroys about 65 acres (260,000 m2) of city, 776 buildings, much of the financial district and causes US$60 million in damage.
1873
More tragedy at sea in January as 'Northfleet', carrying emigrants for Tasmania, sinks at anchor off Dungeness after being rammed by a Spanish steamship with the death of 293 and just 86 survivors and in April, the British White Star ocean liner RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547. Future Saint, Thérèse of Lisieux (d. 1897)and French writer Collette (d.1954) were born in January while February saw the arrival of Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
In March, the first performance of W. S. Gilbert and Gilbert Arthur à Beckett's play The Happy Land at the Royal Court Theatre, London. The play creates a scandal by breaking regulations against the portrayal of public characters, parodying William Ewart Gladstone, Robert Lowe, and Acton Smee Ayrton, respectively the prime minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and First Commissioner of Works. Week later, coincidentally, Gladstone resigns as Prime Minister, the Conservatives fail to form a government, and Gladstone returns to office two days later. At the end of March, Peig Sayers (d.1958) was born on the Blasket Islands off the coast of Kerry. Later to find fame (and infamy if you were a student of Irish during the 1970s-90s) as a particularly melancholic Irish storyteller.
In April 1873, William's younger brother, Thomas sues a relation, Mary Anne Berry of Kilumney, Ballincollig for damages done to a colt of his by her 'servant boy'. Mary Anne's husband, John Berry had died two years previously on 26 April 1871.
May 1873 and Henry Rose exhibits barbed wire at an Illinois county fair, which is taken up by Joseph Glidden and Jacob Haish, who invent a machine to mass-produce it. The 'Taming of the West' begins.
The global financial panic of 1873 kicks off in the summer with Der Gründerkrach: The Wiener Börse (Vienna stock exchange) crash in Austria-Hungary. World markets experience the first financial contagion as the 1873 panic spreads worldwide. Around the same time, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive United States patent#139121, for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim work pants. Levi Strauss & Co. begins manufacturing the famous Levi's brand of jeans, using fabric from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire. Also in May, the Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police (which is renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920).
The first successful train robbery takes place at Adair, Iowa in July as Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off a robbery US$3,000 from the Rock Island Express. Victorian sensibilities to the fore during July in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire as the local Board of Health banned all bathing in the River Trent between 8AM & 9PM for a one month trial period following complaints about "naked bathers in full view of ladies strolling along the riverbank"
In Ballincollig, Thomas Berry married Elizabeth (nee unknown)(c.1848 - ?) on c. 16 November 1873 when he was 32. Both Thomas & Elizabeth were members of the Church of Ireland community and on marriage, he received the Maglin House farm from his mother, Jane but with a minor covenant that she should have 'the grazing of a colt on the marshy portion of the farm'. It's probable that Jane now shared the same house with her son Thomas and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth. Despite the best of intentions on both sides, such living arrangements invariably bring their own tensions and differences over time and which may have led to a rather public difference of opinion between Jane and Elizabeth in the summer of 1878.
Elsewhere in November, and the Irish parliamentary group, The Home Government Association reconstitutes itself as the Home Rule League. Another shipping disaster as SS Ville du Havre, on passage from New York to France, collides with Scottish 3-masted iron clipper Loch Earn and sinks in 12 minutes with the loss of 226 lives.
Finally in December, The Heineken Brewery is founded in Amsterdam and future US presidential candidate, Irish-American Al Smith (d.1944) born in New York.
The global financial panic of 1873 kicks off in the summer with Der Gründerkrach: The Wiener Börse (Vienna stock exchange) crash in Austria-Hungary. World markets experience the first financial contagion as the 1873 panic spreads worldwide. Around the same time, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive United States patent#139121, for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim work pants. Levi Strauss & Co. begins manufacturing the famous Levi's brand of jeans, using fabric from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire. Also in May, the Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police (which is renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920).
The first successful train robbery takes place at Adair, Iowa in July as Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off a robbery US$3,000 from the Rock Island Express. Victorian sensibilities to the fore during July in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire as the local Board of Health banned all bathing in the River Trent between 8AM & 9PM for a one month trial period following complaints about "naked bathers in full view of ladies strolling along the riverbank"
In Ballincollig, Thomas Berry married Elizabeth (nee unknown)(c.1848 - ?) on c. 16 November 1873 when he was 32. Both Thomas & Elizabeth were members of the Church of Ireland community and on marriage, he received the Maglin House farm from his mother, Jane but with a minor covenant that she should have 'the grazing of a colt on the marshy portion of the farm'. It's probable that Jane now shared the same house with her son Thomas and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth. Despite the best of intentions on both sides, such living arrangements invariably bring their own tensions and differences over time and which may have led to a rather public difference of opinion between Jane and Elizabeth in the summer of 1878.
Elsewhere in November, and the Irish parliamentary group, The Home Government Association reconstitutes itself as the Home Rule League. Another shipping disaster as SS Ville du Havre, on passage from New York to France, collides with Scottish 3-masted iron clipper Loch Earn and sinks in 12 minutes with the loss of 226 lives.
Finally in December, The Heineken Brewery is founded in Amsterdam and future US presidential candidate, Irish-American Al Smith (d.1944) born in New York.
1874
The youngest of the family, Nicholas Berry then in his late thirties and unmarried, was elected as the Poor Law Guardian for Ballincollig and appears in newspaper reports as a member of various boards and coroner's inquests for the next twenty years - but aside from one, made no reported comments. Little is known of Nicholas to date, other than this information and that he owned farmland in Ballincollig.
Poor Law Guardians
A Poor Law Guardian was a local government official in England, Wales, and Ireland who was responsible for overseeing the administration of poor relief, an early system of social welfare aimed at providing assistance to the poor and destitute. This was based on the British Poor Law system and was introduced to Ireland in 1838.
Ireland was divided into 130 Unions, each of which was centered on a market town where a workhouse (or Union House) was built to 'relieve the distressed'. Each parish or group of parishes was required to form a Board of Guardians, composed of local officials and representatives elected by the ratepayers. Under the Irish Poor Law, destitute individuals and families were required to enter parish workhouses in exchange for food, shelter, and medical care. The workhouses were large, institutionalised facilities where the poor were separated by gender, age, and health status. Conditions in the workhouses were particularly harsh, and many people in desperate need were reluctant to enter them due to the stigma attached to being a "pauper as well as the conditions." Irish Poor Law was certainly controversial and often criticised for its harsh treatment of the poor. Many saw it as a way to control the impoverished and maintain social order, rather than any genuine attempt to alleviate poverty. In addition, the workhouses were often overcrowded and underfunded, leading to widespread disease and poor living conditions. Hated as an institution, each Poor Law Union drew its finances from a tax on the landholders and occupiers of the Parish (half from the tenants and half from the Landlords) with an annual payment due from each occupier Union calculated on the basis of the valuation of their land or holding.
The role of the Poor Law Guardian was to ensure that the provision of poor relief was efficient and effective, while also being mindful of the cost to ratepayers. This involved making decisions about who was eligible for relief, and what form that relief should take. The Guardians also had to ensure that the workhouses were properly managed and that the conditions inside them were not inhumane - something that was frequently ignored and over looked.
The franchise for elections was determined by the valuation. All those with property valued at over £4 were entitled to vote but it was possible to have up to six votes if one held property over £200 valuation. There was a graduated scale between these points. Elections were held annually on 25 March, or the day most convenient to it. Prior to the 1880s the sort of people who were elected as Guardians were, in the main, people of status such as landowners, businessmen or a substantial farmers. Certainly almost all the chairmanships and vice chairmanships in 1877 were held by landowners. By the middle of the 1880s, however, the composition of the Boards of Guardians was fast changing. Therise of nationalist politics saw more political competition for seats on the Boards of Guardians with tenants taking far more places than ever before at the expense of landlord interests. In 1877 elections were contested in only 259 electoral divisions (out of over 3,000) while in 1884, in contrast, 554 contests were held.
Within most communities, workhouses were both feared and hated with some more infamous buildings destroyed during the War of Independence and Civil War while others were converted into county homes or district hospitals. The Poor Law system in Ireland was eventually abolished in 1925, but its legacy continued to shape social and economic policy in the country for many years.
The youngest of the family, Nicholas Berry then in his late thirties and unmarried, was elected as the Poor Law Guardian for Ballincollig and appears in newspaper reports as a member of various boards and coroner's inquests for the next twenty years - but aside from one, made no reported comments. Little is known of Nicholas to date, other than this information and that he owned farmland in Ballincollig.
Poor Law Guardians
A Poor Law Guardian was a local government official in England, Wales, and Ireland who was responsible for overseeing the administration of poor relief, an early system of social welfare aimed at providing assistance to the poor and destitute. This was based on the British Poor Law system and was introduced to Ireland in 1838.
Ireland was divided into 130 Unions, each of which was centered on a market town where a workhouse (or Union House) was built to 'relieve the distressed'. Each parish or group of parishes was required to form a Board of Guardians, composed of local officials and representatives elected by the ratepayers. Under the Irish Poor Law, destitute individuals and families were required to enter parish workhouses in exchange for food, shelter, and medical care. The workhouses were large, institutionalised facilities where the poor were separated by gender, age, and health status. Conditions in the workhouses were particularly harsh, and many people in desperate need were reluctant to enter them due to the stigma attached to being a "pauper as well as the conditions." Irish Poor Law was certainly controversial and often criticised for its harsh treatment of the poor. Many saw it as a way to control the impoverished and maintain social order, rather than any genuine attempt to alleviate poverty. In addition, the workhouses were often overcrowded and underfunded, leading to widespread disease and poor living conditions. Hated as an institution, each Poor Law Union drew its finances from a tax on the landholders and occupiers of the Parish (half from the tenants and half from the Landlords) with an annual payment due from each occupier Union calculated on the basis of the valuation of their land or holding.
The role of the Poor Law Guardian was to ensure that the provision of poor relief was efficient and effective, while also being mindful of the cost to ratepayers. This involved making decisions about who was eligible for relief, and what form that relief should take. The Guardians also had to ensure that the workhouses were properly managed and that the conditions inside them were not inhumane - something that was frequently ignored and over looked.
The franchise for elections was determined by the valuation. All those with property valued at over £4 were entitled to vote but it was possible to have up to six votes if one held property over £200 valuation. There was a graduated scale between these points. Elections were held annually on 25 March, or the day most convenient to it. Prior to the 1880s the sort of people who were elected as Guardians were, in the main, people of status such as landowners, businessmen or a substantial farmers. Certainly almost all the chairmanships and vice chairmanships in 1877 were held by landowners. By the middle of the 1880s, however, the composition of the Boards of Guardians was fast changing. Therise of nationalist politics saw more political competition for seats on the Boards of Guardians with tenants taking far more places than ever before at the expense of landlord interests. In 1877 elections were contested in only 259 electoral divisions (out of over 3,000) while in 1884, in contrast, 554 contests were held.
Within most communities, workhouses were both feared and hated with some more infamous buildings destroyed during the War of Independence and Civil War while others were converted into county homes or district hospitals. The Poor Law system in Ireland was eventually abolished in 1925, but its legacy continued to shape social and economic policy in the country for many years.
1875
Newly elected to Parliament for the Home Rule party was the young Charles Stewart Parnell. Further information here on Parnell & an extended family connection from 1880.
Newly elected to Parliament for the Home Rule party was the young Charles Stewart Parnell. Further information here on Parnell & an extended family connection from 1880.
1876
William's brother Thomas Berry & Elizabeth welcomed Jane 'Jennie' Berry to the family in January 1876.
The following month, tragedy struck on 19 February 1876, as Thomas died suddenly aged 35. He was buried with his father in Kilshannig. Probate was granted to Elizabeth on 14 March 1877. Effects under £450.
William's brother Thomas Berry & Elizabeth welcomed Jane 'Jennie' Berry to the family in January 1876.
The following month, tragedy struck on 19 February 1876, as Thomas died suddenly aged 35. He was buried with his father in Kilshannig. Probate was granted to Elizabeth on 14 March 1877. Effects under £450.
1877
In 1876, William had been diagnosed as suffering from an esophageal stricture (an abnormal tightening or narrowing of the esophagus) which had progressively detiorated during 1877. Perhaps on medical advice, he took a leave of absence from his parish in Gainsborough and returned to his family home at Maglin House, Ballincollig.
There he remained, living with his mother, sister Jane & possibly his widowed sister-in-law, Elizabeth and her daughter Jennie.
Meanwhile in Parliament, Parnell after 2 years of silence had finally found his voice, becoming the leader of the radical wing of the Home Rule Party and instituting 'obstructionism', the skillful use of parliament's rules against itself.
In 1876, William had been diagnosed as suffering from an esophageal stricture (an abnormal tightening or narrowing of the esophagus) which had progressively detiorated during 1877. Perhaps on medical advice, he took a leave of absence from his parish in Gainsborough and returned to his family home at Maglin House, Ballincollig.
There he remained, living with his mother, sister Jane & possibly his widowed sister-in-law, Elizabeth and her daughter Jennie.
Meanwhile in Parliament, Parnell after 2 years of silence had finally found his voice, becoming the leader of the radical wing of the Home Rule Party and instituting 'obstructionism', the skillful use of parliament's rules against itself.
1878
Born on January 10, 1878 was Diarmuid Lynch in Granig House, Minane Bridge.
Meanwhile, some 30 kilometers distant at Maglin House, Rev. William Dorgan Berry's health continued to decline.
Rev. Berry eventually died on Thursday, 7 March 1878 at Maglin House, Ballincollig. His brother, Nicholas was recorded on the Death Certificate as being present with him at the time.
Rev. Berry's funeral from the parish church in Ballincollig took place on Saturday, March 9th followed by interral in the family vault in Kilcrea Abbey churchyard.
Born on January 10, 1878 was Diarmuid Lynch in Granig House, Minane Bridge.
Meanwhile, some 30 kilometers distant at Maglin House, Rev. William Dorgan Berry's health continued to decline.
Rev. Berry eventually died on Thursday, 7 March 1878 at Maglin House, Ballincollig. His brother, Nicholas was recorded on the Death Certificate as being present with him at the time.
Rev. Berry's funeral from the parish church in Ballincollig took place on Saturday, March 9th followed by interral in the family vault in Kilcrea Abbey churchyard.
Above: Death certificate for William Dorgan Berry (c1832-1878) Died: 7 March 1878, Ballincollig Occupation: Roman Catholic Clergyman.
When a person passes to their reward in the Gaeltacht areas of Ireland, they do not offer condolences, but instead say, ‘Nach meidhreach do!' ‘Isn’t it happy for him!’ Perhaps it was - after spending most of his life overseas, William Dorgan Berry passed away in the house where he was born.
William Berry was just 46 years of age when he passed away in 1878 and after a lifetime of service to the church and parishioners of Covington, Kentucky, Tunstall, North Staffordshire and Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.
We have no surviving personal papers of William Berry, but as may be seen from his parochial ministry service in the American and English Mission parishes, he was perhaps one of a kind and a fine example of the glory days of Irish missionary priests. He was among the many who brought solace, help, support and perhaps some comfort to the many Irish and indeed non-Irish in foreign lands. Mass by Mass, baptism by baptism, funeral by funeral and confession by confession, Rev. William Berry brought the familiar sacraments to many.
No doubt Rev. Berry also provided good counsel, spiritual guidance and instruction during his various and that he was over ten years in Tunstall and almost the same again in Gainsborough speaks volumes.
The Ballymartle Chalice
The whereabouts of the Ballymartle Chalice for the next seven years between it's third holder's death in 1878 and the later presentation to it's fourth owner, Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929) of Boston, Masachussets in 1885 is uncofirmed and unknown - but was perhaps held in trust during this period by a family member or by a designated cleric.
Further research provides some vague details in an article on prominent Bostonians c.1890, featuring some of Murphy's life story and his organisation of the repatriation of the remains of the Irish preacher, lecturer, writer and educator, Dr. William Cahill to Ireland in 1885. In this, a brief fleeting reference is made to the Ballymartle Chalice:
'Before Fr. Murphy left on this mission*, he was presented with a beautiful chalice by Rev. Denis Murphy of Cork. This chalice he has used daily ever since, in the celebration of mass..."
* accompanying Dr. Cahill's remains from New York to interment in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin during March 1885
This reference to Rev. Denis Murphy is curious as Rev. P.B. Murphy's Uncle, Rev. Denis Murphy had died some seventeen years previously in 1868. With the passing of the third holder of the chalice, William Berry's mother would no doubt have ensured that the precious family heirloom was left in safe, clerical hands pending it's presentation to the next family clerical member and so was passed to the Rev. Denis Murphy - perhaps a clergyman within the diocese of Cork and Ross or possibly a more famous namesake, the Newmarket born, Jesuit priest historian, librarian, lecturer and later Chair of Moral Theology in Milltown Park, Rev. Denis Murphy* (1833-1896).
While no evidence of Rev. Murphy SJ presence in New York or Boston during 1885 has been discovered to date, the presentation of the Ballymartle Chalice may have taken place in Ireland during the repatriation of Dr. Cahill from the United States or perhaps the Rev. Murphy namesake from the Cork & Ross dicocese was the nominated delivery-cleric for the chalice. However it was presented, we do know that the Ballymartle Chalice was both used and cared for by Rev. P.B.Murphy from March 1885.
* Born at Newmarket, County Cork, in 1833; Denis. Murphy went first to school at Kanturk; and then came to Clongowes, so young and so clever, that he is said to have finished the class of rhetoric at the earliest age recorded except in the case of Chief Baron Palles. Before his sixteenth birthday he had entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus, and after spending some years in England and on the Continent returned to Clongowes as professor of classics. As a writer and a lecturer; Father Murphy soon made a name for himself; as an antiquary he stood in the foremost rank in this country, and in recognition of his great services to Irish literature and history, the Royal University conferred upon him the honorary degree of LLD.
In 1883, Father Murphy was transferred to University College, Dublin, where he was appointed to the post of bursar and librarian. His new post gave him enough spare time to work on his historical notes, the results of his researches during his scholastic days. For during his early years, he had travelled extensively in Europe to collect historical data on the persecutions for the Faith in Ireland. His researches brought him to the archives of cities so widely separated as Madrid, Lisbon, Douai, Louvain, Paris, Vienna and Prague. In his generation, Father Murphy was probably Ireland's most informed historian. After some five years at University College, Father Murphy was transferred to Milltown Park to take over the chair of moral theology. Fortunately, for Irish historical scholarship he was released from his post and returned to University College where he spent the last four years of his life. For the last ten years of his life, he held from the Irish hierarchy the post of official Postulator of the Cause of the Irish Martyrs.
Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy
Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy quickly showed himself to be a radically different clergyman to his first cousin, once removed, William Berry. Born near Ballincollig, Co. Cork in 1850, Patrick Bowen and his family emigrated in the late 1850s to Boston. Ordained in 1882, most of his clerical vocation was spent ministering to the Roman Catholic communities in Massachusetts, the parishes of Natick, Saxonville and South Boston. However, in contrast to his close relative William Berry, P.B.Murphy was certainly not the shy or retiring type, in fact he appears to have been somewhat of a blatant self-promoter with a powerful ego. He volunteered for military service in the 1898 Spanish-American War as Chaplain to the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (by fudging his age, shaving almost a decade off his actual years), was a member of the Arundel Art Society of London; of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society; an honorary member of the Grattan Literary Association and member for life of the Congregation of Laval, Quebec, Canada. For four years, he was state chaplain of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, an active member of Division 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Boston, a member of Simpson Assembly, No. 169, Royal Society of Good Fellows, and chaplain-in-chief of the Legion of Spanish War Veterans.
But privately, the Rev. Murphy was also an Irish American revolutionary, a member of the Fenians (and later with Clann na Gael), the secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated to the establishment of an independent republic of Ireland and complete independence from Britain. Murphy was a close friend of John Boyle O’Reilly (the famous Irish American poet, writer, journalist, abolitionist & Fenian escapee from the West Australian convict prison) and both took part in the dramatic 1870 Fenian Raid on Canada.
A colourful and certainly an entertaining cleric at the best of times, Murphy's life story follows the final chapter of the Berry Family 1878-1911.
When a person passes to their reward in the Gaeltacht areas of Ireland, they do not offer condolences, but instead say, ‘Nach meidhreach do!' ‘Isn’t it happy for him!’ Perhaps it was - after spending most of his life overseas, William Dorgan Berry passed away in the house where he was born.
William Berry was just 46 years of age when he passed away in 1878 and after a lifetime of service to the church and parishioners of Covington, Kentucky, Tunstall, North Staffordshire and Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.
We have no surviving personal papers of William Berry, but as may be seen from his parochial ministry service in the American and English Mission parishes, he was perhaps one of a kind and a fine example of the glory days of Irish missionary priests. He was among the many who brought solace, help, support and perhaps some comfort to the many Irish and indeed non-Irish in foreign lands. Mass by Mass, baptism by baptism, funeral by funeral and confession by confession, Rev. William Berry brought the familiar sacraments to many.
No doubt Rev. Berry also provided good counsel, spiritual guidance and instruction during his various and that he was over ten years in Tunstall and almost the same again in Gainsborough speaks volumes.
The Ballymartle Chalice
The whereabouts of the Ballymartle Chalice for the next seven years between it's third holder's death in 1878 and the later presentation to it's fourth owner, Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929) of Boston, Masachussets in 1885 is uncofirmed and unknown - but was perhaps held in trust during this period by a family member or by a designated cleric.
Further research provides some vague details in an article on prominent Bostonians c.1890, featuring some of Murphy's life story and his organisation of the repatriation of the remains of the Irish preacher, lecturer, writer and educator, Dr. William Cahill to Ireland in 1885. In this, a brief fleeting reference is made to the Ballymartle Chalice:
'Before Fr. Murphy left on this mission*, he was presented with a beautiful chalice by Rev. Denis Murphy of Cork. This chalice he has used daily ever since, in the celebration of mass..."
* accompanying Dr. Cahill's remains from New York to interment in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin during March 1885
This reference to Rev. Denis Murphy is curious as Rev. P.B. Murphy's Uncle, Rev. Denis Murphy had died some seventeen years previously in 1868. With the passing of the third holder of the chalice, William Berry's mother would no doubt have ensured that the precious family heirloom was left in safe, clerical hands pending it's presentation to the next family clerical member and so was passed to the Rev. Denis Murphy - perhaps a clergyman within the diocese of Cork and Ross or possibly a more famous namesake, the Newmarket born, Jesuit priest historian, librarian, lecturer and later Chair of Moral Theology in Milltown Park, Rev. Denis Murphy* (1833-1896).
While no evidence of Rev. Murphy SJ presence in New York or Boston during 1885 has been discovered to date, the presentation of the Ballymartle Chalice may have taken place in Ireland during the repatriation of Dr. Cahill from the United States or perhaps the Rev. Murphy namesake from the Cork & Ross dicocese was the nominated delivery-cleric for the chalice. However it was presented, we do know that the Ballymartle Chalice was both used and cared for by Rev. P.B.Murphy from March 1885.
* Born at Newmarket, County Cork, in 1833; Denis. Murphy went first to school at Kanturk; and then came to Clongowes, so young and so clever, that he is said to have finished the class of rhetoric at the earliest age recorded except in the case of Chief Baron Palles. Before his sixteenth birthday he had entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus, and after spending some years in England and on the Continent returned to Clongowes as professor of classics. As a writer and a lecturer; Father Murphy soon made a name for himself; as an antiquary he stood in the foremost rank in this country, and in recognition of his great services to Irish literature and history, the Royal University conferred upon him the honorary degree of LLD.
In 1883, Father Murphy was transferred to University College, Dublin, where he was appointed to the post of bursar and librarian. His new post gave him enough spare time to work on his historical notes, the results of his researches during his scholastic days. For during his early years, he had travelled extensively in Europe to collect historical data on the persecutions for the Faith in Ireland. His researches brought him to the archives of cities so widely separated as Madrid, Lisbon, Douai, Louvain, Paris, Vienna and Prague. In his generation, Father Murphy was probably Ireland's most informed historian. After some five years at University College, Father Murphy was transferred to Milltown Park to take over the chair of moral theology. Fortunately, for Irish historical scholarship he was released from his post and returned to University College where he spent the last four years of his life. For the last ten years of his life, he held from the Irish hierarchy the post of official Postulator of the Cause of the Irish Martyrs.
Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy
Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy quickly showed himself to be a radically different clergyman to his first cousin, once removed, William Berry. Born near Ballincollig, Co. Cork in 1850, Patrick Bowen and his family emigrated in the late 1850s to Boston. Ordained in 1882, most of his clerical vocation was spent ministering to the Roman Catholic communities in Massachusetts, the parishes of Natick, Saxonville and South Boston. However, in contrast to his close relative William Berry, P.B.Murphy was certainly not the shy or retiring type, in fact he appears to have been somewhat of a blatant self-promoter with a powerful ego. He volunteered for military service in the 1898 Spanish-American War as Chaplain to the Ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (by fudging his age, shaving almost a decade off his actual years), was a member of the Arundel Art Society of London; of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society; an honorary member of the Grattan Literary Association and member for life of the Congregation of Laval, Quebec, Canada. For four years, he was state chaplain of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, an active member of Division 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Boston, a member of Simpson Assembly, No. 169, Royal Society of Good Fellows, and chaplain-in-chief of the Legion of Spanish War Veterans.
But privately, the Rev. Murphy was also an Irish American revolutionary, a member of the Fenians (and later with Clann na Gael), the secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated to the establishment of an independent republic of Ireland and complete independence from Britain. Murphy was a close friend of John Boyle O’Reilly (the famous Irish American poet, writer, journalist, abolitionist & Fenian escapee from the West Australian convict prison) and both took part in the dramatic 1870 Fenian Raid on Canada.
A colourful and certainly an entertaining cleric at the best of times, Murphy's life story follows the final chapter of the Berry Family 1878-1911.
The family matriarch, Jane Berry was now around 78 years of age and had outlived her husband and at least two of her children.
Living nearby, managing his own farm was her youngest and unmarried son, Nicholas. Jane continued to reside in Maglin House with both her unmarried daughter, Jane and her widowed daughter-in-law, Elizabeth and infant grandchild, Jennie. This living arrangement appears to have brought it's own tensions and difficulties. On their marriage in 1873, Jane had passed the family farm of unspecified size (but at least 100 acres) over to Thomas and Elizabeth with a minor covenant; that she should have 'the grazing of a colt on the marshy portion of the farm'. [this was some 6 acres of 'rich marsh'] Shortly after Thomas's death in February 1876, a horse owned by Jane that had been grazing on the farm was removed by Elizabeth and returned to Jane. Citing the covenant, Jane had her horse immediately returned once more to the farm where it remained for almost a year. In May 1877, the horse was returned again to Jane as in foal. The reason given for it's return was that grazing rights under the covenant were for just one horse, not two and that Elizabeth did not wish to be responsible for the foal. There followed an apparent impasse, ending with Jane suing Elizabeth for the matter of £20 for loss of grazing rights for the horse. The hearing was in the Cork Quarter Sessions on 18 June 1878 and duly reported in the Cork Examiner the following day. Jane Berry assessed the value of the loss of grazing between May 1877 and the date of the hearing to be £20 (around £2.8k in 2023 values). The Judge agreed in principle that Elizabeth Berry should pay her mother-in- law a fair price but sensibly left it to two local farmers in the locality to fix the amount. |
It's uncertain if any payments were made as Jane died less than a month later on 11 July 1878 leaving no doubt a quite relieved daughter in law. Jane was interred with her husband and son in the fmaily plot at Kilshannig near Mallow, Co. Cork.
In late1879 - the family connection between the Murphys of Knockanemore & Mullagroe, Ovens and Lynchs, Tracton is made with the marriage of Margaret Murphy to widower Timothy Lynch. Five children resulted and Margaret Murphy became this writer's Great-Grand Mother.
In late1879 - the family connection between the Murphys of Knockanemore & Mullagroe, Ovens and Lynchs, Tracton is made with the marriage of Margaret Murphy to widower Timothy Lynch. Five children resulted and Margaret Murphy became this writer's Great-Grand Mother.
Nicholas Berry next appears in the Cork Examiner of 14 February 1883 in a coroner's inquest report on Jeremiah Murphy who had died when his house at Maglin had collapsed during a recent storm. From the report, it appears that the deceased was a farm worker employed by and in a residence owned by Nicholas. In his evidence to the Coroner, Berry stated that he had frequently over the years asked Jeremiah Murphy to move to his residence but had refused. |
Contact with both Mary Berry and her brother Nicholas Berry is lost after 1883. Despite research, nothign has been located to date for either of these remaining siblings but it's Nicholas passed away c. 1890
The last of her generation, Jane (? - 28 December 1891) 'youngest daughter of the late James Berry' dies at an unknown age.
Jane had remained unmarried. James Berry (her nephew) is listed as her Will's executor. Jane was buried in Newberry (Kilshannig) on 30 December 1891, possibly in the family plot, but her details were not inscribed on the plot gravestone.
Probate was granted to James on 18 January 1892. Jane's estate effects were valued as £149.3.4 (£24.3k 2023 values)
While her nephew may have executed her will rather rapidly, he was less efficient on marking her grave as no records exist.
The last of her generation, Jane (? - 28 December 1891) 'youngest daughter of the late James Berry' dies at an unknown age.
Jane had remained unmarried. James Berry (her nephew) is listed as her Will's executor. Jane was buried in Newberry (Kilshannig) on 30 December 1891, possibly in the family plot, but her details were not inscribed on the plot gravestone.
Probate was granted to James on 18 January 1892. Jane's estate effects were valued as £149.3.4 (£24.3k 2023 values)
While her nephew may have executed her will rather rapidly, he was less efficient on marking her grave as no records exist.
Our next connection with this family line is in the 1901 Census, recording the widowed Elizabeth Berry (53) as Head of the Family in Maglin House along with 25 year old, then unmarried Jane and Kate Hallran (65) classed as 'unable to read' employed in the household as Domestic Servant.
In November 1902, Jane 'Jennie' Berry married Richard Hosford of Grange, Douglas at Carrigrohane Church.
By 1911, that year's Census indicates that on marriage, Richard Hosford took over the Berry farm held by Elizabeth Berry, Jane's mother. Children Lilian, Violet and Walton Hosford soon followed and Elizabeth was now 60.
Around this time, the home & farm name was changed from Maglin House to Maglin Rock.
Around this time, the home & farm name was changed from Maglin House to Maglin Rock.
Fleeting references to the family follow in the intervening years, as Ireland changed dramatically and quickly.
By May 1921 with the War of Independence continuining and no end apparently in sight, the Hosfords placed the family farm up for sale, possibly shortly after the death of Elizabeth. The family had purchased a farm earlier in the Monkstown, Carrigaline area.
The auctioneers sale advert give some details of the lands and residence at the time.
By May 1921 with the War of Independence continuining and no end apparently in sight, the Hosfords placed the family farm up for sale, possibly shortly after the death of Elizabeth. The family had purchased a farm earlier in the Monkstown, Carrigaline area.
The auctioneers sale advert give some details of the lands and residence at the time.
Postscript:
The Berry Family story of Maglin, Ballincollig now closes after four generations with the sale of Maglin Rock Farm and the family move to Monkstown in 1921. Today, the Berry & Hosford Maglin House/Rock farm continues the farming tradition as the well known and commercially successful Healy's Honey .
The Ballymartle Chalice story continues with the next holder, the Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy or you can view the life stories of the previous holders, Rev. Daniel Murphy & Rev. Denis Murphy. (click yellow scroll button to return to top of the page)
The Berry Family story of Maglin, Ballincollig now closes after four generations with the sale of Maglin Rock Farm and the family move to Monkstown in 1921. Today, the Berry & Hosford Maglin House/Rock farm continues the farming tradition as the well known and commercially successful Healy's Honey .
The Ballymartle Chalice story continues with the next holder, the Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy or you can view the life stories of the previous holders, Rev. Daniel Murphy & Rev. Denis Murphy. (click yellow scroll button to return to top of the page)
Books & Publications
- The Metropolitan Catholic Almanac and Laity's directory, for the year of Our Lord 1855. Lucas Brothers, Baltimore. 1855. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=2qcCAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA8&hl=e
- Ryan, Paul E. History of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky: On the Occasion of the Centenary of the Diocese, 1853-1953. Covington: the Diocese, 1954. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89063852206&view=1up&seq=9
- The Encylopedia of Northern Kentucky in partnership with NKY.com. Edited by Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool, The University Press of Kentucky.
- 'The City of Stoke-on-Trent: Roman Catholicism ', in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8, ed. J G Jenkins (London, 1963), pp. 271-276. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/staffs/vol8/pp271-276
- Chery E. Yielding. 'Emancipation & Renewal: English Catholicism in the Nineteenth Century ' 1982. Old Dominion University
- Maura Jane Farrelly, “Catholicism in the Early South,” Journal of Southern Religion 14. 2012 http://jsr.fsu.edu/issues/vol14/farrelly.html.
- Charles Shaw (1832-1906) 'When I Was a Child' (1903). http://thepotteries.org/focus/011.htm
- Gilley, S. (1969). The Roman Catholic Mission to the Irish in London, 1840–1860. British Catholic History, 10(3), 123-145. doi:10.1017/S0034193200000261
- Historical Notes on English Catholic Missions' by Bernard W Kelly (1907)
- Steely, Will Frank. 'The Established Churches & Slavery 1850-1860'. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 55, no. 2, 1957, pp. 97–104. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23374233.
- White's History, Gazetteer & Directory of Lincolnshire, 1872
- Eleanor Childs Meehan 'Supplement to Old Covington, Kentucky and personal recollections of an octogenarian. 1923.
https://www.kentonlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/104/2022/07/SupplementOldCovKY.pdf - A History of Covington to 1865. John Burns. 2012 https://www.kentonlibrary.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/104/2022/07/BurnsManuscriptCovington1865.pdf
- The American Civil War. A Visual History. (2011) DK, London
- Barber, Sarah. “Irish Migrant Agricultural Labourers in Nineteenth Century Lincolnshire.” Saothar, vol. 8, 1982, pp. 10–23. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23193795. Accessed 18 Feb. 2023.
- The Catholic Encylopaedia (1917). newadvent.org
- Catholic Telegraph & Advocate. October 7, 1855.
- Northern Kentucky Tribune. July 17, 2019. Article on history of St Mary's, Covington by Stephen Enzweiler. https://www.nkytribune.com/2019/06/our-rich-history-first-st-marys-church-left-an-enduring-legacy-to-the-people-of-covington/ fbclid=IwAR33rgqy-XXeUSd2yuy9990KA3DLnEU6NFCOpNqt58JodKR4rNbAZr2nH8A
- Kenton Public Library (Covington, KY) https://www.kentonlibrary.org
- History of St. Mary's first Cathederal. https://www.nkyviews.com/kenton/kenton_cov_stmarys.htm
- https://www.historyireland.com/euntes-docete-omnes-gentes/ Go out and make disciples of all nations
- Decorative Faith: Ceramic Figures in Victorian Staffordshire by Francesca Infantino (2022) https://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/pmag/decorative-faith-ceramic-figures-in-victorian-staffordshire/
- Children in Staffordshire Potteries: https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/work/england/stoke_staffs/article_1.shtml
- Child Labour in The Social Historian: https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/child-labour/
- The Charles and Margaret Hall Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism. University of Notre Dame
- Irish News Archive - an invaluable selection of online Irish newspaper
Following the death of William Dorgan Berry in March 1878, the Ballymartle Chalice's whereabouts until 1885 are unknown.
The century old chalice was certainly secured & cared for by a member of the extended family or a trusted clerical relative while a decision on just who it's next holder would be. The chalice was to be remain unassigned for seven years.
However, as was a long established tradition at this stage, an early contender to become the fourth generation of the extended Murphy family to use the Ballymartle Chalice had already been short listed. The young man in question was Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929), a direct blood relative of both the first & second holders of the chalice, a great-grand-nephew of the first holder; Rev. Daniel Murphy, a grand-nephew of the second holder; Rev. Denis Murphy and a first cousin, once removed of the third holder, William Berry.
The century old chalice was certainly secured & cared for by a member of the extended family or a trusted clerical relative while a decision on just who it's next holder would be. The chalice was to be remain unassigned for seven years.
However, as was a long established tradition at this stage, an early contender to become the fourth generation of the extended Murphy family to use the Ballymartle Chalice had already been short listed. The young man in question was Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929), a direct blood relative of both the first & second holders of the chalice, a great-grand-nephew of the first holder; Rev. Daniel Murphy, a grand-nephew of the second holder; Rev. Denis Murphy and a first cousin, once removed of the third holder, William Berry.
Patrick Bowen Murphy (1850-1929) at the time of William Berry's death in 1878 was mid-way through his seminary training in St. Charles College, Maryland, United States and about to complete his theological training at Leval University, Quebec, Canada. In December 1882, Patrick Bowen Murphy was ordained at the Grand Seminary, Three Rivers, Quebec. In February 1885, he was presented with the Ballymartle Chalice in New York and he became both the fourth holder and the fourth generation of the Murphy family to use this in church service. Rev. P.B.Murphy's connection with the Ballymartle Chalice was to be for forty-four years and it was used in daily Eucharistic liturgical services in Massachusetts, United States and occasionally in Ireland during this period. Rev. Murphy had a long and distinguished service within both the Church and also as a military Chaplain to the Ninth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia/Infantry, including service in Cuba during the 1898 Spanish-American War. For Patrick's full life story, click here or on his photo. This will bring you to an earlier article on his life and ancestry. |
Following the passing of Rev. Patrick Bowen Murphy aboard the SS Cedric en-route to Ireland on 1 May 1929, the Ballymartle Chalice passed to his cousin, Thomas J Murphy of Silversprings, Cork.
The chalice was to remain with the Murphy family for the following 25 years, awaiting the next family vocation.
By the early 1950s, with the passing of Thomas in 1948 and with none of the immediate or extended family remotely considering taking Holy Orders, Thomas's widow, Margaret, decided in 1954 that it was time to present the chalice to a church in the Cork & Ross Diocese.
At the time, Ballyphehane in Cork City was being constructed as a model community suburb as part of a city clearance program with new housing developments that had started in 1948. The new Catholic parish of Ballyphehane was newly created and on January 1, 1953, the first sod was turned on the site of what was to become the Church of the Assumption.
The Murphy family initially considered presenting the 175 year old Ballymartle Chalice to the Parish Priest of the new parish of Ballyphehane and the Church of the Assumption which was due to open c.1956. Incidentally, this new parish of Ballyphehane included St. Joseph's Cemetery where the Rev. P.B.Murphy and other members of the extended Murphy family are interred.
The Chalice was now refurbished and prepared for the next period of use by Egan Jewellers of Cork City.
However, during 1954, a final decision on the Ballymartle Chalice donation was made.
As the Ballyphehane Church building was not scheduled for completion for at least another two years until early 1956, it was decided that the chalice donation would be more immediate and historically more appropriate to the parish of Ballymartle, where Rev. Denis Murphy ministered during his first period as Parish Priest 1848-1860 and the parish for which the chalice was named.
Some press snippets of the time report on the Chalice's history in the Cork Examiner, Irish Independent and Southern Star during September 1954:
The chalice was to remain with the Murphy family for the following 25 years, awaiting the next family vocation.
By the early 1950s, with the passing of Thomas in 1948 and with none of the immediate or extended family remotely considering taking Holy Orders, Thomas's widow, Margaret, decided in 1954 that it was time to present the chalice to a church in the Cork & Ross Diocese.
At the time, Ballyphehane in Cork City was being constructed as a model community suburb as part of a city clearance program with new housing developments that had started in 1948. The new Catholic parish of Ballyphehane was newly created and on January 1, 1953, the first sod was turned on the site of what was to become the Church of the Assumption.
The Murphy family initially considered presenting the 175 year old Ballymartle Chalice to the Parish Priest of the new parish of Ballyphehane and the Church of the Assumption which was due to open c.1956. Incidentally, this new parish of Ballyphehane included St. Joseph's Cemetery where the Rev. P.B.Murphy and other members of the extended Murphy family are interred.
The Chalice was now refurbished and prepared for the next period of use by Egan Jewellers of Cork City.
However, during 1954, a final decision on the Ballymartle Chalice donation was made.
As the Ballyphehane Church building was not scheduled for completion for at least another two years until early 1956, it was decided that the chalice donation would be more immediate and historically more appropriate to the parish of Ballymartle, where Rev. Denis Murphy ministered during his first period as Parish Priest 1848-1860 and the parish for which the chalice was named.
Some press snippets of the time report on the Chalice's history in the Cork Examiner, Irish Independent and Southern Star during September 1954:
The Murphy Family of Ovens tradition of passing the chalice to a newly ordained member of the family for a lifetimes use in daily Eucharistic liturgical services, finally came to an end after almost 175 years and four generations of priests.
No doubt a small presentation ceremony marking the occasion of both the end of one tradition and the beginning of another took place c. Sunday, 12 September 1954 in Ballymartle Parish church as the Ballymartle Chalice returned to the Parish and Fr. J. Cullinane, Parish Priest.
On 16 September, Fr. Cullinane thanked Margaret Murphy for the gift in this handwritten note:
Belgooly, Co. Cork.
September 16 [1954]
Dear Mrs Murphy.
On my own behalf and the parishioners of Ballymartle, I wish to thank you most sincerely for your generous gift of thsi old, historic chalice to the parish.
Those heroic priests of these past days whose names are inscribed in the stand of the chalice will be remembered in every mass in which the chalice is used.
The people were very pleased to have this chalice returned to Ballymartle Church where it will be used for the future.
Sincerely yours,
J. Cullinane PP
Today, the Ballymartle Chalice remains in use, some 243 years after it's creation in Cork City in 1780 and use in Cork, Kentucky, North Staffordshire, Lincolnshire, Massachusetts and finally and certainly fittingly, Ballymartle, Co. Cork.
Postscript
Concluding this family history on four generations of Catholic priests, what is striking is the remarkable dedication and legacy of faith and service that had been passed down through the years. Four generations had answered the call to serve God and in particular, the people both in Ireland and overseas, dedicating their lives to the Church and to their communities.
One symbol of this legacy is the Ballymartle chalice that has been used by each of these priests throughout their ministry. This simple but beautiful vessel had been a constant presence, accompanying each of these men in Ireland, Britain and the United States as they celebrated Mass and administered the sacraments during their lifetime. Across the years and across generations, it had become a symbol of the faith that sustained the family and a reminder of the deep connection shared.
As I researched and wrote this family history, I was struck by the sacrifices that each of these men made in service to their faith and their peoples. From Daniel Murphy's life in the midst of the Penal era and eventual Catholic Emancipation in 1829 to Denis Murphy's work during the Famine era. William Berry's life-time ministry with the emigrant, impoverished Irish in both Kentucky and the industrial midlands of England of the mid-nineteenth century to Patrick Bowen Murphy, his parish life in Massachusetts during the 1880s-1920s and service with US forces in Cuba during the Spanish American War.
Each generation faced its own challenges and opportunities, but all were united by a shared commitment to the Church, to their communities and families.
As we look back on the lives of these four generations of priests, we are inspired by their example of faith, courage, and service. We are also reminded of the power of simple objects like the Ballymartle Chalice to connect us to our past and to the traditions that have shaped us - and how much has changed since their eras.
It is my hope that this family history has provided a glimpse into the lives of these remarkable men and their legacy of service. May we honour their example by living our own lives with faith, courage, and commitment to our communities, and may we continue to pass on their stories and traditions to future generations.
Thanks of course to Colm O'Sullivan for proposing the idea of an article, additional details, suggestions, recollections, photos and various newspaper clippings on our shared family history.
As more archives & primary documents become available, the story of the Ballymartle Chalice will be updated.
As always, if you have any comments, observations or contributions to make to the shared history, then do please get in touch. We can be contacted anytime by clicking the email icon at the top of each page or here.
Thanks for reading.
Ruairi Lynch
Editor
Further reading? Here's three additional extended family histories (click on images to access):
Editor
Further reading? Here's three additional extended family histories (click on images to access):