Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Croke, Thomas William
CROKE, THOMAS WILLIAM (1824–1902), Roman catholic archbishop of Cashel, born on 19 May 1824 at Castlebar, in the parish of Ballyclough, co. Cork, was son of William Croke by his wife Isabella Plummer. His father, who died young, was a catholic, but his mother was a protestant till four years before her death. Seven members of Croke's family were priests. A great-uncle, Dr. McKenna, was bishop of Cloyne, and an uncle was vicar-general there. Two sisters were nuns; one brother, William, died while a young curate, and another, James, died a priest in America in 1889.
Thomas Croke was taken charge of in boyhood by his uncle, vicar-general of Cloyne, who sent him to the endowed school at Charleville, where he gained a reputation for athleticism rather than for learning. Encouraged to adopt the priestly vocation, he studied from 1839 to 1845, mainly at the Irish College in Paris, but spending one of these years at the college of Menin, in Belgium, where he acted as professor of rhetoric. In 1845 he went to the Irish College at Rome, of which Dr. (afterwards Cardinal) Cullen was then rector. Here he carried off several distinctions, including two gold medals, in 1846. In 1847 he received the degree of doctor of divinity. In 1848, according to an uncombated statement of William O'Brien M.P. (Recollections, p. 49), he was again in Paris, and took part in the lighting at the barricades during the revolution. After ordination he returned to Ireland in 1849 to take for a short time the place of his brother William as curate of Charleville. He was subsequently professor of rhetoric at Carlow College, teacher of theology at the Irish College, Paris, curate in Ireland for a second time, and professor of ecclesiastical history at the Catholic University in Dublin when John Henry Newman was rector. From 1858 to 1868 he was president of St. Colman's College, Fermoy. In 1865 he was made chancellor of the diocese of Cloyne and parish priest of Doneraile. As a theologian he attended Dr. William Delany, the bishop of Cork, at the Vatican Council in 1870, where he met Archbishop, afterwards Cardinal, Manning, and formed a lifelong friendship with him.
From 1870 to 1875 Croke was catholic bishop of Auckland, New Zealand, and his administration of the diocese was a triumphant success, to which his business ability largely contributed. In 1875 he succeeded Patrick Leahy [q. v.] as archbishop of Cashel, largely through the influence of Cardinal Cullen and possibly that of Manning. His first public appearance as archbishop was at the O'Connell centenary in Dublin in 1875, when he preached the centennial sermon in the pro-cathedral. In his diocese he warmly encouraged athletic pastimes, and was a powerful advocate of temperance. Mainly through his influence the Gaelic Athletic Association became a great force in the rural life of Ireland. He was a stern and exacting administrator and an admirable manager of diocesan affairs. A strong nationalist, holding advanced views on the agrarian problem, Croke threw himself with ardour into the land agitation which broke out in 1878, soon after his arrival in Cashel. His unvarying support of the land agitation and of the Irish nationalist party powerfully aided the advance of the nationalist cause. Although Cardinal Cullen was wholly at variance with him in political and agrarian questions, their affectionate relations were undisturbed. Croke, however, dissented from some of the Land League's procedure, and strongly objected to the no-rent manifesto of 1881. When, a little later, Pope Leo XIII requested him to take a less active part in the land war, he obeyed, but his sympathies underwent no change. He was in favour of ParnelTs retirement after the divorce proceedings in November 1890.
Croke celebrated his silver jubilee as bishop in 1895 amid great rejoicings. He died at his palace in Cashel on 22 July 1902, and was buried in the grounds of his cathedral at Thurles.
Although a rigid disciplinarian, and ascetic in his personal tastes, Croke was on occasion a noted raconteur. His generosity and hospitality were unbounded, and Cardinal Manning, 'who loved him as a brother,' regarded him as a saint. Of commanding presence, he wielded an immense influence among the Irish people, and Ms high personal character, combined with his austerity and deep conviction, was of immense service to the nationalist cause. No other prelate in Ireland possessed the same weight in public affairs. He was the most notable figure of his day in the Irish catholic church. His only publications were a few pastorals, though he had written a few poems for the 'Nation' newspaper while a curate in Charleville.
[Men of the Time, 1899; William O'Brien's Recollections; T. P. O'Connor's Parnell Movement, p. 514; Barry O'Brien's Parnell Movement; Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 1902, pp. 301–311 (which suggested the publication of a full biography of Croke); Purcell's Life of Cardinal Manning, 1896; Morley's Life of Gladstone, 1903; D'Alton's History of Ireland, iii. 29, 379; A Roll of Honour, Dublin, 1905; Freeman's Journal, 23 July 1902.]