the Spaniards, and young as he was acted as interpreter for a portion of the British forces. In 1808 he returned to Ireland, then in the depths of misery and hopelessness. The next year he was ordained a priest, and for some time resided in New Ross, teaching at the Friary. In 1813 he was appointed Professor of Rhetoric in Carlow College, where his rather rough and uncouth appearance at first caused some merriment among the students; but they soon learned to appreciate the depth of his reading, and the extent of his knowledge. The following instance of his readiness in dealing with his pupils is related by his biographer. "If you had gone up as you came down," he remarked to a lad who had ascended the pulpit in a confident state of mind to deliver a thesis, and had then broken down, "you would have come down as you went up." In 1814 he was appointed to the chair of theology. His abilities must have attracted general attention, for in 1819, when the bishopric of Kildare and Leighlin became vacant through the death of Dr. Corcoran, he was elected, and his name was sent for confirmation to Home. An era in the Irish Catholic Church may be said to have opened with his consecration. Up to that time the persecutions it had undergone had more or less disintegrated its structure, and the poverty of the congregations and buildings had led to carelessness and disregard of appearances in religious ceremonies. Bishop Doyle rapidly set about the task of repressing all disorders within his diocese with a stern and uncompromising hand. He entered into politics heart and soul, in the determination to aid in securing Catholic Emancipation, and under the signature of "J. K. L." soon became one of the best known public writers of his day. It would be quite impossible to specify his untiring efforts in the great struggles of the time. His statesmanlike abilities were recognized by all, and he became a power in the country on the questions of Emancipation, Education Reform, Anti-Tithe, and Poor-Relief. In his diocese he had much to contend with in the turbulent character of many of his flock, and was incessant in his endeavour to suppress the illegal combinations consequent upon the unsettled state of the country. He was often at issue with O'Connell, particularly on the Repeal movement, which he thought unadvisable so long as Ireland could hope to secure ameliorative measures from the Imperial Parliament. He did not allow politics to interfere with his episcopal functions, or with the correspondence which he kept up with members of his family and persons who sought his spiritual advice. He was the first prelate that joined the Catholic Association, and thereby opened the way for its ultimate success. At one time he entertained hopes of the possibility of a union of the Established and Catholic churches. On no occasion did he more closely rivet public attention than during his examinations before committees of Parliament in 1825, '30 and '32. The readiness of his answers and the grasp of his mind much impressed the public.—"Well, you have been examining Dr. Doyle," a person remarked to the Duke of Wellington, "No, but he has been examining us," was the reply. A life of constant mental strain and patriotic devotion to the interests of his church and his country broke down his constitution at an early age. He died at Carlow, 16th June 1834, aged 48, and was buried in the cathedral he had built, and which is now adorned with a splendid statue of him by Hogan. In person he was tall and commanding; his countenance was intellectual. Though endowed with much softness of heart, his presence was on the whole austere. Like many other men who have begun public life as liberals, and have seen the reforms they advocated accomplished, he tended in his latter days towards conservatism. 106
Doyle, Sir John, Bart., was born in Dublin in 1756, and was educated at Trinity College. In 1775 he embarked as Lieutenant with the 40th Regiment for America, where he greatly distinguished himself, and was several times wounded. For some time he was Captain of the "Volunteers of Ireland," on the royalist side. At the commencement of the French war in 1793 he raised a regiment, subsequently numbered as the 87th, and served under the Duke of York in the campaign of 1794 as Lieutenant-Colonel. He was afterwards appointed Colonel of the 87th, and sent in command of a secret expedition to Holland. Having filled the office of Secretary of War in Ireland under the short viceroyalty of Lord Fitzwilliam, he was continued in that position by Lord Camden. As a member of the Irish House of Commons, he sided with the national party. In the expedition to Egypt, under Abercrombie in 1801, he showed great gallantry, leaving a sick bed, and riding forty miles through the desert to defend Alexandria against General Menou. After residing for some time in Naples for the benefit of his health, in 1804 he was appointed Governor of Guernsey, in 1805 was created a baronet, and in 1819 a general. He died 8th August 1834, aged 77. 36 39 42
