ARMAGH
732
ARMAGH
names of nineteen parish priests appear on the reg-
ister for the county of Armagh. From flie returns
made in 1731 by the Protestant archbisliops and
bishops regarding the growth of popery in Ireland,
we find that in the Diocese of Armagh there were
26 Mass-houses. 77 officiating priests, 5 friaries, 22
friars, 1 nunnerj' with 9 nuns, 7 private chapels and
40 popish scliools. Owing to the severity of the
laws there was no primate resident in Ireland for
twenty-three years after the flight of Primate Ma-
guire, in 1691. Hugh Mac Mahon (1714-.37), Bishop
of Clogher, was at last appointed to the bereft see.
Living during the worst of the penal times, the pri-
mate was obliged constantly to wander from place
to place, saying Mass and administering Confirma-
tion in the open air. Nevertheless, in spite of these
difficulties he has left his name to posterity by the
learned work "Jus Primatiale Armacanum", written
by command of the pope in defence of the primatial
rights of .\rmagh. He was succeeded by his nephew,
Bernard Mac Mahon (1737—17), then Bishop of
Clogher, who is described as a prelate remarkable
for zeal, charity, prudence, and sound doctrine. He
also suffered considerably from the persecution, and
spent most of his time in hiding. Bernard was suc-
ceeded in the primacy by his brother, Ross Mac Ma-
hon (1747-48), also Bishop of Clogher. Michael
O'Reilly (1749-58), Bishop of Derry, was the next
primate. He published two catechisms, one in Irish
and the other in English, the latter of which has been
in use in parts of the north of Ireland till our own
time. On one occasion this primate and eighteen of
his priests were arrested near Dundalk. He lived
in a small thatched cottage at Termonfeclian. and
at times had to lie concealed in a narrow loft under
the thatch, .\nthony Blake (1758-86) was his suc-
cessor. The persecution having subsided to a great
extent, he was not hurried like his predecessors, but
nevertheless could lot be induced to live perma-
nently in his diocese, a circumstance which was the
occa-sion of much discontent among his clergy and
led to a temporary susjiension from his duties. Rich-
ard O'Reilly (1787-1818) was his successor in the
primacy. Having an independent fortune, he was
the first Catholic primate since the Revolution who
was able to live in a manner becoming his dignified
station. By liis gentleness and affability he suc-
ceeded in quieting the dissensions which had dis-
tracted the diocese during the time of his prede-
cessor and was thenceforward known as the " .\ngel
of Peace". In 1793, he laid the foundation-stone of
St. Peter's Church in Drogheda, which was to serve
as his pro-cathedral, one of the first Catholic churches
to be built within the walls of a town in Ireland
since the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant
Corporation of Drogheda, wearing their robes and
carrying the mace and sword, appeared on the scene
and forbade the ceremony to proceed, but their pro-
test was disregarded.
MouEH.N Times.— Patrick Curtis (1819-32), who had been rector of the Irish College of Salamanca, was appointed to the see in more hopeful times and lived to witness the emancipation of the Catholics of Ireland. He was one of the first to join the Catholic Association, and being on friendly terms with the Duke of Wellington, whom he had met in Spain during the Peninsular War, was able to ad- vance considerately the cause of Catholic Emancipa- tion. Thomas Kelly succeeded (1832-35). He drew up the statutes whidi are still in use in the diocese and lived and died with the reputation of a saint. William Crolly succeeded (183.5-49). He was the first Catholic iirimate to reside in .Armagh and per- form episcopal functions there since the per-secution began, and signalized himself by beginning the noble cathedral which it luis taken more than sixty years to bring to completion. The foundation-stone was
laid 17 March. 1840, and before the primate's death
the walls had been raised to a considerable height.
Paul Cullen succeeded in 1849. but was translated to
the See of Dublin in 1852. In 1S50 he pre.sided over
the National Synod of Thurles, the first of the kind
held in Ireland since the convention of the bishops
and clergj' in Kilkenny, in 1642. Joseph Dixon
(1852-66), the next primate, held a synod in Dro-
gheda in 1854, at which all the northern bishops as-
sisted. In 1856, the Diocesan Chapter, consisting of
thirteen members, was formed. .4rchbishop Dixon
resumed the building of the cathedral, but did not
live to see it finished. Michael Kieran (1S66-69)
succeeded, residing in Dundalk during his tenure of
the primatial see. His successor, Daniel Mac Gettigan
(1870-87), spent three years of earnest labour in
the completion of the cathedral, and was able to
open it for divine worship in 1873. The [ircsent
illustrious occupant of the see, Cardinal Michael
Logue, succeeded to the primacy in 1887. He is
the first Primate of Armagh to become a member of
the Sacred College. He has devoted himself for sev-
eral years to the task of beautifjdng and completing
in every sense the noble edifice erected by his pred-
ecessors. In the building of the sacristy, librarj-,
synod-hall, muniment-room, the purcliase in fee-
simple of the site, and the interior decorations and
altars, he has spent more than £50.000 on what is
now known as the National Cathedral. This great
temple was consecrated on 24 July, 1904. Cardinal
Vincenzo \'annutelli. representing Pope Pius X, was
present at the consecration.
Religious Institutions in the Archdiocese. — There is a Franciscan and an Augustinian friary in Drogheda, and the Dominicans have one founded by Primate Netterville in 1224. They also have one in Dundalk, estabUshed originally at Carling- ford in the early part of the fourteenth century. Of the modern congregations, the Vincentians were introduced into Armagh by Primate Dixon in 1861, to take charge of the ecclesiastical seminary. The Marist Feathers, also at Primate Dixon's request, came to Dundalk the same year to conduct a college. The Redemptorists were brought there by Primate Mac Gettigan in 1876. Primate Cullen brought the Irish Christian Brothers to Armagh in 1851, Primate Dixon brought them to Drogheda in 1857, and Primate Kieran to Dundalk in 1869. The French Congregation of Christian Brothers (de la Salle) have schools in Dundalk, Keady. and Ardee. The Presentation Brothers have schools at Dungannon. The Dominican Nuns, invited to Drogheda in 1722 by Primate Hugh Mac Mahon, conduct a boarding- school and a day-school. The Presentation Nuns, who settled in Drogheda in 1813, and in Portadown in 1882, have large poor-schools in both towns. The Sisters of Mercy, also devoted to the education of the poor, came to Dundalk in 1847, to Ardee in 1859, and to Dungannon in 1894. They also have con- vents at Bessbrook and Cookstown. The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul came to Drogheda in 1855, where they conduct an industrial school for little boys and an orphanage for girls. The Ladies of the Sacred Heart were brought to Armagh by Primate Cullen in 1850. There is a missionary school for girls attached to their convent. There is a convent of Poor Clares at Keady, one of St. Louis at Middletown. and one of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception at Magherafelt, all recent foundations. The .\cadeniy of St. Patrick, Dungannon, is con- ducted by the diocesan clergj'. The Catholic Dio- cesan Orphan Society is under the direction of the Primate.
Photestant .\rchbishops. — Hugh Goodacre, the first Protestant prelate who presided over the dio- cese, was an|«)into<l by lulward VI. in 1552. He was consecrateil acconling to the Protestant ordinal and
