MacMAHON
58
MAFFEI
and "The Dictator" (1893). Other publications
were: "Con Amore", a vokime of essays (1868), and
biographies of Sir Robert Peel (1891), Leo XIII
(1896), and Gladstone (1897). McCarthy's popu-
larity as a writer depends rather on his historical
writings, which ai"e always lucid, forceful, and won-
derfully free from party spirit. Of these works the
most important are: "History of our own Times"
(7 vols., London, 1879-1905), dealing with the events
from the year 1830 to the death of Queen Victoria
and supplemented by "Reminiscences of an Irish-
man" (1899); "A short History of our own Times"
(1888); "The Epoch of Reform, 1830-1850" (Lon-
don, 1874); "History of the Four Georges" (4 vols.,
1884-1901), of which vols. 3 and 4 were written in
collaboration with his son, Justin Huntly McCarthy,
well-known as a novelist and play-writer; "Ireland
and her Story" (1903); "Modern "England" (1899);
"Rome in Ireland" (1904). Failing health and old
age could not induce McCarthy to lay down his pen,
and even as late as November, 1911, he published his
"Irish Recollections", describing with his wonted
charm the events of his earlier life. He was an ardent
advocate of Catholic rights, and, though he had been
indifferent for many years, in his old age he returned
to the practices of his religion.
McCarthy, Irish Recollections (London, 1911); Idem, Reminis- cences of an Irishman (London, 1899) ; Idem, An Irishman's Story (London, 1904); The Times (London, 26 April, 1912) ; O'Connor, Justin McCarthy in Amer. Cath. Quart. Rev.. XXXVII (Phil- adelphia, 1912), 387-407.
A. A. MacErlean. MacMahon, Heber (Emer or Ever), Bishop of Clogher, Ireland, and patriotic leader, born at Farney, County Monaghan, 1600; executed at Ennis- kiUen in 1650; son of Turlogh ^lacMahon and his wife Eva O'Neill, and nephew of Sir Patrick MacAj-t MacMahon. His family, having become impover- ished by a bill of attainder confiscating the land of those who had struggled for Ireland's hberty, withdrew to KUlybegs, and Heber received his early education in the Franciscan convent at Donegal, some twenty miles away. He went to the Irish College at Douai in 1617 and later to Louvain, where he studied under Hugh MacCaghwell, was ordained in 1625, after which he returned to the Diocese of Clogher. He laboured there for some years with great zeal and fruit among his flock who had been despoiled of their lands, robbed of their churches, and forced to worship secretly in the mountains, and soon he was ap- pointed vicar-general. On 10 Feb., 1642, he was nominated to the See of Down and Connor and was present at the Synod of Kells in that year. Before his consecration, however, he was transferred to Clogher, 2 June, 1643. When the struggle for free- dom began in 1()41 ne became a steadfast adherent of Owen Roe O'Neill, and energetically supported the papal envoys, Scarampi in 1643 and Rinuccini in 1645, in opposition to Ormonde and the majority of the Supreme Council of the Irish, whom he be- lieved to be sacrificing the interests of religion for the sake of peace. In 1647 the opponents of Rinuccini endeavoured to get rid of MacMahon by sending him on a mission to France, which, howe\er, he re- fused to accept. In April, 1648, he condemned the truce with Inchiquin as inimical to the Catholics of Ireland. Finding his efforts fruitless he withdrew with Owen Roe O'Neill to Ulster, whereupon they were proclaimed traitors to Ireland by the Supreme Council. In 1649 he was captured by Sir Phelim O'Neill and imprisoned, but escaped shortly after- wards. In October, 1649, Ormonde and Owen Roe O'Neill made peace, the better to resist the Crom- wellian invasion. In March, 1650, MacMahon was chosen to lead the Ulster forces, O'Neill having died some months earlier. Encouraged by some early successes he risked a serious conflict with the English army under Sir Charles Cootc at Scariffhollis, County
Donegal, on 21 June, 1650, was defeated and cap-
tured two days later near Omagh, and though
promised quarter was shortly afterwards put to
death by Cootc, despite the efforts made by Major-
general King, governor of Enniskillen, to obtain a
commutation of the death sentence. His head was
stuck on a spike at Enniskillen Castle and his trunk
buried by some Catholics in Devenish Island, with
the permission of Governor King.
Meehan, Irish Franciscan Monasteries (Dublin, 1870). 234-52; Brady, Episcopal Succession in England, Ireland and Scotland, I (Rome, 1876); Moran, Spicilegium Ossoriense, 1, 11 (Dublin, 1874-81); B.iQWELLin Did. Nat. Biog., s. v.
A. A. MacErlean.
MaSei, Marchese Francesco Scipione, Italian litterateur and archaeologist, b. at Verona, 1 June, 1675; d. there, 11 Feb., 1755. He sprang from an ancient and illustrious family which came originally from Bologna; his brother was General Alessandro Maffei, whose "Memoirs" he published. He began at an early age to \\Tite poetry which, however, was marred by the bad taste of the period, but associa- tion with such men as Pastorini and Maggi and the study of the great Italian poets brought about a change in his style. In 1699, during a sojourn in Rome, he became a member of the Accademia degli Arcadi and on his return to Verona estabUshed in that city a branch of the Roman Arcadia. In 1703 he enlisted in the Bavarian army, in which his brother held the rank of heutenant-colonel and in 1704 took part in the battle of Donauworth. In 1709 he went to Padua, where he shared with Apostolo Zeno the editorship of the "Giornale de Letteraria d'ltalia", but soon abandoned the work. In 1710 he spent some time at Turin for the purpose of studj'ing the MSS.in the Royal Library, and whilethere he arranged the collection of objects of art which Charles Em- manuel had brought from Rome. Declining posts proffered by Pope Clement XI and King Victor Amadeus he returned to Verona, where he devoted himself to the study of the Italian drama, with the object of raising it from its state of decadence, and his efforts in this direction may be regarded as the beginning of the rehabilitation of the ItaUan theatre.
Maffei had already devoted some years to archaxi- logical and artistic studies and in this connexion had amassed in his palace a very valuable collection. In particular his scholarly publications on the history of his birthplace aroused such enthusiasm on the part of the Veronese that it was only with difficulty that he prevailed on them not to erect a statue to him during his lifetime. His famiharity with charters and other medieval documents resulted in his "Istoria diplomatica" (Mantua, 1727), a work which added much of importance to the history of diplomatics. In 1732 he went to the south of France for purposes of archaeological research and from there he went to Paris, where he remained four years and was received as member of the Acad(5mie lies Inscriptions. At this time also the Jesuits requested him to write in defence of the orthodox system of grace against the doctrine of the Jansenists. In compliance he wTote his "Istoria teologica delle doctrine e delle opinione corse ne cinque primo secoli della chiesa in proposito della divina grazia, del libero arbitrio e della prede- gfinazione" (Trent, 1742; Latin tr., Frankfort, 1765). Prior to the appearance of this work he went to London (1736), visited Oxford, where he obtained the degree of doctor, and was received in London by the most noted men of the country. In the same year he returned by way of Holland and Germany to Verona, where he thenceforth remained, save for oc<';isional :ib.'<ences. He built a mu.seuin, which togclher with his v:iUi:ible collection he be- queathed lo his native city. Hesides his historical and archaiological studies he interested himself in physics and astronomy, and oven built an observa-
