DUBLIN
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DUBLIN
his religious vagaries into Ireland. He kept the see
vacant for nearly a year, and then filled it without any
reference to the pope, by the appointment of George
Browne. Brownie had been provincial of the sup-
pressed Augustinian Hermits in England, and was the
bond slave of Henry, ready to do his master's bidding.
He was consecrated by Cranmer, 19 March, 1535-6,
and took up his residence in Dublin in August, 1536.
The antecedents of Browne and the schismatical char-
CONVENT OF THE SiSTERS OF LORETTO, DaLKET
acter of his appointment did not recommend him to
the Dublin clergj'. He complained of their resistance
to his injunctions and was compelled to send round
his o^sTi servants in order to cancel the pope's name in
the service-books. A sharp warning from the king
stirred him up to more demonstrative action, and
forthwath he had all holy relics preserved in Christ
Church cathedral, including St. Patrick's crosier
known as the "Staff of Jesus", gathered into a heap
and burned. He co-operated only too gladly in the
suppression of all the religious houses, in changing the
prior and convent of Christ Church into a secular dean
and chapter, and in the total suppression of St. Pat-
rick's chapter. Under Edward \'I he introduced that
monarch's new liturgy, as found in his first "Book of
Common Prayer", into the cathedral, and finished by
taking a wife.
With the accession of Queen Mary all things Catho- lic were restored, and Browne, being convicted of being a married bishop, was deposed. The queen filled the vacant see by nominating Hugh Curwen, Dean of Hereford, yet another Englishman, and the royal nomination was confirmed at Rome. She also re- established the dean and chapter of St. Patrick's. While the queen survived, unhappily not long, Cur- wen behaved as a Catholic, but on the accession of Elizabeth, he was ready to worship the rising sun, to accept her royal supremacy and Act of Uniformity, and eventually a transfer to the See of O.xford as its Protestant bishop. This apostasy, coupled with the severe persecution of Catholics which continued through the whole of Elizabeth's reign, left the See of Dublin without a Catholic bishop for full forty years. The compensations were, however, a firm and faithful clergy and people, and a long roll of martyrs and confessors.
Era of Persecution. — Some attempt was made by the Holy See to provide a bishop in 1585 by appoint- ing a certain Donald or Donatus, but he did not live to take possession, and not until 1600 w.is his successor appointed in the person of Matthew d'Oviedo, a Span- ish Franciscan. Though he came to Ireland, he dared not set foot in his diocese, but governed it through vicars-general, three of whom successively ended their days in prison. Finally about 1611 d'Oviedo re- turned to Spain and resigned the see, being succeeded by Dr. Eugene Matthews, transferred from Clogher. Dr. Matthews laboured hard and in most difficult times. In 1615 he called a provincial synod in Kil-
kenny wherein, amongst other enactments, the paro-
chial system was reorganized and order evolved out
of chaos. He narrowly escaped imprisonment more
than once, and eventually betook himself to Rome
where he died in 1623. Early in 1625 his successor
Dr. Thomas Fleming, a Franciscan, was appointed.
After the outbreak of 16-41 and when the Confedera-
tion of Kilkenny was initiated, he was appointed a
member of the supreme council and took part in its
deliberations. But the arrival and victory of the
Cromwellians in Dublin in 1649 closed the gates of his
cathedral city against him ; he took refuge in C!alway
and died there in 1651 or 1652. Dr. Edmund
O'Reilly, his \dcar-general, was proposed as vicar
Apostolic, but his imprisonment and subsequent exile
rendered this proposal abortive, and in 1656 Dr. James
Dempsey, vicar capitular of Leighlin, was appointed
to this office. In his first report to the Holy See, after
the horrors of war, pestilence, and banishment, he
states "that in the diocese of Dublin there were not
enough Catholics to form three parishes".
The restoration of Charles II to the throne occurred during Dr. Dempsey's administration and would prob- ably have resulted in some benevolent policy of tolera- tion had not the intrigues of the Franciscan friar, Peter Walsh, brought new troubles upon the suffering members of the Faith. The assembly of clergj- held in Dublin in 1666 at the instance of Walsh and out- manceu\Ted by him, did not bring peace. Dr. Demp- sey died in 1667, and the see was again vacant until 1669 when the Holy See appointed Dr. Peter Talbot of the Malahide family. He w'as consecrated at Ghent, 2 May. In 1670 he held a dioce-san synod, and a meeting of bishops was held in Dublin in the same year which furnished the occasion, by a claim for pre- cedence, for the first contention between Armagh and Dublin concerning the primacy. In 1673 he was ban- ished the kingdom; it was not until 1677 when broken in health, that he was allowed to return ; he was, however, immedi- ately committed a close prisoner to Dublin Castle where after linger- ing for two years he died. He was a learned man and a prolific writer. In 1683 Dr. Pat- rick Russell, a na- tive of the County Dublin, succeeded him. The advent of a Catholic king raised the hopes of the afflicted Catholics of Ire- land, and with liberty restored to the Church they took heart to make a strong march forward. A provincial synod was assembled in 1685, another in 1688; in 1686 and 16S9 diocesan synods were held. The metropolitan chapter, which had never died, was reorganized and the precedence of its members settled. Many other works were projected by Dr. Russell, but the disastrous defeat at the Boyne", in 1690, and the flight of King James put an end to all hope and re- duced the Catholics to a worse condition than ever. Dr. Russell was apprehended and cast into prison, where he died in 1692. King James, still recognized by the Holy See, claimed the exercise of the royal pre-
CHrRrH. FORMERLY HoLY
Cathedral, Dubun
