Miler Magrath
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miler Magrath (also, Myler ; in Irish, Maolmhuire Mag Raith: servant of Mary, son of grace) (1523?-1622), came from a family of hereditary historians to the O'Brien clan, and was elected Archbishop of Cashel in Ireland. He became a controversial figure for both protestants and catholics, owing to his ambiguous activities during the Reformation in that country.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Magrath became a Franciscan priest and spent his early life in Rome - "on the Capitoline" - whence he was sent on a mission to Ireland. It was believed that, on passing through England, he displayed his letters of authorisation in order to garner bribes for holding to the Reformation. In any case, he appears to have satisfied the authorities that his position as a Catholic bishop in Ireland would not preclude his valid assent to the Act of Supremacy.
In October 1565 Magrath was appointed papal bishop of Down and Connor, although the temporalities were commanded by his kinsman Shane O'Neill, whom he visited in 1566. In May 1567 he attended on the lord deputy of Ireland, Sir Henry Sidney, at Drogheda, where he agreed to conform to the reformed faith and to hold his see of the crown. However, in 1569 John Merriman became bishop of Down, and Magrath held on to the papal see, being deprived of Down and Connor in 1580 for heresy and other matters; thus he had enjoyed dual appointments as papal and anglican archbishop for nine years.
[edit] Cashel
In 1570 Magrath was appointed to Clogher, including the temporalities, and visited England, where he fell ill of a fever. In February 1571 he was appointed archbishop of Cashel and bishop of Emly (no new appointment was made to Clogher until 1605). In the same year he imprisoned some friars at Cashel, whereupon the rebel James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald threatened to burn to ashes everyone and everything connected with Magrath if they were not released; the friars were liberated by Edward Butler. In 1572 he brought charges against Butler's elder brother, Thomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde, but they were given no credence. In 1575, as he went on his way to Dublin, he was attacked and badly injured by a rebel kerne.
Until the end of the Desmond Rebellions in 1583, Magrath remained in his province, while assisting the government on the one hand and intriguing with the rebels on the other. In October 1582, he travelled to England bearing letters of strong recommendation, which cited his ability to give information on the rebels. He complained that Cashel was only worth £98 and - in spite of the misgivings of William Cecil, Lord Burghley - was granted the see of Waterford and Lismore in commendam, which he held until 1589, and then again from 1592 upon the death of Bishop Wetherhead. Despite his allegiance to the authorities, Magrath never arrested the papal appointee to Cashel, Kearney, who lived peacefully under his nose. However, Magrath continued to court favour with the authorities, and in 1584 he did arrest the papal bishop of Emly, Murrough MacBrian, who died two years later in custody in Dublin Castle. In March 1589 he wrote commending the Kerry plantation undertaker Sir William Herbert, who was a controversial figure on the Protestant side.
In 1591 Magrath visited England without leave, and grave charges were pressed against him in his absence. During his visit he sought to minister to the condemned chieftain of Leitrim, Sir Brian O'Rourke, who scorned the bishop at the foot of the gallows-ladder before his execution in London. At about this time Magrath's cousin, Dermot Creagh, was papal bishop of Cork with legatine authority in Munster, and they remained on mutual terms. Magrath appears to have feared that his soul was in jeopardy, and with a view to repentance and reconciliation with Rome, took care that his cousin would not be captured, while informing the government about his movements.
[edit] Nine Years War
In 1599, during the Nine Years War (1595-1603), Magrath was taken prisoner by Con, the son of Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. The earl ordered his release on the ground that only the pope had authority to lay hands on his "friend and ally". Magrath promised that he would reconcile, except that he had to see to his children, and Con released him on conditions: a money payment with O'Meara's son (related to Magrath's wife) to act as surety in person.
In 1600, Magrath went to London and convinced Robert Cecil of his loyalty, although appearing a turbulent person, and was granted a pension. While at court, he accused Sir Henry Lee of treason, with the "most indecent and contumelious words", and Lee's cousin, Thomas Lee (a captain in the Irish service who was later hanged for his involvement with the treason of the Earl of Essex), wrote to Cecil seeking the opportunity to meet the charges.
Magrath returned to Ireland with the English-backed pretender to the earldom of Desmond. He claimed poverty owing to the war, but Cecil was soon complaining that he was accused of allowing his church to lie like "an hogsty" and sought Sir George Carew to remonstrate with him over this neglect.
[edit] The New Era
Under James I, Magrath's holding of four bishoprics and seventy spiritual holdings was criticised by Sir John Davies, then attorney-general of Ireland. In 1607 the archbishop of Dublin, Thomas Jones, criticised his spiritual administration, and he resigned Waterford and Lismore six months later. The estate of Lismore had been sold by him to Sir Walter Raleigh for a nominal price, although he kept the capitular seal of Cashel. He was ultimately compelled to accept the sees of Killala and Achonry in Connacht, which were of little worth: in 1610, he complained he had not received their possession, and the full grant was not made until 1611.
In 1608 a jury found that he had declared his kinsman, the fugitive rebel, Hugh O'Neill, wronged over the Bann fishery (a property right relating to the ancient authority of English law in Ireland, which the crown had successfully contested in a precedent-setting case), and had credited O'Neill with, "a better right to the crown of Ireland than any Irishman or Scottishman [ie. James I] whatsoever". Despite the sensitivity of the matter, the indictment was not proceeded with. In a further assertion of his tribal identity, Magrath rowed with the Bishop of Derry in 1609 over the possession of Termon Magrath, the lands of which were granted in the following year to Magrath's son, James.
Magrath now lived in Ulster (where he erected a building, which still stands at Templecrone, County Donegal) and had William Knight appointed his co-adjutator at Cashel, who soon left the country after disgracing himself by drunken behaviour in public. It was reckoned that the revenues and manors of the see of Cashel were entirely wasted. The lord deputy, Sir Arthur Chichester, had a poor opinion of Magrath, but held back for fear of his influence amongst the Ulster Irish, and Stafford too spoke of his oppressions.
In 1612 the Franciscan provincial had hopes of Magrath's reconciliation with Rome; in 1617 it was thought he might exchange the Rock of Cashel for the Capitoline, where he had spent his youth. Magrath's last known involvement in public life was on his attendance at parliament in Dublin in 1613. He died ten years later, in his 100th year, after 52 years service as a bishop.
[edit] Legacy
Magrath has remained a figure of controversy in Irish history. On the protestant side, he was blamed for untold damage caused to the establishment of the reformed faith and was scorned for being a drunkard. On the catholic side, he was thought to have engaged too closely with a persecuting state, even though his was a period in which the safest course was to temporise. Towards the end of his life, a caustic satire against him was published by a Gaelic poet.
Given the strife through which he lived, and whatever one might say about his spiritual allegiances, Magrath possessed a knack for survival. The forbearance shown by his most bitter critics in government, even when they were certain that he favoured recusants, is an indication of his influence within the country. In any case, the freedom allowed to him in playing both sides in the drive for reformation shows how tricky the times were in Ireland.
As for being a drunkard, perhaps his longevity gives the lie to that charge.
[edit] Family
Magrath married a Catholic and raised his sons in that faith. Upon his wife's death he married again.
[edit] Other points
It has been suggested that the character of Magrath in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake owes something to the reputation of Miler Magrath.
[edit] References
- Richard Bagwell, Ireland under the Tudors 3 vols. (London, 1885–1890).
- John O'Donovan (ed.) Annals of Ireland by the Four Masters 7 vols. (1851).
- Dictionary of National Biography 22 vols. (London, 1921–1922).
