Father Arthur O'Leary, O.F.M.Cap (1729 – 8 January 1802) was an Irish Capuchin preacher and polemical writer.

Life

O'Leary was born at Fanlobbus,

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland. He was educated with the Capuchins of

Saint Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

, where he was ordained and spent twenty-four years as a prison chaplain.Webb, Alfred. "Arthur O'Leary", ''A Compendium of Irish Biography'', 1878
/ref> In 1777 he returned to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

to engage in missionary work. His preaching soon attracted large audiences. He is charged by

James Froude James Anthony Froude ( ; 23 April 1818 – 20 October 1894) was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of ''Fraser's Magazine''. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a clergym ...

with having received secret-service money from the Government, but other historians consider this unproven. In 1786-88 he argued the Catholic case in the so-called "Paper War" between conservative Protestants and moderates that sought further legal reform of the Penal Laws, leading towards

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

. O'Leary's arguments helped

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

with his proposal in 1788 to remove the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

paid by Roman Catholics to the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

, but this was voted down by the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...

. From 1789 till his death he was chaplain to the Spanish embassy in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was a wit, and socially acquainted with the circle of

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Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...

, and

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

, and an honorary member of The Monks of the Screw. In the 1790s he built the original

St Patrick's Church, Soho Square St Patrick's Church is a large Roman Catholic parish church in Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. I ...

for the poor London Irish living around

St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

.Obituary in the Annual Register, 1802 He died in London and was buried in Old St Pancras Churchyard. His name is listed on the

Burdett-Coutts Memorial The Burdett Coutts Memorial Sundial is a structure built in the churchyard of Old St Pancras, London, in 1877–79, at the behest of Baroness Burdett-Coutts. The former churchyard included the burial ground for St Giles-in-the-Fields, where ma ...

to the eminent graves lost from the graveyard.

Works

Famous as a preacher, writer, and controversialist, he published tracts characterized by learning, religious feeling, toleration, and allegiance to the Crown. His work for reform of the anti-Catholic penal laws was too heterodox for some Catholics.O'Leary, Edward. "Arthur O'Leary." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 20 March 2020 Formerly, Catholics had been loyal to the Jacobite movement, and some felt that O'Leary was being too friendly to the Hanoverian dynasty. He realised that an engagement with Protestants was necessary to ensure reforms from the British and Irish parliaments, whose members were all Protestant at that time. Reforms had just started with the

Papists Act 1778 The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (18 George III c. 60) and was the first Act for Roman Catholic relief. Later in 1778 it was also enacted by the Parliament of Ireland. Before the Act, a number of "Penal laws" ...

and the

Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 (31 George III, c. 32) is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1791 relieving Roman Catholics of certain political, educational, and economic disabilities. It admitted Catholics to the practice ...

. During the 1790s he was, like many Catholics, horrified at the

Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution The dechristianization of France during the French Revolution is a conventional description of the results of a number of separate policies conducted by various governments of France between the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Conc ...

. At the time when the penal laws were slowly being reformed, his aim was for Catholics in Britain and Ireland to achieve legal equality with

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

s, and he was a precursor of those who finally obtained

in 1829. Among his writings are: *''A Defence of the Divinity of Christ and the Immortality of the Soul'' *''Loyalty Asserted, or the Test Oath Vindicated'' *''An Address to the Roman Catholics Concerning the Apprehended Invasion of the French'' *''Essay on Toleration'' *''A Reply to John Wesley''

Notes

References

;Attribution * The entry cites:
Fr. O'Leary in Jonah Barrington's memoirs, chapter 43; accessed Dec 2009
**Thomas Richard England, ''Life of Rev. Arthur O'Leary'' (Cork, 1822) **M. B. Buckley, ''Life of Rev. Arthur O'Leary'' (Dublin, 1868) **

, ''The English in Ireland in the eighteenth century'' **''Life and times of Henry Grattan'' (London, 1832–46) **''Dictionary of British and American Authors'' (Philadelphia, 1859–71)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Arthur Legal history of Ireland 1729 births 1802 deaths History of Christianity in the United Kingdom Irish Friars Minor 18th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests