Bishop Daniel Mageean

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

6 May 1882 – 17 January 1962 was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

and until 1962 he held the title Lord Bishop of Down and Connor.

Early life and priestly ministry

Daniel Mageean was born in the townland of Darragh Cross in the parish of

Saintfield Saintfield () is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is about halfway between Belfast and Downpatrick on the A7 road. It had a population of 3,381 in the 2011 Census, made up mostly of commuters working in both south a ...

, County Down and received secondary education at

St Malachy's College St Malachy's College, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the oldest Catholic diocesan college in Ulster. The college's alumni and students are known as Malachians. History The college, founded by Bishop William Crolly, opened on the feast of Sain ...

and

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

. He was ordained priest in 1906. His older sister Mary (McCall) became the first President of the Apostolic Work in 1924 indicating the faith and commitment of his wider family where there were others vocations to religious life. While his mother was a sister of the late Dr Richard Marner, who served as President of

St. Malachy's College St Malachy's College, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the oldest Catholic diocesan college in Ulster. The college's alumni and students are known as Malachians. History The college, founded by Bishop William Crolly, opened on the feast of Sa ...

from 1866 – 1876 and then

Parish Priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Kilkeel Kilkeel () is a small town, civil parish and townland (of 554 acres and 6521inh) in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the southernmost town in Northern Ireland. It lies within the historic barony of Mourne. Kilkeel town is the main fishing ...

until his death in 1906. His first pastoral appointment was a summer curacy in

Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 17 kilometres north west of Lisburn on the banks of the Glenavy River. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 5,697 people. In early documents it was known as Lena ...

parish in July 1907 and on 1 September that year he was transferred to

where he taught both English Literature and Latin and served as Dean of Discipline. In 1919 Fr Mageean he appointed Junior Dean at

becoming Senior Dean in 1925.

Episcopal ministry

On 31 May 1929 he was nominated

Bishop of Down and Connor The Bishop of Down and Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Downpatrick (located in County Down) and the village of Connor (located in County Antrim) in Northern Ireland. The title is still used by the Catholic Chur ...

and received episcopal consecration in

St Patrick's Church, Belfast St. Patrick's Church, Belfast ( ga, Eaglais Naomh Padraig) is a Roman Catholic church located in Donegall Street area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first church was opened on the site in 1815 while the current building dates from 1877. Fir ...

on 25 August 1929. In the 1930s he was a champion of Catholic rights especially after the anti-Catholic riots of 1935. He claimed that almost 400 Catholic families, totally nearly 1600 people had been driven from their homes. Dr. Mageean succeeded in getting the anti-Catholic nature of much of Northern Ireland life raised in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

at Westminster but his efforts came to naught and he resigned himself to a long period of sterility as prime ecclesiastical leader of demoralised Northern Irish Catholics. A flavour of the struggles Bishop Mageean faced are considered in Jonathan Bardon's magisterial work on this history of Ulster. Bishop Mageean often used his Lenten

Pastoral letter A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumst ...

to address issues of wider social and political concern e.g. his 1938 letter on Partition and the persecution of Catholics in Northern Ireland. In 1939, he coined the much-quoted phrase " A Protestant Parliament for a Protestant People", attributing it to his opponent Prime Minister Lord Craigavon, but that was a slight misquotation. He died on 17 January 1962 and was succeeded by the Bishop of Clonfert,

William Philbin William J. Philbin (26 January 1907 - 22 August 1991) was an Irish Roman Catholic Prelate. From July 1962 until his retirement, he held the title Bishop of Down and Connor. Early life and priestly ministry William Philbin was born in Kiltimag ...

. The Mageean Cup awarded annually to the winners of the Ulster Colleges' Senior Hurling Championship is named after him.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mageean, Daniel 1882 births 1962 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Down and Connor 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland People educated at St Malachy's College Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth

Early life and priestly ministry

Episcopal ministry

See also

Notes