Edward Maginn (b. at

Fintona Fintona (; ), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its population at the 2011 Census was 1,164. Name and etymology Fintona is derived phonetically from the Irish name of the area, ''Fionntamhnach''; this is often trans ...

, Ireland, 16 December 1802; d. at Derry, 17 January 1849) was an Irish Catholic priest, an advocate of

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 ...

, and supporter of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

in the Repeal movement. He became coadjutor bishop of Derry.

Life

He was the son of Patrick Maginn, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Slevin. He was educated by his uncle, parish priest of

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...

, and later by Thomas MacColgan, at

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in C ...

, Donegal, and entered the Irish College, Paris, in 1818. He was ordained in 1825 at Derry, and was soon appointed curate of Moville, where he remained till 1829, becoming known as a preacher. He opposed the efforts made by the Episcopalians body to proselytize his flock, and took a prominent part in a public controversy held at Derry concerning Catholic doctrines, a report of which was published later in book form (Dublin, 1828). In 1829 he became parish priest of

Fahan Fahan (; ) is a district of Inishowen in the north of County Donegal, Ireland, located 5 km (3 miles) south of Buncrana. In Irish, Fahan is named after its patron saint, Saint Mura, first abbot of Fahan, an early Christian monastery. His ...

, and applied himself to the suppression of agrarian secret societies, while appealing to the Government to protect the peasantry against the abuse of power by the local non-Catholic magistrates. He endeavoured to heal the breach between the

Young Ireland Young Ireland ( ga, Éire Óg, ) was a political and cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation'', it took issue with the compromise ...

ers and

. He accepted the "national school" system, and by his protests prevented the withdrawal of the schools from clerical control. He repudiated the Queen's Colleges, and helped to bring about their condemnation at Rome. He was an advocate the establishment of a Catholic university, which, however, he did not live to see. On 18 January 1846 he was consecrated

titular Bishop of Orthosia Titular may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Title character in a narrative work, the character referred to in its title Religion * Titular (Catholicism), a cardinal who holds a titulus, one of the main churches of Rome ** Titular bisho ...

, and coadjutor to Dr. John McLaughlin of Derry. Seized with typhus fever on 14 January 1849, he died three days later in St. Columb's College and was buried at Buncrana, Donegal. Maginn was an important factor in the rehabilitation of the Catholic Church in Ulster after Emancipation. His letters on land and the Poor Law administration, together with his evidence before the Devon Commission (Report published at Dublin, 1847), contain valuable information on the social condition of Ireland in the first half of the nineteenth century. The conduct of government officials during the

Irish Famine The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a h ...

of 1847-49 inspired him with an abhorrence of English misrule. A series of letters was in reply to

Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

, who in the House of Lords, 23 November 1847, had accused the Irish Catholic clergy of using the confessional to encourage lawlessness and crime ("Refutation of Lord Stanley's Calumnies against the Catholic Clergy of Ireland", reprint, Dublin, 1850).

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: ** D'Arcy McGee, ''Life of Bishop Maginn'' (New York, 1857). {{DEFAULTSORT:Maginn, Edward 1802 births 1849 deaths Irish College, Paris alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Derry People from County Tyrone 19th-century Irish people Irish expatriates in France