Edward Nangle (1799 – 9 September 1883) was a
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 ...
minister and the founder of the Achill Mission Colony. He established a
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
mission on
Achill Island
Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by ...
,
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
, in 1834 and worked there for eighteen years with the aim of bringing
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
to the
Native Irish Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
who were impoverished in large part due to the
Penal Law policies of the
Protestant Ascendancy
The ''Protestant Ascendancy'', known simply as the ''Ascendancy'', was the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland between the 17th century and the early 20th century by a minority of landowners, Protestant clergy, and members of th ...
. Edward Nangle was involved in
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
attempts to convert
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
to
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
.
He opened a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
school on the island where children were taught
reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
,
writing
Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...
,
agricultural skills and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
as part of a
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
Colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
. His presence on the island led to some press coverage and
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
debates. The island itself was developed with a pier built at
Dugort
Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwe ...
, a courthouse at
Achill Sound
''Gob an Choire'' or ''Gob a' Choire'' (English name: Achill Sound), formerly anglicised as ''Gubacurra'', is a Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the east coast of Achill Island and is the first settlement one reaches afte ...
and a road network between numerous key locations on the island.
A plaque hanging in St. Thomas Church,
Dugort
Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwe ...
, dedicated to Edward Nangle and erected by friends after his death, reads: "He devoted his life from the year 1834 to the welfare of the people of Achill among whom he lived for many years."
Early life
Edward Nangle was born into a family from
Athboy
Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. Local Clubs are Clann Na nGael and Athboy Celtic.
History
In medieval tim ...
,
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
. He descended from the Nangle family who had held the title of
Barons of Navan for over six hundred years. Although by tradition, the family was
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 ...
, Nangle was raised in the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
faith since his mother, Catherine Nangle (née Anne Sall) was a practicing
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
.
Nangle's mother died when he was only nine years old and shortly afterwards his father sent him to Cavan Royal School. It is supposed he studied alongside
Robert Daly the
Bishop of Cashel.
Ordination
![Long Room Interior, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland - Diliff](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Long_Room_Interior%2C_Trinity_College_Dublin%2C_Ireland_-_Diliff.jpg)
After secondary education, Nangle completed a
Bachelor of Arts Degree
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
, graduating in 1823. Although contemplating a career in
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, Nangle decided to enter the ministry. In his biographer's words, he looked ‘forward to ordination as a means of securing an eligible social position’. It is believed that Nangle's decision to enter the
ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
was the first step in what became his 'conversion experience'. As required for his
theological education
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
, he read the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
and through this, 'the Holy Spirit enlightened the young student and he experienced true conversion'.
After his
theological studies in
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
, in the summer of 1824, he was ordained deacon by
Thomas O’Beirne,
Bishop of Meath
The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.
History
Unti ...
, for the
curacy
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
of
Athboy
Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. Local Clubs are Clann Na nGael and Athboy Celtic.
History
In medieval tim ...
in County Meath. He failed as a curate at first in Athboy and then in
Monkstown, where he stayed for less than three weeks. He finally settled in
Arva, a small town near
Cavan Town
Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ballys ...
, for the following two years.
Edward Nangle is described as a 'tall, thin, pale man who spoke in gentle tones coming across as serious and intense'.
Nangle's biographer Henry Seddal described his personality: ‘Mr. Nangle was doubtless at times headstrong in forming his opinions, stubborn in holding them and harsh in giving them expression.’
In the words of a close contemporary: ‘when animated, the most extraordinary fire lights up his eyes.’
After beginning his ministry in
Arva, Edward was affected by the Second Reformation religious revival in Cavan among the tenants of
Lord Farnham, the landlord of a thirty-thousand-acre estate. Hundreds of tenants were arriving at Farnham's home converting from Catholicism.
He suffered a nervous breakdown and during his convalescence he underwent a conversion experience and decided to dedicate himself to Protestant evangelicalism.
Founding of the Achill Mission Colony
Beginning
In July 1831, Edward Nangle paid his first visit to
Achill Island
Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by ...
accompanied by his wife Eliza. He sailed there on the relief ship ''Nottingham'' after
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
and
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
swept through Mayo and Sligo. After spending a night at
Achill Sound
''Gob an Choire'' or ''Gob a' Choire'' (English name: Achill Sound), formerly anglicised as ''Gubacurra'', is a Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the east coast of Achill Island and is the first settlement one reaches afte ...
, he travelled around the island on horseback. Describing his initial encounter with the island, Nangle wrote: ‘The deep silence of desolation was unbroken, except by the monotonous rippling of the tide as it ebbed or flowed, or the wild scream of the curlew disturbed by some casual intruder on its privacy’. Apparently moved by what he perceived as the
spiritual and temporal destitution he witnessed among the people living on the island, Nangle decided to establish the Achill Mission Colony.
In the following three years, Nangle bought land on the island and negotiated a thirty-one-year leasing contract with Sir Richard O’Donnell, the landlord of the
Burrishoole estate, which comprised most of Achill. Edward Nangle, his wife Eliza and their three young daughters arrived in
Dugort
Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwe ...
on 30 July 1834. They were soon joined by Nangle's assistant, Joseph Duncan and two
Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
readers. The Nangles' friends, Dr Neason Adams and his wife Isabella, moved to the Colony in December 1835.
![The Colony, Achill (21330853923)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/The_Colony%2C_Achill_%2821330853923%29.jpg)
On 23 December 1834, Nangle opened the Achill Mission's first school. Forty three children attended on the first day, and it was the first free school to open on the island. Within a couple of months there were schools in
Dugort
Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwe ...
,
Slievemore
Slievemore () is the second highest peak on Achill Island after Croaghaun, in County Mayo, Ireland. Its elevation is 671 m (2,201 ft).
Archaeology
In 1991, the Achill Archaeological Field School was opened. That year, the Deserted Village Pro ...
,
Cashel and Keel, catering for 410 children.
In December 1835, a printing press was established at the Mission Colony headquarters at
Dugort
Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwe ...
. It had been granted as a gift to the group by friends in London and York. On 31 July 1837, Nangle printed the first edition of the ''
Achill Herald.'' This was a monthly Protestant newspaper and within two years, its circulation exceeded three thousand amounting to approximately a third of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' circulation at that time.
The ''Achill Herald'' was published continuously each month from 1837 to 1868 when it merged with other Protestant publications.
Four years after he took up residence on Achill, Edward Nangle wrote: ‘The Missionary Settlement has since grown into a village – the sides of a once barren mountain are now adorned with cultivated fields and gardens … and the stillness of desolation which once reigned is now broken by the hum of the school and the sound of the church-going bell.’ However, the early years of the Colony were marked by bitter confrontation between the Catholic authorities and the Achill Mission with competing schools at the centre of the conflict.
An
orphanage
An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
was established in 1838, and in the summer of that year,
Archbishop Trench visited the island for the first time.
In 1839, the Slievemore Hotel was built, and a year later hotels were built at Achill Sound and in Newport. By 1840, a traveller could leave
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
in the mail on a Thursday evening, sleep in
Newport on Friday, reach Achill Sound on Saturday, and worship in Saint Thomas's Church, Dugort, on Sunday morning.
By the early 1840s, the Achill Mission Colony included two-storey slated houses, a
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
, an orphanage, a
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
, a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
, a
dispensary
A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...
, a
corn mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
and
farm buildings
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. N ...
, surrounded by fields reclaimed from the wet mountain slopes. In 1842, the colony accommodated fifty-six families comprising 365 individuals. Only eleven of these families (one-fifth of the total) were originally Protestant; the remaining forty-five families were originally Catholic.
Famine years
In the early years of the Great Famine, Edward Nangle became the focus of allegations that he was a 'soul-buyer' who was using funds raised for famine relief to advance his Achill evangelisation efforts particularly through the decision to provide food for the children attending the Achill Mission schools. Edward Nangle defended the school food programme arguing that, in addition to the religious programme offered, it was the most efficient way of offering famine relief and the food programme was expanded to meet demand from the islanders.
In January 1847, controversy was triggered when the Achill Mission claimed that in the previous month the Mission 'gave employment to 4,458 labourers of which number 2,000 were Roman Catholics'. In July 1847, it was suggested that 5,000 out of Achill's total population of 7,000, were receiving practical support
from the mission, which had planted twenty-one tons of blight-free foreign potatoes. In the ''Achill Missionary Herald'' editions of January and February 1847, Edward Nangle appeared to admit that the Colony employment figures he had given (4,458 in December 1846) were exaggerated when he commented that these were 'aggregate' numbers.
Allegations of ‘
souperism
Souperism was a phenomenon of the Irish Great Famine. Protestant Bible societies set up schools in which starving children were fed, on the condition of receiving Protestant religious instruction at the same time. Its practitioners were reviled ...
’ - offering material benefits in return for religious conversion - were made against Edward Nangle in the famine years as food was provided to children in the Colony schools and conversions increased.
Thomas Plunkett, the
Protestant Archbishop of Tuam
The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church.
Histor ...
, arrived at the island in the autumn of 1848 to find that there were over 2,000 children attending the mission schools. The same year, more than 3,000 were working for the mission, clearing land and building roads and walls. In November 1848, the barque ''William Kennedy'', freighted with 220 tons of Indian meal, arrived in Achill from
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. It had enough supplies to feed 2,000 people and cost £2,200 paid for out of the mission funds.
In March 1848, hundreds of people from
Dooniver
Dún Ibhir (anglicised as Dooniver), meaning "Ibhir's stronghold", or "Ibhir's fort" is a Gaeltacht village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland.
Geography
Dooniver is located on the east coast of Achill Island. Surrounding villages inc ...
, Bullsmouth and
Ballycroy approved a declaration of thanks to Nangle
for supplying them with
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es and
turnip
The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ' ...
s during the famine, without which they would have starved.
In September 1849, 400 children were confirmed at the Achill Mission. Only twenty-eight of these were children of Protestants - the remaining 372 were converts, the majority of children in the Achill Mission schools.
St. Thomas Church
In 1848, a site was obtained for a new church in
Dugort
Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwe ...
. The church was eventually erected with the aid of funds from a widow in
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
, England who had donated a sum of £2,400. On 18 March 1855, St. Thomas Church was opened for divine service by
Bishop Plunkett.
The service was attended by 500 people including one convert of 107 years of age who walked five miles to attend.
Opposition from the Roman Catholic Church
![Portrait of John MacHale](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Portrait_of_John_MacHale.jpg)
The
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
opposed Nangle and the Achill Mission Colony from the start. At the first Sunday school, a devout Catholic is reported to have stood near the gate with a rod threatening to beat each of the attending children. Additionally, one of the scripture readers was reportedly assaulted by two men, thrown to the ground and his clothes torn. Nangle was warned of a secret plan to attack the colony, kill those living there, burn the buildings and put an end to the Achill Mission. No attack took place but it is believed that the preparations made deterred the assailants.
In the summer of 1835,
John MacHale
John MacHale ( ir, Seán Mac Éil; 6 March 1789 (or 1791) – 7 November 1881) was the Irish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and Irish nationalist.
He laboured and wrote to secure Catholic Emancipation, legislative independence, justice for te ...
made his first visit to Achill as
Catholic Archbishop of Tuam. Followed by a crowd holding banners with the words, ''Down the Schematics'', the Archbishop led a procession of thirteen priests. A succession of the priests addressed the crowd and denounced the colony, pronouncing a curse on all who dared associate themselves with the nearby Protestant settlement.
In 1835, after the Mission opened schools in
Dugort
Dugort (), sometimes spelled Doogort, is a historical village on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwe ...
,
Cashel, Keel and
Slievemore
Slievemore () is the second highest peak on Achill Island after Croaghaun, in County Mayo, Ireland. Its elevation is 671 m (2,201 ft).
Archaeology
In 1991, the Achill Archaeological Field School was opened. That year, the Deserted Village Pro ...
, the local
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 ...
responded by opening three competing
school
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
s. Nangle had an immediate grievance against the master of Dugort
national school because he had reportedly "with a knife in his hand threatened to take the head of one of the children attending a school under
issionpatronage".
In 1836, John MacHale again visited Achill. This time speaking to a large crowd outdoors he said: "I call upon you to make a solemn promise this day not to have anything to do with the Achill Mission people ... There is no place outside of Hell which more enrages the Almighty than the Protestant colony ... I shall not dirty my mouth with the names of some of the people who are sending their children to the colony school. I hope they will give up doing so."
In 1837, MacHale made another visit, this time stirring up the populace against what he called "these venomous fanatics", referring to those involved with the Achill Mission Colony. Not long after his visit, a schoolmaster and scripture reader from the Mission Colony, were beaten on
Clare Island
Clare Island ( or ''Oileán Chliara''), also historically Inishcleer, is a mountainous island guarding the entrance to Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. Historically part of the kingdom of Umhaill, it is famous as the home of the 15th century pi ...
and forced to take refuge in a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
before they could escape the island on a
coastguard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
vessel.
On 2 January 1839, Francis Reynolds, a coastguard officer who was denounced by name at Catholic services on several successive Sundays, died as a result of being hit on the head in a house in Keel. John and Bridget Lavelle were cleared of his murder at a trial in
Castlebar
Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...
in spring 1839. The two main witnesses in the case of Reynolds' murder were schooled in their evidence by a local Catholic
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
who was aggressively hostile to the Mission.
Nangle accused the Crown of holding a "mock" trial and as a direct consequence of these and other incidents, a new courthouse was built at Achill Sound.
In 1848, the Achill Mission produced a prospectus seeking to raise funds to purchase additional island land from Sir Richard O'Donnell. The document describes, from a Colony perspective, the sectarian unrest during the first decade of the Achill Mission as well as its activities in the early famine years. A significant development occurred in 1851 when the Achill Mission purchased a considerable amount of land from the Encumbered Estates Court and became the largest landlord on Achill Island. Shortly afterwards Nangle was transferred to the parish of Skreen, County Sligo.
In 1851, Archbishop MacHale decided to buy 1,200 acres of island land from Sir Richard O’Donnell. Shortly afterward, the foundations were laid for a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
monastery, a school for the local children, a glebe house for two priests and a model farm to provide education in modern systems of
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
. In MacHale's own words, he planned to counteract "the mischievous speculators, who, more than twenty years ago, bought a farm in Achill and planted themselves there to drive a lucrative trade on English credulity". In the process of building the new monastery complex, MacHale's workmen were accused of stealing stones from Nangle's land. On Wednesday, 7 October 1851, constables arrested a man charged with theft in relation to a heap of stones. After the workmen continued to steal stones from Nangle's land, a court case proceeded. But Daniel Cruise, the judge, dismissed the court case on the grounds that "both sides were equally to blame".
Public scrutiny
In the summer of 1842,
Samuel and Anna Hall visited the Achill mission. The visit was part of an Irish tour which the couple had embarked on with the aim of producing a guide book of Ireland for tourists entitled, ''Ireland: Its Scenery and Character''. Arriving at the Colony, they conducted a brief overview of the mission, taking into account the finances expended and the practical results. However, they were not 'enamoured' by Nangle's strict approach to the entrants of the school, the mission and the orphanage.
Although they were at the Colony for less than two hours on 22 June 1842, the Halls branded the Mission ‘a complete failure’ and targeted Nangle, labelling him as a man without any genuine sense of gentle, peace-loving,
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
zeal. In a personal letter to Nangle,
Samuel Hall wrote: ‘Be assured, sir, that religion is strong enough to overcome your miserable attempts to degrade it – that Christianity cannot be permanently tainted by coarseness, ignorance and bigotry of which you are representative. I have done my duty.’
In a response to the Halls' visit, Edward Nangle highlighted the significant fact that the visit had only lasted less than two hours: ‘Truly, sir, the rapidity with which you can require ''experience'' throws into shade the wonders of the steam press!’ As to the Halls’ references to the cost of the Mission's activities, Nangle replied: ‘as if the salvation of immortal souls for which Christ died, was not a worthy object for the expenditure of a smaller sum of the world’s wealth than is often squandered without a rebuke, on the follies and vanities of this perishing world’.
![Asenath Nicholson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Asenath_Nicholson.jpg)
The Halls’ report of the Mission along with the record a similar visit undertook by
Asenath Nicholson, an American author, drew unwelcome attention to the expenditure and income of the Achill Mission Colony and raised questions about the benefits of the organisation. The Halls drew up another report of the Mission in 1849, towards the end of the Great Famine, this time with a more benign approach. They paid tribute to the work of the mission staff during the crisis months of the famine, saying they were ‘indefatigable in their efforts to raise funds’ and ‘distributed with no sparing had to those who must otherwise have perished’. By 1853, the Halls were trying to avoid being drawn in to comment on the island and advised visitors to make their own judgment. By then Nangle had left Achill, and the previous allegations continued to surround the Achill Mission Colony.
Final years
In 1852, Nangle left Achill after 18 years working on the island, and moved to
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...
, where he became
Rector of Skreen. Shortly afterwards he married - for the second time - Sarah Fetherstonhaugh.
From the early 1860s, Edward Nangle began a legal battle with
Joseph Napier, one of the trustees of the Achill mission committee. The case started as a minor disagreement over the election of committee members, but it escalated into a major court case that dragged on for years, draining the resources of the Achill estate.
Edward Nangle returned to Achill briefly in 1879 writing ‘As I have now completed my 80th year, and am very infirm, I am unable to work for our dear people in Achill as I did for upwards of 40 years of my life.’ In 1881, he moved to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
and died on Sunday 9 September 1883, at the age of 84. He died at his home 23, Morehampton Road, Dublin with his second wife, Sarah by his side.
Nangle is buried in Deansgrange Cemetery, Monkstown, in Dublin.
Immediately following Nangle's death, the opposing views of the members of the Protestant community in Ireland were evident. The ''Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette'' – an organ of 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 ...
– labelled Nangle as ‘an
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
of the old school’ while also passing judgment on the ''
Achill Herald'' professing that it was ‘strangely deficient in Church teaching’. The negative critique of the Gazette continued into another article reviewing Nangle's biography: ‘Everyone has their own idea of heroism, and practices hero-worship after their own fashion. We are free to confess that the late Rev Edward Nangle was not a hero to our mind...
In contrast, the ''Church Advocate'' which had amalgamated with the ''Achill Herald'' stated that ‘few clergymen of the Church of Ireland were better known or more highly valued in his day, as he was a man of much intellectual power, a clear expositor of sound scripture, and a powerful writer’.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nangle, Edward
1799 births
1883 deaths
19th-century Irish Anglican priests
Achill Island
Great Famine (Ireland)
Irish Anglican missionaries