Henry Henry (22 May 1846 – 8 March 1908) was an

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and from 1895 until 1908 he held the title Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. He was known for his energy and zeal, as well as his overt activism in local politics, founding the 'Belfast Catholic Association'.

Education and priestly ministry

Henry was born in

Loughguile Loughguile ( ; ), also spelt Loughgiel or Loughgeel, is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Situated 8 miles east of Ballymoney it is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Council area, and is at the edge of the Glens of A ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. After his education at

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 for the

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

Down and Connor The Diocese of Down and Connor, ( ga, Deoise an Dúin agus Chonaire) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the ...

on 7 June 1870 by Matthew Quinn, the Bishop of Bathurst. The Diocese of Bathurst is located in

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. He was appointed to St. Malachy's Diocesan College to teach

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and

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. He succeeded Marner as

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of the college from 1876 to 1895, before his

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nomination; he is, to date, the longest serving president of the college.

Bishop

He was appointed 25th Bishop of Down and Connor on 6 August 1895 and was consecrated bishop 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 22 Sept 1895 by

Cardinal Logue Michael Cardinal Logue (1 October 1840 – 19 November 1924) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 1887 until his death in 1924. He was created a cardinal in 1893. Ea ...

. One of his first acts was to agree to be patron of the nascent

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

in Belfast. The distinguished

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historian, Fr Oliver P. Rafferty calls Henry Henry "a man of decidedly theocratic tastes" and assesses many of his decisions, especially those relating to politics and civil society as "quixotic." Dr Henry believed that a religious order of priests could give invaluable help in the densely populated area of West Belfast. Accordingly, he invited the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

to found a community there at

Clonard Monastery Clonard Monastery is a Catholic church located off the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and home to a community of the Redemptorists religious order. History In late 19th century Belfast, the Catholic population grew to such an extent ...

. It was a welcome invitation, which they accepted as they were already looking for a foundation in the North. In 1900, he helped establish St. Mary's Training College to staff local Catholic schools.

Belfast Catholic Association

In 1896, Bishop Henry organised a Catholic Association, initially confined to controlling representation in the newly created Catholic wards f Belfast It dominated municipal politics in West Belfast for a decade: it easily defeated the Nationalist slate of candidates in the two wards in 1897 and 1904, and between these dates its candidates were not even challenged. Its viewpoint dominated the ''Irish News'', the local Catholic newspaper, to such an extent that the

Irish Nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

leader in the city,

Joseph Devlin Joseph Devlin (13 February 1871 – 18 January 1934) was an Irish people, Irish journalist and influential Irish Nationalism, nationalist politician. He was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Irish Parli ...

, had to begin a rival, the ''Northern Star'', in 1897. Henry's episcopal ministry took place against the intensely fought political battles around Irish

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

and he worked hard to influence nationalist political opinion, and representation in Belfast, at the heart of his diocese. By 1912, however, Devlin had won control of nationalist thought in the city.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Henry 1846 births 1908 deaths People from County Antrim Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Roman Catholic bishops of Down and Connor