The Most Rev. The Most Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures, primarily within the historic denominations of Christianity, but occasionally in some more modern traditions also. It is a variant of the more common style "The Reverend". Anglic ...

James Gallagher (died 1751), was a

Roman Catholic bishop In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of Holy orders in the Catholic Church, holy orders and is responsible ...

Life

Gallagher was a member of the

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ( ...

of ''Ó Galchobhair'', anglicised Gallagher. He was born about 1684, possibly near

Kinlough Kinlough ( ; ) is a village in north County Leitrim. It lies between the Dartry Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the River Duff and the River Drowes, at the head of Lough Melvin. It borders counties County Donegal, Donegal and Count ...

, a village in the north of

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

in the north of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

, and was educated at the

Irish College in Paris The Irish College in Paris (french: Collège des Irlandais, links=no, la, Collegium Clericorum Hibernoram) was for three centuries a major Roman Catholic educational establishment for Irish students. It was founded in the late 16th century, and c ...

, where he received an MA in 1715. He entered the priesthood of 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 ...

, and was consecrated

Bishop of Raphoe The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bis ...

, whose diocese covered most of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, in November 1725 at

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

.Mac Murchaidh, Ciarán. "Notes on the Use of the Bible in the Sermons of James Gallagher", ''Ireland and the Reception of the Bible: Social and Cultural Perspectives'', (Bradford A. Anderson, Jonathan Kearney, eds.), Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018
/ref> Bishop Gallagher administered his diocese, the Diocese of Raphoe, until 1735, when he left due to threats to his safety in regards to the Penal Laws. It has been reported that he went to an island in

Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...

, where he worked on the sermons which he published the following year. In May 1737, Gallagher was translated from the bishopric of Raphoe to that of

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

, and in the same year he was appointed administrator of the

Diocese of Leighlin The Lord Bishop of Leighlin was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the small town of Old Leighlin in County Carlow, Ireland. The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland, it is held by the Lord Bis ...

. In April 1741, Bishop Gallagher, then at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, was one of four bishops who gave a certificate of approval regarding

Andrew Donlevy Andrew Donlevy (born in 1694, probably in Sligo, Ireland; date and place of death uncertain) was an Irish Catholic priest and educator. Life Little is known about his early life. He went abroad to study for the priesthood, reaching Paris in 1 ...

's Irish-English catechism of the Christian Doctrine. This work, with Gallagher's certificate prefixed, was printed in the following year at Paris by James Guerin. Gallagher succeeded in evading the Penal Laws against

Catholic 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 ...

ecclesiastics, and died in May 1751.

Works

In 1736 he published at Dublin ''Sixteen Irish Sermons, in an easy and familiar stile, on useful and necessary subjects, in English characters, as being the more familiar to the generality of our Irish clergy''. In his preface the author mentioned that he had composed those discourses principally for the use of his fellow-labourers, to be preached to their respective flocks, as his repeated troubles debarred him "of the comfort of delivering them in person". He added:

I have made them in an easy and familiar style, and of purpose omitted cramp expressions which be obscure to both the preacher and hearer. Nay, instead of such, I have sometimes made use of words borrowed from the English which practice and daily conversation have intermixed with our language.

Several editions of his sermons were published, the latest of which was that issued at Dublin in 1877, with an English translation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, James Year of birth missing 1751 deaths 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Roman Catholic bishops of Raphoe Roman Catholic bishops of Kildare and Leighlin