Thaddeus (‘Thady’) Francis (–4 May 1735) was an Irish

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 ...

who served as the Bishop of Killala from 1707 to 1735. He had been the

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

for a time to

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

Early Years and Family

Little is known of the early life of O'Rourke. He was most likely born in Breffni, north Leitrim as this is the ancestral home of the family. He was the son of Brian Ballach Óg O'Rourke. O'Rourke was a great nephew of Sir Brian "na Múrtha" O'Rourke, Lord of West Breifne. His brother,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Tiernan O'Rourke (1650-1702), fled Ireland after the

Treaty of Limerick }), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War. It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a Frenc ...

(1691) and served the Hapsburg Empire; he was killed at the battle of Luzzara in the

Po valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

in August 1702. Tiernan was regarded as the Chief of the O'Rourke's of Breffney, and by some accounts it seems he had gained the title of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. After Tiernan's death in 1702, his wife Isabella MacDonagh daughter of Capt. Brian MacDonagh of

Ballindoon Ballindoon () Friary was a Dominican priory beside Lough Arrow in County Sligo, Ireland. It was dedicated to St. Mary and founded in 1507 by Thomas O'Farrell. It was dissolved and is now in ruins. See also * List of abbeys and priories in Ire ...

Castle, Co. Sligo became a

Lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Mary of Modena Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...

at the Jacobite court at

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a former royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the ''département'' of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the ''musée d'Archéologie nationale'' (Nati ...

outside

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 ...

. She then retired to the house of her daughter Mary and her husband

Denis O'Conor Denis O'Conor, O'Conor Don ( ga, Donnchadh Ó Conchubhair Donn; 1794–1847) of Clonalis, County Roscommon, was an Irish nobility, Irish nobleman, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of ...

at Bellanagare in

county Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

. She was the grandmother of the

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and protagonist for catholic civil rights

Charles O'Conor Charles O'Conor may refer to: * Charles O'Conor (historian) (1710–1791), Irish writer, historian, and antiquarian * Charles O'Conor (priest) (1764–1828), Irish priest and historian, grandson of the above * Charles O'Conor (American politician) ( ...

. His sister, Eleanor O'Rourke, married Lt-Col
Terence MacDonagh
of Creevagh in

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 ...

. He was the only Catholic

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

allowed to practice after the Penal Laws,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

in the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May 16 ...

in 1689,

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and landowner. After her husband's death in 1713, Eleanor moved to Bellanagare with her O'Conor relations.

Religious Life

He joined the Irish Franciscans on the continent some time before 1665. He obtained the Licentiate in Sacred Theology (Latin: Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) and lectured for a while. The most likely location for his lecturing career was the Irish Franciscan

College of the Immaculate Conception, Prague College of the Immaculate Conception, Prague, was a Franciscan College, founded in 1629 by Irish Franciscan priests from Louvain. Instrumental in its foundation was its first Rector Patrick Fleming from Leuven, also involved was Fr Malachy Fallon ...

. O'Rourke served as chaplain and private secretary to

. Here he came to the attention of James III who nominated him as Bishop of Killala in 1705. Prince Eugene then introduced O'Rourke

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

. Leopold gave O'Rourke letters of commendation to Queen Anne and a personally signed passport. A Papal brief appointing O'Rourke to Killala was issued on 15 March 1707. The bishop-elect travelled to London and received an audience with Queen Anne. Now under royal protection from the effects of the Banishment Act of 1697, he made his way 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 ...

. There he arranged his consecration in

Newgate jail Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, th ...

by Patrick Donnelly,

Bishop of Dromore The Bishop of Dromore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the original monastery of Dromore in County Down, Northern Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church the title still continues as a separate bishopric, but in the Church of Irela ...

, assisted by Edmund Byrne, archbishop-elect of Dublin, and Fergus O'Farrell (Ferral), archdeacon of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. The diocese of Killala was one of the smallest and most remote in Ireland and had effectively been without a bishop since 1661. Unable to reside in the diocese, he took up residence with his brother-in-law, Terence MacDonagh , at Creevagh, Co. Sligo. There were only nineteen priests in the diocese at the time and bishop O'Rourke and had a busy job, When visiting his diocese, he stayed in the cottages of the ordinary people. One of the few active catholic bishops in Ireland at the time, he confirmed many people, ordained priests in several parts of the country, and consecrated a number of bishops such as in 1714 he consecrated Francis Burke as

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 ...

and Ambrose O'Madden as Bishop of Clonfert. Queen Anne changed her religious policies after the death of

Emperor Joseph I , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Vienna, Austria , death_date = , death_place = Vienna, Austria , burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna , r ...

in 1711. No longer immune from prosecution, O’Rourke fled to the isolated area around Meelick friary in east

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

and hid his identity under the name of Mr Fielding. After the death of Councellor MacDonagh in 1713, he took up residence with the O'Conors of Bellanagare, Co. Roscommon, where he acted as tutor to his great-nephew, the antiquarian and writer

(1710–91). He had to go into hiding again in 1732–4.

Death

Bishop O'Rourke died, probably at Bellanagare, on 13 March 1735 and was buried at

Creevelea Abbey Creevelea Abbey is a medieval Franciscan friary and National Monument located in Dromahair, County Leitrim, Ireland. Creeveley Abbey is now in use for as a grave yard. Location Creevelea Abbey is located west of Dromahair, on the west bank o ...

near

Dromahair Dromahair () is a village in County Leitrim in the northern part of Connacht, the western province in Ireland. Dromahair is 10 km (6 mi) from Manorhamilton and 17 km (10 mi) from Sligo town. Geography Dromahair lies in the ...

in county Leitrim. Among the family heirlooms of the O’Conor family at

Clonalis House Clonalis House (), Castlerea, County Roscommon, Ireland, is the ancestral home of the O'Conor Don, who is a direct descendant Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, a younger brother of the last High King of Ireland, Ruaidrí Ua Con ...

is O’Rourke's plain chalice (designed to screw apart for easy concealment), his liturgical vestments, a copy of a letter of safe conduct from Emperor Leopold I to Queen Anne relating to O’Rourke's return to Ireland as well as his pectoral cross and episcopal ring, the latter two believed to have been presented to him by Prince Eugene.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OKeeffe, Cornelius 1650s births 1735 deaths 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Roman Catholic bishops of Killala Christian clergy from County Sligo