William Tisdall (priest)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Tisdall (1669–1735) was an Irish clergyman. He was well known in his own time as a writer on religious controversies, but he is now mainly remembered for his friendship with
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...
. The friendship was damaged by Tisdall's wish to marry Esther Johnson, Swift's beloved friend ''Stella''.Secombe p.416


Life

He was born in
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 ...
, son of William and Anna Tisdall, who came from Carrickfergus. He entered the
University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
in 1687, was elected a Scholar of the University in 1692, a Fellow in 1696 and Doctor of Divinity in 1707. He became
vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of
Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...
and of Ruavan,
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 ...
in 1706, vicar of Drumcree,
County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...
, in 1711, and vicar of
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
in 1712. His friendship with Jonathan Swift began about 1695 when Swift was the
prebend A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
of
Kilroot , translit_lang1 = Irish , translit_lang1_type = Derivation: , translit_lang1_info = , translit_lang1_type1 = Meaning: , translit_lang1_info1 = Church of the redhead , image_sk ...
, near Carrickfergus, where Tisdall had relatives. Swift admired both Tisdall's theological views and his style of preaching. Their friendship however suffered a long rupture, due to their rivalry for the affections of "Stella", whom Swift had known since she was a child in the household of his employer
Sir William Temple Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet (25 April 162827 January 1699) was an English diplomat, statesman and essayist. An important diplomat, he was recalled in 1679, and for a brief period was a leading advisor to Charles II, with whom he then fell ...
, and who moved to Ireland in 1702 to be closer to Swift. Tisdall wrote to Swift in 1704 announcing that he intended to propose to Stella, and Swift wrote in reply to dissuade him. Swift's letter was courteous enough in tone - he stressed the practical difficulties of such a marriage since Tisdall was not a rich man, and the Church had not yet found him a salaried position - but he privately expressed his disgust at Tisdall as an "interloper", and their friendship cooled off. It is not entirely clear whether or not Tisdall proposed to Stella, but if he did she refused.Crook, Keith ''A Preface to Swift'' Routledge Abingdon 2013 Stella, it seems, would marry Swift or no one: whether or not, as she is said to have claimed, they were secretly married in 1716 remains a matter of intense debate, on which no final conclusion is possible. After Stella's death in 1728, the two men were reconciled, and Tisdall witnessed Swift's will. Tisdall died on 8 June 1735. Tisdall in 1706 married Eleanor Morgan, daughter of Hugh Morgan, of the prominent
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 ...
landowning family, whose seat was at Cottlestown, and his wife Penelope Blayney, daughter of
Henry Blayney, 2nd Baron Blayney Rt. Hon. Henry Blayney, 2nd Baron Blayney, Baron of Monaghan (d. 5 June 1646 at the Battle of Benburb) was the son of Edward Blayney, 1st Baron, and of Ann Loftus his wife, daughter of Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin and sometime Lord Chance ...
, and had a son, also called William, who followed his father into the Church.
Philip Tisdall Philip Tisdall SL (1 March 1703 – 11 September 1777) was an Irish lawyer and politician, who held the office of Attorney-General for Ireland. He was for many years a leading figure in the Irish Government. Background He was born in County Lou ...
, who was later, as Attorney General for Ireland, to be a very powerful figure in the Irish administration, was a cousin of William in the next generation.


Works

Tisdall was well known in his own lifetime for his pamphlets on religious controversies, of which the best known was ''Conduct of the Dissenters in Ireland'' (1712). He joked that this pamphlet saved Ireland as surely as Swift's ''
The Conduct of the Allies ''The Conduct of the Allies and of the Late Ministry in Beginning and Carrying on the Present War'' was a book in essay-style written by Jonathan Swift, in which he attacked Britain's allies in the War of the Spanish Succession. It was published ...
'' saved England; Swift was not amused by the comparison. He published little after 1715, apparently feeling that the political climate was unreceptive to his opinions.


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tisdall, William 1669 births 1735 deaths Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Irish non-fiction writers Irish male non-fiction writers People from Carrickfergus Scholars of Trinity College Dublin