William Reeves (16 March 1815 – 12 January 1892) was an Irish antiquarian and 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 sec ...

Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore from 1886 until his death. He was the last private keeper of the Book of Armagh and at the time of his death was President of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

Early life

Born at

Charleville, County Cork Charleville ( ga, Ráth Luirc or ''An Ráth'') is a town in north County Cork, Ireland. It lies in the Golden Vale, on a tributary of the River Maigue, near the border with County Limerick. Charleville is on the N20 road and is the second-large ...

, on 16 March 1815, Reeves was the eldest child of Boles D'Arcy Reeves, an attorney, whose wife Mary was a daughter of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Jonathan Bruce Roberts, land agent to the 8th Earl of Cork. This grandfather had fought at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, and Reeves was born at his house in Charleville. From 1823, Reeves was educated at the school of John Browne in Leeson Street,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, and after that at a school kept by Edward Geoghegan. In October 1830, he entered

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he quickly gained a prize for

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and was elected a Scholar in classics in 1833. In his third year, he became a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

and went on to graduate BA in 1835. He proceeded to read medicine, won the Berkeley Medal, and graduated MB in 1837. His object in taking his second degree was that he intended to become a clergyman and to practice the medical profession among the poor of his parish.(Rev.) William Reeves
biography at Ricorso

Life and work

In 1838, he was appointed Master of the diocesan school in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

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 ...

, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a deacon of Hillsborough. The next year, he was ordained a priest of the

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

.Cleeve, Brian, & Anne Brady, ''A Dictionary of Irish Writers'' (Dublin: Lilliput, 1985) In 1844, Reeves rediscovered the lost site of

Nendrum Monastery Nendrum Monastery was a Christian monastery on Mahee Island in Strangford Lough, County Down, Northern Ireland. Medieval records say it was founded in the 5th century, but this is uncertain. The monastery came to an end at some time between 974 an ...

when he visited Mahee Island in

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

, searching for churches recorded in 1306, and recognised the remains of a

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

. By 1845, Reeves was corresponding with the Irish scholar John O'Donovan, and an archive of their letters between 1845 and 1860 is preserved at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. In July 1845, Reeves visited London. Reeves's career was furthered by his learned work. His first book, published in 1847, was his ''Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore'', but by then he was already a member of the

.Reeves, William, ''Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore, consisting of a Taxation of those Dioceses'' (1847
title page
online at books.google.com By the time he published his ''Acts of Archbishop Colton'' (1850) he was also a

Doctor of divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

. In 1850, as in 1847, he was Perpetual Curate of Kilconriola. Reeves resided in

from 1841 to 1858, when he was appointed

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 pre ...

of Lusk following the success of his edition of

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of ...

's Life of

Saint Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is tod ...

(1857), for which the

had awarded him their

Cunningham Medal The Cunningham Medal is the premier award of the Royal Irish Academy. It is awarded every three years in recognition of "outstanding contributions to scholarship and the objectives of the Academy". History It was which was established in 1796 at ...

in 1858. He had worked on this with Dr James Henthorn Todd, who was

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * H ...

at Lusk. Reeves's edition of Adomnán's ''Life of Columba'' has been called "the best and fullest collection of materials on the early Irish Church in one volume". With regard to the Celtic Church, Reeves himself described Adomnán's work as –

In 1853, Reeves bought from the Brownlow family the important 9th-century manuscript known as the '' Book of Armagh'', paying three hundred pounds for it. He sold the book for the same sum to Archbishop Beresford, who had agreed to present it to Trinity, Reeves's ''alma mater''. Crockford's Clerical Directory for 1868 gives him as "Reeves, William, DD,

Rural Dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjectiv ...

, Rector of

Tynan Tynan (PlaceNamesNI - Tynan
) is a Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

)". Reeves was a friend of

Margaret Stokes Margaret McNair Stokes (March 1832 – 20 September 1900) was an Irish Illustrator, antiquarian and writer. Life Born in Dublin, she was the daughter of Dr William Stokes and his wife Mary (née Black). One brother, Whitley Stokes, was a lead ...

and with his colleague Todd is credited with setting off her interest in Irish antiquities. The author and antiquarian Samuel Ferguson wrote of Reeves in 1867: In 1875 Reeves was appointed

Dean of Armagh The Dean of Armagh in the Church of Ireland is the dean of the Anglican St Patrick's Cathedral, the cathedral of the Diocese of Armagh and the metropolitan cathedral of the Province of Armagh, located in the town of Armagh. Shane Forster h ...

, a position he held until 1886 when he was appointed as Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore. In 1891 he was elected as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

. As bishop, he resided at Conway House,

Dunmurry Dunmurry (; ) is an urban townland in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin electoral ward for the local government district of Belfast City Council. History Until the end of the 18th century, Dunmurry was largely an agricul ...

, County Antrim, and signed his name "Wm. Down and Connor".''Reeves, William 1815–1892'' in ''Dictionary of Ulster Biography''
'R' biographies
online at ulsterbiography.co.uk Reeves died in

on 12 January 1892, while still President of the Academy. At the time of his death, he was working on a diplomatic edition of the ''Book of Armagh'', by then in the Trinity College Library. The work was completed by Dr John Gwynn and published in 1913. In November 1889, Reeves had bought the important collection of Irish manuscripts of

Robert Shipboy MacAdam Robert Shipboy MacAdam (1808-1895) was an Irish antiquary, folklorist and linguist and was the most active figure among the Belfast Presbyterians prominent in the early Irish-language revival. He was a secretary of ''Cuideacht Gaoidhilge Uladh'' ( ...

(1808–1895), a

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 Kingdom ...

business man and archaeologist. In 1892, after Reeves's death, this collection was bought for the

by Maxwell Close and is still held by the Academy, under the name of 'The Mac Adam and Reeves Collection'. Mary, Lady Ferguson, the widow of Reeves's friend

Sir Samuel Ferguson Sir Samuel Ferguson (10 March 1810 – 9 August 1886) was an Irish poet, barrister, antiquarian, artist and public servant. He was an acclaimed 19th-century Irish poet, and his interest in Irish mythology and early Irish history can be see ...

, published a biography in 1893, ''The Life of the Right Rev. William Reeves, DD, Lord Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore'', and this reproduces a portrait of him. A ''Catalogue of the Library of the Late Right Rev. William Reeves'' (1892) contains sections relating to the Royal Irish Academy,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Ireland, the

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belie ...

, the

Utrecht Psalter The Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32.) is a ninth-century illuminated psalter which is a key masterpiece of Carolingian art; it is probably the most valuable manuscript in the Netherlands. It ...

, the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

, and 'Household Furniture'. In 1941 Reeves's papers, including some in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

, were donated to Marsh's Library by Dean Webster. Reeves's ''Notices of Certain Crannogs... in the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry'' (1860) and his ''The Culdees of the British Islands'' (1864) both appeared in new editions in 1994. There is a memorial to Reeves in the south aisle at St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.

Publications

*'A description of Nendrum, commonly called Mahee Island, embracing its present condition and past history', in ''Ulster Journal of Archaeology'' (second series) 8, 13–22, 58–68 (1845, reprinted 1902) *''Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore, consisting of a Taxation of those Dioceses'' (Dublin: Hodges and Smith, 1847) *''Five Chromolithographic Drawings, Representing an Irish Ecclesiastical Bell which is Supposed to Have Belonged to Saint Patrick, and the Several Sides of the Jewelled Shrine in which it is Preserved; Accompanied by a Historical and Illustrative Description'' (Marcus Ward & Co., 1850) *''Acts of Archbishop Colton in His Metropolitan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry'' (Dublin: Irish Archaeological Society, 1850)Reeves, William, ''Acts of Archbishop Colton'
title page
online at books.google.com *''Description of the Codex Maelbrighte: An Irish Manuscript of the Four Gospels, Preserved in the British Museum'' (Dublin: M. H. Gill, printer to the Royal Irish Academy, 1851, "Extracted, by permission, from the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. V. pp. 45–67") *''Account of an Ancient Scotch Deed'' (1852) *''Kilnasaggart'' (1853) *''Saint Mura'' (1853) *'The Seal of Hugh O'Neill' in ''Ulster Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 1 (1853) *'The Island of Tiree', in ''Ulster Journal of Archaeology'', Vol. 2 (1854) *''Memoir of the Church of Ballymena'' (1854) *''Papers on the Ancient Abbatial Succession in Ireland and the Irish Monastery of Honau, on the Rhine'' (Dublin: M. H. Gill, printer to the Royal Irish Academy, 1857) *''The Life of St Columba, founder of Hy; written by Adamnan, ninth Abbot of that Monastery'', edited from an 8th-century codex (Dublin University Press for the Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society, 1857) *''Hymnus Sancti Aidi'' (from the ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'', 8 November 1858) *''Memoir of the Church of St. Duilech in the Diocese of Dublin; Commonly Called Saint Doulagh's: Containing a Paper Read Before the Royal Irish Academy on Monday, 11 April 1859'' (Printed at the Dublin University Press by M. H. Gill, 1859) *''Notices of Certain Crannogs, or Artificial Islands, Which Have Been Discovered in the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry'' (Dublin: M. H. Gill, 1860)Reeves, William, ''Notices of Certain Crannogs, or Artificial Islands, Which Have Been Discovered in the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry'' (1860, new edn. 1994
title details
at books.google.com *''On Marianus Scotus, of Ratisbon'' (1860) *''The Ancient Churches of Armagh: Being the Substance of a Paper Read Before the Armagh Natural History and Philosophical Society, on 14 March 1860'' (Published by and printed for the author, 1860, 54 pp.) *'On Augustin, an Irish writer of the 7th Century', in ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'', Vol. II, 1861 *''On the Townland Distribution of Ireland'', Read before the Royal Irish Academy 22 April 1861, and reprinted from the ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'' (Royal Irish Academy, 1861) *''Memoir of the Book of Armagh'' (Revised edition of an article published in Swords parish magazine, March and April 1861)) *''Memoir of Stephen White'' (Royal Irish Academy, 1861) *' Saint Maelrubha: His History and Churches', in ''Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'', III (1857–60), pp. 258–96 *'On the Island of Sanda', a paper read before the Royal Irish Academy on 14 April 1862 (Dublin, 1862) *'On Some Ecclesiastical Bells in the Collection of the Lord Primate', in ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy'', paper read on 14 December 1863 *''On SS. Marinus and Anianus, Two Irish Missionaries of the Seventh Century'' (Royal Irish Academy, 1863) *''The Martyrology of Donegal: A Calendar of the Saints of Ireland'', ed. with

James Henthorn Todd James Henthorn Todd (23 April 1805 – 28 June 1869) was a biblical scholar, educator, and Irish historian. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Prot ...

from a translation by John O'Donovan (Dublin: Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society, 1864) *''The Culdees of the British Islands, as They Appear in History'' (Dublin: M. H. Gill, 1864)Reeves, William, ''The Culdees of the British Islands'' (1864, new edn. 1994
title details
at books.google.com *''On the Céli-dé, Commonly Called Culdees'' (Dublin: Published by the Academy, 1864, 145 pages) *''A Sermon Preached at the Consecration of the Church of St. Patrick of Ardagh, in the Diocese of Clogher, on the 13th Day of October 1868'' (1869, 35 pp.) *'On an Ancient Inscribed Shrine-arch' in ''Journal of the Historical and Archæological Association of Ireland'', 1869 *''Analysis of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough'' (Dublin, George Drought, 6, Bachelor's-walk, 1869) *''A Brief Statement of the Contents of the Diocese of Glendaloch Proper'' (1869) *''The Book of Common Prayer, According to the Use of the Church of Ireland'' (Dublin: Hodges, Foster, & Co., 1871) *''Life of St Columba'' (Edinburgh: Edmonton & Douglas, new edition 1874) *''Memoir of Octavian del Palacio, Archbishop of Armagh, MCCCCLXXX–MDXIII'' (Ponsonby and Murphy, at the University Press, 1875, impression of 100 copies reprinted from the ''Journal of the Royal Historical and Archæological Association of Ireland'', Fourth Series, Vol. III) *''On a MS. Volume of Lives of Saints, chiefly Irish, now in Primate Marsh's Library, Dublin, commonly called the Codex Kilkenniensis'', paper read before the Royal Irish Academy (Dublin University Press, 1877) *'A historical and descriptive memoir of the Clog an edachta, commonly known as St. Patrick's bell or the bell of Armagh' (1877) *''Observations upon a Letter from the Late John Forster, Presented to the Academy by the Lord Bishop of Killaloe'' (Ponsonby and Murphy, printers to the Royal Irish Academy, 1879) *Introduction to William George Carroll's ''Succession of Clergy in the Parishes of S. Bride, S. Michael Le Pole, and S. Stephen, Dublin'' (1884) *''The Primacy of Ireland: Resident in the See of Armagh for Fourteen Centuries'' (1886) *''A Memoir of the Public Library of Armagh'' (Chiswick Press, 1886) *''The Epistles of St. Ignatius and St. Polycarp, with an Introductory Preface Comprising a History of the Christian Church in the Second Century'' (London: Griffith Farran Okeden & Welsh, 1889) *''Irish Form of Consecration of Churches'' (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1893, 31 pp.) *''A Lecture on the Antiquities of Swords: Delivered at Swords, in the Borough Schoolhouse, on Wednesday Evg., 12 Sep 1860'' (C. W. Gibbs & Son, 1898) *''Nendhrum – Mahee Island'' (published posthumously, 1902) *''History of the Parish of Tynan in the County of Armagh: With Notices of the O'Neill, Hovenden, Stronge and Other Families Connected with the District'' (incorporating work by Reeves, completed by John J. Marshall) (Tyrone Printing Co., 1932) *''On the townland distribution of Ireland: a paper'' (Braid Books, 1992, , , 20 pp., republished from Royal Irish Academy paper of 1861 with contributions by Eull Dunlop) *''The Culdees of the British Islands, as They Appear in History: With an Appendix of Evidences'' (Llanerch, 1994, , ) *''Notices of Certain Crannogs, or Artificial Islands, Which Have Been Discovered in the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry'' (new edn. by Moyola Books, 1994, , )

Bibliography

*Meade, William E., ''A Bishop in the Church of God: A Sermon Preached in the Cathedral Church of S. Patrick, Armagh, at the Consecration of the Right Rev. William Reeves, D.D., Lord Bishop of Down and Connor, and Dromore, and the Right Rev. Charles Maurice Stack, D.D., Lord Bishop of Clogher, on S. Peter's Day, 1886'' (1886) *''Catalogue of the Library of the Late Right Rev. William Reeves'' (1892) *Garstin, John Ribton, ''Bibliography of the Works of William Reeves'' (Dublin: Ponsonby and Weldrick, 1893, 20 pages, "one hundred copies only printed for the author at the University Press") *Ferguson, Mary Catharine, ''Life of the Right Rev. William Reeves, DD, Lord Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore'' ncludes Garstin's ''Bibliography of the Works of William Reeves''(Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, 1893; London: Longmans, Green, 1893) *Garstin, John Ribton, ''Descriptive Catalogue of a Collection of Manuscripts Formerly Belonging to and Mainly the Handiwork of William Reeves... and Now Deposited in the Diocesan Library, Belfast'' (Published and printed by R. Carswell, 1899)Garstin, John Ribton, ''Descriptive Catalogue of a Collection of Manuscripts Formerly Belonging to and Mainly the Handiwork of William Reeves...'' (1899)
title details
at books.google.com *Oulton, John Ernest Leonard, ''William Reeves: Bishop, Scholar, Antiquary; Resident in Ballymena, 1841–58; a Memorial Discourse Delivered in the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin on Trinity Monday (24 May), 1937'' (Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, & Co., 1937; reprinted by Mid-Antrim Historical Group, 1995, , )''William Reeves'' by John Ernest Leonard Oulton
title details
at books.google.com *Thompson, John, 'William Reeves and the medieval texts and manuscripts at Armagh' in ''Peritia'', 10 (Medieval Academy of Ireland, 1996), pp. 363–80

Notes

External links

*Reeves, William,
Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dromore
' (1847) — full text online at books.google.com *Reeves, William,
Acts of Archbishop Colton
' (1850) — full text online at books.google.com *Reeves, William,
The Life of St. Columba, founder of Hy; written by Adamnan, ninth Abbot of that Monastery
' (1857) — full text online at books.google.com * O'Donovan, John (trans.), ed.

& William Reeves
The Martyrology of Donegal: A Calendar of the Saints of Ireland
(1864) — full text online at books.google.com
John O'Donovan/William Reeves correspondence, correspondence between John O'Donovan and, principally, William Reeves: eighty letters (1832-1860) and twenty-six undated note fragments.
A UCD Digital Library Collection. {{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, William 1815 births 1892 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Bishops of Down, Connor and Dromore Irish antiquarians 19th-century Irish historians 19th-century Irish Anglican priests Members of the Royal Irish Academy People from County Cork Scholars of Trinity College Dublin