Francis Moylan (1735–1815) was the

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 let ...

Bishop of Cork, having first served as Bishop of Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe in Kerry.

Life

He was born on 17 September 1735 in Cork, Ireland, second son of John Moylan, a well-to-do merchant of Shandon. He was educated at Paris, at Montpellier, and afterwards at the Irish College in Toulouse, where he studied theology, D'Alton, Edward. "Francis Moylan." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 17 March 2020 and became acquainted with

Henry Essex Edgeworth Henry Essex Edgeworth (174522 May 1807), also known as L'Abbé Edgeworth de Firmont, was an Irish Catholic priest and confessor of Louis XVI. Life He was born in Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Ireland, the son of Robert Edgeworth, the Church o ...

, then a boy, living there with his father. Edgeworth and Moylan became lifelong friends. On his ordination to the priesthood in 1761, Moylan was appointed to a curacy at

Chatou Chatou () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest side of the Seine river about from the city's center. Hi ...

, a relatively affluent suburb of Paris, by the archbishop, Mgr. de Beaumont, and for a time served as his secretary. Returning to Cork he worked in the North Parish. In 1771, he helped

Nano Nagle Venerable Honora Nagle ( – 26 April 1784), known informally as Nano Nagle, was a pioneer of Roman Catholic education in Ireland despite legal prohibitions. She founded the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), com ...

introduce the

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to Cork. Three years later, he was transferred to the Parish of St. Finbarr, in Dunbar Street in the South Parish, known as "the South Chapel", not far from Cove Lane, where in 1775 Nagle founded the first convent of the

Presentation Sisters The Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by the Venerable Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The Sisters of the congre ...

. In April 1775, he was consecrated

Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe The Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe (usually simply referred to as the Bishop of Ardfert) was an episcopal title which took its name after the village of Ardfert and townland of Aghadoe, both in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. History The dioce ...

, and translated in 1787 to Cork, to fill the vacancy caused by the defection of Lord Dunboyne. His appointment was supported by a petition signed by members of the regular clergy of Cork. Moylan was a close friend of Lord Kenmare, a highly influential Catholic peer, who led the movement to repeal penal legislation in the House of Lords.Pearson, Victoria Anne. "Francis Moylan, Ireland's 18th century kingmaker and power broker", RTE, 9 Oct 2019
/ref> Kenmare was very involved in the Catholic Committee, which saw the passage of the

Papists Act 1778 The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (18 George III c. 60) and was the first Act for Roman Catholic relief. Later in 1778 it was also enacted by the Parliament of Ireland. Before the Act, a number of "Penal laws" ...

, which repealed a number of provisions of the

Popery Act 1698 The Popery Act 1698 (11 Will. III, c. 4) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England enacted in 1700. The long title of the Act was "An Act for the further preventing the Growth of Popery".'William III, 1698-9: An Act for the further pr ...

. Moylan had no sympathy with violence as a means of redressing wrong, and therefore condemned the

Whiteboys The Whiteboys ( ga, na Buachaillí Bána) were a secret Irish agrarian organisation in 18th-century Ireland which defended tenant-farmer land-rights for subsistence farming. Their name derives from the white smocks that members wore in the ...

When the French fleet appeared off the south coast of Ireland in 1796, Moylan issued a pastoral letter to his flock urging them to loyalty; his native city, in recognition of his attitude, presented him with its freedom, an unusual mark of esteem to be bestowed on a catholic in those days. The lord-lieutenant (

Earl Camden Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form '' jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particula ...

) ordered one of his pastorals to be circulated throughout the kingdom, and Pelham, the chief secretary for Ireland, wrote to congratulate Moylan on his conduct. In 1799,

Lord Castlereagh Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...

suggested to ten of the Irish bishops, who formed a board for examining into the affairs of Maynooth College, that the government would recommend catholic emancipation if the bishops in return admitted the king to have a power of veto on all future ecclesiastical appointments, and if they accepted a state endowment for the catholic clergy. The prelates, Moylan chief among them, were disposed to adopt these proposals in a modified form, but subsequently, on learning Lord Castlereagh's full intentions, repudiated them. Moylan afterwards vigorously deprecated 'any interference whatsoever' of the government in the appointment of the bishops or clergy, and took a leading part in the great '

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

' controversy. Moylan was in favour of the legislative union of Ireland with Great Britain. He took an active part in the establishment of Maynooth College, and had some correspondence on the subject with

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. He was a most successful administrator of his diocese, and helped materially in the establishment of the Presentation order of nuns founded by

for the education of poor girls. The

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

, whom he visited at

Bulstrode Park Bulstrode is an English country house and its large park, located to the southwest of Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The estate spreads across Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross and Fulmer, and predates the Norman conquest. Its name may ori ...

, writing of him said : He died on 10 February 1815, and was buried in a vault in his cathedral.

References

;Attribution

Sources

*Hutch, ''Life of Nano Nagle'' (Dublin, 1875) {{DEFAULTSORT:Moylan, Francis 1735 births 1815 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Cork 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Roman Catholic Bishops of Ardfert and Agahdoe Post-Reformation Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland