Miler Magrath
|
The Most Reverend Miler Magrath |
|
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Cashel | |
 |
|
| Appointed | 3 February 1571 |
| Term ended | 14 November 1622 |
| Predecessor | James MacCawell |
| Successor | Malcolm Hamilton |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 4 November 1565 by Francesco Pisani (Roman Catholic) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | circa 1523 |
| Died | 14 November 1622 (aged 98–99) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic / Anglican |
| Spouse | (1) Amy O'Meara (2) name unknown |
| Children | four sons and four daughters |
| Previous post | Bishop of Down and Connor (1565–1580) |
Miler Magrath or Miler McGrath (also Myler; in Irish, Maolmhuire Mag Raith: servant of Mary, son of grace) (c. 1523 – 14 November 1622), was an Irish priest and archbishop born in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He came from a family of hereditary historians of the O'Brien clan. He entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood. The Vatican later appointed him the Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland, but he converted to the Anglican Church of England (since the passage of the 'Irish Church Act 1869' the Anglican Church in Ireland is known as the 'Church of Ireland') and became the Protestant Archbishop of Cashel. He is viewed with contempt by both Protestant and Catholic historians, owing to his ambiguous and corrupt activities during the Reformation. He also served as a member of the Parliament of Ireland.
Magrath became a Franciscan priest and spent his early life in Rome – "on the Capitoline" – whence he was sent on a mission to Ireland. It was believed that, on passing through England, he displayed his Catholic letters of authorisation to demand bribes for accepting the Reformation. In any case, he appears to have satisfied the authorities that his position as a Catholic bishop in Ireland would not preclude his valid assent to the Act of Supremacy.
In October 1565, Magrath was appointed as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor, although the temporalities were ruled over by his kinsman Shane O'Neill, chief of the O'Neill clan, whom he visited in 1566. In May 1567 he attended on the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir Henry Sidney, at Drogheda, where he agreed to conform to the reformed faith and to hold his See of the Crown. However, in 1569 John Merriman was appointed the Protestant Bishop of Down and Connor, and Magrath held on to the Catholic See, before he was finally deprived of Down and Connor by Rome in 1580 for heresy and other matters; thus he had enjoyed dual appointments as Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland prelate for nine years.
...
Wikipedia