James Thomas O'Brien
Encyclopedia
James Thomas O'Brien Church of Ireland
Bishop of Ossory
, Ferns, and Leighlin.
, County Wexford
, in September 1792, was the son of Michael Burke O'Brien, a corporation officer, with the title of deputy sovereign of New Ross, who died in 1826. His mother, Dorothy, was daughter of Thomas Kough. The father, who came originally from Clare, was descended, although himself a Protestant, from a Roman Catholic branch of the great O'Brien family, which had been deprived of its property by the penal laws; he was well educated, but more imprudent than provident.
The son was educated at the endowed school of New Ross, and entered Trinity College, Dublin
, as a pensioner in November 1810. A portion of the cost of his education was defrayed by the borough of New Ross; in September 1826 he refunded the amount, £116, and was voted the freedom of the borough and a gold box. O'Brien obtained a scholarship at Trinity College in 1813, graduated B.A., and took the gold medal in 1815. He was especially distinguished in mathematics.
preachers from 1828 till 1842, and became Archbishop King's lecturer in 1833, when the divinity school in the university was thoroughly reorganised.
O'Brien maintained through life strongly evangelical views. He was well read in the works of the reformers and their opponents, and in those of Bishop Butler and the Deists. In 1829 and 1830 his university sermons on the reformation doctrine of justification by faith became, when published in 1833, a standard work. As Archbishop King's lecturer, he lectured on ‘The Evidences of Religion, with a special reference to Sceptical and Infidel Attempts to invalidate them, and the Socinian controversy
.’ Resigning his fellowship in 1836, he became vicar of Clonderhorka, Raphoe, but removed in 1837 to the vicarage of Arboe, Armagh, which he held till 1841. On 9 Nov. 1841 he was nominated dean of Cork, and instituted on 5 Jan. 1842. On 9 March in the same year he was raised by the prime minister, Sir Robert Peel, to the bishopric of the united dioceses of Ossory, Ferns, and Leighlin.
O'Brien was a daily worshipper in his cathedral, but he seldom preached or spoke except at the meetings of the church education society, of which he was an active champion. Naturally opposed to the Oxford movement, he did what he could to stem its advance in sermons and writings between 1840 and 1850. In 1850 appeared his ‘Tractarianism: its present State, and the only Safeguard against it.’ To the disestablishment of the Irish church O'Brien opposed a well-sustained resistance, and Archbishop Trench acknowledged much aid from his advice in the course of the struggle. When disestablishment came, O'Brien helped to reorganise the church, and moderated the zeal of his evangelical friends in their efforts to revise the prayer-book in accordance with their own predilections. O'Brien died at 49 Thurloe Square, London, 12 December 1874, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny. On 19 December Archbishop Trench described him, when addressing the clergy of the diocese assembled to elect a successor in the see, as a fit representative of the ideal anēr tetragōnos, i.e. the philosopher's four-square man, able to resist attack from whatever quarter made, and his successor, Dr. Robert Gregg, in his primary charge, spoke of O'Brien's ‘unvarying consistency, calm judgement, and chastened self-restraint.’ His personal appearance was dignified and imposing.
He married in 1836 Ellen, second daughter of Edward Pennefather
, lord chief justice of Ireland
, by whom he had eight sons and five daughters.
Among other works were:
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
Bishop of Ossory
Bishop of Ossory
The Bishop of Ossory is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics.-History:The diocese of Ossory...
, Ferns, and Leighlin.
Early life
O'Brien, born at New RossNew Ross
New Ross is a town located in southwest County Wexford, in the southeast of Ireland. In 2006 it had a population of 7,709 people, making it the third largest town in the county after Wexford and Enniscorthy.-History:...
, County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
, in September 1792, was the son of Michael Burke O'Brien, a corporation officer, with the title of deputy sovereign of New Ross, who died in 1826. His mother, Dorothy, was daughter of Thomas Kough. The father, who came originally from Clare, was descended, although himself a Protestant, from a Roman Catholic branch of the great O'Brien family, which had been deprived of its property by the penal laws; he was well educated, but more imprudent than provident.
The son was educated at the endowed school of New Ross, and entered Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, as a pensioner in November 1810. A portion of the cost of his education was defrayed by the borough of New Ross; in September 1826 he refunded the amount, £116, and was voted the freedom of the borough and a gold box. O'Brien obtained a scholarship at Trinity College in 1813, graduated B.A., and took the gold medal in 1815. He was especially distinguished in mathematics.
Career
In 1820, O'Brien obtained a fellowship of Trinity, and took holy orders. He was awarded the degree of D.D. in 1830. He was one of the six University of DublinUniversity of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
preachers from 1828 till 1842, and became Archbishop King's lecturer in 1833, when the divinity school in the university was thoroughly reorganised.
O'Brien maintained through life strongly evangelical views. He was well read in the works of the reformers and their opponents, and in those of Bishop Butler and the Deists. In 1829 and 1830 his university sermons on the reformation doctrine of justification by faith became, when published in 1833, a standard work. As Archbishop King's lecturer, he lectured on ‘The Evidences of Religion, with a special reference to Sceptical and Infidel Attempts to invalidate them, and the Socinian controversy
Socinianism
Socinianism is a system of Christian doctrine named for Fausto Sozzini , which was developed among the Polish Brethren in the Minor Reformed Church of Poland during the 15th and 16th centuries and embraced also by the Unitarian Church of Transylvania during the same period...
.’ Resigning his fellowship in 1836, he became vicar of Clonderhorka, Raphoe, but removed in 1837 to the vicarage of Arboe, Armagh, which he held till 1841. On 9 Nov. 1841 he was nominated dean of Cork, and instituted on 5 Jan. 1842. On 9 March in the same year he was raised by the prime minister, Sir Robert Peel, to the bishopric of the united dioceses of Ossory, Ferns, and Leighlin.
O'Brien was a daily worshipper in his cathedral, but he seldom preached or spoke except at the meetings of the church education society, of which he was an active champion. Naturally opposed to the Oxford movement, he did what he could to stem its advance in sermons and writings between 1840 and 1850. In 1850 appeared his ‘Tractarianism: its present State, and the only Safeguard against it.’ To the disestablishment of the Irish church O'Brien opposed a well-sustained resistance, and Archbishop Trench acknowledged much aid from his advice in the course of the struggle. When disestablishment came, O'Brien helped to reorganise the church, and moderated the zeal of his evangelical friends in their efforts to revise the prayer-book in accordance with their own predilections. O'Brien died at 49 Thurloe Square, London, 12 December 1874, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny. On 19 December Archbishop Trench described him, when addressing the clergy of the diocese assembled to elect a successor in the see, as a fit representative of the ideal anēr tetragōnos, i.e. the philosopher's four-square man, able to resist attack from whatever quarter made, and his successor, Dr. Robert Gregg, in his primary charge, spoke of O'Brien's ‘unvarying consistency, calm judgement, and chastened self-restraint.’ His personal appearance was dignified and imposing.
He married in 1836 Ellen, second daughter of Edward Pennefather
Edward Pennefather
Edward Pennefather PC, KC was an Irish judge.Pennefather was born in Tipperary, the second son of William Pennefather and his wife Ellen Moore. He went to school in Clonmel and graduated from the University of Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1795 and was King's Counsel by 1816...
, lord chief justice of Ireland
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
thumb|200px|The Four CourtsThe headquarters of the Irish judicial system since 1804. The Court of King's Bench was one of the original four courts that sat there....
, by whom he had eight sons and five daughters.
Works
O'Brien's chief work, ‘An Attempt to explain the Doctrine of Justification by Faith only, in Ten Sermons,’ 1833, was long popular; 2nd ed. 1862, 3rd ed. 1863, 4th ed. 1877, and 5th ed. 1886. His primary and second charges, 1842 and 1845, published in London, and directed in great part against Tractarianism, each went to two or three editions, and the substance of the second was again reproduced in 1847. In 1833 he attacked Edward Irving's views in ‘Two Sermons on the Human Nature of our Blessed Lord,’ which were re-published in 1873 with a ‘Plea from the Bible and the Bible alone for the Doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration.’Among other works were:
- ‘The Expediency of restoring at this Time to the Church her Synodical Powers considered’, 1843,
- ‘The Church in Ireland: our Duty in regard to its Defence’, 1866.
- ‘The Case of the Established Church in Ireland’, with app., 1867–8; 3rd ed. 1868 and
- ‘The Disestablishment and Disendowment of the Irish Branch of the United Church considered’, 1869; three editions.