Nicholas French
Encyclopedia
Nicholas French Roman Catholic Bishop of Ferns
, was an Irish political activist and pamphleteer, who was born at Wexford
.
He was educated at the Irish College
at Louvain
, and returning to Ireland
became a priest at Wexford. In 1641, war broke out in Ireland after a Rebellion
of Irish Catholics in October of that year. French, along with several other Catholic clerics and gentry, helped to organise the rebels into a more cohesive political movement, the Confederate Catholics of Ireland
in March 1642, with the intention of attaining freedom of religion and legal equality for Catholics and self government for Ireland. The Confederates established their capital at Kilkenny
and with the collapse of Royal authority as a result of Civil War
became the de facto government of Ireland between 1642 and 1649.
In 1646 French was appointed bishop of Ferns. In the same year, he helped the Papal Nuncio Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
to bring down a peace agreement signed by the Confederate Supreme Council with the English Royalists and Charles I
that fell short of the original Confederate demands.
French and a lawyer named Nicholas Plunkett
then assumed control of the Supreme Council and tried to promote a better peace treaty with the Royalists at the same time as a more vigorous prosecution of the war in Ireland
. A new Treaty was signed with the Royalists in 1648 and French was prominent in trying to secure the widest possible support within the Confederation for it. However, the most hardline Catholic elements remained hostile to it. In any event, the Royalist/Confederate alliance lasted little more than a year -as they were crushed by an English Parliamentarian conquest of Ireland
which began in 1649. The Parliamentarians were extremely hostile to Catholic clergy, executing them when they apprehended them, and French deemed it prudent to leave Ireland in 1651, and the remainder of his life was passed on the continent of Europe.
He acted as coadjutor to the archbishops of Santiago de Compostella and Paris
, and to the bishop of Ghent
, and died at Ghent on the 23rd of August 1678.
French, along with many Irish Catholics, was very disappointed with the treatment Irish Catholics received when the English monarchy was restored
in 1660. Only a "favoured minority" of Irish Catholic Royalists were returned the land confiscated from them by the Parliamentarians under the Act of Settlement 1662
and the public practice of Catholicism remained illegal. In 1676 French published his attack on James Butler, marquess of Ormonde
(the leader of the Royalists in Ireland in the Civil Wars), entitled "The Unkinde Desertor of Loyall Men and True Friends," and shortly afterward "The Bleeding Iphigenia." The most important of his other pamphlets is the "Narrative of the Earl of Clarendon's Settlement and Sale of Ireland" (Louvain, 1668). The Historical Works of Bishop French, comprising the three pamphlets already mentioned and some letters, were published by SH Bindon at Dublin in 1846.
Bishop of Ferns
The Bishop of Ferns is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Ferns in County Wexford, 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:...
, was an Irish political activist and pamphleteer, who was born at Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
.
He was educated at the Irish College
Irish College
Irish Colleges is the collective name used for approximately 34 centres of education for Irish Catholic clergy and lay people opened on continental Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The Colleges were set up to educate Roman Catholics from Ireland in their own religion following the...
at Louvain
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, and returning to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
became a priest at Wexford. In 1641, war broke out in Ireland after a Rebellion
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
of Irish Catholics in October of that year. French, along with several other Catholic clerics and gentry, helped to organise the rebels into a more cohesive political movement, the Confederate Catholics of Ireland
Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
in March 1642, with the intention of attaining freedom of religion and legal equality for Catholics and self government for Ireland. The Confederates established their capital at Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
and with the collapse of Royal authority as a result of Civil War
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
became the de facto government of Ireland between 1642 and 1649.
In 1646 French was appointed bishop of Ferns. In the same year, he helped the Papal Nuncio Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini
Giovanni Battista Rinuccini was a Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar who became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV, who made him the Archbishop of Fermo in Italy...
to bring down a peace agreement signed by the Confederate Supreme Council with the English Royalists and Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
that fell short of the original Confederate demands.
French and a lawyer named Nicholas Plunkett
Nicholas Plunkett
Sir Nicholas Plunkett was the son of Christopher Plunkett, Lord Killeen, and Jane Dillon. At the age of twenty Plunkett traveled to London to receive training as a lawyer at Gray's Inn in London, and later at King's Inn in Dublin...
then assumed control of the Supreme Council and tried to promote a better peace treaty with the Royalists at the same time as a more vigorous prosecution of the war in Ireland
Irish Confederate Wars
This article is concerned with the military history of Ireland from 1641-53. For the political context of this conflict, see Confederate Ireland....
. A new Treaty was signed with the Royalists in 1648 and French was prominent in trying to secure the widest possible support within the Confederation for it. However, the most hardline Catholic elements remained hostile to it. In any event, the Royalist/Confederate alliance lasted little more than a year -as they were crushed by an English Parliamentarian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
which began in 1649. The Parliamentarians were extremely hostile to Catholic clergy, executing them when they apprehended them, and French deemed it prudent to leave Ireland in 1651, and the remainder of his life was passed on the continent of Europe.
He acted as coadjutor to the archbishops of Santiago de Compostella and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and to the bishop of Ghent
Bishop of Ghent
The Bishop of Ghent is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gent, which comprises the entire province of East Flanders as well as the Antwerp municipalities of Zwijndrecht and Burcht. The current Bishop of Ghent is Mgr...
, and died at Ghent on the 23rd of August 1678.
French, along with many Irish Catholics, was very disappointed with the treatment Irish Catholics received when the English monarchy was restored
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in 1660. Only a "favoured minority" of Irish Catholic Royalists were returned the land confiscated from them by the Parliamentarians under the Act of Settlement 1662
Act of Settlement 1662
The Act of Settlement 1662 passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the wholesale confiscation of their...
and the public practice of Catholicism remained illegal. In 1676 French published his attack on James Butler, marquess of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the second of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom. He was the friend of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, who appointeed him commander of the Cavalier forces in Ireland. From 1641 to 1647, he...
(the leader of the Royalists in Ireland in the Civil Wars), entitled "The Unkinde Desertor of Loyall Men and True Friends," and shortly afterward "The Bleeding Iphigenia." The most important of his other pamphlets is the "Narrative of the Earl of Clarendon's Settlement and Sale of Ireland" (Louvain, 1668). The Historical Works of Bishop French, comprising the three pamphlets already mentioned and some letters, were published by SH Bindon at Dublin in 1846.
Authorities
- Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Irish Writers of the 17th Century (Dublin, 1846)
- John Thomas GilbertJohn Thomas GilbertSir John Thomas Gilbert was an Irish archivist, antiquarian and historian.-Life:John Thomas Gilbert was the second son of John Gilbert, an English Protestant, who was Portuguese consul in Dublin, and Marianne Gilbert, an Irish Catholic, daughter of Henry Costello. He was born in Jervis Street,...
, Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland, 1641-1652 (Dublin, 1879-1880) - Thomas CarteThomas CarteThomas Carte was an English historian.-Life:Carte was born near Clifton upon Dunsmore...
, Life of James, Duke of Ormond (new ed., Oxford, 1851) - "The Oxford Companion to Irish History", ed. S.J. Cannon, Oxford, 1999.