The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-10-10
Msrnfng Star and Catholic Messenger.
NEW oRLFANs. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10. 1875.
From Our Own Correspondent.l
OUR IRIsH LETTER.
DUBLIN, Sept. 18th, le75

1t may be interesting to the readers of the
"Bisbop" of the Observation-Disclosures times.
Such glimpse q book recently published in
this city enables me to give In brief compass.
Bishop" of Ossory, Ferns and Leighlin, and
the author is the Rev, w. G. Carroll, NJ. A,
Protestant incumbent of st. Bride's Dublin.
Nr. Carroll is clever man, an ex scholar of
Trinity College, and he has more than once-if
1 mistake not-spoken out in opposition to his
own ecclesiastical authorities on certain points
OF Importance l may add that he is also
"Birhop" o'Brien died in December last, at
the ripe age of eighty-three. In one respect,
at any rate, he seems to have been an excep-
tion to the rest of his brethren of the episcopal
order. In the Irish Protestant Church those
only, generally speaking, have hitherto OBJ.
families. Some families, in the good old days,
almost monopoliZed certain bishoprics, dean.
cries and incumbencies Some members of
those families might almost be said to have
are said to be born lords. To be bishop, in
fact, seemed to "run in the blood" DIR. o'Brien,
rose from the ranks. His father. who was a
Roman Catholic, but, unluokily for his SOUL
thought At OF middle age to " con form " and
say he believed in Protestantism, occupied q
very humble position in New Ross; aud his
conversion" whatever it may have brought
him in the next world, brought him in this
what seems to have been the chief source of
his livelihood. He became Deputy Sovereign
Of New Ross, under the old nnreformed aud
Protestant corporation, at q salary of ESQ a
year and his children were educated, without
any cost to him, in the endowed school of the
town. His son, the subject of the present
sketch, was certainly so educated, and was
actually sent to the University Of Dublin
and maintained there for four years at the OK
pense of the corporation-that is, of the Cath
Ollie well as of the Protestant Inhabitants of
New Ross. The Protestant corporations of
ing for the needy ones of their own faith out
of the money of the Catholic people. They
thought they never could give away too much
Of that money to their own prote9es. The Rev.
Mr.. Carroll mentions that young . OBrien, when
at last he "struck ile," returned to the corpora
tion OF Ross the entire sum it bad expended on
this act. | certainly do not desire to deprive
"Bishop" O'Brien of any praise to which he is
entitled but the act in question looks uncom-
monty like an act of common honesty and
simple restitution and men are not GENERALLY
praised for paying their debts. But to pass
from this point, observe that young o'Brien
certain sense, justified the lberality Of his
patrons. Three years after his entrance into
Trinity College, be won q scholarship; two
years afterwards he took his degree with a
gold medal fve years after this he became q
Fellow, and then, within the space of twenty
three years he became, successively, University
Professor, Rector of Rsphoe. Rector of Arboe,
Dean of Cork, and Bishop of Ossory. He held
q. Scholarship for five years, Fellowship for
thirteen years, Professorship for nine years
{during which period be also held. in success
and bshoprio for the long space of thirty
two years. The Rev. Mr.. Carroll, not satisfied
with stating those facts, must needs pry into
the exact amount of money which DR.. O'Brien
pocketed during the sixty years or moro he
was in receipt of academic and ecclesiastical
emo oluments; and the amount which comes out
strangely with the incomes of the apostles, is
at least. reassuring from the worldly point of
view Z" His total net receipts" says Mr. Car.
roll, after having mentioned that for half this
period of sixty years DR.. OBreu was commons
Tree, aud for the entire of it rent free, - may be
estimated at abort Gl50,00O; and" he adds,
with apparently feeling of satisfaction, "con
sidcrtug Lis loud and long continued wall
about the OWL days he fell upon and the sore
tight of ahtctions the Church was cuduring, it
must be confessed that his lordshp cauo prct
ty safe out Of the scramble" There certainly
can be no Goabt that whatever else the " Bish
op" put up Tor himself, he certainly pnt up u
frouble in getting this money together he
did not sQuander it when he once had it in his
possession, His great fault as n bishop"
says Mr.. Carroll, were dilatoriness and inhos-
pitality. AS a college tutor he was proverbial
FOR chilliness, and his usual ssIutatiou to his
pupils at his door (JOr he seldom asked them iM)
Well, SIR is said not TO have been discont tinu-
ed in the paiace study to men who had come
many miles to speak to him on diocesan busi-
ness" He evidently did not throw away kind
ness people in general. Aud now il is time
70 mention-what, however, most of my read
srs will scarcely need to be told-that Bishop
O'Brien married in due course. Most Protest
AM plSuOpS marry. oly EeaueE5 Will pTODaOIS
recollect the recent mot of the great Irish Do
miuicau. Protestant Clergyman had been
trying to prove that st. Patrick was Protest
ant bishop, when Father Burke replied "Well
then, pray who was st. Patrick's wife -
Bishop" O'Brien married daughter of Chief
Justice Pennefather, land it used to be said"
says Mr.. Carroll, that his promotion {to the
bishopric) was designed to pacify the irritation
Of his fatEer.iu-!aw at having been refused the
Irish Chanoellorship." Now this saying GER
tainly to be somewhat in contradiction
to n statement at the opening of this letter,
that Dr.. . Bren was q self-made man. But it
is not really 50. DR.. OBrien had made a very
respectable fortune before he became " bish-
oP," and if he wos afterwards made bishop
to shut the mouth of his father-in. law, evi-
IDENTIFY the fAther-in-law and not he is to bear
the blame. Besides although Mr. Carroll gives
currency to the spicy rumor, he says it would
be hard TO tell whether there is any truth in
it, and he points out tbnt there were other
sufficient reasons why DR.. OBrien should have
been set to keep watch and ward on one of the
towers of the Protestant pen in Ireland.
Finally, on this head, learn that 1.-The bishop