Francis McCormack (8 April 1833 – 14 November 1909) was an Irish Catholic bishop of the 19th and 20th century.
Early life and family
Francis Joseph McCormack was born in
Ballintubber in 1833. He studied for the priesthood in
Maynooth College
St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College.
The college was of ...
. His nephew, Captain Patrick McCormack, was shot dead on
Bloody Sunday (1920)
Bloody Sunday () was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. More than 30 people were killed or fatally wounded.
The day began with an Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (I ...
in disputed circumstances .
Priest
McCormack was
ordained a priest in 1862.
Bishop
McCormack was consecrated a bishop by
John McEvilly
John McEvilly (1818–1902) was an Irish Roman Catholic Church clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Tuam from 1881 to 1902.
He was born on 15 April 1818 in Louisburgh, a small town near Westport, County Mayo, Ireland., ''The Episcopal Su ...
,
Archbishop of Tuam
The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ) is an Episcopal polity, archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Cathol ...
. He was
Bishop of Achonry 1871 to 1887. In 1879 a
minor famine saw 300 people beg food from the bishop at
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
. He wrote a letter to the
Land League
The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún''), also known as the Land League, was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its prima ...
, contrasting the vast sums spent on the
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...
and
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...
with the minimal amount the government spent on famine relief. He also condemned "assisted emigration," whereby landlords paid the fare to get rid of unwanted tenants.
In 1887 McCormack was appointed to the
Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh where he served until he retired due to ill health in 1908. He died in 1909.
He is buried in Galway Cathedral crypt, his papers are stored in the Diocesan archive.
References
1833 births
1909 deaths
Christian clergy from County Mayo
Roman Catholic bishops of Achonry
Roman Catholic bishops of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora
Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth
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