Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil, O.F.M. (;

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

: Hugh MacCaghwell; 1571 – 22 September 1626), was an Irish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

theologian and

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

. He was known by Irish speakers at

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

(Louvain) by the honorary name '' Aodh Mac Aingil'' (''"Mac Aingil"'' is Irish for "Son of an Angel"), and it was under this title that he published the Irish work ''Scáthán Shacramuinte na hAthridhe''.

Life

Mac Cathmhaoil was born in 1571 at Saul, County Down, and received his earliest education in his native place; he trained at one of the

bardic In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's an ...

schools still operating in Ulster. He next studied at a famous school in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. On his return to Ireland, he was hired by

Hugh O'Neill, The O'Neill Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (; – 20 July 1616) was an Irish lord and key figure of the Nine Years' War. Known as the "Great Earl", he led the confederacy of Irish lords against the English Crown in resistance to the Tudor conquest of Ire ...

, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, as a tutor to his sons Henry and Hugh. Mac Cathmhaoil was sent by the Earl as special messenger to the Court of Spain to solicit aid for the Ulster forces. During his stay at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, where the Court then resided, he frequented the schools of the university and took doctor's degrees in divinity. Soon afterwards he entered the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

. He enjoyed a great reputation as a theologian, and his commentaries on the theologian

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot"; – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-t ...

(1266–1308) were held in high repute. It was principally due to his great influence at the Spanish Court that the Irish Franciscan College of St. Anthony was founded at

(Louvain).Cleary, Gregory. "Hugh MacCaghwell." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 13 July 2023 After his admission into the Order, Mac Cathmhaoil taught for some time in the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

. He was appointed as superior and lecturer at St. Anthony's,

, and moved to Belgium. Among his pupils were

John Colgan John Colgan, OFM ( Irish ''Seán Mac Colgan''; c. 1592 – 15 January 1658), was an Irish Franciscan friar noted as a hagiographer and historian. Life Colgan was born c. 1592 at Priestown near Carndonagh, a member of the Mac Colgan sept of ...

, Patrick Fleming, Hugh Ward, and

Antony Hickey Antony Hickey (also known as Anthony Hickey and Antony Ó hÍceadha; 1586 – 26 June 1641) was an Irish Franciscan theologian. Life Born at the Barony of Islands, County Clare, Ireland, Ó hÍceadha was a member of a bardic family. He was ed ...

. He was summoned to Rome to lecture in the convent of

Aracoeli The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Altar in Heaven (, ) is a Titular church, titular basilica and conventual church of the Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan Convent of Aracoeli located the highest summit of the Capitoline Hill in churches of Rome, ...

; but his energies were not limited to his work as professor. He was employed by the pope on several commissions. He carried out a papal mission to Ulster in 1613. Over the next three decades, Leuven produced a remarkable outpouring of Gaelic scholarship and devotional texts in Irish. In scouring the north and midlands of Ireland for all available manuscripts, to write an ecclesiastical history of Ireland, his associates (

Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Mícheál Ó Cléirigh (), sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'', assisted by Cú Choigcríche ÓCléirigh, Fearfeasa ÓMaol Chonaire, and Pe ...

, a trained historian) and Aodh Mac an Bhaird (Hugh Ward) are credited with saving many of the

Irish manuscripts This is a list of manuscripts produced in Ireland as well as other manuscripts of Irish interest, including both vellum and paper manuscripts. See also *Cín Dromma Snechtai *Irish Manuscripts Commission Notes Sources *General: ** *Brussels: ...

that still survive. Mac Cathmhaoil was elected Definitor General of the Friars Minor of the Strict Observance, which gave him authority over all the friars in Europe who followed that branch of the Reform within Order. In that capacity, he gave substantial help to Friar

Luke Wadding Luke Wadding (16 October 158818 November 1657), was an Irish Franciscan friar and historian. Life Early life Wadding was born on 16 October 1588 in Waterford to Walter Wadding of Waterford, a wealthy merchant, and his wife, Anastasia Lombar ...

in founding and developing the College of San Isidore and Ludovisi's

Pontifical Irish College The Pontifical Irish College is a Catholic Church, Catholic seminary in Rome for the training and education of priests. The college is located at #1, Via dei Santi Quattro, and serves as a residence for clerical students from all over the world ...

in Rome, for Irish students. On 17 March 1626,

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

, passing over all the other candidates, appointed Mac Aingil to succeed

Peter Lombard Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096 – 21/22 August 1160) was an Italian scholasticism, scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of ''Sentences, Four Books of Sentences'' which became the s ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

. The consecration took place on 7 June, in the church of St. Isidore. Thomas Walsh,

Archbishop of Cashel The Archbishop of Cashel () was an archiepiscopal title which took its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the Reformation, there had been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church ...

, was consecrated at the same time. The consecrating prelate was Cardinal Gabriel de Trejo, a great friend of the Irish. Mac Cathmhaoil's health had been much weakened by his duties and the austerities he practised. In making the visitations of the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of the Order, he had always travelled on foot. He also spent much time in prayer and fasting. While preparing for his departure, he caught a fever and died in the convent of Aracoeli, aged 54, on 22 September 1626. Mac Cathmhaoil was buried in the Church of St. Isidore. His friend John O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone, arranged for a monument to be placed on his grave. The Latin playwright, Nicolaus Vernulæus (1583–1649), delivered a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

before the university commemorating the virtues and learning of the archbishop, saying that he was conspicuous for his virtues, and that his holiness of life and profound learning made him the miracle of his time. This address was later published in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in 1657.

Works

Mac Cathmhaoil composed four

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s in Irish, including ''A Naoidhe Naoimh'' (O Holy Child). His major works were in Latin about theology. In his ''Apologia pro Johanne Duns-Scoto'', he engaged in Franciscan defence of

against the Dominican-inspired attacks of Bzovius and Nicolaas Janssenius,''Nicolai Iansseni (...) Animadversiones et scholia in Apologiam de vita Joannis Duns Scoti'', Cologne, 1622, o
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claiming Scotus as an Irishman. He also wrote a work in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

, which was printed at the Irish press in the college of St. Anthony's, Leuven, in 1618, entitled ''Scáthán Shacramuinte na hAthridhe'', or ''Tractatus de poenitentia et indulgentiis'', that is, ''The Mirror of the Sacrament of Penance''. (The Latin title did not appear in the text and was used only for cataloguing purposes in Latin libraries.) * ''Scáthán Shacramuinte na hAthridhe'' r ''Tractatus de poenitentia et indulgentiis''(Louvain 1618) * ''Scoti Commentaria in quatuor libros Sententiarum'' (2 vols., folio, Antwerp 1620) to this work is prefixed a life of ScotusMcCann, Wesley. "Hugh MacCaghwell (1571 – 1626)", ''Dictionary of Ulster Biography''
/ref> * ''Scoti Commentaria seu Reportata Parisiensia'' * ''Apologiam pro eodum vindicando ab injuriis allatis per Abrahamum Bzovium''; against Bzovius. * ''Apologiam Apologiae supradictae pro Johanne Scoto Scriptae, in respondet Nicolao Jansenio Belgae Ord. Praedicatorum, Abrahami Bzovii partes suscipienti, no sine gravi Scoti et regni Hiberniae injuria. Prodiit Parisiis sub nomine Hugonis Magnesii discipuli Cavelli apud Michaelum Sonnium, anno 1623 (Paris 1623) * ''Quæstiones quodilibetales'' * ''Quæstiones in libros de anima'' * ''Quaestiones in Metaphysicam &c'' (Venice 1625)

References

;Attribution

Sources

Biography
* ''The Little Brother from Down – Aodh Mac Aingil as a good Franciscan'', by Patrick Conlan, O.F.M., in ''Seanchas Ard Macha'' volume 19/2, pp. 63–70, 2002

Bibliography

* Paul Walsh, ''Gleanings from Irish MSS'' (1930; 2nd edn. 1933). * Tomás Ó Cléirigh, ''Aodh Mac Aingil agus an Scoil Nua-Gheadhilge i Lobháin'' Louvain (Baile Atha Claith: An Gúm 1936; 1985). * Canneach Ó Maonaigh, ed., ''Scáthán Shacramuinte na hAithridhe'', Institúid Ardléinn, DIAS 1952 1952, p. 5; Cronin, p. 61. *Michael Cronin, ''Translating Ireland: Translations, Languages, Cultures'' (Cork UP 1996), p. 61.

External links

The head of Aodh Ruadh son of O'Néill taken from a tomb in Rome sang this – a poem/song by Aobh "MacAingil" MacCathmhaoil

An Naoidhe Naomh (The Sacred Child)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maccathmhaoil, Aodh 1571 births 1626 deaths Christian clergy from County Down University of Salamanca alumni Irish Friars Minor 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland 17th-century Irish bishops 17th-century Irish-language poets 17th-century Irish writers 16th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish diplomats Academic staff of the University of Salamanca Irish expatriates in France Irish expatriates in Belgium Irish expatriates in Spain Irish expatriates in Italy Irish Catholic poets Poet priests Scotism Early modern Christian devotional writers Irish Roman Catholic hymnwriters Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh Irish scholars and academics