Denis Gargan was an Irish Catholic cleric, and educator, who served as St Patrick's College, Maynooth (

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 ...

Early life and education

Born in 1819 in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, where his father Patrick Gargan was a farmer, he was educated privately then at the Diocesan School in

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...

, entering

in 1836. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1843 for service in the

Diocese of Meath The Diocese of Meath () is an Irish diocese which took its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it still exists as a separate diocese, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other dioceses. Histor ...

, and was appointed professor of

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

at the

Irish College in Paris The Irish College in Paris (, , ) was for three centuries a major Roman Catholic educational establishment for Irish students. It was founded in the late 16th century, and closed down by the French government in the early 20th century. From 1945 t ...

Career

Gargan was appointed professor of Humanity at Maynooth in 1845 and in 1859 to the chair of Ecclesiastical History. He served as vice president from 1885 to 1894, when he took up the position of president. He led the college during its centenary celebrations and was still in office at the time of his death.''The Late Monsignor Gargan'' by Rev. Hogan, The Irish Ecclesiastical Record: a monthly journal under episcopal sanction, Ser. 4, Vol. XIV, pp. 481-492, December, 1903. Gargan briefly was appointed in 1863 to the parish of

Duleek Duleek (; ) is a small town in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Duleek takes its name from the Irish language, Irish words ''daimh'' and ''liag'', meaning house of stones, referring to an early stone-built church, St. Cianán's Churc ...

, Co. Meath, but resigned and returned to Maynooth. Gargan served

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of his native diocese and, upon being pointed College President was appointed

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

. He was a member of the

Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language (SPIL; ) was a cultural organisation in late 19th-century Ireland, which was part of the Gaelic revival of the period. It was founded on 29 December 1876. Present at the meeting were Charles ...

and the Royal Historical and Archaeological Society of Ireland. Gargan died aged 84 on 28 August 1903, and buried on 1 September 1903.

Publications

* ''The Ancient Church of Ireland'' By Denis Gargan, D.D., James Duffy Ltd., Dublin, 1864. * ''The charity of the church, a proof of her divinity'' by Cardinal Gaetano Baluffi, (Introduction by Rev. Denis Gargan), M.H. Gill and Son, Dublin, 1885.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gargan, Denis 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Presidents of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Burials at Maynooth College Cemetery Christian clergy from County Meath 1819 births 1903 deaths

Early life and education

Career

Publications

See also

References