Edward Maginn (b. at

Fintona Fintona (; ), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its population at the 2011 Census was 1,164. Name and etymology Fintona is derived Phonetics, phonetically from the Irish name of the area, ''Fionntamhnach''; this is ...

, Ireland, 16 December 1802; d. at

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, 17 January 1849) was an Irish Catholic priest, an advocate of Catholic Emancipation, and supporter of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

in the Repeal movement. He became

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Derry.

Life

He was the son of Patrick Maginn, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Slevin. He was educated by his uncle, parish priest of

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

, and later by Thomas MacColgan, at

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in Inishowen in the north of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. The town sits on the eastern shores of Lough Swilly, being northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. I ...

, Donegal, and entered the Irish College, Paris, in 1818. He was ordained in 1825 at Derry, and was soon appointed curate of

Moville Moville (; ) is a coastal town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland, close to the northern tip of the island of Ireland. It is the first coastal town of the Wild Atlantic Way when starting on the northern end. Location ...

, where he remained till 1829, becoming known as a preacher. He opposed the efforts made by the

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

s body to proselytize his flock, and took a prominent part in a public controversy held at Derry concerning Catholic doctrines, a report of which was published later in book form (Dublin, 1828). In 1829 he became parish priest of

Fahan Fahan (; pronounced 'Fawn'. ) is a district of Inishowen in the north of County Donegal, Ireland, located south of Buncrana. In Irish, Fahan is named after its patron saint, Saint Mura, first abbot of Fahan, an early Christian monastery. Hi ...

, and applied himself to the suppression of agrarian secret societies, while appealing to the Government to protect the peasantry against the abuse of power by the local non-Catholic magistrates. He endeavoured to heal the breach between the

Young Ireland Young Ireland (, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nation (Irish news ...

ers and

. He accepted the "national school" system, and by his protests prevented the withdrawal of the schools from clerical control. He repudiated the Queen's Colleges, and helped to bring about their condemnation at Rome. He was an advocate the establishment of a Catholic university, which, however, he did not live to see. On 18 January 1846 he was consecrated titular Bishop of Orthosia, and coadjutor to Dr. John McLaughlin of Derry. Seized with

typhus fever Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure ...

on 14 January 1849, he died three days later in St. Columb's College and was buried at Buncrana, Donegal. Maginn was an important factor in the rehabilitation of the Catholic Church in Ulster after Emancipation. His letters on land and the Poor Law administration, together with his evidence before the

Devon Commission The Devon Commission (officially 'Commission on Occupation of Land (Ireland)') was a commission that was appointed by Sir Robert Peel to research the problems with land leases. It was formed by a queen's proclamation issued 20 November 1843 and ...

(Report published at Dublin, 1847), contain valuable information on the social condition of Ireland in the first half of the nineteenth century. The conduct of government officials during the

Irish Famine The Great Famine, also known as the Great Hunger ( ), the Famine and the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland lasting from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a historical social crisis and had a major impact ...

of 1847-49 inspired him with an abhorrence of English misrule. A series of letters was in reply to Lord Stanley, who in the House of Lords, 23 November 1847, had accused the Irish Catholic clergy of using the confessional to encourage lawlessness and crime ("Refutation of Lord Stanley's Calumnies against the Catholic Clergy of Ireland", reprint, Dublin, 1850).

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: ** D'Arcy McGee, ''Life of Bishop Maginn'' (New York, 1857). {{DEFAULTSORT:Maginn, Edward 1802 births 1849 deaths Irish College, Paris alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Derry Christian clergy from County Tyrone 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish expatriates in France