Michael Sheehan (17 Dec 1870 – 1 March 1945) (
Irish: Micheál Ó Síothcháin) was an
Irish priest, educator and a
Coadjutor Archbishop of the
Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
The Archdiocese of Sydney ( la, Archidioecesis Sydneyensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Erected in 1842, the archdiocese is the ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(1922-1937).
He was also a notable scholar of the
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
.
Biography
Born on 17 December 1870 in the Newtown area of
Waterford city,
County Waterford
County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...
, Ireland, being the sixth of the children born until then to Cornelius and Ann Sheehan. Cornelius Sheehan was born in Newmarket,
County Cork, and owned an export business. Ann Sheehan (née Lawler) was raised an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
, the daughter of a
Church of Ireland minister.
[About the Author Archbishop Michael Sheehan](_blank)
Baronius Press.
Michael received private tuition early in life, and was then taught by the
Christian Brothers at the Mount Sion schools in the city. From the age of 11, when the family moved to
Dungarvan
Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...
, he attended the Augustinian school. Deciding to become a priest he went to
St. John's College, Waterford
St John's College (or St John's Seminary) was a Roman Catholic seminary founded in 1807 for the diocese of Waterford and Lismore.
Foundation
The College was founded by Bishop John Power DD. It was one of many seminaries founded in Ireland fo ...
, for 11 months, prior to going to
Maynooth College
St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...
at the age of 20. At Maynooth he had an outstanding record as a student, completing his studies two years before he was of canonical age, and spent those two years teaching in St. John's College, Waterford.
He was ordained in June 1895, in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity (Within), Waterford, and in that year he was awarded an M.A. from the
Royal University of Ireland. In 1896 he went on to pursue Classical studies at Oxford University, where he received an M.A., followed by studies at the German universities of
Greifswald (studying Latin, Greek and
Sanskrit) and
Bonn, where he received his Ph.D Bonn. His thesis (written in Latin) was on the Athenian orator
Isocrates
Isocrates (; grc, Ἰσοκράτης ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education throu ...
.
On returning to Ireland he was appointed in 1909 to the chair of Classics in Maynooth. He also served as the chief examiner of
Latin and
Greek for the state Intermediate education board.
He was a leading activist in the movement for the
revival of the Irish language, and helped found Ollscoil na Mumhan in An Rinn, county Waterford in 1906. It is said that in 1916 he wrote the words of the hymn
Ag Críost an Síol "Ag Críost an Síol" (; meaning "Christ's is the seed") is an Irish poem, later set to music by Seán Ó Riada and subsequently widely used as a hymn.
Origins
There are conflicting accounts of the origins of ''Ag Críost an Síol''.
Some sources ...
.
In 1919 he became vice-president of Maynooth College, and in 1922 he moved to Australia after he was consecrated Coadjutor Archbishop of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. In 1928 he was involved in the International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney.
His textbook ''Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine'', defending the faith in a very rationalist style, was widely used in Catholic schools. It is remembered positively in the autobiographies of
B. A. Santamaria and
Thomas Keneally. Santamaria wrote, "Sheehan's ''Apologetics and Christian Doctrine'' ''(sic)'' provided me, as a schoolboy at matriculation standard, with the rational justification for my act of faith in Catholic Christianity." A revised seventh edition was published in 2014.
Ill health was the main cause of his retirement, though his decision was also influenced by the fact that he would not be appointed to the Sydney See, since the Church preferred an archbishop of Australian birth (although he had been appointed with right of succession).
[G. Byrnes, Archbishop Sheehan: biographical sketch, ''Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society'', 14 (1992), 24-35.] He returned to Ireland in June 1937, to live with the
Holy Ghost Fathers
, image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png
, size = 175px
, caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity.
, abbreviation ...
, in
Blackrock,
County Dublin. He also spent much of his time in the
An Rinn,
Gaeltacht studying Irish where he had a cottage, and in 1944 revised his 1906 book on the Irish dialect of the area, ''Sean-chaint na nDéise: The idiom of living Irish''.
He died at St Mary’s, Talbot Lodge, Blackrock, Dublin on 1 March 1945.
[Michael Sheehan](_blank)
Sydney Catholic. He was buried in the little graveyard outside the entrance to St Nicholas’ church in
An Rinn.
Publications
* ''Apologetics and Catholic Doctrine'' by Archbishop Michael Sheehan
* ''Sean-chaint na nDéise: The idiom of living Irish'' by Sheehan, M, M.H. Gill & Son Ltd, Dublin, 1906
* ''Sean-chaint na nDéise. : The idiom of living Irish'' by Sheehan, M., Revised Edition, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1944
* ''Cró Croilleadh Craobhaighe'' by Sheehan, Dr. Micheal, 1907
* ''Cnuasacht Trágha'' by Sheehan, Dr. Micheal, M. H. Gill and Son, 1908
* ''Árthach an Óir'' by Sheehan, Rev. Micheal, M. H. Gill and Son Ltd, 1910
* ''Gile na mBláth: with notes and vocabulary'' by Sheehan, Dr. Micheal, Gill, Dublin, 1912
* ''Gabha na Coille'' by Sheehan, Dr. Micheal, M. H. Gill and Son, 1915
* ''Leabhar den Lus Mór'' by Sheehan, Dr. Micheal, 1917
* ''An Teagasc Críostaidhe'' by Sheehan, Dr. Micheal, 1917
* ''The Irish of Ring, Co. Waterford, A Phonetic Stud'' by Sheehan, Dr. Micheal
* ''A Child’s Book of Religion'' by Sheehan, Most Rev. Micheal, M.H. Gill and Son, Dublin, 1934
* ''A Simple Course of Religion'' by Sheehan, Most Rev. Micheal, M.H. Gill and Son, Dublin, 1937
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Michael
1870 births
1945 deaths
Christian clergy from Waterford (city)
Irish expatriate Catholic bishops
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Australia
Irish language activists
Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth
Irish-language writers
Roman Catholic archbishops of Sydney