Richard Creagh (; 1523

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

– December 1586,

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

) was an Irish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

clergyman who was the

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 ...

and Primate of All Ireland during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

. Along with the other Irish Catholic Martyrs, Archbishop Creagh is under investigation for possible Roman Catholic Sainthood. His current title is

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

Life

The son of a merchant, his family (see Creagh) were

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...

, but had lived in

for generations. He was apprenticed to a merchant in Limerick who dealt in spices and herbs. Creagh chose a mercantile career and made many voyages to Spain. About the age of twenty-five, a providential escape from shipwreck led him to embrace a religious life, and after some years of seminary study abroad, he was ordained a priest. Creagh declined promotions to the See of Limerick and See of Cashel.D'Alton, Edward. "Richard Creagh." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908 Returning to Ireland, he founded a school in Limerick's former Dominican abbey. The

Papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

, David Wolfe, named him for the primacy when it became vacant, and would accept no refusal. Creagh was consecrated Archbishop in Rome by

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

, and in 1564 returned to Ireland as Archbishop of Armagh. At the time, Seán Mac Cuinn Ó Néill, known in later centuries as "Shane the Proud" (), was

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

Tír Eoghain Tír Eoghain (), also known as Tyrone, was a kingdom and later earldom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising parts of present-day County Tyrone, County Armagh, County Londonderry and County Donegal (Raphoe). The kingdom represented the core homeland of ...

, and the most powerful Irish clan chief in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

. From the first, The O'Neill and Archbishop Creagh were at variance. The O'Neill hated the Crown of England, while Archbishop Creagh repeatedly preached loyalty to the Queen of England in all purely civil matters inside Armagh Cathedral, and even in The O'Neill's presence. The O'Neill retaliated by ordering an

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

that burned down the Cathedral. In retaliation, Archbishop Creagh

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

The O'Neill and forbade any priest to absolve him of the

Mortal Sin A mortal sin (), in Christian theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. It is alternatively called deadly, grave, and serious; the concept of mortal sin is found in both ...

s of

Sacrilege Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical ...

and putting a priest to death. Shane retaliated by threatening the life of the Archbishop, and by declaring publicly that there was no one on earth, except Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, whom he hated as intensely as Archbishop Creagh. In spite of all this, Archbishop Creagh was arrested and imprisoned. Archbishop Creagh has left us the following description of his cell in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

, "a hole where without candle there is no light in the world, and with candle, when I had it, it was so filled with the smoke thereof, chiefly in summer, that, had there not been a little hole in the next door to draw in breath with my mouth set upon it, I had been perhaps, shortly undone. But the two gentlemen who elected me to go out, (i.e.) escape with themselves and the said keeper, thought I should be much sooner undone in the second lodgings with cold, being thereto towards winter, removed, where scant was light as could be, and no fire." Charles Patrick Meehan (1870), ''The Rise and Fall of the Irish Franciscan Monasteries'', page 196. His steadfast refusal, however, to Abjure the Catholic Faith or embrace the subservience of the Irish Church to control by the State, and his great popularity throughout Ireland were considered

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

in consequence, he was sent to London and committed to the Tower. Twice he escaped, but he was retaken and in 1567 lodged in the

, according to the Queen's officials, solely for, "his hindering the Archbishop of Dublin's godly efforts to promote the Reformation." From his repeated examinations before the Privy Council his enmity for Shane O'Neill and his unwavering loyalty to the Queen of England in all purely non-religious matters were made plain. Archbishop Creagh always concluded his appeals to the mercy of the Privy Council by, "wishing Her Majesty and all the realm as much wealth and prosperity of soul and body as ever had any Prince or realm." Not content keeping him incarcerated, his enemies assailed his moral character. The daughter of his jailer was urged to accuse him of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

. The charge was investigated in public court, where the girl retracted her previous statement and declared the charges completely false.

Death

It has been said that Creagh was poisoned in prison, and this, whether true or false, was widely believed at the time of his death. The principal suspect was the notorious double agent

Robert Poley Robert Poley, or Pooley (fl. 1568– aft. 1602) was an English double agent, government messenger and ''agent provocateur'' employed by members of the Privy Council during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I; he was described as "the very genius of ...

, best known for his role as

agent provocateur An is a person who actively entices another person to commit a crime that would not otherwise have been committed and then reports the person to the authorities. They may target individuals or groups. In jurisdictions in which conspiracy is a ...

in the

Babington Plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestantism, Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic Church, Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter s ...

and his suspected role in the killing of

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

. Poley, who was a fellow prisoner in the Tower during Creagh's last years there, is said to have visited him several times, but the suspicion seems to be based on his general bad character, rather than on any direct evidence of his guilt. Charles Nicholl ''The Reckoning; the Murder of Christopher Marlowe'' 2nd Edition Random House 2002 p.193

Peter Creagh

His grand-nephew, Peter Creagh, was Bishop of Cork and Cloyne from 1676 to 1693. He was imprisoned for two years on suspicion of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

and attempted

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

during the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...

in consequence of the false accusations of Titus Oates, but he was acquitted (1682). He was transferred to the Archdiocese of Tuam in 1686. After the 1688 coup d'etat, Bishop Creagh followed King James II into exile on the Continent. Bishop Creagh was appointed

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

in 1693, but was unable to return to Ireland and take over command of his still illegal and underground archdiocese. 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 ...

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, where he died (July 1705).

Works

Creagh wrote: *''De Linguâ Hibernicâ''; some collections from this work are among the manuscripts in the library of

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. *''An Ecclesiastical History''; a portion of this work was, in Sir James Ware's time, in the possession of Thomas Arthur, M.D. *''A Catechism in Irish'', 1560. *Account, in Latin, of his escape from the Tower of London, 1565. In Cardinal Moran's ''Spicilegium Ossoriense,'' i. 40. *''De Controversiis Fidei'' *''Topographia Hiberniæ'' *''Vitæ Sanctorum Hiberniæ''

References

;Attribution

External links

Richard Creagh

Dictionary of Irish Biography The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History The ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creagh, Richard 1586 deaths Christian clergy from Limerick (city) Escapees from the Tower of London Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland People of Elizabethan Ireland Prisoners in the Tower of London Irish escapees Irish people who died in prison custody Irish Servants of God Year of birth missing Post-Reformation Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland