pages 555 to 683 (4602 Kb) - Limerick City Council

868 I.~IsToRP OF L~MERICP. . .
the Church to the spoliating hands of royalty and to the unscrupulousnes of
ib agents ; and the vehemence with which the Archbishop of Cashel hurled
defiance at the decrees of the subservient parliament of Kilkenny, and the
readiness with which his zeal was seconded by his suffragans of Limerick,
Emly, and Lismore, afford a proof, if proof were wanting, that the Church,
in those times, never abandoned the people, though the power of the state
and the idlumce of the crown were brought to bear against it on many
ocoa$011s.
Stephen Lawless, or Lellies, Chancellor of Limerick, succeeded in 1353,
and was restored to the temporalities by the on the 13th of May,
1353. He died on the 28th of December, 1359.
In 1360, Stephen de Valle, or Wall, Dean of Limerick, succeeded b
provision of the PO e, and was consecrated this year. He filled the higK
office of treasurer o f Ireland. He was translated to the bishopric of Meath,
where having sat ten years, he died at Oxford on the 4th of November,
1379, and was buried there in the Dominicanmonastery. While he was
Bishop of Limerick he translated the bones of Richard FitzRalph, Archbishop
of Armagh, commonly called St. Bichard of Dundalk, fmm Aviznon
to Dundalk, the birth-place of that archbishop, and deposited them m
the Parish Church of St. Nicholas in that town.'
Peter Curradl (in a MS. in T.C.D., said to be taken out of the Bkck
Book, he is c&ed Creagh ; and in white's BSS. he is designated Pierce
Creagh, a native of Limerick, though Ware states that he was a native of
the county of Dublin) was elected next in succession, in 1369. He took
the oath of fealty to Edward 111. before the illustrious Willim of Wykeham,
Biihop of Winchester, on the 10th of February (English style). C~esgh's
e isco~acy was full of troubles. He engaged in implacable opposition to the
&anc~sc-. When Archbishop Warrington came to Limerick to ~ d r w
their grievances, and cited the bishop to answer their oomplsints, he (the
bishop) laid violent hmds on the archbishop, and tore the citation from
mth such force that he drew his blood, snd ordered the archbishop to
hgone, or that it should fare worse with b attendants. It is said, moreover,
that the bishop laid censures on and threatened with excommunication
all who should repair for divine service within the church of the h-
ciscans; that he excomhunicated all who afforded the archbisho food and
entertainment. There are other matters equally harsh said of tl%bi&~
some of these accusations are preferred bp Ware, on the authority of L 5: e
Wadding; but we must accept them wlth some resemtioa. We must
bear in mind that this prelate governed the see of Limerick for the long
period of thirty years. During his time religion flourished in Limerick.
Some of the most eminent of the fhdies of the city then lived, md by
their munificent expenditure on the churches and monasteries, showed
that their zeal was ardent and their fkth sincere. B wrt duhg the
e iscopacy of Pierce Creagh that Martin Arthur made a willg which shows
t$ there were nine churches in the city. This will was made AD.
1376. Amo the bequests was one to the Franciscan Gm, which the
assertion of $re, or rather of his commentator, Harris, as to the -nb
HISTORY OF LIMERICK. 569
ment manifested by the bishop towards the Franciscans, shows did not ex-
tend to the citizens. This will indicates the curi3us domestic manners of
the times, and sets out several curious bequests. Confirnation of it is
granted, and letters of administration, by the bishop. The will concludes
as follows :
"In the name of God, Amen, I, the aforesaid Idartin, bequeath my eoul to
God, the Blessed Virgin, and all the saints; my body to be buried in the
church of the Preaching Friars in Limerick. I also bequeath to the Cathe-
dral of St. Mary's, Limerick, for forgotten tithes ... (marks) 20 0
Also to the Preaching Friars ... ... 1 8
Also for a friar's habit, to be put on him, half a mark
Also to the Friars Minor (Franciscans) ... ... 10 0
Item to the Vicars of the Church of St. Mary ... 2 0
2 0
Item to the Church of the Holy Cross ... 3 4
Item to the Vicar of St. Nicholas .a. ...
Item to repair of the Church of St. Munchin's ... 3 4
Item to the Church of St. Peter ... ... 1 0
Item Church of St. Michael ... ... 1 0
Item Church of John Baptist ... ... 1 0
Item Church of St. Lawrence . ... 1 0
Item Church of St. Patrick . .. 1 0
Item to Sarah Wingaine ... ... 1 0
Item to Mr. John Lawless '.. ... 1 0
Item Mr. John White, Chaplain ... ... I 0
S., Item to Mariota Mylys ... 1 0
Item to John Sole, Monk . . . half a mark.
Item to Friar Maurice O'Cormacnine ... ... 3 4
Item to Friar Simon Modin ... ... 2 0
Item to Preaching Friars, to pray for his soul ... 2 0
Item to Nurse Johanna . a.. 8 0
Thii bishop resigned his see A.D. 1400, and died about the end of October,
1407. Before his death, but after his resignation, viz., in 1401, John
Budstone, a wealthy citizen of Limerick, bestowed four great bells on the
cathedral of St. Mary's, to which we shall have to refer in the next chapter.
Up to this period, from the foundation of the chapter by Bishop Donat
O'Brien, there had been nine1 Deans.
CHAPTER LVII.
BISHOP CORNELIUS O'DEA-HIS AUTRB, CROZIEB, AND SEAL-HIS SMPROVE-
Bfim~~-s~~~~
OF AFFAIRS IA HIS TIME-GRANT OF HENRY VI. TO THE
CITIZENSTHE CATHEDRAL OF ST. MABY'S-MONUMENTS AND MONU-
MENTAL INSCBIPTIONS-TEE BISHOPS IN SUCCESSION-THE " REFORXA-
TION", XTC., ETC.
THE illustrious Comelius O'Dea, Archdeacon of Killaloe, succeeded Cur-
ragh or Creagh, A.D. 1405. He was aliberal benefactor to the cathedral, as
we have already seen, and he also enlargd and beauti6ed it. His mitre
%.:-in 1204, p. 1212, T. ibid. W. Beymnndos, tempore Henrici de Wdp, Dec. Em.;
121
to 1278, Thomas of Woodford; 1295-8. John de Cotes;. 1302, Luke ; 1311, Eustaee de PEau
or Waters, who wm raised to the bishopric this year; 1366, Adam Owen; 1398 to 1409,
40