An Irish Diary

Pastor in a time of upheaval – An Irishman’s Diary on Bishop Patrick McKenna of Clogher

Brian Maye
Mon Aug 6 2018 - 00:01

Bishop Patrick McKenna of Clogher, who was born 150 years ago on August 9th, once called, according to The Irish Times archives, for dance halls to be closed by 11pm at the latest, as otherwise they were "a menace to morality". But it would be a pity if he were remembered only for that, as he was popular with both his priests and people, lived through tumultuous times in the history of his country (including the partitioning of his diocese) and had the Ulster GAA Dr McKenna Cup named after him.

Serving as a bishop for 32 years was no mean achievement either.

He was born at Moybridge in the parish of Errigal Truagh in Co Monaghan and studied at St Macartan’s College, Monaghan, and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. Ordained for the Clogher Diocese in October 1895, following postgraduate studies in theology at Maynooth, he returned to the diocese and served as curate in the parish of Currin, Co Monaghan.

After a period of teaching in St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny, he was again back in Clogher as curate in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. In 1904, he was appointed professor of moral theology and canon law in St Patrick’s, Maynooth.

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Five years later, he became Bishop of Clogher following the death of the incumbent, Richard Owens; he was consecrated bishop on October 10th, 1909.

Ireland was entering a period of upheaval as the second decade of the 20th century began. The Home Rule movement gathered momentum, as did unionist opposition to it. Bishop McKenna was a strong supporter of the Irish language and Irish culture. He also supported Irish nationalism but does not seem to stand out for any public pronouncements on the politics of the period.

He blamed the first World War on "the godless tendencies of the age", according to Oliver Rafferty's Catholicism in Ulster 1603-1983 (1994) and, in common with many Ulster clergy, does not seem to have been enthusiastic about Irish men assisting the British war effort by enlisting (as had been called for by John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party).

As preparations for the Irish Convention took place after the 1916 Rising and the issue of partition was one of those being publicly discussed, Bishop McKenna declared that "to partition Ireland would be to offer the grossest insult to the spirit of Irish nationality," according to the Derry Journal (June 6th, 1916).

In 1917/18, he seemed to pursue a middle course between the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) and Sinn Féin as they vied for the support of nationalist Ireland, and he was deeply involved in organising the talks leading to the compromise whereby Sinn Féin and the IPP agreed not to compete with each other in certain Ulster constituencies at the 1918 general election in case splitting the nationalist vote would give the seat to a unionist.

During the War of Independence, while he regularly condemned the actions of the British forces, he also denounced IRA killings, an attitude that was in keeping with most Irish bishops of the time. He would have known Eoin O’Duffy, who was the leading Monaghan IRA activist, well as he had provided him with a glowing reference for a position with Monaghan County Council some time before. Like the rest of the bishops, he strongly supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Partition seriously affected his diocese, which straddles the Border and consists of Monaghan, much of Fermanagh and parts of Tyrone and Donegal. Jesuit Historian Oliver Rafferty advanced the interesting argument that “northern bishops were content to sacrifice northern Catholic interests for their enhanced positions as arbiters of public policy in the south”. Some of Bishop McKenna’s pronouncements on the “authority and prerogatives” of bishops would support Rafferty’s contention. The political situation in Northern Ireland also enhanced the position of the Catholic Church as representative of its flock.

When the Ulster Council of the GAA sought donors for trophies, Bishop McKenna presented a cup in 1925 and, since 1927, the Dr McKenna Cup is played for each year by the Ulster counties and universities.

According to the historian on the Clogher Diocese website, when he was professor in Maynooth, Dr McKenna was known as “the fear” or “the man” (from the Irish word for “man”), a compliment to his humanity. He believed in ruling by praise (for example, movements of his priests among parishes were referred to as “promotions” rather than transfers) and he seems to have been very popular with both his priests and people.

He died in office in February 1942.

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