Title: Catholic Clergy Serving in the Diocese of Down and Connor
Date: 1595-1895
Description: This database records the clergy who served in the Diocese of Down and Connor between 1595 and 1895, based principally on James O’Laverty’s A Digest of the Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and Connor, having regard only to the Priests of Down and Connor between the years 1595–1895, published in 1945.
The database brings together biographical and historical information relating to the priests of the diocese, providing a searchable resource for researchers interested in the religious, social, and ecclesiastical history of Down and Connor. It preserves and organises information drawn from O’Laverty’s work in a structured format, making it easier to trace individual clergy, their places of service, appointments, movements, and other details recorded in the historical source.
The period covered spans three centuries of significant change in Irish Catholic history, from the late sixteenth century through the nineteenth century. As such, the database provides a valuable starting point for exploring the lives and careers of the priests who served Catholic communities across the Diocese of Down and Connor during this period.
Compiled by: UHF volunteers
Source: A digest of the historical account of the Diocese of Down and Connor, having regard only to the Priests of Down and Connor between the years 1595 - 1895 (James O'Laverty, 1945)
This volume provides brief biographical details of the countless clergy who have served in the Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor from the medieval period through to 1900. The research is the culmination of years of effort by the late Canon George O’Hanlon and the late Monsignor Ambrose Macaulay, hugely admired church archivists, historians and authors.
The book highlights the major contribution of the clergy to the Church during pre- Reformation times and the Penal Era, as well as the crucial period of expansion in the nineteenth century. This is a work that will have considerable appeal for those interested in ecclesiastical history in general and specifically in the development of the Catholic Church in County Antrim and in north and east County Down. It will also help genealogists and local historians interested in building up a picture of families associated with the Church in this northern diocese.
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