The Diocese of Meath
Encyclopedia
The Diocese of Meath is a nineteenth century publication on the history of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath
from medieval to nineteenth century times, written by one of the Diocese's priests, Dean Cogan
, a priest in Navan
, the then Diocesan capital.
Published in two volumes in 1862 and 1867, it was an important history of Christianity
in Ireland
, because Cogan made use of three sources of information:
As a result, Cogan's book details parish histories, information on derelict churches, information on old burial sites where those who died in the Famine were buried, names of priests, details of the Penal Law, and information on the re-appearance of a Roman Catholic clerical structure following the reformation from sources that are no longer available to historians.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath
The Diocese of Meath is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses which are subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Armagh...
from medieval to nineteenth century times, written by one of the Diocese's priests, Dean Cogan
Dean Cogan
Dean Cogan was a nineteenth century Roman Catholic Irish priest, , who wrote a history of the Diocese of Meath in Ireland...
, a priest in Navan
Navan
-People:Navan was the childhood home of Pierce Brosnan, who appeared in the television series Remington Steele and was the fifth film actor to play James Bond. TV personality Hector Ó hEochagáin, and comedians Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan also hail from Navan....
, the then Diocesan capital.
Published in two volumes in 1862 and 1867, it was an important history of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, because Cogan made use of three sources of information:
- folklore and memories of people alive in Meath the 1850s and 1860s (covering the period from the Penal LawsPenal Laws (Ireland)The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....
to the Irish Potato Famine (1845-49)) which were recorded in great detail. - access to the Meath diocese's archives; when the Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath moved from his former seat in NavanNavan-People:Navan was the childhood home of Pierce Brosnan, who appeared in the television series Remington Steele and was the fifth film actor to play James Bond. TV personality Hector Ó hEochagáin, and comedians Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan also hail from Navan....
to the new cathedral in MullingarMullingarMullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...
in the early twentieth century (the diocesan seminary, St. Finians, also moved from Navan to Mullingar) the diocesan archives were lost in the process. How the priceless records, many of them by Cogan in his research in the 1860s, were lost remains a mystery; - access to papers relating to the church in Meath in the Irish Public Records Office. The Irish Public Records Office was destroyed by the Irish Republican ArmyIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
in 1922, in effect destroying one thousand years of records, including most of the records from that source quoted by Cogan.
As a result, Cogan's book details parish histories, information on derelict churches, information on old burial sites where those who died in the Famine were buried, names of priests, details of the Penal Law, and information on the re-appearance of a Roman Catholic clerical structure following the reformation from sources that are no longer available to historians.