Francis McCormack

Francis McCormack (8 April 1833 – 14 November 1909) was an Irish Catholic bishop of the 19th and 20th century.

The Most Reverend Francis McCormack
Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator Emeritus of Kilfenora
Native name	Proinsias Mac Cormaic
Diocese	Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora
Installed	26 April 1887
Term ended	21 October 1908
Predecessor	Thomas Joseph Carr
Successor	Thomas O'Dea
Other posts	Coadjutor Bishop of Achonry 1871–75 Bishop of Achonry 1875–87 Titular Bishop of Claudiopolis in Isauria Titular Archbishop of Nisibin
Orders
Ordination	10 June 1862 (Priest)
Consecration	21 November 1871 (Bishop)
Personal details
Birth name	Francis McCormack
Born	8 April 1833 Ballintubber, County Mayo, Ireland
Died	14 November 1909 (aged 76)
Buried	Crypt of Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway
Nationality	Irish
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Alma mater	Maynooth College

Early life and family

Francis Joseph McCormack was born in Ballintubber in 1833. He studied for the priesthood in Maynooth College.[1] His nephew, Captain Patrick McCormack, was one of the Cairo Gang assassinated on Bloody Sunday (1920).[2] Dr McCormack was also a cousin of the founder of the Land League, Michael Davitt.

Priest

McCormack was ordained a priest in 1862.

Bishop

McCormack was consecrated a bishop by John McEvilly, Archbishop of Tuam. He was Bishop of Achonry 1871 to 1887. In 1879 a minor famine saw 300 people beg food from the bishop at Christmas. He wrote a letter to the Land League, contrasting the vast sums spent on the Anglo-Zulu War and Second Anglo-Afghan War with the minimal amount the government spent on famine relief.[3][4] He also condemned "assisted emigration," whereby landlords paid the fare to get rid of unwanted tenants.[5]

In 1887 McCormack was translated to the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh where he served until he retired due to ill health in 1908. He died in 1909.[6][7] He is buried in Galway Cathedral crypt, his papers are stored in the Diocesan archive.

References

1. 'A Dominant Church: The Diocese of Achonry, 1818-1960' Swords, L Dublin;Columba Press; 2005 ISBN 1856073955
2. Yeates, Pádraig (28 September 2012). "A City in Turmoil – Dublin 1919–1921: The War of Independence". Gill & Macmillan Ltd – via Google Books.
3. Townend, Paul A. (1 January 2016). "The Road to Home Rule: Anti-imperialism and the Irish National Movement". University of Wisconsin Pres – via Google Books.
4. "An Irishman's Diary".
5. (M.A.), Gerard P. Moran (1 January 2004). "Sending out Ireland's poor: assisted emigration to North America in the nineteenth century". Four Courts Press – via Google Books.
6. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmccof.html
7. "History of the Diocese - Diocese of Galway".