Francis McCormack (8 April 1833 – 14 November 1909) was an Irish Catholic bishop of the 19th and 20th century.[1]
The Most Reverend Francis McCormack | |
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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 post(s) | 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 | |
Born | Francis McCormack 8 April 1833 |
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 |
Francis Joseph McCormack was born in Ballintubber in 1833. He studied for the priesthood in Maynooth College.[2] His nephew, Captain Patrick McCormack, was one of the Cairo Gang assassinated on Bloody Sunday (1920).[3] Dr McCormack was also a cousin of the founder of the Land League, Michael Davitt.
McCormack was ordained a priest in 1862.
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.[4][5] He also condemned "assisted emigration," whereby landlords paid the fare to get rid of unwanted tenants.[6]
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.[7][8] He is buried in Galway Cathedral crypt, his papers are stored in the Diocesan archive.