Thomas 19th Baron Hussey, of Galtrim & Rathkenn

Thomas Hussey of Galtrim & Rathkenn

He is not the same as : bishop Thomas Hussey who participates actively to education of Elisa Hussey, natural daughter of Sir Edward Hussey, Earl Beaulieu.

Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, b. at Ballybogan, Co. Meath, in 1746; d. at Tramore, Co. Waterford, 11 July, 1803. At an early age he was sent to the Irish College of Salamanca, and after completing his studies joined the Trappists.
His ability was such, however, that he was requested by the pope to take orders, was associated for a time with the court of the King of Spain, and soon became prominent in Madrid. In or about 1767 he was appointed chaplain to the Spanish embassy in London, and rector of the chapel attached to it. He made the acquaintance of Dr. Johnson, Edmund Burke, and other famous people, and was regarded by them as one of the ablest and best informed men of his time.

In March, 1792, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. When the war between England and America broke out, the Spanish ambassador was obliged to leave London, Spain as well as France having taken sides against England, and Dr. Hussey was entrusted with Spanish affairs, and was thus brought into direct contact with George III, as well as with Pitt and other ministers. He was sent to Madrid to endeavour to detach Spain from the American cause, but without success. In Madrid he met Richard Cumberland, the dramatist, who, though jealous of him, speaks highly of his ability, incorruptibility, and courage, and declares that he would have headed a revolution to overthrow the English Church in Ireland. He took up the catholic cause earnestly and was deputed by the English Catholics to go to Rome to lay their position before the pope, but the Spanish embassy would not grant him leave of absence. George III, Pitt, and the Duke of Portland entrusted him with a mission to the Irish soldiers and militia in Ireland who were disaffected, but when he heard their story, he pleaded in their behalf much to the distaste of the Irish executive.

Portland induced him to stay in Ireland to assist in the foundation of Maynooth College, and in 1795 he was appointed its first president. He was shortly after made Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. In 1797 he issued a pastoral to his clergy, strongly resenting Government interference in ecclesiastical discipline. This protest gave great offence to the ministers. He was received by the pope in March, 1798, and is said, but upon slight evidence, to have been a party to the Concordat between Pius VII and Napoleon. Lecky describes him as "the ablest English-speaking bishop of his time". Source : The Catholic encyclopedia.

Hussey, Thomas, Bishop of Waterford 1797-1803, one of the founders of Maynooth College, was born about 1745. He studied at Salamanca, and then buried himself for some years in a Trappist convent, where he hoped to pass his life. His abilities being recognized, however, a Papal mandate obliged him to lay aside the cowl; he was ordained, and for many years was chaplain of the Spanish Embassy in London. He was a powerful preacher, "a man," says Mr. Butler, the historian of English Catholics, "of great genius, of enlightened piety, with manners at once imposing and elegant, and of enchanting conversation; he did not come in contact with many whom he did not subdue; the highest rank often sunk before him." He enjoyed the friendship of King and Ministers — of Johnson and of Burke — was admitted a member of the Royal Society.

During the American war he was sent on a mission to Madrid for George III. It was mainly through his exertions that Maynooth College, of which he was first President, was founded in 1795. In 1797 he was consecrated Bishop of Waterford and Lismore — the whole influence of the Government being exerted to secure the post for him; yet his first pastoral — conscientiously expounding and enforcing the doctrines of his religion — is said to have given great offence to his Protestant friends. He was one of those who in 1802 drew up the Concordat between Napoleon and the Pope. He died at Tramore in July 1803, of apoplexy, after bathing. The Gentleman's Magazine remarks: "In 1797 he wrote his famous pastoral letter, which set the country in a ferment. The enemies of administration said he was employed by Government to sow the seeds of dissension with a view to bring about an union; others considered him an agent of France." Mr. Froude, in his English in Ireland, places his character in a very unfavourable light, and denounces the Government for availing itself of his services during the Insurrection of 1798.

Sources 128a. Exshaw's London Magazine, 1732-'93. 141. Froude, James A.: The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century. 3 vols. London, 1872-'4. 146. Gentleman's Magazine. London, 1731-1868. Gilbert, John T., see Nos. 110, 335. www.libraryireland.com/biography/BishopThomasHussey.php from From A Compendium of Irish Biography, 1878

Reference Sources

1) The Peerage Of Ireland : Or,A Genealogical History Of The Present Nobility /John Lodge, Mervyn Archdall p 45 &c

1) A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great ..., Volume 1- By Bernard Burke

3) A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of ..., Volume 2- By John Burke

4) Irish Builder and Engineer, Volume 35

5) Illustrations, Historical and Genealogical: Of King James's Irish Army List ...- By John D'Alton

6) The Peerage of Ireland: Or, A Genealogical History of the Present ..., Volume 7- By John Lodge, Mervyn Archdall

7) A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland- By Bernard Burke