‘Good God, what a life the man led’

The exciting story of a former Bishop of Kilmore.

The name Dr Henry Jones has lost much of its punch over the centuries. However the Dean of Kilmore was deeply involved in a surprising number of major 17th Century events, and encountered some giants of history whose significance continue to shudder through the centuries. Oliver Cromwell, Bishop William Bedell, the O’Reilly clan, St Oliver Plunkett, the Book of Kells and the first Irish translation of the Old Testament all intersect with this fascinating figure.

“He just seems to be in with everybody at the right time,” begins Cavan historian Brendan Scott, who is eager to give due recognition to Dr Jones with the publication of his latest book. We’ve met in the grounds of Kilmore Cathedral where some key events of the 1640s occurred.

The son of the Church of Ireland Bishop of Killaloe, Henry was born into wealth. An interesting aside is that an uncle on his mother’s side was James Ussher.

“He is one of the most important people in 17th Century Ireland - he is a genius,” says Brendan of James. “Ussher is the father of ‘Creationism’. Using the Bible as an historical source, he worked back and said the world was created on the 22nd of October 4004BC.

“Okay, he was wrong,” Brendan laughingly concedes, “But he was a genius. He became Archbishop of Armagh, a very well-connected man.”

Henry Jones was very well connected too. He married one of the Culme family, the planters who founded Virginia, and constables of Clogh Oughter Castle. Having held numerous posts within the Church of Ireland he became dean of the diocese of Kilmore in 1937, essentially second in rank under Bishop William Bedell.

“He becomes very good friends with Bedell,” says Brendan. “He is living in Cavan quite happily, climbing the rungs of the ladder – he’s looking like becoming a bishop some day. Then 1641 kicks off and he loses everything. He comes from British stock, he’s seen as being a settler, so he is attacked by the Gaelic Irish and ejected from his house.”

Refugees

The native Irish gentry had reached breaking point and tried by force to reclaim their standing in a deeply anti-Catholic climate and to begin the reversal of the plantation. Brendan explains that during this revolutionary period it was typical that British settlers in modern day Cavan came under attack by the O’Reilly forces, most notably when almost 40 were massacred in Belturbet in January 1642.

“There’s hundreds of refugees staying here in late-1641 at Bedell’s house,” says Brendan explaining that the bishop lived in a residence which once stood to the rear of the current parish hall. The taller section of the surviving building may also have formed part of his living quarters.

Henry Jones’ standing within the Church of Ireland made him a valuable hostage, and his O’Reilly captors keep him close. They used him as an emissary of sorts, sending him under duress to the capital with a list of demands from the government in Dublin. The O’Reillys kept his family for insurance.

He eventually leaves Cavan with his family in December 1641.

“This is where he gets really important,” says Brendan. “He sets up the Deposition Commission, which is 8,000 witness statements given, mostly by British settlers, as to what happened to them during the rebellion.

“It is the best source from anywhere in Europe of that kind from the 17th century. There’s nothing like it anywhere. And this guy, who’s living out in Ballinagh sets it up – it’s incredibly important.”

A century on, the 1641 depositions were donated to Trinity College Dublin in 1741 and have since been digitised and are freely available online, proving an invaluable source for historians.

Henry, who chaired the depositions, didn’t provide one himself, instead he penned a pamphlet recounting his experiences of the turbulent episodes. Brendan suspects one motivation behind the publication of the document, known as ‘A Relation’ to shorten the unwieldy full title, was to defend his actions in essentially acting as “a messenger boy” for the O’Reillys.

It is this pamphlet which forms the central core of Brendan’s publication. Here he updates the text with light-touch edits, and includes helpful explanatory footnotes.