‘The Proud and the Poor’, Bishop Francis Moylan and the People of Cork.

Francis Moylan’s (1735-1815) presence is felt all around us in Cork City. Born and bred in the bloody milieu of the Shandon cattle market, he is remembered as a bishop of Penal Times.

Well known for his opposition to the United Irishmen and the French Revolution, the establishment of the National Seminary and his involvement in the negotiations surrounding the Act of Union. He also left an indelible mark on the city as a friend of Nano Nagle, founder of the North Monastery and the transformation of the North Cathedral.

This talk will trace his life from parish priest to bishop, following him through the laneways of the city as he survived but also crucially resisted discrimination, recrimination, and exclusion in the eighteenth-century Ireland.