John Thomas Troy

John Thomas Troy

Archbishop of Dublin; b. in the parish of Blanchardstown, near Dublin, 10 May, 1739; d. at Dublin, 11 May, 1823. He belonged to an Anglo-Norman stock, and received his early education at Liffey Street, Dublin, after which, in 1777 [This is probably a typo for 1757 or 1767 — Ed.], he joined the Dominican Order and proceeded to their house of St. Clement, at Rome. Amenable to discipline, diligent in his studies, and gifted with much ability, he made rapid progress, and while yet a student was selected to give lectures in philosophy. Subsequently he professed theology and canon law, and finally became prior of the convent in 1772. When the Bishop of Ossory died, in 1776, the priests of the diocese recommended one of their number, Father Molloy, to Rome for the vacant see, and the recommendation was endorsed by many of the Irish bishops. But Dr. Troy, who was held in high esteem at Rome, had already been appointed Bishop of Ossory. He arrived at Kilkenny in August, and for the next nine years he laboured hard for the spiritual interests of his diocese. They were troubled times. Maddened by excessive rents and tithes, and harried by grinding tithe-proctors, the farmers had banded themselves together in a secret society called the "Whiteboys". Going forth at night, they attacked landlords, bailiffs, agents, and tithe-proctors, and often committed fearful outrages. Bishop Troy grappled with them and frequently and sternly denounced them. It was not that he had any sympathy with oppression, but he had lived so long in Rome and had left Ireland at such an early age, that he did not quite understand the condition of things at home, and did not fully appreciate the extent of misery and oppression in which the poor Catholic masses lived.

The bent of his mind was to support authority, and he was therefore ready to condemn all violent efforts for reform, and had no hesitation in denouncing not only all secret societies in Ireland, but also "our American fellow-subjects, seduced by specious notions of liberty". This made him unpopular with the masses, but there could be no doubt that he was zealous in correcting abuses in his diocese and in promoting education. So well was this recognized at Rome that in 1781, in consequence of some serious troubles which had arisen between the primate and his clergy, Dr. Troy was appointed Administrator of Armagh. This office he held till 1782. In 1786 he was appointed Archbishop of Dublin. At Dublin, as at Ossory, he showed his zeal for religion, his sympathy with authority, and his distrust of popular movements, especially when violent means were employed; in 1798 he issued a sentence of excommunication against all those of his flock who would join the rebellion. He was also one of the most determined supporters of the Union. In 1799 he agreed to accept the veto of government on the appointment of Irish bishops; and even when the other bishops, finding that they had been tricked by Pitt and Castlereagh, repudiated the veto, Dr. Troy continued to favour it. The last years of his life were uneventful.

BRADY, Episcopal Succession (Rome, 1876); CARRIGAN, History of the Diocese of Ossory (Dublin, 1905); D'ALTON, History of the Archbishops of Dublin (Dublin, 1838); WYSE, History of the Catholic Association (London, 1829); MORAN, Spicilegium Ossoriense (Dublin, 1874-84).

E.A. D'ALTON