Irish Pope
Paul Cullen, 1803-1878
Irish Pope
Paul Cullen, 1803-1878
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Hardback
£140.00
QTY
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781009178334
Number of Pages: 500
Published: 31/05/2026
Paul Cullen was without question the most important Irishman of his generation and a figure of global importance. He is also among the least understood. Examining every aspect of Cullen's life and career, Colin Barr explores how Cullen was characterised by his contemporaries as an 'Italian monk', 'the deadly foe of Irish liberty', 'an obscurantist run mad', or 'the most malignant enemy of the English & English Government in Ireland.' One frustrated contemporary called him 'the Pope of Ireland'. This study explores Cullen's early years and education in papal Rome, his career in the curia and then in Ireland, as Archbishop of Dublin, the first Irish cardinal, and author of the compromise text that defined the dogma of papal infallibility. Drawing on more than100 archives in ten countries, The Irish Pope examines Cullen's life and work at home and abroad, and through it the history of Ireland in the mid-Victorian era.
Introduction; 1. A super excellent boy; 2. On liberalism; 3. 'Never apologise, never explain'; 4. Collegio Irlandese; 5. Agent of influence; 6. 'Paul the prudent'; 7. 'The great, the glorious Daniel O'Connell'; 8. Perfidious albion; 9. 'Dr Cullen still rules supreme'; 10. Revolutionary; 11. 'Bravo, brave Cullen'; 12. Power; 13. 'An obscurantism run mad'; 14. Libertà alla Mazziniana; 15. Politician; 16. 'The deadly Foe of Irish liberty'; 17. Urbi et Orbi; 18. 'An unholy bond for an unhallowed purpose'; 19. 'We asked for fish and they gave us a serpent'; 20. 'Slightly evasive'; Bibliography; Index.
