This thesis attempts to place the history of the Catholic University in Ireland within its Irish context. Famous primarily as the cause in which John Henry Newman, its first Rector, wrote his <I>The Idea of a University</I>, the Catholic University of Ireland (CUI) nevertheless played an important role in Irish political life, both ecclesiastical and otherwise. The present dissertation traces the history of the University from its inception in the debates over national education in Ireland through to shortly after the departure of Newman in 1858. The figure of Paul Cullen as agent of the Irish bishops to the Holy See, archbishop of Armagh and, from 1852, archbishop of Dublin, is critical to the study. Cullen has largely been portrayed in the existing historiography on both the CUI and Newman as a narrow, ultramontane obscurantist intent on obstructing the more liberal Newman. By utilising sources previously unavailable to earlier works on the University (and ignored by scholars of Newman), this existing picture of the Cullen-Newman relationship has been re-examined. Cullen's role in the early battles to obtain a Roman condemnation of the secular Queen's Colleges and to gain a Catholic University in their place, as well as his relationship with Newman and his continuing interest in the University have been examined. The educational philosophies and ambitions of the two men have been compared, and it has been argued that they were far closer than has previously been assumed. The very real disagreements between Newman and Cullen (over such issues as finance and student discipline) and their effects on the University have also been considered. The present dissertation concludes with a discussion of the reasons for the relative failure of the Catholic University of Ireland.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:596402 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Barr, C. |
| Publisher | University of Cambridge |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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