John Sleyne

John Baptist Sleyne (; – 16 February 1712) was Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork and Cloyne and Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Ross, who was an enthusiastic patron of the Gaelic language and culture, and an advocate of the severely repressed Roman Catholic population, in Ireland during the early period of the Penal Laws. He was one of only two bishops to minister in Ireland at the end of the 17th century. Sleyne was very learned in languages and moral theology, and had traveled widely. He was known to and had interactions with kings, queens, popes and wider cultural and religious establishment throughout Ireland and Europe. Because Sleyne "remain[ed] in the kingdom contrary to the [penal] law", of the time, he went into hiding. He was eventually brought before the courts in 1698 and spent five years in prison in Cork Gaol. During his time as Bishop, both as fugitive and prisoner, Sleyne ordained many priests (estimated to be 38 ) and consecrated several bishops in Ireland. He was eventually exiled to Portugal, on 11 February 1703, where he was given shelter in the Irish Dominican Convento do Bom Sucesso, Lisbon. He died in Portugal on 16 February 1712, aged 74 years and is buried at the altar of the Sacred Heart in the Church of Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso.

There are many references to Sleyne throughout documents dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Sleyne was sometimes referred to as Joannes Baptiste Mac Sleyne in the Irish college at Sorbonne, as Monsignor Giovanni Batista Sleyne in Rome, as João Baptista Sleyne in Portugal or as John Slyne sometimes spelt as Mac Sleidhne. The molded capitals, at the top of the internal columns of St Colman's Cathedral of Cobh refer to him as Bishop Sliney.

The portrait of Bishop Sleyne, originally held at St. Isidore’s (the church of the Irish Franciscans, Rome) and now held at the [Cork and Ross Diocesan archives, is thought to be the oldest portrait in existence of any Catholic Bishop of Cork. (According to naming conventions of the 18th century, since both he and his father were both called John, he would likely have been the third eldest son in the family ).

There are a number of candidates for location of the Ballymacsliney. Firstly, there is a townland of Ballymacsliney (Baile Mhic Shleimhne ) near Midleton, Co. Cork that appears in the Down Survey (most probably misspelt) as BallmcGlinny within the Parish of Templencurrigg and the Barony of Barrimore. The landowner of the Barony of Barrimore was shown as Barry, David Fitz-David earl of Barrymore (Protestant) in both 1641 and 1670. (The intention of the Down survey was to measure out land held by Catholic Irish, that would then be forfeited and used to compensate English Merchant Adventurers and soldiers, for their support in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.) Secondly, there is also a town called Ballymacsliney, about 12 miles from Limerick. this could be discounted as being his townland. Thirdly, the name Ballymacsliney was applied to part of Maytown in Ballintemple parish, which was in the possession of the Mac Sleyne family. Records from 1616 and 1634 show that John Sleyne (probably Sleyne's father) held a Burgage at Cloyne, This suggests quite strongly that it is this latter third Ballymacsliney from which Sleyne came.

Sleyne's ancestors were of the FitzStephen family that had settled in the south east of Ireland after the Norman conquests (1170). Dominic O'Daly (sometimes called Donal or Daniel of the Rosary ) stated in his Relatio Geraldinorum that "Robertus Stephani, rater uterinus Mauritii filii Geraldi Magni, et germanus rater Regis Angliae a quo originem Stephensons ducunt, et Clann tSleighne omnes". Robert Fitzstephen (son of Stephen of Cardigan, and Nest ferch Rhys) was the first Anglo-Norman to invade Ireland, who along with Milo de Cogan, was granted 700'000 acres of land in Munster (about one third the area of Cork County) as compensation for his participation in the invasion. Fitzstephen claimed the (ancient) region of Olethan to the east of Cork city. In 1192, both Fitzstephen's illegitimate son Ralph Fitzstephen and Milo de Cogan were ambushed and killed near Imokilly, County Cork. Upon his death, Fitzstephen's lands fell to Raymond (le Gros) de Carew, his nephew and heir. Because de Carew died without legal issue (1198), the Fitzstephen's lands fell to Fitzstephen's half-sister's sons, Philip de Barry. De Barry's descendants thus became one of the largest landowners in the region and were created Earls of Barrymore in 1628 until their ultimate extinction in 1823. MacCotter suggests that Sleyne's family was descended, not from Robert FitzStephen, but his half-brother, William le Walys, who had accompanied him to Ireland. The Le Walys family took up residence in Rostellan in the late 12th century. Why the O' prefix (Irish meaning descendant) was not adopted is not clear. Similarly, the le Walys family of Rostellan took the patronym Mac Sleyney, thereby suggesting the existence of an eponym Sleyney le Walys (?). MacCotter notes 'James fitz Garrett Sleyney alias Stephenson, chief of his name in Imokellye' in 1554, which makes a connection between the name Sleyney and a person named Stephen (Sleimhne) who lived at a time much later than Robert Fitzstephen. other Irish forms being Stiabhna, Sdíomnha, Stiana, and Steimhín. In Mac Sleimne, the 'm' is an aspirated consonant denoted by a séimhiú or dot over the 'm' in Gaelic script or by letter 'h' following the 'm' in Latin script (that is Mac Sleimhne). 'h' was not a distinct letter in the Gaelic alphabet. Mac Sleimhne is used interchangeable with Mac Sleidhne, Mac Sleibhne, or Mac Sleighne (As a translation for the modern surnames Slyne etc.). The slender consonant 'gh' in Mac Sleighne or 'dh' in Mac Sleidhne is pronounced similar to the English 'y' sound, The slender consonant 'bh' in Mac Sleibhne or 'mh' in Mac Sleimhne is pronounced similar to the English 'v' sound. There are a number of references to Sleyne's ancestry (Mac Sleyney or Mac Sleighne as having derived from Rostellan, Cloyne, East Cork and CastleMacSleyney (?) O'Donnchadha writes "Is ag Mac Sleighne do bln Ros Stiallain agus Caislean Mic Sleighne, agus iomad d’aitibh eile i nlbh MoCoille, gur hionnarbadh iad le foirneart Gearaltach". The same Gerald MacSleyney (1568) and another David MacSleyney (1584) are mentioned among the County Cork Elizabethan pardons of the late 16th century. MacCotter refers to the Caislean Mhic Sleighne towerhouse at Rostellan. each of whom was a priest during the early Penal times. It is not known if they were cousins or brothers of each other. One nephew, John Slyne was later Parish Priest of South Parish, Cork from 1752 until his death on 16 June 1759. He lived at Cove Lane, which is now Douglas Street in Cork. The second nephew, Bartholomew Slyne (B.Law), was enrolled as "priest of the province of Munster" at College Des Lombards community of Irish priests and seminarians in Paris and on 13 January 1723, was assigned the role of steward of a period of 2 years. Both nephews were imprisoned in Cork Gaol for reasons which will become apparent below. It is also reported that Sleyne had two nephews or cousins residing in Lisbon in 1870. Sleyne In Rome, Sleyne received high profile appointments, namely Professor of Moral Theology in the College of Propaganda Fide for 12 years, as spiritual director of the Ursuline nuns and as Roman agent for Peter Creagh, bishop of Cork and Cloyne (1676–1693). Some materials relating to Sleyne's time in the College Of Propaganda Fide, are held at the Franciscan Library, Killiney, Dublin. These were moved there from St Isidore's in 1873, when Rome was under threat of capture and destruction by the newly created Italian government. In 2022, a portrait of a younger John Sleyne was presented by Taghg Doran on permanent loan to Cloyne Catholic Diocese. Before coming into private ownership, the 300-year-old portrait, was, for many years, held at Holy Cross Seminary, Clonliffe Dublin. It is believed that this painting is one of the oldest portraits in existence of an Irish Bishop, and is described by the current Bishop Crean as a welcome contribution to collection of Cloyne Diocese.

Fugitive during penal times

In 1693, James II of Great Britain exercised his royal prerogative of naming Catholic Bishops in Ireland, and nominated Sleyne to the united dioceses of Cork and Cloyne. With the departure of Bishop Peter Creagh to Dublin, Sleyne was made bishop of Cork and Cloyne by Pope Innocent XII (1691–1700), who held Sleyne in high regard for both his virtue and zeal. (1631–1713), being then about 56 years of age. Principle co-Consecrators were Bishop Giuseppe Felice Barlacci and Bishop Philip Michael Ellis. On 24 October 1693, after a meeting with Sleyne in Rome, Cardinal Secretary of State, Fabrizio Spada, requested of the Apostolic Internuncio to Belgium, Giulio Cardinal Piazza, to make representations to William Prince of Orange, so that Sleyne would be able to travel to his diocese without molestation. The Penal Laws, passed in Ireland between 1691 and 1728, had the deliberate objective of seriously restricting the rights of the Catholic majority, for instance it would soon be against the law for Catholics to live or work in towns such as Cork, Limerick, and Galway. The Act of Abjuration (1701) required priests to swear an oath denying James III "any right or title whatsoever to the Crown of these realms" and affirming the Protestant line of succession. Many clergy in Ireland refused to take the oath and thus were in conflict with the law. The Banishment Act (1697) required that all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church to be expelled from Ireland by 1 May 1698, so as to protect the official state church, the Church of Ireland.

Prior to the Banishment Act, there were 25 Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland, (now Annsgrove), near Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork. Cotter, a Royalist, Jacobite, Governor of the City of Cork and Governor of Montserrat, was noted for tracking down and executing some of those responsible for the execution of Charles I (the regicide John Lisle), and for commanding Jacobite cavalry regiments in Munster prior to the Treaty of Limerick. While he had a long-term lease on his Ballinsperrig estate from the Earl of Barrymore, his royal pension allowed him to buy tracts of land in Cork, including Great Island. His fairness to Protestants landowning neighbours up to then, helped Cotter retain his properties against numerous legal challenges, after James II fled the country. Churchmen from Munster and from other provinces visited Ballinsperrig on a daily basis ( Bishop Sleyne was godfather to Sir James’ eldest son, Seamus Óg MacCoitir, to whom Domhnall Ó Colmáin dedicated his Irish text Párliament na mBan. It is also reported that Sleyne conducted ordinations at Cork, Carrigtwohill and Blarney between 1694 and 1701. As a result, in a letter he wrote to Cardinal Toussaint de Forbin-Janson "God at last permitted that I should he taken prisoner in my episcopal city". entrance to the city of Cork. The facility at the South Gate bridge subsequently became the debtors' prison in 1712, with North Gate bridge becoming the location of Cork Gaol thereafter). Sleyne was to be kept "in such rigorous confinement that he was not permitted to converse with any one".

Surprisingly, Sleyne was still in Cork gaol nearly three years later without being deported and "some Catholics found means to penetrate into his prison, and he exerted his sacred ministry as best he could". recounts that he was attended by a Cailín aimsire (maidservant), Máire Inghean Bháitéir Laighleis, The poet Eoghan O'Caoimh stated that he received Ola na Cásca from Sleyne "gacha bliadhain an feadh do bhí sé a ngéibhinn a gCorcaigh". This lack of security was symptomatic of what John Whatey complained in 1703, that prisoners such as Sleyne could "by interest of their gaolers ... easily obtain leave to teach as school masters and have their daily Mass, and thereby all desired opportunity of ordaining others". Apart from being a substantial estate owner (in and around what is now Dawson St. Dublin), Dawson was a zealous anti-Jacobite who had a key responsibility for implementing the regiment of the Penal Laws and had established an intricate web of spies, informants and priest-catchers operating in every major town and port and in Ireland and throughout Europe. This provided him with information on clergy that were still in Ireland or were travelling back to Ireland or were being trained in Irish Colleges such as Irish College of Louvain. Sleyne's own family had come to the attention of the notorious priest-catcher, Edward Tyrrell, when he gave testament that he "had taken [...] two young priests newly ordained reddy to goe for France with their papers and letters by name Slynes, nephews to the Popish Bishop of Corke who was lately transported out of Corke by law. They were committed by the Mayor of Corke to the Gaole".

The exact reasons are unclear for why Sleyne was detained in Cork Gaol for so long and had not been deported. Firstly, it could have been because of an underlying desire of some constitutional monarchists (Whigs) in the British establishment to prolong the detention of senior Catholic clergy such as Sleyne. However, this is unlikely given the considerably efforts spent by Dublin Castle to catch and expel every Catholic bishop other than Sleyne.

Secondly, Sleyne was fearful that he would be deported to "some Islands which he knows not", a fate suffered by many catholic clergy during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland only 50 years earlier. Even as recently as 1691, Sleyne's predecessor as Bishop of Cork, Peter Creagh wrote that "twenty-five curates of my diocese ... were put in the stocks ... and it is believed ... will be sent to the Barbadoes and other islands of the West Indies to plant tobacco like the other slaves there". ) and emphasised the hardship he was suffering through "frequent pains of gout and the gravel". A letter from Dawson to John Whiting, Mayor of Cork, on 9 January 1703, queried why "no account [was] ever been sent up of the execution of that order, or any reasons being given why the said bishop was not transported". In his reply, Whiting explained he had agreed with several ships to take the bishop on board, however they seemed to have been "forced to sea unawares". His predecessor, Alderman Dring, had received the orders, however, he couldn't find any ship that was going to Portugal. The result was that the bishop remained in Cork Gaol "in as bad a condition to be transported as formerly." Even though Portugal was a significant Catholic country, it was not associated with the Jacobite cause. It was an ally of France at the start of the War of Spanish Succession, but switched to being an ally of England in 1703 on agreeing the Methuen Treaty in return for military and commercial co-operation.

Travelling on the same boat from Cove to Lisbon was John George, a "shipowner and merchant by wholesale The Irish Dominicans in Lisbon assumed responsibility for him and the Bom Successo community generously gave him hospitality in the chaplain's house on the grounds of the Convento do Bom Successo, for the duration of his time there. Since its inception in 1640, the Convento do Bom Sucesso in 2015, Mary McAleese in 2002 and Mary Robinson in 1995).

Pope Clement XI addressed a letter to João V of Portugal (28 September 1709), assuring him of the truth of the information that Bishop Sleyne conveyed to him about the plight of Irish Catholics. The Pope recommended that Sleyne be deserving of all the support that could be given to him. João V of Portugal welcomed Sleyne to Portugal and awarded him financial assistance, part of which Sleyne used to defray the costs of the new Capella of Saint Patrick at Bom Successo. This Altar was dedicated to the Sacred Heart in 1891. needed by the bishops still in Ireland. He appointed two Vicars General to act as administrators of the dioceses in his absence and postulated in favour of Donough MacCarthy as his co-adjutant bishop when he resigned from his dioceses.

With regards to the other notable exile on the same boat as Bishop Sleyne, John George and his family, thrived in Lisbon, supported by the Irish community of Belém. He constructed a grand palace on Rua da Junqueira and who believed that "gurb ionann caomhnú na Gaeilge and caomhnú an Chreidimh chaitlicí agus fós gurbh í an gheilge an chosaint ab fhearr ar an bProstastúnachas (the preservation of the Irish language and the preservation of the Catholic Faith is one of the most important defenses against Protestantism)". and allegedly had every book he could find in South Munster translated to Irish at his own expense ( the first prose work written in the Munster Dialect, Domhnall O'Colmain referred to the "godly prelate, the man who excelled all his contemporaries in knowledge and wisdom, and in high scholarship, piety, namely the angelic and noble Eoin Mac Sleighne, the soft-spoken, gentle bishop of Cork in Munster of Colman's Cloyne and of RosCarberry, who was imprisoned in the city of Cork". is one of ten eulogies related to Sleyne, held in Boston College Gaelic Manuscript 5. Others include Dia do bheatha a thriath Chorcuighe (An tAthair Tadhg Ó Dála), A phlúr ne bhfear do theagasig diadhacht san Róimh (An tAthair Donnchadh Mac Cártha), Cré ne Rómha fa chómhuilt Chroíst as buan (An tAthair Conchubhar Ó Briain), Cruaidh an cás ne ttárla Banbha a bpéin (An tAthair Conchubhar Ó Briain), Mo bhrón mo dheacair an cealg so dhom shiorchrádha (Uilliam Mac Cairteáin), An méara san méid sin ag bagairt ar Eóin (Diarmuid Mac Cártha), Eóin do bhaisteadh as feasach a theacht don tír (Diarmuid Mac Cártha), Iomdha teist úghdar ar Eóin, A leabhair bhid thráth do dháil damh sult ar Fhiannaibh (Uilliam Mac Cairteáin).

An t-Athair Eoghan Ó Caoimh, parish priest of Doneraile, Co. Cork (1717 -1726), dedicated his manuscript Iomdhair Teist Ughdhair (Many Testimonies of Authors), now in held in Stonyhurst Jesuit College in Lancashire, England as follows "Father O'Caoimh to John Baptist Sleyne (Bishop of Cork in the years 1697–1702), before his imprisonment by the heretics of that time." including Foras Feasa ar Eirinn, Trí Biorghaoithe an Bháis (Three shafts of death) and Eochairsgiath an Aifrinn (Key shield of the Mass). A common theme in Gaelic poetry of the time, was Sleyne's deportation and exile for example the poem from Conchubhar Ó Briain about Sleyne's exile. One composition from Ó Caoimh laments: , wrote a lament for the plight of the clergy, in particular that of his patron an tEaspag Eoin Mac Sleighne.

Finally, Sleyne's learnedness in classical studies was recognised by another poet-priest Cornelius MacCurtin of Rathcooney (1692–1737):

Consecrations and ordinations Sleyne was responsible for the Ordination and consecration of many priests and bishops respectively, some of whom are list as follows:

Final resting place Church of Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso, Bélim, Lisbon. (2018)

Having been given refuge for nine years at the Irish Dominican Convento do Bom Sucesso, An extensive history of the Convent is given in A Light Undimmed: The Story of the Convent of our Lady of Bom Successo Lisbon

Commemoration Sleyne is commemorated within the neo-gothic St Colman's Cathedral of Cobh. The molded capitals, at the top of the internal columns, depict key scenes of the history of the diocese of Cork and Cloyne, two of which relate to Sleyne's imprisonment and exile. These are entitled Bishop John Baptist Sliney imprisoned in Cork and Bishop Sliney sentenced to transportation to Portugal. Because the cathedral was completed 200 years after Sleyne's death, it is improbable that the images bear any resemblance to Sleyne himself.