November 14 Lorcan O'Toole b. 1128 d. 1180 c. 1225

Thommy and John,

Good morning
I love you


Lorcan [i.e., Lawrence] O’Toole


How much of a saint’s contribution to us requires our knowing his zeitgeist? His personal history? And, thus, our history, our personal history, our family’s history, our cultural history, our church’s history? All brought to us through the prism of a particular saint’s life? Research published just recently verifies that SAT scores, and the deficiency of basic writing skills, is due to the lack of reading by today’s students, today’s twenty somethings – that’s you guys. It’s a hope that you even read this, now or ever. Read to learn about yourselves, to better yourselves, to bring into your lives the blessings of our lineage….

Lorcan O’Toole’s father, Maurice, was a chieftain in 12thc Leinster, County Kildare. The son of a Ri, even a chieftain level Ri, had privileges and pride and responsibilities and expectations and advantages and the consequences of the times…. When the MacMurroughs asserted their domination over Maurice O’Toole’s clan and territory, they demanded also a hostage from the O’Toole’s to assure their loyalty. Ten year old Lorcan was handed over. To be raised in the royal home of the MacMurroughs, in the tradition of the Celts warrior relationships, but away from kin and always knowing his place and his responsibility of representing his family, of assuring his family’s survival under the purview of the MacMurroughs.
When the MacMurroughs suspected Maurice of treachery and disobedience, they removed Lorcan from their royal stronghold and imprisoned him far away and out of sight. With Maurice’s treachery, the MacMurroughs’ use of Lorcan was simply as a hostage and an example of the punishment due to unruly subjects – they just needed to keep him alive and in the privation of the son, showed the O’Toole’s what would be the fate of their clan if they did not keep their place.
Maurice sought the intercession of the Abbot-Bishop of Glendalough [realize the position of the abbots in the Irish hierarchy and the blood relations as well as real power and wealth and this worldly persuasiveness they possessed. It probably cost Maurice no small payment, both in material terms as well as his clan’s commitment to the sustenance of the abbey] to retrieve his son – to persuade the MacMurroughs that he would be a subservient chieftain. When Maurice arrived at Glendalough to bring his son home, he promised that one of his sons would enter religion and he would decide by drawing lots. Lorcan saved his brothers from a vocation they did not want to pursue by announcing he had already decided upon his vocation to the religious life. It is said that this was the only time in his dolorous life that Lorcan laughed. With his father’s blessing, and no doubt to the relief of his brothers, Lorcan stayed at Glendalough.

The Abbot introduced Lorcan to the discipline and austerities of St. Kevin and life in an Irish monastery. Maybe the punishment under Dermot prepared Lorcan for the austerities he inflicted upon himself for the remainder of his life – even as Bishop, he returned to the Glendalough each Lent to contemplate on the rocky shelves beneath the monastery.

In 1153, at the age of 25, he was elected Abbot. As Abbot, Lorcan O’Toole was responsible for the material well being and safety of the people in his area. The mountainous lands and the constantly warring peoples were challenges that taxed his spiritual and political talents to the max. To care for the people during a famine in his first year as Abbot, he gave freely from the monastery stores and his father’s fortunes.

In 1157 he was elected Bishop of Glendalough. He declined this honor because he was not yet of canonical age. However, for the next ten years as Abbot, he remained at the forefront of the Irish Church, having been greatly influenced by the 1152 reform Synod of Kells.

The discipline of St Kevin was a the core of Lorcan O’Toole’s spirituality and service So far, we have the makings of a Shakespearean drama – and the plot thickens and twists over the rest of his life; making the story of Lorcan, Ireland, Church entwined, inseparable (?), and definitely the makings of a great story; even a modern day epic worthy of some novelist’s or historian’s efforts.

I wonder if Lorcan would have become a saint from the abbot’s seat in Glendalough? And how would Ireland’s and our church’s history be different if her were able to stay there?

But it was not to be.

In 1163, Lorcan was unanimously elected to replace Gregory as Archbishop of Dublin. This was a unanimous decision of the Danes who had ruled the east coast of Ireland for generations and held the Archbishopric throughout that time, as well as the native clergy and laity, including the High Ry O’Conor and Lorcan’s brother in law, Dermot MacMurrough. All these bloodlines and personal politics [yes, all politics are local, Tip O’Neil taught us well; all Irish politics is also personal.] and interwoven aspirations and powers amongst and between clans with the place of the Church in the life of the poor and the powerful, the role of protector of the people was much more than a spiritual duty…. To be the bishop of Dublin in the mid-12thc was to be at the vortex of tremendous change and challenges in Ireland’s history.

“After his consecration Lorcán had to move from being an 'other worldly' man to a man of the world. He might have lamented like Saint Bernard: "I am become the chimaera of my century, neither cleric nor layman." Nevertheless, Lorcán managed with saintly charm to integrate his inner and outer life. Tall, graceful Lorcán wore the bishop's vestments with dignity, and a hairshirt underneath, for example.” Lorcan did not eat meat once he joined the Augustinians; and on Fridays he had only bread and water. He used self-flagellation three times a day [I tried that for a while in the novitiate – it’s painful even when done ‘lightly’ and you can be sure the Irish monks weren’t into lightly!]. He spent his nights in prayer vigils or in choir. He prayed the office, often extending the communal prayer with solitary prayer. [and this by a man who was Abbot and Bishop and diplomat. Don’t say you don’t have the time to pray.] “His life was what the old Irish homily calls the "white martyrdom" of abnegation and labor.” (http://ua_tuathal.tripod.com/dedication.html )

During a famine [seems like Lorcan got famine’s as pre-prandials for his new leadership roles? An excursion to the desert for testing and discernment before setting out on your vocation? How much will you give, of your self, our your possessions, of your family’s wealth (how much of your family’s wealth do you have access to in order to give; another opportunity cost of your being cut off from your family)?] he ensured the feeding of the poor from Church coffers. It became his practice at every meal at his residence to include about 50 poor people along with the rich, to lead by example and encourage the wealthy to do the same.

In 1164, Lorcan O’Toole was consecrated in the Danish Christ Church by the Archbishop of Armagh. The Norse who ruled Dublin had been converted by the Anglo-Saxons; thus, Dublin and its diocesan adherents looked to Canterbury rather than Armagh for ecclesiastical leadership – as well as political legitimacy. Lorcan’s unanimous election and the manner of his consecration signified consolidation of an Irish hierarchy in Ireland. He also accelerated the Irish reform of the monastic system – stopping the Norse practice of the Abbot being a familial heir, often a layman. An Irishman ascending to the See of Dublin also helped align the hierarchy of the Church, the authority of the bishops, and the power of their defined territories – all Irish, not English subsidiaries.

That cut off no small amount of tithing as well as the opportunity to name men to be head of parishes, dioceses, even monasteries: all political as well as ecclesiastical power bases and the source of secured wealth. Lorcan, son of Maurice, a loyal chieftain of the Ri of Leinster, subservient to the King of the middle kingdom, understood his place in securing for the Irish the see of Dublin. And the potential conflicts with the Archbishop of Canterbury and his liege, the King of England and France. And, oh by the way, the Pope at the time was the first [and last] English Pope. Adrian gave the King of England the right to rule Ireland and to reform the Church there under the rule of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Go Figure – ya think there’s a reason for the Irish to not trust the English even today? This self proclaimed proprietorship of Ireland by the English has been a long and deep seeded conflict.

As the O’Tooles and MacMurroughs were establishing a precarious peace, Lorcan’s sister, Mor [that’d be Moira, or Mary] was given in marriage to Dermot MacMurrough. With this chunk of Leinster under his domain, Dermot extended his efforts to rule also Connaught in an alliance with MacLochlainn, the Mid-Kingdom’s High Ry. O’Conor, the king of Connaught, contested for High Ry agains MacLochlainn. The Tiernan O’Rourke clan of Meath allied with O’conor. Now follow the bouncing ball. Dermot made off with O’Rourke’s wife, keeping Mor under his roof as part of the peace with the O’Tooles and treated her, as you might imagine, badly. In 1166, O’Rourke allied with O’Conor, and the Ostmen of Dublin to defeat MacMurrough; drove him back to Leinster and got O’Rourke’s wife back.

Dermot MacMurrough was not about to take this defeat – and changed Irish history [for the much worse] by going to Henry II King of England and France to help him in his own aspirations. [Henry was in the middle of his own conflict with Acquataine and Beckett. But he saw the opportunities of and interdiscine war and subsequently a loyal king for him in Ireland.]

[here we have a family fight of monumental proportions. It dermot’s eyes, his entire identity, the well being of his clan, the future of the country is at stake. And he was losing his aspiration, his definition of what should happen, the resolution of the conflict within the bounds, rites, rituals, and common modus vivandi was being played out. And he was losing to his kinsmen. So, he chose to take the conflict into another arena. He took the family conflict into the court of another king – not the high ry of Ireland, the home kith, kin, and faith, but to Henry, king of England and France. Where the rules are different because the faith is different because the values are different because the purpose is different. The costs of admission to the secular, regal, foreign court require first the refutation of the fundamental essence (redundant on purpose) of the familial foundation. All that is held holy, true, virtuous, important, purposeful in the family are rejected and any promises, vows, and covenants must be reneged upon in order to leave the family circle and enter into the secular/foreign king’s arena. The circle must be broken, the family must be left, to go into the king’s court. And then, having purged yourself of allegiance to family and faith, the more burdensome cost of seeking resolution to the family conflict in the king’s court is to pay homage and give tithe to the new king. You must now accept the underpinning of the outcome in order to receive the outcome. You must accept that the ends justify the means; to get the desired crown you must submit that crown to the liege of the foreign king. To obtain that divorce, you must put a secular garland on the head of a national religion. You may just have to be the aspiring king, have the uninhibited ego, solipsistic persona, to break the circle of family for the crown you want for your self rather than respect the crown as given by God. The High Ry of Ireland, before Dermot’s treachery, wanton ambition, was free to serve God and county and clan and family – but not self. Dermot’s move sacrilegiously submitted the crown of Ireland to the scepter of England/France. In the same way that the Catholic spouse denigrates the sacrament of marriage by accepting the secular determination of divorce (just in case you hadn’t seen my point from the beginning of this diversion.) Dermot got “his” crown – at what cost to Ireland, still being paid today in the Troubles. Henry got his divorce – at what cost to England, Catholicism, Christianity? And you mother got her divorce – at what cost; not only to her, me, you, family, faith, community but to continuing generations of Nolan boys?]

Henry II gave MacMurrough permission to recruit Welch forces to regain his place in Leinster. MacMurrough recruited Richard de Clare, aka Strongbow, and Robert FitzStephen. In 1167, with a small army of Welch and Irish MacMurrough regained control of a portion of Leinster. In 1168, O’Conor and O’Rourke ousted MacMurrough again. In 1169, Robert FitzStephen landed with about 400 Norman, Welsh, and Flemish forces and joined up with another 200 foreigners recruited by MacMurrough. This army defeated the Norsemen in Wexford who recognized MacMurrough as their overlord; and Dermot rewarded the English and French leaders with lands in his Irish kingdom.
MacMurrough’s forces swept through Leinster, the territories of the O’Byrnes, O’Tooles, and O’Conor. The High Ry, O’Conor brought his superior forces to bear in Leinster. In 1169, Lorcan O’Toole interceded in the conflict with the power and influence of the Church; and the ties of family; and the persuasion of his persona. The Treaty of 1169 yielded the kingship of Leinster to MacMurrough who agreed to recognize O’Conor as High Ry, give his son as hostage to the treaty, and to send his foreign allies home. Dublin, a Leinster seaport, reluctantly agreed to the treaty.

As 1169 ended, MacMurrough recalled his allies – FitzGerald and Strongbow, who, upon MacMurrough’s ascendancy to High Ry, was promised overlord of Leinster and Dermot’s daughter in marriage. Forces were gathered throughout 1170, with Strongbow bringing the coup the grace of over 1,000 men in arms to Waterford in August. It was after the capture of Waterford that Richard deClare, Second Earl of Pembroke, better known as Strongbow, and MacMurrough’s daughter and Lorcan O’Toole’s niece, Aoife [the radiant one; Anglicized, probably incorrectly, to Eve) (1145-1188) wed. Under Anglo-Norman law [to which MacMurrough had to give allegiance to get his allies], this marriage gave Strongbow succession rights to be King of Leinster. Under Brehon Law, no such right befell him from this marriage – totally irrelevant to Strongbow; and usually ignored in the telling of this history; our Anglicization of our history assumes the Anglo version of things; a paradigm shift so nonchalantly assumed; why should the Anglo law be the determinate principle because an Irish traitor-to-his-history invited these foreigners into Ireland?!.

[A monumental example of the consequences of rejecting, reneging upon, your fundamental faith, family, church. This turning point in Irish history, and its cauldron of personal, family, power seeking, political, and religious conflicts trumped by one person’s (and his cohorts and loyalists) self centeredness, this fork in the Irish road is an example for our personal journey. (why should secular ‘law’ be the determinate value because a spouse reneger of vows and faith chose to resolve family and faith conflicts in the divorce court? Why would any one follow that lead?)] Aoife, aka Red Eva, led battles for her husband [being her father’s daughter and husband’s wife; and not a daughter of Ireland].

The Norman-Irish forces, The Anglo-Norman invasion, moved on Dublin. Lorcan O’Toole remained in Dublin, the storm center of the conflict, through two sieges and another famine. His efforts were always on the side of the Irish, the High Ry, even the Ostermen in Dublin under the rule of a Norse king. Lorcan O’Toole was first an Irishman. He campaigned for the High Ry, becoming both a Mercier soldier and a bishop. He aroused the kings of Ireland to support the High Ry, extending his efforts to the lords of the surrounding isles.

In the first siege, the Anglo-Norman broke through while peace talks were underway [how British?]. The Norse king fled leaving the Archbishop as the sole source of leadership for the city. The High Ry felt betrayed by the ‘Norsemen’s’ negotiating away the control of the city and returned his army to Meath.

MacMurrough, with his Anglo-Norman-Irish forces then pursued the High Ry’s army to renew his earlier efforts to take control of that county.

The other kings of Ireland saw the invaders as mercenaries helping MacMurrough. But, in 1171, when Dermot MacMurrough died and Richard declare assumed the kingship of Leinster everything changed. The High Ry rallied the Leinster tribes and the provincial kings of Ireland to revolt and expel the foreigners - - then (as now?) the fight was between the Irish and the Norman declare, subject of the King of England and France Henry II. (or so it seemed in Ireland. What you see depends on where you sit.)

The Irish-Norse counter attacked and recaptured Waterford. The Norse fleet attacked Dublin as the High Ry’s, Ruari O’Conor’s, 60,000 strong army moved on the city and laid siege in July and August. [lest we forget the central character of interest – what pray tell is Lorcan O’Toole trying to do now? Negotiate peace!] As their stores depleted, the Normans burst out of the city and surprised O’Conor’s forces – defeating and dispersing them. Ruauri O’Conor returned to his native Connaught High Ry in name only.

Strongbow retook Leinster and established himself as king there.

Henry II saw the consequences of these Norman triumphs as the establishment of had a rival Norman state in Ireland. In October, 1171 Henry II arrived with a large army to assume control – setting himself up as a protector of the Irish from the Normans. [puleeeese! But his precedent has been repeated down to this very day!] Strongbow gave Henry homage and Henry gave him Leinster – as if it were his to give! Well, the one with the biggest gun can take and give as he pleases. Not to mention that the Englishman on the Papal throne had given Henry authority to pacify and regain for the “church” all of Ireland. All but the Irish kingdoms of mid and west Ulster, and Connacht, surrendered to the power of the Englishman’s army and the pope’s decree. The Irish kings considered this substituting one “high Ry” for another; paying tribute to the English King in a similar way as to the Irish High Ry. Alas, not so….

Henry distributed what he considered Crown lands to his cronies. In April 1172, Henry II returned to England to face his threatened excommunication [which would release the king’s subjects from obedience] for the murder of Thomas Becket – it does matter who is Pope. Pope Alexander III (pope from 1159-81) took a very different approach to the goings on in England and Ireland as well as each of the people involved. Alexander III defended the rights of the church throughout but especially in the conflict between Henry and Becket. The pope extracted from Henry every right for the Church for which Becket fought and died. Oh yes, Henry did the walk the streets barefoot in penance, too.

By 1175, the position of Lorcan O’Toole and Ruari O’Conor were strengthened, Henry’s weakened. The Archbishop went to negotiate with the King, each representing very different principles and, thus, outcomes: Brehon Law v. the feudal system.
In 1178, Henry II made his son John “Dominus Hiberiae”, not quite the all powerful offering Adrian had allowed to Henry; but, still, the presumptuousness was obvious. The Dominus mad several slaughtering attacks against the Irish to establish his position; but the papal legate sided with the Irish and told the prince to withdraw. It took the revolt of the King of Ulster to effectuate the legate’s command. [now, who’s on first?]

In 1179, Lorcan O’Toole attended the Third Lateran Council – stopping off on the way to confer with Henry II who told him not to agree to anything that would be prejudicial to England of the Crown. It was during this Council that the Archbishop acquired the confidence of the Pope, who of course was dealing in geopolitics as well as ecclesiastical orthodoxy. This was an arena in which Lorcan O’Toole was a master. In return for his loyalty, the Archbishop obtained from the pope rights over five other dioceses and the protection of the Holy See; and for himself, the position of papal legate.

Some 300 bishops attended the council, and from that great assembly Lorcán passed into the closest confidence of the Holy See. He obtained from Alexander III a bull confirming the rights and privileges of the see of Dublin. Jurisdiction was conferred over five suffragan sees and the pope took the archbishop's church in Dublin and all its possessions under Saint Peter's protection and his own, defining and confirming its possessions and ensuring it and the property of his suffragans by strictest penalties against any lay or ecclessial interference. Finally, on his return home Alexander gave him the supreme mark of his confidence in naming Lorcán as papal legate.

Upon his return, Lorcan O’Toole reinvigorated his earliest efforts to reform the clergy, who had chosen sides with the Anglo-Norman invaders. Henry II, of course, say another Becket arising on the Emerald Isle. When Lorcan O’Toole undertook the mission to bring the High Ry’s son to Henry as hostage to their peace treaty, the King closed the English and Irish ports to him. The Archbishop then followed the king to Normandy.

The weeks of strain and travel told heavily on the 52 year old ascetic archbishop. When he reached the abbey of St Victor at Eu, he was mortally ill. Someone suggested that he should make his will, and he answered: 'God knows, I have not a penny under the sun to leave anyone.' The plight of his people in Dublin troubled his death-bed and his last words revealed his thoughts: 'Alas, you poor, foolish people, what will you do now? Who will take care of you in your trouble? Who will help you?' (Catholic Encyclopedia)

So many miracles were reported at his tomb that his cause for canonization was put forward from the church at Eu. Maybe his life’s story and the cause for canonization might not have risen so well or so fast from war torn Dublin; maybe dying in exile sped the process, even was necessary for the process, that brought Lorcan O’Toole’s story to us. Maybe pursuing the right, wherever it leads, is part of his story for us. He opposed the Normans who invaded his domicile; and it was the Normans who brought us his ‘sainthood.’ Beware of Normans; bless the Normans. Be discerning….

I love you
dad