Scathlan 1

But the bishop confirmed the pastor in the administration of his parish, and to the Roman authorities he defended him courageously and shrewdly. Fr. McFadden, he said, had acted imprudently, but him imprudence ldoks small compared with that of the authorities who attempted to arrest him in such -circumstances. A Mohommedan priest could not be insolently treated before his congregation without grave danger of like res,ults. And, he went on, the poor people at Gweedore were terribly provoked and sinned against that day before the deed of sin and shame was committed. The young bishop knew how to temper justice with mercy; he knew also how to conduct himself with dignity before his superiors. So Canon McFadden remained at his post while the memory of that black February day in Gweedore began to fade before the dimming process of time. He had played his part in the victory gained by Irish Nationalism under Parnell, a victory which Professor. Larkin does not exaggerate in claiming consolidated, between 1878 and 1886, the modern Irish State. This victory rested on twin foundations, the Clerical– Nationalist and Liberal-Nationalist alliances. Between 1886 and 1890 these alliances weathered the severe strain imposed upon "them by the Conservative Government and the disgrace of Parnell. But for the Clerical-Nationalist alliance to survive the strain, it was essential for the bishops to have control over their activist clergy. Thi~ was a condition which Fr. McFadden, despite his intentions, almost succeeded in wrecking in West Donegal. The bishop was youthful, withoui. pastoral experience, and untried; the D.I. was murdered; and the Balfour administration, taking advantage of the fact that Liberal attention was concentrated on the trials at Maryborough, proceeded with evictions at Falcarragh. But by the end of the year the bishop was in control. He had secured his Roman flank and disciplined the pastor of Gweedore. O'Donnell embarked on the notable career that was to make him chaplain to the Irish Party. But that is another story. Meanwhile Parnell fell, the Irish Party was in disarray, but the alliance stood firm, and Balfour's ameliorating measures began to take effect: his land Acts, his Congested Districts Board (of which Bishop O'Donnell became a very active member), and his Light Railways Act (1889), which in spite of ill-judged opposition conferred a boon upon West Donegal and the Dingle peninsula . Fr. McFadden volunteered to go to Amer:ca in 1897 to collect for the new Letterkenny Cathedral, and on his return after a three years successful mission was promoted pastor of lnniskeel. He ended a meritorious if sometimes controversial life in 1917. Patrick McGill did not flatter him, but that talented novelist had lit– tle knowledge of the man and less insight into his merits and failings, into the great tragedy of his life, or into his real concern for his people. Ante shiulas b6thar fada, meileann se min agus garbh. 1 mod. Portlaoise. 51 .