Archbishop John Allen

Alfred Webb

A Compendium of Irish Biography

1878

Allen, John, Archbishop of Dublin. He had been Treasurer of St. Paul's, London, and was consecrated Archbishop, 14th March 1528, being appointed by Wolsey mainly to resist and embarrass Gerald, Earl of Kildare. Soon after his arrival he was invested with the Chancellorship, of which office he was deprived in 1532 through Kildare's influence. During Lord Thomas' revolt in 1534, the Archbishop, apprehending a siege of Dublin Castle, endeavoured to escape to England. He embarked at Dame Gate, but his boat stranding at Clontarf, he took refuge in the house of a Mr, Hollywood at Artane. Early next morning, 28th July 1534, Lord Thomas arrived before the house in hot pursuit of him. The Archbishop was dragged out in his shirt, and, falling on his knees, begged for mercy. "Take away the churl," exclaimed FitzGerald to his followers. The old man was then set upon and murdered. Lord Thomas subsequently insisted that he meant only that the Archbishop should be removed in custody. Archbishop Allen was the author of the Liber Niger of Christ Church. " He was of a turbulent spirit, but a man of hospitality and learning, and a diligent enquirer into antiquities."

Sources

339. Ware, Sir James, Works: Walter Harris. 2 vols. Dublin, 1764.

202. Kildare, The Earls of, and their Ancestors: from 1057 to 1773, with Supplement: Marquis of Kildare. 2 vols. Dublin, 1858-'62.

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