Fr. Hugh Quigley was baptised about 24 February 1819 in Derrygarv, Affog (Affick), Tulla. He was one of several children of Hugh Quigley and Mary Lynch. Hugh Quigley was educated through the hedge school system in Ireland. This system was a result of the Penal Laws, 1695 whereby Catholics were not allowed to educate their children abroad or to set up schools for their children. Because of the Penal Laws, hedge schools were set up in secret locations throughout the countryside. Children of all ages attended where they received instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic and in many cases, Greek and Latin. Hugh Quigley attended school under this system locally. At a later date, Hugh continued his studies in Killaloe and moved to Dublin where he worked in the Ordinance Survey. He took the entrance exam to Maynooth and was accepted there however, he refused to pledge an oath of allegiance to the British Crown and as a result, he forfeited his place. He did become ordained as a priest and served in Glasgow and England for several years, before returning home to Ireland in 1847. He served in Tulla and Killaloe during the Famine Years and was very disappointed that the plan for the 1848 Rising did not come to fruition due to the lack of organisation amongst nationalist groups. He went to Rome where he received his doctorate. From there, he went to the U.S. at the invitation of Bishop Hughes from the New York Diocese. It was there that he ministered to the large groups of Irish emigrants that were flooding the area particularly at that time in upstate New York area. He also helped set up Catholic churches, and did work with the Chippewa Indians near Lake Superior.
Fr. Hugh Quigley died in 1883. He is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Troy, NY. He was much loved as he was a great champion for the Irish emigrants and for the Irish at home who he encouraged to take up the cause of independence. He had a love of the Irish culture and the Irish language. Fr. Hugh Quigley’s relations continue to live in the area of Affick up to the present.
He wrote the following books:
1. The Cross and The Shamrock (1853)
2. The Prophet of the Ruined Abbey (1854)
3. Profit and Loss (1873)
4. The Irish Race in California and on the Pacific Coast (1878)
Source: http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/hugh_quigley.htm
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Feb 1819 | VIEW SOURCE |
| Date of Death | 1st Jan 1883 | VIEW SOURCE |
