Background
He was born a Catholic in Clonmel, County Tipperary, the son of a Catholic schoolmaster.
He was born a Catholic in Clonmel, County Tipperary, the son of a Catholic schoolmaster.
He attended Trinity College, Dublin where he graduated with an MA in 1812 and was ordained about 1816.
In 1826 he succeeded Thomas Le Fanu, father of Sheridan Le Fanu as chaplain to the Military School in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. He was strongly anti-Catholic.