On this day in 1902, Archbishop Thomas Croke died aged 79. He served as Archbishop of Cashel/Emly diocese from 1875 until his death. He is buried in the Cathedral in Thurles. Croke Park in Dublin is named after him.
Born in 1823 near Kanturk, Croke was heavily influenced by his uncle Thomas Croke, parish priest in Charleville. He spent time in Belgium, Italy and France as a young priest before coming back to Ireland. He served as his uncle’s curate in Charleville and was later moved to Midleton and Mallow. He was appointed Parish Priest of Doneraile in 1866. In 1870, he was nominated as Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand where he spent over four years. Upon his return to Ireland in 1875, he was hoping to be appointed to the bishopric of Cloyne but was instead posted to Cashel, whose archbishop, Patrick Leahy, had died on 26 January of that year.
During his career, Croke acquired a reputation as a preacher who mixed nationalist rhetoric with religious fervour. He corresponded with the leaders of the Irish home-rulers, Isaac Butt and later Charles Stewart Parnell. He also campaigned for the rights of Irish tenant farmers. His political views were held in check somewhat by Cardinal Paul Cullen, who rebuked Croke for getting too involved in politics. But after Cullen’s death in 1878, Croke pursued his political interests actively at a time when agrarian and home-rule questions were paramount.
In September 1879, he wrote the first of many of his public letters in support of Parnell. Unlike most bishops, Croke encouraged his clergy to play an active political role and consequently, Cashel priests were prominent in the Land League as local patrons or organisers. Croke himself was enthusiastic in his support for the Plan of Campaign- under which agricultural tenants withheld rents from their landlord. A papal envoy visiting Ireland in 1887 to investigate the role played by ecclesiastics in agrarian agitation concluded that ‘Croke’s mania for political affairs destroys all of his good qualities’. The Parnellite split in the Home Rule party in 1890 greatly disillusioned Croke and he played little part in politics in his last 10 years.
Following its founding in 1884, Croke devoted much energy to the GAA. The letter he wrote on 18 December 1884 accepting the position of patron has been seen as the GAA’s charter. His championing of the association was acknowledged in 1913 when the GAA named its main Dublin sportsground Croke Park.
Sources:
https://www.dib.ie/biography/croke-thomas-william-a2193
