{{Short description|Irish Roman Catholic prelate and mathematician}} {{EngvarB|date=December 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Bishop | honorific_prefix = The Most Reverend | name = Bishop Cornelius Denvir | title = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor]] | image = | alt = | caption = | church = [[Catholic Church]] | archdiocese = | diocese = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor|Diocese of Down and Connor]] | see = | term = 1835 - 1866; (died) | predecessor = [[William Crolly]] | successor = [[Patrick Dorrian]] <!-- Orders --> | ordination = 31 May 1814 | consecration = 22 Nov 1835 | consecrated_by = [[William Crolly]]
<!-- Personal details --> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1791|8|13|df=y}} | birth_place = [[County Down]] | death_date = 10 July 1866 | death_place = [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]] | previous_post = | motto = }} {{Infobox bishopstyles | name=Cornelius Denvir | dipstyle=[[The Most Reverend]] | offstyle=[[Excellency#Ecclesiastical use|Your Lordship]] ''or'' Bishop | relstyle=[[Bishop]] | deathstyle=not applicable }}
'''Cornelius Denvir''' (1791–1866) was an Irish [[Roman Catholic]] [[prelate]], mathematician, [[Physicist|natural philosopher]] and former [[Down and Connor|Lord Bishop of Down and Connor]]. He is noted for ministering in [[Belfast]] amidst growing [[Sectarian violence among Christians|sectarian tension]], taking a moderate and non-confrontational stance, to the annoyance of his pro-Catholic followers.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Connolly|first=S. J.|year=2012|title=Like an old cathedral city: Belfast welcomes Queen Victoria, August 1849|journal=Urban History|volume=39 |issue=4|pages=588|doi=10.1017/S0963926812000375|s2cid=146262768}}</ref> He was also a professor at [[St Patrick's College, Maynooth|Maynooth College]] as well as [[St. Malachy's College|Down and Connor Diocesan College]], and was active in the local scientific community.
==Early life== Cornelius Denvir was born on 13 August 1791 in [[Ballyculter]], County Down. He was educated at Dr. Nelson's Classical School in [[Downpatrick]], being described by peers as an enthusiastic child with a love for sight-seeing. According to one biographer, young Denvir also showed interest in the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church|Catechism]] by attending local visits from the then [[Bishop of Down and Connor]] Patrick MacMullan who was resident in Downpatrick.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Bishops of Down and Connor, Being the Fifth Volume of An Historical Account of Down and Connor, Ancient and Modern|last=O'Laverty|first=James|publisher=James Duffy & co|year=1895|location=Dublin|pages=595–608}}</ref> In September 1808, Denvir enrolled at Maynooth College, and was appointed chair of [[Natural Philosophy]] and [[Mathematics]] there in August 1813.
Denvir was ordained first as deacon in June 1813, then a priest in May 1814, performing his liturgical duties in conjunction with his academic ones. In 1826, Denvir left Maynooth College to become the [[Parish priest]] of [[Downpatrick]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1833 he became a professor at the newly founded [[St. Malachy's College]], teaching classes in [[Latin]], [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] and [[Mathematics]]. He continued his duties as parish priest and professor until 1835, when he was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor in succession to [[William Crolly]].<ref name=":0" />
==Ministry== ===Bishop of Down and Connor=== As 22nd [[Down and Connor|Lord Bishop of Down and Connor]], Denvir emphasised the teaching of the Catechism to youth as well as emphasising the importance of scripture to the diocese.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Doyle, Mark. ''Fighting Like The Devil for the Sake of God: Protestants, Catholics, And The Origins Of Violence In Belfast, 1850–1865.'' Aug 2006.</ref> In 1841 he helped fund the start of construction of [[St Malachy's Church, Belfast|St Malachy's Church]] in Belfast, which was completed in 1845.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In his later years, Denvir fell under criticism by other Belfast Catholics, who claimed Denvir was neglectful of his duties, especially those relating to expanding and defending Catholicism in the face of growing Protestant influence. Some accounts attribute Denvir's shortcomings to poor health and temperament,<ref name=":1" /> while others suggest that Denvir backed away from expansion to avoid conflict with [[Protestantism in Ireland|Protestant]] groups.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Finnegan|first1=Diarmid|last2=Wright|first2=Jonathan|date=June 2015|title=Catholics, science, and civic culture in Victorian Belfast|journal=The British Journal for the History of Science |volume=48 |issue=2|pages=261–87|doi=10.1017/S0007087414000594|pmid=25921682|s2cid=33692244|url=https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/files/16263953/Finnegan_and_Wright_Catholics_Science_and_Civic_Culture_Accepted_Manuscript.pdf}}</ref>
Denvir suffered from personal finance problems during his time as Bishop. The construction of St Malachy's Church put him into deep personal debt, which he was apparently arrested for some time after 1844. Denvir was also criticised for selling seats in the newly constructed church to offset costs. He was also described as reluctant in asking for funds from parishioners, severely limiting his resources with which to care for the church.<ref name=":0" />
After years of illness compounded by age, in 1860 Denvir was assigned [[Patrick Dorrian]] as a [[Coadjutor bishop|coadjutor]] to assist in his episcopal duties.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> While ill health may have been the predominant reason for the appointment of a coadjutor, contemporary newspaper accounts suggest there may also have been an ideological reason for the appointment. In [[The Spectator]] it was noted in December 1859 'it may be, because he (Denvir) is too liberal for the Cullen epoch.' <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/3rd-december-1859/7/ireland|title=IRELAND. » 3 Dec 1859 » the Spectator Archive}}</ref>
In May 1865, Denvir resigned as Bishop and was succeeded by Dorrian.<ref name=":0" /> Denvir died one year later on 10 July 1866, in his residence on Donegall St, after suffering from fainting fits a few days prior. He was buried in Ballycruttle Church.<ref name=":0" />
===Commissioner of National Education=== Denvir was appointed Commissioner of National Education in 1853. He is noted for being supportive of non-denominational education and investigating reports of [[proselytism]] in public primary education. He later resigned this position in 1857 on request of the Holy See to focus on expanding the local Catholic school system.<ref name=":1" />
===Professor and Scientist=== As chair of mathematics and natural philosophy at Maynooth, Denvir is noted for changing the style of education at the college from pure logic-based reasoning in Mathematics to a more holistic, topical approach. He is also noted for emphasising experimentation and the importance of the [[scientific method]] in teaching natural philosophy, with several sources noting his well-stocked labs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Silke|first=JJ|year=1987|title=Cornelius Denvir and the 'Spirit of Fear'|journal=Irish Theological Quarterly|volume=53|issue=2|pages=130–143|doi=10.1177/002114008705300204|s2cid=170842444}}</ref>
===Other roles=== Aside from his duties as a professor, Denvir owned a large [[Galvanization|galvanised]] battery, which he loaned out for experimentation and public spectacle. He was also active in the local scientific community, becoming a member of the Natural History and Philosophical Society and the Chemico-Agricultural society of Ulster. One notable feature about Denvir's scientific activity is that it led him to meet frequently with other ministers from different [[Christian denomination|denominations]], an irregularity at the time.<ref name=":3" />
==Legacy== While at Maynooth College Denvir taught both [[Nicholas Callan]], the inventor and physicist, and [[Dominic Corrigan]], the noted Irish physician.<ref>[http://www.ucc.ie/academic/undersci/pages/sci_nicholascallan.htm] Reville, William. Nicholas Callan: Priest Scientist at Maynooth. University College, Cork. The Irish Times, 21 February 2002. 7 May 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.eoinobrien.org/books/O%27Brien%20E.%20Conscience%20and%20Conflict.%20Dominic%20Corrigan.pdf Conscience and Conflict, A BIOGRAPHY OF SIR DOMINIC CORRIGAN(1802–1880) by Eoin O'Brien (THE GLENDALE PRESS, DUBLIN)]</ref> According to several accounts, both spoke fondly of their old professor, to the point of Callan gifting Denvir one of his [[induction coil]]s in thanks.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Casey|first=Michael|year=1982|title=Nicholas Callan-priest, professor, and scientist|journal=Physics Education|volume=17|issue=5|pages=224–234|bibcode=1982PhyEd..17..224C|doi=10.1088/0031-9120/17/5/307|url=http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/1767/1/CaseyCallan.pdf}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bdenvir.html Denvir at The Catholic-Hierarchy ] {{Subject bar |portal1= Biography |portal2= Catholicism |portal3= Ireland|portal4= History}} {{Roman Catholic Bishops of Down and Connor}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Denvir, Cornelius}} [[Category:1791 births]] [[Category:1866 deaths]] [[Category:19th-century Irish mathematicians]] [[Category:Irish physicists]] [[Category:Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth]] [[Category:Academics of St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth]] [[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland]] [[Category:Christian clergy from County Down]] [[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Down and Connor]]