DE BURGO, Thomas. Hibernia Dominicana. Sive historia provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis praedicatorum, Ex antiquis Manuscriptis, probatis Auctoribus, Literis Originalibus nunquam antehac impressis, Instrumentis authenticis, & Archivis, alijsque invictae Fidei Monumentis deprompta. In Qua Nedum omnia, quae ad memoratam attinent Provinciam, & Caenobia ejus, tam intra quam extra Regnum Hiberniae constituta (interjectis singulorum Fundatorum Genealogjis) arque Alumnos ipsius, seu Dignitate Episcopali, seu Munere Provinciali, seu Librorum Vulgatione, seu Martyrio, publicave Virtutis Opinione claros, succincte distincteque exhibentur. Sed Etiam Plura Regulares generatim sumptos, Clerumque Saecularem, necnon & Res Civiles Hiberniae, atque etiam Magnae Britanniae spectantia, sparsim appositeque, adjectis insuper Notis opportunis, inseruntur, & in perspicuo Ordine collocantur. Per P. Thomam de Burgo, praelibati Ordinis Alumnum, S. Theologiae Magistrum, & Protonotarium Apostolicum, necnon Hiberniae Dominicanae Historiographum, postea. With: Supplementum Hiberniӕ Dominicanӕ.

HISTORIAN OF THE IRISH DOMINICANS WITH RARE SUPPRESSED LEAVES

Two volumes. Cologne: Ex Typographia Metternichiana sub Signo Gryphi Anno, 1762. Cum Permissu Superiorum, & Privilegio Sacrae Caesareae Majestatis. Quarto. pp. xvi, 797; 807-949, [1]. Later half vellum on marbled boards; And ‘Supplementum’ in old worn calf, titles in gilt. Ex lib Carmelite Convent, Dublin, with old inscription and neat circular stamp. In very good condition. Rare with Supplementum. €2,250
JISC with 10 locations only. ESTC T36179.
It is generally accepted that the Cologne imprint is false and that this work was printed in Ireland. O Casaide in the ‘Bibliographical Society of Ireland’, mentions a copy with the imprint of Jacobus Stokes of Kilkenny.
Thomas Burke (in Latin - De Burgo), born in Dublin c.1710, was a descendant of the Clanricarde Burkes of Galway, and became a member of the Dominican Order in Rome in 1726. He compiled offices for the festival of Irish saints, which was published in Dublin in 1751 under the title of Officia Propria Sanctorum Hiberniӕ, and in the following year he published at Dublin A Catechism, Moral and Controversial.
In the preface to this work we are told that the Dominicans decreed in 1748 that each province of the Order should elect an historiographer who would compile its history. In 1753, while engaged upon a Latin work on dogmatic theology, the Provincial Chapter of the Irish Dominicans unanimously elected Thomas for the task. Without delay he wrote to Superiors of Dominican Houses all over the country seeking information and transcriptions of any papers or manuscripts in their possession. He carried out meticulous research throughout the libraries of Dublin. He also examined records and monuments of all kinds, and consulted the old people. Oral tradition has always been a valuable source of Irish history. Burke met people in various parts of the country who remembered, or had been told by people older than themselves, what had happened, for instance, in 1685 when James II ascended the throne and everything looked good for a Catholic revival. The Dominicans donned their white habits in public, assembled in chapters and looked forward to religious freedom once more.
His magnum opus took four years to complete. It is much more than a history of the Dominican Order in Ireland: “It abounds in asides and sidelights and digressions which give it an extraordinary fascination for the reader; while the valuable documents which its author is careful to insert at every stage of his narrative give it paramount importance for the study of Irish history, especially for the second half of the eighteenth century when the church in Ireland could be said to be emerging with much cautious groping from the catacombs” (Thomas Wall). The last chapter is devoted to an account of the depressed state of the Irish Catholics and of their sufferings under the penal legislation of Henry VIII. In 1759 Thomas was appointed bishop of Ossory and left Dublin to take up residence in Kilkenny, the Cathedral city of his diocese. The list of subscribers is of interest, with a Kilkenny local bias. Out of a total of 180 names, the Dominicans make up the largest group, followed by the Franciscans. Seven Irish bishops are also on the list including the author’s first cousin Mark Skerrett, Archbishop of Tuam; and several members of the Burke clan, presumably his relations.
Owing to the Penal Laws against Catholics in Ireland the political tendency of portions of Hibernia Dominicana was regarded with apprehension by some of the Irish prelates. In July, 1775 a formal declaration, in relation to the book and its supplement, was signed by James Butler, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cashel and six other bishops. In this document they stated that the publication had occasioned general uneasiness and alarm in Ireland: “weaken allegiance ... disturb the public peace ... sow the seeds of dissention ... and give a handle to those who differ in religious principles from us”. They ordered that certain pages (pp.137-146) should be excised from the book. This action did not have the desired effect, for it ensured immortality for this work and its greatest claim to fame is to have been thus expurgated. This copy is complete with (pp.137-146) and with the Supplementum in a separate volume.

[Cat 161]