Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Quælly, Malachias

​QUÆLLY, MALACHIAS (d. 1645), archbishop of Tuam, called by Irish writers Maelseachlainn Ua Cadhla, by Colgan Queleus, and erroneously by Carte, O'Kelly, was son of Donatus Quælly, and was born in Clare. He belonged to a family which ruled Connemara till 1238, when they were conquered by the O'Flaherties. He became a student at the college of Navarre in Paris, and there graduated D.D. He returned to Ireland, became vicar-apostolic of Killaloe, and on 11 Oct. 1631 was consecrated archbishop of Tuam, in succession to Florence Conroy [q. v.], at Galway, by Thomas Walsh, archbishop of Cashel, Richard Arthur, bishop of Limerick, and Baeghalach Mac Aedhagain, bishop of Elphin. In 1632 he presided at a council held at Galway to enforce the decrees of the council of Trent in Ireland. He caused the ancient wooden figure of St. Mac Dara in the church of Cruachmic Dara, co. Galway, to be buried on the island, probably in consequence of some superstitious proceedings to which it had given rise. He attended the assembly of the confederate catholics at Kilkenny in 1645, and Innocent X recommended him by letter to Rinuccini as a man to be trusted. He wrote to John Colgan [q. v.] an interesting account of the Isles of Arran, describing their churches, which had not then been desecrated. It is printed in Colgan's ‘Acta Sanctorum Hiberniæ’ (p. 714), and is translated in Hardiman's edition of Roderic O'Flaherty's ‘Description of West Connaught.’ He raised a body of fighting men in Galway and Mayo, and joined the forces of Sir James Dillon, near Ballysadare, co. Sligo. On Sunday, 26 Oct. 1645, Viscount Taafe and Dillon dined with Quælly, and while they were dining the Irish forces were attacked by Sir Charles Coote, Sir William Cole, and Sir Francis Hamilton, ​and put to flight. The archbishop's secretary, Tadhg O'Connell, was slain in trying to save his master, and the archbishop himself was first wounded by a pistol-shot, and then cut down, being tall, fat, and unwieldy. Glamorgan's agreement with the confederate catholics and a letter from Charles I were found in his pocket (Carte, bk. iv.). Walter Lynch on the Irish side gave 30l. for his body, which was carried to Tuam. It was reburied some time later by Brigit, lady Athenry, but the tomb is no longer known. Dr. Edmund Meara or O'Meara [q. v.] wrote an epitaph for him in Latin verse, but failed to discover his burial-place.

N. M.