Paul Cullen, Newman and the Catholic University of Ireland

The history of the Catholic University of Ireland has been overshadowed by its first rector, John Henry Newman. This work paints a portrait of CUI’s history by focusing on the university itself and on the influence of Paul Cullen, archbishop of Armagh and then Dublin. Most historians have based their treatments of the CUI on Newman’s correspondence and writings, and have tended to accept Newman’s understanding of his role in Dublin and his relationship with Cullen – creative visionary, frustrated at every turn by the obscurantist, ultra-montane Cullen. This work restores Cullen’s role in the founding and history of the University using previously unavailable sources and by relocating the history of the Catholic University in its Irish context.