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his kingdom to his nephew. During his reigu, the Danish bishopric of Dublin was created, and the foundations of Christ Church Cathedral were laid. '■*^
Skeffington, Sir WiUiam, was in 1529 appointed by Henry VII. com- missioner to Ireland — " to restrain the exactions of the soldiers ; to call a parlia- ment ; and to provide that the possessions of the clergy might be subject to bear their part of the public charge." This com- mission he discharged to the entire satisfaction of the King, and he received the honour of knighthood. Next year he was made Lord-Deputy to the Duke of E,ichmoud, and signalized his appointment by marching against O'More and O'Conor. In 1 531 "he neglected not the service of the publick, but . . made an inroad into Ulster, and having taken and demolished O'Neill's Castle of Kinard, destroyed the neighbouring territories, burned the vil- lages, and thereby terrified O'Dounell into a submission." ^'* A violent enmity existed between him and the Earl of Kildare, who procured his recall in the following year. On the breaking out of the insurrection under Thomas FitzGerald, Sir William was again made Lord-Deputy, landed at Dublin on iith October 1534, with a well furnished army, and " was received by the mayor and citizens with great joy, to whom he delivered the King's letters of thanks for their approved fidelity." On 28th October he raised the siege of Drogheda, and next spring reduced Maynooth by the aid of his heavy ordnance. In July 1535 he concluded a treaty with Con O'Neill at Drogheda, and received him into favour. He died in Dublin on the 31st of Decem- ber 1535, and was buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Amongst the Irish, Sir William was known as " The Gunner," on ac- count of the extent to which he employed artillery in reducing their strongholds. The Massareene family are his descen- dants. ^ 311
Skelton, Philip, Rev., author and philanthropist, was born in the parish of Derryaghy, near Lisburn, in February iyo6-7.' His father was a farmer, gun- smith, and tauner. Philip entered Trinity College, Dublin, as a sizar, under Dr. Delany, in 1724, passed through his course with credit, commenced Bachelor of Arts in 1728, and was shortly afterwards or- dained on being nominated to a curacy at Drummully, near Newtownbutler. In addition to the duties of the cure, he taught the children of his rector, Dr. Samuel Madden, known as " Premium Madden." In 1732 he obtained a curacy at Monaghan, at j£40 a year ; in 1 750 was 20*
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given the vicarage of Pettigo, a remote and then very uncivilized parish in Donegal ; in 1759 he was removed to the parish of Devenish, near Ennis- killen, worth .£300 a year ; and in 1766 made his last change to Fintona, in the County of Tyrone. Mr. Skelton was never married. He was the author of numerous sermons which had a large circulation, and of Deism Revealed, an important work, published in London in 1749. He had previously published Some Proposals for the Revival of Christianity/, which was attributed to Swift. His ser- mons were warmly commended by Wesley and other divines, and were as eagerly listened to by London audiences as by his own simple parishioners. Clapham says : " In his reasoning he is as clear as Sher- lock, in his warnings as solemn as Seeker, in his piety as engaging as Porteus, and in his exhortations as vehement as De- mosthenes." One who heard him at St. Werburgh's, Dublin, tells how he was made to " shiver in his place," at his de- scription of the torments of hell. He was bitterly opposed to all dissent, yet was the friend of Wesley when he visited Ireland to preach. In character he was simple and chivalrously honest. In manners he was outspoken, if not uncouth and rude, and he was careless in his dress. His biographer says, " he was of large gigantic size." He was an adept at cud- gels and the use of his fists, and was not backward in the use of either when he considered occasion required — whether to chastise the insolence of a young officer, to protect the property of his parishioners, or to pretend to destroy an evil spirit about which a sick old woman consulted him. His whole life was one of self- devotion. He lived on the sparest diet. Even when he had but .£40 a year, he de- voted a large part of his stipend to the relief of the suffering poor. His books were almost his sole amusement ; yet he sold them to relieve the poor in a period of famine, and when an admirer sent him money to buy them back he devoted it also to the purchase of food for those in want. He was extremely fond of flowers, and would send twenty miles for a curious specimen. Philip Skelton died in Dublin (whither he had gone on account of a painful ailment), 4th May 1787, aged 80, and was buried in St. Peter's church- yard. His Life by Samuel Burdy, is a most entertaining work, illustrative of the semi-civilized condition of parts of Ireland during the eighteenth century. '^ ^ost
Sloane, Sir Hans, Bart., M.D., an eminent physician, founder of the coUection 483
