M.D., William Cumming, president of the Royal Hibernian Academy, and Father Mathew, the 'Apostle of Temperance.' His subject-pictures included 'Battle of the Nile' and 'Trafalgar.' 1825; 'Mary Stuart's Farewell to France,' 1826 (engraved); 'Jacques and the Wounded Stag,' 1880; 'Escape of Mary Queen of Scots from Loch Leven Castle,' 1887 (painted for Lord Egremont), 'Lady Jane Grey summoned to Execution,' 1844. Between 1837 and 1843 Leahy resided in Italy, and in Rome painted a portrait of John Gibson, R A. Alter his return he exhibited a few Italian subjects, and appeared at the Academy for the last time in 1863. He died at Brighton on 9 Feb. 1875. Leahy's portrait of Father Mathew, painted at Cork in 1846, is now in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Graves's Dict. of Artists, 1760-1880; Royal Academy and British Institution Catalogues; National Portrait Gallery Cat.]
LEAHY, PATRICK (1806–1875), archbishop of Cashel, son of Patrick Leahy, civil engineer and county surveyor of Cork, was born near Thurles, co. Tipperary, on 31 May 1806, and was educated at Maynooth. On his ordination he became Roman catholic curate of a small parish in the diocese of Cashel. He was soon appointed professor in St. Patrick's College at Thurles, and shortly afterwards president of that institution. On 22 Aug. 1850 he was one of the secretaries of the synod or national council of Thurles, and was afterwards appointed parish priest of Thurles and vicar-general of the diocese of Cashel. When the catholic university was opened in Dublin in 1854, he was selected for the office of vice-rector under Dr. J. H. (afterwards Cardinal) Newman, the rector, and filled a professor's chair. He was elected archbishop of Cashel 27 April 1857 and consecrated on 29 June. In 1866 and 1867 he was deputed, with the Bishop of Clonfert, to conduct the negotiations with Lord Mayo, the chief secretary for Ireland, with respect to the proposed endowment of the Roman catholic university. He was a strong advocate of the cause of temperance, and enforced the Sunday closing of the public-houses in his diocese. Owing to his energy the fine cathedral at Thurles was built at a cost of 45,000l. He died at the episcopal residence near Thurles 26 Jan. 1875, and was buried in Thurles Cathedral on 3 Feb. He was remarkable for his dignified bearing and uniform courtesy.
[Times, 27 Jan. 1875, p. 12, 28 Jan. p. 12; Illustrated London News, 6 Feb. 1875, p. 139; Cashel Gazette, 30 Jan. and 6, 13 Feb. 1875; Webb's Compendium of Irish Biography, 1878, p. 287.]
LEAKE. [See also Leeke.]
LEAKE, Sir ANDREW (d. 1704), captain in the navy, son of Aidrew Leake, merchant, of Lowestoft, was, by the marriage of his sister Margaret, closely connected with Admiral Sir John Ashby [q. v.] and with Vice-admiral James Mighells, comptroller of the navy (Gillingwater, Hist. of Lowestoft, pp. 401, 410). On 7 Aug. 1690 he was promoted to be commander of the Roebuck fireship. He took post from 9 Jan. 1690-1, though during the following spring and summer he was in command of the Fox fireship. During the rest of the war he successively commanded the Greenwich, the Lancaster, and the Canterbury, all in the Channel, without any opportunity of distinction. Through 1698 he was unemployed, and is said to have busied himself in collecting funds for rebuilding the church at Lowestoft. In 1699 and 1/00 he was commodore of the squadron on the Newfoundland station for the protection of the fishery and the convoy of the trade thence to Cadiz, and the Mediterranean. In January 1701-2 he was appointed to the Torbay, as flag-captain to Vice-admiral Thomas Hopsonn [q. v.], with whom he served during the campaign of 1702, in the abortive attempt on Cadiz, and the capture or destruction of the Franco-Spanish fleet at Vigo in October. For his service on this occasion he was knighted. From February to May 1703 he commanded the Ranelagh at the Nore, and in May was appointed to the Grafton, one of the fleet sent to the Mediterranean under Sir Clowdisley Shovell {q. v.], and again in 1704 under Sir George Kooke [q. v.] The Grafton was one of the ships placed under the orders of Sir George Byng [q. v.] for the attack on Gibraltar, 22 July 1704, in which service she expended so much ammunition that in the battle of Malaga, where she was the leading ship of the red squadron, she ran short, and was obliged to quit the line. Before this Leake had been mortally wounded. After his wound had been dressed he had himself carried on the quarter-deck and placed in an armchair, where he died. 'From the grace and comeliness of his person,' he is said to have been called 'Queen Anne's handsome captain.'
[Charnock's Biog. Nav. ii. 331; commission and warrant books and official letters in the Public Record Office; Lediard's Naval Hist.]
