, an Irishman by birth, was born in the county of Kerry in 1595,
, an Irishman by birth, was born in the
county of Kerry in 1595, and became a Dominican, adopting the name of Dominicus a Rosario. He was at first
educated in a convent of his order at Tralee, but studied
principally in Flanders. The fame which he acquired for
learning and piety procured him an invitation to Lisbpn, to
assist in founding a convent for the Irish Dominicans,
which had been projected by Philip IV. then master of
Portugal. This being accomplished, he was elected the
first superior. He also assisted at the foundation of a second, for the natives of Ireland, and so entirely gained
the good opinion and confidence of the duke of Braganza
when he ascended the throne, that in 1655, his majesty
honoured him with the appointment of ambassador to
Louis XIV. of France, to negociate a treaty of alliance and
affinity between the two courts. At Paris he was equally
valued in the character of churchman and statesman, and
became highly popular by his works of piety and charity.
He died at Lisbon June 30, 1662, and was interred in the
chapel of his convent, with a monument and inscription;
from which we learn that at the time of his death he was
bishop elect of Coimbra. He had before refused the
archbishopric of Goa. Among his ecclesiastical dignities,
he was censor of the inquisition, visitor-general and vicargeneral of the kingdom. One book only of his is known,
which is probably a very curious one, “Initium, incrementum, et exitus fainiliae Giraldinorum Desmoniae comitum.
Palatinorum Kyerria in Hibernia, ac persecutionis hsereticorum descriptio, ex nonnullis fragmentis collecta'ac latinitate donata,
” Lisbon,