Welsh Journals

'A Man of the World': John Evans, Bishop of Meath, 1716-24 E. D. Evans The overthrow of the Jacobite government and parliament following defeat in 1689 was followed by the imposition of Protestant dominion in Ireland in both State and Church, with the Church being assigned an active role in the process. The Anglican Church of Ireland was the established church, saddled not only with the task of maintaining an alien religion in a hostile community, but also in contending with divisiveness within itself. P. M. McNally has admirably described this as a conflict of interests between English and Irish parties within the Church. The aim of this paper is to inject a more personal element into the conflict, since personalities as well as interests contributed largely to it. The career of William King, archbishop of Dublin, and his role in the public life of his times, has been amply represented.2 Little, however, has been said about his greatest adversary, John Evans, elevated to the bishopric of Meath from Bangor, Wales, in 1716. The task of the ecclesiastical historian of this period has been rendered more difficult by the destruction in 1922 of the records of the Church of Ireland housed at the Four Courts in Dublin. One fruitful source, not amply used heretofore, is the collection of Archbishop Wake's papers at Christ Church library, Oxford. During the nine years in which John Evans was bishop of Meath he corresponded regularly and copiously with William Wake, archbishop of Canterbury, and the collection forms a valuable primary source of information from someone who was deeply involved in the conflict. The collections of Jonathan Swift's letters and works edited by I. Ehrenpreis, L. A. Landa and H. Williams mentioned in the references have also been of use. I John Evans had already been bishop of Bangor for fourteen years when he was translated to Meath in 1716.3 As a native of Caemarfonshire he was among his own people who were both devoted to the Anglican Church and loyal to the British crown. He also spoke their language and clearly identified himself with the native culture. In one respect only was he at odds with the