St. Nicholas Church in Galway, County Galway, Ireland. Image © Conor Riordan.

Spring 2010  |  By Conor Riordan, Mysterious World Reporter: Ireland

The Collegiate Church and Wardenship

ince the early 12th century the organisational structure of the Irish Church has been characterised by the Roman diocesan system. The ecclesiastical area of Galway, however, differed from the rest of the country in that it became known as the Wardenship. By the 15th century the Parish Church of St. Nicholas Galway was under the jurisdiction of the Diocese and Archbishop of Tuam. In the year 1484 the town and people of Galway made an application to the Archbishop for a new ecclesiastical structure. This request was granted by Archbishop Donatus O Murray who elevated the Church of St. Nicholas to a self-governing Collegiate Church. The following year this agreement was confirmed by Papal Bull from Pope Innocent VIII in Rome. Thus from 1485 there began a new era of ecclesiastical or religious freedom for Galway. The newly constituted Collegiate Church would be governed by a Warden (senior priest) and eight Vicars (parish priests) who were in turn elected by the Mayor and Corporation (local government) of the town. This religious and corporate body came to reside in a building known as the College House which once stood just west of the Collegiate Church; the old college house was demolished in the early 19th century, its site now occupied by an open market area.

Reformation, Conflict and Change

The 16th century in Ireland saw the introduction of the Reformation and in 1538 the first of the Tudor Deputies Lord Grey arrived in Galway to enforce the royal supremacy; the town and clergy were to renounce their allegiance to the pope and acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the church. Following the Dissolution of the Franciscan, Dominican and Augustinian monasteries, the town formally surrendered the church of St. Nicholas to the crown. At the same time a petition was sent with a request to preserve and confirm the status of the collegiate body or wardenship. In 1551 a charter of confirmation was granted by Edward VI and henceforth the college house was to be known as the Royal College of Galway. Later during the reign of Elizabeth I both the Corporation and Wardenship of Galway officially passed into protestant hands.

Even after the reformation an underground Catholic corporation and wardenship continued to meet in secret and existed side by side with the new Protestant establishment. During this time also the church of St. Nicholas was handed over to the new protestant clergy and remained under their control except for two short intervals later in the 17th century. During the 1641-52 Catholic rebellion in Ireland St. Nicholas church again reverted to Catholic ownership for a short period of nine years. Later in 1685 the Catholic monarch James II ascended to the throne of England and in 1688 the Catholic corporation again became legalised in Galway. King James II also granted a royal charter which empowered the town to elect a new and official Catholic wardenship. On the 1st of August 1689 Henry Browne was elected as warden and soon after the collegiate church of St. Nicholas was again delivered into Catholic hands.

History and Legend

In the following year 1690 a vicar named John Bodkin replaced the deceased Henry Browne as Catholic warden of St. Nicholas church. Meanwhile the pro-Catholic policies of King James had gradually alienated his subjects and following the birth of a royal heir the English political élite invited his son-in-law William of Orange to take the English throne. James was succeeded in 1689 by his protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William after which he was forced to flee to France. That same year James landed in Ireland with French support determined to use the country as a stepping stone to recover his throne in England. However King William defeated James and his army at the battle of the Boyne in 1690. Following the defeat James again fled to France while William pushed his military campaign towards remaining Jacobite strongholds in the west of Ireland. The townspeople of Galway had remained loyal to James and on the 19th of July 1691 the Williamite army appeared before the town. After intense negotiations the besieged town had no option but to surrender to William's forces however one of the principal articles in the terms of surrender was that the town would not be occupied by the English army until Sunday the 26th of July. This eventful day was to finally mark the end of Catholic ownership of St. Nicholas collegiate church when Warden John Bodkin was compelled to hand over the keys to the new protestant establishment. The final handing back of the church keys has become part of Galway legend and folklore for according to tradition, warden Bodkin is said to have prayed, "My God, that my right hand may not decay until the keys of this church be restored to the proper owners."

The beautiful, traditional interior of St. Nicholas Church still hides many secrets. Image © Conor Riordan.

Death and Burial

Despite being banished from the church of St. Nicholas in 1691 members of the Catholic hierarchy continued to be buried in their family vaults within the collegiate church. Even during the religious intolerance of the 18th century this arrangement continued and with the death of John Bodkin in about 1707 the old warden was buried in a vault beneath the church floor. The last prayer of Warden Bodkin was not forgotten however and over time the Catholic faithful came to reminisce and pray at his tomb. In the years following the burial it was found that the body of John Bodkin had remained in a state of preservation within the tomb. During the 18th century the warden's coffin had to be replaced three times and in about 1738 some covering flags collapsed into the vault damaging both the nose and toes. Despite these events John Bodkin's tomb remained a place of pilgrimage while some visitors even wished to view the remains. This was usually done by bribing the sexton (caretaker) in order to gain entry to the vault by a secret underground passage from the high altar floor. In the year 1813 the preserved body of the warden was given a thorough examination by a sexton of the church named Mr. Read. The sexton wrote an account of what he saw on a piece of parchment, placed it with the body inside the coffin after which the burial vault was sealed.

The Vault Re-opened

In the year 1838 the ecclesiastical board of St. Nicholas decided to carry out certain renovations to the church and directed that all the vaults and stone flags should be brought to one level and comprise part of the church floor. A Dublin building firm secured the contract of repairs and they in turn sub-contracted the stone work to a local Galway craftsman called Henry Clare. The Clare family were stonemasons and makers of funerary monuments and had a workshop at the rear of No.35 Forster Street Galway. That March as work progressed past the south aisle many older town residents began to frequent the church while pointing out to workmen the sealed entrance to Warden Bodkin's tomb. With growing excitement it was decided to re-open the burial vault and soon after the foreman Mr. Clare became the first to descend.

According to Henry Clare's account, on entering the tomb he witnessed the body of a man all perfect except for the eyes, toes and top of the nose. The teeth were perfect and white and the skin discoloured but flexible and elastic. The left hand was also discoloured but the right hand had retained its natural colour and appeared perfect even to the fingernails. Enclosed within the warden's coffin was the written parchment signed by Sexton Read 25 years before. By now word had spread around the town and surrounding countryside and before long the crowd inside the church became so dense that it prevented the men from continuing their work. Many false reports and rumours began to circulate including one which stated that the warden's right hand was found holding the church keys firmly in its grasp. There was also much speculation and talk about the supernatural origins behind the preservation of the body after such a length of time. For the space of three days the number of visitors continued and on the evening of the third day the workmen covered the vault with boards and when finished returned the key of the church to the then sexton Henry Caddy. The next morning at 6am however, the foreman carpenter John McMahon arrived at the house of Mr. Clare in a state of agitation. He reported that during the night the tomb had been secretly re-entered and that the right hand of the warden had been cut off and thereafter removed from the church. Mr. McMahon stated that he was a Presbyterian and was therefore afraid to remain in the church for fear the blame be placed upon him. On their arrival to the church however, suspicion immediately fell upon the sexton Henry Caddy who then pleaded his innocence and denied any knowledge of the crime. With this refusal to cooperate some of the workmen took the law into their own hands, seized Mr. Caddy and threatened to throw him off the nearby West Bridge into the River Corrib.

Finally the sexton confessed that during the night he had given the church keys to Timothy Murray (town commissioner) and a certain Doctor McSweeney, but denied having taken part in the act. During the interrogation Mr. Caddy also admitted that another party of gentlemen had poured lime and sulphuric acid upon the body but that this action had only discoloured the remains. By midday news of events had spread and a much incensed and excited crowd had gathered around the church. Fearing possible mob violence Henry Clare tried to pacify the crowd and persuaded the people to allow him to secure the return of the warden's hand. With this mission in mind he then proceeded to the home of Dr. McSweeney who immediately and steadfastly denied possessing the hand but eventually admitted that it was in safe keeping at Timothy Murray's pawn shop. Before retrieving the hand Mr Clare decided to enlist the help of parish priest Rev. Roche after which an address was made to the anxious crowd promising the return of the stolen hand by 2pm that day. After this speech the crowd slowly and reluctantly dispersed but later returned at the appointed time in even greater numbers, all anxious to see the hand returned to its rightful place of rest.

The Relic Returned

After a long delay of two hours the Rev. Roche and Henry Clare finally arrived at 4pm by which time thousands of curious spectators had gathered in the narrow streets around St. Nicholas Church. The two men carried with them a parcel containing the warden's hand; however the night before the severed hand had been subjected to many mutilations. Whether through curiosity or scepticism the fingers had been cut off and the palm split into pieces as far as the wrist. It is not known what had motivated the men but it may be possible that they intended to sell the body parts as souvenirs or relics. In order to quell tensions and placate the angry crowd the foreman carpenter had a new coffin made and soon after the much disturbed but reunited body of John Bodkin was placed inside. The next day it was suggested that the remains of Warden Bodkin should be removed from St. Nicholas Church and secretly laid to rest in an alternative Catholic burial ground. On approaching Bishop Browne with the matter Henry Clare was then referred to the Vicar-General, Rev. Laurence O Donnell. After some deliberation the Vicar-General decided it more appropriate not to remove the remains and soon after the tomb was permanently sealed. It was furthermore decided that the Wardens grave would be left unmarked and hidden from the public, a decision which remains unchanged to this day. The legend of Warden Bodkin lives on however while the body lies presumably undisturbed and still in a state of preservation beneath the ancient church of St. Nicholas.

Conor Riordan (Dip.Archgy, Dip.LRS, BA Hons, and MA.) is founding director of Legend Quest and is a graduate of the National University of Ireland Galway, holding both bachelor and master’s degrees in History and Archaeology. He is also a Failte Ireland accredited local tour guide achieving a distinction on completion of his certificate. Conor has had a life time interest in legend, myth and folklore and has begun a quest to bring together a fascinating collection of world legends both online and in book form. To learn more about the myths and legends of ancient Galway, County Galway, Ireland, or to plan a tour of the area, visit Conor Riordan's website, http://www.legendquest.ie

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