Theobald Stapleton facts for kids

Theobald Stapleton, also known as Teabóid Gálldubh (born 1589 – died September 13, 1647), was an Irish Catholic priest. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland.

Not much is known about his early life, but we know he was an Irish priest who lived in a place called Flanders (modern-day Belgium).

Helping Irish Students

Theobald Stapleton helped start two important schools for Irish students. These were the Irish College in Seville (Spain) in 1612 and another in Madrid (Spain) in 1629. These colleges helped Irish students study to become priests.

A Special Book: The Catechism

In 1639, Theobald published a special book called a catechism. A catechism is a book that teaches people about their religion. He wrote this book in Early Modern Irish. His goal was to help more people use the Irish language in religious writings.

This book was very important because it was the first Catholic book where the Irish language was printed using a clear, modern style of letters called antiqua type. The book was published in Brussels. Its full Latin name was Catechismus seu doctrina christiana latino-hibernica. In Irish, it was called Cathcismus sen Adhon, an Teagasc Críostaí iar na foilsiú a Laidin & a Ngaoilaig.

Making Irish Easier to Read

Stapleton's catechism also tried to make Irish spelling simpler. He wanted to help people who were not as educated learn to read Irish more easily.

For example, in his system, silent letters were removed. The old spelling ⟨idhe⟩ in the word suidhe (meaning 'sitting') became ⟨í⟩ in suí, which is how it is spelled in modern Irish. He also made spelling closer to how words sounded. For instance, ⟨thbh⟩ in uathbhás (meaning 'terror') was changed to ⟨f⟩, making it uafás, like in modern Irish.

However, only writers of religious books used his new spelling system. The older, classical spelling stayed in use until the 20th century.

His Final Days

On September 13, 1647, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Theobald Stapleton was at the cathedral in Cashel. This event is known as the Sack of Cashel. He was captured by soldiers known as Parliamentarians, who were led by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin. Theobald Stapleton was killed there.

Because of his death for his faith, Pope John Paul II honored him in 1991. In 1992, the Pope officially recognized him as "Blessed Theobald Stapleton."