Maguire, Dominic (d. 1707), catholic archbishop of Armagh. Nothing is known of Maguire's parentage or early life, although he was probably descended from a scion of the noble family of the Fermanagh Maguires. In 1678, when defending himself against charges of treason arising from Titus Oates's plot, Maguire claimed that he was born in Spain and had two brothers (Cornelius and Turlough) living in Ireland. An alumnus of the Dominican houses at Gola in the Clogher diocese and Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, he was professed by the venerable Father Owen O'Quigley and probably had received the habit at Coleraine for Gola. He finished his studies in Andalusia in Spain, and may have also studied in the Dominican province of Bethica. He went to England for a time, where he became honorary chaplain to the Spanish ambassador in London. He lived there until Innocent XI appointed him archbishop of Armagh, successor to Oliver Plunkett (qv), in 1684. His elevation was probably due to the influence of James, duke of York, (later James II (qv)). On his arrival in Ireland in April 1684, Maguire alarmed John Brenan (qv), archbishop of Cashel, by his lack of caution and discretion: he immediately proceeded to the primatial see and presented his credentials to Brian MacGurk (qv), vicar general of Armagh.
On the accession of James to the throne Maguire went with Patrick Tyrrell (qv), bishop of Clogher, to Westminster to pledge loyalty to their new sovereign, to congratulate him on the defeat of the duke of Monmouth and his rebellion, and to ask him for his protection. In May 1686 Maguire was back in Ireland, presiding over a meeting of eleven bishops in Dublin, which admitted the primacy of the see of Armagh. In spite of this, the lord lieutenant Clarendon (qv) informed the earl of Sunderland, secretary of state, that Maguire and Patrick Russell (qv), his counterpart in Dublin, did not agree. In January 1687 James II named Maguire as chaplain general to the army and authorised him to approve regimental chaplains. Maguire also obtained royal permission for the catholic hierarchy to wear their episcopal dress, though James would not permit them to wear their pectoral crosses. Maguire secured payments from the crown of between £150 and £300 to be made to himself and eleven other bishops. A warrant was also issued to pay £2,190 to Archbishop Maguire for ‘secret services’ although his continual petitions to the government would suggest that he never received the money. It is clear that the primate involved himself in contemporary Jacobite political intrigue. Along with Thomas Sheridan (qv) and some other catholic leaders he transmitted a series of charges against Lord Deputy Tyrconnell (qv), including accusations of bribery.
In August 1691, during the second siege of Limerick, Maguire went to France to discuss the acute military situation with James. Having received assurances that military and financial aid would be speedily forthcoming from Louis XIV, he returned to Ireland. His negotiations with the king encouraged the primate to convince the Irish Jacobites to hold out for much more favourable terms than those which had already been offered by the Williamites. He was one of the delegation who went to the camp of General Ginkel (qv), the commander of the Williamite forces, to discuss terms for the final conclusion of the siege of Limerick. He was present during the discussion of the civil articles of the treaty of Limerick and pursued them with particular vigour. Forced to retire to France later in 1691 he took up residence at the Stuart court at St Germain-en-Laye. He wrote twice (in February and December 1692) with five other bishops (Tuam, Elphin, Limerick, Cork and Cloyne, and Clonmacnoise) to the pope, describing their destitution and asking for his assistance. In 1700 he paid a visit to Rome for the jubilee and was graciously received by Innocent XII. He spent the rest of his days at St Germain, where he obtained a pension from Louis XIV through the intercession of Mary of Modena and the French king's heir. During his exile the administration of his see was entrusted to Dr Patrick Donnelly (qv).
Maguire led the Irish catholic church through what were arguably its brightest and its darkest hours since the reformation. He was the last member of a religious order to be appointed to an archbishopric in Ireland until the elevation of Dr John Thomas Troy (qv). A letter of December 1683 from the Spanish ambassador in London to the internuncio in Brussels described Maguire as ‘a person of great merit, learned and exemplary’ (Coleman, 260).
After his death on 21 September 1707 Maguire's body was interred in the cemetery of the Collège des Lombards in Paris. He was eventually succeeded by Dr Hugh MacMahon (qv), bishop of Clogher. Letters from Maguire survive in the archives of Propaganda Fide in Rome.