Milo Sweetman

Who was Milo Sweetman?

Milo Sweetman was a fourteenth century Irish archbishop.

He was treasurer of Ossory in 1360, in which year he was elected Bishop of the Diocese by the Chapter. His election was cancelled by the Pope, who, however, in the following year appointed him Archbishop of Armagh.

Sweetman revived the old controversy as to whether the Archbishop of Armagh had primacy over the Archbishop of Dublin, something which Dublin had always denied. He and Thomas Minot of Dublin pursued the dispute with such vehemence that Edward III, in 1365, intervened, urging the two men to live in friendship and proposing they settle the matter as a similar controversy between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York had been resolved i.e. by each bearing his crozier in the other's presence. Sweetman replied at length urging the claim of Armagh to primacy and pointing out that Minot had failed to attend a meeting convened to discuss the matter. This letter clearly had an effect, since Minot was summoned before the Privy Council of Ireland to answer a charge of contempt in failing to attend the meeting. Having asserted his authority, Sweetman then let the matter lapse.