his studies in order to qualify for ordination. He graduated Magister Artium, at Dublin University in 1822. In 1847, M‘Neilee graduated Bachelor of Divinity (BD) and Doctor of Divinity (DD) from Dublin University. In essence, the BD degree was a coursework and postgraduate degree only available to those who had graduated MA at least 10 years earlier; the DD was conventionally awarded simultaneously on the basis of published work. In M‘Neile's case the published work would have been The Church and the Churches (1846). On 16 June 1860, an Incorporate DD – i.e., a doctorate ad eundem gradum ("to the same degree"), admitting M‘Neile as a member of Cambridge University by virtue of his possession of a DD from another university (Trinity College, Dublin) – was conferred upon him at Cambridge University. Early adulthood Whilst a student, and preparing for a career in the law, M‘Neile loved the theatre even more than the fashionable society in which he moved. He attended the theatre in Dublin, London and Bath as often as he could. In those days, Sarah Siddons, her brother John, and Eliza O'Neill (later Lady Wrixon-Becher) – all favourites of M‘Neile – were at their peak; and his later platform and pulpit performances drew very heavily on their example. When M‘Neile was 20, his father's unmarried brother, Lieutenant-General Daniel M’Neile (1754–1826), returned to Ireland following distinguished service with the East India Company. His uncle, who settled in Bath, delighted in M’Neile's company, and his uncle virtually adopted him; and, it seemed, he was the heir presumptive to his uncle's considerable fortune. His uncle, whose wealth and influence would have easily have procured M‘Neile a seat in parliament, and who understood that success at the bar would be a stepping-stone for the talented lad into a productive political career, encouraged him to pursue a legal career. He took his A.B. in 1815, and continued his legal studies. Most of his time between 1815 and 1819 was spent with his uncle in Bath. In 1816 he and his uncle travelled extensively on the continent, enjoying the social advantages of his uncle's influence. In the process, M’Neile spent time with mixing with influential people, such as Madame de Staël (1766–1817) and Lord Byron (1788–1824). In the middle of 1816, whilst staying with his uncle in a Swiss village inn, M’Neile fell very seriously ill. His life was saved by the medical intervention