 A Roman Catholic, he was precluded from a fellowship at Trinity College, and turned to political economy and the chance of competing for the Whately professorship.In the prize examination in 1850 he took first place, and was elected to a Barrington lectureship in political economy.In 1851 he was appointed Whately professor, a post lasting five years, and was elected one of the secretaries of the Dublin Statistical Society, a post which he held till 1857.