Anthony Blake (–1787) was an Irish

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise from 1756 to 1758 and

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

from 1758 to 1787.

Biography

Blake was the younger of two sons of Andrew Blake of Kilvine,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

. His family were one of the Tribes of Galway; notable members of his family included

James "Spanish" Blake James "Spanish" Blake, Anglo-Irish merchant, soldier, and spy, born after 1560, died 20 February 1630. A member of one of The Tribes of Galway, Blake was the second son of Walter Blake (died 1575) and Juliana Browne. His grandfather and brothe ...

John Blake (mayor) John Blake fitz William, third Mayor of Galway, 1487–1488. Blake was a descendant of Richard Caddell, alias Blake (fl. 1278–1315). The surname Blake was adopted in remark of Richard's dark complexion. His original surname, Caddell o ...

John Henry Blake John Henry Blake (1808 – 29 June 1882), was a murdered Irish land agent. Biography John Henry Blake was the third and youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Blake of Furbo, County Galway and Maria Galway of Cork. He was a member of one of T ...

and Sally Blake (duelist). He was a granduncle of Walter Blake Kirwan and

Anthony Richard Blake Anthony Richard Blake (1786–1849), was an Irish lawyer, administrator and 'backstairs Viceroy of Ireland'. Blake, the second son of Martin Blake of Holly Park, Athenry, was a member of the Tribes of Galway. A granduncle was Anthony Blake, Ar ...

. He returned to Ireland from France about 1731, having been educated at Saint-Omer and

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

. He was appointed priest in the archdiocese of Tuam, holding the posts of dean of the chapter and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

to the archbishop. From 1741 to 1756 he served as

Warden of Galway The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is a medieval church building in Galway, Ireland. It is a collegiate church and the parish church of St. Nicholas Church of Ireland parish, which covers Galway city. It was founded in 1320 and dedicated to ...

, his most nobable act been the erection of a new parish chapel in the town's middle street, which stood till 1833.

References

* ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'', pp. 579–80, Cambridge, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Anthony 1700s births 1787 deaths 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Christian clergy from County Mayo Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh Roman Catholic bishops of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise