Dermot Pius Farrell KC*HS (born 22 November 1954) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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 'pre ...

who has served as Archbishop of Dublin since 2021.

Early life and education

Farrell was born in Garthy, Castletown Geoghegan, County Westmeath, on 22 November 1954, the eldest of seven children to Dermot and Carmel Farrell. He was baptised in the Cathedral of Christ the King,

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

, and attended primary school in Castletown Geoghegan and Streamstown and secondary school at

St Finian's College St Finian's College is a secondary school, the diocesan school of the Diocese of Meath. It is located in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland, and is under the patronage of The Most Reverend Thomas Deenihan, Bishop of Meath. Rev. Fr. Paul Co ...

. Farrell began studying for the priesthood at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

, in 1972, completing a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in mathematics and physics from the

National University of Ireland, Maynooth The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

in 1976 and a Bachelor of Divinity from the Pontifical University in 1979. He was ordained a priest for the

Diocese of Meath The Diocese of Meath ( ga, Deoise na Mí) is an Irish diocese which took its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it still exists as a separate diocese, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...

on 7 June 1980.

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Farrell's first pastoral assignment was as a curate in the cathedral parish of

between 1981 and 1985. He completed a licentiate in theology from

between 1979 and 1981, before completing doctoral studies at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

between 1985 and 1988, where his doctoral thesis explored the dogmatic foundations of Bernhard Häring's dialogical approach to

Catholic moral theology Catholic moral theology is a major category of doctrine in the Catholic Church, equivalent to a religious ethics. Moral theology encompasses Catholic social teaching, Catholic medical ethics, sexual ethics, and various doctrines on individua ...

as a sacramental way of life. During his final year in Rome, Farrell also served as director of formation in the Pontifical Irish College. He returned to Ireland in 1989, serving as a curate in

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

and lecturing in

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

at St Patrick's College, Maynooth. While continuing to lecture in moral theology, Farrell was appointed executive assistant to the president of the iuniversity in 1990. He was subsequently appointed vice-president on 13 October 1993 and president on 9 December 1996, following the sudden death of his predecessor, Matthew O'Donnell. He was appointed

Prelate of Honour of His Holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

in 1998 before being promoted to the rank of Grand Officer in 2018.

President of St Patrick's College

Following the creation of the National University of Ireland from the separation of the faculties of Arts, Celtic Studies and Philosophy and Science from St Patrick's College by the Universities Act, 1997, Farrell remained president of the pontifical university, presiding over the revision of the formation programme ''Pastores Dabo Vobis'' and supervising the renovation of its heritage buildings. Following media reports in 2002 surrounding the resignation of his predecessor, Micheál Ledwith, in 1994, Farrell made public the circumstances of Ledwith's departure, that he had been accused of sexually abusing a minor and reached a confidential financial settlement with his accuser. Following the invitation of controversial American theologian, Charles Curran, to speak at a conference sponsored by the university in 2006, Farrell stated that he had been neither consulted about, nor informed of, the invitation.

Return to pastoral ministry

Farrell retired as President of St Patrick's College in 2007 and returned to pastoral ministry in the

, when he was appointed parish priest in

Dunboyne Dunboyne () is a town in Meath, Ireland. It is a commuter town for Dublin. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the population of Dunboyne more than doubled from 3,080 to 7,272 inhabitants. Location Dunboyne is centred on the ...

. He was appointed

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' ...

of the diocese in 2009.

Episcopal ministry

Bishop of Ossory

Farrell was appointed

Bishop of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on 3 January 2018, and consecrated by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, on 11 March in St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny. Farrell became a member of the standing committee of the

Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference ( ga, Comhdháil Easpag Caitliceach Éireann) is the episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland. The conference meets a number of times a year in Maynooth which is the location of St Patr ...

, and subsequently its Financial Secretary in March 2019.

Archbishop of Dublin

Farrell was appointed Archbishop of Dublin by Pope Francis on 29 December 2020, continuing to serve as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of Ossory until his installation on 2 February 2021 in

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Church ( ga, Leas-Ardeaglais Naomh Muire), known also as St Mary's Pro-Cathedral or simply the Pro-Cathedral, the Chapel in Marlborough Street or the Pro, is a pro-cathedral and is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. Soon after his archiepiscopal appointment, Farrell told ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' that while he is in favour of opening the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

to women, he also claimed not to be against the ordination of women. However, he feared that such move could cause a schism in the church, as it had in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and the Episcopal Church. He also called for a more flexible approach towards celibacy, similar to the one adopted by the Eastern Orthodox Churches. In 2021 when it came to same-sex blessings, he said that such situations should be dealt with “individually and pastorally”.

References

External links

Archbishop Dermot Pius Farrell
on

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

Archbishop Dermot Pius Farrell
on GCatholic {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Dermot Living people Irish educators 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Bishops of Ossory Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Presidents of St Patrick's College, Maynooth People from County Meath People from Castletown Geoghegan Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 1954 births Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin People educated at St Finian's College