Letter from the Archbishop Edward Joseph Byrne in 1928 - First Page

Edward Joseph Byrne (10 May 1872 – 9 February 1940) was 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 ...

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

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

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

from 1921 until his death in 1940.

Early life and education

Byrne was born in

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

to Edward and Eleanor (née Maguire) Byrne. His father was a farmer from

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

. There were three children in the family, all boys, and Edward was the only one not to die in infancy. He studied at

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

and Holy Cross College, Clonliffe before proceeding for theological studies at the

Irish College Irish Colleges is the collective name used for approximately 34 centres of education for Irish Catholic clergy and lay people opened on continental Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. History The Colleges were set up to educate Roma ...

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 ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 8 June 1895 at

St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

Ministry

His first post was as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

to Rush,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

from 1895–98. He then moved to Kilsallaghan and

Rolestown Rolestown, (Irish: ''Baile Rothluis''), is a small village six miles (10 km) north-west of Swords along the R125 in Fingal, Ireland. It lies about halfway between Swords and Ashbourne. It is located around two parallel roads intersected b ...

from 1898–99. The following year he spent at

Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...

before moving to

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

. He was appointed Vice

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Irish College, Rome from 1901–1904 and returned as a curate to the

Pro-Cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...

where he remained until 1920.Morrisey, 2010 Bryne was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of

and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''

Pegae Karabiga (Karabuga) is a town in Biga District, Çanakkale Province, in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located at the mouth of the Biga River, on a small east-facing bay, known as Karabiga Bay. Its ancient name was Priapus or Priapos ( ...

'' by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

on 19 August 1920. He was ordained a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

by Archbishop William Walsh at the Pro-Cathedral on 28 October of the same year. Byrne was translated as

and thus

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in t ...

on 29 August 1921. His

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

was: ''"In Te Domine Speravi."'' He was later appointed

Assistant at the Pontifical Throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Roman Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately belo ...

and named a Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

Archbishop of Dublin

Byrne became Archbishop at a critical time in Irish history. During his early years as Archbishop, at the time of the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

, he tried to bring about peace by calling a conference of the leaders, but no basis for agreement could be found. Arguing that the majority of the Irish people supported the

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...

, he advised de Valera not to split the Sinn Féin party, even if he was defeated in the Dáil; however, this advice was ignored. Byrne objected to the execution of Erskine Childers and other anti-Treaty supporters, and the policy of reprisals by both parties. After the hostilities ended, while he still maintained an interest in political matters, he was, and became, much more interested in the spiritual well-being of his flock. Byrne was very involved with the pastoral workings of the diocese and was extremely interested in the changing social conditions. He had a parish of over 20,000 people, many of whom were living in sub-standard conditions, and who had to be re-housed in new estates in the suburbs. He supervised the provision of

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

and churches to serve the new parishes created and viewed all his work from a spiritual angle and was considered a wise and prudent ruler. Byrne supported the religious ban on young Catholics attending Trinity College. He reaffirmed this attitude on behalf of the Catholic Church in a letter in 1928. According to Byrne, Trinity College creates a Protestant atmosphere which is perilous for young Catholics. Two major commemorative events can be seen as the highlights of his episcopacy, namely the

centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

in 1929 and the Eucharistic Congress of 1932. The thirty-first International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin from 20–26 June 1932.

Relations With The Irish State

Byrne had generally cordial relations with the governments of both

W. T. Cosgrave William Thomas Cosgrave (5 June 1880 – 16 November 1965) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ir ...

and

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

, advising them on the issues of

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

and the constitution respectively. Unlike the other bishops - and in particular, unlike his eventual successor

John Charles McQuaid John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive govern ...

who had already started corresponding with de Valera on this matter - he was prepared to agree to the omission of any specific reference to the

in the 1937 constitution. While his pastorals from the 1920s and 1930s reveal some of the typical hierarchical concerns of the period, such as immodesty and evil literature, he was cautious in lending moral sanction to emergency legislation. He was afflicted with a wasting muscular disease through the 1930s, but remained as Archbishop until his death in 1940 when he was succeeded by

. He is buried in the vaults at the Pro-Cathedral.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Archbishop Edward Joseph Byrne at ''Catholic Hierarchy'' pageEdward J Byrne at UCC page, with photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Edward Joseph Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Alumni of Clonliffe College 1872 births 1940 deaths People educated at Belvedere College