Edward Smyth or Smith (1665–1720) was an Irish Protestant churchman, the

bishop of Down and Connor The Bishop of Down and Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Downpatrick (located in County Down) and the village of Connor (located in County Antrim) in Northern Ireland. The title is still used by the Catholic Chur ...

from 1699.

Life

Born at

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

in 1665, he was the son of James Smyth of Mountown,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, by his wife Francisca, daughter of Edward Dowdall of Mountown. He was elected a Scholar of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 1678, and graduated B.A. in 1681. In 1684 he proceeded M.A. and was elected a fellow. He later obtained the degrees of LL.B. in 1687, B.D. in 1694, and D.D. in 1696. In 1689, when Dublin was in the possession of

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

, he fled to England, where he was recommended to the Smyrna Company, and made chaplain to the factory at Smyrna. Smyth returned to England in 1693 with a fortune, and was appointed chaplain to

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

, whom he attended for four years during the war in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. On 3 March 1696 he was made dean of

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland ca ...

. In 1697 he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dublin, and on 2 April 1699 he was consecrated bishop of Down and Connor. In 1701 he was made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

. Smyth died at

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

on 4 November 1720. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1695. He was also a member of the Philosophical Society of Dublin.

Works

Smyth was the author of sermons, and contributed papers to the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

'' of the Royal Society, mainly relating to the customs of the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

Family

Smyth was twice married. By his first wife whom he married circa 15 February 1696, his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of

William Smyth William Smyth (or Smith) ( – 2 January 1514) was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1493 to 1496 and then Bishop of Lincoln until his death. He held political offices, the most important being Lord President of the Council of Wales and t ...

Bishop of Kilmore The Bishop of Kilmore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the parish of Kilmore, County Cavan in Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishopr ...

, he had Elizabeth, who married

James Stopford, 1st Earl of Courtown James Stopford, 1st Earl of Courtown (1700 – 12 January 1770) was an Irish politician. Courtown was the son of James Stopford, of Courtown, County Wexford, who represented Wexford County in the Irish House of Commons, and his wife Frances (né ...

. By his second wife Mary whom he married circa 19 April 1710,Registry of Deeds Book 35 Page 228 Memoria
22126
/ref> daughter of

Clotworthy Skeffington, 3rd Viscount Massereene Clotworthy Skeffington, 3rd Viscount Massereene (1661 – 1714) was an Anglo-Irish soldier, politician and peer. Skeffington was the son of John Skeffington, 2nd Viscount Massereene and Mary Clotworthy, the daughter of John Clotworthy, 1st Viscou ...

, he had two sons, Skeffington Randal and James.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Edward 1665 births 1720 deaths Bishops of Down and Connor (Church of Ireland) Fellows of the Royal Society Scholars of Trinity College Dublin Donegall Lecturers of Mathematics at Trinity College Dublin Members of the Privy Council of Ireland