George Otto Simms (4 July 1910 – 15 November 1991) was an

archbishop 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 archdi ...

in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

Early life and education

George Otto Simms was born on 4 July 1910 in North Dublin in Ireland to parents John Francis A Simms & Ottilie Sophie Stange both from

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding th ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, as per his birth Certificate. He also attended the Prior School in Lifford for a time and also attended

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

, a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

in the United Kingdom. He went on to study at

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 ...

, where in 1930 he was elected a Scholar and graduated with a B.A. in classics in 1932 and a B.D in 1936. He later completed a Ph.D. in 1950.

Clerical and scholarly career

He became a deacon in 1935 and a priest in 1936, beginning his ministry as a curate at St Bartholomew's, Clyde Road, Dublin under Canon W.C.Simpson. In 1937 he took a position in

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a theological college in Lincoln, United Kingdom. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cance ...

but returned to Dublin in 1939 to become Dean of Residence in

and Chaplain Secretary of the

Church of Ireland College of Education The Church of Ireland College of Education or C.I.C.E. as it was more commonly known ( ga, Coláiste Oideachais Eaglais na hÉireann) was one of five Irish Colleges of Education which provided a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree, the qualific ...

. He was appointed

Dean of Cork Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral ( ga, Ardeaglais Naomh Fionnbarra) is a Gothic Revival three-spire Church of Ireland cathedral in the city of Cork. It is located on the south bank of the River Lee and dedicated to Finbarr of Cork, patron saint of ...

in 1952; consecrated a bishop, he served as

Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross in the Province of Dublin. The current bishop is the Right Reverend Paul Colton William Paul Colton (born 13 March 1960) ...

, between 1952 and 1956. At forty-two, he was the youngest

clergyman appointed to a Bishopric since John Gregg in 1915. 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 1956 to 1969. During this time, he maintained a courteous relationship with

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 ...

, his Roman Catholic counterpart as

. From 1969 to 1980, he served as

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 ...

. He was a scholar, and published research on the history of the Church of Ireland and on the ''

Book of Kells The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New ...

''. He was also a fluent speaker of the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. Alongside Cardinal

William Conway William, Bill, or Billy Conway may refer to: * William Conway (Arkansas judge) (1805–1852), Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court * William Conway (cardinal) (1913–1977), Irish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church * William Conway (Irish rep ...

, Simms chaired the first official ecumenical meeting between the leaders of Ireland's Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church in Ballymascanlon Hotel,

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Co. Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

on 26 September 1973, an important meeting amidst the increasing violence in Northern Ireland. The meeting was protested by

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

. In 1978 he was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin. He was the uncle of mathematician David J. Simms. Simms is interred with his wife, Mercy Felicia née Gwynn (1915–1998), in the cemetery attached to St. Maelruain's Church,

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

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 ...

.''http://hdl.handle.net/10599/10660

Publications

* ''For Better, for Worse'', 1945 * ''The Book of Kells: a short description'', 1950 * (ed with E. H. Alton and P. Meyer) ''The Book of Kells'' (facsimile edn), Berne, 1951 * ''The Bible in Perspective'', 1953 * ''Christ within Me'', 1975 * ''Irish Illuminated Manuscripts'', 1980 * ''In My Understanding'', 1982 * ''Tullow's Story'', 1983 * (with R. G. F. Jenkins) ''Pioneers and Partners'', 1985 * ''Angels and Saints'', 1988 * ''Exploring the Book of Kells'', 1988 * ''Brendan the Navigator'', 1989

References

* Daithí Ó Corráin, ''Rendering to God and Caesar: The Irish churches and the two states in Ireland, 1949–73'', (Manchester:

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with th ...

, 2006). * Lesley Whiteside: ''George Otto Simms: A Biography'', (Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 1990). {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, George Otto 1910 births 1991 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Anglican archbishops of Armagh Anglican archbishops of Dublin Bishops of Cork, Cloyne and Ross Deans of Cork Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin People from Lifford People from Templeogue Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 20th-century Anglican archbishops in Ireland People educated at the Royal and Prior School Irish Anglican archbishops