Gerard Nash (born 27 February 1959) 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 ...

Catholic bishop. He was appointed

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

on 11 June 2021 and consecrated on 5 September 2021.

Early life

Nash was born in Glandree, in the parish of

Tulla Tulla () is a market town in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated in the east of the county, on the R462 and near its junction with the R352, 18km from Ennis. Etymology Tulla is generally translated as ''An Tulach'', meaning "round hill". ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, on 27 February 1959, one of four children to the late Tommy and Mary Nash. He has three sisters, one of whom predeceased him. Nash attended St Joseph's Secondary School in Tulla, where he completed his

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

. He then studied business and economics at the National Institute of Higher Education in Limerick, and worked afterwards in the manufacturing industry. He subsequently attended

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

for the

Diocese of Killaloe The Diocese of Killaloe ( ) may refer either to a Roman Catholic or a Church of Ireland (Anglican) diocese, in Ireland. Roman Catholic diocese The Diocese of Killaloe is the second largest Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland. It comprises the ...

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. ...

, and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood on 15 June 1991.

Presbyteral ministry

Nash's first pastoral assignment was as chaplain of the

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

, and as priest responsible for the local youth centre. After five years, he was appointed as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of Clarecare, a non-profit enterprise which provides a range of social services to people in

, a position he held until 2003. Nash was also appointed

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 ...

in Corofin in 1996, before being appointed resident priest in 2003, as part of the first grouping of parishes in the

. He remained as resident priest in the newly created Imeall Bóirne pastoral area when he moved to

Crusheen Crusheen () is a small village in County Clare, Ireland, in the civil parish of Crusheen (Inchicronan). Location The village is 10 kilometres northeast of Ennis on the R458 road to Gort. It is in the parish of Crusheen (Inchicronan) in the Rom ...

in 2007. Nash was appointed as Diocesan Secretary in 2010, while continuing his ministry in Imeall Bóirne. He was appointed

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

for pastoral development for the diocese in 2016.

Episcopal ministry

Nash was appointed Bishop-elect of Ferns by

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 11 June 2021, succeeding

Denis Brennan Denis Brennan (born 20 June 1945 in Enniscorthy, County Wexford) is an Irish Catholic bishop. He was Bishop of Ferns from 2006 until his retirement in 2021. Biography He received his primary education in Kiltealy National School, and his s ...

. He was consecrated by the

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 ...

Dermot Farrell Dermot Pius Farrell KC*HS (born 22 November 1954) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Dublin since 2021. Early life and education Farrell was born in Garthy, Castletown Geoghegan, County Westmeath, on 22 Nove ...

, on 5 September in St. Aidan's Cathedral,

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the ...

Early life

Presbyteral ministry

Episcopal ministry

References

See also