The Irish School of Ecumenics (ISE) is an institute 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 ...
, dedicated to the study and promotion of peace and reconciliation in Ireland and throughout the world. The school is located in Dublin and Belfast, and consists of eight permanent full-time academic staff, visiting academic staff, postdoctoral fellows, and administrative staff. ISE has 82 M.Phil. students and 39 Ph.D. and M.Litt. research students.
History
The Irish School of Ecumenics was co-founded in 1970 by Father
Michael Hurley,
S.J., a Jesuit priest and strong proponent of ecumenism, who served as the school's director until 1980. The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Dr.
Eugene Carson Blake
Eugene Carson Blake (November 7, 1906 – July 31, 1985) was an American Presbyterian Church leader.
From 1954 to 1957 he served as president of the National Council of Churches in the United States; from 1966 to 1972 he served as General Sec ...
, attended the school's formal inauguration in Milltown. The use of the facilities of the Jesuit Milltown Park was available to the ISE.
Father Hurley and the establishment of the Irish School of Ecumenics were strongly opposed by the then
Archbishop of Dublin of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin
The Archdiocese of Dublin ( ga, Ard-Deoise Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the eastern part of Ireland. Its archepiscopal ...
,
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 ...
.
Diocesan archival documents released in the 2000s revealed that Father Hurley and the school caused Archbishop McQuaid "anguish." Archbishop McQuaid, a deeply conservative Catholic, responded by banning Father Hurley from speaking within his "sphere of jurisdiction," meaning the Archbishop of Dublin. However, McQuaid reneged on the ban following the intervention by Fr
Cecil McGarry Cecil McGarry S.J. (1929-2009) was an Irish Jesuit priest and educator, who served as Provincial of the order in Ireland and rector of the Jesuit Milltown Park.
Born in Galway on January 1, 1929. He joined the Jesuits, in 1946 first at Emo Court, t ...
, Dublin's Jesuit provincial (and previously Rector of Milltown), on Hurley's behalf.
[
From 1972 the ]University of Hull
, mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status
, type = Public
, endowment = £18.8 million (2016)
, budget = £190 million ...
(and supported by Prof. Anthony Hanson of its Dept. of Theology) validated some programmes e.g. MA in Ecumenical Theology, for the ISE, this continued until 1982 when Trinity College Dublin accredited these qualifications (as the National University of Ireland had been prohibited from awarding theology degrees).
Archbishop McQuaid died in 1973. He was succeeded by Archbishop Dermot Ryan
Dermot J. Ryan (26 June 1924 – 21 February 1985) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Ireland from 1972 until 1984.
Early life and education
Born Dermot Joseph Ryan in 1924, to Andrew Ryan a medical doctor and Therese nee McKenna, in ...
, who remained displeased by the activities of the School of Ecumenics and Father Hurley. Father Hurley stepped down as the director in 1980 saying, "towards the end of the school’s first decade it seemed best to remove myself from the scene."[ The relationship between Irish School of Ecumenics and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin slowly began to improve.][
Hurley's directorship would be succeeded by the Irish Presbyterian theologian Robin Boyd, from 1980 to 1987, who was formerly a missionary to India and active in ]interfaith dialogue
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
.
From the 1980s, Brian Lennon SJ and later Declan Deane SJ, based in Portadown with the ISE ran certificate course in ecumenics and peace studies, at Magee College
, image =
, caption = ''Top:'' ''Ulster University's coat of arms'Bottom:'' ''The Magee main building''
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng =
, established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 – Magee Univers ...
, Derry in association with the University of Ulster
sco, Ulstèr Universitie
, image = Ulster University coat of arms.png
, caption =
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng =
, latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae
, established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
and Trinity College, this certificate was also available from the Columbanus Community in Belfast which became the ISE campus in Belfast. Courses were also run in connection with Queen's University Belfast.
Cardinal Desmond Connell
Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticised ...
, who served as Archbishop of Dublin between 1988 and 2004, later became the first archbishop to become a formal patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of the Irish School of Ecumenics. Archival papers related to Archbishop John Charles McQuaid's opposition to the School of Ecumenism were uncovered by the Archdiocese of Dublin in the 2000s.[ In 2008, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin issued an apology to Father Hurley for his treatment by Archbishop McQuaid during the late 1960s and early 1970s.][ The face-to-face apology, which was described as "good-humored" by 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 ...
'', took place at the Milltown Park
Milltown () is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. Milltown was the site of several working mills on the River Dodder and is also the location of the meeting of the River Slang with the Dodder. It is located adjacent to other suburban ...
, Jesuit community in South Dublin, where the ISE was based. Archbishop Martin apologized to Hurley "for some misunderstandings on the part of my predecessors."[ Father Hurley, who called Martin's speech a "magnanimous apology," stated that he felt a "great sense of relief and joy and gratitude."][
In 2008 the ISE purchased the Columbanus Centre on the Antrim Road, which became the ISE Belfast base.
In 2001 the ISE became formally integrated into Trinity College, in 2016, the ISE along with the Loyola Institute moved from the Jesuit Milltown Park to Trinity College Dublins Campus.
]
Present
The Irish School of Ecumenics has eight full-time staff members. The Dublin location of the ISE is on the campus of Trinity College Dublin as a part of the new Loyola Institute. The Belfast location of ISE is in north Belfast in its own building. The Irish School of Ecumenics along with the Loyola Institute, which will have six full-time staff members, will compose a centre with common interests in the study of theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, peace, & reconciliation.
Notable people
;Directors
* 1960–1980: Fr Michael Hurley SJ
* 1980–1987: Dr Robin Boyd
* 1987–1990: Dr John D'Arcy May
* 1990–1994: Rev Alan Falconer
* 1994–1999: Sr Geraldine Smyth OP
* 1999–2004: Bishop Kenneth Kearon
Kenneth Arthur Kearon (born 4 October 1953) is an Irish Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe in the Church of Ireland.
Early life and education
Kearon was born on 4 October 1953 in Dublin, Ireland. He attended Mountjoy Schoo ...
* 2005: John May
* 2006–2010: Prof Linda Hogan
References
External links
Irish School of Ecumenics
{{authority control
1970 establishments in Ireland
Catholic Church and ecumenism
Christian ecumenical organizations
Trinity College Dublin
Educational institutions established in 1970
Education in Belfast
Education in Dublin (city)
Universities and colleges in the Republic of Ireland