Marcus Gervais Beresford (14 February 1801 – 26 December 1885) was 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 secon ...
Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh from 1854 to 1862 and
Archbishop of Armagh and
Primate of All 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 ...
from 1862 until his death.
Early life
Beresford was born in 1801 at the Custom House,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, then the town house of his grandfather,
John Beresford, a unionist Member of Parliament, and was a great-grandson of
Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone
Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone (16 July 1694 – 4 April 1763), known as Sir Marcus Beresford, 4th Baronet, until 1720 and subsequently as The Viscount Tyrone until 1746, was an Irish peer, freemason and politician.
Background
He was the on ...
. He was the second son of
George Beresford,
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 ...
and later of
Kilmore and Ardagh, and of his wife Frances, a daughter of
Gervase Parker Bushe
Gervase Parker Bushe (1744 – 13 August 1793) was an Irish landowner and MP.
He was the son of Amyas Bushe of Dublin and his wife Elizabeth Parker. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford (where he matriculated in 1763) and at Trinity Colleg ...
and a niece of
Henry Grattan
Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...
.
[Falkiner, C. L., ]
Beresford, Marcus Gervais (1801–1885), Church of Ireland archbishop of Armagh
', rev. Kenneth Milne, in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' (Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004). (subscription required for online access), retrieved 21 December 2008.[Most Rev. Marcus Gervais Beresford](_blank)
at thepeerage.com Beresford belonged to a family "connected for generations with the highest dignity and power in the civil and ecclesiastical administration of Ireland"
Educated at
Richmond School under
Dr Tate and at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, he graduated BA in 1824,
MA in 1828 and
DD in 1840. He was later awarded the degree of
Doctor of Civil Laws by Oxford in 1864.
Career
In 1824, Beresford 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 ...
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
and in 1825 priest, and was quickly appointed
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
Kildallon,
County Cavan, a parish in his father's diocese of Kilmore. Three years later, he was preferred to the
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
ages of
Drung and
Larah in the same diocese,
benefices which he held until 1839 when he became
archdeacon of
Ardagh when Ardagh was united with Kilmore. His father was succeeded by Bishop Leslie, but on Leslie's death in 1854 Beresford followed in his father's footsteps as bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh and was consecrated in Armagh Cathedral on 24 September 1854.
In 1862, following the death of his first cousin once-removed
Lord John Beresford
Lord John George de la Poer Beresford (22 November 1773 – 18 July 1862) was an Anglican archbishop and Primate.
Background
Born at Tyrone House, Dublin, he was the second surviving son of George de La Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterf ...
, Beresford was translated to succeed him as
Archbishop of Armagh and
Primate of All 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 ...
, holding also the see of
Clogher
Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and ...
. As Archbishop, Beresford was appointed to the
Privy Council of Ireland and also sometimes acted as a lord justice for the
government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...
in the absence of the
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...
.
In the Church, Beresford gained the reputation of being a statesmanlike presence during the storms which were caused by
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
's measures to bring about
disestablishment of the Church of Ireland, playing a large part in the negotiations this called for, and then afterwards had the hard task of reconstituting the church.
Beresford died at
Armagh on 26 December 1885 and was entombed there in
St Patrick's Cathedral.
Wives and children
On 25 October 1824 Beresford married Mary, a daughter of Henry L'Estrange of
Moystown and the widow of R. E. Digby of Geashill. They had two sons and three daughters: Charlotte Henrietta Beresford (died 1884), Mary Emily Beresford (died 1858),
George De la Poer Beresford George Beresford may refer to:
*George Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford (1735–1800), Irish peer
*George Beresford (bishop) (1765–1841), Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh, nephew of the above
*George Beresford (provost of Tuam) (died 1842), Provo ...
(1831–1906) and Major Henry Marcus Beresford (1835–1895).
Beresford's first wife died in 1845, and on 6 June 1850 he married secondly Elizabeth, daughter of James Trail-Kennedy of
Annadale,
County Down and the widow of Robert George Bonford of Rahenstown,
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
.
There is a memorial to Elizabeth in the south aisle at
St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
["Funary Monuments & Memorials in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh" Curl, J.S. pp77-78: Whitstable; Historical Publications; 2013 ]
Notes
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beresford, Marcus Gervais
1801 births
1885 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Bishops of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh
Anglican archbishops of Armagh
19th-century Anglican archbishops
Burials at St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland)
Marcus
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Archdeacons of Ardagh