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 second ...

Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh The Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh is the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh in the Province of Armagh. The present incumbent is the Right Revd Ferran Glenfield, who was elected, consecrated, and in ...

from 1854 to 1862 and

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 ...

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 t ...

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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 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
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 Richmond School & Sixth Form College, often referred to simply as Richmond School, is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school located in North Yorkshire, England. It was created by the merger of three schools, the oldest of which ...

under Dr Tate and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, he graduated BA in 1824, MA in 1828 and DD in 1840. He was later awarded the degree of

Doctor of Civil Laws Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

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 va ...

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 Churc ...

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 County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, 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 pref ...

ages of Drung and Larah in the same diocese,

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s which he held until 1839 when he became

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

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 Waterfor ...

, Beresford was translated to succeed him as

and

, 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 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 ...

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 governm ...

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 "k ...

. 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 The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...

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 Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

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 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 ...

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 sou ...

. 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