Neil Farren (25 March 1893 – 7 May 1980),

Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, b ...

and

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

, was an Irish educator, activist, and Roman Catholic priest.

Early life and education

Neil Farren was born in

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in C ...

County Donegal, Ireland 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 ...

and received his secondary education at St. Columb's College in Derry. He graduated from

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

with first class honours BA in 1914. He received a Bachelor of Divinity and a Doctor of Divinity from Maynooth College in 1916 and 1918, respectively. At the end of World War I in November 1918, he was ordained to the priesthood for service in the Derry Diocese. After ordination, he took on postgraduate studies at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

, and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Canon Law for his (later published) thesis 'Domicile and Quasi-Domicile'. As a priest, he taught in Derry and became President of St. Columb's College in Derry at the age of 35, and served in this post from 1928 until 1939 when he was appointed bishop. He was bishop when the building of the new St. Columb's College was begun. He was a brilliant mathematician and administrator who had an interest in design also, e.g. he designed the St. Columb's College crest and suggested to architect Liam McCormick, to base the design for a new St. Aengus church, Burt, County Donegal on the ancient

Grianan of Aileach The Grianan of Aileach ( ; ga, Grianán Ailigh ), sometimes anglicised as Greenan Ely or Greenan Fort, is a hillfort atop the high Greenan Mountain at Inishowen in County Donegal, Ireland. The main structure is a stone ringfort, thought to ha ...

ring fort that stands on a hill above what is today the architectural award-winning, circular, church building.

Episcopal ministry

Farren was Ireland's youngest bishop when appointed in 1939 and during the Second World War he was appointed "ordinary" of the American forces in Ireland, a service recognised by the award of the United States Medal of Freedom. He participated in the Vatican Council in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(1962-65). He was bishop during 'the Troubles' and during 'Bloody Sunday'. During his time as bishop he campaigned for a university in Derry. He took an active interest with his

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 ...

counterpart, Cuthbert Peacocke, in seeking to restore peace among the communities in Derry, and he engaged with nationalist and civil rights activists

Eddie McAteer Eddie McAteer (25 June 1914 – 25 March 1986) was an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Coatbridge, Scotland, McAteer's family moved to Derry in Northern Ireland while he was young. In 1930 he joined the Inland Revenu ...

and

John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Ire ...

. A book about Dr. Farren has been written by Rev. Bernard Canning of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paisley in Scotland. An obituary recalled that he became bishop at a time of rapid expansion and that he "opened 25 new schools, 23 new post-primary schools and many more primary schools." He served as

until his 80th birthday in 1973. and then as apostolic administrator until the appointment of Edward Daly as his successor in 1974. Farren died on 7 May 1980, aged 87, having spent his retirement in his native Buncrana. His remains are interred to the right of the main entrance of St Eugene's Cathedral, Derry. Next to his remains lie the remains of his successor, Dr. Edward Daly.St Eugene's Cathedral - The Exterior
accessed 28 January 2020.

References

Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 1893 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Northern Ireland People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Roman Catholic bishops of Derry 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland {{Ireland-RC-bishop-stub

Early life and education

Episcopal ministry

See also

References