Nicholas Donnelly (23 November 1837 – 29 March 1920), MRIA, was a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Dublin. He was ordained a priest in 1860 and held various positions in the Dublin diocese, and in 1883 became an auxiliary bishop of Dublin and titular bishop of Canea (Crete).

Life

Nicholas Donnelly was born 23 November 1837 in

Rathgar Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...

. He was educated at

Castleknock College Castleknock College ( ga, Coláiste Caisleán Cnucha) is a voluntary Vincentian secondary school for boys, situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Founded in 1835 by Philip Dowley, it is one o ...

, before going on the

Irish College Irish Colleges is the collective name used for approximately 34 centres of education for Irish Catholic clergy and lay people opened on continental Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. History The Colleges were set up to educate Roma ...

in Rome. He was ordained in 1860. From 1861 to 1864 Donnelly served as curate at St. Nicholas' Church; he was then stationed at

St Mary's Pro-Cathedral St Mary's Church ( ga, Leas-Ardeaglais Naomh Muire), known also as St Mary's Pro-Cathedral or simply the Pro-Cathedral, the Chapel in Marlborough Street or the Pro, is a pro-cathedral and is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop ...

until 1879, when he became administrator of St Andrew's Church."Donnelly, Most Reverend Nicholas"
''The Catholic Encyclopedia and Its Makers'', New York, the Encyclopedia Press, 1917, p. 45 From 1882 to 1894, Donnelly was pastor of Rathgar's Church of The Three Patrons (named after the three patron saints of Ireland:

St Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

, St Bridget and

St Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

). It is also known as "The Servants' Church" because, in the late 19th and early 20th century, it was the place of worship for the large number of servants who worked and lived in the large houses in the area. He was made an auxiliary bishop of Dublin in 1883. In 1894, he was appointed parish priest in Bray. Donnelly was a noted linguist, preacher, historian and musician, and the author of a number of books, such as ''Short histories of the parishes of the Dublin diocese'', as well as pamphlets and translations, such as a translation of Haberl's ''Magister Choralis''. He contributed also to the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' with an article on the Archdiocese of Dublin. Donnelly had a keen interest in liturgical music and was a member of the

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution which ...

, he was also a member of various societies such as the Royal Dublin Society, the Royal Irish Academy, the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, the Royal Societies Club (London) and the Dante Society of Ireland. In 1882, on the death of his half sister Mary Boland (née Donnelly), he became guardian of her seven children, five girls and two boys, Patrick and

John Pius Boland John Mary Pius Boland (16 September 1870 – 17 March 1958) was an Irish Nationalist politician, and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliam ...

(who won two olympic medals in 1896 and became an MP for South Kerry).Boland, John Pius (1870–1958), politician and tennis player by G. Martin Murphy
Oxford Dictionary of biography Donnelly raised them as his own, with the assistance of a cousin, Adda Dillon. He was executor of her and her husband Patrick Boland's estate, which included the

Boland's Bakery Boland's Bakery was the largest bakery in Dublin in the late 19th century. It was founded by the Boland family. The company sold a number of products such as bread, biscuits, cakes, confectionery and flour, although over the years biscuits became t ...

business, which he floated in 1888. Boland's was the largest bakery in Dublin in the late 19th century. During the Royal visit of Queen Victoria to Ireland in 1900, Donnelly was present at a number of the events during her stay. He died at his home in Dublin on 29 March 1920.Bishop Nicholas Donnelly
Catholic Hierarchy.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Nicholas 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Christian clergy from Dublin (city) 1837 births 1920 deaths People educated at Castleknock College Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia