Patrick Joseph Clune

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(6 January 1864 in Ruan, County Clare, Ireland – 24 May 1935 in Perth, Western Australia), an Australian metropolitan bishop, was the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of Perth and first

Archbishop 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 archdi ...

of Perth. Clune served continuously in these roles from 1910 to 1935.

Early life and priestly ministry

Clune was educated in Ruan and at

St Flannan's College Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entere ...

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

. In 1879 he entered the Catholic Missionary All Hallows College in Dublin to study for the priesthood, sponsored for the Diocese of Goldburn, Australia. He was ordained in 1886, aged 22. His first appointment was to

St Patrick's College, Goulburn (If you do something, do it well) , status = Closed , established = , closed = 2000 (merged into Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn) , city = Goulburn , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , campus = , coor ...

in New South Wales. He professed vows as a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) on 13 September 1894, and spent four years in missions in England and Ireland until 1898, before spending a short time as superior of the Redemptorist monastery in Wellington, New Zealand. In 1899 he was assigned to Western Australia.Fr Chris Dowd presents biography of Perth's first Archbishop
By Marco Ceccarelli, Perth Catholic.

Bishop/Archbishop of Perth

In 1911 he was nominated Bishop of Perth and received episcopal ordination from

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Patrick Moran on 17 March 1911. Two years later in 1913, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese and thus Clune became Archbishop. Bishop Clune supported Australias involvement with the British Empire during the Great War, and along with the other Australian Bishops, with the exception of Archbishop Daniel Mannix, supported the introduction of conscription. He played a significant role in the split of

Christian Brothers College, Perth Christian Brothers College (CBC), informally known as CBC Perth or The Terrace was an Private school, Independent school for boys situated on St Georges Terrace in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. The college opened in January 1894, and the ...

to form

Aquinas College :''See also List of institutions named after Thomas Aquinas'' Aquinas College may refer to any one of several educational institutions: In Australia *Aquinas College, Perth, Roman Catholic boys' R–12 school *Aquinas College, Adelaide, residenti ...

in the 1930s. Between 1921 and 1931, Dr. Clune opened 56 new churches, schools and convents throughout his diocese, in 1930 St. Mary's Cathedral, Perth was redeveloped.

Mediator between Lloyd George and Irish Nationalists 1920

Prior to December 1920, Archbishop Clune acted as an intermediary between David Lloyd George and the Irish leaders during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. Clune with his strong support for the Great War and conscription in Australia, would have been seen as pro-British, had met with and gained the trust of Lloyd George, returned to Dublin incognito as "Doctor Walsh", he met with Arthur Griffith (acting president of the republic and Sinn Féin while De Valera was in America) in Mountjoy Jail and then Michael Collins who was voted by the Dail to act as president while Griffith was in prison. Clune's meeting with the Irish republican leadership was arranged by Bishop Fogarty of Killaloe, Bishop in Clune's native Co. Clare, who had served as vice-president on Maynooth to the then president and future Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix who was known for his nationalist strong sympathies. Mannix was an opponent of Clune among the Australian bishops during the Great War conscription debate.Activities of Archbishop Clune as mediator between Lloyd George
Witness Rev McMahon, Secretary to Rev. Dr. Clune, Irish Military Archives (1913–1921).

Death and Reburial

He died on 24 May 1935 and was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery. His remains were exhumed in June 2013, and reinterred in the crypt of St Mary's Cathedral Perth in September 2013. He was succeeded by another Irish born prelate, Archbishop Redmond Prendiville.

Early life and priestly ministry

Bishop/Archbishop of Perth

Mediator between Lloyd George and Irish Nationalists 1920

Death and Reburial

See also

References

Further reading