The Archdiocese of Dublin ( ga, Ard-Deoise Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an ecclesiastical territory or
archdiocese of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
(
particularly the Roman Catholic or
Latin Church
, native_name_lang = la
, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
) located in the eastern part of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Its
archepiscopal see includes the republic's capital city –
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 ...
. The
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
church of the archdiocese is
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 ...
. Dublin was formally recognised as a metropolitan province in
1152
Year 1152 ( MCLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Levant
* Spring – King Baldwin III and his mother, Queen Melisende, are called to intervene ...
by the
Synod of Kells
The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...
. Its second archbishop,
Lorcán Ua Tuathail
Lorcán Ua Tuathail, known in English as Laurence O'Toole and in French as Laurent d'Eu (1128 – 14 November 1180), was Archbishop of Dublin at the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland. Lorcán played a prominent role in the Irish Church ...
(Anglicised as St Laurence O'Toole), is also its
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
.
As of 2021, the incumbent
Ordinary and
metropolitan of the
Metropolitan Province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sever ...
of Dublin is
Archbishop Dermot Farrell
Dermot Pius Farrell KC*HS (born 22 November 1954) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Dublin since 2021.
Early life and education
Farrell was born in Garthy, Castletown Geoghegan, County Westmeath, on 22 Novem ...
, who was appointed on 29 December 2020 and installed on 2 February 2021.
Province and geographic remit
The Province of Dublin is one of
four
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
ecclesiastical provinces that together form the
Catholic Church in Ireland
, native_name_lang = ga
, image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
, abbreviation =
, type ...
; the other provinces are
Armagh,
Tuam
Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...
and
Cashel. The geographical remit of the province includes the city of Dublin, all of the historical
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
(
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
Fingal,
South Dublin,
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown), most of
County Wicklow, and fragments of counties
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
,
Carlow,
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...
and
Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
.
Large population centres include the city of Dublin,
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown.
The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...
,
Tallaght
)
, image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg
, image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin
, image_flag =
, flag_size =
, pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland
, pushpin_label_position = left
, ...
and
Malahide
Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000.
Malahide Castle dates from th ...
. The archdiocese also contains several large towns:
Arklow
Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 re ...
,
Athy,
Balbriggan,
Bray,
Celbridge,
Greystones
Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 18,140 (2016). The town is bordered by the Irish Sea to ...
,
Leixlip
Leixlip ( or ; , IPA: lʲeːmʲənˠˈwɾˠad̪ˠaːnʲ is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border betwee ...
,
Maynooth
Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...
and
Swords. Altogether it covers an area of 698,277 statute acres (2,825 km
2). The
suffragan dioceses of the province are:
*
Ferns
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...
*
Kildare and Leighlin
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin (; ga, Deoise Chill Dara agus Leithghlinn) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the A ...
*
Ossory
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
.
History
Pre-diocesan ecclesiastical history
The Dublin area was Christian long before the formal establishment of the
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
. There are vestigial remains and memory of monasteries that were famous before that time at
Finglas
Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and the N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Dublin Airport is to the north. Finglas lies mainly in the posta ...
,
Glasnevin
Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...
,
Glendalough
Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead min ...
, Kilnamanagh, Rathmichael,
Swords,
Tallaght
)
, image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg
, image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin
, image_flag =
, flag_size =
, pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland
, pushpin_label_position = left
, ...
, among others. They witness to the faith of earlier generations and to a flourishing Church life. Several of these functioned as "head churches", the most important of which was Glendalough.
The monastic basis of the early church power vested the greatest authority in the abbots of the major communities. While there were bishops, they were not organised dioceses in the modern sense. In many cases, the offices of abbot and bishop were often comprised in one person. Although Ware's ''Antiquities of Ireland'' mentions "Bishops of Dublin" dating as far back as 633, the Diocese of Dublin ''per se'' is not considered to have begun until 1038. When formal organised dioceses began to emerge in Ireland, all of the current Diocese of Dublin, and more, was comprised within the
Diocese of Glendalough
The Bishop of Glendalough ( ga, Easpuig Gleann Dá Loch) was an episcopal title which took its name after the monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. An Irish version of the place name, ''Glenndálocha'', is now used fo ...
.
The Danish Diocese of Dublin
Following a reverted conversion by one
Norse King of Dublin
Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse refe ...
,
Sitric, his son
Godfrey became Christian in 943, and the Kingdom of Dublin sought to have a bishop of their own in the eleventh century, notably under
Sitric MacAulaf
Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson (also Sihtric, SitricÓ Corráin, p. 123 and Sitrick in Irish texts; or SigtrygWinn, p. 46 and SigtryggrMac Manus, p. 278 in Scandinavian texts) was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin (possibly AD 989–994; restored ...
, who had been on pilgrimage to Rome. He sent his chosen candidate,
Donat (or Donagh or Donatus) to be consecrated in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
in 1028, and the new prelate had his Diocese of Dublin as a small territory within the walled city, over which he presided until 1074. This new diocese was not part of the church in Ireland but rather part of the Norse
Province of Canterbury. Sitric also provided for the building of
Christ Church Cathedral in 1028 "with the lands of
Baldoyle
Baldoyle () is a coastal suburb of Dublin's northside. It is located in the southeastern part of the jurisdiction of Fingal, Ireland, developed from a former fishing village.
Baldoyle is also a civil parish in the barony of Coolock within t ...
,
Raheny
Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 CE ( Mervyn Archdall). The district shares Dublin's two largest municipal parks, Saint An ...
and
Portrane for its maintenance."
At the
Synod of Rathbreasail
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...
, convened in 1111 on papal authority by Gillebert (Gilbert),
Bishop of Limerick
The Bishop of Limerick is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it still continues as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been un ...
, the number of dioceses in Ireland was fixed at twenty-four. Dublin was not included, the city being described as lying within the Diocese of Glendalough. However, the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
bishopric continued, still attached to Canterbury.
Synod of Kells (1152) and elevation
In 1151,
Pope Eugene III
Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He ...
commissioned
Cardinal Paparo Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni (sometimes known in English as John Cardinal Paparo; died ca. 1153/1154) was an Italian Cardinal and prominent papal legate in dealings with Ireland and Scotland.
He was created Cardinal by Pope Celestine II in 1143. He p ...
to go to Ireland and establish four
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...
s, appointing to each a
metropolitan. At the general
synod of Kells
The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...
in 1152, the metropolitan provinces of Armagh, Dublin, Cashel, and Tuam, were created which were roughly co-extensive with their contemporary civil counterparts.
In a document drawn up by the then
Archbishop of Tuam
The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church.
Histor ...
in 1214, the cardinal is described as finding both a bishop based in Dublin (who exercised his episcopal office within the city walls only, a very small area) and "He found in the same Diocese another church in the mountains, which likewise had the name of a city
lendaloughand had a certain chorepiscopus. But he delivered the
pallium
The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...
to Dublin which was the best city and appointed that the diocese (Glendalough) in which both these cities were should be divided, and that one part thereof should fall to the metropolitan." The part of northern
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
known as Fingall was taken from Glendalough Diocese and attached to Dublin. The new archdiocese had 40 parishes grouped in deaneries that were based on the old senior monasteries. All dependence by Dublin upon English churches, such as Canterbury, ended.
Early archbishops
The founding Archbishop – Gregory – was consecrated at Lambeth. His suffragan sees were
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
,
Ossory
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
,
Leighlin,
Ferns
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...
and
Glendalough
Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead min ...
. The second
archbishop, from 1161 to 1179, was
Saint Lorcán O'Toole, previously
Abbot of Glendalough
The Abbot of Glendalough was the head of the monastery at Glendalough, founded by Saint Kevin in the early sixth century, which is in modern-day County Wicklow, Ireland. After the death of Saint Kevin, the abbots bore the title " Comarbai Cóe ...
, who had been elected as
Bishop of Glendalough in 1162. During his time in office, the presence of the Church grew in Dublin city (by 1170 there were six churches other than the cathedral within the walls) and religious orders from the continent came to Ireland (Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans and Carmelites had houses in Dublin, and the great convent of
Grace Dieu, near
Donabate
Donabate () is a small coastal town in Fingal, Ireland, about north-northeast of Dublin. The town is on a peninsula on Ireland's east coast, between the Rogerstown Estuary to the north and Broadmeadow Estuary to the south. Donabate is a civil ...
, was also founded). As part of this trend, Lorcán installed a community of canons to minister according to the Aroasian (reformed Augustinian) Rule in the
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (later known as Christ Church). The
Abbey of Saint Mary, one of the most important religious houses in Ireland for centuries, was founded in Dublin at that time, first under the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
Rule, then passing to the
Cistercians.
Norman period
Ireland's political scene was changed permanently by the coming of the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
and the influence of the English Crown. Saint Lorcán's successor was a
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
, and from then onward to the time of the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, Dublin's archbishops were all either Norman or English. In 1185, the Pope had granted a petition to merge the Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough, to take effect on the death of the then Bishop of Glendalough. The union took effect in 1216, with the approval of
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...
, and the dioceses have remained merged ever since.
Dublin acquired a second cathedral,
St Patrick's, built outside the city walls by an archbishop anxious to keep his freedom of action from the city's government, and chartered in 1191. In addition to his palace of Saint Sepulchre (where Kevin Street Garda station is situated today) the archbishop had his castle at
Swords. The abbot of Saint Mary's Abbey had his castle at Bulloch Harbour near
Dalkey
Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...
, where he levied customs duties on all imported goods. At that time, Dalkey was a busy commercial port.
Medieval parish churches can be traced outside the city and towns. Tully, which dated from very ancient times, Kilgobbin, Kill of the Grange,
Kilbarrack
Kilbarrack ( - ''Church of St. Berach'' or ''of young Barra'') is a residential suburb of Dublin, Ireland, running inwards from the coast, about from the city's centre. It is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Coolock. Modern-day Kil ...
,
Raheny
Raheny () is a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 CE ( Mervyn Archdall). The district shares Dublin's two largest municipal parks, Saint An ...
,
Howth
Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...
, Grange Abbey, are examples. Their ruined walls seem small to modern eyes, but population was sparse in those days and simple buildings were adequate, many roofed with thatch.
Medieval times also saw many pilgrimages and in addition to Glendalough, pilgrimages were made regularly to Our Lady's Shrine at
Trim
Trim or TRIM may refer to:
Cutting
* Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them
** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process
** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees
Decoration
* Trim (sewing), or ...
in
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 ...
, and overseas, for example to Rome, and to the
great shrine of
Saint James, at
Compostela in Spain, assembling at Saint James' Church and leaving the city by
Saint James' Gate, as was the custom in other European cities as well.
Reformation period
Archbishop Alen was murdered in 1534 during the rebellion of "
Silken Thomas
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Thomas FitzGerald
, title = The Earl of Kildare
, image = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare.jpg
, caption =
, alt =
, CoA =
, ...
". The excommunication of
Henry VIII occurred in 1538 and Henry was proclaimed King of Ireland by the Irish Parliament in 1542. No archbishop was nominated by Rome until
Hugh Curwen in 1555, under
Queen Mary. Due to the uneven process of the English Reformation, the final separation between the Papacy and the English administration did not take place until 1570 with the publication of in
Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
's
papal bull ''
Regnans in Excelsis
''Regnans in Excelsis'' ("Reigning on High") is a papal bull that Pope Pius V issued on 25 February 1570. It excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England, referring to her as "the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime", declared h ...
''. The sectarian
Penal Laws subsequently enacted led to long periods of persecution and deprivation for the church throughout the two Kingdoms. In Ireland, the churches and other property passed to the state church, priests were driven into hiding, and restrictions on aspects of ordinary life were imposed on for those who remained Roman Catholics.
Dublin religious martyrs included
Blessed
Blessed may refer to:
* The state of having received a blessing
* Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified
Film and television
* ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...
Francis Taylor, Mayor of Dublin, and Blessed
Margaret Bermingham – Mrs. Ball – and Archbishop
Peter Talbot, who was a contemporary of
Saint Oliver Plunkett
Oliver Plunkett (or Oliver Plunket) ( ga, Oilibhéar Pluincéid), (1 November 1625 – 1 July 1681) was the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland who was the last victim of the Popish Plot. He was beatified in 1920 an ...
. Martyrs outside Dublin included Blessed
Dermot O'Hurley,
Archbishop of Cashel
The Archbishop of Cashel ( ga, Ard-Easpag Chaiseal Mumhan) was an archiepiscopal title which took its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the Reformation, there had been parallel apostolic successions to the titl ...
who is buried in the churchyard of
Saint Kevin's, off Camden Street, Blessed
Conor O'Devany of the
Diocese of Down and Connor
The Diocese of Down and Connor, ( ga, Deoise an Dúin agus Chonaire) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the me ...
, and Blessed
Patrick O'Loughran, a priest of
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
.
As persecution eased in the latter eighteenth century, Mass houses were opened. Some are marked on maps and the memory of "Mass paths" in certain country places has lasted until today. The buildings were usually of very simple design, of mud walls and thatch roofs, with the most primitive of furnishings, and similar tales were repeated all over Ireland – as the saying went "The King born in a stable held court in a shack."
18th and 19th centuries
The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were a time of reconstruction and revival, as the Penal Laws were gradually relaxed. In the 1770s and 1780s Archbishop Carpenter issued instructions about prayers to be said in the diocese in Irish and English, both languages being in common use among ordinary people. The 1800s saw the great work of the new religious congregations, such as the Sisters of Charity under Mary Aikenhead,
Catherine McAuley
Catherine McAuley, RSM (29 September 1778 – 11 November 1841) was an Irish Catholic religious sister who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831.Austin, Mary Stanislas"Sisters of Mercy."''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Ap ...
with her House of Mercy in Baggot Street, and
Margaret Aylward with the
Holy Faith Sisters, Blessed
Edmund Rice from
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
, with O'Connell Schools in Richmond Street and the School in Hannover Street which later moved to Westland Row.
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
was the leader of many initiatives to regain Catholic freedom of worship. In these years Archbishop
Daniel Murray oversaw the ongoing work of renewal.
Dr. Murray played a special role when the
Loreto Sisters, the Irish branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded by his devoted friend Mother Frances ("Fanny") Ball, as a name associated with so much suffering for the Faith came back three centuries later to rejoice in its restoring.
The restoration of Catholic education led to missionary work, the
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
at the Catholic University and at Milltown Park, the
Holy Ghost Fathers at Kimmage Manor and Blackrock must be remembered among many others.
Modern times
Since the 1950s, an increase of population to more than a million adherents doubled the number of parishes to the present total of 200. In all parishes, lay men and women are being trained to take an increased role in the running of Church affairs in future years.
Governance
The archdiocese is led by
(1) the archbishop, assisted by three (as at 2007)
auxiliary bishops, each with a
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...
,
(2) the
vicar-general
A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...
,
(3) two episcopal vicars,
(4) a vicar for priests,
(5) a vicar for religious (in 2007, a nun) and
(6) other senior clerics.
Additionally, there is a Council of Priests, various consultative committees and each Deanery has a Vicar Forane.
The Chapter
The Metropolitan
Chapter still exists. While the Church of Ireland had two Chapters for many years, the Roman Church has only one, descended from that of St. Patrick's Cathedral, as Christ Church was reconstituted without papal authority, in 1539–1541. The members of the Chapter today have a ceremonial and advisory role.
There are places for 32
Canons, comprising 4 dignities, 2
archdeacons, and 26
prebendaries
A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
for 24 prebends (the two lowest-ranked have two parts each).
Administration
The Diocesan administration, based at Archbishop's House and adjacent buildings at Clonliffe College, includes the Chancellery, the Offices for Priests, Religious and Human Resources, the Finance and Education Secretariats, Offices of Communication and Public Affairs and Diocesan Archives. There are also developmental and liturgical support groups such as the Vocations team and Liturgical Resource Centre, and initiatives for continued development of priests and parishes. Finally, there are ecclesiastical panels such as the Marriage Tribunal.
The parishes are clustered into the following Deaneries: Blessington, Bray, Cullenswood, Donnybrook, Dún Laoghaire, Fingal North, Fingal South East, Fingal South West, Finglas, Howth, Maynooth, North City Centre, South City Centre, South Dublin, Tallaght, Wicklow.
A Parish Pastoral Council and a Parish Finance Committee have been established in each parish.
Priesthood
The archdiocese is served by around 700 priests, about one quarter of whom are "on loan" from religious orders (along with a few from the Archdiocese of Cashel). Most priests minister in parishes, with a small number involved in administrative roles or serving on special diocesan projects. The table below enumerates priestly ordinations in recent years.
A further 8 ordinations were expected in 2007 from a student cohort totalling 67.
Other services
The archdiocese, in addition to the work within the 200 or so parishes, operates some services centrally. The best known of these are
Crosscare (the Diocesan Agency for social care) and the Catholic Youth Care (CYC). Crosscare runs food programmes for the under privileged, a Drugs Awareness Programme, homeless services, and support for migrants.
The diocese is also home to a branch of Accord, the national Catholic Marriage Care Agency.
ACCORD
Catholic Marriage Care Service.
There is also the independent Child Protection Service.
See also
* Archbishop of Dublin, which lists of the pre- and post-Reformation archbishops
*Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin
The sexual abuse cases in Dublin archdiocese are major chapters in the series of Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Ireland. The Irish government commissioned a statutory enquiry in 2006 that published the Murphy Report in November 2009.
H ...
– that caused the Irish government to publish the 2009 Murphy Report
The Murphy Report is the brief name of the report of a Commission of investigation conducted by the Irish government into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin. It was released in 2009 by Judge Yvonne Murphy, only a few ...
.
References
External links
Official Diocesan website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dublin
Roman Catholic dioceses established in the 11th century
Dublin
11th-century establishments in Ireland
Religion in County Carlow
Religion in County Kildare
Religion in County Laois
Religion in County Wexford
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Dublin