Stephen Kirwan (a.k.a. Kerovan and O'Kirwan) was an Irish Anglican bishop. He 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 Clonfert from 1582 until before 4 November 1601.

Life and career

Kirwan was a member of the

tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

, previously a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

educated in Oxford, Paris and Rome. He became an Anglican in the mid-16th century and was the Archdeacon of Annaghdown from 1558 and the first reformed Church of Ireland

Bishop of Kilmacduagh The Bishop of Kilmacduagh was an episcopal title which took its name after the village of Kilmacduagh in County Galway, Ireland. In both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church, the title is now united with other bishoprics. Histo ...

from 13 April 1573. Nominated 30 March 1582 for

Clonfert Clonfert () is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland, halfway between Ballinasloe and Portumna. The village gives its name to the Diocese of Clonfert. Clonfert Cathedral is one of the eight cathedral churches of the Church of Ireland, ...

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

were issued 24 May 1582 and he was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to Clonfert the same year. Kirwan was involved in local government in Connaught, serving as a justice and commissioner for the province from 1580 until his death. He died before 4 November 1601. Other members of his family included: * John William Kirwan * Augustine Kirwan *

Richard Kirwan Richard Kirwan, LL.D, FRS, FRSE MRIA (1 August 1733 – 22 June 1812) was an Irish geologist and chemist. He was one of the last supporters of the theory of phlogiston. Kirwan was active in the fields of chemistry, meteorology, and geology ...

Sir John Kirwan Sir John Kirwan (1650–1721) was an Irish merchant and politician who founded the Kirwans of Castle Hackett, County Galway. Background Kirwan was a member of one of the Tribes of Galway. The family were of Gaelic origin, possibly of Conmha� ...

Dominick Kirwin Dominick Kirwin was an Irish Confederate, ? Kirwin was a member of one of The Tribes of Galway, and led the raiding party that seized a ship anchored near Galway early in the morning of 19 March 1642. It was a British naval vessel under the comma ...

References

* ''Religion and the Laity in Early Modern Galway'', Thomas Connors, ''Galway:History and Society'', 1996, pp. 131–148. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirwan, Stephen Christian clergy from County Galway 16th-century Anglican bishops in Ireland Bishops of Clonfert (Church of Ireland) Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Bishops of Kilmacduagh