Walton Newcombe Francis Empey (born 26 October 1934) is a retired

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 ...

bishop. He was formerly the Archbishop of Dublin. Empey was born in Dublin, the son of the Reverend Francis Fullerton Empey and Mildred May "Mimi" Empey (née Cox). His father was also a cleric, serving in Donoughmore and Donard, Fenagh and then in

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountain ...

. Empey was educated in local national schools in his father's parishes and then at

Portora Royal School Portora Royal School located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was one of the public schools founded by the royal charter in 1608, by James I, making it one of the oldest schools in Ireland at the time of its closure. Origina ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

. He then took a BA at Trinity College, Dublin in 1957. Empey was ordained as a deacon in 1958 and, after being ordained priest in 1959, he was appointed as a curate in St Paul's church, in

Glenageary Glenageary ( ga, Gleann na gCaorach , meaning "Glen of the Sheep") is an area in the suburbs of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. While there is no officially defined boundary, it is surrounded by the areas of Dalkey, Dún Laoghaire, Glasthul ...

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 ...

. The following year he moved to Canada, serving the

Anglican Church in Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church counted 359,030 members on parish rolls in 2,2 ...

initially in

Grand Falls, New Brunswick Grand Falls (french: Grand-Sault) is a town located in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada. Grand Falls is situated on the Saint John River. The town derives its name from a waterfall created by a series of rock ledges over which the rive ...

and then for three years as Rector of Madawaska. Empey returned to Ireland in 1966 as Rector of

Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, a National Secondary Route, about from Portlaoise. It is a townland, a civil parish and historic barony. It is known for its "Steam Ra ...

, County Laois until 1971, when he was appointed as Dean of Limerick and Rector of Limerick City Parishes. In 1981 he was elected

Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe The Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert or the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe ( ; ''Full title'': Bishop of Limerick, Ardfert, Aghadoe, Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, Kilmacduagh and Emly) is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united D ...

and in 1985 he succeeded Donald Caird as

Bishop of Meath and Kildare The United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare is a diocese in the Church of Ireland located in the Republic of Ireland. The diocese is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Alone of English and Irish bishops who are not also archbishops, the Bis ...

. Caird had been appointed as Archbishop of Dublin and when he retired from that role in 1996, Empey was elected as his successor, becoming Archbishop of Dublin, Bishop of Glendalough,

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in ...

and Metropolitan. He was enthroned in Christ Church Cathedral in June 1997 and retired in 2002.
Letter to ''Irish Times'' in his retirement Empey married Louisa "Louie" Hall in July 1960 and they have four children; Patrick (born 1961), Karl (born 1963), Kevin (born 1967) and Sheila (born 1971). He also has ten grandchildren, the youngest born on 20 April 2013.

References

Introductory address
on Empey's receipt of an honorary DD 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 ...

10 April 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Empey, Walton 1934 births Living people Anglican archbishops of Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Deans of Limerick Bishops of Limerick and Killaloe Bishops of Meath and Kildare Christian clergy from County Dublin