Séamus Hegarty, D.D. (26 January 1940 – 20 September 2019) was an Irish

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

. He served as

Bishop of Raphoe The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bi ...

from 1982 to 1994, then as

Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in ...

from 1994 to 2011.

Early life and ministry

Hegarty was born in

Kilcar ''Cill Charthaigh'' (anglicised as Kilcar) is a Gaeltacht village on the R263 road (Ireland), R263 Regional road (Ireland), regional road in the south west of County Donegal in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a townland of 233 acres an ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, in 1940. He had one brother, Dermot, and one sister, Maire. He received his education in

National School,

St Eunan's College St Eunan's College ( ; ), known locally as The College to distinguish it from the cathedral and GAA club, is a voluntary Roman Catholic all-male, English-medium secondary day school (and former boarding school) in County Donegal, Ireland. It ...

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

, and

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

, which he attended from 1959 to 1966. He graduated in Celtic studies and spoke fluent Irish, English and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop McQuaid of Dublin at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, on 19 June 1966. He taught in Colaiste na Croise Naofa,

Falcarragh ''An Fál Carrach'' (anglicised as Falcarragh), sometimes called ('the Crossroads'), is a small ''Gaeltacht'' town and townland in the north-west of County Donegal, Ireland. The settlement is in the district and old parish of Cloughaneely. Ir ...

, where he later became president (1971–1981). He carried through the establishment of Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola in 1973, becoming its first principal, and with his staff he made it a successful school. His last appointment before elevation to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the River Finn (County Donegal), Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River F ...

Episcopal ministry

He was appointed the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Raphoe by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

on 12 February 1982. His

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

took place at St Eunan's Cathedral in Letterkenny on 28 March 1982, the principal

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

was Cardinal

Tomás Ó Fiaich Tomás Séamus Ó Fiaich, KGCHS (3 November 1923 – 8 May 1990) was an Irish cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 2 October 1977 until his death. He was created ...

, and the principal co-consecrators were

Gaetano Alibrandi Gaetano Alibrandi (14 January 1914 – 3 July 2003) of the Roman Catholic Church was a senior papal diplomat and former Personal Secretary to Giovanni Battista Cardinal Montini (later Pope Paul VI). Biography Born at Castiglione di Sicilia in t ...

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Binda, and Edward Daly, Bishop of Derry. A brusque man with an abrupt air about him and small of stature, he was described by one

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...

professor as a "cross between Mussolini and the Child of Prague." Following the resignation of Bishop Edward Daly on 26 October 1993, Dr Hegarty was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Derry by the

on 1 October 1994 and installed at St Eugene's Cathedral, Derry on 6 November 1994. In November 2009, Bishop Hegarty expressed concern after 17 priests in the Derry diocese were found to have child sexual abuse allegations filed against them. In 2010 the Belfast Telegraph and other media outlets reported that Bishop Hegarty was a named defendant in a civil legal action concerning the alleged abuse of a young girl by a priest of the Derry diocese. Bishop Hegarty made a statement to the press asserting that no diocesan funds had been used to compensate the victim. Hegarty's handling of similar abuse allegations in the Diocese of Raphoe and the extent of the Sexual abuse in Raphoe diocese reflected poorly on Hegarty's oversight.

Retirement

On 7 November 2011, he issued a statement saying that, having been diagnosed with "a condition which is, unfortunately, irreversible and progressive", he had submitted his resignation because he was no longer able to fulfill his role as diocesan bishop. The Holy See announced on 23 November 2011 that his resignation had been accepted.RINUNCIA DEL VESCOVO DI DERRY (IRLANDA)
He was succeeded by

Donal McKeown Dónal McKeown (born 12 April 1950) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate from Northern Ireland who has served as Bishop of Derry since 2014. Early life and education McKeown was born in Belfast on 12 April 1950, one of four children to J ...

in 2014 and Bishop Hegarty died on 20 September 2019.

References

External links

Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegarty, Seamus 1940 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth People educated at St Eunan's College People from Kilcar Roman Catholic bishops of Derry Roman Catholic bishops of Raphoe 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Northern Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Northern Ireland Christian clergy from County Donegal Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II

Early life and ministry

Episcopal ministry

Retirement

See also

References

External links