Archdiocese of Dublin (Roman Catholic)

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The Archdiocese of Dublin is the largest Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland. It covers all of County Dublin, nearly all of County Wicklow, with much of County Kildare and fragments of counties Carlow, Wexford and Laois. This area was Christian long before Dublin had a diocese, and the remains and memory of monasteries famous before that time, at Glendalough, Rathmichael, Tallaght and Kilnamanagh, among others, are witness to the faith of earlier generations, and to a flourishing Church life in their time.

The Norse of the kingdom of Dublin first sought to have a bishop of their own in the eleventh century, and sent their chosen candidate to be consecrated in Canterbury. They obviously wanted to keep some distance from the Irish around them, and through trading contacts were interested in how things were done in England. This isolation ended when Dublin was made an Archdiocese in 1152, and the second Archbishop was Saint Laurence O'Toole, previously Abbot of Glendalough.

Saint Laurence's lifetime saw many changes in Ireland. Religious orders from the continent came here, and Laurence installed a community of canons to minister in the Cathedral of Holy Trinity, later known as Christchurch. The Abbey of Saint Mary was founded in Dublin at that time, first Benedictine, then Cistercian, which for several centuries was to be an important religious centre for Dublin and its surroundings.

Not only was the Irish Church transformed in that twelfth century by new organisation and new arrivals from abroad, but Ireland's political scene was changed permanently by the coming of the Normans. Saint Laurence's successor was a Norman, and from then onward to the time of the Reformation, Dublin's Archbishops were all either Norman or English. It was the medieval pattern of things. High offices in the Church were never free of political influence, and in fact many of Dublin's Archbishops exercised civil authority for the English crown. Archbishop Henry's name appears in the text of the Magna Carta along with the names of English Bishops as witnesses. With the intention of strengthening the diocese approval was obtained from Pope Innocent III to unite the diocese of Glendalough with Dublin in 1216. The Faith flourished too. Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans and Carmelites had houses in Dublin. The great convent of Grace Dieu, near Donabate, was an example of women's religious life and education.

Medieval parish churches can be traced outside the city and towns. Tully, which dated from very ancient times, Kilgobbin, Kill of the Grange, Kilbarrack, Howth, are examples. Today their ruined walls seem small to modern eyes, but population was sparse in those days and simple buildings were adequate, many roofed with thatch. 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 governor. In addition to his palace of Saint Sepulchre (where Kevin Street Garda station is today) the Archbishop had his castle at Swords, as the abbot of Saint Mary's Abbey had his castle, too, at Bulloch Harbour near Dalkey, where he levied customs duties on all goods in what was then a busy commercial port. Medieval times saw many pilgrimages. In addition to Glendalough, pilgrimages were made regularly to Our Lady's Shrine at Trim, in Meath, and overseas to the great shrine of Saint James, at Compostella 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.

The Reformation in the sixteenth century brought suffering and death. Churches and church buildings were lost, and when not destroyed became centres of foreign influence and colonising power. Dublin had its martyrs, such as Blessed Francis Taylor, Mayor of the city, and Blessed Margaret Bermingham - Mrs. Ball - and Archbishop Peter Talbot, who died in prison for the Faith, a contemporary of Saint Oliver Plunkett. Others from outside Dublin were martyred here for the Faith, such as Blessed Dermot O'Hurley, Archbishop of Cashel who is buried in the little churchyard of Saint Kevin's, off Camden Street, Blessed Conor O'Devaney, Bishop of Down and Conor, and Blessed Patrick O'Loughran, a priest of County Tyrone. These deaths for the Faith made a great impression on Dublin's people, and strengthened their attachment to the faith of their ancestors for generations to come.

As persecution eased, little Mass houses were opened here and there, usually off the beaten track. Some which have since entirely disappeared are marked on maps as far back as the eighteenth century, and the memory of Mass paths in certain country places has lasted until today. The buildings were the simplest, of mud walls and thatch roofs, with the most primitive of furnishings. The same tale was repeated all over Ireland. The King born in a stable held court in a shack.

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were a time of reconstruction and revival, after the winter of persecution. In the 1770s and 1780s Archbishop Carpenter issued instructions about prayers to be said in the diocese in Irish and English. Both languages were in common use among ordinary people. The 1800s saw the great work of the new religious congregations, Mary Aikenhead with the Sisters of Charity, Catherine McAuley with her House of Mercy in Baggot Street, and Margaret Aylward with the Holy Faith Sisters, Blessed Edmund Rice from Waterford, with O'Connell Schools in Richmond Street and the School in Hannover Street which later moved to Westland Row. Daniel O'Connell was the leader of many initiatives to regain Catholic freedom of worship. In these years Archbishop Daniel Murray was the wise guide of all this 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. 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 at the Catholic University and at Milltown Park, the Holy Ghost Fathers at Kimmage Manor and Blackrock must be remembered among many others. Two outstanding Archbishops must be mentioned, to stand for many, Paul Cullen, who became Ireland's first Cardinal in 1866, and Dr. McQuaid in the twentieth century, both men of real greatness. The present turmoil of Irish minds prevents a true appreciation of either. Increase of population to more than a million Catholics has brought a doubling of the Dublin's parishes in the last fifty years, to reach the present total of 200. In all of them laymen and women are training to take an increased role in the running of the Church in future years.

1 Recent trends in ordination in Archdiocese of Dublin
- 1.1 Ordinations in 2006
- 1.2 Ordinations during 1990 - 2005
2 List of Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archbishops of Dublin
3 External links

[edit] Recent trends in ordination in Archdiocese of Dublin

[edit] Ordinations in 2006

Three men,all aged 40+, Pádraig O'Sullivan (an Artane native; former nurse and nurse tutor), Robert Coclough (a Dundrum native; former engineer) and Joseph McDonald ( a Belfast native; former teacher) were ordained by Most Reverend Dr Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin on July 9, 2006. They will serve in the Archdiocese of Dublin.

A further 8 ordinations are expected this year from the student cohort totallying 67.

[edit] Ordinations during 1990 - 2005

**Ordinations**
Year	Number Ordained
2005	0
2004	1
2003	5
2002	1
2002	2
2001	1
2000	2
1999	1
1998	3
1997	2
1996	6
1995	4
1994	7
1993	4
1992	8
1991	6
1990	5