Primate of All Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Primate of All Ireland is a title held by the Archbishops of Armagh, both the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland ones, to signify that within their respective churches they are the senior churchmen in the island of Ireland.
Although the island of Ireland was partitioned by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 into two states now known as the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Roman Catholic and Anglican Church of Ireland are (like other major Irish religions) organised on an all-island basis. Armagh is in Northern Ireland; in both churches the highest-ranking figure within the Republic is the Archbishop of Dublin, who bears the title Primate of Ireland. But these similar and yet subtly different titles have nothing to do with the present political situation in Ireland; the distinction dates to mediaeval times and simply represents a compromise whereby the seniority of Armagh was affirmed while still allowing the Archbishop of Dublin to use the title of "Primate." The situation mirrors that in the Church of England (again dating back to long before the Reformation) which has a Primate of All England (the Archbishop of Canterbury) and a Primate of England (the Archbishop of York).
For more on the mediaeval and later struggles between the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin, see the history of the diocese.
At present the Archbishop of Armagh for the Roman Catholic Church is Seán Brady; and Alan Harper for the Church of Ireland.
