Maps of dioceses in Ireland as defined by the synod of Kells. From Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd.
The Dublin area was Christian long before Dublin had a distinct diocese. The remains and memory of monasteries famous before that time, at Finglas, Glasnevin, Glendalough, Kilnamanagh, Rathmichael, Swords, Tallaght, among others, are witness to the faith of earlier generations and to a flourishing Church life in their time. Following a reverted conversion by one Norse King of Dublin, Sitric, his son Godfrey became Christian in 943 and the Kingdom of Dublin first sought to have a bishop of their own in the 11th century under Sitric MacAulaf, who had been on pilgrimage to Rome. He sent his chosen candidate, Donat (or Donagh or Donatus), to be consecrated in Canterbury in 1038 and the new prelate set up the Diocese of Dublin as a small territory within the walled city. The Bishop of Dublin answered to the Archbishop of Canterbury and did not attend councils of the Irish Church.[1]Tallaght Castle was used as an official residence from the mid-15th until the early 19th century.
The archbishop was in union with Rome until the 16th century. Following the death of John Alen, Henry VIII put pressure on the chapters of Dublin's cathedrals, who elected (January 1536) an archbishop of his choice, George Browne. Browne was consecrated by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth.
The Diocese of Kildare was united to Archdiocese of Dublin in 1846. Prior to the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1871, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin was entitled to sit in the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual, along with the other archbishops in rotation. In 1976, the Diocese of Kildare was removed from union with Dublin and placed in union with Diocese of Meath. See Primate of Ireland for a discussion of the roles and status of the archbishops of Dublin and Armagh and their functions as primates.
Cathedrals
Since the Middle Ages, the seat of the archbishop of Dublin has been Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, although for many centuries, it shared this status with St. Patrick's Cathedral. See those articles for details of the role of the archbishop with respect to each.
The Church of Ireland 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-largest Christian church on the island after the Roman Catholic Church. Like other Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its episcopal polity, while rejecting the primacy of the pope.
Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cathedral in Dublin, is designated as the local cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough.
Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the (Anglican) Church of Ireland. It is situated in Dublin, Ireland, and is the elder of the capital city's two medieval cathedrals, the other being St Patrick's Cathedral.
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 the Middle Ages there was an intense rivalry between the two archbishoprics as to seniority. Since 1353 the Archbishop of Armagh has been titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior churchmen on the island of Ireland, the Primate of All Ireland being the more senior. The titles are used by both the Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops. The distinction mirrors that in the Church of England between the Primate of All England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Primate of England, the Archbishop of York.
Lorcán Ua Tuathail, known in English as Laurence O'Toole and in French as Laurent d'Eu, was Archbishop of Dublin at the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland. Lorcán played a prominent role in the Irish Church Reform Movement of the 12th century and mediated between the parties during and after the invasion. He was canonised in 1225 by Pope Honorius III.
The Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral is the senior cleric of the Protestant St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, elected by the chapter of the cathedral. The office was created in 1219 or 1220, by one of several charters granted to the cathedral by Archbishop Henry de Loundres between 1218 and 1220.
The Archdiocese of Armagh is a Latin ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the northern part of Ireland. The ordinary is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh who is also the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical province of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland. The mother church is St Patrick's Cathedral. The claim of the archdiocese to pre-eminence in Ireland as the primatial see rests upon its traditional establishment by Saint Patrick circa 445. It was recognised as a metropolitan province in 1152 by the Synod of Kells.
The United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel, commonly called the Province of Dublin, and also known as the Southern Province, is one of the two ecclesiastical provinces that together form the Church of Ireland; the other is the Province of Armagh. The province has existed since 1833 when the ancient Province of Dublin was merged with the Province of Cashel. Its metropolitan bishop is the Archbishop of Dublin.
Michael Geoffrey St Aubyn Jackson is a Church of Ireland Anglican bishop. Since 2011, he has served as the Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough in the Church of Ireland. He is also the co-chairman of the Porvoo Communion of Anglican and Lutheran churches.
John Robert Winder Neill was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin until the end of January 2011.
The Synod of Kells took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys of Kells and Mellifont, and in later times the synod has been called the Synod of Kells-Mellifont and the Synod of Mellifont-Kells.
The Archdiocese of Dublin is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the eastern part of Ireland. Its archepiscopal see includes the republic's capital city – Dublin. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is St Mary's Pro-Cathedral. Dublin was formally recognised as a metropolitan province in 1152 by the Synod of Kells. Its second archbishop, Lorcán Ua Tuathail, is also its patron saint.
Alan Edwin Thomas Harper, is a retired Anglican bishop. He served in the Church of Ireland as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 2007 to 2012.
The United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough is a diocese of the Church of Ireland in the east of Ireland. It is headed by the Archbishop of Dublin, who is also styled the Primate of Ireland. The diocesan cathedral is Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
The Archbishop of Dublin is the head of the Archdiocese of Dublin in the Catholic Church, responsible for its spiritual and administrative needs. The office has existed since 1152, in succession to a regular bishopric since 1028. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of Dublin, and the archbishop is also styled the Primate of Ireland. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is Saint Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin city, although the Church formally claims Christ Church as its cathedra, and the archbishop's residence is Archbishop's House in Drumcondra.
Dúnán was the first bishop of Dublin, appointed under Dublin's Hiberno-Norse kings. He is known also as Donatus or Donat. The diocese was put on a regular basis, in 1028, at the request of Sigtrygg Silkbeard. In his obit in the Annals of Ulster Dúnán is described as "chief bishop of the foreigners".
The Archbishop of Dublin is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland. The archbishop of each denomination also holds the title of Primate of Ireland.
George Browne D.D. was an English Augustinian who was appointed by Henry VIII of England to the vacant Episcopal see of Dublin. He became the king's main instrument in his desire to establish the state church in the Kingdom of Ireland. An iconoclast, during the Protestant Reformation he is noted for destroying the Bachal Isu, one of the symbols of authority of the Archbishop of Armagh.
John Comyn, born in England, was Archbishop of Dublin, Ireland.
Richard Lionel Clarke is a retired Irish Anglican bishop and author. From 2012 to 2020, he served as the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland: as such, he was the senior cleric of the Church of Ireland.
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