Eamon Martin

This article is about the bishop. For the runner, see Eamonn Martin. For Irish republican, see Eamon Martin (Irish Republican).

The Most Reverend Eamon Martin KC*HS
Archbishop of Armagh Primate of All Ireland
Martin in 2019
Church	Roman Catholic
Archdiocese	Armagh
Appointed	18 January 2013 (coadjutor)
Installed	21 April 2013 (coadjutor) 8 September 2014 (Archbishop)
Predecessor	Seán Brady
Other post(s)	President of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference Apostolic administrator of Dromore
Orders
Ordination	28 June 1987 by  Edward Daly
Consecration	21 April 2013 by Seán Brady
Personal details
Born	(1961-10-30) 30 October 1961 (age 61) Derry, Northern Ireland
Residence	Ara Coeli, Armagh, Northern Ireland
Parents	John James and Catherine Martin
Previous post(s)	Diocesan administrator and vicar general of the Diocese of Derry Executive secretary to the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference President of and Head of Religious Education and Teacher at St Columb's College
Alma mater	St Edmunds College, Cambridge UCL Institute of Education Queen's University Belfast St Patrick's College, Maynooth
Motto	Cantate canticum novum (Sing a new song)
Coat of arms

Eamon Columba Martin KC*HS (born 30 October 1961) is a Irish Catholic prelate from Northern Ireland who has served as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland since 2014.

Early life and education

Martin was born in Pennyburn, Derry, on 30 October 1961, one of twelve children to John James Martin and his wife Catherine (née Crossan). ^[1] He attended primary school at St Patrick's Primary School, Pennyburn, and secondary school at St Columb's College. ^[2]

Martin studied for the priesthood at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mathematical science and a Bachelor of Divinity. During his time in Maynooth, Martin was a senior cantor and leading member of the seminary choir, serving as Acting Director of Sacred Music in his final year. ^{[1] [3]}

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Derry on 28 June 1987. ^[1]

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Martin's first pastoral appointment was as assistant priest in the cathedral parish in Derry between 1987 and 1989. Between September 1990 and September 1998, he taught mathematics and religion at St Columb's College, being appointed head of religious education in September 1997. ^[1]

Martin completed a Master of Philosophy in school development at St Edmunds College, Cambridge, between 1998 and 1999. Upon his return to the Diocese of Derry, he was appointed president of St Columb's College in May 2000. Martin has also completed a postgraduate certificate in education from Queen's University Belfast and a National Professional Qualification for Headship from the UCL Institute of Education. ^[1]

He was subsequently appointed executive secretary to the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference in June 2008, before returning to the Diocese of Derry two years later upon his appointment as vicar general. ^[1]

Martin was appointed Chaplain of His Holiness by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 November 2010. ^[4]

He was also a regular contributor to Thought for the Day and Prayer for the Day on BBC Radio 4, and celebrant and preacher on Sunday Morning Worship on BBC Radio Ulster, as well as on other programmes on RTÉ and the BBC World Service. ^[1]

Diocesan Administrator of Derry

Following the resignation of Séamus Hegarty as Bishop of Derry on 23 November 2011, Martin was elected diocesan administrator on 25 November. ^[5]

In 2012, he published plans to radically reform Catholic post-primary education in the diocese, with an aim to end academic selection and single-sex education, as well as to create two new sixth-form colleges in Derry. ^[4]

Episcopal ministry

Styles of Eamon Martin
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Grace
Religious style	Archbishop

Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh

Martin was appointed as coadjutor archbishop of Armagh by Pope Benedict XVI on 18 January 2013. ^{[6] [7]} He spoke of his shock upon learning of the appointment, saying:

I am very conscious of the great trust that the Holy Father has placed in me, but in truth, I have to admit it was with considerable nervousness and trepidation that I accepted his call. ^[8]

The Bishop Emeritus of Derry, Edward Daly, said that Martin was seen as "a clean pair of hands" after the sexual abuse scandals, adding that the new coadjutor archbishop "[did] not carry any baggage from the past with him". ^[7]

Martin was consecrated by the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, Seán Brady, on 21 April in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh. ^[9]

Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland

In accordance with canon law, Brady tendered his resignation in July 2014, ahead of his 75th birthday on 15 August. ^[10] It was announced on 8 September that Pope Francis that his resignation had been accepted and that Martin would succeed him to the see and primacy of Ireland with immediate effect. ^[11]

It was reported in The Irish Times that Martin was a relative "unknown" in Rome, with zero visibility in the Vatican. ^[12]

Martin is an honorary fellow of St Edmunds College, Cambridge. ^[13]

In his capacity as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, he was elected President of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference that October. ^[3]

Apostolic Administrator of Dromore

Following the resignation of John McAreavey as Bishop of Dromore on 26 March 2018 and subsequent retirement of Philip Boyce as apostolic administration, Martin was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Dromore by Pope Francis on 15 April 2019. ^{[14] [15]}

Views

Abortion

In a 2013 interview, Martin said that legislators who clearly and publicly supports abortion should not seek to receive Communion as legislators who support abortion are excommunicating themselves. ^[16]

Child abuse

Upon his appointment as coadjutor archbishop of Armagh in 2013, Martin addressed the sexual abuse scandals that came to light in Ireland over the last two decades, stating that "[one] of the greatest challenges facing our Church is to acknowledge, live with, and learn from the past, including the terrible trauma caused by abuse". He added that the church "can never take it for granted that the safeguarding systems we have in place are robust and fail-safe, so we have to keep working on that". ^{[17] [18]}

Martin is also a director of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church. ^[18]

Same-sex marriage

Following the passing of a referendum permitting same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland on 22 May 2018, Martin has said that the Catholic Church felt a sense of "bereavement", with Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, calling the result a "defeat for humanity". ^{[19] [20]}

Martin referred to Parolin's comments as an expression of the deeply held conviction about the meaning of marriage in the Catholic Church:

One of the difficulties of the debate was that we had two parallel discussions going on. One was about the meaning of marriage and the other was about respecting gay people and showing tolerance," he said. "I think what Cardinal Parolin was expressing was our deeply held conviction about the meaning of marriage. He said three things. He said, look, I'm saddened by the result which I think a lot of people in this country are also. He said this isn't just a defeat for Christian principles, it's a defeat for humanity. I think what he was trying to do was express the loss that has occurred here and we do feel it's a loss. Something very unique and precious has been lost. That's not in any way to say that there are not a lot of people who were very happy with the result, and we could see that on the night of the result. ^[21]

United Ireland

In 2016, Martin expressed his support for a United Ireland, saying:

I do believe that Ireland should be one and I would like to work for that, and continue to work for that, by peaceful means and by persuasion, recognising that there are many people on this island who do not want that. To the extent I think the border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland has become increasingly less important, I would like to see that trend continuing. ^[22]

COVID-19 pandemic

Speaking to the News at One on RTÉ Radio 1 on 29 October 2020, Martin criticised the imposition of a ban on all public worship in the Republic of Ireland with the introduction of Level 3 restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that such a ban had been imposed without any meaningful consultation with religious leaders across the island. He went to state that he was not aware of any evidence that church buildings had been a source of contagion or of spreading the disease. ^[23]

References

1. "Pope Benedict XVI appoints Monsignor Eamon Martin as Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
2. "Archbishop Eamon Martin congratulated". Londonderry Sentinel. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
3. Hicks, Caroline. "Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh". Archdiocese of Armagh. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
4. "Monsignor well known as a reformer who protects children's rights". Irish Independent. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
5. "Monsignor Eamon Martin elected new Diocesan Administrator for Diocese of Derry". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
6. "Rinunce e nomine, 18.01.2013" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
7. "Eamon Martin set to become head of Ireland's Catholics". BBC News. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
8. "Statement by Monsignor Eamon Martin on his appointment as Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
9. "Address from Coadjutor Archbishop Eamon Martin at the conclusion of his Episcopal Ordination". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
10. "Statement by Cardinal Seán Brady on offering his resignation as Archbishop of Armagh". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
11. "Pope Francis accepts Cardinal Brady's resignation and Archbishop Eamon Martin becomes Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
12. Agnew, Paddy (10 September 2014). "New head of Catholic church in Ireland an 'unknown' in Rome". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
13. "Fellows and Senior Members". St Edmunds College. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
14. "Pope Francis appoints Archbishop Eamon Martin as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Dromore". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
15. Little, Joe (15 April 2019). "Martin appointed as Apostolic Administrator for Dromore". RTÉ. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
16. Nolan, Larissa; O'Brien, Stephen (19 May 2013). "Church warns pro-abortion TDs". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
17. McGarry, Patsy (18 January 2013). "Eamon Martin to succeed Brady". Irish Times . Retrieved 26 May 2015.
18. "Monsignor Eamon Martin – profile". BBC News . 18 January 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
19. Buckley, Dan (3 June 2015). "Archbishop Eamon Martin: Church is 'bereaved' by yes vote". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
20. Toppa, Sabrina (27 May 2015). "Church Calls Irish Gay Marriage Vote a 'Defeat for Humanity'". Time. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
21. Thompson, Sylvia (2 June 2015). "Catholic Church 'bereavement' after same-sex marriage vote". Irish Times. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
22. Black, Rebecca; MacDonald, Sarah (27 May 2016). "Archbishop Martin calls for united Ireland". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
23. Mac Donald, Sarah (29 October 2020). "'No evidence we know of that church is source of contagion' - Archbishop Eamon Martin critical of blanket ban on public worship". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 March 2023.

External links

• Archbishop Eamon Martin on Catholic-Hierarchy.org
• Archbishop Eamon Martin on GCatholic
• Archbishop Eamon Martin on Archdiocese of Armagh
• Archbishop Eamon Martin on Twitter

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Seán Brady	Archbishop of Armagh since 2014	Incumbent
Order of precedence in Northern Ireland
Preceded by High sheriffs of counties (see list here) (during term of office and within bounds of counties)	Gentlemen Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland	Succeeded by Dermot Farrell