Bishop William MacNeely | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Raphoe | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| See | Raphoe |
| In office | from 1923 to 1963 |
| Predecessor | Patrick O'Donnell |
| Successor | Anthony Columba McFeely |
| Personal details | |
| Born | County Donegal, Ireland |
The Most Reverend William MacNeely was the Bishop of Raphoe [1] from 1923 until 1963.
William MacNeely was born in Dec 1889; his father was a butcher in Donegal Town. MacNeely was educated at the High School in Letterkenny, and in Rome from 1906–12. He was ordained to the priesthood on 4 February 1912 [2] and upon his return to Ireland was appointed to the staff of St Eunan's College. [3]
MacNeely served for two years as chaplain with the Irish Battalions in the British Army in the First World War. [4]
In July 1923, at the comparatively young age of 35, he was appointed as Bishop of Raphoe in succession to Bishop Patrick O'Donnell who had been appointed to Armagh the previous year. [5] In that role he was responsible for the completion of Letterkenny Cathedral and negotiating with Harry Clarke to finish the work of glazing the cathedral. [6]
Keen to develop religious life in his diocese, he invited the Capuchin Franciscans to the Creeslough area in 1930 to a site that would become known as Ards Priory.[ citation needed ]
In 2008, it was reported that MacNeely was one of the two Irish episcopal coordinators who worked alongside "an intelligence-gathering secret service" set up in 1948 to monitor any sign of a "Communist takeover" of Ireland. [7]
In 1953, he was a member of the inaugural Episcopal Commission for Emigrants reflecting the high levels of migration that afflicted his diocese and wider Donegal for much of the twentieth century. [8]
He served as Bishop for over forty years attending the early sessions of the Second Vatican Council, and died in December 1963.[ citation needed ]
The bishop was also a successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle. [9]
St Eunan's Cathedral, or the Cathedral of St Eunan and St Columba as it is also known, is a cathedral in the parish of Conwal and Leck, part of the Diocese of Raphoe. Built between the years of 1890 and 1900, the cathedral is found in Letterkenny, County Donegal in Ireland. There are two cathedrals in the county; an older cathedral of the same name is found in the town of Raphoe, and since the Reformation, has been used by the Church of Ireland.
Michael Cardinal Logue was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland from 1887 until his death in 1924. He was created a cardinal in 1893.
Raphoe is a small town in County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was later divided into the baronies of Raphoe North and Raphoe South, as well as to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe and the Church of Ireland (Anglican) Diocese of Derry and Raphoe.
Patrick Joseph Cardinal O'Donnell was an Irish senior prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Armagh from 1924 until his death, and was made a cardinal in 1925.
Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona, also known as Eunan, was an abbot of Iona Abbey (r. 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the Life of Columba, probably written between 697 and 700. This biography is by far the most important surviving work written in early-medieval Scotland, and is a vital source for our knowledge of the Picts, and an insight into the life of Iona and the early-medieval Gaelic monk.
Séamus Hegarty, D.D. was an Irish Catholic prelate. He served as Bishop of Raphoe from 1982 to 1994, then as Bishop of Derry from 1994 to 2011.
The Diocese of Raphoe is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the inter-Irish primatial ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Armagh.
As with other towns and cities in Ireland, Letterkenny has a history of great architecture. Many examples of ancient architecture remain in the town to the present day – though much has been lost also, through decay and modern development.
Conwal and Leck is a parish located in north-east County Donegal, Province of Ulster, Ireland. It covers west Letterkenny and the surrounding hinterland. The parish has approximately 10,000 inhabitants and 1,000 families.
Daniel McGettigan (1815–1887) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served Bishop of Raphoe from 1861 to 1870 and Archbishop of Armagh from 1870 to 1887.
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 bishopric.
The Diocese of Derry and Raphoe is a diocese of the Church of Ireland in the north-west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. Its geographical remit straddles two civil jurisdictions: in Northern Ireland, it covers all of County Londonderry and large parts of County Tyrone while in the Republic of Ireland it covers County Donegal.
John Bernard MacGinley was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Nueva Caceres and Bishop of Monterey-Fresno.
St Eunan's Cathedral ( YOO-nən, also known as Raphoe Cathedral, is one of two cathedral churches of the United Dioceses of Derry and Raphoe in the Church of Ireland. It is located in Raphoe, County Donegal and is dedicated to Saint Eunan who was abbot of Iona. The other diocesan cathedral is St Columb's Cathedral in Derry.
Austin Quinn (1892–1974) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Kilmore from 1950 to 1972.
Alexander Aloysius "Alan" McGuckian SJ is a Roman Catholic prelate and theologian from Northern Ireland who has served as Bishop of Raphoe since 2017.
Kevin Gillespie is an Irish priest who since 20 August 2018 serves as Vicar Forane and Administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe's Cathedral Parish of Conwal and Leck. Having spent much time at the Vatican and worked closely with two Popes, he has been mentioned as a possible future Bishop of Raphoe.
Niall Coll is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate and theologian who has served as Bishop of Ossory since 22 January 2023.
