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Primacy of Ireland

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ThePrimacy of Irelandbelongs to thediocesan bishopof theIrish diocesewith highestprecedence.TheArchbishop of Armaghis titledPrimate of All Irelandand theArchbishop of DublinPrimate of Ireland,signifying that they are the senior clerics on the island of Ireland, the Primate of All Ireland being the more senior. The titles are used by both theCatholic Church in IrelandandChurch of Ireland.Primateis atitle of honour,and in theMiddle Agesthere was an intense rivalry between Armagh and Dublin as to seniority. The Archbishop of Armagh's leading status is based on the belief that hisseewas founded bySt. Patrick,makingArmaghtheecclesiastical capitalof Ireland. On the other hand,Dublinis the political, cultural, social, economic and secular centre of Ireland, and has been for many centuries, thus making the Archbishop of Dublin someone of considerable influence, with a high national profile. The dispute between the twoarchbishopricswas settled byPope Innocent VIin 1353, with occasional brief controversy since. The distinction mirrors that in theChurch of Englandbetween the Primate of All England, theArchbishop of Canterbury,and the Primate of England, theArchbishop of York.[1]

Pre-Reformation

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Theepiscopal seeof Dublin was created in the eleventh century, whenDublinwas aNorsecity state.Its first bishop,Dúnán(or Donatus), was described at his death as "chief bishop of the Foreigners".[2]From the first, Dublin had close ties to thesee of Canterbury.[3]The fifth bishop of Dublin,Gregory,was only asubdeaconwhen he was elected bishop by whatAubrey Gwynncalled "the Norse party in the city". He was sent to England where he was consecrated byArchbishop Ralph of Canterbury,but on his return, he was prevented from entering his see by those who wanted Dublin integrated with the Irish hierarchy. A compromise was reached by which Gregory was recognised as bishop of Dublin, while he in turn accepted the authority ofCellach,archbishop of Armagh, as primate.[4]In 1152, theSynod of Kellsdivided Ireland between the four archdioceses of Armagh, Dublin,CashelandTuam.Gregory was appointed archbishop of Dublin. Thepapal legate,CardinalJohn Paparo,also appointed the archbishop of Armagh "as Primate over the other bishops, as was fitting."[5]

Henry de Loundres,archbishop of Dublin from 1213 to 1228, obtained abullfromPope Honorius IIIprohibiting any archbishop from having the cross carried before him (a symbol of authority) in the archdiocese of Dublin without the consent of the archbishop of Dublin.[6]A century later, this bull led to a confrontation betweenRichard FitzRalph,archbishop of Armagh, andAlexander de Bicknor,archbishop of Dublin, when FitzRalph, acting on letters ofKing Edward IIIspecifically allowing him to do so, entered Dublin in 1349 "with the cross erect before him". He was opposed by the prior of Kilmainham on the instructions of Bicknor, and forced to withdraw to Drogheda. On Bicknor's death, and the succession ofJohn de St Paulto the see of Dublin, King Edward revoked his letters to FitzRalph and forbade the primate to exercise his jurisdiction in Dublin.[7]In 1353 the matter was referred toAvignon.There Pope Innocent VI, acting on the advice of theCollege of Cardinals,ruled that "each of these prelates should be Primate; while, for the distinction of style, the Primate of Armagh should entitle himselfPrimate of All Ireland,but the Metropolitan of Dublin should subscribe himselfPrimate of Ireland."[8]

Church of Ireland

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On 20 October 1551, the ProtestantEdward VIand thePrivy Council of Englandtransferred the Anglican primacy fromGeorge Dowdallof Armagh toGeorge Browneof Dublin,[9]as the former opposed theReformation in Ireland,which the latter advanced by introducing the1549 Prayer Bookand destroying theBachal Isu,both aCatholic relicand a symbol of Armagh's primacy. The CatholicMary Ion 12 October 1553, shortly after succeeding Edward, restored Dowdall and Armagh to primacy.[10]In the 1630s,Lancelot Bulkeleyof Dublin argued that Protestant Edward's decree ought to be accepted and Catholic Mary's annulled, but in 1634 theLord Deputy of Ireland,Thomas Wentworth,felt that without stronger evidence the primacy should remain with Armagh.[11]TheChurch Temporalities Act 1833reducedTuamandCashel and Emlyfrom archdioceses to dioceses, leaving no archbishops other than the two primates.

Catholic

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In 1672 Catholic archbishopPeter Talbotof Dublin disputed the right ofOliver Plunkettof Armagh to preside at a synod in Dublin; Talbot claimed KingCharles IIhad given him aCommission.[12]Both wrote tracts supporting their claims,[13]and appealed to the Pope in Rome. WhileJohn D'Altonaccepted the assertion that Rome ruled in favour of Armagh,[14]Tomás Ó Fiaichsays no ruling was made.[15]There was a further dispute in the 1720s when a Dublin priest, censured by his own archbishop, appealed toHugh MacMahonof Armagh, who reversed the censure.[16]Rome investigated but made no decision.[17]In 1802,John Troysaid that, to avoid controversy, neither archbishop exercised jurisdiction outside his own metropolitan province.[18]

In 1852 archbishopPaul Cullen,theapostolic delegateto Ireland, wastranslatedfrom Armagh to Dublin; his successor in Dublin,Edward MacCabe,was in 1882 made the first Irishcardinalin preference to Armagh'sDaniel McGettigan.In 1963Tomás Ó FiaichandWilliam Conwaysuggested that the period of Cullen and MacCabe's primacy was the only time during which "the leadership of the Irish Church" was in Dublin rather than Armagh; and the motivation was the necessity of close contact with theDublin Castle administrationin the period afterCatholic Emancipation,especially untilthe controversy over control of educationwas eased by theIntermediate Education (Ireland) Act 1878andRoyal University(1880).[19]

Since 1885, Irish voting members of theCollege of Cardinalshave been archbishops of Armagh rather than Dublin, except whenDesmond Connellwas appointed in 2001 ahead ofSeán Brady.[19][20]This was somewhat unexpected, and attributed to Connell's experience in theRoman Curia.The younger Brady was made a cardinal in 2007, by which time Connell had passed the 80-year age limit for voting that applies in the College.[20]

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^MacGeoghegan, James,The history of Ireland, ancient and modern(1844), James Duffy, Dublin, p. 337
  2. ^Gwynn, Aubrey,The Irish Church in the 11th and 12th Centuries(1992), edited by Gerard O'Brien, Four Courts, Dublin, pp. 50–51
  3. ^Gwynn (1992), p. 50
  4. ^Gwynn (1992), pp. 128, 228
  5. ^Gwynn (1992), p. 221
  6. ^Brenan, Michael John,An Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, Volume I(1840), J. Coyne, Dublin, pp. 377–8
  7. ^Carew, Patrick Joseph,An ecclesiastical history of Ireland(1838), Eugene Cummiskey, Philadelphia, pp. 396–7
  8. ^William Dool Killen,The Ecclesiastical History of Ireland(1875), MacMillan, Dublin, p. 294
  9. ^D'Alton 1838 p. 233
  10. ^D'Alton 1838 p. 234
  11. ^Ó Fiaich 2006 p. 9
  12. ^Ó Fiaich 2006 pp. 10–11
  13. ^
    • Plunkett, Oliver (1672).Jus primatiale: or, The ancient right and preheminency of the See of Armagh: above all other archbishopricks in the Kingdom of Ireland.London: —.OCLC606865776.
    • Talbot, Peter (1947). Kenny, W. E. (ed.).Primatus Dubliniensis: the primacy of the See of Dublin or a compendium of the arguments on which the See of Dublin relies, for the enjoyment and prosecution in its own right of the Primacy of Ireland.Dublin: Church of Ireland Print. and Pub. Co.OCLC221725667.
  14. ^D'Alton 1838 pp. 432–434, 442–443;Murray, Raymond."Plunkett, St Oliver".Dictionary of Irish Biography.Cambridge University Press.Retrieved1 November2015.
  15. ^Ó Fiaich 2006 p. 11
  16. ^D'Alton 1838 p. 443
  17. ^Ó Fiaich 2006 pp. 12–13
  18. ^Ó Fiaich 2006 p. 13
  19. ^abÓ Fiaich 2006 p. 21
  20. ^abMcGarry, Patsy (18 October 2007)."Third red hat gives extra fillip to church".The Irish Times.Retrieved22 January2024.

Sources

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