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Primate
Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
 of Ireland is a title possessed by the Roman Catholic and the Anglican Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. Like other Anglican churches, it considers itself to be both Catholicism and Protestant Reformation....
  Archbishops of Dublin
Archbishop of Dublin

Archbishop of Dublin is the title of the presiding ecclesiastical figure of each of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland in the region around Dublin, Republic of Ireland....
. It does not however indicate that the Archbishop is the most senior clergyman of his Chistian denomination in Ireland but rather he is the second-most senior figure, the most senior figure in both denominations, the Archbishops of Armagh
Archbishop of Armagh

The Archbishop of Armagh is the title of the presiding ecclesiastical figure of each of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland in the region around Armagh in Northern Ireland....
, possessing the title Primate of All Ireland
Primate of All Ireland

Primate of All Ireland is a title held by the Archbishop of Armagh , in both the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland traditions, and signifies that within their respective churches they are the senior churchmen in the island of Ireland....
. For the origins of the Archbishoprics and their dioceses, please see the main articles.

origins of the two primacy titles is based on rivalry between both archbishoprics as to seniority.






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Primate
Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
 of Ireland is a title possessed by the Roman Catholic and the Anglican Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland. Like other Anglican churches, it considers itself to be both Catholicism and Protestant Reformation....
  Archbishops of Dublin
Archbishop of Dublin

Archbishop of Dublin is the title of the presiding ecclesiastical figure of each of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland in the region around Dublin, Republic of Ireland....
. It does not however indicate that the Archbishop is the most senior clergyman of his Chistian denomination in Ireland but rather he is the second-most senior figure, the most senior figure in both denominations, the Archbishops of Armagh
Archbishop of Armagh

The Archbishop of Armagh is the title of the presiding ecclesiastical figure of each of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland in the region around Armagh in Northern Ireland....
, possessing the title Primate of All Ireland
Primate of All Ireland

Primate of All Ireland is a title held by the Archbishop of Armagh , in both the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland traditions, and signifies that within their respective churches they are the senior churchmen in the island of Ireland....
. For the origins of the Archbishoprics and their dioceses, please see the main articles.

Status

The origins of the two primacy titles is based on rivalry between both archbishoprics as to seniority. Analogous disputes had previously existed between the presiding northern bishops (at Armagh) and those in the south of the Ireland (at Cashel).

The Archbishop of Armagh's leading status is based on the fact that his See
Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral....
 was founded by St. Patrick, the city of Armagh thus being the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. On the other hand, Dublin
Dublin

Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Republic of Ireland. It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region....
 is 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.

Dispute has "flared up" on a number of occasions, such as during the time in office of Saint Oliver Plunkett
Oliver Plunkett

Saint Oliver Plunkett was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.He maintained his duties in Ireland in the face of English persecution and was eventually arrested and tried for treason at a kangaroo court after lawful courts had failed to convict him....
 and in the late 18th century.

Within Roman Catholicism, the rivalry was augmented since the 1870s by the awarding to one or other archbishops of a seat in the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals

The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. The College plays two roles in the church:*participating in Papal conclave when the Holy See is vacant, and...
 by popes. Due to Ireland's small size, two Irish reigning diocesan cardinals are unlikely to be created. The apparent dominance of Dublin over Armagh was shown in the 1850s when the then Archbishop of Armagh, Paul Cullen
Paul Cardinal Cullen

Paul Cullen was a Roman Catholic Church Archbishop of Dublin who became the first Ireland Cardinal .By training a biblical theologian and scholar of ancient languages, he is best known for his crafting of the formula for papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council....
 was transferred from Armagh to the nominally inferior See of Dublin, he in Dublin becoming the most high profile Catholic prelate in Ireland. Cullen as Archbishop of Dublin played a central role in the proclamation of Papal Infallibility
Papal infallibility

File:Gregorythegreat.jpgPapal infallibility is the dogma in Christian theology# Catholic theology that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declaration or promulgation to the Catholic Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or a...
 in the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council

The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864....
 and was some years later made Ireland's first cardinal ahead of the nominally superior Archbishop of Armagh. Cullen's successor in Dublin, Archbishop Edward MacCabe
Edward Cardinal MacCabe

Edward Cardinal MacCabe was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin from 1879 until his death.He was the son of poor parents, educated at Father Doyle's school on the Quays and at Maynooth College, and was ordained priest in 1839....
 was also made a cardinal. After that however, the red hat (i.e., being made a cardinal) was invariably awarded to the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, until in a considerable surprise Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
 awarded the red hat not to the low-key pastoral Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, but to the higher profile, more intellectual, and openly conservative, Archbishop Desmond Connell in Dublin. This trend was reversed in 2007 with Pope Benedict XVI's decision to award the red hat again to the See of Patrick, in a surprise move creating Archbishop Seán Brady a cardinal over the reigning Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, himself previously a high profile Vatican official.

The Partition of Ireland
Partition of Ireland

The partition of Ireland between the north-eastern Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland took place on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920....
 in 1920 in effect gave the Primate of Ireland and Primate of All Ireland differing roles, given that each is based in a different jurisdiction of the divided island, the former in the south, the latter in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
. As a result the Primate of Ireland has effectively become the head of the Church in the Republic of Ireland, while the Primate of All Ireland is the head of the Church on the island of Ireland.

Primates Today

The current Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin is Diarmuid Martin
Diarmuid Martin

Diarmuid Martin is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. He was born in Dublin....
. The current Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin is John Neill
John Neill

John Robert Winder Neill is Church of Ireland List of Church of Ireland dioceses, Primate of Ireland, and Metropolitan_archbishop#Anglican.The fourth generation of his family to become a clergyman, John Neill was educated at Avoca School, Blackrock, Dublin, County Dublin, Sandford Park School, Ranelagh, Dublin, University of Dublin, Jesus...
.

Sources

  • New York, 1909: The Catholic Encyclopedia; Robert Appleton Company


External links

  • by Giga-Catholic Information
  • Church of Ireland