Former Dunboyne parish priest becomes Archbishop of Dublin tomorrow

Installation ceremony in Pro-Cathedral

The former parish priest of Dunboyne, Kilbride and Clonee, Dermot Farrell, will tomorrow be installed as Archbishop of Dublin in the Pro-Cathedral.

Appointed Bishop of Ossory in 2018, as Monsignor Farrell, the former president of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, had served as pastor in the Meath parish since September 2007, when he succeeded Monsignor Edward Dunne.

Speaking on his appointment as Archbishop-elect earlier this month, Finola Bruton, chairperson of the Dunboyne Parish Council during Dr Farrell's time there, said it was “fantastic” news which would be greatly welcomed in Dunboyne and surrounds, where he was very popular.

“He was a terrific pastoral priest who was very kind to people,” Mrs Bruton said. He was very considerate during times of bereavement, going to great lengths with families, and had a genuine interest in everybody, she added.

“He has very good judgement, and is not impulsive,” Mrs Bruton said. “He will approach decisions with a sense of caution, but is not afraid to take whatever hard decisions need to be made, without being pushed into something he doesn’t want to do.”

She says he listens to all voices and opinions, and was also able to draw people towards him in any projects that he was involved in, a trait she observed while sitting on the board of management of the local senior primary school with him.

“He was always interested, and able to draw on everyone’s expertise,” she added.

She said that while he always offered guidance to the parish council, he also let it get on with its own thing, and is a complete realist when it comes to the future of the Church, with a deep intelligence.

Dermot Farrell’s successor as parish priest in Dunboyne, Fr Patrick O’Connor, said the Archbishop-elect is a very hard worker who is deeply committed to his ministry and to the pastoral care of his people.

“He is a man of keen intellect and a reflective spirituality,” Fr O’Connor added, saying that his various ministries, from formation of students to the priesthood and his academic ministry as a lecturer in moral theology, will give him an insight and wisdom into his new role as Archbishop of Dublin. “We will keep him in our prayers.”

Former taoiseach and Dunboyne parishioner, John Bruton, echoed his wife’s and Fr O’Connor’s views that Dermot Farrell will be ideally suited to the challenges facing him in the Archdiocese of Dublin.

The announcement was made by the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, and the retiring Archbishop, Diarmuid Martin, at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Sean McDermott Street, Dublin, with Archbishop-elect Farrell present.

“From a young age Dublin has always been part of my life,” he said in his address.  “My late mother worked here as young woman.  As a teenager, I spent summer holidays with my aunt and uncle who lived and worked in the Liberties.  They introduced me to the history and rich cultural life of the City.  Dublin has always been a place of welcome for people from all over Ireland.   Now it is a city of welcome for people from all over the world.   The Archdiocese of Dublin is more than the city: its 198 parishes — rural and urban — stretch across Leinster.  This presents distinctive challenges and opportunities.  The challenges to take account of the new cultural and social contexts in which we find ourselves and in which the gospel is proclaimed.”

He continued: “Archbishop Martin accepted the leadership of the Diocese at a challenging time in 2003.  Since then, he has provided forceful and unambiguous leadership, especially in safeguarding children where he took courageous positions.  Constant vigilance is needed as complacency is the greatest enemy.

“A Church which is safe for all who are vulnerable, be they young or not so young, can only exist where there is a commitment to truth, genuine transparency and enduring care for the victims.  The Church in Ireland has become a humbler Church, a Church more capable of listening — more like Christ who is last of all and servant of all, and who calls us to follow him,” he added, quoting the gospel of Mark 9:35.

Dermot Farrell was born in 1954, the eldest of seven children of the late Dermot and Carmel Farrell, in Garthy, Castletown-Geoghegan, Co Westmeath, in the Diocese of the Meath.

After his primary education in Castletown-Geoghegan and Streamstown, he attended Saint Finian’s College, Mullingar. In September 1972 he began his studies for the priesthood at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, obtaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1976, as part of his philosophical studies. During his theological studies he was awarded a Bachelor in Divinity Degree in 1979 and a licence is Theology in 1981, both by the Pontifical University, Maynooth.

He was ordained to the priesthood in Saint Michael’s Church, Castletown-Geoghegan on 7 June 1980.

Upon the completion of his studies he was appointed as Curate in the Cathedral Parish of Christ the King, Mullingar. In 1985 he began doctoral studies in the Gregorian University and, in 1988, was awarded a Doctoral Degree in Theology, for a dissertation entitled: The Dogmatic Foundations of Bernard Häring’s Thought on Christian Morality as a Sacramental Way of Life.

His final year in Rome also saw him serving as a Director of Formation in the Pontifical Irish College.

Following his return from Rome he was appointed Curate in Tullamore Parish and in 1989-90 he began lecturing in Moral Theology at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth. In 1990 the Maynooth College Trustees appointed him Executive Assistant to the President of College and to membership of the Faculty of Theology, holding the post of Director of the one-year Religious Studies Programme. In 1993 he was appointed Vice-President of Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and in 1996 was appointed President of the College, a position he held until his retirement in 2007.

In 1997 he was named as an Honorary Prelate of his Holiness. From September 2007 until 2018 he served as Parish Priest of Dunboyne and Kilbride Parish, Co Meath, and was appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of Meath in 2009.

Bishop Farrell has extensive administrative experience: he has served on various boards and committees, among them, the Board of Allianz plc; the Governing Body of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth; the Theological Department Irish Inter-Church Committee, and as National Director of the Permanent Diaconate, and he is currently Chairman of Veritas Communications.

His appointment as Bishop of Ossory by Pope Francis was announced on 3 January 2018, and he was ordained bishop in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny, on 11 March 2018.

He was elected Finance Secretary of the Irish Bishops’ Conference in March 2019.