Donal Brendan Murray (born 29 May 1940) was the Roman Catholic

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it still continues as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been un ...

from 1996 to 2009. He had previously served as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Dublin diocese

Biography

Early life and ordination

He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in 1940, was educated at

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 186 ...

, studied for a BA and master's degrees in Philosophy at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, obtained a B.Div at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

and his Licence and Doctorate in theology in Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum).Bishop Donal Murray
, by Monsignor John Fleming, limerickdioceseheritage.org He was ordained on 22 May 1966.

Priest and bishop

He lectured in the Mater Dei Institute of Education from 1969, becoming professor of moral theology at

Clonliffe College Holy Cross College (also known as Clonliffe College), located in Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra was founded in 1854 as the Catholic diocesan seminary for Dublin by Cardinal Paul Cullen. History The College was founded in 1859 by the then Archbish ...

. He also lectured at UCD – from 1973 to 1982 in Catechetics and from 1978 to 1982 in Medical Ethics. In 1981 he was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of '' Glenndálocha'' and Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, making him the youngest bishop at the time, aged only 41. He was appointed as bishop of Limerick on 10 February 1996 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He was installed as Bishop of Limerick on 24 March 1996.

Abuse scandal

In November 2009, he was pressured to resign from his post after the Murphy Report found that he had mishandled

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

allegations within his diocese. He announced his resignation to a congregation, including priests of the Diocese, people working in the Diocesan Office and the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, at 11 am (noon in Rome, the hour of the publication of the decision) in St. John's Cathedral, Limerick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Donal Roman Catholic bishops of Limerick Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Living people 1940 births Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland Auxiliary bishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin People educated at Blackrock College 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Titular bishops of Glendalough Ecclesiastical passivity to Catholic sexual abuse cases

Biography

Early life and ordination

Priest and bishop

Abuse scandal

See also

References