Éamonn Oliver Walsh (born 1 September 1944) is an Irish former

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who served as

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

between 1990 and 2019.

Early life and education

Walsh was born in

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

on 1 September 1944. He studied for the priesthood at Holy Cross College, where he completed a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

, where he completed a licentiate in

sacred theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

. Walsh subsequently completed a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and a Doctorate in Divinity, and qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He was ordained a priest for the

Archdiocese of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ire ...

on 13 April 1969.

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Walsh served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of Holy Cross College between 1977 and 1985, and subsequently as junior secretary to Kevin McNamara during his archiepiscopacy. He also served as vicar for clergy, chairman of the clerical fund society and chaplain at

Arbour Hill Arbour Hill () is an area of Dublin within the inner city on the Northside (Dublin), Northside of the River Liffey, in the Dublin 7 postal district. Arbour Hill, the road of the same name, runs west from Blackhall Place in Stoneybatter, and sep ...

and Mountjoy prisons. Walsh was appointed secretary to

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

, Joseph Carroll, who was then- archdiocesan administrator, 1987, before his appointment as senior secretary to

Desmond Connell Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticise ...

upon his elevation to the archiepiscopate the following year.

Episcopal ministry

Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin

Walsh was appointed auxiliary bishop-elect of

and titular bishop-elect of

Elmham Elmham may refer to: Places *The See of Elmham, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of Elmham *North Elmham North Elmham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and is located about no ...

, with responsibility for the

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a ...

of Tallaght, South Dublin and Blessington, by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 7 March 1990. He was consecrated by the

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

, on 22 April in St Andrew's Church, Westland Row,

. During his episcopate, Walsh chaired the Commission for Pastoral Care of the

Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference () is the episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland. The conference meets a number of times a year in Maynooth which is the location of St Patrick's College, Ireland's national seminary. ...

and served as President of

Cura Cura or CURA may refer to: Music * ''Cura'' (album), 2018 Keys N Krates release * Cura (instrument), Turkish musical instrument Organizations * Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA), Ohio State University * Institute on Culture, Re ...

, the crisis pregnancy agency of the Conference. He also served as a member of its Communications Council, and founded the Irish Bishops' Drugs Initiative and the conference's first office for child protection.

Clerical sexual abuse scandals

As an auxiliary bishop and a junior secretary to Kevin McNamara during his archiepiscopate, Walsh was interviewed for the

Murphy Report The Murphy Report is the brief name of the report of a Commission of investigation conducted by the Irish government into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin. It was released in 2009 by Judge Yvonne Murphy, only a fe ...

, the final report of a three-year commission of investigation conducted by the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

into sexual abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Dublin, which was published on 26 November 2009. Speaking with ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' following the winter meeting of the

on 9 December, Walsh was asked about one particular allegation, in which he advised a woman to write to the archdiocesan

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

regarding "a priest who had offended". When asked if he had reported the allegation to the Gardaí, Walsh replied that while the chancellor had acted upon the allegation, "it took about six months for the woman to actually get the name of the complainant", and that he felt that Gardaí could not be contacted about the concerns of a third party. He added that "the spin that was put on that yesterday morning Colm O’Gorman">Colm_O'Gorman.html" ;"title="n an article in ''The Irish Times'' the previous day by Colm O'Gorman">Colm O’Gormanwas most disingenuous and outrageous". In the same interview, Walsh defended his record on child protection, saying:

"My record on child protection goes back a long way and it'll continue. And if on the other hand the perception continued among the people that I was somebody who was complicit in all of this, then that would be a barrier in my ministry and I couldn't even minister as a priest or a bishop if that were to continue."

During Midnight Mass in St Mary's Pro-Cathedral on 24 December, Walsh and fellow auxiliary bishop Raymond Field (bishop), Raymond Field offered their apologies to victims of clerical sexual abuse and announced that they had tendered their resignations as auxiliary bishops of Dublin to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. In a joint statement, Walsh and Field expressed their hope that their resignations "may help to bring the peace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ to the victims (and) survivors of child sexual abuse". This followed the resignations of two former auxiliary bishops of Dublin, James Moriarty and Donal Murray, from their roles as Bishops of Kildare and Leighlin and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

respectively. The

Diarmuid Martin Diarmuid Martin (born 8 April 1945) is an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland from 2004 to 2020. From 1976 to 2003 he held a variety of positions in the Roman Curia and in the diplomatic ser ...

, had initially called for Walsh and Field to resign, but both initially refused. In his homily at Midnight Mass, Martin remarked that the Church had placed its self-interest above the rights of its parishioners, particularly innocent children, for too long, adding that they, as well as the dedicated majority of priests, had been betrayed by their leaders.

Return to ministry

It was announced on 11 August 2010 that Walsh's letter of resignation had not been accepted by

, as he felt that Walsh had no case to answer. It was subsequently announced that he would remain as an auxiliary bishop with "revised responsibilities within the diocese". Walsh was appointed head of the newly-established archdiocesan Office for Clergy on 11 September 2013.

Apostolic Administrator of Ferns

Following the resignation of

Brendan Comiskey The Most Rev. Brendan Oliver Comiskey (13 August 1935 – 28 April 2025) was the Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Ferns. He was born in Clontibret, County Monaghan, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster ...

Bishop of Ferns The Bishop of Ferns () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Ferns in County Wexford, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishopr ...

, Walsh was appointed

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Ferns The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

by Pope John Paul II on 6 April 2002. He was noted for imagining and implementing a safeguarding infrastructure that would become the blueprint of how child abuse and failings in management would be addressed, with his approach described as "pioneering". Walsh served in this role until the consecration of Denis Brennan as Bishop of Ferns on 23 April 2006.

Retirement

In accordance with

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, Walsh submitted his episcopal resignation to the

Dicastery for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the congregation (Roman Curia), department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require pope, papal app ...

on his 75th birthday on 1 September 2019. It was subsequently announced on 30 September that his resignation had been accepted.

References

External links

Bishop Éamonn Oliver Walsh
on

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

Bishop Éamonn Oliver Walsh
on GCatholic {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Eamonn Oliver 1944 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic titular bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Alumni of Clonliffe College Pontifical Lateran University alumni Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland Auxiliary bishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Christian clergy from County Kildare People from Celbridge Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Irish Roman Catholic titular bishops