Brendan Kelly (born 20 May 1946) 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

Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh The Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The deanery of Kilf ...

and

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 ...

Kilfenora Kilfenora ( , meaning 'church of the fertile hillside' or 'church of the white brow') is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. Since medieval times when ...

between 2018 and 2022.

Early life and education

Kelly was born in

Derrybrien Derrybrien () is a tiny village in County Galway, Ireland. It lies along the R353 road in the Slieve Aughty Mountains. The village church is dedicated to Saint Patrick and is part of the Roman Catholic Parish of Ballinakill and Derrybrien. ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

on 20 May 1946, the second of nine children to Seán Kelly, a primary school teacher, and his wife Annie. He attended primary school at Craughwell National School and secondary school at St. Mary's College, before studying for the priesthood at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

, completing 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 ...

in philosophy in 1967 and a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

in 1970. Kelly was an ordained a priest for the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh on 20 June 1971.

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Kelly's first pastoral appointment was as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Kinvara Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the Barony (Ireland), barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also ...

, before being appointed as teacher at Coláiste Éinde,

Salthill Salthill () is a Coast, seaside area to the southwest of Galway city centre in the west of Ireland. The area is home to a number of tourist amenities and there is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as "the Prom", which overlooks Galway ...

in 1972. It was during this appointment that he completed a

higher diploma A higher diploma is an academic award in Iraq, Libya, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland and Oman. In Iraq, it is awarded one year after a bachelor's degree (i.e., not equivalent to a bachelor's degree). In Ireland it is a postgradu ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

from

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

in 1973. Kelly was subsequently appointed as teacher at Our Lady's College,

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 2,800 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 road (Ireland), R458 and R460 ...

in 1980, and later the president of the college in 1986 until its amalgamation into

Gort Community School Gort Community School () is a secondary school in Gort in County Galway, Ireland. Founded in 1995, as of 2023, the school had over 900 pupils enrolled and the principal was Brian Crossan. Denis Corry was principal in 2010 when an extension, cal ...

in 1995. He undertook a sabbatical year to serve as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to the L'Arche community in

Cuise-la-Motte Cuise-la-Motte () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It has a thriving L'Arche community, which was founded in the nearby town of Trosly. Population See also * Communes of the Oise department The following is a list ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, before returning to Ireland in 1996, when he was appointed as the parish priest in

Lisdoonvarna/Kilshanny Lisdoonvarna/Kilshanny parish is a parish in County Clare, Ireland, and part of the Kilfenora Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora. The parishes Lisdoonvarna and Kilshanny amalgamated in the 1980s. Current (2 ...

. Kelly was named a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

and

vicar forane A dean, in an ecclesiastical context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and many Lutheran denominations. A dean's assistant i ...

of the

deanery 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 ...

on 19 June 2002. The following year, he was appointed as the parish priest in

Spiddal Spiddal, also known as Spiddle (Irish language, Irish and official name: , , meaning 'the hospital'), is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road (Ireland), R336 road. It is o ...

. Kelly was appointed as the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the diocese by Martin Drennan in 2005, and a

Chaplain of His Holiness Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

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 ...

on 6 March 2006.

Episcopal ministry

Bishop of Achonry

Kelly was appointed as Bishop-elect of Achonry by

on 20 November 2007. He admitted his surprise and pleasure at his appointment, and promised to concentrate his initial efforts on becoming acquainted with the clergy and laity of the diocese, while the

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

Seán Brady Seán Brady or similar names may refer to: * Seán Brady (cardinal) (born 1939), Irish cardinal and former archbishop of Armagh * Sean Brady (fighter) (born 1992), American mixed martial artist * Seán Brady (Teachta Dála) (1890–1969), Fianna Fá ...

, described him as "a man of prayer, filled with love for the Word of God and the pastoral care of people". Kelly was consecrated by Cardinal Brady on 27 January 2008 in the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Nathy,

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is in the north-west of the county, near the borders with counties Mayo and Sligo, just off the N5 road. The population was 2,387 in the 2 ...

Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh

Kelly was subsequently appointed Bishop-elect of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator-elect of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 11 December 2017. He was installed on 11 February 2018 in the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas,

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. 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 ...

, Kelly 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 20 May 2021. Following the announcement by Pope Francis on 16 November 2021 that the Dioceses of

Clonfert Clonfert () is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland, halfway between Ballinasloe and Portumna. The village gives its name to the Diocese of Clonfert (Roman Catholic), Diocese of Clonfert. Clonfert Cathedral is one of the eight cathedr ...

and Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora would be united ''

in persona episcopi ''In persona episcopi'' () is a Latin expression used by the Roman Catholic Church to indicate a union of two or more dioceses in which the dioceses are administered by a single bishop but undergo no alteration to their diocesan structures (e.g. ...

'', the first-ever union of its kind in Ireland, he remained until the appointment of his successor, Michael Duignan, on 11 February 2022.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Bishop Brendan Kelly
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 Brendan Kelly
on GCatholic {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Brendan 1946 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Irish schoolteachers Roman Catholic bishops of Achonry Christian clergy from County Galway