Charles Brodrick (3 May 1761 – 6 May 1822) was a reforming Irish clergyman and

Archbishop of Cashel The Archbishop of Cashel () was an archiepiscopal title which took its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the Reformation, there had been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church ...

in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Origins and education

Brodrick was the third son of the 3rd Viscount Midleton and Albinia Townshend, sister of

Viscount Sydney Viscount Sydney (an alternative spelling of the surname Sidney) is a title that has been created twice. The title was elevated twice from a barony, and once into an earldom. First creation (1689) The first creation came on 9 April 1689 when He ...

. He was educated, like his maternal uncle, at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It was est ...

. His brothers included

George Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton George Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton (1 November 1754 – 12 August 1836) was an Anglo-Irish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1796, when he was raised to the peerage of Great Britain as Baron Brodrick to allow him to s ...

and General John Brodrick. In 1787, he was ordained in

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town located to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork, Ireland. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic dioce ...

by the Bishop, his father-in-law, Richard Woodward, first

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

(24 August) and then priest (9 December). He was appointed Rector of Dingindonovan (or Dangan) and

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

of Killenemer, and established a reputation for himself by choosing to live in his remote parish "at a period when very lax notions prevailed respecting clerical residence". For a brief period in 1789, he was

Donoughmore Donoughmore (spelt ''Donaghmore'' by Ordnance Survey Ireland; Irish: ''Domhnach Mór'') is a civil and Catholic parish in County Cork, Ireland. This rural district lies west-northwest of Cork city. Donoughmore is divided between the Dáil Cons ...

, before being appointed in June 1789 the Treasurer of

, where he served until 1795.W. Maziere Brady, ''Clerical and Parochial Records of Cork, Cloyne and Ross'' (Dublin, 1863) In 1795, Brodrick was consecrated as

Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh The Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh, comprising the southern part of County Galway and a small area of County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of ...

, whence he was translated to Kilmore in 1796. In 1801, following the preferment of Charles Agar to

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 ...

, Brodrick was appointed

Archbishop of Cashel and Emly In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

(and Primate of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

) in his place and remained in that post until his death in 1822, when he was succeeded by

Richard Laurence Richard Laurence (13 May 1760 – 28 December 1838) was an English Hebraist and Anglican churchman. He was made Regius Professor of Hebrew and canon of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1814, and Archbishop of Cashel, Ireland, in 1822. Laurence, younge ...

. From 1811 until 1820, he also took on the administration of the diocese and province of Dublin, as a result of the mental incapacity of the Archbishop, Euseby Cleaver.

Assessment

Brodrick was a committed ecclesiastical reformer. One obituary following his death described him as "a prelate of distinguished piety, and of the most exemplary attention to the duties of his high station, as evinced by his increasing vigilance in enforcing the residence of the clergy, and by his disinterested appointments to the vacant livings" in his diocese.

Family and descendants

On 8 December 1786, Brodrick married Mary, the daughter of Richard Woodward, Bishop of Cloyne. Of their children,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

succeeded eventually as, respectively, the 6th Viscount Midleton and 7th Viscount Midleton (the latter being also

Dean of Exeter The Dean of Exeter is the head of the Chapter of Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England. The chapter was established by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter (1224–44) who set up the offices of dean and chancellor of Exeter Cathedr ...

), while Mary married the

Earl of Bandon Earl of Bandon was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Francis Bernard, 1st Earl of Bandon, Francis Bernard, 1st Viscount Bandon, son of politician James Bernard (politician), James Bernard. Francis Bernard had already ...

and Albinia married James Ashley Maude.

References

Sources

Nigel Yates, ''The Religious Condition of Ireland, 1770–1850'' (Oxford University Press, 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brodrick, Charles 1761 births 1822 deaths Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Bishops of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh Anglican bishops of Kilmore Anglican archbishops of Cashel 19th-century Anglican archbishops Younger sons of viscounts Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Irish Anglican archbishops People from Midleton Place of birth missing