Donal Brendan Murray (29 May 1940 – 13 October 2024) was an Irish Roman Catholic prelate, who served as

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church it still continues as a sepa ...

from 1996 to 2009. He had previously served as an

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. ...

of the Dublin diocese

Biography

Early life and ordination

Murray was born in

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 ...

on 29 May 1940. He was educated at

Blackrock College Blackrock College () 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 1860 as a school and later became al ...

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

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, obtained a B.Div 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 ...

and his Licence and Doctorate in theology in

Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

.Bishop Donal Murray
, by Monsignor John Fleming, limerickdioceseheritage.org It was said of him by one commentator that Murray "was rated by Connell as the brightest student he taught in his 35 years as a professor of metaphysics at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

." He was ordained on 22 May 1966.

Priestly ministry

Murray lectured in the Mater Dei Institute of Education from 1969, becoming professor of moral theology at Clonliffe College. He also lectured at UCD – from 1973 to 1982 in Catechetics and from 1978 to 1982 in Medical Ethics. He served as advisor to the Irish representatives at the

Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops is an influential, global, consultative and advisory body to the pope. It is one of the mechanisms through which Catholic bishops—the most senior ordained members of the Church—communally render ...

in 1977 which dealt with catechetics.

Episcopal ministry

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 an ...

of '' Glenndálocha'' and

of Dublin, making him the youngest bishop at the time, aged only 41. He was ordained Bishop in

St Andrew's Church, Westland Row, Dublin St. Andrew's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Westland Row, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Construction started in 1832, it opened for public worship in 1834 but was not completed until 1837.Watson, p. 23 History The archite ...

. He chose, as his episcopal motto ‘Veritas in Caritate’ (‘The Truth in Love’) which ironically, given his later translation to Limerick was also the motto of Henry Murphy (bishop) and of

St Munchin's College St. Munchin's College is a boys–only Roman Catholic secondary school in Limerick, Ireland. It was founded by The Most Reverend John G. Young (bishop), John Young, Bishop of Limerick in 1796. As of January 2020, a total of 657 boys were enrolle ...

He was appointed bishop of Limerick on 10 February 1996 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 ...

and installed as Bishop of Limerick on 24 March 1996. He attended the European Synod of Bishops in Rome in Autumn 1999 on behalf of the Irish hierarchy. In one assessment of his tenure as Bishop of Limerick given at the time of his resignation it was recalled "he proved to be a hard-working bishop setting up parish councils and renovating St John's Cathedral (Limerick). He even sold the traditional bishop's palace, moving into a modest house."

Abuse scandal

In November 2009, he was pressured to resign from his post after 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 ...

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 Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

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.

Death and tribute

Murray died at the Milford Care Centre in

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 ...

on 13 October 2024, at the age of 84. His successor as Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy noted in a tribute to Bishop Murray "he was attuned to the fast changing ecclesial and social context and the challenge of rebuilding the community of faith. His great mind was always working on building a Church of tomorrow, not on holding into a Church of the past."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Donal 1940 births 2024 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Limerick Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland Auxiliary bishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin People educated at Blackrock College 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Titular bishops of Glendalough Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II 20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops Irish Roman Catholic titular bishops