Edward Day (22 December 1738 – 27 January 1808) was

Archdeacon of Ardfert The Archdeacon of Ardfert was a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe from the early thirteenth century

from 1782 until his death. He was born near

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

, one of the seven children of the Reverend John Day of Lohercannon,

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

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 ...

Ardfert Ardfert () is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Kerry, Ireland. Historically a religious centre, the economy of the locality is driven by agriculture and its position as a dormitory town, being only from Tralee. T ...

. His mother was Lucy FitzGerald, daughter of Sir Maurice FitzGerald, 14th Knight of Kerry and Eleanor Crosbie. His paternal grandfather, also named Edward, had been a prosperous

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

, who married Ellen Quarry of

Cork city Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

. The Days, originally from

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

, had come to Ireland in the seventeenth century. His mother's family were a branch of the

FitzGerald dynasty The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Normans, Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. They have been Peerage of Ireland, peers of Ireland since at least the 13th centur ...

, and had held the title

Knight of Kerry Knight of Kerry (), also called The Green Knight, is one of three Hiberno-Norman Knight#Ireland, hereditary knighthoods, all of which existed in Ireland since feudal times. The other two were White Knight (Fitzgibbon family), The White Knight ( ...

for centuries. His four brothers included John Day, Mayor of Cork in 1807, and Mr. Justice Robert Day of the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Ben ...

. Edward and Robert were very close throughout their lives, and Robert in his diary records his intense grief at Edward's death.O'Carroll, Gerald ''Diary of Mr. Justice Robert Day of Kerry (1746-1841)'' North Munster Antiquarian Journal Vol.42 (2002) pp.151-3 He was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

. He became Rector of Kiltallagh,

Castlemaine, County Kerry Castlemaine () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. It lies on the N70 road (Ireland), N70 national secondary road between Killorglin and Tralee. History The village takes its name from the castle of Castle Maine that once stood on a bridg ...

in 1771, and was later Minister at Holy Trinity,

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. He lived at

Beaufort, County Kerry Beaufort () is a small village that lies on the banks of the River Laune in County Kerry, in the southwest of Ireland. It consists of a post office, three public houses, one supermarket, parish hall, guest houses and thirty private houses. As o ...

. He married Barbara Forward, who was probably the eldest daughter of William Forward, of the prominent Forward family of

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, and his wife Margaret Hely, in 1769.William Forward of Fermoy House in his last will dated August 1764 names Barbara as his eldest daughter They had six children, including the Reverend Edward Day, who succeeded his father as Rector of Kiltallagh but outlived him by less than a year, Robert Day, who was

High Sheriff of Kerry High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

in 1808, and Lucy who married the Reverend William Godfrey, Rector of

Kenmare Kenmare () is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of ''Ceann Mara'', meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. It is also a townland and civil parish. Location Ken ...

. According to his brother Robert, he died after a three-day illness. Robert was deeply affected by Edward's death, mourning him as a man of "fine parts and great erudition and of benevolence unbounded".

References

Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Archdeacons of Ardfert 1738 births 1808 deaths People from Tralee Diocese of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe Christian clergy from County Kerry {{Ireland-reli-bio-stub