George Otto Simms (4 July 1910 – 15 November 1991) was an

archbishop 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 archdi ...

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 ...

, and a scholar.

Early life and education

George Otto Simms was born on 4 July 1910 in North Dublin in Ireland to parents John Francis A Simms & Ottilie Sophie Stange, who were both, according to as his birth certificate, from

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

. He attended the Prior School in Lifford for a time and later

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

, a public school in England. He went on to study 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 Unive ...

, where in 1930 he was elected a Scholar and graduated with a BA in classics in 1932 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. ...

degree in 1936. He completed a PhD in 1950.

Clerical career

He was ordained a deacon in 1934 and a priest in 1936, beginning his ministry as a curate at St Bartholomew's, Clyde Road, Dublin under Canon W.C. Simpson. In 1937 he took a position in

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a Church of England theological college in Lincoln. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cance ...

but returned to Dublin in 1939 to become Dean of Residence in

and Chaplain Secretary of the

Church of Ireland College of Education The Church of Ireland College of Education (), or C.I.C.E. as it was more commonly known, was one of the Republic of Ireland's five Colleges of Education which provided a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree, the qualification generally requir ...

. He was appointed

Dean of Cork Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral () is a Gothic Revival three-spire Church of Ireland cathedral in Cork (city), Cork city, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Lee and dedicated to Finbarr of Cork, patron saint of the city. Formerl ...

in 1952. Consecrated a bishop, he served as

Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross in the Province of Dublin. The current bishop is the Right Reverend Paul Colton BCL, DipTh, MPhil, LLM, PhD. He was consecrate ...

, between 1952 and 1956. At forty-two, he was the youngest

clergyman appointed to a bishopric since John Gregg in 1915. He served as

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: ...

, from 1956 to 1969. During this time, he maintained a courteous relationship with

John Charles McQuaid John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp. (28 July 1895 – 7 April 1973), was the Catholic Primate of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin between December 1940 and January 1972. He was known for the unusual amount of influence he had over successive gover ...

, his Roman Catholic counterpart as

. From 1969 to 1980, he served as

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 ...

. Alongside Cardinal

William Conway William, Bill, or Billy Conway may refer to: * William Conway (Arkansas judge) (1805–1852), Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court * William Conway (cardinal) (1913–1977), Irish cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church * William Conway (Irish repub ...

, Simms chaired the first official ecumenical meeting between the leaders of Ireland's Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church in Ballymascanlon Hotel,

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

on 26 September 1973, an important meeting amidst the increasing violence in Northern Ireland. The meeting was protested by

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...

Scholarly work

Simms was a scholar, and published research on topics including the history of the Church of Ireland, and theological reflections on key texts including the ''

Book of Kells The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illustrated manuscript and Celts, Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing the Gospel, four Gospels of the New Testament togeth ...

'', ''

Saint Patrick's Breastplate "Saint Patrick's Breastplate" is an Old Irish prayer of protection of the " lorica" type (hence "Lorica Sancti Patricii", or "The Lorica of Saint Patrick") attributed to Saint Patrick. Its title is given as ''Faeth Fiada'' in the 11th-century ''Li ...

'', and the '' Sarum Primer''. He was also a fluent speaker of the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

. He was also an accomplished journalist, and the author of many newspaper obituaries. His weekly ''Thinking Aloud'' column in 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 ...

'' was a popular reflection, and ran continuously for thirty-eight years. He also worked on the research, preparation, and even performed the presentation, of a number of television programmes.

Recognition

In 1978 he was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.

Personal life

Simms was the uncle of mathematician David J. Simms. In 1941 Simms married Mercy Felicia née Gwynn (1915–1998). They had five children. He died in Dublin on 15 November 1991. He is interred with his wife in the cemetery attached to St. Maelruain's Church,

Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

Publications

* ''For Better, for Worse'', 1945 * ''The Book of Kells: a short description'', 1950 * (ed with E. H. Alton and P. Meyer) ''The Book of Kells'' (facsimile edn), Berne, 1951 * ''The Bible in Perspective'', 1953 * ''Christ within Me'', 1975 * ''Irish Illuminated Manuscripts'', 1980 * ''In My Understanding'', 1982 * ''Tullow's Story'', 1983 * (with R. G. F. Jenkins) ''Pioneers and Partners'', 1985 * ''Angels and Saints'', 1988 * ''Exploring the Book of Kells'', 1988 * ''Brendan the Navigator'', 1989

References

* Daithí Ó Corráin, ''Rendering to God and Caesar: The Irish churches and the two states in Ireland, 1949–73'', (Manchester:

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England, and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...

, 2006). * Lesley Whiteside: ''George Otto Simms: A Biography'', (Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 1990). {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, George Otto 1910 births 1991 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Anglican archbishops of Armagh Anglican archbishops of Dublin Bishops of Cork, Cloyne and Ross Deans of Cork Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin People from Lifford People from Templeogue Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 20th-century Anglican archbishops in Ireland People educated at the Royal and Prior School Irish Anglican archbishops Christian clergy from County Dublin Christian clergy from County Donegal