Hugh Gerard Connolly (born 1961) is an Irish Catholic priest. He is a parish priest in the troubled

Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore The Diocese of Dromore () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses which are subject to the Ecclesiastical province, Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh, Archdio ...

and a former ''Aumônier des Irlandais'' at the Collège des Irlandais in Paris. He previously served as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Early life

Born in September 1961, Connolly is a native of Burren near

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint () is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside the village ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and is a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the Diocese of Dromore. He has one sister Rosemary and grew up in a farming community.

Ministry

Connolly attended the Abbey Grammar in

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

before commencing his studies for the priesthood in Maynooth, gaining a BA Honours (NUI) degree in French before studying a theology degree at Maynooth. He was ordained in Maynooth in May 1987. He completed postgraduate doctoral studies in

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, in 1991. Connolly worked as a lecturer in moral theology in Maynooth, becoming a professor in 2007. He has also lectured at

St. Patrick's, Carlow College St Patrick's, Carlow College, is a liberal arts college located in Carlow, Ireland. The college is the second oldest third level institution in Ireland and was founded in 1782 by James Keefe, then Roman Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, a ...

. He was executive secretary of the

Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference () is the episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland. The conference meets a number of times a year in Maynooth which is the location of St Patrick's College, Ireland's national seminary. ...

from 1991 to 1997. He published a book called ''The Irish Penitentials'' in 1995 and in 2002 published the volume ''Sin'' in the "New Century Theology" series. He served as registrar (2001–2006).

President of Maynooth College

On 10 August 2007, the trustees of

, announced his appointment as President in succession to

Dermot Farrell Dermot Pius Farrell KC*HS (born 22 November 1954) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Dublin since 2021. Early life and education Farrell was born in Garthy, Castletown Geoghegan, County Westmeath, on 22 Novem ...

. In March 2011, Connolly denied rumours that Maynooth Seminary may be closing. "Media reports today about the possible closure of the seminary are without foundation. The media outlet leading with this incorrect story was sent a reply from us yesterday and its absence from the published copy is disappointing and damaging." A year later, when the ''Summary of the finding of the Apostolic Visitation in Ireland'' was published, there was no reference to seminary closures but there were recommendations to improve the quality of seminary formation. In his capacity as rector of the national seminary, Connolly spoke on the dearth of vocations to the diocesan priesthood in Ireland. He was reappointed for a second term as President on 29 May 2012 at the summer meeting of the college trustees. In June 2016, it was announced that Connolly was taking a sabbatical year for the final year of his statutory ten-year term as president which concluded on 31 August 2017, nonetheless, it was an announcement that created some reporting that needed clarification. It was noted that the move was in accordance with the new sabbatical provisions of the Pontifical University, adopted some years earlier to reflect standard practice in the third level sector. Several months later advertisements were placed seeking a new college president, to assume office on 1 September 2017. He was succeeded in the post by Fr Michael Mullaney. Throughout his time as President, Connolly sought to raise the international profile of the Pontifical University at Maynooth and served as one of two board members for the Continent of Europe on IFCU the umbrella body for rectors of Catholic Universities worldwide.

Post-Maynooth Ministry

In March 2017, Connolly was appointed chaplain-designate at the Irish College Paris (or ''Aumônier, Collège des Irlandais'') effective 1 September 2017. He had previously been a board member of this institution for ten years during its renovation and relaunch as a cultural centre and chaplaincy. Having completed a five-year term in this role he subsequently returned to his Diocese in August 2022 to serve as a parish priest there. Connolly is the parish priest of the historic parish cluster of ''Clonallon'', which is made up of St. Mary's Burren, St. Peter's Warrenpoint, and St. Patrick's Mayobridge in County Down. In December 2022 he was appointed a trustee of the private limited company, the Diocese of Dromore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Hugh 1961 births Living people Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Presidents of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Christian clergy from County Down 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century Irish Roman Catholic priests