John Pooley (1645-1712) was a member of 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 ...

, who was

Bishop of Cloyne The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with other bishopri ...

from 1697 to 1702, then

Bishop of Raphoe The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bi ...

until his death in October 1712.

Career

Born in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

around 1645, Pooley was educated at St Patrick's Cathedral Grammar School, 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 ...

, the future

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was a British army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he ...

being one of his classmates. He graduated from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, where he became a senior

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. He was appointed the vicar of the Parish of Leixlip, St Mary's and served in this position from 1670 to 1674. He was appointed

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 St. Michan's Church, Dublin, then

Dean of Ossory The Dean of Ossory or Dean of Kilkenny is based at St Canice's Cathedral, The Cathedral Church of St Canice, Kilkenny in the united Diocese of Cashel and Ossory within the Church of Ireland. The current Dean is the Very Reverend Stephen Farrell, ...

on 6 March 1674. He served as personal chaplain to the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

from 1672 to 1677, as well as his successor, the

Duke of Ormond The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

. One of Ormond' positions was that of Chancellor of Oxford University, and Pooley was made

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there in July 1682. On 2 December 1697, he was consecrated

, spending much of his time on an unsuccessful legal campaign to regain episcopal lands lost in prior decades. In 1702, he became

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, one of the more valuable sees; in 1714, Archbishop King described it as 'worth near £1,200...(but) full of Dissenters and Papists'. A contemporary complained in the eleven years he served as bishop, Pooley 'hardly resided eighteen months.' As a bishop, Pooley sat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

and spoke against the 1703 Popery Act. He specifically objected to the requirement office holders abjure or deny the claim of the Catholic

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exiles, and avoided doing so himself until 1710. As a result, he was briefly deprived of his bishopric before having it restored in September 1710. He was briefly held in

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

in 1709 for protesting against a Parliamentary session being scheduled on a Holy day. Pooley was responsible for restoring St. Michan's Church, Dublin, described as being in a 'ruinous condition' in the 1680s, and the expansion of St Eunan's Cathedral. His will left £200 for a building programme, which was not completed until years after his death. Most of it was replaced in the late 19th century, apart from a baptismal font installed in 1706, which can still be seen. He died in

on 16 October 1712, and was buried in St. Michan's.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pooley, John 1645 births 1712 deaths Clergy from Ipswich Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Deans of Ossory Bishops of Cloyne Bishops of Raphoe 17th-century Anglican bishops in Ireland 18th-century Anglican bishops in Ireland Alumni of the University of Oxford