Liam Seán MacDaid (19 July 1945 – 15 August 2023) was an Irish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who served as

Bishop of Clogher The Bishop of Clogher (, ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clogher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Following the Reformation, there are now parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and ...

between 2010 and 2016.

Early life and education

Liam Seán MacDaid was born in

Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...

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 ...

on 19 July 1945. He attended primary school at St Louis Infant School and St Macartan's National School, and secondary school at St Macartan's College. MacDaid had a keen interest in

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

, playing for St Joseph's GFC at club level and some Donegal county teams in the early 1970s. MacDaid began studying for the priesthood 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 ...

in 1962, graduating with honours in

Celtic studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celts, Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art h ...

in 1965 and

sacred theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

in 1968. MacDaid was ordained to the priesthood for the

Diocese of Clogher The Diocese of Clogher is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction recognized by the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church: * Diocese of Clogher (Roman Catholic) *Diocese of Clogher (Church of Ireland) ; See also *Bishop of Clogher The Bishop o ...

on 15 June 1969.

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, MacDaid completed a

higher diploma A higher diploma is an academic award in Iraq, Libya, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland and Oman. In Iraq, it is awarded one year after a bachelor's degree (i.e., not equivalent to a bachelor's degree). In Ireland it is a postgradu ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

from

, before returning to the

in 1970 for his first diocesan appointment, as a teacher at St Macartan's College, where he subsequently served as president between 1981 and 1989. MacDaid subsequently completed a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

counselling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of c ...

from

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 ...

in 1978, and served as a counselling tutor with the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council, before he was appointed chairman of the diocesan council of priests in 1988. MacDaid received his first pastoral appointment in 1989, when he was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Aghavea Aghavea () is a civil parish and townland (of 131 acres) in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Magherastephana. Towns and villages The civil parish contains the village of Brookeborough. Townlands The c ...

/Aghintaine (centred on

Brookeborough Brookeborough (; Irish: ''Achadh Lon'', meaning 'Field of the Blackbirds') is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, at the westerly foot of Slieve Beagh. It lies about eleven miles east of Enniskillen, just off the A4 trunk road, an ...

and

Fivemiletown Fivemiletown is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is 16 miles (26 km) east of Enniskillen and 26 miles (43 km) west-south-west of Dungannon, on the A4 road (Northern Ireland), A4 Enniskillen-to-Dungannon r ...

). He was appointed diocesan secretary, diocesan communications officer and

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

in Tyholland in 1993, and subsequently diocesan

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 ...

the following year. MacDaid was also a founding member of the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools. MacDaid was appointed

Chaplain of His Holiness Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

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 ...

on 27 February 2002.

Episcopal ministry

MacDaid was appointed Bishop-elect of Clogher by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on 6 May 2010. At the time of his appointment, he was the most recent bishop to have been chosen from among the clergy of his native diocese. MacDaid was consecrated by the

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 ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

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, on 25 July at St Macartan's Cathedral,

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

. In his first address as bishop, MacDaid referred to the recent clerical sexual abuse cases in the Church, saying that the church "has been brought to our knees but maybe that is no bad thing". During his episcopacy, he advocated for greater collaboration between priests and laity, establishing support groups including a pastoral support group and a commission on diocesan liturgy, and initiated a stronger diocesan

youth ministry Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend their ...

. MacDaid also continued the development and implementation of safeguarding policies and structures initiated by his predecessor, Joseph Duffy, which were reviewed and complimented by the National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland in 2011. He also chaired the Council for Marriage and the Family 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 2012 until 2016, and served as vice-chairperson of

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. MacDaid joined a number of other bishops in releasing a statement on 8 June 2016, ahead of a referendum in the United Kingdom on its membership of the European Union, warning against the impact of a potential

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

on the peace process in Northern Ireland. It was announced on 1 October 2016 that McDaid had tendered his resignation on medical grounds to

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

some months previously, and that it had been with immediate effect. Liam MacDaid died on 15 August 2023, while he was on holiday in France. He was 78.

References

External links

Bishop Liam Seán MacDaid
on

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

Bishop Liam Seán MacDaid
on GCatholic
Bishop Liam Seán MacDaid
on

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDaid, Liam 1945 births 2023 deaths Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland People from Bundoran Roman Catholic bishops of Clogher People educated at St Macartan's College, Monaghan Christian clergy from County Donegal Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI