Michael J. Cleary C.S.Sp. (1 September 1925 – 3 September 2020) was an Irish prelate and

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 ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of the Diocese of Banjul,

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. He was born in

Brickens Brickens is a village and townland on the N60 road (Ireland), N60 road between Ballyhaunis and Claremorris in southeast County Mayo in Ireland. The River Robe flows through the village which is 65 metres above sea level,County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

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 ...

. He was educated at

St Jarlath's College St Jarlath's College () is a Catholic co-educational secondary school in Tuam, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the Archbishop of Tua ...

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

, before entering the novitiate where he also studied for an arts degree in

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 ...

. He was ordained a priest on 29 June 1952 for the

Holy Ghost Fathers The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

. On 24 January 1981, he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Banjul, and ordained on 24 March 1981. The

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

was Archbishop Johannes Dyba; his principal co-consecrators were Archbishop Joseph Ganda, and Bishop Michael Joseph Moloney. Cleary retired on 25 February 2006, although he spent a further nine years in Gambia. He spent his last years at the Holy Ghost Fathers retirement home at the

Kimmage Manor The Holy Ghost Missionary College, in Kimmage in Dublin, Ireland, colloquially known as Kimmage Manor, is a Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans) institution that has served as a Seminary training missionary priests and spawned two other colleges the '' K ...

campus 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 ...

, where he died aged 95 on 3 September 2020. He was buried in Dardistown Cemetery

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1925 births 2020 deaths Irish expatriates in the Gambia Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Christian clergy from County Mayo Presidents of Inter-territorial Catholic Bishops' Conference of The Gambia and Sierra Leone 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Gambia 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Gambia Holy Ghost Fathers Irish Spiritans Alumni of University College Dublin Roman Catholic bishops of Banjul People educated at St Jarlath's College {{Ireland-RC-bishop-stub