Patrick McKenna (9 August 1868 – 7 February 1942) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

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 and priestly ministry

Born at Moybridge in the parish of Errigal Truagh, County Monaghan, he studied at St Macartan's College, Monaghan and

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...

. He was a Catholic priest in 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 ...

, ordained in 1894. Following post-graduate studies at Maynooth he returned to the Diocese to serve as curate in the parish of Currin. He taught for a time in

St Kieran's College St Kieran's College (Coláiste Chiaráin) is a Roman Catholic secondary school, located on College Road, Kilkenny, Ireland. History St Kieran's College was founded in Kilkenny, in the diocese of Ossory in 1782, after the passing of the Cath ...

, Kilkenny, following which he returned to Clogher Diocese to become curate in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. He was appointed Professor of Moral Theology & Canon Law in

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 1904. He was appointed the

on 1 June 1909, following the death of his predecessor,

Richard Owens (bishop) Richard Owens (4 January 1840 – 1909) was a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Clogher, Ireland. Dr. Owens was born in Clogher, County Tyrone. He was born at Aghavea on 4 January 1840; and educated at St Macartan's College, Monaghan and ...

. McKenna was ordained bishop on 10 October 1909.

Bishop of Clogher

During his term as Bishop he had to contend with political strife and enormous political change, most especially the effects of the

Partition of Ireland The Partition of Ireland () was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland (the area today known as the R ...

which also brought political partition to his diocese. He was a strong supporter of the Irish language and culture and did not hide from aligning himself with Nationalist and Republican leaders such as

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, police commissioner, politician and fascist. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a promin ...

, on one occasion giving O'Duffy a glowing reference for a post with

Monaghan County Council Monaghan County Council () is the local authority of County Monaghan, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning ...

. While he regularly condemned the actions of the British forces in Ireland and the excesses of the IRA during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

, he supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. However, he also opposed partition and was specially mindful of the nationalist people of his diocese who were cut off from the new

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. As a Bishop he was very popular among his priests and people and his clerical changes of priests between parishes became known as promotions rather than transfers. He introduced many changes to Diocesan policy, particularly regarding the celebrations of funerals. He died in office on 7 February 1942 having served as bishop of his diocese for just over thirty-two years. McKenna was succeeded by Eugene O'Callaghan. The Ulster Council of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(

Ulster GAA The Ulster Council () is a provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in the city of Armagh. The fir ...

) has a Gaelic Football competition, the

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football compe ...

, named after the bishop. He presented the Dr McKenna Cup to the Ulster Council GAA in 1925. It was first played for in 1927.The McKenna Cup History
Gaelic Life

References

External links

* 1868 births 1942 deaths Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Christian clergy from County Monaghan Roman Catholic bishops of Clogher 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Bishops appointed by Pope Pius X {{Ireland-RC-bishop-stub