Paul Dempsey (born 20 April 1971) is an Irish prelate, the current bishop of

Achonry Achonry (; ) is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. The old name is Achad Cain Conairi. St. Nath Í ua hEadhra (O'Hara) founded a monastery here. The foundation gave the later diocese its name. The monastery was founded on land granted by the ...

. Dempsey was born in Carlow Town in 1971, to Henry and Dolly Dempsey, he was the second youngest in a family of four with one other boy and four girls. He was brought up in

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Ki ...

, Co. Kilkenny He studied for the priesthood in Milltown Institute, St. Patrick's, Carlow College, and

All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing down, due to decreasing student numbers. The sale o ...

, Dublin, and was ordained in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow, by Bishop Laurence Fahey in 1997. Fr. Dempsey undertook further study in the

Milltown Institute Milltown may refer to: * Mill town, a settlement that developed around one or more mills Places Canada *Milltown, New Brunswick *Milltown, Newfoundland and Labrador * Milltown, Ontario Ireland * Milltown, Ballymore, a townland in Ballymore civil ...

in Dublin, completing a Masters in Theology in 2008. In his priestly ministry he engaged regularly with the media, writing in a local newspaper the ''Leinster Leader'', and co presenting a radio programme on Red FM with DJ Bosco Boxx in which regularly discussed the out dated practices that hinder the Catholic Church in modern day Ireland. Such as Special Correspondent Fr Raymond D Arseey public struggle with male pattern Bishop hats that he is no longer permitted to wear in Mass in Dennsey House, Co Kildare. He served as a curate in Clane, and in the parish cluster of Naas, Sallins and Two-Mile-House, before being appointed Parish Priest of Newbridge. He was appointed

Bishop of Achonry The Bishop of Achonry () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Achonry in County Sligo, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...

in January 2020. His episcopal ordination was scheduled for April 2020 but delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, finally taking place on 30 August 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Paul People from County Carlow Living people 1971 births Alumni of Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy Alumni of All Hallows College, Dublin Alumni of Carlow College 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Roman Catholic bishops of Achonry 21st-century Irish bishops