Richard Lionel Clarke (born 25 June 1949) is a retired Irish

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop and author. From 2012 to 2020, he served as 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: as such, he was the senior cleric 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 ...

Early life and education

Clarke was born on 25 June 1949 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 ...

, Ireland. He was educated at Drumcondra National School and at Wesley College, a fee-paying

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in Dublin. He attended

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

( M.A., Ph.D.) and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

( B.D.) where he studied history and theology.

Ordained ministry

Clarke was ordained a deacon in 1975 and priest in 1976, serving as a curate in

Holywood, County Down Holywood ( ; ) is a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a Holywood, County Down (civil parish), civil parish and townland of lying on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor, County ...

for two years from 1975–77 and again as a curate at St Bartholomew's with Christ Church, Leeson Park, Dublin from 1977–79, before serving as Dean of Residence at

for five years. Clarke travelled thence to Bandon,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, where he served as rector until 1993 when he was appointed Dean of Cork.

Episcopal ministry

Clarke was elected and consecrated to the bishopric of Meath and Kildare in 1996. In 2012, he was elected, in succession to Alan Harper, to be the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. His translation to Armagh took effect on 15 December 2012, on which date he also was enthroned at St Patrick's Cathedral.Church of Ireland: Clarke elected as Archbishop
ireland.anglican.org; accessed 27 July 2017. On 2 November 2019, during his presidential address to Armagh Diocesan Synod, Clarke announced that he would retire on 2 February 2020. The

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

, the Most Reverend Dr

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, paid tribute to Clarke after the announcement, saying, "Archbishop Clarke has dedicated his life to the service of God and the church."

Personal life

Clarke married Linda Margaret Thompson in 1975: she died in 2009. He has two children and three grandchildren, as of 2017.

Selected works

Clarke is the author of ''And Is It True?'' (2000), ''The Unharmonious Blacksmith'' (2002), ''A Whisper of God'' (2006), and ''Shouldering the Lamb: Reflections on an Icon'' (2017).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Richard 1949 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of the Theological Department of King's College London Anglican archbishops of Armagh Bishops of Meath and Kildare Deans of Cork 20th-century Anglican bishops in Ireland 21st-century Anglican bishops in Ireland 21st-century Anglican archbishops People educated at Wesley College, Dublin Irish Anglican archbishops Christian clergy from County Dublin