William Crolly

William Crolly (8 June 1780 – 8 April 1849) was the Bishop of Down and Connor from 1825 to 1835, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh from 1835 to 1849.

The Most Reverend William Crolly DD
Archbishop of Armagh Primate of All Ireland
Archdiocese	Armagh
Installed	1835
Term ended	1849 (died)
Predecessor	Thomas Kelly
Successor	Paul Cullen
Orders
Ordination	1806 (Priest)
Consecration	22 Feb 1825 (Bishop) Down and Connor
Personal details
Born	8 June 1780 Ballykilbeg, County Down
Died	6 April 1849 Drogheda
Buried	St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh
Nationality	Irish
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Alma mater	St Patrick's College, Maynooth

Styles of William Crolly
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Grace or Archbishop

Early life and education

A native of Ballykilbeg near Downpatrick, Crolly was born on 8 June 1780 and like his successors as Bishop of Down and Connor, Cornelius Denvir and Patrick Dorrian, was educated at Mr. Nelson's Classical school in Downpatrick. [1] At the age of 18 he witnessed the upheaval and aftermath of the 1798 United Irishmen rising at the county jail in Downpatrick, where it is believed that one of the assistant schoolmasters was imprisoned. [2]

Crolly went to Maynooth College where he excelled as a student, obtaining a first in Dogmatic Theology in 1806, the same year he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Troy.

Crolly was in demand as a lecturer at Maynooth and spent several years on the academic staff, but in 1812 moved to St Patrick's Church, Belfast. He preached at the opening of the original church on 5 March 1815 in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Patrick MacMullan whom he would eventually succeed. [3]

Bishop of Down and Connor

In 1825 Crolly was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor and spent a decade ministering in his native diocese. Among the most important and enduring aspects of his episcopate was the establishment of St. Malachy's College in 1833, although he also oversaw the construction of many churches in rural parishes. One writer estimates this was only possible by Crolly living with his curates in a single house in Belfast. [4]

Archbishop of Armagh

In 1835 Crolly was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in succession to Thomas Kelly who has served under three years in office. He began the construction of the Cathedral in Armagh and laid the foundation stone on St Patrick's Day, 1840. He appointed Thomas Duff architect and also decreed that work be suspended because of the Great Irish Famine.[5]

His support for non-denominational education and his cautious welcome of the Queen's College's in 1845, a position at variance with most other Irish bishops of the time, led to him being remembered at his death as a "thoroughly tolerant man ... who devoted himself heart and soul to the advancement of his church".[6]

He died of cholera in Drogheda, Co. Louth, in April 1849. An obituary notice in The Spectator noting the suddenness of his death recorded that 'his amiable qualities, his charitable bearing, and his moderate and conciliatory political course, secured him universal esteem, and will cause his death to be universally mourned in Ireland.'[7]

His birthplace in Ballykilbeg, Co. Down, is remembered on a blue plaque.[8]

References

1. http://www.devlin-family.com/crolly.htm
2. Parkhill, Trevor (December 1993). Familia 1993: Ulster Geneological Review: Number 9. ISBN 9780901905611.
3. MacAulay, Ambrose (1994). William Crolly: Archbishop of Armagh, 1835-49. ISBN 9781851821471.
4. Bowen, Desmond (January 2006). Paul Cardinal Cullen and the Shaping of Modern Irish Catholicism. ISBN 9780889208766.
5. http://archiseek.com/2009/1860-st-patricks-cathedral-armagh/
6. http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/WilliamCrolly.php
7. http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/14th-april-1849/4/ireland
8. http://www.blueplaqueplaces.co.uk/william-crolly-blue-plaque-in-ballykilbeg-7026

• "Crolly, William" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.