Archbishop of Dublin (Catholic Church)

[1] The office is not to be confused with a similar role in the Church of Ireland, though both claim a common descent from the head of the Norse Diocese of Dublin, appointed in 1028, and the elevation of the see in 1152.

What became the Dublin area was Christian long before it had a distinct diocese, and there are remains and memory of monasteries famous before that time, at Finglas, Glasnevin, Glendalough, Kilnamanagh, Rathmichael, Swords, Tallaght, among others.

He sent his chosen candidate, Donat (or Donagh, Dúnán or Donatus) to be consecrated at Canterbury, England, in 1038, and the new prelate set up the Diocese of Dublin as a small territory within the walled city, over which he presided until 1074.

Then, in 1151, Pope Eugene III commissioned Cardinal Paparo to go to Ireland and establish four metropolitans, and at a general synod at Kells in 1152, Armagh, Dublin, Cashel and Tuam were created archepiscopal sees.

Not only was the Irish Church transformed in that 12th century by new organisations and new arrivals from abroad, but Ireland's political scene was changed permanently by the coming of the Normans and the influence of the English Crown from 1171.

High offices in the Church were never free of political influence, and in fact, many of Dublin's archbishops exercised civil authority for the English crown.

The statutes mention the Chapters of both St. Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedrals, which are granted the power to confer degrees, and the aim appears to have been to provide lectures at the former.

The then Dean of St. Patrick's, William de Rodyard, was elected first Chancellor of the university, and in 1358, King Edward III issued letters patent conferring protection on the students.

After the excommunication of Henry VIII in 1538, no Roman Catholic archbishop was nominated by Rome until Hugh Curwen in 1555, in the brief reign of Queen Mary.

The office-holder's official residence is Archbishop's house in Drumcondra, where he has a two-room suite, the building largely functioning as meeting and office space in modern times.