[1] Born in Ipswich around 1645, Pooley was educated at St Patrick's Cathedral Grammar School, in Dublin, the future Duke of Marlborough being one of his classmates.

[5] He served as personal chaplain to the Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1672 to 1677, as well as his successor, the Duke of Ormond.

[2] On 2 December 1697, he was consecrated Bishop of Cloyne, spending much of his time on an unsuccessful legal campaign to regain episcopal lands lost in prior decades.

He specifically objected to the requirement office holders abjure or deny the claim of the Catholic Stuart exiles, and avoided doing so himself until 1710.

[2] Pooley was responsible for restoring St. Michan's Church, Dublin, described as being in a 'ruinous condition' in the 1680s, and the expansion of St Eunan's Cathedral.