Michael Russell (10 December 1920 – 12 January 2009) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Waterford and Lismore in Ireland from 1965 to 1993.

[1] He was sent to study for the priesthood at St Patrick's College, Maynooth and was ordained there on 17 June 1945 for service in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.

Even though Russell was not yet ordained a bishop, he attended the final session of the Second Vatican Council and received episcopal ordination in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Waterford, on 19 December 1965.

In 1984 the highlight of the trip to Ireland by President Ronald Reagan was a visit to his ancestral home village of Ballyporeen in Russell's Waterford diocese.

He, along with every other Catholic bishop invited to similar events, refused to attend and gave no explanation.