Press Releases
JOHN NEILL IS NEW ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN
The Right Reverend John Neill, Bishop of Cashel & Ossory, was today elected as the new Archbishop of Dublin at a meeting of the Church of Ireland Episcopal Electoral College in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. He succeeds the Most Reverend Dr Walton Empey who retired in July.
John Neill, 56, was educated at Avoca School, Blackrock and Sandford Park School, Ranelagh, the only son of the late Canon E M Neill, Rector of Castleknock (1961-75) and Harold’s Cross (1977-81). He was a Foundation Scholar in Hebrew and Oriental Languages at Trinity College Dublin and graduated with first class honours in 1966. In 1972 he was awarded an MA degree at Jesus College, Cambridge.
He was ordained in 1969 for the curacy of St Paul’s Glenageary (1969-71), the fourth generation of his family to enter the ministry. He was appointed a lecturer at the Divinity Hostel, Dublin (1970-71) before moving to St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny as Bishop’s Vicar (1971-74). He has served as Incumbent in Abbeystrewry (Skibbereen) (1974-78) and St Bartholomew’s & Leeson Park (1978-84) and as Dean and Archdeacon of Waterford (1984-86). He was Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry from 1986 to 1997 before his consecration as Bishop of Cashel & Ossory in 1997.
John Neill has served as a member of the Governing Body of University College Galway (1986-97) and on the Academic Council of the Irish School of Ecumenics. He has been prominent in promoting ecumenical relations as President of the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland (1990-94), President of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (1999-2002) and Anglican Chairman of Porvoo Contact Group from 1998. He is a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.
At the Lambeth Conference in 1988 he proposed all the approved resolutions in respect of Women in the Episcopate and was chairman of the Church of Ireland General Synod Committee on Ordination of Women (1988-91).
He has served on many central committees of the Church of Ireland covering issues such as liturgical reform, education, communications, ministry, Christian unity and synodical structures. He was co-founder and chairman of the Church of Ireland/Methodist Church Joint Theological Working Party.
John is married to Betty and they have three sons, Stephen who is Rector of Cloughjordan, Andrew a businessman in Clonmel and Peter, an IT manager.
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