The Most Reverend William MacNeely was the Bishop of Raphoe[1] from 1923 until 1963.
Bishop William MacNeely | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Raphoe | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| See | Raphoe |
| In office | from 1923 to 1963 |
| Predecessor | Patrick O'Donnell |
| Successor | Anthony Columba McFeely |
| Personal details | |
| Born | County Donegal, Ireland |
Early life and education
editWilliam MacNeely was born in Dec 1889; his father was a butcher in Donegal Town. MacNeely was educated at the High School in Letterkenny, and in Rome from 1906–12. He was ordained to the priesthood on 4 February 1912[2] and upon his return to Ireland was appointed to the staff of St Eunan's College.[3]
MacNeely served for two years as chaplain with the Irish Battalions in the British Army in the First World War.[4]
Bishop of Raphoe
editIn July 1923, at the comparatively young age of 35, he was appointed as Bishop of Raphoe in succession to Bishop Patrick O'Donnell who had been appointed to Armagh the previous year.[5] In that role he was responsible for the completion of Letterkenny Cathedral and negotiating with Harry Clarke to finish the work of glazing the cathedral.[6]
Keen to develop religious life in his diocese, he invited the Capuchin Franciscans to the Creeslough area in 1930 to a site that would become known as Ards Priory.[citation needed]
In 2008, it was reported that MacNeely was one of the two Irish episcopal coordinators who worked alongside "an intelligence-gathering secret service" set up in 1948 to monitor any sign of a "Communist takeover" of Ireland.[7]
In 1953, he was a member of the inaugural Episcopal Commission for Emigrants reflecting the high levels of migration that afflicted his diocese and wider Donegal for much of the twentieth century.[8]
He served as Bishop for over forty years attending the early sessions of the Second Vatican Council, and died in December 1963.[citation needed]
The bishop was also a successful breeder of Shorthorn cattle.[9]
References
edit- ^ (12 March 2010). "Four Masters remembered", Donegal Democrat. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- ^ Canning, Bernard (1988). Bishops of Ireland 1870-1987. Ballyshannon: Donegal Democrat. p. 157. ISBN 1870963008.
- ^ "MacNeely, William". Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 1920–2016 (April 2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 31 January 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "SaintEunans – History".
- ^ "Bishop William MacNeely [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
- ^ "Tirconaill Revisited, by Thomas MacGreevy". www.macgreevy.org.
- ^ "Catholic bishops' 'secret service' kept tabs on communists". independent.
- ^ "Conference paper" (PDF). catholiccommunications.ie. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "October 24, 1931". 24 October 1931 – via Flickr.
