Martin Drennan

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The Right Reverend

Martin Drennan

BA, STL, LSS
Bishop Emeritus of Galway and Kilmacduagh
and Apostolic Administrator Emeritus of Kilfenora
Coat of arms of Martin Drennan.svg
DioceseGalway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora
Installed2005
Term ended2016
PredecessorJames McLoughlin
SuccessorBrendan Kelly
Other post(s)Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin and Titular Bishop of Aquae Regiae 1997–2005
Orders
Ordination16 July 1968 (Priest)
Consecration21 September 1997 (Bishop)
Personal details
Birth nameMartin Drennan
Born (1944-01-02) 2 January 1944 (age 78)
Piltown, County Kilkenny, Ireland
NationalityIrish
DenominationRoman Catholic Church

Martin Drennan (born 2 January 1944) is the former Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Kilfenora. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 29 July 2016.[1]

Early life and ordination[]

He was born in Piltown,[2] County Kilkenny, Ireland.

Priest and Professor[]

He studied at Maynooth seminary earning BA(NUI) and the Biblical Institute, Rome was ordained to the priesthood on 16 July 1968 for the Diocese of Ossory[3] Following this was two years of parish work at St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny and Ballycallan parishes. He taught Scripture in St Kieran's College, Kilkenny (1973–80) before returning to study in Rome and concurrently serving as Spiritual Director at the Pontifical Irish College, Rome (1980–85). He returned to Maynooth to lecture in Sacred Scripture.

When he returned to Ireland he was appointed to the Faculty of Theology in Maynooth College (1985–97) rising to the position of Professor of Old Testament. He also taught Hebrew in a typically dry and uninspiring way.

On 28 May 1997, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin and Titular Bishop of Aquae Regiae.[4]

Bishop[]

He received episcopal ordination on 21 September 1997. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Desmond Connell; his co-consecrators were Archbishop Luciano Storero, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland, and Laurence Forristal, the Bishop of Ossory.

In May 2005 he was appointed to the Diocese of Galway in succession to Dr James McLoughlin. He officially resigned as bishop on 29 July 2016, citing poor health.[1]

Abuse scandal[]

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora diocese

In November 2009, there were several calls for Bishop Drennan to resign from his post for his inclusion as part of the Murphy Report, surrounding a sexual abuse scandal in the Dublin archdiocese.

Bishop Drennan said that he did not feel disturbed by the Dublin diocesan report's discussion of his role. He said: "The report says nothing negative about me in fact, you know. I don’t think I have any questions to answer, in fact, from my own reflections on the time there."[5]

The report's assessment was that the Archdiocese acted correctly in addressing the issue that relates to Dr Drennan given the fact that the civil authorities brought no charges against the priest in question.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Two bishops stand down on health grounds". RTE. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Location of Piltown". Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Pope Benedict appoints Dr Martin Drennan as new Bishop of Galway". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Bishop Martin Drennan: Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  5. ^ "Drennan untroubled at mention in report". Irish Times. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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