Stephen Kirwan Explained

Stephen Kirwan
Bishop of Clonfert, Bishop of Kilmacduagh
Church:	Church of Ireland
Diocese:	Clonfert

Stephen Kirwan (a.k.a. Kerovan and O'Kirwan) was an Irish Anglican bishop. He was the Church of Ireland Bishop of Clonfert from 1582 until before 4 November 1601.

Life and career

Kirwan was a member of the tribes of Galway, previously a Roman Catholic educated in Oxford, Paris^[1] and Rome. He became an Anglican in the mid-16th century and was the Archdeacon of Annaghdown from 1558 and the first reformed Church of Ireland Bishop of Kilmacduagh from 13 April 1573.^[2] Nominated 30 March 1582 for Clonfert, letters patent were issued 24 May 1582 and he was translated to Clonfert the same year.

Kirwan was involved in local government in Connaught, serving as a justice and commissioner for the province from 1580 until his death.

He died before 4 November 1601. Other members of his family included:

• John William Kirwan
• Augustine Kirwan
• Richard Kirwan
• Sir John Kirwan
• Dominick Kirwin

References

• Religion and the Laity in Early Modern Galway, Thomas Connors, Galway:History and Society, 1996, pp. 131–148.
• Web site: Stephen Kirwan. 2013-01-21.

Notes and References

1. Book: Dictionary of National Biography, Index and Epitome. 1903. 731. 15 November 2021.
2. Book: The Irish Reformation, Or The Alleged Conversion of the Irish Bishops at the Accession of Queen Elizabeth, and the Assumed Descent of the Present Established Hierarchy in Ireland from the Ancient Irish Church Disproved. 1867. William. Brady. James. Froude. 156. 15 November 2021.