The Bishop of Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Connor in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The title is currently used by the Church of Ireland, but in the Roman Catholic Church it has been united with another bishopric.
The diocese of Connor was one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111.[1] It is located in the northeast corner of Ireland and includes much of the city of Belfast. By some of the Irish annalists it was called by its territorial name The See of Dalaradia.[2]
For a brief period in the early 12th-century, the see of Connor was united with Down under Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair (Saint Malachy), who also was Archbishop of Armagh.[1] On 29 July 1439, plans for a permanent union of the two sees were submitted to King Henry VI of England for his sanction.[3] Exactly twelve months later, 29 July 1439, Pope Eugene IV issued a papal bull stating that Down and Connor were to be united on the death or resignation of either bishop.[3] In 1442, John Sely, Bishop of Down, was deprived of his see by Pope Eugene IV,[4] [5] thereby effecting the union of the two dioceses. John Fossade, who had been bishop of Connor since 1431, became the bishop of the united see of Down and Connor in late 1442.[3] However, due to strong opposition to the union in the diocese of Down, three more bishops of Down were appointed before the two sees finally united.[3]
After the Reformation, the united see of Down and Connor had parallel episcopal successions. In the Roman Catholic Church, they still remain united to the present today. In the Church of Ireland, Down and Connor were united further with Dromore in 1842 to form the bishopric of Down, Connor and Dromore. They continued until 1945 when they were separated into the bishopric of Down and Dromore and the bishopric of Connor.
The present bishop is George Davison, previously Archdeacon of Belfast, who was elected by the House of Bishops in February 2020,[6] and consecrated on 3 September 2020.[7]
| Pre-Reformation Bishops of Connor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| unknown | 1117 | Flann Ua Sculu | Died in office. | |
| 1117 | 1124 | See vacant | ||
| 1124 | 1136/37 | Saint Malachy | Irish: Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair; Saint Malachias; also Bishop of Down from 1124 and Archbishop of Armagh from 1132; resigned Armagh and Connor, but retained Down until his death on 2 November 1148. | |
| 1137/38 | bef. 1152 | See vacant | ||
| bef. 1152 | bef. 1172 | Máel Pátraic Ua Bánáin | Present at the Synod of Kells in March 1152; resigned; died 1174. | |
| bef. 1172 | bef. 1178 | Nehemias | Died in office. | |
| 1225 | Reginaldus | Died after 19 April 1225. | ||
| 1226 | 1241 | Eustacius | Eustace; previously Archdeacon of Connor; elected bishop in 1226 and received possession of the temporalities 5 May 1226; died before October 1241. | |
| 1242 | 1244 | Adam OCist | Previously Abbot of Wardon Abbey; elected bishop in 1242 and received possession of the temporalities 27 January 1242; consecrated in September 1242; died 7 November 1244 and was buried in Wardon Abbey. | |
| 1245 | 1256 | Isaac of Newcastle | Elected before 4 April 1245 and received possession of the temporalities 8 May 1245; died circa 6 October 1256. | |
| 1257 | 1260 | William of Portroyal OSB | Appointed 27 October 1257 and received possession of the temporalities 7 January 1258; died before 16 July 1260. | |
| 1260 | 1262 | William de la Hay | Elected 10 October 1260; consecrated and received possession of the temporalities after 21 March 1261; acted as a suffragan bishop in the diocese of Lincoln in 1262; died before 25 December 1262. | |
| 1263 | 1274 | Robert of Flanders | Elected 3 February 1263 and received possession of the temporalities after that date; died 25 November 1274; also known as Robert le Fleming or Flandrensis. | |
| 1275 | 1292 | Petrus de Dunach | Peter of Dovenach or Donach; elected before 2 March 1275; died before January 1292. | |
| 1292 | 1319 | Johannes | John; elected before 23 January 1292 and received possession of the temporalities 27 April 1293; died . | |
| 1320 | unknown | Richard | Elected circa 1320. | |
| 1321 | James of Couplith | Elected before 26 July 1321, but did not get possession of the see. | ||
| 1323 | John de Egglescliffe OP | Translated from Glasgow before 5 March 1323, but did not get possession of the see; translated to Llandaff 20 June 1323. | ||
| 1323 | 1324 | Robert Wirsop OESA | Translated from Ardagh on 20 June 1323; died before May 1324. | |
| 1324 | 1351 | Jacobus Ó Cethernaig | James O'Kearney; translated from Annaghdown between 7 and 15 May 1324; received possession of the temporalities 22 December 1324; died 1351. | |
| 1353 | 1374 | William Mercier | Previously Archdeacon of Kildare; appointed bishop 8 July and consecrated after 12 August 1353; received possession of the temporalities 2 November 1353; died in office. | |
| 1374 | 1389 | Paulus | Appointed 11 December 1374 and received possession of the temporalities 10 May 1376; died in office. | |
| 1389 | 1416 | Johannes | Elected before 29 March 1389 and received possession of the temporalities 23 July 1389; appointed 9 November 1389; died in office. | |
| 1420 | 1421 | Seaán Ó Luachráin | Appointed 22 May 1420; died before February 1421. | |
| 1421 | 1429 | Eóghan Ó Domhnaill | Appointed 5 May 1421 and consecrated after June 1422; translated to Derry on 9 December 1429. | |
| 1429 | 1431 | Domhnaill Ó Mearaich | Translated from Derry 9 December 1429; died in office on 28 January 1431. | |
| 1431 | 1442 | John Fossade | John Festade; appointed 28 January and consecrated after 2 June 1431; became Bishop of Down and Connor in late 1442, although did not gain full control; died in the spring of 1450. | |
| After the union of Down and Connor, there were two further bishops of Connor. Their position is uncertain – they may have been suffragan or titular bishops. | ||||
| 1459 | Patricius | He is said to have died before his letters of appointment were drawn up in 1459. | ||
| 1459 | 1481 | Simon Elvington OP | Appointed by Pope Pius II on 12 February 1459; acted as a suffragan bishop in the dioceses of Salisbury and Exeter 1459–1481; died in office. | |
| Source(s): | ||||
| Church of Ireland Bishops of Connor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
| 1945 | 1956 | Charles King Irwin | Elected and confirmed Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore in 1942; relinquished Down and Dromore on 31 December 1944/1 January 1945, but retained Connor; resigned on 31 May 1956; died 15 January 1960. | |
| 1956 | 1969 | Cyril Elliott | Elected 28 June and consecrated 21 September 1956; resigned on 31 August 1969; died 3 April 1977. | |
| 1969 | 1981 | Arthur Butler | Translated from Tuam, Killala and Achonry; elected 16 September and confirmed 14 October 1969; resigned on 30 September 1981. | |
| 1981 | 1987 | William John McCappin | Elected 28 October and consecrated 30 November 1981; retired; died 3 July 1992. | |
| 1987 | 1995 | Samuel Poyntz | Translated from Cork, Cloyne and Ross; elected and confirmed in 1987; retired on 10 March 1995. | |
| 1995 | 2001 | Jimmy Moore | Elected 31 March and consecrated 25 May 1995; retired; died 16 March 2005. | |
| 2002 | 2007 | Alan Harper | Elected 17 December 2001 and consecrated 18 March 2002; translated to Armagh on 16 March 2007. | |
| 2007 | 2019 | Alan Abernethy | Appointed 17 April,[8] consecrated 29 June,[9] and enthroned 6 September 2007.[10] retired on 31 December 2019,[11] | |
| 2020 | George Davison | Appointed 17 February, consecrated on 3 September 2020. | ||
| Source(s):[12] | ||||