THE VENERABLE DERMOT DUNNE APPOINTED NEW DEAN
OF CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL

It was announced today that the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill has appointed the Venerable Dermot Dunne, Archdeacon of Ferns as the new Dean of Christ Church Cathedral. He will succeed the Very Revd Desmond Harman who died in December. The appointment will mean a return to Christ Church for Archdeacon Dunne, who served as Dean’s Vicar in the Cathedral from 1999 to 2001.

The Venerable Dermot Dunne was born in 1959 and was educated in the Pontifical University in Maynooth where he graduated with a Diploma in Philosophy in 1980 and a Diploma in Theology in 1983. He also holds a Certificate in Psychotherapy from the Chiron Centre for Integrative Psychotherapy, London. He also graduated with a BA from Dublin City University in 2004. He was ordained a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church in 1983 and a Priest in 1984. After serving in various capacities from 1983 to 1995, he returned to lay life. He was licensed as a Church of Ireland priest in 1998 after study in the Church of Ireland Theological College. He served as Dean’s Vicar in Christ Church Cathedral from 1999 to 2001. Since 2001 he has been Rector of the Crosspatrick Group of Parishes in the Diocese of Ferns (part of the United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory). He was appointed Archdeacon of Ferns in 2007 and Warden of the Cashel and Ossory Guild of Lay Readers in the same year.

As well as being Dean, he will be the incumbent of the Christ Church Cathedral group of parishes which include several of Dublin’s most historic parishes, St Andrew's, St Werburgh's, All Saints (Grangegorman) and St Michan's, St Paul and St Mary. As the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough and the Metropolitan Church of the Southern Province of the Church of Ireland, the Cathedral holds many important Church events including the Citizenship service (which alternates every year with St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral), the consecration of Bishops, the ordination of clergy and the enthronement of newly elected Archbishops of Dublin.

In addition to his pastoral and liturgical duties, the new Dean will be responsible for the overall management of one of Dublin’s most popular and historical landmarks which was begun in 1038 by the Viking King of Dublin, Sitric Silkenbeard. Throughout its long history, Christ Church has had an excellent reputation for music which is maintained today by the Christ Church Cathedral Choir and the Christ Church Cathedral Girls’ Choir. The Cathedral is also famous for its Bell tower which with 16 bells, is one of the largest in the world. As a result, the Cathedral is the site in Dublin where many hundreds of revellers come to ‘ring in the new year’.

Announcing the appointment, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill said, “Dermot served with me in my last diocese [Cashel and Ossory], and I quickly came to realize his very special gifts and deep spirituality. He is a wise pastor, and very much a man of God. In his ministry, he is warmly supported by his wife, Celia whom we also look forward to welcoming into this Cathedral and Diocesan family. Dermot is taking on a challenge to build on and develop the work of those who have gone before, but he will be generously supported by a loyal chapter, board and the great team which is the Cathedral staff, and by the whole musical foundation.”

Reflecting on his appointment the Venerable Dermot Dunne praised his two immediate predecessors, the late Deans John Paterson and Desmond Harman and said, “It is an honour and privilege to be invited by his Grace to be Dean of Christ Church Cathedral a place which I have loved from the first time I stepped inside nearly nine years ago. It is a sobering and humbling thought that I should take on a role occupied by many esteemed and notable predecessors… I approach the management of the cathedral with the image of myself being given a precious jewel to be cared for and preserved.”

As Dean, the Venerable Dermot Dunne will be the thirty-fifth Dean of Christ Church Cathedral since 1539, when the last Augustinian Prior, Robert Paynswick was made Dean under reforms initiated by King Henry VIII.

The Venerable Dermot Dunne is married to Celia (nee Burl), who also trained as a psychotherapist in the Chiron Centre and now practices as a therapist in Tinahealy.

It is hoped that the new Dean will be installed on 30 May 2008.

- ENDS –