Final preparations are being made in the Diocese of Clogher for the Episcopal Ordination of Monsignor Larry Duffy as the new Bishop of Clogher on Sunday 10 February. His Holiness Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Larry Duffy as Bishop of Clogher on 8 December 2018.
The ordination ceremony will take place in Saint Macartan’s Cathedral in Monaghan town.
The Chief Ordaining Prelate will be Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, who will be assisted by Bishop Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor and Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland. Other bishops and diocesan administrators will also be in attendance.
Concelebrants at the Mass will include priests and religious clergy from the Diocese of Clogher, priests who are classmates of the bishop-elect (Carlow 1976), priests from the Diocese of Kitui in Kenya where he ministered for four years, and other visiting priests.
Representatives of other Christian denominations in attendance will include Bishop John McDowell, Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher, Archbishop Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin (and formerly Bishop of Clogher) and other representatives.
In attendance at the Mass will be family and friends of Bishop-elect Duffy; representatives of primary and post-primary schools, Church groups from the Diocese of Clogher, as well as representatives of civic society.
The music for the Mass will be provided by Saint Macartan’s Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Deirdre Macklin. The organist will be Deirdre Macklin and the conductor will be Claudine Marron. The instrumentalist will be local traditional musician and composer, Eamonn Curran, (pipes and whistle) who has composed a number of instrumental pieces for the occasion.
The Diocese of Clogher encompasses all of Co Monaghan, most of Fermanagh and portions of Tyrone, Donegal, Louth and Cavan. It has a Catholic population of 88,000, across 37 parishes, which are served by 58 priests and 2 deacons. There are 85 churches in the diocese.
Since 2013 Bishop-elect Larry Duffy has been Parish Priest of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. He comes from the neighbouring parish of Magheracloone. He was born in Ballybay on 27 November 1951. Bishop-elect Duffy’s parents were the late Thomas and Elizabeth Duffy. He has three surviving siblings, his sister Anna and brothers Patrick and Peter. Their other brother Brendan died two years ago.
Having completed his studies for the priesthood at Saint Patrick’s College, Carlow, he was ordained in Saint Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan, in 1976. Since then Bishop-elect Duffy has served in various parishes of the Diocese of Clogher including Enniskillen, Castleblayney, Monaghan & Rackwallace (Cathedral parish), Ederney, Clones and Carrickmacross. In addition, he spent four years ministering in the Diocese of Kitui in Kenya. While in Africa he led the building of a new church in Mwingi in the diocese. Bishop-elect Duffy was also a keen supporter of religious communities in their setting up of schools in the Diocese of Kitui.
Bishop-elect Duffy was Vicar General of the Diocese of Clogher from 2013 until the retirement of Bishop MacDaid in 2016.
A former player with Magheracloone Mitchells GAA, Bishop-elect Duffy is also an avid GAA fan and a keen golfer.
The ordination Mass will be live-streamed on www.clogherdiocese.ie
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