The Most Reverend Dr. Dermot Clifford, Ph.D., D.D. |
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Archbishop Emeritus of Cashel and Emly | |
Archdiocese | Cashel and Emly |
Installed | 12 September 1988 |
Term ended | 22 November 2014 |
Predecessor | Thomas Morris |
Successor | Kieran O'Reilly |
Other posts | Apostolic Administrator of Cloyne (7 March 2009 – 27 January 2013) |
Orders | |
Ordination | 22 February 1964 |
Consecration | 9 March 1986 |
Personal details | |
Born |
Ballymacelligott, County Kerry, Ireland |
25 January 1939
Nationality | Irish |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Previous post | Coadjutor Archbishop of Cashel and Emly (1985–1988) |
Styles of Dermot Clifford |
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Reference style | The Most Reverend |
Spoken style | Your Grace |
Religious style | Archbishop |
Dermot Clifford, Ph.D., D.D. (born 25 January 1939), was the Catholic Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in Ireland from 1988 to 2014. From 7 March 2009 to 27 January 2013, he also served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Cloyne.
Clifford was born in Ballymacelligott, County Kerry, Ireland, on 25 January 1939. He was educated at Clogher National School and St Brendan's College, Killarney. Among his teachers at St. Brendan's was the late Bishop of Kerry, Diarmaid Ó Súilleabháin. From Killarney, he moved to St Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he graduated with a B.Sc. Degree in 1960. After Maynooth, he went to the Irish College in Rome, where he studied for four years and was ordained priest on 22 February 1964. Whilst in Rome, he studied at the Lateran University and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Theology, being in Rome for the first two sessions of Vatican Council II. As a student, he was given the responsibility of looking after the Irish bishops who stayed in the Irish College.
Clifford's first post after ordination was as a teacher and Dean of Discipline in St Brendan's College, Killarney, where he taught from 1964 to 1972. He commuted to Cork five days per week (1965–1966) for his Higher Diploma in Education. He was later to lecture on a part-time basis in University College Cork in Social Science (1975–1981). He is now a member of the Governing Body representing north and south Tipperary.
Clifford then studied Social Administration at the London School of Economics (1972–1974), where he was conferred with a Master's Degree with distinction. From London, he returned to his native Kerry in August 1974 to become Diocesan Secretary to Bishop Eamon Casey. During that time he also served as Chaplain to St. Mary of the Angels, Beaufort, a home for children with learning disabilities.