Walsh, William Joseph, 1841-1921, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin

William Joseph Walsh was born at 11 Essex Quay in Dublin on 30 January 1841. He was the only child of Ralph Walsh, a watchmaker from County Kerry, and Mary Pierce of Galway. He was educated at St. Laurence O’Toole Seminary School in Dublin before attending Newman’s Catholic University. He then went to study at St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, in 1858. Excelling at Canon Law, Hebrew, and Divinity, he completed his Ordinary Degree in 1864 followed by a combined three years of post-graduate study and lecturing in the Theology Faculty. He was ordained to the priesthood on 22 May 1866. The following year, at the age of twenty-six, Walsh was appointed Professor of Dogmatic and Moral Theology at Maynooth. He served as Vice President of the College from 1878 and was made President in 1880. On the death of Cardinal Edward McCabe (1816-1885), Walsh was appointed Archbishop of Dublin. He was appointed to the See of Dublin on 3 July 1885. This was hailed as a triumph by Irish Nationalists as Walsh’s sympathies were well known. For the next quarter of a century, Walsh was one of the dominant personalities in the Irish Catholic Church and played a key role in both pastoral and public affairs. His motto was ‘Fide et Labore’. He died on 9 April 1921 and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

For more information see the Dublin Diocesan Archives at https://dublindiocese.ie/william-walsh-1885-1921/

See also the ‘Dictionary of Irish Biography’ at https://www.dib.ie/biography/walsh-william-joseph-a8905