By Sean Ryan - 18 June, 2017
A Cashel and Emly diocesan priest has been appointed as President of the National Seminary in Maynooth.
The Trustees of Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth have appointed Thurles native Reverend Professor Michael Mullaney as President for the next three years, with effect from 1 September 2017.
Fr Mullaney has served as Registrar, Vice President and most recently Acting President of Saint Patrick’s College, and has also helped out as a curate in the parish of Holycross/Ballycahill at weekends.
Welcoming the appointment, Archbishop Eamon Martin, Chairman of the Trustees, said: “I warmly congratulate and send my prayerful good wishes to Father Michael Mullaney on his appointment to the role of President of Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth.
“Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth is not only home to our national seminary, but its Pontifical University offers courses to almost one thousand students – women and men, full time and part time, resident and non-resident, seminarians and religious from all over the country.
“The Trustees are firmly committed to the College as a key contributor to the future of the Church in Ireland as it prepares both clergy and lay people to fully exercise their baptismal calling and bring their gifts to the service of God’s people.”
He added that “In appointing Father Mullaney as President for a period of three years, the Trustees of the College, in consultation with the relevant Congregations of the Holy See, have agreed to revise the governance structures of the College, with particular reference to the Seminary and the Pontifical University as two interrelated but distinct entities.
“Plans for the further development of a vibrant pontifical university, alongside the implementation of the vision for priestly formation set out in the new universal norms The Gift of the Priestly Vocation published by the Congregation for the Clergy last December, have led us to reflect on the complementary but distinct roles and responsibilities of a Seminary Rector and the President of a Pontifical University. We have therefore decided to prepare for the appointment in due course of a Pro-Rector with dedicated responsibility for seminary formation at Maynooth.”
A past pupil of Scoil Ailbhe and Thurles CBS, Fr Mullaney was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Cashel and Emly in 1992. He received a Doctorate in Canon Law with specialization in Rotal Jurisprudence from the Gregorian University, Rome, in 2000.
He has served as a lecturer in Canon Law at St Patrick’s College, Thurles (1998–2003), Milltown Institute, Dublin (1999–2005) and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth (since 1999).
He became Professor of Canon Law, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in 2006 and has served as Registrar of the Pontifical University, Maynooth (2005–present).
Fr Mullaney has served as Chair of the Faculty of Theology Quality Review Committee (2006–2007) and as Judge of the National Marriage Appeals Tribunal of Ireland (2006–present). He is a member of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland and has been acting President of Maynooth since August 2016.
Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth has been forming men for the priesthood since 1795. The College comprises the seminary and the Pontifical University, which offers degrees in arts, theology and philosophy. The Trustees of the College are the Governing Body of the College. The membership is defined by successive Acts of Parliament. The current Trustees are the 4 archbishops of Ireland together with 13 other bishops. Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh, is the chairman of the Trustees of the College.
