Pat Buckley (priest) (original) (raw)

Pat Buckley (born 2 May 1952) is an Irish independent Catholic bishop and former Catholic priest who has been excommunicated from the Catholic Church. As a Catholic priest, he ministered to Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners during the 1981 Irish hunger strike, including their leader, Bobby Sands. His ordination to the episcopate by Bishop Michael Cox resulted in him being excommunicated from the Catholic Church. He subsequently officiated at the marriages of divorcees who wished to remarry. He received a suspended sentence for officiating at sham marriages. Buckley also served as a local councillor on Larne Borough Council.