Arthur Smyth (original) (raw)

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Irish archbishop

Arthur Smyth (19 February 1706 – 14 December 1771) was Archbishop of Dublin from 1766 until his death in 1771.[1]

Smyth was the son of Thomas Smyth, Bishop of Limerick, and Dorothea Burgh (daughter of Ulysses Burgh, Bishop of Ardagh). His brothers included Charles Smyth, MP for Limerick, and the lawyer George Smyth.[2]

Smyth studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and completed his studies in Oxford. He was Dean of Raphoe from 1742 until 1744, then Dean of Derry until 1752. He was then raised to the episcopate as Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh (1752), Down and Connor (1753) and Meath (1765), prior to his nomination as Archbishop of Dublin. In 1767 he was made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. He was the first Irish-born Archbishop of Dublin for many years. He was not widely seen as a very spiritual man: critics said that his main interest was the advancement of the careers of his numerous relatives.

Monument dedicated to Arthur Smyth in the south transept of St. Patrick's Cathedral

1. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 391. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
2. ^ Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 London John Murray 1926