Anthony McFeely

Anthony Columba McFeely (4 February 1909 – 7 October 1986)[1] was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.[2]

McFeely was born in Ballybofey and educated at St Columb's College, Derry.[3] He followed his paternal uncle Fr William Boyle McFeely [4] into the priesthood and studied for the priesthood at St Patrick's College, Maynooth and the Pontifical Irish College, Rome and was ordained a priest for service in the Diocese of Derry.

From 1950 to 1959 he was President of St Columb's and parish priest of Strabane from then until his appointment to the episcopate, as Bishop of Raphoe .[5] He was ordained a bishop in St Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny on 27th June 1965.[6]

Bishop of Raphoe

McFeely became a bishop as the Second Vatican Council closed and so he put into effect the liturgical and other conciliar reforms in his diocese. He also "put diocesan finances on a sound basis, replacing funeral offerings with the envelope system, and he took in hand the creation of a diocesan archive".[7] In constructing several new churches in his diocese McFeely often commissioned internationally acclaimed architect Liam McCormick especially at Milford, Burt and Creeslough.[8][9]

In the early 1970s he persuaded the Capuchin Order not to leave Ards Friary, adjacent to Ards Forest Park but to re-purpose their previous novitiate into a pastoral centre and make more use of the extensive grounds.[10]

In 2011 it was revealed that Bishop McFeely had allowed a notorious paedophile priest - Father Patrick Maguire - to get away with abusing a young boy – before finally taking action against him.[11]

References

  1. ^ G Catholic
  2. ^ Catholic Hierarchy
  3. ^ Canning, Bernard (1988). Bishops of Ireland 1870-1987. Ballyshannon: Donegal Democrat. p. 158. ISBN 1870963008.
  4. ^ https://watersideparish.net/anecdotes/#Will
  5. ^ RC Bishops of Raphoe
  6. ^ "Staff View: Souvenir of Consecration of Most Rev. Anthony McFeely, Bishop of Raphoe on 27th June, 1965 at St. Eunan's Cathedral Letterkenny (The Ceremony of Consecration of a Bishop Elect.). :: Library Catalog". catalogue.nli.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Previous Bishops - Diocese of Raphoe | Letterkenny | Co. Donegal". www.raphoediocese.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  8. ^ "New film – McCormick's Vision of The Church & The Mountain – Glass Mountain Digital Media". glassmountain.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Saint Michael's Catholic Church, CREESLOUGH, Creeslough, DONEGAL - Buildings of Ireland". www.buildingsofireland.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "RAPHOE ABUSE: HOW BISHOP McFEELY GAVE NOTORIOUS PAEDOPHILE A SECOND CHANCE | Donegal Daily". Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2025.


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