Charles Brodrick

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The Most Reverend

Charles Brodrick

D.D.
Archbishop of Cashel
ChurchChurch of Ireland
ArchdioceseCashel
Appointed9 December 1801
In office1801–1822
PredecessorCharles Agar
SuccessorRichard Laurence
Orders
Ordination9 December 1787
by Richard Woodward
Consecration22 March 1795
by William Beresford
Personal details
Born(1761-05-03)May 3, 1761
DiedMay 6, 1822(1822-05-06) (aged 61)
BuriedMidleton, County Cork
DenominationAnglican
ParentsGeorge Brodrick & Albinia Townshend
SpouseMary Woodward
Children5
Previous post(s)Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh (1795–1796)
Bishop of Kilmore (1796–1801)

Charles Brodrick (3 May 1761 – 6 May 1822) was a reforming Irish clergyman and Archbishop of Cashel in the Church of Ireland.

Origins and education[edit]

Brodrick was the third son of the 3rd Viscount Midleton and Albinia Townshend, sister of Viscount Sydney. He was educated, like his maternal uncle, at Clare Hall, Cambridge.[1] His brothers included George Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton and General John Brodrick.

In 1787, he was ordained in Cloyne by the Bishop, his father-in-law, Richard Woodward, first deacon (24 August) and then priest (9 December). He was appointed Rector of Dingindonovan (or Dangan) and Prebendary of Killenemer, and established a reputation for himself by choosing to live in his remote parish "at a period when very lax notions prevailed respecting clerical residence".[2] For a brief period in 1789, he was Prebendary of Donoughmore, before being appointed in June 1789 the Treasurer of Cloyne, where he served until 1795.[3]

In 1795, Brodrick was consecrated as Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh, whence he was translated to Kilmore in 1796. In 1801, following the preferment of Charles Agar to Dublin, Brodrick was appointed Archbishop of Cashel and Emly (and Primate of Munster) in his place and remained in that post until his death in 1822, when he was succeeded by Richard Laurence. From 1811 until 1820, he also took on the administration of the diocese and province of Dublin, as a result of the mental incapacity of the Archbishop, Euseby Cleaver.

Assessment[edit]

Brodrick was a committed ecclesiastical reformer. One obituary following his death described him as "a prelate of distinguished piety, and of the most exemplary attention to the duties of his high station, as evinced by his increasing vigilance in enforcing the residence of the clergy, and by his disinterested appointments to the vacant livings" in his diocese.[citation needed]

Family and descendants[edit]

On 8 December 1786, Brodrick married Mary, the daughter of Richard Woodward, Bishop of Cloyne. Of their children, Charles and William succeeded eventually as, respectively, the 6th Viscount Midleton and 7th Viscount Midleton (the latter being also Dean of Exeter), while Mary married the Earl of Bandon and Albinia married James Ashley Maude.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Brodrick, –, Hon., Charles (BRDK779C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ A sermon preached in the cathedral church of Cashel on Thursday, 26th of September, 1822, at the Primary Visitation of the Most Reverend Richard, Archbishop of Cashel. By the Rev. John Jebb, D.D. Archdeacon of Emly (Dublin, 1822)
  3. ^ W. Maziere Brady, Clerical and Parochial Records of Cork, Cloyne and Ross (Dublin, 1863)

Sources[edit]

Nigel Yates, The Religious Condition of Ireland, 1770–1850 (Oxford University Press, 2006)

Church of Ireland titles
Preceded by
Richard Marley
Bishop of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh
1795–1796
Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Kilmore
1796–1801
Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of Cashel
1801–1822
Succeeded by