John Carpenter (archbishop of Dublin)
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The Most Reverend John Carpenter DTh |
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|---|---|
| Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland |
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| Archdiocese | Dublin |
| Appointed | 10 April 1770 |
| Term ended | 29 October 1786 |
| Predecessor | Patrick Fitzsimons |
| Successor | John Troy |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1752 |
| Consecration | 3 June 1770 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Seán Mac an tSaor or Maca tSaoir |
| Died | 29 October 1786 |
| Buried | St. Michan's Churchyard, Dublin |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
John Carpenter (died 29 October 1786), (in Irish Gaelic Seán Mac an tSaor or Seán Maca tSaoir) served as the Roman Catholic archbishop of Dublin from 1729 until death in 1786.
A native of Dublin, Carpenter was the son of a merchant tailor. His early schooling took place in the city, where, between the years 1744–1747, he "was associated with the Gaelic language and cultural circle which had formed around Tadhg Ó Neachtain, scion of a Connacht bardic family who had settled in Dublin. It was probably under Ó Neachtain's influence that he compiled an Irish grammar, a miscellany of prose and poetry and a book of devotion for his personal use which included part of the Imitatio Christi in Ulster Irish."
He became a student at the Irish College of Lisbon in 1747, and was ordained a priest five years later. He successfully studied for a doctorate in theology, returning to Dublin in 1754 to begin his ministry in St. Mary's Chapel on Liffey Street.
During his early pastoral career, he gained a reputation as "an elegant preacher and a zealous catechist who had built three schools for the poor and orphaned and managed to stay above diocesan party politics. He was not afraid, however, to challenge established, diocesan custom. In 1763, for instance, he put his name to a complaint that many parish priests were defrauding their assistant priests."
It was in 1756 that Carpenter became the prebend of Cullen. A confidant of Patrick Fitzsimons, Archbishop of Dublin (September 1763 – November 1769), Fitzsimons and his colleagues bore enough confidence in his abilities to send him to the royal court of Portugal to save Lisbon's Irish College in its time of difficulty. Also during the 1760s he joined the Catholic Committee, becoming associated with John Curry and Charles O'Conor of Belanagare, in their efforts to reverse the Penal Laws. With O'Conor, he shared an abiding interest in the Irish language and its attendant culture.
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