JohnCardinal D'Alton | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal,Archbishop of Armagh Primate of All Ireland | |
 | |
| See | Armagh |
| Installed | 1946 |
| Term ended | 1963 |
| Predecessor | Joseph MacRory |
| Successor | William Conway |
| Other post(s) | Bishop of Meath 1943–1946 |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 18 April 1908 (Priest) |
| Consecration | 29 June 1942 (Bishop) |
| Created cardinal | 12 January 1953 |
| Rank | Cardinal priestof S. Agata dei Goti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Francis D'Alton 11 October 1882 Claremorris,County Mayo, Ireland |
| Died | 1 February 1963(1963-02-01) (aged 80) Dublin, Ireland |
| Buried | St Patrick's Cathedral Cemetery, Armagh |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Parents | Joseph D'Alton and Mary D'Alton (née Brennan) |
| Motto | Judicare Sine Ira |
| Coat of arms |  |
John FrancisCardinal D'Alton (11 October 1882 – 1 February 1963) was an Irish Cardinal of theRoman Catholic Church who served asArchbishop of Armagh and thusPrimate of All Ireland from 1946 until his death. He was elevated to thecardinalate in 1953.[1]
John D'Alton was born inClaremorris,County Mayo,[2] to Joseph D'Alton (d. 1 April 1883) and his wife Mary Brennan, at the height of theLand Wars in Ireland. He wasbaptised four days later, on 15 October 1882, with Michael and Mary Brennan acting as his godparents. D'Alton's mother had a daughter, Mollie Brennan, from a previous marriage; she remarried again after the Cardinal's father died in 1883.
He obtained an extensive education atBlackrock College,Holy Cross College inClonliffe, theUniversity College Dublin,Irish College in Rome.[2] He was a contemporary ofÉamon de Valera, whom he befriended at Blackrock College.[3] In his first year in Blackrock, de Valera beat D'Alton in two subjects – Maths, which he would later go on to teach, and Religion.
D'Alton wasordained to the priesthood on 18 April 1908 for service in theArchdiocese of Dublin. He undertook further postgraduate studies in Rome from 1908 to 1910, gaining aDoctorate of Divinity and was appointed to teach ancient classics,Latin, andGreek atSt. Patrick's College inMaynooth.[2]
He occupied important roles at the National Seminary and was successively professor of ancient classics (1912), Greek (1922), vice-president (1934), and president 1936. He was raised to the rank ofMonsignor on 27 June 1938.[4]
On 25 April 1942, he was appointedCoadjutor bishop ofMeath andTitular bishop ofBinda. D'Alton received hisepiscopal consecration on the following 29 June from CardinalJoseph MacRory, with Bishops Edward Mulhern andWilliam MacNeely serving asco-consecrators, in the chapel of St. Patrick's College. He succeeded Thomas Mulvany asBishop of Meath on 16 June 1943.
D'Alton was namedArchbishop of Armagh and thusPrimate of All Ireland on 13 June 1946, and was createdCardinal Priest ofS. Agata dei Goti byPope Pius XII in theconsistory of 12 January 1953. Acardinal elector in the1958 papal conclave. He gave a hint of the difficulties involved in that papal conclave and achieving unanimity in the voting.[5]
He was a member of theCentral Preparatory Commission of theSecond Vatican Council but lived long enough to attend only the council's first session in 1962.
One highlight of his time in Armagh was the Patrician Year Celebrations in 1961, marked by the Irish Catholic hierarchy as the 1500th anniversary of the death ofSt. Patrick and as such an opportunity to promote the "spiritual empire" created by the Irish Catholic church in the wider anglophone world. D'Alton wrote a pastoral letter to mark the occasion.[6]
Cardinal D'Alton was seen to be moreecumenical in outlook than other members of the Irish hierarchy. He tried to broker talks between theIrish Free State and theUnited Kingdom to ease the tensions between both countries,[7] even going so far as to address the situation regarding the Irish ports, but to little avail.
In 1952 he became the first individual from theRepublic of Ireland to receive an honorary degree fromQueen's University Belfast, when he was conferred with aDoctorate in Literature. He already possessed adoctorate in divinity so this degree was a recognition of his earlier works such asHorace and His Age: A Study in Historical Background (1917),Roman Literary Theory and Criticism: A Study in Tendencies (1931), andSelections from St. John Chrysostom (1940).[7]
He died from a heart attack in Dublin[7] at age 80, and was buried on the grounds ofSt Patrick's Cathedral. He was succeeded by hisauxiliary bishop,William Conway.
In his hometown ofClaremorris, the Dalton Inn Hotel and Dalton Street (formerly Church Street) are named after him. A plaque commemorating him was unveiled at the Dalton Inn Hotel on 28 September 2023.
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Meath 1943–1946 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Archbishop of Armagh Primate of All Ireland 1946–1963 | Succeeded by |
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