The race to be the first woman bishop in the British Isles – and so to put pressure on the General Synod of the Church of England – intensified today with the announcement of the candidature of the Very Revd Moira McFadden [59] for the See of Limerick, Killaloe, Ardford, Cork, Cloyne, Ross, Cashel and Ossory in the Church of Ireland.
Ms McFadden, who was ordained to the priesthood in 2004 after a distinguished career as a Peace and Reconciliation Counsellor in Northern Ireland and latterly in San Salvador, has been Dean of Tuam, Killala, Achonry, Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh and Rector of Castleconner, Clonenagh, Kells and Kilkenny since 2006.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, with a doctorate in Interpersonal Skills from the Florida School of Management, Moira has also served as the Church of Ireland’s Church Growth and Development Officer since 2007.
‘Moira will bring a wealth of experience to her new post,’ said Julia Nice, spokesperson for Women in the Church. ‘She has thrown herself into the election campaign with great enthusiasm, personally visiting every single parishioner in the United Diocese. The Church of Ireland may be small – but what a turn up for the book if this tiny, robustly autonomous province showed the dithering Church of England a thing or two. This year Limerick, Killaloe, Ardford, Cork, Cloyne, Ross, Cashel and Ossory, next year the World!’ ND