The electoral college met in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin on 28 May 2013 and no candidate put forward received the support of two-thirds of the electoral college voting in orders (lay and clergy). On 20 September 2013, it was announced that the House of Bishops (to whom the appointment had lapsed on the failure of the college's vote) had appointed as bishop-elect Pat Storey, who became the first woman to be a bishop in the Church of Ireland.[3][4]
History of the Diocese of Meath
Although there had been abbot-bishops at Clonard Abbey since the sixth century, the Diocese of Clonard proper was not formally established until 1111. It was one of the twenty-four dioceses established by the Synod of Rathbreasail. The diocese covered roughly the western part of the Kingdom of Meath with the bishop's seat located at Clonard Abbey. During the twelfth century, the bishops of Clonard acquired most of Meath as their territory and frequently used the title "Bishop of Meath" or "Bishop of the men of Meath". After Bishop Simon Rochfort transferred his seat from Clonard to Trim in 1202, the normal style became the "Bishop of Meath".
History of the Diocese of Kildare
In the 5th century, the Abbey of Kildare was founded by Saint Brigid, a double monastery of nuns and monks. The abbey was governed by an abbess, who was the "heir of Brigit" (comarbae Brigte), and by abbots, bishops and abbot-bishops who were subordinate to the abbess.[5] It was not until the 12th century however, that the bishopric was formally established at the Synod of Rathbreasail (1111 AD).[6] The diocese covered roughly the northern part of County Kildare and the eastern part of County Offaly.
^Healy, John (1908). History of the Diocese of Meath(PDF). Vol. 2. Dublin. pp. 232–233. The following statement, drawn up in 1876 by Sir J. Bernard Burke, Ulster King at Arms, will show the historical grounds on which the claim of Meath rested: Anciently Meath was one of the five provinces, and the seat of the chief monarch of Ireland. In 1152, Cardinal Paparo, Legate a latere, brought over four palliums, and assigned one to each of the four bishops, Armagh, Dublin, Cashel, and Tuam, erecting those Sees into archbishoprics. As some consolation to Meath, and in recognition of the former royal eminence of that province, the Bishop of Meath was styled Most Reverend, and given the first place among bishops primus inter pares. […] At the Reformation, the Protestant Church found the Bishop of Meath accorded the first place among bishops, and has ever since allowed that pre-eminence to the See.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ab"Bishop Clarke". Diocese of Meath and Kildare. Archived from the original on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
^Moody, T. W.; Martin, F. X.; Byrne, F. J., eds. (1984). Maps, Genealogies, Lists: A Companion to Irish History, Part II. New History of Ireland: Volume XI. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 259–262. ISBN0-19-821745-5.
^Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 357–358. ISBN0-521-56350-X.
