THE ELECTION of Bishop Michael Jackson (54) as Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough has been warmly welcomed by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin.
It has also been welcomed by the Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Alan Harper, who presided at the electoral college meeting in Dublin yesterday which chose Bishop Jackson to fill the role vacated on the retirement of Archbishop John Neill last Monday.
Archbishop Martin said he looked forward to “continuing the collaboration and the deepening of ecumenical renewal as well as warm personal relationships which had flourished during the time of the outgoing Archbishop Dr John Neill”.
Archbishop Harper was “delighted”. He and Bishop Jackson had been episcopal colleagues in the northern province “for many years” and their working relationship “will continue to flourish”, he said.
Born in Lurgan, Co Armagh, Bishop Jackson was elected Bishop of Clogher in 2002. He attended school at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen before studying at Trinity College, from which he graduated with first-class honours in classics and later a masters degree. He was awarded a doctorate in theology at Cambridge and a doctorate in philosophy at Oxford.
Ordained a priest at Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral in 1987, he served as curate at Zion parish, Rathgar, as well as chaplain at nearby St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin until 1989 as well as lecturing at TCD and the Church of Ireland Theological College.
Between 1989 and 1997 he was chaplain at Christ Church, Oxford, while also lecturing in theology there. Between 1997 and 2002 he served at St Fin Barre’s in Cork, becoming Dean of Cork before being elected Bishop of Clogher. He has been heavily involved in ecumenical and interfaith work in Ireland and internationally and in 2004 was chairman of the Church of Ireland’s Hard Gospel project, which set about vigorously addressing sectarianism within.
He is married to Inez, who is a doctor, and they have one child, their daughter Camilla.
Speaking last night, he said that while “not a complete stranger” to Dublin his priority on arrival in the capital would be to meet the people and clergy of the diocese “as well as the people of Dublin themselves, so I can make a connection and gain a sense of what Dublin feels like today”.
