Longest-serving bishop in Cork diocese in over 400 years to retire this year
Olivia Kelleher
The longest-serving Church of Ireland bishop in the Diocese of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross in over 400 years has announced his intention to retire by the end of the school year.
The Right Reverend Dr Paul Colton was elected Bishop of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross by in January 1999 and consecrated two months later in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
He was the longest serving bishop in the diocese since William Lyons' death in 1617.
In a letter to all secondary schools in his diocese Bishop Colton said that an exact date for his retirement “has not yet been set.”
“However, by the time the school year ends I will no longer be your bishop or involved in the governance of schools in the diocese."
Bishop Colton received a Spirit of Cork award in 2017 in recognition of his “outstanding leadership” and the “affection” in which he is held in the city and county.
At the awards night greeting and messages of appreciation were read from President Michael D Higgins, then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and from David and Victoria Beckham at whose Irish wedding the Bishop officiated in 1999.
The 65 year old was born in Derry in March 1960. When he was two the family moved from Buncrana in Donegal to Cork. The UCC law graduate was ordained a deacon in 1984.
He first met his wife Susan while they were both at primary school in Cork. They married in 1986 in Saint Luke’s Church, Douglas, Cork.
The Bishop’s areas of interest include a significant number of charities including Saint Luke’s Home in Cork.
Bishop Colton is very involved in the field of education, on school boards of management, as a governor and as patron of 20 primary schools and one comprehensive school.
He is a member of the Board of Education of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland and was chairperson of the Secondary Education Committee for 17 years.
The Bishop is also a member of the National Suicide Research Foundation and is a patron of the London Cork Association, Ból Chumman na hÉireann, the Ballyphehane Pipe Band, the Cork Mental Health Association, the Surgeon Noonan Society and Garyduff Sports Centre. He is an avid supporter of Manchester United.
