Photos: Pat Shortall
On Thursday 20 April, Bishop Aidrian Wlikinson , his wife Jacqui, and members of The Church of Ireland community assembled at city hall. The occasion was a reception, hosted by the Mayor of Kilkenny David Fitzgerald to welcome Adrian to the city in his role as the new bishop of the Church of Ireland.
The attendance listened as various speakers paid tribute to the newly elected bishop and welcomed him to Kilkenny.
Mayor Fitzgerald spoke of the wonderful kindness shown to him and his fellow councillors over the years and said that no matter what the occasion, they were always met with kindness and friendship when they attended various events at St Canice’s cathedral.
Bishop Wilkinson spoke of the welcome he had already received from people he had met and he had no doubt that both he and his wife Jacqui would feel very much at home in Kilkenny.
Adrian Wilkinson, succeeds the Rt Revd Michael Burrows, who was translated as Bishop of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe on 14th April 2022, following his election to that role in January of this year.
The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, said: ‘I am delighted that Archdeacon Wilkinson has been elected Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory. Ahead lies a most fruitful time for the bishop to get to know the clergy and people of the diocese and to establish him in the wider community of Kilkenny, Waterford and the South East. May God guide and equip Bishop Adrian in the days and months ahead as he embarks on his episcopal ministry in the Church of God.’
Speaking after his election Bishop Wilkinson said : “I am humbled and honoured to have been elected Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory. While I will be sorry to leave Cork, a place where I have served very happily for over twenty years, I look forward to this new chapter in ministry. My childhood years were spent in Cashel, Ferns and Ossory and I look forward to working with the clergy and people there in the years ahead, as we proclaim our faith in word and action.’
Bishop Wilkinson is married to Jacqui, who is lecturer in teacher education at the Church of Ireland Centre at Dublin City University, and they have three grown–up children – two sons and a daughter. He graduated in geography and sociology from Trinity College Dublin before training for ordination, and his interests in his free time are walking, travel and reading.
