Dermot Clifford

Clifford was born in Ballymacelligott, County Kerry, Ireland, on 25 January 1939. He was educated at Clogher National School and St Brendan's College, Killarney. Among his teachers at St. Brendan's was the late Bishop of Kerry, Diarmaid Ó Súilleabháin.

From Killarney, he moved to St Patrick's College, Maynooth, where he graduated with a B.Sc. Degree in 1960. After Maynooth, he was sent to the Pontifical Irish College where he studied for four years and was ordained priest on 22 February 1964. Whilst in Rome, he studied at the Lateran University and obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Theology, being in Rome for the first two sessions of Vatican Council II. As a student, he claims to have been given responsibility of looking after the Irish bishops who stayed in the Irish College.

Clifford's first post after ordination was as a teacher and Dean of Discipline in St Brendan's College, Killarney, where he taught from 1964 to 1972. He commuted to Cork five days per week (1965–1966) for his Higher Diploma in Education. He was later to lecture on a part-time basis in University College Cork in Social Science (1975–1981).

Clifford then studied Social Administration at the London School of Economics (1972–1974), where he was conferred with a master's degree with distinction. From London, he returned to his native Kerry in August 1974 to become Diocesan Secretary to Bishop Eamon Casey. During that time he also served as Chaplain to St. Mary of the Angels, Beaufort, a home for children with learning disabilities.

Styles of Dermot Clifford
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Grace
Religious style	Archbishop

The Holy See chose him as Coadjutor Archbishop of Cashel and Emly on 17 December 1985 and he was consecrated on 9 March 1986. The Principal Consecrator was Archbishop Thomas Morris; his Principal Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Gaetano Alibrandi and Bishop Diarmaid O'Súilleabháin, the Bishop of Kerry. He was parish priest of Tipperary town for two and a half years. On 12 September 1988 he was installed as Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in a ceremony in Thurles Cathedral, presided over by the late Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich. After the revelations concerning the relationship between Bishop Eamon Casey and Annie Murphy it is widely believed Clifford was promoted from Casey's secretary to Archbishop to reduce the risk of the story leaking.

In 1989 he became the first Kerryman to hold the office of Patron of the Gaelic Athletic Association, which brought immense satisfaction to the former footballers. That same year he was awarded a Ph.D. degree for a thesis on Carers of the Elderly and Handicapped at Loughborough University; this was based on studies he conducted in Kerry.

Clifford served on the Emigrant Commission of the Bishops' Conference and, in 1987 helped to set up the Chaplaincy Scheme to the young emigrants in the USA..

On 24 March 2010 it was announced by the Holy See that John Magee had formally resigned from his duties as Bishop of Cloyne and was now bishop emeritus and that Clifford, already apostolic administrator there, will remain as such until the appointment of a full-time successor to the Cloyne diocese.[2]

In July 2011 Clifford wrote to the lay faithful of Cloyne and apologised for the poor way in which complaints had been handled by diocesan officials in the Diocese of Cloyne[3]

Clifford served as Apostolic Administrator to the Diocese of Cloyne until the new bishop, William Crean was ordained and installed on 27 January 2013.