William Crolly was the Bishop of Down and Connor from 1825 to 1835, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh from 1835 to 1849.
12 Facts About William Crolly
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William Crolly went to Maynooth College where he excelled as a student, obtaining a first in Dogmatic Theology in 1806, the same year he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Troy.
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William Crolly was in demand as a lecturer at Maynooth and spent several years on the academic staff, but in 1812 moved to St Patrick's Church, Belfast.
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William Crolly preached at the opening of the original church on 5 March 1815 in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Patrick MacMullan whom he would eventually succeed.
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In Feb 1825 William Crolly was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor and received episcopal ordination in St Patrick's Church, Donegall St, the first time a Catholic bishop had ever been ordained in Belfast.
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William Crolly spent a decade ministering in his native diocese and among the most important and enduring aspects of his episcopate was the establishment of St Malachy's College in 1833, although he oversaw the construction of many churches in rural parishes.
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One writer estimates this was only possible by William Crolly living with his curates in a single house in Belfast.
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In 1835 William Crolly was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in succession to Thomas Kelly who has served under three years in office.
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William Crolly began the construction of St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh laying the foundation stone on St Patrick's Day, 1840.
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William Crolly appointed Thomas Duff architect and decreed that work be suspended because of the Great Irish Famine.
11.
William Crolly founded St Patrick's College, Armagh in 1838 to provide education for young men in his diocese.
12.
William Crolly died of cholera in Drogheda, County Louth, in April 1849.