Church appoints a new Dean of Ossory
HISTORY MAKER FIRST FEMALE TO TAKE THE POST
Tuesday January 05 2010
THE REVEREND Canon Katharine Poulton has been appointed the new Church of Ireland Dean of Ossory and Rector of the Kilkenny Group of parishes.
The position of Dean of St Canice's Cathedral has been male-dominated since the Middle Ages and in this new departure the Reverend Canon Katharine Poulton will be the first woman to be elected to the office.
She will be only the second female Dean in the Church of Ireland, the Very Reverend Sue Patterson of Killala being the first.
Katherine, who was one of a small group who were the first women to be ordained deacon in the Church of Ireland in 1987, succeeds the Very Reverend Norman Lynas who relinquished his position to move to a canon in residence in Hamilton on the Island of Bermuda.
The dean elect is currently the Bishop's Curate of St George's and St Thomas' inner city parish in Dublin, and she is chaplain to Mountjoy Prison along with the Mater and Temple Street hospitals.
She will bring a wealth of experience as she is also central Director of Ordinands and was made a canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin in 2007.
Katharine (48) is married to Ian, also a cleric and rector of Ballybrack parishes in South Co. Dublin.
They have two teenaged children, Michael and Miriam.
The institution of the new dean will take place in Kilkenny after Easter.
- Elizabeth LEE
