George Simms

George Otto Simms (4 July 1910 – 15 November 1991) was an archbishop in the Church of Ireland, and a scholar.

Early life and education George Otto Simms was born on 4 July 1910 in North Dublin in Ireland to parents John Francis A Simms & Ottilie Sophie Stange, who were both, according to as his birth certificate, from Lifford, County Donegal. He attended the Prior School in Lifford for a time and later Cheltenham College, a public school in England. He went on to study at Trinity College Dublin, where in 1930 he was elected a Scholar and graduated with a BA in classics in 1932 and a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1936. He completed a PhD in 1950.

Clerical career He was ordained a deacon in 1934 and a priest in 1936, beginning his ministry as a curate at St Bartholomew's, Clyde Road, Dublin under Canon W.C. Simpson. In 1937 he took a position in Lincoln Theological College but returned to Dublin in 1939 to become Dean of Residence in Trinity College Dublin and Chaplain Secretary of the Church of Ireland College of Education.

He was appointed Dean of Cork in 1952. Consecrated a bishop, he served as Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, between 1952 and 1956. At forty-two, he was the youngest Church of Ireland clergyman appointed to a bishopric since John Gregg in 1915. He served as Archbishop of Dublin, from 1956 to 1969. During this time, he maintained a courteous relationship with John Charles McQuaid, his Roman Catholic counterpart as Archbishop of Dublin. From 1969 to 1980, he served as Archbishop of Armagh.

Alongside Cardinal William Conway, Simms chaired the first official ecumenical meeting between the leaders of Ireland's Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church in Ballymascanlon Hotel, Dundalk, County Louth on 26 September 1973, an important meeting amidst the increasing violence in Northern Ireland. The meeting was protested by Ian Paisley.

Scholarly work Simms was a scholar, and published research on topics including the history of the Church of Ireland, and theological reflections on key texts including the Book of Kells, Saint Patrick's Breastplate, and the Sarum Primer.

He was also an accomplished journalist, and the author of many newspaper obituaries. His weekly Thinking Aloud column in the Irish Times was a popular reflection, and ran continuously for thirty-eight years.

Personal life Simms was the uncle of mathematician David J. Simms.

In 1941 Simms married Mercy Felicia née Gwynn (1915–1998). They had five children. He died in Dublin on 15 November 1991. He is interred with his wife in the cemetery attached to St. Maelruain's Church, Tallaght, County Dublin.

Publications For Better, for Worse, 1945 The Book of Kells: a short description, 1950 (ed with E. H. Alton and P. Meyer) The Book of Kells (facsimile edn), Berne, 1951 The Bible in Perspective, 1953 Christ within Me, 1975 Irish Illuminated Manuscripts, 1980 In My Understanding, 1982 Tullow's Story, 1983 (with R. G. F. Jenkins) Pioneers and Partners, 1985 Angels and Saints, 1988 Exploring the Book of Kells, 1988 Brendan the Navigator, 1989