Thomas Finnegan

Thomas Anthony Finnegan (26 August 1925 – 25 December 2011) was the Bishop of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland from 1987 to 2002.

Life Thomas Anthony Finnegan was born on 26 August 1925, in Castlerea, County Roscommon. He was educated at Runamoat National School and then Summerhill College. He studied for the priesthood in Maynooth College and was ordained priest for the diocese of Elphin in 1951.

He served first as Chaplain at St Angela's College, Sligo before undertaking postgraduate studies in Education and Canon Law.

In 1960 he became Junior Dean at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, and was recalled in 1966 to become President of Summerhill College. He served 13 years as president, overseeing much transformation within the college and is remembered often as a committed, pioneering educator.

In 1979, he was appointed to be Director of the Marriage Tribunal in Galway which adjudicated on annulments Also in 2002, Finnegan was succeeded by Monsignor John Fleming.

Death He died in Sligo General hospital on Christmas Day 2011, aged 86, and was buried in the grounds of Saint Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina.