William Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket

William Conyngham Plunket, 4th Baron Plunket (26 August 1828 – 1 April 1897) was Dean of Christ Church Cathedral and Archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland.

Life Born in Dublin, he was the eldest son of John Plunket, 3rd Baron Plunket and Charlotte Bushe. His elder sister Anna married John Darley, bishop of Kilmore, Elphin, and Ardagh.

Plunket was educated at Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Dublin (B.A. 1853; M.A. 1864) before being appointed chaplain and private secretary to his uncle, the Bishop of Tuam, in 1857, a post he held for seven years. The following year, he became Rector of Kilmoyan and Cummer in County Galway. In 1863, he married Anne Lee Guinness, daughter of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness. Their son William was to have a successful career in government administration. Another son, Benjamin, served as Bishop of Meath and he was the father of Olive, Countess Fitzwilliam.

In 1864, he returned to Dublin as Treasurer of St Patrick's Cathedral, of which he was appointed Precentor in 1869. In 1871, on his father's death he became Lord Plunket and inherited Old Connaught, deciding to move into the house and surrounding property as he had spent a lot of time there with his grandfather. In 1876 he was consecrated Bishop of Meath, in which post he headed a council of bishops aiding the new Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church in Portugal. He was also an advocate and supporter of the reformed faith in Spain and Italy.

In 1884 he was finally appointed Archbishop of Dublin, an office he held until his death, and Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, holding that latter post until 1887 (when he was succeeded by his brother-in-law's nephew William Greene). He also served as a Commissioner of Education from 1895 onwards and was a senator of the Royal University of Ireland. He was instrumental in developing the Kildare Place Schools (the Church of Ireland teacher training college),

Plunket received an honorary degree from Cambridge University in 1888. His wife having predeceased him in 1889, Lord Plunket died aged sixty-eight in Dublin, and he was buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery. His statue near Leinster House in Kildare Street, Dublin is a landmark.

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