Noel Treanor - Bishop

Bishop

On the 22 February 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Monsignor Treanor as Bishop of Down and Connor, in succession to Bishop Patrick Walsh, who has been Bishop of the Diocese since 1991.

Seán Cardinal Brady spoke to press of his delight at Bishop-elect Treanor's appointment:

Treanor welcomed his new appointment as the 32nd Bishop of Down and Connor since the dioceses joined in 1453:

Bishop Treanor was ordained bishop of Down and Connor on 29 June 2008, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in St. Peter's Cathedral, Belfast, by Cardinal Brady (Principal Consecrator), with Patrick Walsh and Joseph Duffy (Principal Co-Consecrators). The newly ordained Bishop also took possession of the Diocese of Down and Connor at the same ceremony.

The ordination of Monsignor Treanor as Bishop of Down and Connor was the first ordination of a newly appointed Bishop as Bishop of Down and Connor since the consecration of Daniel Mageean in 1929. Mageean's successor, William Philbin, was already Bishop of Clonfert. Philbin's successor, Cahal Daly, was already Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise and Daly's successor, Patrick Walsh, was already Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor.

In November 2009, Treanor described the findings of the Murphy Report as horrific and said that he was confident that his diocese had rid itself of all abusing priests.

On the 11th of May 2010, Bishop Noel Treanor attended the launch of the Pope John Paul II award in St Genevieves' High School in West Belfast.

In August 2010 Bishop Treanor expressed his support for an international, independent inquiry into the 11 killings carried out by the parachute regiment in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast in 1971. Bishop Treanor was speaking at a press conference where previously undisclosed documents from church archives relating to the events were being made available for the first time. Bishop Treanor said: “As with Bloody Sunday, the reputations of those who were killed were actively besmirched and the evidence of the available eyewitnesses was either ignored or actively discredited. Indeed the events in Ballymurphy on August 9th-11th, 1971, would and perhaps should have been considered the necessary starting point for such an inquiry,” he added.