Bishop Niall Coll is returning to his native Donegal to become Bishop of Raphoe.
Bishop Coll’s appointment was confirmed by Pope Leo this morning.
The diocese has been without a bishop since Bishop Alan Mc Guckian was appointed to Down and Connor last year.
Bishop Coll, who is from St Johnston, was appointed Bishop of Ossory, based in Kilkenny, in 2022.
The 62 year old prelate had previously served on the teaching staff of St Eunan’s College, and lectured in St Mary’s College in Befast.
He spent some time as a curate in Dungloe in his early years, and before his appointment as Bishop of Ossory, he had served as Parish Priest in Ballintra and Donegal Town.
- Life and Ministry of Bishop Niall Coll
Niall Coll was born on 25 August 1963 in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
During his ministry, Bishop-elect Niall Coll, in conjunction with his priestly appointments, has conducted retreats for clergy, is a contributor to various publications, including Doctrine and Life, The Furrow, The Irish Theological Quarterly and The Tablet, and in addition was the Editorial Director of the Catholic School ethos journal Le Chéile.
Education
1981 – 1984 BA National University of Ireland, Saint Patrick’s College Maynooth, Co Kildare
1984 – 1987 BD Pontifical University Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co Kildare
1988 Priestly Ordination: 3 July 1988 Incardinated in the Diocese of Raphoe
1987 – 1989 Licence in Dogmatic Theology Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy
1991 – 1992 H Dip Ed University of Dublin, Trinity College
1992 – 1995 Doctorate in Christology Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy
Appointments
1989 – 1991 Teacher: St Eunan’s College, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
1995 – 1998 Lecturer: St Patrick’s College, Carlow
1998 – 2001 Curate: Parish of Dungloe, Co Donegal
Chaplain and Teacher: Pobalscoil na Rosann, Dungloe, Co Donegal
2001 – 2019 Professor of Religious Studies and Religious Education,
St Mary’s University College, Belfast
2019 – 2021 Parish Priest: Drumholm-Ballintra, Co Donegal
2021 – 2022 Parish Priest: Donegal (Tawnawilly) and Clar, Co Donegal
2022 – Present Bishop of Ossory
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Official Statement –
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Niall Coll, until now Bishop of Ossory, as the new Bishop of Raphoe.
The news of this Episcopal appointment will be made public today at 11.00am Ireland time (12.00pm in the Vatican), following 10.00am Mass in Saint Eunan’s Cathedral, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Diocese of Raphoe. In attendance will be Bishop Coll; Bishop Philip Boyce, Bishop Emeritus of Raphoe; Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, Diocesan Administrator of Raphoe; as well as clergy and lay people.
- Life and Ministry of Bishop Niall Coll:
Niall Coll was born in 1963, the eldest of four children, to Willie and Kathleen Coll, Saint Johnston, Co Donegal.
Niall attended Saint Baithin’s National School, Saint Johnston and Saint Eunan’s College, Letterkenny. In September 1981 he entered the National Seminary at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, to begin his formation for the priesthood. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Geography in 1984, and a Bachelor Degree in Divinity in 1987. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Séamus Hegarty for the Diocese of Raphoe in 1988. Following a two-year period of post-graduate study in Rome he was conferred with a Licence in Theology by the Gregorian University.
In 1989, having completed his studies, Father Niall was appointed to Saint Eunan’s College as chaplain and teacher. Three years later he obtained a Higher Diploma in Education from Trinity College, Dublin. In 1992 he was sent to Rome to study for a Doctorate in Theology at the Gregorian University. In 1995, he was awarded a Doctoral Degree for a thesis in Christology which was later published as Christ in Eternity and Time: Contemporary Anglican Perspectives (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2001).
Thereafter, following his return from Rome, he was appointed as a lecturer in Systematic Theology in Saint Patrick’s College, Carlow. Three years later he returned to Raphoe Diocese as both chaplain in Pobalscoil na Rossan and curate in the parish of Dungloe. In 2001 he was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies and Religious Education at Saint Mary’s University College, Belfast (a college of Queen’s University, Belfast).
In 2020, at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic, he returned to the Raphoe Diocese as parish priest of Drumholm (Ballintra and Laghey), and a year later was transferred to the neighbouring parish of Tawnawilly (Donegal Town and Clar).
Bishop Niall is editor (with Father Paschal Scallon CM) of A Church with a Future: Challenges to Irish Catholicism Today (Dublin: Columba Press, 2005), and also of Ireland and Vatican II: Essays Theological, Pastoral and Educational (Dublin: Columba Press, 2015). He was, for many years, editor of Le Chéile: A Catholic Schools Ethos Journal, published by Saint Mary’s University College, which sought to promote the values and work of Catholic education locally. He is a member of the Irish Inter-Church Committee.
His appointment as Bishop of Ossory by Pope Francis was announced on 28 October, 2022. Bishop Niall was ordained Bishop of Ossory on 22 January 2023 by Archbishop Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin, who himself had previously served as Bishop of Ossory. Three years later, on 13 November 2025, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Niall Coll as Bishop of Raphoe, his native diocese.
