The Right Revd Andrew Orr was formally installed and enthroned as Bishop of Cork on Sunday, 4 October 2026, during a Service of Choral Evensong at Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork.

The service, which began at 3.30 p.m., was attended by Bishop Andrew’s family and friends, the Cathedral Chapter, clergy and Diocesan Lay Readers, parishioners from the Cathedral and parishes throughout Cork, Cloyne and Ross, together with representatives of civic and church life, including the Roman Catholic Bishop Cork and Ross, Fintan Gavin, and Cork City Councillors Dan Boyle, Des Cahill, Ciara O’Connor, Noel O’Flynn, and Jerry Buttimer, TD.

The ceremony of enthronement began at the West Door of the Cathedral, where Bishop Andrew knocked three times and asked to be admitted, having been consecrated Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, on 30 September 2026.

The Dean and Chapter proceeded to the West Door to receive the new Bishop, and following the reading of the mandate by the Diocesan Registrar, John C Jermyn, Bishop Andrew was welcomed into the Cathedral by the Dean of Cork, the Very Revd Nigel Dunne, and the service of Choral Evensong began.

Music for the occasion was sung by the Cathedral Choir under their Director of Music, Peter Stobart, and included Sir Hubert Parry’s setting of I Was Glad as the Introit, the Evening Service in A by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, and the anthem Blessed be the God and Father by Samuel Sebastian Wesley. The organist for the service was Harry Meehan, Director of Music at St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny.

Following Evensong, Bishop Andrew preached his first sermon as Bishop. Drawing on the examples of Saint Fin Barre, patron of Cork, and Saint Francis of Assisi, whose feast was celebrated that day, he reflected on the importance of prayer, wisdom and the building of Christian community. He spoke of a world increasingly marked by fragmentation and loneliness and described the Church’s calling to build communities where people are known, loved and held in prayer. Bishop Andrew emphasised that the wisdom needed for the future of the Diocese belongs not to the Bishop alone but to the whole Church, clergy and laity together, and can also be found beyond its walls. He concluded with his hope that Cork, Cloyne and Ross might be “a beacon of faith, a sanctuary of prayer, and a vibrant, loving community where all are welcome.” The full sermon can be read here.

The formal enthronement followed. Bishop Andrew was led to the episcopal throne by the Dean, the Very Revd Nigel Dunne, the Chancellor of the Cathedral, the Very Revd Cliff Jeffers, and the Treasurer, the Revd Canon Paul Willoughby.

Having made the required declarations with his hand upon the Gospel, Bishop Andrew was taken by the hand by Dean Dunne and led to the cathedra, the Bishop’s throne from which a cathedral takes its name. There, the Dean formally installed and enthroned Bishop Andrew in the Bishopric of Cork.

Bishop Andrew was consecrated Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, on 30 September by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson. His enthronement in Cork was the first of three such services in the United Dioceses. He will be enthroned as Bishop of Cloyne in St Colman’s Cathedral, Cloyne, on Wednesday, 14 October at 7.30 p.m., and as Bishop of Ross in St Fachtna’s Cathedral, Rosscarbery, on Sunday, 18 October at 3.30 p.m.

Photos: Eoin Murphy