Daniel, William (1575-01-01 - 1628-07-11)

William Daniel was born c.1575 in Kilkenny, possibly to Nicholas Daniel. He was appointed prebend of Tascoffin (St Canice Cathedral) in 1584 and matriculated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1586; he graduated B.A. in 1590 and M.A. in 1593, and was also ordained during this period. In 1592 he became one of the first three scholars of Trinity College, Dublin; he graduated MA in 1595 and was made D.D. in 1603. While a reader at Trinity, Daniel moved to Galway in 1596 to assist with improvement and instruction initiatives on behalf of the Church of Ireland. An Irish speaker, Daniel continued efforts begun by Nicholas Walsh (d.1585) and others to translate the New Testament into Irish at the request of the Irish privy council. Daniel began work on the translation in the 1590s, and the completed translation was printed in 1602. Daniel was made treasurer of St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1601 and began working on an Irish translation of the Book of Common Prayer in 1605; it was completed by 1608 and was published the following year. Daniel was consecrated as archbishop of Tuam in 1609, a position he held in commendam with the treasurership. Daniel died in Tuam on 11 July 1628 and was buried there in the tomb of his brother-in-law and former archbishop of Tuam, Donellan. Daniel was survived by his wife Mary and daughter Cathleen (Catelin).