Thomas Welland

{{Short description|Irish Anglican bishop}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Rt Revd

| name = Thomas James Welland

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| imagesize = 150px

| order = Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore

| term_start = 1892

| term_end = 1907

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| birth_date = 31 March 1830

| birth_place =Dublin

| death_date = 29 July 1907

| death_place =Holywood

| nationality = Irish

| party =

| alma_mater = Trinity College, Dublin

| spouse = Anna née Brooke

}}

{{Portal|Christianity}}

Thomas James Welland (31 March 1830 – 29 July 1907) was an Irish Anglican bishop.[http://ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=news&newsid=3439 Ireland Anglican]Fryde, E. B; Greenway, D. E; Porter, S; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third Edition, revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-56350-X}}.[http://booleweb.ucc.ie/documents/Bantryhouse.pdf Bantry House Collection]"A New History of Ireland" Moody, T.M; Martin, F.X; Byrne, F.J; Cosgrove, F:Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1976, {{ISBN|0-19-821745-5}}

Welland was born in county Dublin (his father Joseph being an architect) and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA mathematics 1854, MA 1857, BD & DD 1890) and ordained in 1854.Multiple News Items, The Standard (London, England), 28 September 1854; Issue 9405 He began his ordained ministry as a curate at Carlow,Ecclesiastical Intelligence, The Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Ireland), 4 November 1856; Issue 1239892 after which he was vicar of Painstown and then assistant chaplain of the Mariners’ Church in Kingstown. He was the clerical secretary of the Jews’ Society, Ireland from 1862 to 1866 and then assistant chaplain at Christ Church, Dublin until 1870."Who was Who"1897-1990 London, A & C Black, 1991 {{ISBN|0-7136-3457-X}} He then became the incumbent at St Thomas’s Belfast from 1870 until his ordination to the episcopate as the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore in 1892."The Clergy List, Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory", London, Hamilton & Co, 1889The Church of Ireland, The Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Ireland), 2 March 1892; Issue 23919

In 1895, he became a patron of the first branch in Belfast of the Gaelic League. He was in company of Henry Henry, the Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor, but also Richard Rutledge Kane the Church of Ireland rector of Christ Church in Belfast and the city's Orange Order Grand Master, and George Raphael Buick, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-19 |title=Painting of Rev. Dr. Richard Rutledge Kane (1841-98) -Belfast Orange Hall |url=https://greatplacenorthbelfast.com/project/painting-of-rev-dr-richard-rutledge-kane-1841-98-belfast-orange-hall/ |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=Great Place |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Mac Póilin |first1=Aodán |title=Our Tangled Speech: Essays on Language and Culture |publisher=Ulster Historical Foundation |year=2018 |isbn=9781909556676 |location=Belfast |pages=190}}{{Cite web |title=The Gaelic Revival Movement in East Belfast – Great War Gaeilgeoirí of East Belfast |url=https://www.greatwargaeilgeoiri.org.uk/history/gaelic-revival-movement-in-east-belfast/ |access-date=2021-03-14 |language=en-GB}}

Welland died in post on 29 July 1907.[http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=news&newsid=261 Notes from The Irish Times]