but lived long enough to attend only the Council's first session in 1962. One highlight of his time in Armagh was the Patrician Year Celebrations in 1961, marked by the Irish Catholic hierarchy as the 1500th anniversary of the death of St. Patrick and as such an opportunity to promote the "spiritual empire" created by the Irish Catholic church in the wider anglophone world. D'Alton wrote a pastoral letter to mark the occasion. Cardinal D'Alton was seen to be more ecumenical in outlook than other members of the Irish hierarchy. He tried to broker talks between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom to ease the tensions between both countries, even going so far as to address the situation regarding the Irish ports, but to little avail. In 1952 he became the first member of the Irish Hierarchy to receive an honorary degree from Queen's University, Belfast, when he was conferred with a Doctorate in Literature. He already possessed a doctorate in divinity so this degree was a recognition of his earlier works such as Horace and His Age: A Study in Historical Background (1917), Roman Literary Theory and Criticism: A Study in Tendencies (1931), and Selections from St. John Chrysostom (1940). He died from a heart attack in Dublin at age 80, and was buried on the grounds of St Patrick's Cathedral. He was succeeded by his auxiliary bishop, William Conway. References External links Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church Catholic-Hierarchy 1882 births 1963 deaths Alumni of the Royal University of Ireland Cardinals created by Pope Pius XII Irish cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh People from Claremorris 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Participants in the Second Vatican Council Roman Catholic bishops of Meath Alumni of Clonliffe College Alumni of University College Dublin People educated at Blackrock College Presidents of St Patrick's College, Maynooth