Church to elect Eames successor

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The Church of Ireland is due to elect a new leader who will succeed Dr Robin Eames as archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland.

Dr Eames retired in December after 20 years as head of the church.

The normal custom is to offer the job to the archbishop of Dublin, but it is thought Dr John Neill does not want it.

The 11 members of the Church of Ireland's House of Bishops will meet in Dublin on Wednesday to choose the new primate from among themselves.

Possible successors include Harold Miller, the bishop of Down and Dromore; Alan Harper, the bishop of Connor; and the emerging favourite, Holywood-born Kenneth Clarke, the bishop of Kilmore, Ardagh and Elphin in the west of Ireland.

However, with no obvious successor, other names cannot be ruled out.

Dr Eames, 69, was ordained in 1964, and was a bishop for more than 30 years. He was appointed archbishop in 1986.

Speaking in May 2006, Dr Eames said he had made his decision to retire after "much prayer, thought and discussion".

He said his memories were "of people rather than events".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, paid tribute to his "courageous patient work" in the cause of reconciliation in Northern Ireland, which he said had been done "often very unobtrusively and at great risk".