Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin last night strongly signalled that his two auxiliary bishops, Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field, will quit in the new year as Bishop of Kildare Jim Moriarty was on the brink of taking early retirement.

Hours after the expected resignation of Donal Murray as Bishop of Limerick, 73-year-old Bishop Moriarty, due to resign in two years' time, said he would go sooner if it would “serve the Church, the victims and the people” — in a clear hint he will bow out in 2010.

A spokesman for Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan, the fifth bishop implicated in the Murphy report, denied there was growing pressure on him to step down after a meeting of local clergy yesterday to discuss the fallout from the report.

Bishop Drennan was a Dublin auxiliary bishop from 1997 to 2005. Despite his continued resistance to resignation calls, a ‘domino-effect' was emerging yesterday after Bishop Murray's resignation.

Bishop Murray made his announcement exactly three weeks after the publication of the damning Murphy report, which called his inadequate monitoring of Dublin paedophile priest Fr Tom Naughton “inexcusable”. The bells of Limerick's St John's Cathedral tolled his official departure at 11am Mass as Bishop Murray told a hushed congregation that Pope Benedict had accepted his resignation.

Bishop Murray “humbly apologised” to victims abused by priests as children and said he knew full well that his resignation could “not undo the pain that survivors of abuse have suffered in the past and continue to suffer each day”.

In a strongly worded statement last night, Dr Martin indicated that the list of fallen bishops would expand after he completes a review in the early new year of how to restore confidence in Dublin archdiocese.

“I believe Bishop Donal Murray did the right thing, for his diocese and for the wider Irish Church and I appreciate the personal difficulty and pressure he has been under,” he added.

Dr Martin revealed he would be meeting “those in this diocese who were named in the report” about radical changes he wanted made. This was a clear reference to the roles of auxiliary bishops Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field, former chancellor Alex Stenson and the present chancellor, Monsignor John Dolan.

“This will not be complete until early in the new year and I will not discuss it publicly before,” said the archbishop. “There will be wider consultations also,” he added in a veiled reference to Rome, the Papal Nuncio and the Conference of Irish Bishops.

“This is without doubt, a period of deep crisis... Priests and people of this diocese see that there can be no healing without radical change. Along with many others, I am committed to that change.”

Softly-spoken farewell delivered to 50 priests in hushed cathedral

By Barry Diggan

Soft candlelight flickered inside and sunlight spilled through the many tall stained-glass windows of St John's Cathedral yesterday.

It was a bitterly cold morning in Limerick as church-goers, generally of an elderly age, left after Mass.

Few knew Donal Murray was en route to St John's for his final time as bishop.

More than 50 priests from across the Limerick diocese made their way into the church and sat in various pews towards the front.

They learned Bishop Murray's term of office was coming to an end when text messages and phonecalls told them to make their way to the historic cathedral.

Inside they acknowledged each other and greeted the public. Dressed in a dark suit and collar, Dr Murray walked onto the altar and spoke from the pulpit\[Lucy Gollogly\] in front of the Christmas tree. Silence filled the church and each softly spoken word was easily heard in the vast building.

Moments after he announced that the Holy Father has accepted his resignation, the bells from St John's began to peel out over the city.

He told the congregation that he asked Pope Benedict to allow him to resign and “to appoint a new bishop to the diocese because I believe that my presence will create difficulties for some of the survivors who must have first place in our thoughts and prayers”.

He “humbly” apologised again to all who were abused as little children and concluded by saying that “they should always have a special place in our prayers”. As he stepped back, there was no applause — only quiet resignation.

The bishop's secretary, Fr Paul Finnerty, said the next hour would be spent in “silent prayer” for the victims of child abuse.

All photographers and cameramen were requested to stop taking photographs or recording as the Blessed Sacrament was exposed.

Three candles were lit on the advent wreath and the electric lights were lowered.

It was a calm and peaceful hour in St John's.

The only disturbance in the silence came from the entrance doors where worshippers continued to file in and out and spend time with their former bishop.

Tightly wrapped up in winter clothing, they lit candles, knelt down and offered prayers for their Church and bishop.

He had decided less than a week after the shocking Murphy report was published that he was going to resign. The former bishop told three trusted confidants of his decision to step down over two weeks ago.

It was revealed yesterday that the beleaguered clergyman told the Vicars General of the Limerick diocese on the afternoon of December 1 that he would be offering his resignation to Rome. Those who were first to know Ä Monsignors Dan Neenan, Michael Lane and Fr Eamonn Fitzgibbon Ä stood alongside Dr Murray yesterday.

Two days beforehand, he asked for the views from the people of his diocese as to whether his presence would be a help or a hindrance.

While the bishop has been the subject of weeks of public criticism and outrage over his failure to resign, sources close to him said, last night, his resignation “was always going to be completely by the book”.

“The Bishop could easily have made it (the resignation) known publicly and this would have eased a lot of pressure on everyone, but first and foremost, his offer must be given to the Pope. It was not within his gift to make his resignation known to the public before the Pope,” said the source.