Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise

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Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise
Dioecesis Ardachadensis et Cluanensis
Deoise Ardach agus Chluain Mhic Nóis

St Mel's cathedral, Longford
Location
Country Republic of Ireland
Territory Most of counties Longford and Leitrim and parts of counties Cavan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath
Ecclesiastical province Province of Armagh
Statistics
Area 941 sq mi (2,440 km2)
Population
- Catholics
71,806
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Latin Rite
Established United 30 May 1756
Cathedral St. Mel's Cathedral, Longford
Patron saint St Mel
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Colm O'Reilly,
Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise
Metropolitan Archbishop Seán Baptist Brady,
Cardinal, Archbishop of Armagh
Map

The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, shown in orange, within the Province of Armagh
Website
ardaghdiocese.org

The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise (Irish: Deoise Ardach agus Chluain Mhic Nóis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland.


Contents

Ecclesiastical history [edit]

Lordship and Kingdom of Ireland [edit]

It was proposed in 1709 that the dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise should be united, however, nothing further came of it. On 30 May 1756, Stephen MacEgan, Bishop of Meath, who had been administering Clonmanoise, died. On his death the union of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise was carried into effect, and Augustine Cheevers, who had been Bishop of Ardagh since 1751, became the first bishop of the united diocese. Shortly afterwards Cheevers was translated to Meath on 7 August 1756 and was replaced by Anthony Blake.[1]

Modern times [edit]

On Christmas Day 2009, St Mel's cathedral in Longford was destroyed by fire. Bishop O'Reilly said that the building is "just a shell" and "burned out from end to end". The bishop said construction on the Cathedral began in 1840 and he described it as a flagship Cathedrals of the midlands. It is unclear what caused the fire to start at this time.[2]

List of Ordinaries [edit]

Main article: Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise

The following is a basic list of the bishops of the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise.[3][4]

  • Augustine Cheevers, O.S.A. (May–Aug 1756)
  • Anthony Blake (1756–1758)
  • James Brady (1758–1788)
  • John Cruise (1788–1812)
  • James Magauran (1815–1829)
  • William O'Higgins (1829–1853)
  • John Kilduff (1853–1867)

List of parishes [edit]

The following are the current parishes in the diocese (official names in italics where they differ from the currently-used names)

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (Third Edition, revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 414. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  2. ^ "St. Mel's Cathedral destroyed by fire", The Longford Leader, 25 December 2009, retrieved 25 December 2009 .
  3. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (Third Edition ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 414. ISBN 0-521-56350-X. 
  4. ^ "Diocese of Ardagh (and Clonmacnois)". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 11 May 2009. 

Further reading [edit]

  • Devaney, Rev. Owen, Ardagh and Clonmacnois: Footsteps of Mel and Ciarán, Booklink, 2005.

External links [edit]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 
Province of Armagh
Province of Cashel
Province of Dublin
Province of Tuam

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