Aghaboe, a Roman Catholic parish in County Laois, is one of the parishes of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory ( ga, Deoise Osraí) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin. .
The parish is named after
Aghaboe abbey
The Abbey of Aghaboe is one of the most important of the abbeys and priories in County Laois. It was founded in the kingdom of Osraige by St. Canice in the 6th century. In his ''Vita Sancti Columbae'' (Life of St. Columba), Adomnán refers to ...
which was founded in the 6th century by
St. Canice
Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/16–600), also known as Saint Canice in Ireland, Saint Kenneth in Scotland, Saint Kenny and in Latin Sanctus Canicus, was an Irish abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary during the early medieval period. Cainne ...
and whose ruins are still visible in
the hamlet of Aghaboe.
Extent
In his 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Lewis, when describing
the civil parish of Aghaboe, wrote that the Catholic parish of Aghaboe comprised, as well as
the civil parish of the same name, the civil parishes of Killermagh (Kylermough) and
Bordwell and parts of the civil parishes of Kildellig (Kyledellig) and
Coolkerry.
According to Carrigan, in his 1905 history of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory ( ga, Deoise Osraí) is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin. ,
[William Carrigan,]
History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory
Volume 2, (1905), page 26 the Catholic parish comprised 19,610 acres at that time, having been reduced in area in 1855, when that part of the civil parish of Aghaboe which was situated in the Barony of Clandonnagh was removed—it was added to 100 acres of Kyledellig (presumably that part of Kildellig which, according to Lewis, was not part of the Catholic parish in 1837) to form the new Catholic parish of Borris-in-Ossary. Carrigan also said that the part of
the civil parish of Coolkerry which was in the Catholic parish of Aghaboe was the townlands of
Middlemount
Middlemount is a rural town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Middlemount had a population of 1,841 people.
It is nicknamed the "Giant Peanut" by some locals due to its peanut-shaped road layout.
...
and Coolacurragh.
Churches
In his 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Lewis said that the Catholic parish of Aghaboe had four chapels, three of which were in the civil parish of Aghaboe, at Knockrea, Ballincolla, and Burros-in-Ossory.
In 2012, there are two Catholic churches in the parish:
*''Immaculate Conception'', in
Ballacolla
Ballacolla, officially Ballycolla (), is a village in County Laois, Ireland. It sits at the crossroads of the R433 and R434 regional roads, southwest of Abbeyleix
Abbeyleix (; ) is a town in County Laois, Ireland, located around south o ...
*''St Canice'', in
Clough
Clough ( ; ) is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits about 3 miles from Dundrum, County Down, Dundrum on the A2 road (Northern Ireland), A2 between Newcastle, County Down, Newcastle and Belfast. The A2 road (Northern ...
Sports clubs
Clough/Ballacolla GAA is one of the sports clubs based in the parish.
References
{{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Ireland
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory