St Muredach's Cathedral is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

church of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala The Diocese of Killala ( ga, Deoise Chill Ala) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Connacht; the western province of Ireland. It is in the Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The current bishop is Dr. ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is located on the east bank of the

River Moy The River Moy () is a river in the northwest of Ireland. Name Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (2nd century AD) described a river called Λιβνιου (''Libniu'', perhaps from *''lei''- "flow") which probably referred to the River Moy. The Moy is fi ...

Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg Range, Nephin ...

. It is also the parish church of the parish of Kilmoremoy. It is a detached six-bay double-height building on a cruciform plan comprising a four-bay double-height nave which opens into single-bay double-height transepts all centred on a single-bay double-height chancel. The cathedral's construction was initiated by Bishop

John MacHale John MacHale ( ir, Seán Mac Éil; 6 March 1789 (or 1791) – 7 November 1881) was the Irish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and Irish nationalist. He laboured and wrote to secure Catholic Emancipation, legislative independence, justice for te ...

(1791–1881) who served as the

Bishop of Killala The Bishop of Killala () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Killala in County Mayo, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bish ...

from 1825 to 1834 and the completion of the cathedral in 1834 coincided with his translation to the Archdiocese of Tuam. The spire was completed in 1855 to the designs of the celebrated architect

James Joseph McCarthy James Joseph McCarthy was an Irish architect famous for his design of ecclesiastical buildings. McCarthy was born in Dublin, Ireland on 6 January 1817. His parents were from County Kerry. He was educated by the Christian Brothers in Richmond St. ...

and further embellishment continued throughout the nineteenth century. The cathedral is situated in the townland of Abbeyhalfquarter. When built, it was in County Sligo, but since the 1898 revisions of county boundaries, it has been in County Mayo.

Parish priests

18th century

*Richard Hoare (1704) *Francis Beolane (1731) *John Finan (1743–1760)

19th century

*John Lyons (1823–1825) *John McHale (1825–1834) *John Lyons (1835) *P.A. Lyons (1837–1838) *Patrick McHale (1839–1841) *Bart Costello (1842–1845) *Hugh Conway (1845–1848) *Patrick Malone (1849–1852) *Dominick Madden (1853) *Michael Conway (1854) *J. Gilvarry (1854–1858) *P.J. Nolan (1859) *P. Irwin (1862–1867) *J. Timlin (1867) *P. Conway (1867–1870) *H. Hewson (1870–1873) *J.J. O'Keane (1873–1879) *P. McNulty (1879–1881) *D. O'Donoghue (1881–1885) *A. Finnerty (1885–1890) *J. Mullen (1890–1891) *A. McHale (1891–1892) *M. Gallagher (1892–1900)

20th century

*J. Naughton (1900–1906) *B. Quinn (1906–1913) *T.L. Beirne (1913–1915) *M. Tully (1915–1919) *W. Greaney (1919–1930) *D. O'Connor (1930–1942) *M.J. Feeney (1942) *P. Maloney (1942–1957) *J. Heverin (1957–1963) *T. McDonnell (1963–1970) *G. Moore (1970–1987) *P. O' Brien (1987–1994) *M. Flynn (1994–2005)

21st century

*M. Flynn (1994–2005) *

Brendan Hoban Fr. Brendan Hoban is an Irish Catholic priest in the Killala Diocese, columnist and author of a number of books. Fr. Hoban was born in Ballycastle, Co. Mayo in 1948. Educated in Ballycastle Boys National School, St Muredach¹s College, Ballina a ...

(2005–2011), a founder member of the

Association of Catholic Priests The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) is a liberal, independent and voluntary association of Catholic clergy in Ireland. The association was established on 1 September 2010 with the claimed objective of having "a forum, and a voice to reflec ...

*Gerard O'Hora (2011–2019) *Aidan O'Boyle (2019–

References

External links

www.ballinaparish.org
{{Roman Catholic Cathedrals in Ireland Ballina, County Mayo Roman Catholic churches in County Mayo Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1875 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Ireland