The Bishop of Achonry () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of

Achonry Achonry (; ) is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. The old name is Achad Cain Conairi. St. Nath Í ua hEadhra (O'Hara) founded a monastery here. The foundation gave the later diocese its name. The monastery was founded on land granted by the ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...

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 ...

. In the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

it remains as a separate title, but in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

it has been united with other bishoprics.

History

In the sixth century, the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

at Achonry was founded by Saint Nathy, a disciple of Saint Finnian of Clonard. The superiors of the monastery were styled

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

s or

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

s of Achad Cain or Achad Conaire, and in some of the Irish annals they were called bishops of Luighne. It was not until 1152 that the Diocese of Achonry was established at the

Synod of Kells The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...

. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the bishops changed their allegiance back and forth between the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the

Tudors The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and its ...

. After the Reformation, there were parallel apostolic successions: one of the

and the other of the

In the Church of Ireland, the see of Achonry continued as a separate title until 1622 when it combined with

Killala Killala () is a village in County Mayo in Ireland, north of Ballina. The railway line from Dublin to Ballina once extended to Killala. To the west of Killala is a Townsplots West (known locally as Enagh Beg), which contains a number of ancient ...

to form the united bishopric of Killala and Achonry. Under the

Church Temporalities (Ireland) Act 1833 The Church Temporalities Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4 c. 37), sometimes called the Church Temporalities (Ireland) Act 1833, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which undertook a major reorganisation of the Ch ...

, the combined sees Killala and Achonry became part of the archbishopric of Tuam in 1834. On the death of Archbishop Le Poer Trench in 1839, the

Ecclesiastical Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of Tuam lost its metropolitan status and became the united bishopric of Tuam, Killala and Achonry in the Ecclesiastical Province of Armagh. In the Roman Catholic Church, Achonry remains a separate title. The Roman Catholic bishop's seat ( Cathedra) is now located at the Cathedral Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nathy in

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is located just off the N5 National primary road. The population was 1,808 in the 2016 census. History As of 1837, the town was recor ...

, County Roscommon. The current incumbent is the Most Reverend

Paul Dempsey Paul Anthony Dempsey (born 25 May 1976) is an Australian musician. He is best known as the lead singer, guitarist and principal lyricist of rock group Something for Kate. Dempsey released his debut solo album, '' Everything Is True'', on 20 A ...

, Bishop of the

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on 27 January 2020, and ordained bishop on 30 August 2020.Archbishop of Tuam to serve as Principal Consecrator at ordination of Bishop of Achonry
''Connacht Tribune''. Retrieved 29 August 2020.

Pre-Reformation bishops

Bishops during the Reformation

Post-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland succession

Roman Catholic succession

Notes

* Maghnus Ó hEadhra and Richard Belmer were bishops at the same time.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Achonry, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Achonry Bishops Lists of Irish bishops and archbishops Bishops of Tuam or Killala or of Achonry Roman Catholic