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

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 ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

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 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 second ...

it has been united with other bishoprics.

History

The foundation of the

Episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

of Killala dates to the time of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

who had a church built there (

Killala Cathedral St Patrick's Cathedral, Killala is one of two cathedral churches (the other is St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam) in the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe of the Church of Ireland. It is situated on the Ballina to Ballycastle road in the small coast ...

), over which he placed one of his disciples, Saint Muredach, as its first bishop. Another of early bishop is believed to have been Saint Cellach of Killala. The see was often called the bishopric of

Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe The Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe were a branch of the Uí Fiachrach dynasty of the Connachta in medieval Ireland. They were centred on the Moy River valley of modern-day County Mayo, Republic of Ireland. At its largest extent, their territory, Tír F ...

or Tir Amalghaid (

Tirawley Tirawley (Irish: ''Tír Amhlaidh''`), archaically known as Tyrawley, is a barony extending southward from the north coast of County Mayo, Ireland. It was created during the shiring of County Mayo out of the Gaelic túath or territory of Tír Amhla ...

) in the

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over t ...

. Although the bishopric was founded in the 5th century, it wasn't until AD 1111 that the Diocese of Killala was established by the

Synod of Ráth Breasail The Synod of Ráth Breasail (also known as Rathbreasail) ( Irish: ''Sionad Ráth Bhreasail'') was an Irish Catholic church council which took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and ...

. Its boundaries comprises the north-eastern portion of

and the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Tireragh Tireragh () is a barony in County Sligo. It corresponds to the former Gaelic túath of Tír Fhíacrach Múaidhe. History The barony was formed as part of the shiring of County Sligo by the Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney ...

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 of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

. After Bishop Ó Coineóil was restored in 1439, there were a number of rival candidates who were appointed but never took effect. After 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 ...

, there were parallel

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...

s: one of the

and the other of the

. In the Church of Ireland, Killala continued as a separate title until 1622 when it was combined with

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 ...

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 of 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 Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

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, Killala remains a separate title. The bishop's seat (

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

) is located at the Cathedral Church of St Muredach in

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 ...

. The current ordinary is the Most Reverend John Fleming, Bishop 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. ...

, who was appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 19 February 2002 and received

episcopal ordination Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 7 April 2002.

Pre-Reformation bishops

The following is a list of the diocesan bishops of Killala:

Bishops during the Reformation

Post-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland succession

Roman Catholic succession

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop of Killala

Religion in County Mayo Religion in County Sligo Anglican bishops of Killala Roman Catholic bishops of Killala