The Bishop of Kilmacduagh was an episcopal title which took its name after the village of Kilmacduagh in County Galway,

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 both 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 ...

and 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 ...

, the title is now united with other bishoprics.

History

In the seventh century, the monastery of Kilmacduagh was founded by Saint Colman, son of Duagh. It was not until 1152 that the

Diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of Kilmacduagh 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 ...

. 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 successions. ;In the Church of Ireland The

bishopric of Kilmacduagh was united with

Clonfert Clonfert () is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland, halfway between Ballinasloe and Portumna. The village gives its name to the Diocese of Clonfert. Clonfert Cathedral is one of the eight cathedral churches of the Church of Ireland, ...

to form the united bishopric of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh in 1625. Under the Church Temporalities (Ireland) Act 1833, the united see became part of the bishopric of Killaloe and Clonfert in 1834. Since 1976, Kilmacduagh has been one of the sees held by the

Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe The Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert or the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe ( ; ''Full title'': Bishop of Limerick, Ardfert, Aghadoe, Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, Kilmacduagh and Emly) is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united D ...

. ;In the Roman Catholic Church The

bishopric of Kilmacduagh continued as a separate title until 1750 when

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

decreed that it be united with the bishopric of Kilfenora. The bishop of the united dioceses was to be alternately bishop of one diocese and

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of the other, since the two dioceses were in different

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 ...

s. The first bishop under this new arrangement was Peter Kilkelly, who had been Bishop of Kilmacduagh since 1744, became

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of Kilfenora in September 1750. Since 1883, the two sees have been part of the united Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora.

History

Pre-Reformation bishops

Bishops during the Reformation

Post-Reformation bishops

Church of Ireland succession

Roman Catholic succession

References