The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kilmore ( ga, Deoise na Cille Móire; la, Dioecesis Kilmorensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese which is mainly in the Republic of Ireland although a few parishes are in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

s which are subject to the

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Archdiocese of Armagh.Archdiocese of Armagh
Retrieved on 16 January 2009. On 29 June 2020, it was announced that Pope Francis had appointed Martin Hayes, a former priest of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, as Bishop of Kilmore in succession to

Philip Leo O'Reilly Leo O'Reilly (born 10 April 1944), D.D., is the emeritus Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kilmore. He was installed as Bishop of Kilmore on 15 November 1998 and retired on health grounds in December 2018. Early life A native of Kill, C ...

. He received episcopal ordination on 20 September 2020.

Geography

Kilmore diocese covers most of

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

and parts of counties Leitrim,

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...

, Meath and

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

. The main towns are Bailieborough, Ballyjamesduff,

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

, Manorhamilton and Virginia.

Ecclesiastical history

The diocese of Kilmore was originally called Breifne ( Latin: ''Tirbrunensis'', ''Tybruinensis'' or ''Triburnia''; Irish: ''Tír mBriúin'', meaning "the land of the descendants of Brian", one of the Uí Briúin kings of Connacht)., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 362. It was formally established as one of the dioceses approved by Cardinal

Giovanni Paparoni Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni (sometimes known in English as John Cardinal Paparo; died ca. 1153/1154) was an Italian Cardinal and prominent papal legate in dealings with Ireland and Scotland. He was created Cardinal by Pope Celestine II in 1143. He p ...

at the synod of Kells in 1152. The 'Bishop of the Uí Briuin' used the style Bishop of Kells. The boundaries of the diocese were approximately the same as those of the ancient Kingdom of Breifne as held under Tigernán Ua Ruairc; which today would consist of almost all of

, roughly the northern half of County Leitrim, and parts of County Fermanagh, County Meath and County Sligo. The boundaries were modified under the Norman colony with parts of Meath, including the town of Kells, being absorbed into the diocese of Meath. In 1454, Bishop Aindrias Mac Brádaigh (Andrew McBrady) was given permission by Pope Nicholas V to have the ancient church at Kilmore, founded in the sixth century by Saint Felim, to be the cathedral church of the diocese. It was rebuilt and became known in Irish as ''An Chill Mhór'' (meaning ''Great Church'') and

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

as Kilmore, which gave its name to the diocese, a name which has remained ever since. Tir Brun / Kilmore was a territorial diocese, based on the kingdom of Breifne. From the late twelfth century the chieftainship of Breifne was contested between the Ui Raghallaigh or O'Reilly sept in the east and the Ui Ruairc or O'Rourke sept in the west. The bishops of the diocese came predominantly from the eastern end of the diocese, right down until the reformation.

Kingdom of Ireland

During the Reformation in Ireland, the diocese lost the cathedral and all other

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a ''Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

. After a period of two hundred years of uncertainty, Bishop Denis Maguire (1770–98) gave new stability to the diocese and started the process of rebuilding both discipline and churches. Bishop James Browne (1827–65) continued with this work and founded the diocesan college in 1839.

Patrick Lyons (bishop of Kilmore) Patrick Lyons (1875–1949) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Kilmore from 1937 to 1949. Early life and education Born on 21 May 1875 to mother, Ellen Lyons, a teacher and father, John Lyons, who wa ...

(1937–49) had the old Roman Catholic Cathedral in

rebuilt between 1938 and 1942. The current cathedral is dedicated to Saints

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

and Felim and is built in the neoclassical style with a spire of .Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim, Cavan
Retrieved on 16 January 2009.

Ordinaries

The following is a basic list of the bishops of Kilmore since 1728. * Michael MacDonagh, O.P. (1728–1746) * Laurence Richardson, O.P. (1747–1753) * Andrew Campbell (1753–1769) *

Denis Maguire Denis Maguire (also known as Dennis or Dionysius Maguire), DD, O.F.M., (1721–1798) was an Irish Roman Catholic churchman who served as Bishop of Dromore from 1767 to 1770 and Bishop of Kilmore 1770 to 1798. Early Dr. Maguire was born in 17 ...

, O.F.M. (1770–1798) * Charles O'Reilly (1798–1800) * James Dillon (1800–1806) * Farrell O'Reilly (1807–1829) * James Browne (1829–1865) *

Nicholas Conaty Nicholas Conaty (1820–1886) was an Irish people, Irish Roman Catholic bishop. He was born in Kilsallagh to John Conaty and his wife Honora Brady and educated at Kilmore Academy before completing his clerical studies in Maynooth College. Co ...

(1865–1886) * Bernard Finegan (1886–1887) * Edward MacGennis (1888–1906) * Andrew Boylan,

C.SS.R. The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

(1907–1910) *

Patrick Finegan Patrick Finegan (1858–1937) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Kilmore from 1910 to 1937. Early life and education Born on 16 August 1858 in the townland of Corlurgan in County Cavan, in the parish ...

(1910–1937) *

(1937–1949) *

Austin Quinn Austin Quinn (1892–1974) was an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Kilmore from 1950 to 1972. Early life and education Quinn was born in Derrynoose, County Armagh, Ireland on 15 March 1892. He studied f ...

(1950–1972) * Francis Joseph MacKiernan (1972–1998) *

(1998–2018) * Martin Hayes (2020–present)

Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre

The Kilmore Diocesan Pastoral Centre was created in 2005, in the old boarding school wing of

St. Patrick's College, Cavan Saint Patrick's College ( ga, Coláiste Padraig) is a Roman Catholic all-male secondary school. Located in County Cavan, Ireland. It was founded in 1871 as a minor and major seminary for the Diocese of Kilmore. It was officially opened by the B ...

. It was officially opened on 13 February 2005 by Cardinal Seán Brady. A range of ministry and faith development activities are provided. The Faith formation and the Catechism course which is accredited by the Mater Dei Institute of Education and the

Maryvale Institute Maryvale Institute is a college of further and higher education, an International Catholic Distance-Learning College for Catechesis, Theology, Philosophy and Religious Education in Old Oscott, Great Barr, Birmingham, England. It specialises in t ...

has been provided from the centre.Co Cavan priest Fr Michael Router appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh
by Bimpe Archer, Irish News, May 8, 2019.

References