Killaloe Saint Flannans Cathedral 2003 09 05

The Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe (''Full title'': The United Dioceses of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Ardfert Ardfert () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. Historically a religious centre, the economy of the locality is driven by agriculture and its position as a dormitory town, being only from Tralee. The population of the village was 749 at the 2 ...

Aghadoe Aghadoe (Irish: ''Achadh an Dá Eó'') is a large townland overlooking the town and lakes of Killarney in Ireland. Officially it is also a parish, although the parish is larger than the area normally associated with the name. The area is famou ...

, Killaloe,

Kilfenora Kilfenora ( ga, Cill Fhionnúrach , meaning 'Church of the Fertile Hillside' or 'Church of the White Brow') is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. Si ...

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, ...

Kilmacduagh Kilmacduagh () is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the site of Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Ki ...

and

Emly Emly or Emlybeg () is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. It is situated on the R515 ...

) was a former

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

of 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 ...

that was located in mid-western

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 ...

. The diocese was formed by a merger of neighbouring dioceses in 1976, before itself merging with the neighbouring Diocese of Tuam in 2022 to form the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe. The diocese was in 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 ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and was one of the twelve Church of Ireland dioceses that cover the whole of

. The diocese covered all of counties

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

and Clare, plus parts of counties

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

Overview and history

After the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

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 ...

broke communion, by decree of the Irish Parliament, the Church of Ireland became the independent

State Church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

. It assumed possession of most Church property (and so retained a great repository of religious architecture and other items, though some were later destroyed). The substantial majority of the population remained faithful to Roman Catholicism, despite the political and economic advantages of membership in the state church. The English-speaking minority mostly adhered to the Church of Ireland or to

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. Since the formation of the Church of Ireland, it has experienced a continual process of merger of dioceses (see below), in view of declining membership. For this reason, the diocese had three

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 ...

Predecessor dioceses

Prior to its own merger, the diocese was itself the result of a number of mergers of sees beginning in the seventeenth century:

Cathedrals

* St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick, * St Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe, * St Brendan's Cathedral, Clonfert.The Cathedral Churches of Limerick and Killaloe
Retrieved on 9 January 2009. Five others are in ruins or no longer exist: * St Brendan's Cathedral, Ardfert was destroyed by fire in 1641 *St Alibeus' Cathedral,

was demolished in 1877. * Kilmacduagh cathedral, which is partly in ruins * Aghadoe Cathedral, which is partly in ruins *

Kilfenora Cathedral Kilfenora ( ga, Cill Fhionnúrach , meaning 'Church of the Fertile Hillside' or 'Church of the White Brow') is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. Si ...

, which is partly in ruins, dates from the 12th century.

Parish Groups

The diocese was divided into a number of parish groups. * Adare Group: St Nicholas', Adare Croom St Andrew's, Kilfinane St Peter & St Paul's, Kilmallock St Beacon's, Kilpeacon Knockaney. * Aughrim Group: St Catherine's, Ahascragh Ardrahan Holy Trinity, Aughrim St Matthew's, Clontuskert St John the Evangelist's, Creagh Woodlawn, Kilconell. * Birr Group: St Brendan's, Birr Dorrha Lockeen St Ruadhan's,

Lorrha Lorrha (from ) is a small village at the northern tip of County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located on a minor road between the R489 Birr to Portumna road and the N65 Nenagh to Portumna road about five kilometres east of the point where the Ri ...

. * Clonfert (Cathedral) Group: St Brendan's Cathedral, Clonfert St John the Baptist's, Donanaughta Christ Church's, Lickmolassy St Paul's, Rynagh. * Cloughjordan Group: Ballingarry Borrisnafarney Borrisokane St Kieran's,

Cloughjordan Cloughjordan, officially Cloghjordan ( , ), is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Ormond Lower, and it is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. The town is situated in the north-western part of T ...

. * Drumcliffe (Ennis) Group: St Columba, Drumcliffe

Kilfarboy Kilfarboy ( ga, Cill Fear Buí) is a civil parish in County Clare in Ireland. There is also a Catholic parish with the same name.

St Fachan's, Kilfenora St James', Kilfieragh Kilnasoolagh Christ Church's, Shannon. * Kenmare Group: St Michael & All Angels', Dromod St Patrick's, Kenmare Church of the Transfiguration, Kilcrohane St John the Baptist's, Valentia. * Kilcolman (Milltown) Group: St John's, Glenbeigh Kilcolman St Michael's, Killorglin St Carthage's, Kiltallagh Knockane. * Killaloe (Cathedral) Group: Inniscaltra St Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe St Senan's, Kiltinanlea All Saints', Stradbally

St. Cronan's Church, Tuamgraney St. Cronan's Church is a 10th-century Church of Ireland church in Tuamgraney, County Clare, Ireland. It is the oldest church in continuous use in Ireland. The Tuamgraney parish operates as a unit with the Mountshannon parish in the Killaloe Unio ...

. * Killarney Group: St Mary, Killarney Holy Trinity, Muckross. * Limerick (Cathedral) Group: St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick Abington St Michael's, Limerick. * Nenagh Group: Killodiernan St Mary's,

Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...

Templederry. * Rathkeale Group: St Mary's, Askeaton Kilcornan Kilnaughtin Holy Trinity, Rathkeale. * Roscrea Group: St Burchin's, Bourney Christ Church's, Corbally St Molua, Kyle St Cronan's, Roscrea. * Shinrone Group:Shinrone Group of Parishes
Retrieved on 7 September 2009. Aghancon

Dunkerrin Dunkerrin () is a small village in County Offaly, Ireland, just south of Roscrea and near the County Tipperary border. It is on the R445 road which was once the main road from Dublin to Limerick. Dunkerrin is now bypassed by the M7, the nearest ...

St Finnian's, Kinnitty St Mary's,

Shinrone Shinrone () is a village in County Offaly, Ireland. It is in the southernmost part of the county, close to the border with County Tipperary. It lies at the junction of the R491 regional road between Nenagh and Roscrea with the R492 to Sharavo ...

. * Tralee Group: Ballymacelligott Ballyseedy St James's, Dingle Kilgobbin, Camp Killiney, Castlegregory St John's, Tralee. * Plus the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

List of bishops

* Edwin Owen (1976–1981) *

Walton Newcombe Francis Empey Walton Newcombe Francis Empey (born 26 October 1934) is a retired Church of Ireland bishop. He was formerly the Archbishop of Dublin. Empey was born in Dublin, the son of the Reverend Francis Fullerton Empey and Mildred May "Mimi" Empey (né ...

(1981–1985) *

Edward Flewett Darling Edward Flewett Darling (born 24 July 1933) was Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe from 1985 to 2000. Biography Darling was born into an ecclesiastical family, growing up in Skibbereen, County Cork, brother to Vivienne and Evelyn. He developed a lov ...

(1985–2000) *

Michael Hugh Gunton Mayes Michael Hugh Gunton Mayes (born 31 August 1941) was Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh from 1993 to 2000 and then of Limerick and Killaloe until 2008. Mayes was educated at The Royal School, Armagh and Trinity College, Dublin. He was orda ...

(2000–2008) * Trevor Williams (2008–2014) *

Kenneth Kearon Kenneth Arthur Kearon (born 4 October 1953) is an Irish Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe in the Church of Ireland. Early life and education Kearon was born on 4 October 1953 in Dublin, Ireland. He attended Mountjoy Schoo ...

(2015–2021)

References

External links

Official Website

Crockford's Clerical Directory - Listings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Limerick and Killaloe, Diocese of Religion in County Limerick Religion in County Clare Religion in County Kerry Church of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland