The
pre-Reformation Christian church in Ireland was first divided into
dioceses at the
Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111, although the dioceses
of Dublin and
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
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, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
were founded earlier by
Hiberno Norse rulers with bishops consecrated by the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
in England. The boundaries were reconfigured at the
Synod of Kells in 1152 into 37 dioceses. A few were later abolished, as when
Glendalough merged Dublin in 1214–16.
After the
Reformation in Ireland
The Reformation in Ireland was a movement for the reform of religious life and institutions that was introduced into Ireland by the English administration at the behest of King Henry VIII of England. His desire for an annulment of his marriage wa ...
, the established Anglican
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 ...
was ''de jure'' the continuation to the pre-Reformation church. The
Church Temporalities Act 1833 effected the abolition of 10 Church of Ireland dioceses by merger with neighbouring ones. Further mergers subsequently mean there are now
12 Church of Ireland dioceses in Ireland.
The Roman Catholic diocesan structure was prohibited under
Penal Laws but bishops were consecrated abroad and visited Ireland in secret. By the eighteenth century they resumed residency. Although the
Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851
The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 was an Act of the British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at ...
made it illegal for Roman Catholic dioceses to use the same names as those of the Church of Ireland
and England, this was not enforced in Ireland. There are now
26 Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland.
See also
*
List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland
This is a comprehensive list of Roman Catholic dioceses in the island of Ireland. Roman Catholicism in Ireland comprises only a Latin rite hierarchy, encompassing both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, having been unaffected by the ...
*
List of dioceses of the Church of Ireland
References
*
History of Christianity in Ireland
{{Ireland-hist-stub