The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Diocese of Clogher ( ga, Deoise Chlochair) was formed in 1111 at the

Synod of Rathbreasail A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...

as the see for the Kingdom of Uí Chremthainn. It is part of the Province of Armagh. The original cathedral was in the village of Clogher in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

, site of a monastery founded in 454 by St. Macartan, who was appointed bishop by St. Patrick in the 5th century. Following 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 ...

, Henry VIII confiscated Clogher Cathedral for his

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 diocese was without a permanent see until 1851 when a decision was made to move to the larger town of Monaghan 32 kilometres south east of Clogher village. The foundation stone of a St Macartan's Cathedral was laid in Monaghan in June 1861. The cathedral was dedicated in August 1892. Today the diocese has a faithful of over 100,000 parishioners spread across 37 parishes. The current bishop is the Most Reverend

Lawrence Duffy Lawrence (Larry) Duffy (born 27 November 1951, Magheracloone, County Monaghan) is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher since 8 December 2018. Early life and priestly ministry Duffy was born in 1951 in Magheracloone, County Monaghan to Thomas an ...

who was appointed by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

on 8 December 2018 and ordained bishop on 10 February 2019.

Geography

The Diocese straddles the Irish border, consisting of

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

, much of County Fermanagh with parts of Counties Tyrone and Donegal. The main towns are

Clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

and Monaghan.

Domnach Airgid

The shrine of the diocese, known as the Domnach Airgid originally housed a copy of the Gospels and the Cross of the Clogher Diocese. According to tradition, these were originally given to St. Macartan by St. Patrick, although the manuscript as it exists today dates from the eighth century. Today these relics of ecclesiastical art are at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

Principal Saints of the Diocese

* St Macartan of Clogher * St Tiarnach of Clones * St Molaise of Devenish * St Davóg of Lough Derg * St Davnet of Sliabh Beagh * St Maoldoid of Muckno * St Fanchea of Rossory

Parishes of the Diocese

Sexual abuse

In 2011 London-based law firm Jeff Anderson- Ann Olivarius Law (no
AO Advocates
said they were to take action in Minnesota against a retired priest from the Clogher diocese who was moved to the US in the 1980s. Also in 2011 a Nevada clerical abuse survivor sued the diocese, claiming that Father Francis Markey, who had been suspended three times by the diocese of Clogher between the years 1964 and 1974 due to allegations of sexually abusing children. According to the lawsuit he was sent for treatment each time and then reinstated into the priesthood, before eventually being moved to Nevada. In that same year the Sunday Business Post newspaper reported that the Bishop, Joseph Duffy, had admitted both to failing to pass abuse claims to police in 1989, and to being party to victims and families being made to sign oaths of non-disclosure. A separate case in the 1970s and 1980s involved Bishop Duffy's uncle, Canon Peter Joe Duffy, who abused at least three victims. The abuse came to light in 2013 and the diocese paid compensation. Other priests of the diocese involved in abuse of children include Fr. Eugene Lewis (jailed for four years on eleven counts of indecent assault); Fr. John McCabe (20 months imprisonment on abuse charges) and Fr Jeremiah McGrath, described by the Belfast Telegraph as "the very antithesis of what a priest should be. A lying, manipulative facilitator for a vicious paedophile": jailed for five years in 2007 for indecently assaulting a 12-year-old girl and facilitating another person to rape her whilst working in North West England after spending time in the diocese of Clogher. In 2013 a report from the Church's own investigatory body reported a total of 45 allegations against 13 priests in the diocese between 1975 and 2012, and identified unsatisfactory responses to complaints, failure to address risky behaviour and the missing of preventative opportunities. Retired bishop Joseph Duffy accepted the criticism.Ex-bishop accepts mistakes after watchdog criticises poor judgement in dealing with paedophile priests
BelfastTelegraph.co.uk (24 April 2013). Retrieved on 23 July 2013. However, the Report did acknowledge that current procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse in the diocese had improved significantly and it praised Bishop MacDaid's approach to the issue.

Ordinaries

The following is a list of the ten most recent appointments. * Edward Kernan (1824–1844) * Charles McNally (1844–1864) * James Donnelly (1864–1893) * Richard Owens (1894–1909) *

Patrick McKenna Patrick McKenna (born May 8, 1960) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Harold Green on the television series '' The Red Green Show''. Early life Patrick McKenna became interested in Second City when a high-school teac ...

(1909–1942) *

Eugene O'Callaghan Eugene O'Callaghan (7 January 1888 – 21 May 1973) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Early life and education O'Callaghan was born in Errigal and educated at St Macartan's College, Monaghan and St Patrick's College, Maynooth. He was ordained prie ...

(1943–1969) * Patrick Mulligan (1969–1979) * Joseph Duffy (1979–2010) * Liam MacDaid (2010–2016) *

(2018– )

References

Bibliography *

External links

Official website for the diocese
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clogher Clogher 454 establishments Dioceses established in the 5th century 5th-century establishments in Ireland Religion in County Cavan Religion in County Donegal Religion in County Fermanagh Religion in County Louth Religion in County Monaghan Religion in County Tyrone Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Armagh