James McLoughlin (9 April 1929 – 25 November 2005) was 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 lette ...

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 admi ...

of Kilfenora,

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 ...

for twelve years from 1993 to 2005.

Early life and education

McLoughlin was born in Cross Street in the centre of Galway City on 9 April 1929. His parents ran a small wholesale grocery business. He attended the

Patrician Brothers The Patrician Brothers officially named Brothers of Saint Patrick ( la, Congregatio Fratrum a Sancto Patricio), abbreviated F.S.P. is a Catholic lay religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded for the religious and literary educa ...

primary school in Nuns' Island and St. Mary's College in Galway. He studied for the priesthood at

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

and was ordained on 20 June 1954.

Priestly ministry

After ordination he was appointed to the teaching staff of St. Mary's College, Galway where he developed interests in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and amateur

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

tics, and was appointed diocesan secretary in September 1965, bring to that role a reserved dedication to duty, meticulous planning and financial acumen. He left full-time teaching in 1983 and was appointed parish priest of

Galway Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas (Irish language: ''Ard-Eaglais Mhaighdean na Deastógála agus Naomh Nioclás''), commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Galway, Ireland, and one of the ...

Bishop

On 10 February 1993, the year after the sensational resignation of Bishop

Eamon Casey Eamonn Casey (24 April 1927 – 13 March 2017) was an Irish Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh in Ireland from 1976 to 1992. His resignation in 1992, after it was revealed he had had an affair with an American woman, ...

, McLoughlin was appointed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

as bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh. His consecration took place in Galway Cathedral on 28 March 1993. After his death one obituary noted that McLouglhin's "quiet demeanour...intimate knowledge of Galway and his being a native son, made him the ideal man to assume responsibility for the diocese when Bishop Eamonn Casey resigned." He served as chairman of the finance and general planning committee of the Irish Bishops' Conference. In 2003 he was one of the first Irish bishops to announce the clustering of parishes in recognition of the falling number of priests, his diocese having had very few vocations or ordinations in the decade up to 2003. McLoughlin announced his retirement on 23 May 2005 and on 3 July was succeeded as bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh by

Martin Drennan Martin Drennan (2 January 1944 – 26 November 2022) was an Irish Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese of Kilfenora. Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 29 July 2016. Drenna ...

. He lived in

Claregalway Baile Chláir or Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe (anglicized Claregalway) is a Gaeltacht village about 10 km north of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland. Claregalway was founded on the banks of the River Clare, hence the derivation of its ...

during his retirement, and died on 25 November 2005 in

Galway Clinic The Galway Clinic ( ga, Clinic na Gaillimhe) is a private hospital in Galway, Ireland. History The hospital was founded by surgeons Joseph Sheehan and Jimmy Sheehan, who had established the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin. It was built at a cost of ...

. His funeral was held in

, and he was interred in the crypt beneath the cathedral.

References

External links

Catholic-hierarchy.org page on James McLoughlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, James 1929 births 2005 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora People from Galway (city) Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Christian clergy from County Galway