The Diocese of Elphin (; ga, Deoise Ail Finn) is a

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 ...

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 ...

in the western part of

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 ...

. It is in the

Metropolitan Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of severa ...

of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The current

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Kevin Doran Kevin Doran (born 26 June 1953) is an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church and has served as the Bishop of Elphin since 13th July 2014. Early life and education Doran was born in Dublin in 1953. He was educated at Christian Brothers College, Mo ...

who was appointed in 2014.

Geographical remit

The

covers parts of the counties of

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

. Its

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 ...

, which was originally established in the Roscommon town of Elphin, is now in

. The major towns are

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

Castlerea Castlerea (; ) is the third largest town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 1,992 at the 2016 Census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled ca ...

and

History

The

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

dates to the earliest days of the Irish Church. From the time

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

first arrived in Ireland in the second half of the 5th century (in the form of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

's mission), the early church was centred on

Monastic settlement Monastic settlements are areas built up in and around the development of monasteries with the spread of Christianity. To understand Christian monastic settlements, we must understand a brief history of Christian monasticism. Monasticism was a moveme ...

s. St. Patrick founded such a settlement in an area known as Corcoghlan, now known as Elphin, in 434 or 435. The first Abbot bishop of this monastic settlement was Assicus, who was said to be St. Patrick's

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

coppersmith A coppersmith, also known as a brazier, is a person who makes artifacts from copper and brass. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The term "redsmith" is used for a tinsmith that uses tinsmithing tools and techniques to make copper items. Hi ...

. Saint Assicus is now the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the diocese. Following 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 mean ...

in 1111 the diocese was formally recognised. The cathedral established here was dedicated to Beatae Mariae Virgini ( Blessed Mary the Virgin). Following the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

of the 16th century, the cathedral and many monasteries and convents were destroyed. It wasn't until 1874 that the then bishop, Laurence Gillooly, decided to rebuild the cathedral, this time in Sligo town. This cathedral was dedicated to The

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. Just under 20 years later, in 1892, Bishop Gillooly supervised the building of a College dedicated to training boys for the priesthood, known as the College of the Immaculate Conception. This school still operates today, as

Summerhill College Summerhill College (aka The College of the Immaculate Conception) is a Roman Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys located in the town of Sligo in northwest Ireland. History The school was founded in 1857 by then-Bishop of Elphin, Dr La ...

. In recent years the Diocese has run 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 ...

course in catechism as part of it faith development programmes.

Diocesesan governance

There are currently thirty-seven

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es in the diocese, which are divided into 6 administrative

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

, based in the towns of Sligo,

Strokestown Strokestown ( ga, Béal na mBuillí), also known as Bellanamullia and Bellanamully, is a small town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is one of the 27 designated Heritage Towns in Ireland. Located in the part of the country marketed for Desti ...

and the part of

west of the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

. There are currently 108

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

, ministering to a population of approximately 70,000, of whom 97% (68,000) are Roman Catholic.

Parishes

The following are the parishes of the Diocese of Elphin: Ahamlish-innismurray (Grange and Cliffoney) Ahascragh (Ahascragh and Caltra) Ardcarne (Cootehall) Athleague (Athleague and Fuerty) Athlone, Ss Peter and Paul's Aughanagh (Ballinafad) Aughrim (Aughrim and Kilmore) Ballinameen (Kilnamanagh and Estersnow) Ballintubber (Ballintober and Ballymoe) Ballyforan-dysart-tisrara Ballygar (Killian and Killeroran) Boyle Castlerea (Kilkeevan) Croghan (Killukin and Killummod) Drumcliff & Maugherow Elphin (Elphin and Creeve) Fairymount (Tibohine) Frenchpark (Kilcorkey and Frenchpark) Geevagh Kilbegnet (Glinsk and Creggs) Kilbride (Fourmilehouse) Kilgefin (Ballagh, Cloontuskert and Curraghroe) Kilglass (Kilglass and Rooskey) Kiltoom (Kiltoom and Cam) Knockcroghery / St. John's / Rahara Loughglynn (Loughglynn, Lisacul and Gorthaganny) Oran (Cloverhill) Riverstown Roscommon Rosses Point Sligo, St Anne's & Carraroe Sligo, St Joseph's & Calry Sligo, St Mary's (Cathedral parish) Strandhill/Ransboro Strokestown (Kiltrustan, Lissonuffy and Cloonfinlough) Tarmonbarry Tulsk (Ogulla and Baslic)

Ordinaries

References

External links

ElphinDiocese.ie - Official site
GCatholic.org

- info from

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elphin, Diocese of 434 establishments Dioceses established in the 5th century Religion in County Roscommon Religion in County Sligo Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Tuam