The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise ( ga, Deoise Ardach agus Chluain Mhic Nóis) is a Roman Catholic

diocese In 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 provinces were administratively associ ...

in Ireland.

Geography

The diocese is entirely within the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

and contains most of counties

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the mee ...

and Leitrim, with parts of counties

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bal ...

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, i ...

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 buil ...

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 largest urban ce ...

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 ...

. The main towns in the diocese 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 ...

Ballymahon Ballymahon () on the River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N55 National secondary road and the R392 regional road. History Ballymahon derives its name from the Irish lan ...

, Carrick-on-Shannon,

Edgeworthstown Edgeworthstown or Mostrim () is a small town in County Longford, Ireland. The town is in the east of the county, near the border with County Westmeath. Nearby towns are Longford 12 km to the west, Mullingar 26 km to the east, Athlone ...

, Granard and

Ecclesiastical history

Lordship and Kingdom of Ireland

The union of the sees of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, which had been proposed in 1709, was carried into effect following the death of Stephen MacEgan,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Un ...

on 30 May 1756, who had been administering the see of Clonmacnoise., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 414., ''A New History of Ireland'', vol. IX, p. 341. Augustine Cheevers,

Bishop of Ardagh The Bishop of Ardagh was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Ardagh, County Longford in the Republic of Ireland. It was used by the Roman Catholic Church until 1756, and intermittently by the Church of Ireland u ...

, was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the see of Meath on 7 August 1756, and Anthony Blake was appointed as the first bishop of united see of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise on 11 August 1756.

Modern times

On Christmas Day 2009, St Mel's cathedral in Longford was destroyed by fire. Bishop O'Reilly said that the building is "just a shell" and "burned out from end to end". The bishop said construction on the cathedral began in 1840 and he described it as a flagship Cathedrals of the midlands. After a long investigation the cause of the fire was traced back to a brick lined chimney at the rear of the cathedral.

Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise

On 17 July 2013,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend

Colm O'Reilly Colm O'Reilly (born 11 January 1935) is an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise from 1983 to 2013. Early life and education The youngest of seven children, O'Reilly was born to John and ...

from the

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

government of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, in accordance wit
Canon 401 §1
of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current com ...

. On the same day, Francis Duffy was appointed the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise by Pope Francis and received

episcopal consecration 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 ...

from Cardinal Seán Brady,

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

on 6 October 2013.

List of parishes

The following are the current parishes in the diocese (official names in italics where they differ from the currently-used names) * Abbeylara (County Longford) * Aghavas (County Leitrim) * Annaduff (County Leitrim) * Ardagh and

Moydow Moydow () is a village on the outskirts of Longford Town in County Longford, Ireland. Moydow contains an old disused post office, a disused schoolhouse used as a community centre, two pubs, a Roman Catholic church and a disused Church of Irelan ...

(County Longford) * Athlone ''(St. Mary's)'' (County Westmeath) * Ballinahown, Boher and Pullagh ''(Lemanaghan)'' (County Offaly and County Westmeath) * Ballinalee ''(Clonbroney)'' (County Longford) * Ballymachugh ''(Ballymachugh and Drumlumman South)'' (County Cavan) * Ballymahon ''(Shrule)'' (County Longford) * Bornacoola (County Leitrim and County Longford) * Carrickedmond and Abbeyshrule ''(Taghshinny, Taghshinod and Abbeyshrule)'' (County Longford) * Cashel (County Longford) * Carrick-on-Shannon ''(Kiltoghert)'' (County Leitrim) * Cloghan and Banagher ''(Gallen and Rynagh)'' (County Offaly) * Clonguish (County Longford) * Cloone (County Leitrim) * Colmcille ''(Columbkille)'' (County Longford) * Dromard (County Longford) *

Drumlish Drumlish () is a village in County Longford, Ireland on the R198 regional road north of Longford Town. History Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of ringfort sites in Drumlish and its surrounding townlands. The rem ...

(County Longford) * Drumshanbo ''(Murhaun)'' (County Leitrim) * Fenagh (County Leitrim) * Ferbane ''(Wheery and Tisaran)'' (County Offaly) * Gortletteragh (County Leitrim) * Granard (County Longford) *

Keadue Keadue, officially Keadew (), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is on the R284 and R285 regional roads close to the borders of County Leitrim and County Sligo. Keadue is the burial place of the great Irish harper, Turlough O'Car ...

Arigna Arigna (, formerly ''Cairn An Ailt''), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is near Lough Allen (on the Shannon-Erne Waterway), on a designated scenic route between Keadue and Sliabh an Iarainn. Arigna is situated in Kilronan Parish ...

and Ballyfarnon ''(Kilronan)'' (County Roscommon) * Kenagh ''(Kilcommock)'' (County Longford) * Killashee ''(Killashee and Clondra)'' (County Longford) * Killenummery and Ballintogher ''(Killanummery and Killery)'' (County Leitrim and County Sligo) *

Killoe Killoe () is a rural community and parish in County Longford, Ireland, located approximately 6 miles north of Longford Town. It is home to Cairn Hill (locally called Corn Hill) or Carn Clonhugh - the highest peak in County Longford. It is borde ...

(County Longford) * Kiltubrid (County Leitrim) * Legan and Ballycloghan ''(Kilglass, Rathreagh and Agharra)'' (County Longford) * Longford ''(Templemichael and Ballymacormack)'' (County Longford) *

Lough Gowna Lough Gowna () is a fresh water lake which is the uppermost lake on the River Erne. It is located on the border between County Longford and County Cavan, with the largest part of the lake being in County Longford. Lough Gowna is a moraine-damm ...

and Mullinalaghta ''(Scrabby and Columbkille East)'' (County Cavan and County Longford) * Moate and Mount Temple ''(Calry, Ballyloughloe and Kilcleagh)'' (County Westmeath) * Mohill ''(Mohill Manacháin)'' (County Leitrim) * Mostrim (County Longford) * Mullahoran ''(Drumlumman North and Loughduff)'' (County Cavan) *

Rathcline Rathcline (; ) is a barony in County Longford, Ireland. Etymology Rathcline takes its name from the townland and parish of Rathcline (from Irish ''Ráth Claon'', " rath on the slope"). Location Rathcline is located in southwest County Longfor ...

(County Longford) * Rathowen ''(Rathaspic and Russagh)'' (County Westmeath) * Shannonbridge ''(Clonmacnois)'' (County Offaly) * Streete (County Longford and County Westmeath)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Official Diocesan website

Longford Parish (Templemichael & Ballymacormack) and St Mel's Cathedral

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ardagh Roman Catholic dioceses in Ireland Dioceses established in the 18th century 1756 establishments in Ireland Religion in County Cavan Religion in County Leitrim Religion in County Longford Religion in County Offaly Religion in County Roscommon Religion in County Sligo Religion in County Westmeath Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Armagh