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 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 Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne ...

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 ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

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 Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

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 sec ...

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 Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Let ...

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 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 Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 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 County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

with parts of Counties Tyrone and

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

. The main towns are Clones,

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

Domnach Airgid

The shrine of the diocese, known as the

Domnach Airgid The Domnach Airgid (; also Domhnach Airgid, English: Silver Church or Shrine of Saint Patrick's Gospels)Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and the Cross of the Clogher Diocese. According to tradition, these were originally given to St. Macartan by

, 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 The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thr ...

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 Ann Olivarius (born 19 February 1955) is an American-British lawyer who specializes in cases of civil litigation, sexual discrimination, and sexual harassment, assault, and abuse. Early life and education Ann Olivarius grew up in New Jersey, th ...

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 The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

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 Edward Kernan (born 1771 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland) was an Irish priest in the Diocese of Clogher ordained in 1795. He was educated at Portora Royal School, and studied for the priesthood in the Irish College in Salamanca, Spain ...

(1824–1844) *

Charles McNally Charles McNally (1787 – 21 November 1864) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher in Ireland. Early life and education Born at the townland of Ardaghy, near Monaghan town in County Monaghan, he entered Maynooth in 1808, aged 21 matricu ...

(1844–1864) * James Donnelly (1864–1893) * Richard Owens (1894–1909) * Patrick McKenna (1909–1942) * Eugene O'Callaghan (1943–1969) * Patrick Mulligan (1969–1979) * Joseph Duffy (1979–2010) * Liam MacDaid (2010–2016) * Lawrence Duffy (2018– )

References

Bibliography *

External links

Official website for the diocese
* {{DEFAULTSORT: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