The Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry (also known as the United Dioceses of Tuam, Killala and Achonry) is a former

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, prov ...

in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

located in

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

; the western province of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

. Its geographical remit included

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

and part of counties

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and

Sligo Sligo ( ; , 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 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

. In 2022, the diocese was amalgamated into the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe.

History

On 13 April 1834, the diocese of Killala and Achonry was united to the Archdiocese of Tuam. On the death of Archbishop Trench of Tuam in 1839, the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Tuam was united to the Province of Armagh and the see ceased to be an archbishopric and became a bishopric with Thomas Plunket becoming the first bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.

Coat of arms

In November 2012, the Chief Herald of Ireland confirmed the following as the arms of the united diocese:

Azure beneath three Gothic arches as many figures or their hands faces and feet proper, in the middle the Blessed Virgin holding upon her left arm the Child their heads circled in glory on her dexter side a bishop pontifically vested his dexter hand raised in benediction the sinister hand holding a crozier bendwise and on her sinister an angel the head circled of the second the dexter arm elevated and beneath the sinister arm a lamb of the third impaled with Gules a pastoral staff or surmounted of an open book proper.

The two coats of arms recorded in the records of

Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is th ...

for the dioceses of Tuam and Killala are impaled, or placed side to side, on the shield.

Cathedrals

The bishop had two episcopal seats (

Cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

): * St. Mary's Cathedral,

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

* St. Patrick's Cathedral,

Killala Killala () is a village in County Mayo in Ireland, north of Ballina. The railway line from Dublin to Ballina once extended to Killala. To the west of Killala is the townland of Townsplots West (known locally as Enagh Beg), which contains a num ...

. St. Crumnathy's Cathedral, Achonry was

deconsecrated Deconsecration, also referred to as decommissioning or ''secularization'' (a term also used for the external confiscation of church property), is the removal of a religious sanction and blessing from something that had been previously consec ...

in 1998 and is now used for

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

events.

Parishes

Prior to its amalgamation, the diocese was divided into unions (or groups) of parishes. Achonry Union: * St. George's Church,

Tubbercurry Tubbercurry or Tobercurry () is the second-largest town in terms of both population and land area in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the Ox Mountains, on the N17 road (Ireland), N17 national primary road, and ...

* Rathbarron Church Aughaval Group: * Holy Trinity Church, Achill Sound * Christ Church,

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th-century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wi ...

* St. Thomas' Church, Dugort * St. Thomas' Church, Knappagh * Turlough Church * Holy Trinity Church, Westport Ballisodare Union: * Holy Trinity Church,

Ballisodare Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. Ballysadare is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. ...

* St. Paul's Church, Colloney * Ballymote, Emlaghfad Galway & Kilcummin: * St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church,

* Kilcummin Church,

Oughterard Oughterard () is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located about northwest of Galway on the N59 road (Ireland), N59 road. ...

Killala Union: * St. John's Church, Ballycastle * St. Mary's Church, Crossmolina * St. Patricks Cathedral,

Kilmoremoy Union: * St. Michael's, Ballina * Killanley Church, Castleconnor * St. Anne's Easkey * Straid Church,

Foxford Foxford () is a town 16 km south of Ballina, County Mayo, Ballina in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It stands on the N26 road, N26 roads in Ireland, national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has Foxford railway station ...

Kilglass Kilglass or Kilglas () is a rural townland in County Sligo, Ireland, in the hinterland of Enniscrone. Kilglass is in a civil parish of the same name. The area is the location of an Anglican church, built in 1829 with funding provided by the B ...

Church Omey Union: * Christ Church,

Clifden Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...

* Holy Trinity Church, Errislannan * St. Thomas' Church, Moyard * St. Mary's Church, Roundstone Skreen Union: * Christ Church, Dromard * St. Mary's Church, Kilmacshalgan *

Skreen Skreen () is a small village and parish in County Sligo, Ireland. The village is in a civil parish of the same name. History St Adomnán, the first biographer of St Columba (Colmcille) and one of his successors at Iona, first served as abbot ...

Church Tuam Union: * St. John the Baptist's Church, Aasleagh * St. Mary's Church, Cong * St. Mary's Cathedral,

List of bishops

* Hon. Thomas Plunket (1839–1866) * Hon. Charles Brodrick Bernard (1867–1890) * James O'Sullivan (1890–1913) * Hon. Benjamin John Plunket (1913–1919) * Arthur Edwin Ross (1920–1923) * John Orr (1923–1927) * John Mason Harden (1928–1931) *

William Hardy Holmes William Hardy Holmes was an Anglican Bishop. Born on 25 June 1873 and educated at Trinity College Dublin, he was ordained in 1897, and began his career with a curacy at Christ Church, Derry. He then held incumbencies at Kilbarron and Ballys ...

(1932–1938) * John Winthrop Crozier (1939–1957) * Arthur Hamilton Butler (1958–1969) * John Coote Duggan (1970–1985) * John Robert Winder Neill (1986–1997) * Richard Crosbie Aitken Henderson (1998–2011) * Patrick William Rooke (2011–2021)

References

External links

Crockford's Clerical Directory – Listings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuam, Killala and Achonry Religion in County Galway Religion in County Mayo Religion in County Sligo Church of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland Former Church of Ireland dioceses in Ireland