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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh The Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The deanery of Kilf ...

and

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 (, ; ; 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 ...

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 (), abbreviated F.S.P. is a Catholic lay religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded for the religious and literary education of the youth and the instruction of th ...

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

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) 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 College, Maynoo ...

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 (appro ...

and amateur

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

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, Republic of Ireland, Ire ...

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 priest 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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

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. He lived in

Claregalway Baile Chláir or Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe (anglicised 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 na ...

during his retirement, and died on 25 November 2005 in

Galway Clinic The Galway Clinic () 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 €100 million and opene ...

. 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