The Roman Catholic Diocese of Achonry ( ga, Deoise Achadh Conaire) 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 let ...

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 associa ...

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 one of the five suffragan sees of the Archdiocese of Tuam.Diocese of Achonry
Retrieved on 14 January 2009. The diocese was often called the "bishopric of

Luighne Muimne, Luigne and Laigne, sons of Érimón by his wife Odba, were, according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions, joint High Kings of Ireland following the death of their father. They ruled for three years, until Muimne died of p ...

" in the Irish annals. It was not established at 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 meani ...

, but Máel Ruanaid Ua Ruadáin signed as "bishop of Luighne" at the

Synod of Kells The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...

. At present there are twenty-three parishes in the diocese, located in Counties Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo. There are twenty-six priests involved in full-time parish ministry and four involved in secondary education. On 27 January 2020 Pope Francis appointed Paul Dempsey — parish priest of Newbridge — as the new Bishop of Achonry. He received episcopal ordination in the diocesan cathedral, which is dedicated to The Annunciation and St. Nathy, in

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is located just off the N5 National primary road. The population was 1,808 in the 2016 census. History As of 1837, the town was recor ...

, on 30 August 2020.

Geography

The diocese covers parts of counties

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

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 ...

and Sligo. The largest towns are Charlestown,

Kiltimagh Kiltimagh () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town had a population of 1,069 people. Although there in no river going through the town, three rivers flow around the town: the Glore River, Yellow River and Pollagh ...

and Swinford.

Ordinaries

List of bishops since 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 ...

: * Thomas O'Fihely (1547–1555) * Cormac O'Coyn (1556–1561) * Eugene O'Hart (1562–1603) * '' See vacant (1603–1629)'' * ''Andrew Lynch (

Vicar Apostolic A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

, appointed 1629)'' * ''James Fallon (Vicar Apostolic 1631–1662)'' * ''Maurice Durcan (Vicar Apostolic, appointed 1677)'' * Hugh MacDermot (''Vicar Apostolic'' 1684–1707, ''Bishop'' 1707–1725) * Dominic O’Daly (1725–1735) * John O'Hart (1735–1739) * Walter Blake (1739–1758) * Patrick Robert Kirwan (1758–1776) * Philip Phillips (1776–1785) * Boetius Egan (1785–1787) * Thomas O'Connor (1788–1803) * Charles Lynagh (1803–1808) * John O'Flynn (1809–1817) * Patrick MacNicholas (1818–1852) * Patrick Durcan (1852–1875) * Francis McCormack (1875–1887; '' coadjutor bishop 1871–1875'') * John Lyster (1888–1911) * Patrick Morrisroe (1911–1946)'A Dominant Church: The Diocese of Achonry 1818-1960' by Fr. Liam Swords, published by Columba Press(2015). * James Fergus (1947–1976) * Thomas Flynn (1976–2007) * Brendan Kelly (2007–2017) * Paul Dempsey (2020–present)

References

External links

Official Diocesan website

Diocese of Achonry
''Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference website''.

''Catholic-Hierarchy website''.

''GCatholic.org website''. ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Achonry Religion in County Roscommon Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Tuam

Geography

Ordinaries

See also

References

External links