St Patrick's Cathedral, Killala is one of five cathedral churches (the other is

St Mary's Cathedral, Tuam St Mary's Cathedral () is a cathedral church of the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe in the Church of Ireland. It is located in Tuam, County Galway, in Ireland. From the 12th century until 1839, both before and after the Reformation ...

) in the

Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe The Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe (full title The United Dioceses of Tuam, Killala, Achonry, Limerick, Ardfert, Aghadoe, Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, Kilmacduagh and Emly) is a diocese of the Church of Ireland that is located in the ...

of the Church of Ireland. It is situated on the Ballina to Ballycastle road in the small coastal village of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland. It is part of the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. The Cathedral Church of St Patrick is one of Ireland’s smallest cathedrals and consists of a long rectangular four-bay gable-ended nave (32 m x 10 m) with a square tower and spire at the west end and a gable-ended vestry at the north end. A staircase leads to a gallery in the nave. The nave is fitted with boxed pews and a rare Telford organ dating from 1838. The graveyard contains a 9th-century souterrain with several chambers.

History

"The Episcopal See of Killala appears to have been founded between the years 434 and 441 by St. Patrick, who, during that period, was propagating the faith of Christianity in the province of Connaught; and built a church at this place, called Kill-Aladh, over which he placed one of his disciples, St. Muredach, as bishop." (Samuel Lewis, writing in his 1837 Topographical Dictionary). The Diocese of Killala was established at the

Synod of Ráth Breasail The Synod of Ráth Breasail (or Rathbreasail; ) was a synod of the Catholic Church in Ireland that took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and parish-based church. Many present-day ...

in 1111. The medieval cathedral was probably destroyed in the troubles of the 16th century. It was certainly in ruins by 1611. The present building was constructed in the 1670s, during the episcopate of Thomas Otway,

Bishop of Killala and Achonry The Bishop of Killala and Achonry was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Killala and Achonry in the Ecclesiastical Province of Tuam. The diocese comprised part of Counties Mayo and Sligo in Ireland. The Episcopal see was a union ...

,"The Cathedrals of 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 ...

" Day, J.G.F./ Patton, H.E. p71:

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, S.P.C.K.,

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

using the rubble and stone from the medieval cathedral. The tower and spire and the vestry were added to the building in 1817 by the architect James Paine. Extensive restoration of nave and chancel walls and windows was carried out in the early 1990s and plans are now in hand to restore the organ soundboard.

References

Killala online

Conservation report - Buildings and Grounds
{{Cathedrals of the Church of Ireland

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 ...

Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry

History

See also

References