Archbishop of Tuam
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The Archbishop of Tuam is the ordained religious leader of the Archdiocese of Tuam and its constituent churches. Tuam is the largest diocese, by area, in Ireland, and it includes the major metropolitan areas of Connacht. The office of Archbishop of Tuam has a long history; the first Archbishop of Tuam was Hugh O'Hession, who was inducted in 1152.
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[edit] Notable attractions
Tuam is home to the Knock Shrine, which attracts more than one million pilgrims annually. [1]
[edit] Extent of the diocese
The Archdiocese of Tuam extends, roughly speaking, from the River Shannon westwards to the sea, and comprises half of County Galway, and nearly half of County Mayo, with a small portion of south County Roscommon, including in itself about one-fourteenth of the entire area of the country.
In 1800 there were no more than one hundred priests in the diocese. The number grew steadily to 170 about 1968; despite the fact that the population dropped to less than 30% of what is was before the Irish Famine. The number has now dropped to approximately 150, and of these, more than twenty are on loan from missionary orders. The devotion of the people remained strong in all these years. In 1986, the figure attending Mass in the archdiocese was approximately 75% of the whole Catholic population, or 89% of those obliged to attend Mass. This has decreased by approximately 10% in recent years. A major survey of the diocese carried out in 1996 found that the pattern of the population decline is still continuing; nowadays, however, that decline continues through out-migration to the eastern part of Ireland, but with the same effects on the west. [2]
[edit] History
St. Patrick came into the Diocese of Tuam from Airtech in north-west Roscommon most likely in A.D. 440, and thence travelled almost due west from Aghamore, where he founded his first church, on the summit of Croaghpatrick. He placed bishops over several of these churches — at Cella Senes near Ballyhaunis; at Kilbenin, where he placed St. Benignus of Armagh; at Donaghpatrick, which he gave to Bishop Felartus; at Aghagower, where he placed St. Senach, whom he called Agnus Dei on account of his meekness. His sojourn for forty days on synod of Kells in 1152, and the controversy was carried to Rome and finally decided in their favour. The primates, however, were allowed the rents of certain church lands in Tuam, but these claims they afterwards remitted in exchange for lands in the north of Ireland.
[edit] Former dioceses
The Archdiocese of Tuam now comprises the territories of five of those ancient dioceses which at different periods were united to the original Diocese of Tuam. This original diocese, which may be taken as corresponding roughly with the modern deanery of Tuam, comprised the ancient territory known as the Conmaicne of Dunmore, and also the Ciarraigi of Loch nan-Airneadh, as well as a portion of Corcamogha and the Sodan territory. When the O'Conor kings of the twelfth century came to be the chief rulers of Connacht, and for a time of all Ireland, they resided mostly at Tuam and sought to control the spiritual as they did the temporal rulers of their principality. It was the influence of Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair, then King of Ireland, that induced the prelates and papal legate at Kells in 1152 to make his own Diocese of Tuam the archiepiscopal and metropolitan see of the province.
[edit] Tuam
This original See of Tuam was founded about A.D. 520 by St. Jarlath, son of Loga, the disciple of St. Benignus of Kilbannon, and the preceptor for a time at Cloonfush near Tuam of St. Brendan the Navigator. The original cathedral known as Tempull Jarlath stood on the site of the present Protestant cathedral. After Jarlath's death his remains were enshrined and preserved in a church built for the purpose and called Tempull na Scrine, close to the spot on which the Catholic cathedral now stands. Around this cathedral, which was begun by Dr. Oliver Kelly in 1826, are grouped in a circle all the other ecclesiastical buildings — the college, the Presentation convent and schools, the Mercy convent and schools of the Sisters of Mercy, the Christian Brothers' House and schools, and the recently-erected archiepiscopal residence.
[edit] Annaghdown
The ancient Diocese of Annaghdown grew out of the monastery founded by St. Brendan for his sister St. Briga. Its jurisdiction extended over O'Flaherty's country around Lough Corrib and comprised in all some seventeen parishes. The see was independent down to the death of Thomas O'Mellaigh in 1250, when Archbishop MacFlionn seized and held it with the consent of the king. For the next 250 years a prolonged and unseemly conflict was carried on between the archbishops and abbots, the former declaring that Annahdown had been reduced by the pope and the king to the rank of a parish church, whilst the abbots stoutly maintained their independence. In 1484 the wardenship of Galway was established, and all the parishes on the south and west around the lake were placed under the warden's quasi-episcopal jurisdiction, Tuam still retaining eight parishes to the east of the lake. In 1830 the wardenship was abolished, and the See of Galway established as a regular episcopal see, suffragan to Tuam.
[edit] Cong
The Diocese of Cong included all the parishes subject to the Abbey of Cong, which was founded by St. Fechin in 626. The abbots seem to have exercised quasi-episcopal jurisdiction over nineteen parishes in the Baronies of Ballynahinch, Ross, and Kilmaine, which for the most part were served by the monks as vicars under the abbot. In the Synod of Rath Breasail Cong was counted as one of the five dioceses of Connacht, but there is no mention of it at the Synod of Kells. King Rory O'Connor retired to the abbey for several years and died there.
[edit] Mayo
The Diocese of Mayo like that of Cong had its origin in Mayo Abbey, founded by St. Colman about 667 for Saxon monks who had followed him from Lindisfarne. In 1152 it was recognized by the Synod of Kells as one of the Connacht sees, and mention is made of the death of Gilla Isu O'Mailin, Bishop of Mayo, in 1184, but on the death of Bishop Cele O'Duffy in 1209 no successor was appointed and the see was merged in that of Tuam, probably through the influence of King Cathal O"Conor and his relative Archbishop Felix O'Ruadan of Tuam. But bishops of Mayo reappear from time to time in the annals down to 1579 when Bishop Patrick O'Healy coming home to take possession of his See of Mayo was seized with his companion Friar O'Rourke and hanged at Kilmallock by Drury, the English President of Munster. At one time Mayo had no fewer than twenty-eight parishes under its jurisdiction, which extended from the Dalgin River at Kilvine to Achill Head. At present this is a small rural parish, and the "City of Mayo" comprises not more than half a dozen houses.
[edit] Aghagower
Of the Diocese of Aghagower we need say little. It was founded in 441 by St. Patrick who placed over it Bishop Senach; the "Book of Armagh" tells us that bishops dwelt there in the time of the writer (early part of the ninth century). The jurisdiction of Aghagower extended over the "Owles", the territory around Clew Bay, comprising the modern deanery of Westport. But at an early date these churches were absorbed first into the Diocese of Mayo and afterwards into that of Tuam.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Archdiocese of Tuam by Giga-Catholic Information
- Catholic-Hierarchy.org - Diocese Profile
- Profile from CatholicCity.com - info from Catholic Encyclopedia
This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.
