| Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Dioecesis Ardachadensis et Cluanensis Deoise Ardach agus Chluain Mhic Nóis |
|
|---|---|
St. Mel’s Cathedral, Longford |
|
| Location | |
| Country | Republic of Ireland |
| Territory | Most of counties Longford and Leitrim and parts of counties Cavan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath |
| Ecclesiastical province | Province of Armagh |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 941 sq mi (2,440 km2) |
| Population - Catholics |
71,806 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | United 30 May 1756 |
| Cathedral | St. Mel's Cathedral, Longford |
| Patron saint | St Mel |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Pope Benedict XVI |
| Bishop | Colm O'Reilly, Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Seán Baptist Brady, Cardinal, Archbishop of Armagh |
| Map | |
| Province of Armagh (blank).png The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, shown in orange, within the Province of Armagh |
|
| Website | |
| ardaghdiocese.org | |
The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise (Irish: Deoise Ardach agus Chluain Mhic Nóis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland.
Contents |
The diocese is spread over parts of seven counties in the centre of Ireland. It includes almost all of County Longford, half of County Leitrim and parts of counties Westmeath, Offaly, Cavan, Roscommon and Sligo. It covers an area of 941 square miles (2,440 km2). At the end of 1996, the population was 70,748, of which 69,612 were Catholic. It has 64 priests at present, and a total of 41 parishes.
The diocese of Ardagh, as distinct from that of Clonmacnoise, with which it is now united, takes its name from the village of Ardagh, now a picturesque village in County Longford.
It is known that Saint Patrick came to Ardagh and founded a church there from two of our earliest sources of information about his life, the Memoir of Tirechan in the Book of Armagh and the Tripartite Life. The Diocese of Ardagh has as its Patron and first Bishop one of St. Patrick's immediate entourage, his friend, and, according to some, his nephew, Saint Mel. Thus the history of Ardagh goes back to the dawn of Christianity in Ireland.
The most celebrated monastery for many centuries in the Ardagh part of the Diocese was that of Inchcleraun (Inis Clothrann in Irish in Lough Ree. The island is supposed to have got its name from Clothra, sister of Maedhbh, the famous Queen of Connaught. Sometimes the island is referred to as Inis Dhiarmada, from the saint who founded the monastery. Diarmuid is said to have been a friend and spiritual director to St. Ciarán of Clonmacnois.
Ardagh was erected as a Diocese by the Synod of Kells (1152) and was made a suffragan of Armagh. In the thirteenth century a dispute arose as to whether it was subject to Tuam or Armagh. Pope Gregory IX ordered an investigation in 1235 and it was resolved in favour of Armagh.
Of the fifty-nine listed Bishops of Ardagh, two were Franciscans, two Augustinians, one a Cistercian and one a Vincentian.
For long periods in the seventeenth century and early eighteenth century, the diocese was ruled by Vicars Apostolic. The diocese featured in the ministry of St. Oliver Plunkett whose relative, Dr. Patrick Plunkett, a Cistercian, was bishop of the diocese from 1647 to 1669. Evidence of the involvement of St. Oliver is to be seen in the register of priests from 1704. Several of these were ordained by him.
It was proposed in 1709 that the dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise should be united, however, nothing further came of it. On 30 May 1756, Stephen MacEgan, Bishop of Meath, who had been administering Clonmanoise, died. On his death the union of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise was carried into effect, and Augustine Cheevers, who had been Bishop of Ardagh since 1751, became the first bishop of the united diocese. Shortly afterwards Cheevers was translated to Meath on 7 August 1756 and was replaced by Anthony Blake.[1]
On Christmas Day 2009, St Mel's Cathedral in Longford was destroyed by fire. Bishop O'Reilly said that the building is "just a shell" and "burned out from end to end". The bishop said construction on the Cathedral began in 1840 and he described it as a flagship Cathedrals of the midlands. It is unclear what caused the fire to start at this time.[2]
The following is a basic list of the bishops of the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise.[3][4]
|
|
The following are the current parishes in the diocese (official names in italics where they differ from the currently-used names)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
|
||||||||||||||
