Clonfert Diocese

Galway

The diocese of CLONFERT originated in the monastery founded by St. Brendan, who was its first abbot, and in whose time the church, previously famous for its seven altars, became a cathedral. St. Brendan, as are indeed many of his successors, is by various writers styled indifferently abbot or bishop, though some contend that St. Moena, whom St. Brendan, on his abdication, appointed his successor, and whom he survived, was the first to whom the latter title was given. St. Moena died in 571 ; and St. Brendan who was the founder of many other abbeys, and is said to have presided over 3000 monks, died in 577, at Enachdune, whence his remains were removed to Clonfert and interred in the abbey.

Of the successors of. St. Moena, till after the arrival of the English in the reign of Hen II., very little is recorded. The abbey was frequently plundered and burned by the Danes. And in 845, Turgesius, at the head of a party of those ravagers, not only burned and destroyed the houses in the town, but reduced the churches and conventual buildings to ashes. After the death of Bishop Thomas O'Kelley, in 1263, the see remained vacant till 1266, when John the pope's nuncio, and an Italian, was appointed bishop ; and on his translation to the arch-bishoprick of Benevento, in Italy, the temporalities were seized by the escheator of the Crown, but were restored the same year to Robert, a monk of Christchurch, Canterbury, who was made bishop by the provision of Pope Clement IV. John was a great benefactor to the cathedral, and is supposed to have erected and embellished the west front, which has been erroneously referred to a much later period. Roland Linch, who succeeded to the see of Kilmacduagh in 1587, received the see of Clonfert, vacant by the death of Stephen Kerovan, to hold in commendam ; since which time the two dioceses have constantly remained united under one bishop. This bishop, however, greatly diminished the revenues of the united sees, by granting the possessions of Kilmacduagh at a nominal rent. Bishop Robert Dawson, who succeeded to the prelacy in 1627, repaired or rather rebuilt and beautified the episcopal palace of Clonfert. Bishop Wolley succeeded in 1664, and during his prelacy repaired the cathedral of Clonfert ; but after his death, in 1684, the episcopal revalues were seized into the hands of Jas. II. and paid over to the Roman Catholic prelates, and the see remained vacant till after the Revolution, when William Fitzgerald was advanced polite prelacy by letters patent of William and Mary. dated July 1st, 1691. From this time a regular succession of bishops has been invariably maintained in the see, which, with the united see of Kilmacduagh, continued to form one diocese, suffragan to the archbishop of Tuam, till December, 1833, when, on the death of the bishop of Killaloe, it was, under the provisions of the Church Temporalities act of the 3rd of Wm. IV., united to those of Killaloe and Kilfenora, and the estates of the diocese became vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

It is one of the six dioceses that constitute the episcopal province of Tuam, and comprehends part of the county of Roscommon, a large portion of the county of Galway, and one parish on the east side of the Shannon, in Kings county (Offaly). It is 37 Irish miles in length and 32, in breadth, and comprises an estimated superficies of 250,000 acres, of which 17,500 are in Roscommon, 193,100 in Galway, and 4400 in Kings county (Offaly). The lands belonging to the see comprise 7794 statute acres, of which 3844 are profitable and the remainder unprofitable land ; and the gross account of its annual revenue, on an average of three years ending with 1831, was £2385. 8s. 9.75 d.

The chapter consists of a dean; an archdeacon ; the eight prebendaries of Lenore, Annacalla, Kilconnell, Killaspicmoylan, Kilteskill, Droughta, Ballynoulter, and Kilquane ; and a sacrist. There are neither canons nor vicars choral, and no member of the chapter has either cure of souls or official residence. The income of the chapter, with the exception of that of the dean, arises entirely from portions of tithes in various parishes; the dean's income is £457. 12s. 7 d., arising from portions of tithes in 23 parishes, and lands adjoining the village of Kilconnell, containing 30a. lr. 19p., let on lease at £20 per annum, with renewal fines of £10 every three years. There is no economy fund at the disposal of the chapter; the repairs of the cathedral consequently devolve upon the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who have recently granted £484. 15s. for that purpose.

The consistorial court of the united dioceses of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh is held at Loughrea; its officers are a vicar-general, a registrar, and a proctor ; the registrar is also keeper of the records, consisting of copies of leases of the see lands from 1724 to the present time, wills, and deeds of administration. The total number of parishes in the diocese is 38, included in 11 unions, which are either rectories and vicarages, or vicarages of which the rectorial tithes are partly appropriate to the see or to members of the chapter. The total number of Benefices, including dignities, is 22, of which one is in the gift of the Crown, 18 in the patronage of the Bishop, and 3 in that of the Marquess of Clanricarde; the number of churches is 13, and of glebe-houses, 8.

In the Roman Catholic divisions this diocese is one of the seven suffragan to Tuam, and comprises 23 parochial unions or districts, containing 44 chapels served by 23 parish priests and 11 coadjutors or curates. The bishop's parish is Loughrea.