# Bishop of Killala

The Bishop of Killala (Irish: Easpag Chill Ala) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Killala in County Mayo, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bishoprics.

## History

The foundation of the Episcopal see of Killala dates to the time of Saint Patrick who had a church built there (Killala Cathedral), over which he placed one of his disciples, Saint Muredach, as its first bishop. Another of early bishop is believed to have been Saint Cellach of Killala. The see was often called the bishopric of Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe or Tir Amalghaid (Tirawley) in the Irish annals. Although the bishopric was founded in the 5th century, it wasn't until AD 1111 that the Diocese of Killala was established by the Synod of Ráth Breasail. Its boundaries comprises the north-eastern portion of County Mayo and the barony of Tireragh in County Sligo. After Bishop Ó Coineóil was restored in 1439, there were a number of rival candidates who were appointed but never took effect.
After the Reformation, there were parallel apostolic successions: one of the Church of Ireland and the other of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the Church of Ireland, Killala continued as a separate title until 1622 when it was combined with Achonry to form the united bishopric of Killala and Achonry. Under the Church Temporalities (Ireland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 37), the combined sees of Killala and Achonry became part of the archbishopric of Tuam in 1834. On the death of Archbishop Le Poer Trench in 1839, the Ecclesiastical Province of Tuam lost its metropolitan status and became the united bishopric of Tuam, Killala and Achonry in the Ecclesiastical Province of Armagh.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Killala remains a separate title. The bishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of St Muredach in Ballina, County Mayo. The most recent ordinary is the Most Reverend John Fleming, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala, who was appointed by Pope John Paul II on 19 February 2002, received episcopal ordination on 7 April 2002 and retired on 10 April 2024.

## Pre-Reformation bishops

The following is a list of the diocesan bishops of Killala:
Pre-Reformation Bishops of Killala :
| From | Until | Ordinary | Notes |
| unknown | 1137 | Ua Máel Fogmair I | Died in office. |
| unknown | 1151 | Ua Máel Fogmair II | Died in office. |
| bef.1179 | unknown | Ua Máel Fogmair III | Became bishop before 1179. Date of death unknown. |
| 1199 | 1206 | Domnall ua Bécda | Also known as Donatus. Became bishop before 29 March 1199. Died in office. |
| fl. 1208 | unknown | ? Muiredach Ua Dubthaig | Mentioned in the Annals of Loch Cé, 1208, where the context suggests that his see may have been Killala. |
| bef.1224 | 1234 | Aengus Ó Máel Fogmair | Also known as Elias. Became bishop before 1224. Died in office. |
| 1235 | unknown | Donatus | Became bishop in 1235 and recorded fl. 7 September 1244. Date of death unknown. |
| 1253 | 1264 | Seoán Ó Laidig, O.P. | Elected after 22 June 1253 and consecrated on 7 December 1253. Resigned after 21 February 1264 and died in 1275. |
| unknown | 1280 | Seoán Ó Máel Fogmair | Died on 25 October 1280. |
| 1281 | 1306 | Donnchad Ó Flaithbertaig | Also known as Donatus. Elected before 16 April 1281 and received possession of the temporalities on 29 September 1281. Died circa February 1306. |
| 1307 | 1343 | John Tankard | Also known as Seoán Ó Laithim. Formerly Archdeacon of Killala. Elected bishop on 13 June 1306 and received possession of the temporalities after that date, and consecrated circa 1307. Died in office. |
| 1344 | c.1346 | James Bermingham | Formerly a canon of Killala. Elected and consecrated in 1344. Died in office circa 1346. |
| 1347 | 1350 | Uilliam Ó Dubhda | Also known as William O'Dowda. Elected in 1344, appointed on 26 June 1346, and received possession of the temporalities on 25 March 1348. Died in office. |
| 1351 | 1383 | Robert Elyot | Formerly Bishop of Waterford. Appointed on 8 June 1351. Deprived by Antipope Clement VII before 17 January 1383. Died before January 1390. |
| 1351 | 1383 | (Brian mac Donchadha Ó Dubha) | Elected by the Dean and Chapter, but it does not appear to be confirmed or consecrated. |
| 1381 | 1381 | (Thomas Lodowys, O.P.) | Appointed on 9 August 1381, but did not take office. Died towards the end of 1388 |
| 1383 | unknown | Conchobhar Ó Coineóil | Also known as Cornelius. Formerly a canon of Tuam. Appointed by Antipope Clement VII before 19 February 1383. Not known when his episcopate ended, but died in 1422 or 1423. |
| 1390 | 1398 | Thomas Orwell, O.F.M. | Also known as Thomas Horwell. Appointed on 31 January 1390. Acted as a suffragan bishop in the dioceses of Ely and Norwich 1389–1406. Translated to Dromore before November 1398. |
| 1398 | 1400 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1400 | 1425 | Tomás mac Uilliam Duibh Bairéad | Also known as Thomas Barrett or 'an t-easbog Tóimineach'. Appointed before 14 April 1400 and received possession of the temporalities on 12 March 1401. Died in office on 25 January 1425. |
| c. 1403 | c. 1403 | (Muircheartach Cléirach mac Donnchadha Ó Dubhda) | Elected circa 1403, but was never consecrated, and died later in the same year. |
| 1425 | 1431/32 | Fearghal Ó Martain, O.E.S.A. | Appointed on 26 September 1425 and consecrated on 11 November 1427. Died in office on 30 January 1431 or 1432. |
| 1431 | 1431 | Thaddaeus 'Mac Creagh' | Appointed, by provision of the Pope; and was pardoned for accepting the appointment, and was admitted to all the privileges of an English subject, by King Henry VI in September 1431. |
| 1432 | 1436 | Brian Ó Coineóil | Also known as Bernardus. Appointed on 30 January 1432. Deposed in 1436. |
| 1436 | 1436 | Maghnus Ó Dubhda | Formerly Archdeacon of Killala. Elected bishop in 1436. Died in office on 22 February 1436. |
| 1436 | 1439 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1439 | 1461 | Brian Ó Coineóil (again) | Restored in 1439. Murdered on 31 May 1461 by the son of Bishop Maghnus Ó Dubhda. |
| 1447 | 1447 | (Robert Barrett) | Provost of Killala. Appointed bishop on 3 July 1447, but did not take effect. |
| 1452 | 1452 | (Ruaidhrí Bairéad, O.E.S.A.) | Also known as Rory Barrett. Appointed on 3 March 1452, but did not take effect. Died after May 1458. |
| 1453 | 1453 | (Thomas) | Appointed before 7 January 1453, but did not take effect. |
| 1459 | 1459 | (Richard Viel, O.Carth.) | Prior of Witham Friary. Appointed on 17 October 1459, but did not take effect. |
| 1461 | 1467 | Donatus Ó Conchobhair, O.P. | Formerly a friar of Rathfran (a friary north of Killala). Appointed on 2 December 1461. Died in office after 1467. |
| 1467 | 1470 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1470 | unknown | Thomas Barrett, O.S.A. | Also known as Tomas Bairéad. Formerly a canon of Crossmolina. Appointed bishop on 9 February 1470. Acted as a suffragan bishop in the English Diocese of Ely in 1497. Died after 1497. |
| 1487 | 1490 | Seaán Ó Caissín, O.F.M. | Also known as John O'Cassin and Johannes de Tuderto. Appointed bishop on 18 January 1487. Resigned in 1490. |
| 1490 | 1500 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1500 | 1505 | Thomas Clerke | Also known as Thomas Cleragh. Formerly Archdeacon of Sodor (Isle of Man). Appointed bishop on 4 May 1500. Resigned in 1505, becoming Rector of Chedsey in Somerset, where died there in 1508. |
| 1505 | 1508 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1508 | bef.1513 | Malachias Ó Clúmháin | Formerly a priest of the Diocese of Clonfert. Appointed on 12 February 1506 and consecrated on 3 September 1508. Died in office before 1513. |
| Source(s): ||||

## Bishops during the Reformation

Bishops of Killala during the Reformation :
| From | Until | Ordinary | Notes |
| 1513 | 1545 | Richard Barrett | Also known as Risdéard Bairéad. Formerly a canon of Killala. Appointed bishop by Pope Julius II on 7 January 1513. Not known if Barrett acknowledged Royal supremacy. Died in office before 6 November 1545. |
| 1545 | 1569 | Redmond O'Gallagher | Appointed by Pope Paul III on 6 November 1545 and presumably recognized by the crown in the reign of Queen Mary I. Translated to the Roman Catholic see of Derry by Pope Pius V on 22 June 1569. Described by the papal legate Fr David Wolfe SJ as 'as strong as [a] bulwark of the Bride of Christ' in an account of approximately 1573 |
| Sources: ||||

## Post-Reformation bishops
### Church of Ireland succession

Church of Ireland Bishops of Killala :
| From | Until | Ordinary | Notes |
| 1569 | 1591 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1591 | 1607 | Owen O'Connor | Formerly Dean of Achonry. Nominated on 18 October 1591 and consecrated before 25 March 1592. Died in office on 14 January 1607. |
| 1607 | 1613 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1613 | 1622 | The see was granted in commendam to Miler Magrath, Archbishop of Cashel. | The see was granted in commendam to Miler Magrath, Archbishop of Cashel. |
| 1622 | 1834 | Part of the united bishopric of Killala and Achonry | Part of the united bishopric of Killala and Achonry |
| 1834 | 1839 | Part of the archbishopric of Tuam | Part of the archbishopric of Tuam |
| Since 1839 | Since 1839 | Part of the united bishopric of Tuam, Killala and Achonry | Part of the united bishopric of Tuam, Killala and Achonry |
| Source(s): ||||

### Roman Catholic succession

Roman Catholic Bishops of Killala :
| From | Until | Ordinary | Notes |
| 1570 | 1580 | Donat O'Gallagher, O.F.M. | Also known as Donagh O'Gallagher. Appointed on 4 September 1570 and consecrated on 5 November 1570. Translated to Down and Connor on 23 March 1580 |
| 1580 | 1583 | John O'Cahasy, O.F.M. | Appointed on 27 July 1580. Died in office in October 1583. |
| 1583 | 1591 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1591 | unknown | (Miler Cawell, vicar apostolic) | Appointed vicar apostolic by papal brief on 15 May 1591 (N.S.). |
| 1629 | unknown | (Andrew Lynch, vicar apostolic) | Appointed vicar apostolic by papal brief on 28 November 1629 (N.S.). |
| 1645 | 1661 | Francis Kirwan | Appointed by papal bull on 6 February 1645 (N.S.) and consecrated at Paris on 7 May 1645 (N.S.). Returned to Ireland, but following the fall of Galway in 1651, he hid from Parliamentarian troops for many months, eventually imprisoned in Galway and then banished to France in August 1655. Died in exile at Rennes on 27 August 1661. |
| 1661 | 1671 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1671 | unknown | (John Burke, vicar apostolic) | Also recorded as John de Burgo. Appointed vicar apostolic on 16 May 1671 (N.S.) and papal brief issued on 30 June 1671 (N.S.). |
| 1676 | unknown | (John Dooley, vicar apostolic) | Appointed vicar apostolic on 22 April 1676 (N.S.). |
| 1695 | 1695 | (Ambrose O'Madden) | Nominated to be bishop of Killala, and apostolic administrator of Kilmacduagh, on 30 August 1695 (N.S.), but did not take effect. Later appointed Bishop of Kilmacduagh in 1703, but remained unconsecrated. Finally, appointed Bishop of Clonfert in 1713 and consecrated in 1714. |
| 1695 | 1703 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1703 | 1735 | Thaddeus Francis O'Rourke, O.F.M. | Also known as Tadhg O'Rourke. Appointed on 15 November 1703 (N.S.) and again on 15 March 1707 (N.S.). Consecrated on 24 August 1707. Died in office before September 1735. |
| 1735 | 1738 | Peter Archdekin, O.F.M. | Appointed by papal brief on 30 September 1735 (N.S.) and consecrated on 5 February 1736 (N.S.). Died in office in 1738. |
| 1739 | 1743 | Bernard O'Rourke | Appointed by papal brief on 24 April 1739 (N.S.). Died in office before 8 July 1743 (N.S.). |
| 1743 | 1748 | John Brett, O.P. | Appointed by papal brief on 27 July 1743 (N.S.) and consecrated on 8 September 1743 (N.S.). Translated to Elphin on 28 August 1748 (N.S.). |
| 1749 | 1749 | Michael Skerrett | Appointed by papal brief on 23 January 1749 (N.S.). Translated to Tuam on 5 May 1749 (N.S.). |
| 1749 | 1760 | Bonaventura MacDonnell, O.F.M. | Appointed by papal brief on 7 May 1749 (N.S.). Died in office before 16 September 1760. |
| 1760 | 1776 | Philip Phillips | Appointed by papal brief on 24 November 1760 (N.S.). Translated to Achonry on 22 June 1776. |
| 1776 | 1779 | Alexander Irwin | Appointed on 16 June 1776 and papal brief issued on 1 July 1776. Died in office before 25 September 1779. |
| 1779 | c. 1812 | Dominic Bellew | Appointed on 5 December 1779, papal brief issued on 18 December 1779, and consecrated in 1780. Died in office circa 1812. |
| 1812 | 1814 | See vacant | See vacant |
| 1814 | 1834 | Peter Waldron | Appointed on 25 September 1814, papal brief issued on 4 October 1814, and consecrated on 24 February 1815. Died in office on 20 May 1834. |
| 1834 | 1834 | John MacHale | Appointed coadjutor bishop (with right of succession) on 20 February 1825, papal brief issued on 8 March 1825, and consecrated on 5 June 1825. Succeeded diocesan bishop on 27 May 1834. Translated to Tuam on 21 July 1834. |
| 1835 | 1847 | Francis Joseph O'Finan, O.P. | Appointed on 1 February 1835, papal brief issued on 13 February 1835, and consecrated 21 March 1835. Allowed to retain the title Bishop of Killala on 19 November 1838, but was deprived jurisdiction of the Diocese of Killala. Died on 27 November 1847. |
| 1848 | 1873 | Tommaso Feeny | Also known as Thomas Feeny. Appointed Papal Administrator of Killala on 18 July 1839 and consecrated Titular Bishop of Ptolemais in Phoenicia on 13 October 1839. Appointed Diocesan Bishop of Killala on 12 December 1847 and papal brief issued on 11 January 1848. Died in office on 9 August 1873. |
| 1873 | 1893 | Hugh Conway | Appointed coadjutor bishop (with right of succession) on 21 November 1871 and consecrated on 4 February 1872. Succeeded diocesan bishop on 9 July 1873. Died in office on 23 April 1893. |
| 1893 | 1911 | John Conmy | Appointed coadjutor bishop (with right of succession) on 25 May or June 1892 and consecrated on 24 August 1892. Succeeded diocesan bishop on 23 April 1893. Died in office on 26 August 1911. |
| 1911 | 1950 | James Naughton | Appointed on 27 November 1911 and consecrated on 7 January 1912. Died in office on 16 February 1950. |
| 1950 | 1970 | Patrick O'Boyle | Appointed on 12 December 1950 and consecrated on 25 February 1951. Retired on 12 October 1970 and died on 25 November 1971. |
| 1970 | 1987 | Thomas McDonnell | Appointed on 12 October 1970 and consecrated on 13 December 1970. Retired on 21 January 1987 and died on 9 December 1987. |
| 1987 | 2002 | Thomas Anthony Finnegan | Appointed on 3 May 1987 and consecrated on 12 July 1987. Retired on 19 February 2002 and died on 25 December 2011. |
| 2002 | 2024 | John Fleming | Appointed on 19 February 2002 and consecrated on 7 April 2002. Retired on 10 April 2024. |
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