St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina

Last updated

St Muredach's Cathedral
BallinaCathedral.jpg
St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina
54°06′46″N9°09′02″W / 54.1129°N 9.1505°W / 54.1129; -9.1505
Location Ballina, County Mayo
Country Ireland
Denomination Roman Catholic
History
Dedication Muiredach of Killala
Consecrated 1845
Architecture
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 1827
Completed1875
Specifications
Capacity240,000
Height600M
Administration
Province Tuam
Archdiocese Tuam
Diocese Killala
Clergy
Bishop(s) John Fleming
Laity
Director of music [1]

St Muredach's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala in Ireland. It is located on the east bank of the River Moy in Ballina, County Mayo. It is also the parish church of the parish of Kilmoremoy.

Contents

It is a detached six-bay double-height building on a cruciform plan comprising a four-bay double-height nave which opens into single-bay double-height transepts all centred on a single-bay double-height chancel. [2]

The cathedral's construction was initiated by Bishop John MacHale (1791–1881) who served as the Bishop of Killala from 1825 to 1834 and the completion of the cathedral in 1834 coincided with his translation to the Archdiocese of Tuam.

The spire was completed in 1855 to the designs of the celebrated architect James Joseph McCarthy and further embellishment continued throughout the nineteenth century. [3]

The cathedral is situated in the townland of Abbeyhalfquarter. When built, it was in County Sligo, but since the 1898 revisions of county boundaries, it has been in County Mayo.

Parish priests

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Mayo</span> County in Ireland

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority. The population was 137,231 at the 2022 census. The boundaries of the county, which was formed in 1585, reflect the Mac William Íochtar lordship at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballycastle, County Mayo</span> Village in Connacht, Ireland

Ballycastle is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, situated northwest from Ballina, near Mayo's north coast. It lies on the edge of the Mayo Gaeltacht.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killala</span> Village in County Mayo, Ireland

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, which contains a number of ancient forts. Historically associated with Saint Patrick, and the seat of an episcopal see for several centuries, evidence of Killala's ecclesiastical past include a 12th-century round tower and the 17th century Cathedral Church of St Patrick. As of the 2016 census of Ireland, the village had a population of 562. The village is in a civil parish of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossmolina</span> Town in County Mayo, Ireland

Crossmolina is a town in the historical barony of Tyrawley in County Mayo, Ireland, as well as the name of the civil parish and Catholic parish in which the town is situated. The town sits on the River Deel near the northern shore of Lough Conn. Crossmolina is about 9 km (5.6 mi) west of Ballina on the N59 road. Surrounding the town, there are a number of agriculturally important townlands, including Enaghbeg, Rathmore, and Tooreen.

Bangor Erris is a town in Kiltane parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland with a population of over 300. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is a "gateway" to the Erris Peninsula linking Belmullet with Ballina and Westport. It is located at the foot of the "Bangor Trail" a 22-mile mountain pass across the Nephin Beg Mountain Range to Newport. Approximately 2 km away is Carrowmore Lake, Bangor is a centre for wild atlantic salmon and sea trout fishing. Bangor Erris is located in the Parish of Kiltane. Due west from Bangor are the towns of Belmullet, Geesala, Mulranny, Westport and Doolough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John MacHale</span> Catholic bishop (1789 (1791?) – 1881)

John MacHale was the Irish Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and Irish nationalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballina railway station</span> Railway station in County Mayo, Ireland

Ballina railway station serves the town of Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. The station is the terminus of the Ballina branch line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop of Killala</span> Catholic episcopal title in Ireland

The Bishop of Killala 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala</span> Catholic diocese in Ireland

The Diocese of Killala is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Connacht; the western province of Ireland. It is in the Metropolitan Province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. As of 2024, the seat of the Diocese is “Sede Vacante” meaning there is no current permanent Bishop appointed for this Diocese

Thomas Anthony Finnegan was the Bishop of Killala, County Mayo, Ireland from 1987 to 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry</span> Anglican diocese of the Church of Ireland

The Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry is a former diocese in the Church of Ireland located in Connacht; the western province of Ireland. It was in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. Its geographical remit included County Mayo and part of counties Galway and Sligo. In 2022, the diocese was amalgamated into the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muiredach of Killala</span>

Saint Muiredach mac Echdach, also known as Murtagh, was the founding Bishop of Killala, Ireland in the 6th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Muredach's College</span> Secondary school in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland

St Muredach's College is an all-boys secondary school on the banks of the River Moy in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland. It was founded in 1906 to provide a Catholic education for boys in the Killala Diocese. The school building, which was designed by William Henry Byrne, is included on the Record of Protected Structures maintained by Mayo County Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumin of Mayo</span> Irish saint

Saint Cuimín is an Irish saint associated with the parish of Kilcummin in the barony of Tirawley, County Mayo. Kilcummin, a headland to the west of Killala Bay, preserves the remains of a religious site, with a church of early date and a graveyard.

The Newman Institute is a charitable organisation based in Ballina, County Mayo in Ireland. Operating in conjunction with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala, one of its stated aims is to "provide an opportunity for people to learn more about their faith through accredited and non-accredited faith formation courses". The Newman Institute was founded in 1998 by the then Bishop of Killala Thomas Finnegan. It is based in a building, near St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina. which was officially opened in October 2010 by then President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Patrick's Cathedral, Killala</span> Church in Co Mayo, Ireland

St Patrick's Cathedral, Killala is one of five cathedral churches in the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Fleming (bishop)</span> Irish Roman Catholic prelate

John Fleming is a former Irish Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Killala between 2002 and 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballina, County Mayo</span> Town in County Mayo, Ireland

Ballina is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west. The town occupies two baronies; Tirawley on the west bank of the Moy River, and Tireragh, a barony within County Sligo, on its east banks. At the 2022 census, the population of Ballina was 10,556.

Patrick O'Boyle was an Irish prelate who served as Bishop of Killala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe</span> Anglican diocese of the Church of Ireland

The Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe is a diocese of the Church of Ireland that is located in the west of Ireland. The diocese was formed by a merger of the former Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry and the former Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe in 2022, after the retirement of the separate dioceses' bishops and the appointment of Michael Burrows as bishop of the united diocese. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. It is one of the eleven Church of Ireland dioceses that cover the whole of Ireland. The largest diocese by area in the Church of Ireland, it covers all of counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Limerick and Mayo, plus parts of counties Cork, Sligo, Roscommon, Offaly, Laois and Tipperary.

References

  1. "Archbishop John MacHale". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  2. "Saint Muredach's Catholic Cathedral, Cathedral Road, Abbeyhalfquarter, Ballina originally Ardnaree, Mayo". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  3. "Co. Mayo, Ballina, Cathedral of St Muiredach (RC)". Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940. Retrieved 6 November 2022.