In an unprecedented move not witnessed for over nine centuries, two minor dioceses located in the western part of Ireland are set to lose their bishops. This remarkable shift in the structure of the Irish Catholic Church means that control over these dioceses will shift to bishops from neighbouring areas.
Situated within the larger regions of Mayo and Sligo, the small dioceses of Achonry and Killala are home to around 73,000 Catholics and supported by a total of 53 priests across 45 parishes and schools. However, this arrangement is about to change, with Achonry’s Bishop, Paul Dempsey, transitioning to the post of Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin. Additionally, Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin will manage the Achonry diocese.
In a separate development, Bishop John Fleming of Killala, who turned 75 in February 2023, will retire. The Killala diocese will then come under the administration of Archbishop Francis Duffy of Tuam.
These changes, which have been seen as inevitable due to the diminishing number of older Catholic clergy, pare down the number of bishops and dioceses within Irish Catholicism. With its 4.3 million Catholic faithful, Ireland – a modestly sized island – unusually has 26 bishops and a corresponding number of dioceses (including Assistant Bishops).
This differs starkly from larger systems like the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, USA’s biggest Catholic diocese. That jurisdiction, serving over four million faithful, has a single Archbishop and six Auxiliary Bishops at the helm.
The news of the reshuffle involving Achonry and Killala – both subordinate sees of Tuam’s Archdiocese in the west – was publicised this morning by Francis, the Archbishop of Tuam, at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tuam, Co Galway.
Expressing his view this morning at Tuam, Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, the Papal nuncio, speculated that, following thorough review and dialogue, one Bishop might oversee each combination of dioceses, such as Tuam with Killala, and Elphin with Achonry. This scenario aligns with the current arrangement at Galway and Clonfert dioceses.
Should this progression continue, the tied Dioceses might fully converge under their Bishop. Thus, the six Dioceses belonging to the Tuam Province could eventually narrow down to three. Back in 1111, during the Synod of Ráth Breasail, the Irish Catholic Church transitioned from a monastic framework to a diocesan setup and parish-oriented structure that is now widely recognised. This, along with the following synod at Kells in 1152, introduced 36 dioceses to operate under the four Archdioceses of Armagh, Cashel, Dublin, and Tuam. Up until recently, the number of Catholic dioceses amounted to 26. Meanwhile, the Church of Ireland has whittled its dioceses down to 11.