Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath

The Diocese of Meath (Latin: Dioecesis Midensis; Irish: Deoise na Mí) is a Latin Catholic diocese of the Catholic Church that is located in the middle part of Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. Thomas Deenihan has been bishop of the diocese since 2 September 2018.

Diocese of Meath Dioecesis Midensis Deoise na Mí
The Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar
Location
Country	Ireland
Territory	Most of counties Meath, Westmeath part of Offaly along with part of counties Longford, Louth, Dublin and Cavan.
Ecclesiastical province	Province of Armagh
Statistics
Area	1,977 sq mi (5,120 km2)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2013) 303,000 267,831 (88.4%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar
Patron saint	St Finian
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Thomas Deenihan
Metropolitan Archbishop	Eamon Martin
Bishops emeritus	Michael Smith
Map
Website
dioceseofmeath.ie

Geography

Meath diocese covers most of counties Meath and Westmeath, part of Offaly along with part of counties Longford, Louth, Dublin and Cavan. The principal towns are Ashbourne, Bettystown, Drogheda, Dunboyne, Laytown, Kells, Mornington, Mullingar, Navan and Tullamore.

Ecclesiastical history

Early history

Although there had been abbot-bishops of Clonard since the sixth century, the diocese of Clonard proper was not formally established until 1111.^[1][2][3] It was one of the twenty-four dioceses established by the Synod of Rathbreasail. The diocese covered roughly the western part of the Kingdom of Meath with the bishop's seat located at Clonard Abbey.

Lordship of Ireland

During the twelfth century the bishops of Clonard acquired most of Meath as their territory, and frequently used the title "bishop of Meath" or "bishop of the men of Meath". After Bishop Simon Rochfort transferred his seat from Clonard to Trim in 1202, the normal style became the "Bishop of Meath". From 1778 until the late 19th century it had its seat in Navan, County Meath.

19th and 20th centuries

Charles Stewart Parnell's relationship with Mrs Katharine O'Shea led to the Bishop of Meath having a letter read at masses in the diocese in condemnation of the relationship. As Parnell was popular, this caused a backlash which eventually led to the cathedral removing to Mullingar, County Westmeath permanently. The diocesan school, St. Finian's College also moved to Mullingar from Navan.

The diocesan cathedral is Christ the King Cathedral, Mullingar, situated near the town centre.

Ordinaries

Main article: Bishop of Meath

The following is a basic list of bishops of Meath since 1830:^[4][5]

• John Cantwell (1830–1866)
• Thomas McNulty (1866–1898)
• Mathew Gaffney (1899–1906)
• Laurence Gaughran (1906–1928)
• Thomas Mulvany (1929–1943)
• John Francis D'Alton (1943–1946)
• John Anthony Kyne (1947–1966)
• John McCormack (1968–1990)
• Michael Smith (1990–2018)
• Thomas Deenihan (18 June 2018^[6] – present)

Vicars General

The serving Vicars general as of 2020 are Declan Hurley, administrator of Navan parish and Joseph Gallagher, Parish priest of Tullamore.^[7]

See also

• Catholic Church in Ireland
• The Diocese of Meath - a publication on the history of the diocese
• Diocese of Meath and Kildare (Church of Ireland)