1.
St Mel's cathedral, Longford
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The Cathedral Church of St Mel is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, located in the town of Longford in Ireland. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Mél, who came to Ireland with Saint Patrick, on Christmas Day 2009 the cathedral was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of the morning. The restored cathedral re-opened in December 2014, the cathedral is a Neoclassical stone building, at the north-east side of the town. It was begun in 1840 to the design of Joseph B, keane, with the foundation stone lain by the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Dr. William OHiggins, on 19 May 1840. Work was then delayed by the arrival of the Great Famine, rev. John Kilduff, on 29 September 1856. The roof is supported by 24 limestone columns quarried at nearby Newtowncashel, the 1860 belfry was designed by John Bourke, and the 1889 portico was designed by George Ashlin. The cathedral was consecrated on 19 May 1893. Harry Clarke studios designed the glass windows in the transepts. Ray Carroll designed the 1975 furnishings including The Second Coming tapestry behind the bishops throne, imogen Stuart designed The Holy Ghost above the baptismal font. Just after 5 am on 25 December 2009 a fire began at the back of the building, freezing weather disrupted attempts by firefighters to put out the blaze as their pipes were frozen solid, causing the fire to go on for several hours. At one point flames were reported jumping 18 m into the air, however, there were rescue efforts underway to try to save the steeple before it too was destroyed. As a result of the fire, Longford parishioners held their Christmas Day masses in the local Temperance Hall, the estimated cost of the damage to the cathedral was in the region of €30 million. Bishop OReilly committed to rebuilding it, St Mels Crosier, a relic dating from over a thousand years ago, was destroyed in the fire. Gardaí began investigating the cathedral on 6 January 2010 and they determined two days later that it had not been arson. Mass moved from the Temperance Hall to the hall and chapel of St Mels College while the cathedral was being restored. Bishop OReilly issued a letter to his 41 parishes, I am now writing the kind of letter that I never dreamt I would need to write, I write this letter to acknowledge that we must stay together in this time of sorrow and bewilderment. I also write to bring solace to the many who are quite truly heart-broken. On 18 September 2011 the cathedral ruins were opened to the public for the first time since the devastating Christmas Day fire, the cause of the inferno was accidental
2.
Republic of Ireland
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Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the part of the island. The state shares its land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint Georges Channel to the south-east, and it is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, the state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It was officially declared a republic in 1949, following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union, after joining the EEC, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity between the years of 1995 and 2007, which known as the Celtic Tiger period. This was halted by a financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the EU in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending league tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked as the joint sixth most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index and it also performs well in several national performance metrics, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. Ireland is a member of the European Union and is a member of the Council of Europe. The 1922 state, comprising 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, was styled, the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that the name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland. Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 states, It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland. The 1948 Act does not name the state as Republic of Ireland, because to have done so would have put it in conflict with the Constitution. The government of the United Kingdom used the name Eire, and, from 1949, Republic of Ireland, for the state, as well as Ireland, Éire or the Republic of Ireland, the state is also referred to as the Republic, Southern Ireland or the South. In an Irish republican context it is referred to as the Free State or the 26 Counties. From the Act of Union on 1 January 1801, until 6 December 1922, during the Great Famine, from 1845 to 1849, the islands population of over 8 million fell by 30%
3.
County Longford
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County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is in the province of Leinster and it is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the authority for the county. The population of the county is 40,810 according to the 2016 census, with an area of 1,091 km2 and a population of 40,810, Longford is the fourth smallest of the 32 counties in area and second smallest in terms of population. It is also the fourth smallest of Leinster’s 12 counties by size and it borders counties Cavan to the northeast, Westmeath to the east and southeast, Roscommon to the west and southwest and Leitrim to the northwest. Most of Longford lies in the basin of the River Shannon with Lough Ree forming much of the western boundary. The north-eastern part of the county, however, drains towards the River Erne, lakeland, bogland, pastureland, and wetland typify Longfords generally low-lying landscapes, the highest point of the county is in the north-west - Carn Clonhugh near Drumlish at 279 m. Cairn Hill is the site of a television broadcasting to much of the Irish midlands. In the list of Irish counties by highest point, Longford ranks third lowest, only Meath and Westmeath have lower maxima. In general, the third of the county is hilly, forming part of the drumlin belt. The southern parts of the county are low-lying, with areas of raised bogland. The River Shannon marks the border with Roscommon while the Rivers Inny. The Royal Canal flows through the south of the county terminating at Cloondara at the Shannon, the canal was refurbished and reopened in 2010. Notable lakes include Kinale Lough and Lough Gowna on the Cavan border, Lough Forbes on the Roscommon border and of course Lough Ree in the south where Longford, Westmeath and Roscommon meet. With a population of 10,310, Longford Town is the largest town in the county followed by Ballymahon, Edgeworthstown, Lanesborough, the county is one half of the Dáil Éireann constituency of Longford–Westmeath. The territory now comprising County Longford was traditionally known as Annaly, Tethbae or Teffia, after the Norman invasion of the 12th century, Annaly was granted to Hugh de Lacy as part of the Liberty of Meath. Monastic remains at Ardagh, Abbeylara, Abbeyderg, Abbeyshrule, Inchcleraun Island in Lough Ree, however, by the 14th century, English influence in Ireland was on the wane. The town of Granard was sacked by Edward Bruces army in 1315, the county was officially shired in 1586 in the reign of Elizabeth I from the northern portion of Westmeath, but English control was not fully established until the aftermath of the Nine Years War
4.
County Leitrim
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County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Border Region and it is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the authority for the county, which had a population of 31,972 according to the 2016 census. Leitrim is the 26th largest of the 32 counties by area and it is the smallest of Connacht’s 5 counties in both size and population. Leitrim is bordered by the counties of Donegal to the north, Fermanagh to the north-east, Cavan to the east, Longford to the south, Roscommon to the south-west, Fermanagh is in Northern Ireland while all the other neighbouring counties are within the Republic. There are five historic baronies in the county, while baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003 and they are Carrigallen, Drumahaire, Leitrim, Mohill and Rosclogher. Leitrim has the shortest length of coastline of any Irish county that touches the sea, at Tullaghan, the coastline is only 2.5 kilometres long. The Shannon is linked to the Erne via the Shannon-Erne Waterway, notable lakes include, Lough Melvin Lough Allen Lough Gill is to the northwest of Dromahair, Parkes Castle is located on the lake shore. Belhavel Lough is also located in Dromahair, within the parish of Killargue, Lough Scur, and Saint Johns Lough, on the Shannon–Erne Waterway. Other lakes include Upper Lough MacNean, Glencar Lough, Glenade Lough, Garadice Lough, Rinn Lough, Lough Scannal, Lough Erril, in ancient times Leitrim formed the western half of the Kingdom of Breifne. This region was influenced by the ORourke family of Dromahair. The Normans invaded in the 13th century and occupied the south of Breifne, much of the county was confiscated from its owners in 1620 and given to Villiers and Hamilton. Their initial objective was to plant the county with English settlers, English Deputy Sir John Perrot had ordered the legal establishment of Leitrim County a half-century prior, in 1565. Perrott also demarcated the current county borders around 1583, many of these great forests were denuded for the making for Charcoal for Iron works around Slieve Anierin. The population subsequently continued to decrease due to emigration, after many years, the wounds of such rapid population decline have finally started to heal. Agriculture improved over the last century, Leitrim now has the fastest growing population in Connacht. Working of the rich deposits of iron ore began in the 15th century
5.
County Cavan
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County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region and it is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny. Cavan County Council is the authority for the county, which has a population of 76,092 according to the 2016 census. Cavan borders six counties, Leitrim to the west, Fermanagh and Monaghan to the north, Meath to the south-east, Longford to the south-west, Cavan shares a 70 km border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. Cavan is the 19th largest of the 32 counties in area and it is also the sixth largest of Ulsters nine counties in size and the seventh largest by population. There are eight historic baronies in the county, while baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for many administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, the county is characterised by drumlin countryside dotted with many lakes and hills. The north-western area of the county is sparsely populated and mountainous, the Breifne mountains contain the highest point, Cuilcagh, at 665 metres. Cavan is the source of many rivers, Shannon Pot on the slopes of Cuilcagh is the source of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland at 386 km. The River Erne is a river which rises from Beaghy Lough. The Glyde and the Owenroe also source in Cavan, Cavan is known as The Lakeland County and is reputed to contain 365 lakes. At 18.8 km2, Lough Sheelin is the countys largest lake, it is situated in the south of the county, a large complex of lakes form in the north and west of Cavan into designated Specially Protected Areas, an example is Lough Oughter. Other important wildlife protected lakes such as Lough Gowna and Lough Ramor are in the south, Cavan has a mainly hilly landscape and contains just under 7,000 hectares of forested area,3. 6% of Cavans total land area. The county contains forests such as Bellamont Forest near Cootehill, Killykeen Forest Park at Lough Oughter, Dún na Rí Forest Park, met Éireann records the climate data for Cavan from their station at Ballyhaise. Under Köppen climate classification, Cavan experiences a temperate oceanic climate with cold winters, mild humid summers. The average maximum January temperature is 8.2 °C, while the average maximum July temperature is 19.8 °C. On average, the sunniest months are May and June, while the wettest month is October with 104.4 mm of rain, in 2010, record low temperatures for November, December and January were recorded in Cavan. In late December, the temperature at the fell to −15.4 °C
6.
County Offaly
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County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was known as Kings County. Offaly County Council is the authority for the county. The population of the county is 78,003 according to the 2016 census, Offaly is the 18th largest of Irelands 32 counties by area and the 24th largest in terms of population. It is the fifth largest of Leinsters 12 counties by size and it is the largest county by area and the third largest by population in the Midlands. Tullamore is the county town and largest town in Offaly and is the 30th largest in Ireland, Offaly borders seven counties, Galway, Roscommon, Tipperary, Laois, Westmeath, Kildare and Meath. The Slieve Bloom Mountains are in the part of the county on the border with County Laois. Offaly has the 24th highest county peak in Ireland, the highest point is Arderin in the Slieve Blooms at 527 metres. The Slieve Bloom Mountains contain the countys highest points including Stillbrook Hill and Wolftrap Mountain which are the countys second, Croghan Hill rises from the Bog of Allen and is located in northern Offaly. Although only 234 metres high, it is known for its view over the surrounding area, the floodplain of the River Shannon is in the north-western part of the county. The River Camcor runs through the town of Birr and is a Wild Trout Conservation Area, the River Brosna runs across the county from Lough Owel in Westmeath to Shannon Harbour. Silver River runs through towns in the south of the county before joining Brosna near the town of Ferbane. The Grand Canal also runs across the county from Edenderry on the north-east to Shannon Harbour before joining the Shannon, the county contains many small lakes from Lake Boora to Pallas Lake and it also contains 42 hectares of swamp. There are a number Eskers in the landscape including Esker Riada. Offaly largely comprises a landscape and is known for its extensive bog. The county consists of approximately 42,000 hectares of peatlands which is 21% of Offalys total land area, Offaly contains approximately 9,000 hectares of forest and woodland area, which only amounts to 4. 5% of the countys land area. This includes woodlands within the Slieve Blooms and the Lough Boora Parklands, roughly 75% of Offalys forested area is Conifer High Forest
7.
County Roscommon
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County Roscommon is a county in the western region of the Republic of Ireland. It is also part of the province of Connacht and it is the 11th largest Irish county by area and 27th most populous. Its county town and largest town is Roscommon, Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 64,065 according to the 2011 census and it is the third largest of Connacht’s five counties by size and fourth largest in terms of population. The county borders every other Connacht county - Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim, in 2008, a news report said that statistically, Roscommon has the longest life expectancy of any county on the island of Ireland. County Roscommon is named after the county town of Roscommon, Roscommon comes from the Irish Ros meaning a wooded, gentle height and Comán, the first abbot and bishop of Roscommon who founded the first monastery there in 550 AD. Roscommon is the eleventh largest of the 32 counties of Ireland by area and it has an area of 984 square miles. Lough Key in north Roscommon is noted for having thirty-two islands, the geographical centre of Ireland is located on the western shore of Lough Ree in the south of the county. Seltannasaggart which is located along the border with County Leitrim is the tallest point in County Roscommon measuring to a height of 428 m. There are nine historical baronies in County Roscommon, south Roscommon Ballymoe shared with County Galway includes Ballymoe, Creggs and Glenamaddy. Rathcroghan, near Tulsk, a complex of sites, the home of Queen Medb, was the seat of Kings of Connacht. This was the point of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, or Cattle Raid of Cooley. County Roscommon as a division has its origins in the medieval period. With the conquest and division of the Kingdom of Connacht, those districts in the east retained by King John as The Kings Cantreds covered County Roscommon and these districts were leased to the native kings of Connacht and eventually became the county. In 1585 during the Tudor re-establishment of counties under the Composition of Connacht, a well defined and original fine metal workshop was active in county Roscommon in the twelfth century. The workshop has been linked to St. Assicus of Elphin, John ODonovan, historian and scholar, visited County Roscommon in 1837. He was compiling information for the Ordnance Survey, entering St. Peters parish in Athlone in June 1837, he wrote I have now entered upon ia region totally different from Longford, and am very much pleased with the intelligence of the people. But he had problems with place-names
8.
County Sligo
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County Sligo is an Irish county and part of the province of Connacht. It is located in the Border Region, Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the authority for the county. The population of the county is 65,393 according to the 2011 census making it the 3rd most populated county in the province and it is noted for Benbulben Mountain, one of Ireland’s most distinctive natural landmarks. The county was formed in 1585, but did not come into effect until the chaos of the Nine Years War ended. Its boundaries reflect the Ó Conchobhair Sligigh overlordship of Lower Connacht as it was at the time of the Elizabethan conquest and this overlordship consisted of the tuatha, or territories, of Cairbre Drumcliabh, Tír Fhíacrach Múaidhe, Tír Ollíol, Luíghne, Corann and Cúl ó bhFionn. Each of these was made into an English style barony, Carbury, Tireragh, Leyny, Tirerril, Corran. The capital of the newly shired county was placed at Sligo, archaeological studies suggest that Sligo may have been one of the earliest places of human settlement in Ireland. The megalithic cemetery of Carrowmore is located in County Sligo, famous medieval manuscripts written in County Sligo include the Book of Ballymote, the Great Book of Lecan, and the Yellow Book of Lecan. The patron of the Annals of the Four Masters was Ferghal O Gadhra of Coolavin in south County Sligo and this crest was adopted by Sligo County Council in 1980. The design on the shield, which shows an open book on which there is a Celtic Cross. These refer to early works as the Books of Ballymote and Lecan. The escallop shells sprinkled on the refer to the origin of the word Sligeach -- a place abounding in shells. The boars head refers to the boar of Benbulben in the Diarmuid. The colour scheme of the crest incorporates the Sligo GAA colours of black, Sligo County Council is the governing body for the county. It is divided into five Local Electoral Areas Ballymote, Dromore, Sligo-Drumcliff, Sligo-Strandhill, there are 25 members elected to Sligo County Council. Sligo is part of the Sligo–North Leitrim constituency and has three representatives in Dáil Éireann, Tony McLoughlin, John Perry and Michael Colreavy, Yeats said, the place that has really influenced my life most is Sligo. He is buried in North County Sligo, Under Ben Bulben, County Sligo has a long history of traditional music
9.
County Westmeath
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County Westmeath is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Midlands Region and it originally formed part of the historic Kingdom of Meath. It was named Mide because kingdom was located in middle of Ireland, Westmeath County Council is the government for the county, the capital is Mullingar. The population of the county is 88,396, following the failure of male heirs, the Lordship was split between de Lacys great-granddaughters. The western part was awarded to Margery and her husband, John de Verdun, son of Walter de Lacy while the eastern part, the official establishment of County Westmeath dates to 1543, and it was named after the kingdom of Mide. Westmeath is the 20th largest of Irelands 32 counties by area and it is the sixth largest of Leinster’s 12 counties in size and eighth largest in terms of population. It was named after the kingdom and province of Meath. Westmeath was shired under The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1543, the summit of Mullaghmeen is the highest point in County Westmeath. At just 258 metres this makes it the lowest county top in Ireland, the head office of Westmeath County Council is located in Mullingar. The three electoral areas of Westmeath are Athlone, Mullingar-Coole and Mullingar-Kilbeggan, the Local Government Act 1898, provided the framework for the establishment of County Councils throughout Ireland. The first meeting of Westmeath County Council was held on 22 April 1899, westmeaths population growth has been stronger than the national average. After the Great Famine, the population of Westmeath declined dramatically and it stabilized in the middle of the 20th century, and has continued to grow. Westmeaths proximity to Dublin with good facilities and frequent rail service has made commuting popular. County Westmeath saw a decline in population during 18th and 19th century, the largest town in the county is Athlone, followed by the County town Mullingar. Westmeath is the largest county by population in the Irish Midlands, important commercial and marketing centres include Moate, Kilbeggan, Kinnegad, Ballinahown, Delvin, Rochfortbridge, Killucan and Castlepollard. According to the 2011 census 51. 9% of Westmeath households have at least one Irish speaker, Westmeath is one of oldest counties in Ireland to have census in 1841. Some of the records of that census have been digitized and maintained by the National Archives of Ireland. According to the latest census of April 2011 Westmeath had a population of 86,164 and it was also revealed by central statistics office that despite being overall increase in population, rural population still faced declination. The population of age was 6,882, of primary school going age was 10,111
10.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh
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The Archdiocese of Armagh is a Roman Catholic archdiocese in the northern part of Ireland. The Ordinary is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh who is also the Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical province of Armagh, the mother church is St Patricks Cathedral. The claims of the archdiocese to pre-eminence in Ireland as the primatial see and it was formally recognised as a metropolitan province in 1152 by the Synod of Kells. As of September 2014 the incumbent Archbishop is Eamon Martin, the Province of Armagh is one of the four ecclesiastical provinces that together form the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, the others are Dublin, Tuam and Cashel. The geographical remit of the province straddles both political jurisdictions in the island of Ireland – the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, in Northern Ireland, the remit covers parts of the former administrative counties of Armagh, Londonderry and Tyrone. In the Republic of Ireland, the remit covers parts of the government area of Louth. It contains the city of Armagh and the large towns Ardee, Coalisland, Drogheda, Dundalk, Dungannon, the suffragan dioceses of the Metropolitan Province are, Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Clogher Derry Down and Connor Dromore Kilmore Meath Raphoe St. He also founded a school in the place, which soon became famous. In the course of other religious bodies settled in Armagh, such as the Culdees. The city of Armagh was thus until modern times a purely ecclesiastical establishment, about 448, St. Patrick, aided by Secundinus and Auxilius, two of his disciples, held a synod at Armagh, of which some of the canons are still extant. In Irish times, the primacy of Armagh was questioned only by the southern centre of the Irish Church. For many centuries the primates were accustomed to make circuits and visitations through various parts of the country for the collection of their dues and this was called the Cattlecess, or the Law of St. Patrick. Beginning in 734, during the incumbency of Primate Congus, it continued long after the Cambro-Norman invasion. Two kings gave it their royal sanction, Felim, King of Munster, in 822, the record of the latters sanction is preserved in the Book of Armagh, in the handwriting of Brian Borus chaplain. To add solemnity to their tours, the primates were in the habit of carrying with them the shrine of St. Patrick. The Irish annals record no fewer than seventeen burnings of the city and it was plundered on numerous occasions by the Danes and the clergy driven out of it. It was also sacked during the conquest of Ulster by the Cambro-Normans, the chiefs of the tribe in whose territory Armagh stood usurped the position and temporal emoluments of the primacy and discharged by deputy the ecclesiastical functions. The abuse continued for eight generations until Cellach, known as St. Celsus, who was intruded as a layman, had himself consecrated bishop, and ruled the see with great wisdom
11.
Roman Rite
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The Roman Rite is the most widespread liturgical rite in the Catholic Church and is one of the Latin rites used in the Western or Latin Church. The Roman Rite has been adapted over the centuries and its Eucharistic liturgy can be divided into three stages, the Pre-Tridentine Mass, Tridentine Mass and Mass of Paul VI. The 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum specifies the circumstances in which priests of the Latin Church may continue to use the form of the Roman Rite in the 1962 Roman Missal. While other rites use more poetic language, the Roman Rite is noted for its sobriety of expression, as each is shown, a bell is rung and, if incense is used, the host and chalice are incensed. Sometimes the external bells of the church are rung as well, other characteristics that distinguish the Roman Rite from the rites of the Eastern Catholic Churches are frequent genuflections, kneeling for long periods, and keeping both hands joined together. We find the prayers of our Canon in the treatise de Sacramentis, so our Mass goes back, without essential change, to the age when it first developed out of the oldest liturgy of all. The final result of our inquiry is that, in spite of unsolved problems, in spite of later changes, in a footnote he added, The prejudice that imagines that everything Eastern must be old is a mistake. Eastern rites have been modified too, some of them quite late. No Eastern Rite now used is as archaic as the Roman Mass, in the same book, Fortescue acknowledged that the Roman Rite underwent profound changes in the course of its development. In the interval, there was what Fortescue called a radical change and he quoted the theory of A. Leo, I began to make these changes, Gregory I finished the process and finally recast the Canon in the form it still has. We must then admit that between the years 400 and 500 a great transformation was made in the Roman Canon and this infusion Fortescue called the last change since Gregory the Great. The Eucharistic Prayer normally used in the Byzantine Rite is attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, the East Syrian Eucharistic Prayer of Addai and Mari, which is still in use, is certainly much older. However, by about 1800 the Roman Rite had quite abandoned rood screens, however, when Western Europe adopted polyphony, the music of the Roman Rite did become very elaborate and lengthy. Latin liturgical rites List of Catholic rites and churches Liturgical books of the Roman rite Pre-Tridentine Mass Mass of Paul VI Mass Tridentine Mass Baldovin, John F. Reforming the Liturgy, A Response to the Critics. The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975, a Short History of the Roman Mass. By Michael Davies, said to be based on Adrian Fortescues The Mass, A Study of the Roman Liturgy Metzger, History of the Liturgy, The Major Stages. Bodies of Worship, Explorations in Theory and Practice, a Challenging Reform, Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal. Johnson, Lawrence, J. Worship in the Early Church, foley, Edward, Mitchell, Nathan D. and Pierce, Joanne M
12.
St Mel's Cathedral
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The Cathedral Church of St Mel is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, located in the town of Longford in Ireland. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Mél, who came to Ireland with Saint Patrick, on Christmas Day 2009 the cathedral was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of the morning. The restored cathedral re-opened in December 2014, the cathedral is a Neoclassical stone building, at the north-east side of the town. It was begun in 1840 to the design of Joseph B, keane, with the foundation stone lain by the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Dr. William OHiggins, on 19 May 1840. Work was then delayed by the arrival of the Great Famine, rev. John Kilduff, on 29 September 1856. The roof is supported by 24 limestone columns quarried at nearby Newtowncashel, the 1860 belfry was designed by John Bourke, and the 1889 portico was designed by George Ashlin. The cathedral was consecrated on 19 May 1893. Harry Clarke studios designed the glass windows in the transepts. Ray Carroll designed the 1975 furnishings including The Second Coming tapestry behind the bishops throne, imogen Stuart designed The Holy Ghost above the baptismal font. Just after 5 am on 25 December 2009 a fire began at the back of the building, freezing weather disrupted attempts by firefighters to put out the blaze as their pipes were frozen solid, causing the fire to go on for several hours. At one point flames were reported jumping 18 m into the air, however, there were rescue efforts underway to try to save the steeple before it too was destroyed. As a result of the fire, Longford parishioners held their Christmas Day masses in the local Temperance Hall, the estimated cost of the damage to the cathedral was in the region of €30 million. Bishop OReilly committed to rebuilding it, St Mels Crosier, a relic dating from over a thousand years ago, was destroyed in the fire. Gardaí began investigating the cathedral on 6 January 2010 and they determined two days later that it had not been arson. Mass moved from the Temperance Hall to the hall and chapel of St Mels College while the cathedral was being restored. Bishop OReilly issued a letter to his 41 parishes, I am now writing the kind of letter that I never dreamt I would need to write, I write this letter to acknowledge that we must stay together in this time of sorrow and bewilderment. I also write to bring solace to the many who are quite truly heart-broken. On 18 September 2011 the cathedral ruins were opened to the public for the first time since the devastating Christmas Day fire, the cause of the inferno was accidental
13.
Pope Francis
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Pope Francis is the 266th and current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City. He chose Francis as his name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technologist and he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentinas provincial superior of the Society of Jesus. He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II and he led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina, and the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, throughout his public life, Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on Gods mercy, concern for the poor, populist causes and commitment to interfaith dialogue. He maintains that the church should be open and welcoming. He does not support unbridled capitalism, Marxism, or Marxist versions of liberation theology, Francis maintains the traditional views of the church regarding abortion, euthanasia, contraception, homosexuality, ordination of women, and priestly celibacy. He opposes consumerism, irresponsible development, and supports taking action on climate change, in international diplomacy, he helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the U. S. and Cuba. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in Flores and he was the eldest of five children of Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori. Mario Bergoglio was an Italian immigrant accountant born in Portacomaro in Italys Piedmont region, Regina Sívori was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian origin. Mario Josés family left Italy in 1929, to escape the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, María Elena Bergoglio, the Popes only living sibling, confirmed that their emigration was not for economic reasons. His other siblings were Alberto Horacio, Oscar Adrián and Marta Regina, two great-nephews, Antonio and Joseph, died in a traffic collision. In the sixth grade, Bergoglio attended Wilfrid Barón de los Santos Ángeles and he attended the technical secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N°27 Hipólito Yrigoyen, named after a past President of Argentina, and graduated with a chemical technicians diploma. He worked for a few years in that capacity in the section at Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory where his boss was Esther Ballestrino. Before joining the Jesuits, Bergoglio worked as a bar bouncer and as a janitor sweeping floors, in the only known health crisis of his youth, at the age of 21 he suffered from life-threatening pneumonia and three cysts. He had part of a lung excised shortly afterwards, Bergoglio has been a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo de Almagro football club. Bergoglio is also a fan of the films of Tita Merello, neorealism, Bergoglio found his vocation to the priesthood while he was on his way to celebrate the Spring Day. He passed by a church to go to confession, and was inspired by the priest
14.
Eamon Martin
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Eamon Martin is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate, the incumbent Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Derry and he moved into teaching and earned two more degrees, from 1999 to 2008, he was President of St Columbs College, Derry. He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh in January 2013, consecrated a bishop in April 2013, Martin was born in Derry in 1961, the youngest of 17 children. After his primary education in St Patricks, Pennyburn, Derry. His priestly training took place in St. Patricks College, Maynooth where he graduated with a BD in Theology, on 28 June 1987, Martin was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Derry by Edward Daly, the then Bishop of Derry. After his ordination he served as a curate at the cathedral of the Diocese of Derry from 1987 until 1989 and he then served as a teacher at St Columbs College in Derry from 1990 to 1998. He then continued his studies at Queens University, Belfast from 1989–1990, Martin went on to study at St Edmunds College, Cambridge from 1998–1999 where he obtained a MPhil in school development. From 1999 until 2008 he was President of St Columbs College, after this he served two years as appointed Secretary-General of the Irish Episcopal Conference before being recalled to his native diocese in 2010 to serve as Vicar General. When Bishop Séamus Hegarty resigned in November 2011, Archbishop Eamon Martin was elected as diocesan administrator, in 2011 he was appointed Chaplain of His Holiness. On 18 January 2013, Martin was appointed as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, Martin said he was shocked when told of the appointment. I am very conscious of the great trust that the Holy Father has placed in me, Bishop Emeritus of Derry Edward Daly said that Martin was seen as a clean pair of hands after the churchs abuse scandals. He does not carry any baggage from the past with him, on 21 April 2013, Martin was consecrated to the episcopate by Seán Brady. On 8 September 2014, with the retirement of Seán Brady, he succeeded him as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, as such, in 2013, Martin addressed the abuse scandals that have been exposed over the last two decades. One of the greatest challenges facing our Church is to acknowledge, live with, Martin is also a director of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church – the body set up in the wake of widespread clerical abuse scandals in Ireland. On his appointment, he one of the greatest challenges facing the church was to live with. He told a conference in Armagh that the church can never take it for granted that the safeguarding systems we have in place are robust and failsafe. Martin has said the Catholic Church felt a sense of bereavement following the result of the same-sex marriage referendum, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, called the result of the Irish same-sex marriage equality referendum a defeat for humanity. Martin told RTÉ Radio Ones Sean O’Rourke show the cardinals comments expressed our deeply held conviction about the meaning of marriage, one of the difficulties of the debate was that we had two parallel discussions going on
15.
Irish language
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Irish, also referred to as Gaelic or Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people. Irish enjoys constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland and it is also among the official languages of the European Union. The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island of Ireland and it has the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe. The fate of the language was influenced by the power of the English state in Ireland. Elizabethan officials viewed the use of Irish unfavourably, as being a threat to all things English in Ireland and its decline began under English rule in the 17th century. In the latter part of the 19th century, there was a decrease in the number of speakers. Irish-speaking areas were hit especially hard, by the end of British rule, the language was spoken by less than 15% of the national population. Since then, Irish speakers have been in the minority, efforts have been made by the state, individuals and organisations to preserve, promote and revive the language, but with mixed results. Around the turn of the 21st century, estimates of native speakers ranged from 20,000 to 80,000 people. In the 2011 Census, these numbers had increased to 94,000 and 1.3 million, there are several thousand Irish speakers in Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that the active Irish-language scene probably comprises 5 to 10 per cent of Irelands population, there has been a significant increase in the number of urban Irish speakers, particularly in Dublin. In Gaeltacht areas, however, there has been a decline of the use of Irish. Údarás na Gaeltachta predicted that, by 2025, Irish will no longer be the language in any of the designated Gaeltacht areas. Survey data suggest that most Irish people think highly of Irish as a marker of identity. It has also argued that newer urban groups of Irish speakers are a disruptive force in this respect. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil the name of the language is Gaeilge, before the spelling reform of 1948, this form was spelled Gaedhilge, originally this was the genitive of Gaedhealg, the form used in Classical Irish. Older spellings of this include Gaoidhealg in Classical Irish and Goídelc in Old Irish, the modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent dh in the middle of Gaedhilge, whereas Goidelic languages, used to refer to the language family including Irish, comes from Old Irish
16.
Diocese
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The word diocese is derived from the Greek term διοίκησις meaning administration. When now used in a sense, it refers to a territorial unit of administration. This structure of governance is known as episcopal polity. The word diocesan means relating or pertaining to a diocese and it can also be used as a noun meaning the bishop who has the principal supervision of a diocese. An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese, an archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or have had importance due to size or historical significance. The archbishop may have authority over any other suffragan bishops. In the Latter Day Saint movement, the bishopric is used to describe the bishop himself. Especially in the Middle Ages, some bishops held political as well as religious authority within their dioceses, in the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated in a larger unit, the diocese. With the adoption of Christianity as the Empires official religion in the 4th century, a formal church hierarchy was set up, parallel to the civil administration, whose areas of responsibility often coincided. With the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th century, a similar, though less pronounced, development occurred in the East, where the Roman administrative apparatus was largely retained by the Byzantine Empire. In modern times, many dioceses, though later subdivided, have preserved the boundaries of a long-vanished Roman administrative division, modern usage of diocese tends to refer to the sphere of a bishops jurisdiction. As of January 2015, in the Catholic Church there are 2,851 regular dioceses,1 papal see,641 archdioceses and 2,209 dioceses in the world, in the Eastern rites in communion with the Pope, the equivalent unit is called an eparchy. Eastern Orthodoxy calls dioceses metropoleis in the Greek tradition or eparchies in the Slavic tradition, after the Reformation, the Church of England retained the existing diocesan structure which remains throughout the Anglican Communion. The one change is that the areas administered under the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York are properly referred to as provinces and this usage is relatively common in the Anglican Communion. Certain Lutheran denominations such as the Church of Sweden do have individual dioceses similar to Roman Catholics and these dioceses and archdioceses are under the government of a bishop. Other Lutheran bodies and synods that have dioceses and bishops include the Church of Denmark, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Evangelical Church in Germany, rather, it is divided into a middle judicatory. The Lutheran Church-International, based in Springfield, Illinois, presently uses a traditional diocesan structure and its current president is Archbishop Robert W. Hotes. The Church of God in Christ has dioceses throughout the United States, in the COGIC, each state is divided up into at least three dioceses that are all led by a bishop, but some states as many as seven dioceses
17.
Athlone
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Athlone is a town on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree in Ireland. It is the largest town in the Midlands Region, the 2011 Census of Ireland recorded the population of the town at 20,153, a 14. 8% increase from 2006. Recent growth has occurred outside the towns boundaries. Athlone is near the centre of Ireland, which is 8.85 kilometres north-northwest of the town. Athlone Castle is the geographical and historical centre of Athlone, in 1001 Brian Bóru sailed his army up river from Kincora and through Lough Derg to attend a gathering in Athlone. A bridge was built across the river in the 12th century, to protect the bridge, a fort was constructed on the rivers west bank, within Athlone, by Turloch Mór Ó Conor. On a number of both the fort and bridge were subject to attacks, and towards the end of the 12th century the Anglo-Normans constructed a motte-and-bailey fortification there. This earthen fort was followed by a structure built in 1210 by Justiciar John de Gray. The 12-sided donjon, or tower, dates from time, however. Throughout the wars that wracked Ireland in the 17th century, Athlone contained the vital, forty years later, during the pan-European War of the Grand Alliance, the town was again of key strategic importance. This time around, Athlone was one of the Jacobite strongholds that defended the river-crossings into the confederate-held Province of Connacht following the Battle of the Brits on 1 July 1690. That same year, Colonel Richard Graces Jacobite forces in Athlone repelled an attack by 10,000 men led by Commander Douglas. The defenders were forced to further west, toward the River Suck. The most recently discovered account of the Siege of Athlone, written after the attack, in the 1970s it was proposed in the Republican Éire Nua programme to make Athlone the capital city of a federal United Ireland. This proposal is still upheld by the Republican Sinn Féin, the part of the town that lies east of the Shannon is in the province of Leinster, the county of Westmeath, the barony of Brawny, and the civil parish of St Marys. Unusually, the barony is coterminous with a civil parish. In terms of boundaries, the eastern past of the town is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. However, seven townlands, or sections of the town, lie west of the Shannon, Athlone and Big Meadow, Bellaugh, Bogganfin, Canal and Banks, Doovoge, part of Monksland, and Ranelagh
18.
Ballymahon
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Ballymahon on the River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N55 National secondary road, Ballymahon derives its name from Gaelic Baile Mathuna. This is disputed by others who claim Mahon may relate to a sub chieftain of the OFarrells who ruled over part of County Longford in the 14th century. The earliest documentary evidence of Ballymahon was in the year 1578, the map of the Down Survey by Sir William Petty shows Ballymahon as a group of houses situated at the southern end of the present town, on the right bank of the River Inny. Two main families, the Shuldham family of Moigh House and the King-Harman family of Newcastle House, the buildings in the town are of late Georgian architecture, with two and three storey gabled houses, colour-washed and in rows of three and four. A special feature of the town is its main street. From 1788 to 1853 the Roman Catholic bishops of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise resided in the town, the River Inny, a tributary of the River Shannon, flows westwards through Ballymahon in the direction of Lough Ree three miles from the town. A stretch of the Inny from Newcastle Bridge to Ballymahon town is a route for beginner to intermediate kayaking, canoeing. The Royal Canal also passes westwards through Ballymahon from Dublin to Clondra, following extensive works the canal has recently been restored and is now fully navigable. Ballymahon Courthouse and Market House was renovated into a new library, one stop shop. It is situated in the centre of the town, the barracks was successfully attacked during the War of Independence on 19 August 1920. The attack was led by General Seán MacEoin, Seán Connolly, a small party of local volunteers also took part in the raid which mainly aimed to seize firearms. MacEoin later visited the barracks to campaign during a campaign in the 1950s. Ruairí Ó Brádaigh was held here in the 1950s during the IRA Border Campaign, Ballymahon is a central hub in a road and canal network linking several large and county towns in the Irish midlands and has historically been a pivotal locus to transport and trade in the region. Ballymahon is on the N55 road, a major National Secondary route leading from Athlone, about 22 kilometres to the south, towards Belfast, the county town of Longford lies about 22 kilometres to the north-west. The R392 road links Ballymahon to Mullingar in the East and to Roscommon in the West and this route was a portion of an ancient ceremonial way from Rathcroghan to the Hill of Tara. Intact portions of the ancient roadway can be seen at the nearby Corlea Trackway, the Royal Canal links Ballymahon to Dublin, via several major towns such as Mullingar and Maynooth, and to the River Shannon at Clondra. The nearest third level college is AIT in Athlone, some 22 km away, mary Dowdall married Colonel Adam Molyneux of Ballymulvey House, who was granted extensive lands around Ballymahon by King Charles II and was ancestor of the Shuldham family
19.
Carrick-on-Shannon
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Carrick-on-Shannon is the county town of County Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim and the smallest main county town in the entire country, a smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 5,931 in 2016 and it is situated on a strategic crossing point of the River Shannon. The Leitrim part of the town is in the parish of Kiltogert which is in the ancient barony of Leitrim. Carrick-on-Shannon is situated on a point of the Shannon. In the vicinity of Drumsna, on the County Roscommon border, are the remains of an Iron Age fortification, corryolus townland on the Shannon remembers Eolais Mac Biobhsach, ancestor of the Muintir Eolais who were the most famous ancient Leitrim sub-septs in Mohill and Leitrim. Carrick-on-Shannon was granted a charter and named a borough with its own seal in 1607. Throughout at least the 19th and 20th centurys, three fairs were held at Carrick on- May 12, August 11, and November 21. Historic buildings are the Carrick Castle, the Workhouse and Famine Graveyard, Hatley Manor, St Georges Church of Ireland, Carrick-on-Shannon is served by the Leitrim Observer which is published every Wednesday and the fortnightly free Northwest Express newspapers. The Leitrim Post is now defunct, until the early 19th Century, the head of the Shannon Navigation was Drumsna. The new bridge, built in 1846, took the place of a nine arch stone bridge, nearby is the clubhouse of Carrick-on-Shannon Rowing Club, which has been one of the foremost in the country since its establishment in 1827. The annual regatta at the August Holiday was a highlight of the festive season in the whole North West. M. J. McManus recalls that he watched, in August sunshine, the eights and the fours and the pleasure boats and the turf-cots competing on Carricks day of days. St. Marys Catholic Church, on the Main Street, is built in the Neo-Gothic style and it was designed by W. H. Hague, a Dublin architect. It was dedicated on 19 October 1879, the church is on a plot of elevated ground. Thomas Fitzgerald, the priest responsible for its construction, is buried within the chancel in front of the Blessed Sacrament Altar, St. Georges Church, St. Marys Close, is the Church of Ireland parish Church. Prior to 1698, the church was situated at Kiltoghert. In that year it was transferred to its present site in Carrick and it was re-built in 1829 and the interior reconstructed in the years 1910-1914
20.
Edgeworthstown
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Edgeworthstown or Mostrim is a town in County Longford, Ireland. The town is in the east of the county, near the border with County Westmeath, nearby towns are Longford 12 km to the west, Mullingar 26 km to the east, Athlone 40 km to the south and Cavan 42 km to the north. The area was named Edgeworthstown in the 19th century after the Anglo-Irish Edgeworth family, an estate was built there by Richard Lovell Edgeworth. His family—which includes Honora Sneyd, novelist Maria Edgeworth, botanist Michael Pakenham Edgeworth, economist Francis Ysidro Edgeworth, the areas original name was the Irish Meathas Troim or Meathas Truim. This was anglicized as Mastrim, Mostrim, and so forth and these names continued to be used by the locals. In 1935, at the behest of the local Town Tenants Association, however, in 1974, a local government order reverted the name to Edgeworthstown. Today, both names are in use, the town is built where the N4 Dublin-Sligo/ N5 Dublin-Castlebar road crosses the N55 Cavan-Athlone road. The town also has a station on the Dublin–Sligo railway line. Edgeworthstown railway station opened on 8 November 1855, Edgeworthstown expanded significantly during the first decade of the 21st century with many new housing developments and updated transport infrastructure including a bypass. The N4 National primary route ran along the Main Street until the town centre was by-passed in July 2006. The N55 route from Athlone to Cavan still passes through the town centre, industries include animal feed processing and pet food manufacturing. Both Paul&Vincent Ltd. and C&D Foods Ltd. employ hundreds of people from the surrounding locality, in 2006, the towns biggest employer, C&D Foods Ltd. was damaged by fire and over half of the factory was destroyed. Production was planned to again in 2009. Club is named Mostrim, while the section of the club are called Wolfe Tones. The club has won three Longford Senior Football Championships, in 1974,1985 and 1992, Mostrim won an u-21 championship 2002 and the minor team Wolfe Tones won Minor A Championships in 2002 and in 2006. The club colours are green and red, gaelic Football is by far the dominant sport in the County, however Edgeworthstown is one of the strongholds of Hurling in the county. The Hurling club in the town is called Wolfe Tones and has won a record 13 County Hurling Titles, the hurling strip is also green and red. Hugh Devine Park is the homepitch for both Mostrim and Wolfe Tones, many underage inter-county competitive games and senior inter-county challenges are held in the park as well
21.
Granard
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Granard is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 national secondary road and the R194 regional road meet. The town has been a centre of population since Celtic times and it is mentioned in the ancient Irish epic, the Táin Bó Cuailgne, as being one of the places where Queen Medb and her army stopped on their journey to take the Donn Cuailnge. The name of the town is itself so ancient as to be even in Irish. According to the Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick, Patrick appointed Guasacht, a son of his former master Milchú, as first bishop of Granard, the surname Sheridan was first recorded in Granard in the 8th century. Granard is known for the built by Risteárd de Tiúit. It stands 166 m above sea level, located at the head of the town, a statue of St Patrick was erected on the motte in 1932 to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of the coming of the saint to Ireland for the second time. Due to the location between the three rivers and near Lough Sheelin, it is also a centre for trout and coarse fishing, the Gaynors were once the Gaelic lords of Granard. Granard was the location of an annual Harp festival from 1781 to 1785 and this had been due to the financial support of James Dungan, an Irish merchant then residing in Copenhagen, and a native of Granard, who had heard of similar events being organised in Scotland. Many of the harpists who won prizes at festivals, including Charles Fanning, Arthur ONeill. There has been a revival of the festival since 1981, during the Irish War of Independence, on 31 October 1920 a police officer, District-Inspector Philip Kelleher was shot dead by two masked men in the bar of the Greville Arms Hotel, Granard. As a reprisal, a convoy of Crown forces entered the town four days later and systematically destroyed the main business premises of the town. Granard is within the catchment area for Edgeworthstown railway station, the station is about a fifteen-minute drive, there is no bus link. Bus Éireann Expressway route 065 provides one service a day to Monaghan, on Fridays there is a second service each way. Bus Éireann local route 111 between Cavan and Athboy serves Granard and operates four times a day each way, thrice each way on Saturdays, donnellys Pioneer Bus Service, a longstanding local bus company based in Granard, operate a route from Granard to Longford via Ballinalee. There are three journeys each way daily Michael Gaffney, who founded the town of Gaffney, South Carolina. His heritage is evident there today with streets named after his wife and children, kitty Kiernan was born in Granard and later engaged to Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. After his death, she married army officer Felix Cronin, eddie Macken, International show jumper, was born and lived in Granard
22.
Longford
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Longford is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,310 according to the 2016 census and it is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the countys population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of Irelands N4 and N5 National Primary Route roads, the station in Longford on the Dublin-Sligo line is important for commuters. The town is built on the banks of the River Camlin, the name Longford is an anglicisation of the Irish Longphort, from long and port. The area came under the sway of the clan which controlled the south and middle of the County of Longford and hence. A Dominican priory was founded there in 1400, the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre is located near to Longford, in Keenagh. The Centre houses an Iron Age bog road which was built in 148 BC across the boglands in proximity to the River Shannon. The oak road is the largest of its kind to have uncovered in Europe and was excavated over the years by Professor Barry Raftery of University College Dublin. Inside the building, an 18-metre stretch of preserved road is on permanent display in a specially designed hall with humidifiers to prevent the ancient wood from cracking in the heat. Bord na Mona and the Heritage Service have carried out work on the surrounding bog to ensure that it remains wet. There are other historical artefacts and some exhibits at the centre, St. Mels Cathedral in the town features several stained glass windows by Harry Clarke studios. These include one of his earliest works The consecration of St. Mel as Bishop of Longford which was exhibited at the RDS Annual Art Industries Exhibition in 1910 and it was also exhibited at The Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland fourth exhibition in the same year. The Cathedral was extensively damaged in a fire on Christmas Day 2009, St. Mels Cathedral remained closed for exactly five years following the fire while it was the centre of one of the largest restoration projects undertaken in Europe. It reopened for services at midnight mass on Christmas Eve 2014 and has become a significant tourist attraction. The two most intricated stained-glass windows in the transepts of the Cathedral have been faithfully restored – these depict St Anne, Longford town boasts a state-of-the-art 212-seat theatre called Backstage Theatre just outside of the town, and a four-screen multiplex cinema, with restaurants. The mix and quality of housing is extensive and the Rural Renewal Hi Scheme has ensured that a supply of residential development has come about. The Prison Service HQ boasts a sculpture by renowned artist Remco de Fou which, Connolly Barracks once employed approximately 180 soldiers, many of whom were involved in UN peace-keeping duties, until the barracks closed in January 2009. The town serves as the town of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh
23.
Bishop of Ardagh
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The Bishop of Ardagh was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Ardagh, County Longford in the Republic of Ireland. It was used by the Roman Catholic Church until 1756, tradition states that a monastery was founded at Ardagh by St Patrick, and that his nephew, St. Mel, was its bishop or abbot. Although there is no historical or archaeological evidence to support it, the diocese of Ardagh was established in 1111 at the Synod of Rathbreasail as the see for east Connacht. At the subsequent Synod of Kells in 1152, its area was reduced to the territory of the Conmaicne, Ardagh Cathedral was severely damaged by warfare in 1496 and was never restored. Following the Reformation, there were parallel apostolic successions, in the Roman Catholic Church, the bishopric has been united with Clonmacnoise since 30 May 1756. Until the mid 19th-century, the church of Ballymahon had served as a pro-cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh. A new St Mels Cathedral in Longford was built for the diocese between 1840 and 1856, the building was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Christmas Day 2009. In the Church of Ireland, Ardagh was intermittently held with Kilmore between 1604–1633, 1661–1692 and 1693–1742, then held with Tuam 1742–1839, Ardagh was again united to Kilmore 1839–1841. Since 1841, Ardagh has been part of the bishopric of Kilmore, Elphin, the Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnaois The Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh
24.
Latin Church
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The Latin Church, commonly called Roman Catholic Church, sometimes Western Church, is the largest autonomous particular church sui iuris within the Catholic Church, applying Latin liturgical rites. There are 24 such sui iuris particular churches within the Catholic Church, all the other particular churches sui iuris, of which there are 23, originated farther east and are, therefore, collectively known as the Eastern Catholic Churches. Because of the migrations, members of all of these particular churches sui iuris are no longer confined to their areas of origin. A person is a member of or belongs to a particular church, a person also inherits or is of, a particular patrimony or rite. Since the rite has liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary elements, Particular churches that inherit and perpetuate a particular patrimony are identified by metonymy with that patrimony. Accordingly, rite has been defined as a division of the Christian church using a distinctive liturgy, is considered equal to the Latin rite within the Church. It thus used the rite as a technical designation of what may now be called a particular church. Church or rite is used as a single heading in the United States Library of Congress classification of works. The last known use was Pope Pius XII in Humani generis who taught that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one. Most ecclesiologists - experts in the theology of the Church itself - instead use Roman Catholic to refer exclusively to the Latin Church. The reasons for this are that each of the 24 Catholic Churches sui iuris have a modifier - Maronite, Ukrainian, Roman, etc. - and that Latin and Roman are virtually interchangeable. Further, as Adrian Fortescue noted in his article in the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, today, the most common Latin liturgical rites are the Roman Rite, the Ambrosian Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, and variations of the Roman Rite. The 23 Eastern Catholic Churches share five families of liturgical rites, the Latin liturgical rites, like the Armenian, are used only in a single sui iuris particular church. In the Eastern Churches these sacraments are usually administered immediately after baptism, celibacy, as a consequence of the duty to observe perfect continence, is obligatory for priests in the Latin Church. Rare exceptions are permitted for men who, after ministering as clergy in other churches and this contrasts with the discipline in most Eastern Catholic Churches. In the Latin Church, a man may not be admitted even to the diaconate unless he is legitimately destined to remain a deacon. Marriage after ordination is not possible, and attempting it can result in canonical penalties, Latin Mass Church of Rome Particular church General Roman Calendar Eastern Catholic Churches Catholic Encyclopedia, Latin Church
25.
Archbishop of Armagh
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The Archbishop of Armagh is an archiepiscopacy in two of the main Christian churches in Ireland. It takes its name after the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland, the ordinary also holds the title of Primate of All Ireland. Since the Reformation, parallel successions to the see have taken place in the Church of Ireland. In the Church of Ireland the Archbishop is Richard Clarke, who is the head of the Church of Ireland. He was elected archbishop in October 2012 and enthroned at St Patricks Cathedral and he succeeded on 8 September 2014, having been ordained Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh at St Patricks Cathedral, Armagh on 21 April 2013. In the medieval Irish church, the earliest bishops doubled as abbots, Primate of All Ireland Irish Bishops Conference
26.
Ardagh, County Longford
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Ardagh is a village in County Longford, Ireland about 10 km from Longford Town. It is located off the N4 road, there are several important Early Christian sites in and near Ardagh, including the Church of St. Mel. It is suggested that Saint Patrick built a church here in the fifth century, much of the village was built as an Estate Village in the 19th century, based on a Swiss design by the local landlords - the Fetherston baronets. The village was awarded the Prix dHonneur of the Entente Florale, edgeworthstown railway station is around 9 kilometres from the village. Until the evening of 24 August 2013 Bus Éireann route 118 served Ardagh on Saturdays only allowing passengers to travel into Longford for a few hours, list of towns and villages in Ireland The Tidy Towns of Ireland Celebrating 50 years Urban Conservation Plan Kirsty Anne Murphie
27.
Ballinalee
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Ballinalee or Saint Johnstown is a village in north County Longford, Ireland. It is situated on the River Camlin, and falls within the parish of Clonbroney. The village name in Irish means Mouth of the Ford of the Calves, the name St Johnstown came from the name of the Church of Ireland Church of St. John. There are two fine Roman Catholic churches in the parish, the Church of the Holy Trinity in the village, Ballinalee was the site of the first convent in Ireland at Old Clonbroney. Its remains are still to be seen, the Parochial hall on the Granard road, opened in 1939, is dedicated to the memory of Thomas Ashe, the Irish patriot. The local National School adjacent to the hall is named after St Samhthann, the St Johnstown borough constituency in the Irish House of Commons was nominally representative of the town. In 1833, the Commissioners appointed by the UK Parliament to inquire into municipal corporations in Ireland reported that the corporation of the borough was virtually extinct and it is a poor and miserable place, —a small daub caricature of even a rotten borough. The charter, which incorporated it was granted in the year of Charles II. Assigned 88 acres of land as the site and property of the town, ordered the place, still only in posse, to be called the Borough. The Earl of Granard eventually carried the borough in his pocket, a grey friary, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is supposed to have stood on the site of the town, but, if it ever existed, it has become completely untraceable. Pop. in 1831,255, in 1841,299, in 1798, the town was the scene of a massacre of Irish prisoners of war after the Battle of Ballinamuck in a field now called Bullys Acre. During the Irish War of Independence, the town was the scene of the Battle of Ballinalee and they held off 900 RIC/British Army for three days. It was the successful defence of an Irish town against the British forces. Within the parish is the ruins of Old Clonbroney, it was reportedly the home of the first convent in Ireland, there are two scenic lakes in the parish. Corbeagh lake, or Currygrane Lough, is situated in the middle of the parish and is located within the townlands of Drumeel Corbeagh and it has four small islands on it and one, called Round Island, is thought to be a Crannog or ancient settlement. The other lake is called Gurteen and is situated near the village and it was also the birthplace of Henry Hughes Wilson, who was the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff before his assassination by Irish Republicans. He was born in Currygrane near the village, Ballinalee Riot In 1953 on January 30 &31 a riot took place at the post office. Baton charge at Ballinalee Post Office, the position of postmistress was re appointed due to unscrupulous business activities
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Bornacoola
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Bornacoola is an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Ireland. It is located at the extremity of County Leitrim in the civil parish of Mohill. Some of its townlands lie in neighbouring County Longford, the nearest large towns are Longford and Carrick-on-Shannon. The parish is bounded by the townlands indicated below, most of which coincide with the parts of the civil parish of Mohill with a few townlands in a neighbouring civil parish to the west. Civil parish of Annaduff Aughry, Drumod, Drumod Beg, Drumod More, in the Barony of Longford, county of Longford Civil parish of Mohill Ahanagh, Bunanass, Clooncolligan, Cloonart North, Cloonart South, Clooneen, Clooneen, Clooneen, Clooneen, Edercloon, Tomisky. Scoil Mhuire National School Lady Baltimores Statue It is located beside Johnstons Bridge and it came from Baltimore, Maryland, USA and is named after a place in Bornacoola parish. The family left Ireland and settled in Maryland and because of this link the statue to Lady Baltimore was sent back to Ireland in the 1970s, ogham Stone This ancient stone is located in the graveyard. It is the one of its kind in the county. 12th-century church Also located within the grounds of the graveyard, under the protection of the O. P. W. Community Centre Bornacoola GAA Bornacoola GAA Club
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Abbeyshrule
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Abbeyshrule is a village in south-east County Longford, Ireland, on the River Inny and the Royal Canal. The village takes its name from an early medieval Cistercian abbey, Abbeyshrule won the 2012 National Tidy Towns Award with a total of 312 marks. The village also claimed the award for Ireland’s Tidiest Village 2012, renowned novelist, playwright and poet Oliver Goldsmith is believed to have been born in 1728 at Pallas, very near to the village, where his father resided as a local curate. The location is marked by a replica of the Goldsmith statue found at the entrance to Trinity College, as a village geographically well situated in the Irish midlands between major urban centres such as Athlone, Longford and Mullingar, Abbeyshrule has grown popular for midland business affairs. List of towns and villages in Ireland Abbeyshrule village website
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Banagher
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Banagher is a town in Republic of Ireland, located in the midlands on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The name Banagher comes from its Irish name, which translates to English as the place of the rocks on the Shannon. Banagher was a town of 3,000 people at the height of its growth in the mid-19th century. The current population is just over half of that figure, at about 1,600, Banagher has an important strategic position on the River Shannon, and was long one of the few crossing points between the provinces of Leinster and Connacht. The town used to be the focus of thriving river business and was an important stop on the Dublin to Limerick navigation and it supported a number of large industries, most notably a maltings and distillery, which are now defunct. Banagher is the centre of the Shannon Callows, grassy meadows which flood in winter, the town is the source of the well-known phrase, Well, that beats Banagher. Banagher lies in the council area of Offaly County Council. Local authorities have responsibility for such matters as planning, local roads, sanitation, the Council is an elected body of 21 members with councillors elected from four electoral areas in the county. Banagher lies in the Birr electoral area, which can return 5 members to the council, the town lies in the Barony of Garrycastle and was in the poor law union of Birr. Divided by the road to Birr from Eyrecourt, its eastern part lies in the townland of Curraghavarna and Portavrolla, Banagher is in the Roman Catholic parish of Gallen and Rynagh which lies in the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. The diocese is in the Archdiocese of Armagh in the province of Armagh. It is in the Church of Ireland parish group of Clonfert Cathedral which is in the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe and it is thought that St. Rynagh, who founded Banagher and after whom the parish is named, was a sister of St. Finnian of Clonard. According to research, they came from a place near New Ross in County Wexford and it is known that contact was maintained between Rynaghs Wexford home and her foundation at Banagher, and her mother came to live there. It is recorded that Reynaghs mother, Talech, or Talacia, the place of her burial is uncertain but it is likely to have been in either Banagher or Kilmacduagh near Gort, the monastery founded by her son, St. Colman. The settlement that grew to become Banagher, originated at a ford on the east bank of the River Shannon, the river banks and surrounding countryside were flood-free all year round. Travellers intending to cross the Shannon converged on this point along tracks which were the forerunners of the roads. Many of the travellers were pilgrims. North-west of Banagher, on the Connacht side of the river, was the establishment of Clonfert
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Cloone
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Cloone is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland. The village is located in the south of the county, just off the R201 regional road and its name is an Anglicised version of the Irish-language word cluain, meaning meadow. Buildings in the area include St Marys Catholic Church, the old Catholic Church now ruined, the bell tower of St Jamess Church of Ireland is all that is left of a building that was erected by the Board of First Fruits in 1822. The tower was restored in the mid-1990s and a clock installed and it is a local landmark from which some of the finest angling waters in the area can be seen off the Cloone to Ballinamore Road. The Justinian plague of Mohill impacted Cloone in the 6th century, bernard Kilrane died in 1900AD aged 111 years at Tawnymore near Cloone, was perhaps the oldest recorded Irishman. Those bodies recovered and identified were interred in various military cemeteries administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Belgium, France, Israel and Turkey. However, those men who lost their lives at the Battle of the Somme with no graves have their names recorded on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme in France. The 19th century poet John McDonald was born in Cloone parish, list of towns and villages in Ireland John McDonald Cloone GAA Aughavas and Cloone Parishes Website Cloone Agricultural Show
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Drumshanbo
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Drumshanbo is a small town situated in the heart of County Leitrim, Ireland. The town takes its name from the Irish, Druim-Sean-Bhoth or Ridge of the old huts, Drumshanbo is surrounded by a scenic area of soft rolling hills, woodlands, lakes and the Sliabh an Iarainn and Arigna mountains. It is a beautifully preserved traditional town with traditional pubs, shops, Drumshanbo is situated at the lower tip of Lough Allen the third biggest lake on the Shannon. It is overlooked by Sliabh an Iarainn, the iron mountain, local industries include, metalwork fabrication, sign-makers, plant hire and refuse disposal, tele-sales, joinery works and many small craft businesses. Laird House was developed recently and it includes offices and a crèche facility, currently the site of the old factory premises is being redeveloped by the Community Council to house a large food production facility. Anchor tenants are already secured and it is anticipated to generate up to 100 jobs in the industry, Drumshanbo is well supplied with housing, much of it unoccupied, after the collapse of the housing market in 2007. The town is centred on the crossroads of the R207 and R208 regional roads, Drumshanbo railway station opened on 2 May 1888, but finally closed on 1 April 1959. It was part of the narrow gauge Cavan and Leitrim Railway, today the nearest rail services may be accessed at Carrick-on-Shannon railway station around 14 km away. Westlink Coaches operate a commuter service between Drumshanbo and Sligo via Carrick-on-Shannon. Drumshanbo is also served by Bus Éireann route 462 on Fridays and Saturdays linking it to Sligo and by Saturday-only route 469 linking it to Carrick-on-Shannon, a wide variety of walks, including hill-walking, can be explored within a 5-km radius of Drumshanbo. Many walking routes around the lake have been signed posted by the Council, also, for the more adventurous, Slí Liatroma is a 48-km walk between Drumshanbo, Dowra, and Manorhamilton. A kilometre outside the town is the outdoor swimming pool at Acres Lake Amenity. Also there are courts, a playground, and a jetty for cruisers which have travelled from Carrick on Shannon via Leitrim Village. The Teach Ceoil or Music House is also situated here and it is used as a venue for music sessions etc. In 2003 the Lough Allen Hotel and Spa opened on the shore of Lough Allen, and offering hotel accommodation, lodges, aras Padraig is another community premises which is used for various local groups to meet, and some classes are organised there by a local women’s group. For the angler, Lough Allen is the largest lake in the vicinity and has a reputation for coarse angling, the lake has a plentiful supply of trout, pike, perch, rudd and roach. However there is also an abundance of fishing at small locations all around the surrounding area. It is possible to rent cruisers to navigate the waterways and enjoy the natural unspoilt countryside of the area, Lough Allen also is ideal for wind surfing, canoeing and other water sports
Republic of Ireland
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ardagh". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "article name needed". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
