The see of Kilmore was originally known as Breifne (Latin: Tirbrunensis, Tybruinensis or Triburnia; Irish: Tír mBriúin, meaning "the land of the descendants of Brian", one of the kings of Connaught) and took its name after the Kingdom of Breifne.[1][2]
The overkingdoms of Ireland circa 900, including the Kingdom of Breifne which has approximately the same boundaries with the diocese of Kilmore.
The see became one of the dioceses approved by Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni at the synod of Kells in 1152,[1] and has approximately the same boundaries as those of the ancient Kingdom of Breifne.[2] In the Irish annals, the bishops were recorded of Breifne, Breifni, Breifny, Tir-Briuin, or Ui-Briuin-Breifne.
In the second half of the 12th century, it is likely the sees of Breifne and Kells were ruled together under one bishop.[3] In 1172, Tuathal Ua Connachtaig took the oath of fealty to King Henry II of England as bishop of Kells.[4] Soon after 1211 the see of Kells was incorporated into the diocese of Meath.[3]
In the Church of Ireland, the title was intermittently held with Ardagh until they were finally united in 1839. In 1841, the sees of Kilmore and Ardagh were amalgamated with Elphin to form the united bishopric of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh. The current incumbent is The Right Reverend Samuel Ferran Glenfield M.A. M.Th. (Oxon.) M.Litt. He was elected, consecrated, and installed in 2013.
Known in Latin as Thaddaeus. Present at the Synod of Kells in March 1152. Took the oath of fealty to Henry II in 1172 as bishop of Kells. Died in office.
Translated from Chichester circa 1388. Possibly resigned 1390 and died circa 1393.
1389
1393
Seoán Ó Raghillaigh I
Anglicised as John O'Reilly. Became bishop after 2 November 1389. Died in office.
1395
1421
Nicol Mac Brádaigh
Alias Ruaidhrí Mac Brádaigh (anglicised as Nicholas or Rory MacBrady). Appointed before 27 August 1395 and consecrated before July 1398. Died in office.
During the Reformation, Edmund Nugent and John MacBrady were at one time or another bishops of either the Church of Ireland or Roman Catholic succession. They were each appointed as Roman Catholic bishops, but later accepted or recognized as Anglican bishops.[10]
Last Prior of Tristernagh Abbey. Appointed bishop on 22 January 1530, but continued to hold the abbey in commendam until he surrendered it to King Henry VIII in 1536 and accepted royal supremacy. Deprived of the Roman Catholic see by Pope Paul III in 1540, but continued as the Church of Ireland bishop until his death in circa 1550.
Appointed by Pope Paul III, in opposition to Edmund Nugent, on 5 November 1540. Presumably recognized by the crown in the reign of Queen Mary I. Died in 1559.
Appointed Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh in 1629. He relinquished the title Bishop of Ardagh in 1633, but continued Bishop of Kilmore until his death on 7 February 1642.
Translated from Clonfert and Kilmacduagh> Appointed by letters patent on 6 March 1772. Died in office in November 1774 and buried in Kilmore Cathedral churchyard on 22 November 1774.
Translated from Clonfert and Kilmacduagh. Nominated on 28 December 1795 and appointed by letters patent on 19 January 1796. Translated to Cashel on 9 December 1801.
Appointed on 18 September 1629 and consecrated in 1630. Died in office on 18 October 1669.
1669
1677
See vacant
Thomas Fitzsymons had been appointed vicar general of Kilmore in 1666, but deprived of the position in 1677. There had been proposals for him to be appointed vicar apostolic on 16 September 1672 and again on 1 February 1678, but was nothing further came from either proposal.
Appointed coadjutor bishop on 28 April and papal brief dated 17 May 1793. Succeeded diocesan bishop on 23 December 1798. Died in office on 6 March 1800.
Also recorded as Farrell O'Reilly. Appointed on 14 December 1806, papal brief dated 16 January 1806, and consecrated on 24 August 1807. Died in office on 30 April 1829.
Appointed coadjutor bishop on 20 or 23 March 1827 and consecrated on 10 June 1827. Succeeded diocesan bishop on 30 April 1829. Died in office on 11 April 1865.
Appointed coadjutor bishop on 27 March 1863 and consecrated on 24 May 1863. Succeeded diocesan bishop on 11 April 1865. Died in office on 17 January 1886.
Appointed coadjutor bishop on 20 November 1996 and consecrated on 2 February 1997. Succeeded diocesan bishop on 16 October and installed on 15 November 1998. Resigned on 31 December 2018.
B Cormac Mág Shamhradháin and Tomás Mac Brádaigh were rival bishops, and probably supported by rival septs within the diocese. They were present at provincial councils held by Ottaviano Spinelli de Palatio, Archbishop of Armagh, in 1492 and 1495, and were both then recognized as bishops of Kilmore. But Diarmaid Ó Raghillaigh was appointed to the see in 1512 before Cormac's death, though Cormac was still maintaining his rights at that date.
Cotton, Henry (1849). The Province of Ulster. Fasti Ecclesiae Hiberniae: The Succession of the Prelates and Members of the Cathedral Bodies of Ireland. Vol. 3. Dublin: Hodges and Smith.
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd, reprinted 2003 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-56350-X.
Moody, T. W.; Martin, F. X.; Byrne, F. J., eds. (1984). Maps, Genealogies, Lists: A Companion to Irish History, Part II. A New History of Ireland. Vol. IX. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN0-19-821745-5.
