Editing Killala (section)

=== Ecclesiastical history ===
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[[File:Round Tower of Killala, County Mayo.jpg|thumb|upright|Killala Round Tower]]
[[File:Killala Town.jpg|thumb|Killana town]]
The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala]] (''Alladenis'' in Latin) is one of the five [[suffragan]] sees of the [[ecclesiastical Province]] of [[Archbishop of Tuam (Roman Catholic)|Tuam]], comprising the north-western part of [[County Mayo]] with the [[Tireragh|Barony of Tireragh]] in [[County Sligo]]. In all there are 22 parishes, some of which, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, consist mostly of wild moorland, sparsely inhabited. Lewis's Topographical Dictionary sets down the length of the diocese as {{convert|45|miles}}, the breadth {{convert|21|miles|abbr=on}}, and the estimated superficies as {{convert|314300|acre|km2}} – of which {{convert|43100|acre|km2}} are in County Sligo and {{convert|271200|acre|km2}} in County Mayo.

The foundation of the diocese dates from the time of [[Saint Patrick]], who placed his disciple [[Muiredach of Killala|St. Muredach]] over the church called in Irish Cell Alaid.<ref name="CE1913">{{Catholic Encyclopedia|prescript=|wstitle=Killala}}</ref> In a well that still flows close to the town, local suggests that Patrick baptized 12,000 converts on a single day.<ref name="CE1913"/> Muredach is described as an old man of Patrick's family, and was appointed to the Church of Killala as early as 442 or 443.<ref name="CE1913"/> It is possible that he resigned his see after a few years, and retired to end his life on an island in [[Donegal Bay]], which now bears his name, [[Inishmurray]].<ref name="CE1913"/> At Killala, Patrick reputedly also baptized the two maidens whom he met in childhood at [[Focluth Wood]] by the western sea, and whose voices in visions of the night had apparently called to him.<ref name="CE1913"/> He came, baptized them and built them a church where they spent the rest of their days as nuns.<ref name="CE1913"/>

Little is known of the successors of Muredach in Killala down to the 12th century. According to an entry in the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', the "people of Killala recall that [[John MacHale]], [[Archbishop of Tuam]], was a child of their diocese".<ref name="CE1913"/> He became [[Coadjutor Bishop]] of Killala in 1825, [[bishop]] in 1834, and later in the same year was transferred to Tuam. He died in 1881. After him came Francis Joseph O'Finan, a [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] priest.<ref name="CE1913"/> On his resignation in 1838, a parish priest of the Archdiocese of Tuam, Thomas Feeney, who had formerly been professor and president of [[St. Jarlath's College]] at Tuam, was chosen for the post.<ref name="CE1913"/>

Along the left bank of the river are the ruins of several monasteries. [[Rosserk]], a [[Franciscan]] house of strict observance, was founded in 1460. The Abbey of Moyne still stands on a site just over the river, and further on, north of Killala, was the [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] [[Rathfran Friary]]. On the promontory of [[Errew]] running into Lough Conn stood another monastery. A round tower in Killala itself is still standing.<ref name="CE1913"/>