The Bishop of Mayo was an episcopal title which took its name after the village of Mayo in Ireland. After the Reformation, the title was briefly used by the Church of Ireland until 1559 and by the Roman Catholic Church until 1631. With each denomination, the bishopric was united to the archbishopric of Tuam.[1]
The diocese of Mayo was not established at the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111, but was recognised at the Synod of Kells in 1152. A bishop of Mayo, probably Gille Ísa Ua Maílín, took the oath of fealty to King Henry II of England in 1172. The bishopric in some way represented the lordship of Muirchertach Muimhnech Ua Conchobair taniste of Connacht, who died in 1210, and his family Clan Murtagh O'Conor who controlled the area up to the 1230s.
In 1202, the papal legate, Cardinal John, had the see of Mayo united to the archbishopric of Tuam. In 1216, Pope Innocent III heard the case in Rome, and gave sentence in favour of Tuam. His sentence was maintained by papal legate James in 1221, and was finally confirmed by Pope Gregory IX on 3 July 1240. However, in the first half of the fifteenth century, Mayo appears to have gained independence with further bishops of Mayo being appointed, although their position is unclear and may have been assistant or suffragan bishops.[2]
Following the Reformation, there were parallel successions in the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church. Circa 1559, the see was united to the archbishopric of Tuam in the Church of Ireland. The Roman Catholic see continued until the early seventeenth century, when, after a long vacancy, it was united to the archdiocese of Tuam in 1631.
| Pre-Reformation Bishops of Mayo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| before 1172 | 1184 | Gille Ísa Ua Maílín | Died in office |
| unknown | 1210 | Céle Ua Dubhthaig | Died in office |
| c.1210 | 1216 | ? Patricius | Elected circa 1210; resigned 1216, and possibly died in the same year |
| 1216 | 1428 | See held by the archbishops of Tuam | |
| 1428 | (William Prendergast) | Appointed 16 July 1428, but did not take effect | |
| 1430 | 1436 | Nicholas 'Wogmay' | Appointed 17 July 1430; died after October 1436 |
| 1432 | 1439 | Martinus Campania, O.Cist. | Appointed 29 April 1432; acted as a suffragan bishop in the ecclesiastical principalities of Münster and Utrecht; resigned before 31 August 1439 |
| 1439 | 1448 | Aodh Ó hUiginn, O.S.A. | Appointed 31 August 1439; deprived before January 1448; died 1478 |
| 1448 | 1457 | No bishops appointed | |
| 1457 | 1470 | Simon de Duren | Appointed 12 August 1457; acted as a suffragan bishop in the ecclesiastical principalities of Münster and Worms in 1461; died 28 August 1470 |
| 1470 | 1493 | No bishops appointed | |
| Source(s):[2] | |||
| Bishops of Mayo during the Reformation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1493 | c.1541 | John Bell, O.S.A. | Appointed 4 November 1493; acted as a suffragan bishop in England between 1499 and circa 1530; died circa 1541 |
| 1541 | c.1559 | Eugene MacBrehon, O.Carm. | Appointed 21 November 1541, but cannot have got possession, since the diocese was held by Christopher Bodkin, Archbishop of Tuam; died circa 1559 |
| In circa 1559, the Church of Ireland see was united to the Protestant archbishopric of Tuam | |||
| Source(s):[3] | |||
| Roman Catholic Bishops of Mayo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| c.1559 | 1574 | No bishops appointed | |
| 1574 | unknown | Dermot O'Dwyer, O.F.M. | Appointed 12 February 1574; death date unknown |
| 1576 | 1579 | Patrick O'Hely, O.F.M | Appointed 4 July 1576; died (hanged) after June 1579 |
| 1579 | 1585 | No bishops appointed | |
| 1585 | unknown | Adam Magauran | Appointed 28 July 1585; death date unknown |
| In 1631, Mayo was united to the Roman Catholic archbishopric of Tuam | |||
| Source(s):[4] | |||
