Killeigh parish
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Killeigh parish is a Catholic parish in County Offaly within the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin in Ireland.[1]
Name
[edit]The English name Killeigh (from Irish Cill Acaid, meaning 'church of the level place') refers the former existence of a monastery in the area. It was in this monastery that the first priests in the parish are believed to have lived.[2]
Location
[edit]The area of the parish, which is near the Slieve Bloom Mountains, contains five villages: Killurin, Geashill, Ballinagar, Cloneygowan and Killeigh.[3][4] According to the parish website, it is the largest parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin and the second largest in the country.[1]
Priests
[edit]As of 2024[update], the parish priest is Fr. John Stapleton.[1] Fr. Thomas Coonan (curate) is also associated with the parish.[5]
Churches
[edit]The parish is served by three churches:
- St. Patrick's Church, Killeigh
- St Joseph's Church, Ballinagar
- St Mary's Church, Raheen (outside Geashill).[5] It serves Geashill and Cloneygowan and was built halfway between the two villages because land in the villages was owned by protestant landowners and could not build Catholic church so one was built halfway between the two villages.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Killeigh Parish". www.killeigh.com. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ "Parish History - Killeigh Parish". www.killeigh.com. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
- ^ "Parish Map - Killeigh Parish". www.killeigh.com. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ "Killeigh, Kildare and Leighlin - Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI". registers.nli.ie. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
- ^ a b "Parish of Killeigh". Kandle. Kildare & Leighlin Diocese. Retrieved 2024-11-10.