Achonry's Story
Tuesday, 29 May 2007 16:21 | Last Updated on Friday, 24 June 2011 15:19 | | 
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From 1603 to 1707 there was no bishop in Achonry and the diocese was administered during that time by apostolic vicars. For most of the eighteenth century there was no resident bishop in the diocese. Yet, during this period, though persecuted and impoverished. a vibrant church flourished, with its own homespun and all pervasive spirituality and rituals. Without churches or institutional infrastructure, religion became people-centred. All the important ceremonies took place in the homes - Masses, christenings, confessions, weddings and wakes. It was a celebratory church, enjoying its wakes no less than its weddings. In the absence of churches, holy wells became popular centres of devotion. Pilgrimages were made to them particularly during 'patterns', patrons' feastdays.
Wells dedicated to St Attracta, patroness of Achonry, were scattered throughout the diocese and drew crowds of pilgrims on her feastday, (11th August) Though no very reliable records of her life remain, she is reputed to have been a contemporary of St Patrick, to whom she made her profession in Coolavin near Lough Gara. St Patrick founded a nunnery there and appointed Attracta its first abbess. The church there, Killaraght, is named after her. (See Liam Swords, A Hidden Church. The Diocese of Achonry 1689-1818.)
With Catholic education proscribed by law, hedge-schools abounded and young priests, ordained at home, went to one of the many Irish continental colleges for their theological training. Most returned to the Irish mission. Among those who did not was Andrew Donlevy who was appointed superior of the student community of the Irish College, Paris. There in 1742 he published his famous Irish-English Catechism. Many of the Catholic aristocracy also sought careers in Europe. Most famous of these was the Dillon family, Viscounts of Costello- Gallen, the most extensive landlord in the diocese and who remained Catholic until almost the end of the eighteenth century. In France they established the famous Dillon Regiment. One of the last of them, Arthur, was guillotined during the French Revolution.
Another Achonry family, the Taaffes of Ballymote, won distinction in the Austrian service. Further afield, Admiral Browne from Foxford, became the founder of the Argentinian navy. Others earned immortality at home, notably the poets, Se?n O'Gadhra and Anthony Raftery (1779-1835). The famous harpist, Turlough O'Carolan (1670 -1738), though not a native of the diocese, was a frequent visitor there. The diocese became the heart of what was later called 'O'Carolan country' and his compositions read like a Who's Who of Achonry. Among his compositions was Se?n 0 Hairt who was bishop of the diocese from 1735 to 1739.
With the Catholic relief measures late in the eighteenth century, the church emerged from the underground, building barn chapels which later in the nineteenth century were replaced by more imposing churches, most of them still in use. These were generally located in the new emerging towns and a new institutionalised, town-based church replaced its rural, home-centred predecessor. This century was dominated by the awful calamity of the Great Famine in which Achonry, one of the poorest and over-populated districts of the country, suffered more than most. (See Liam Swords, In Their Own Words, the Famine in North Connacht, 1845-49). The cottier class, the backbone of the earlier church, were decimated by death and emigration. A new Catholic middle class emerged, consisting of strong farmers and shopkeepers, of whom the parish priest became the social and political as well as spiritual leader. The clergy played a prominent role in the Repeal Movement and later in the Land League and Home Rule Movement. Achonry provided some of the prominent figures on the national stage. John Blake Dillon, who was born in Ballaghaderreen, was a Young Irelander who co-founded The Nation with Thomas Davis and Charles Gavan Duffy. His son John, who later inherited the family business in Ballaghaderreen, was a leading figure in the Plan of Campaign and leader of the Home Rule Party after the Parnellite split. He was defeated in East Mayo by De Valera in the 1918 election. His son, James, later became leader of Fine Gael.
Perhaps the most famous native of Achonry was Michael Davitt who was born in Straide in 1846. His family later emigrated to England where Davitt was imprisoned as a young man for his Fenian activities. On his release he returned to Ireland where he founded the Land League. The meeting at Gurteen, Co Sligo and the subsequent arrest and trial of the leaders launched the League into national and international prominence. The Under-Secretary, Sir Anthony McDonnell, was also an Achonry man who achieved distinction in the colonial service in India before returning to Ireland. He ended his political career as the Baron of Swinford in the House of Lords. Fr Denis O'Hara, parish priest of Kiltimagh, was one of the leading clergymen of his day. One of the early activists in the Land League, he later became a member of the Congested Districts Board until his death in 1922.
Thanks to Fr. Liam Swords for the above contribution. Fr. Liam has publised two volumes of the History of Achonry Diocese (A Hidden Church and A Dominant Church) , a book on the effects of the Famine in Connaught and recently a book on the Flight of The Earls. Sadly Fr Liam died earlier this year (March 2011) May he rest in peace. Certrainly his good deeds go before him and his many good words and works remain after him.