Kildare and Leighlin, Ireland, diocese of
Kildare and Leighlin, Ireland, diocese of
includes Carlow, and parts of Kildare, Leix, Offaly, Kilkenny, Wicklow, and Wexford counties; suffragan of Dublin; united in 1678. Distinguished in its early history were Saint Patrick and Saint Fiacc. The school of Kildare for men and women was founded by Saint Brigid in the 5th century; became a home of sanctity and learning; suppressed during Elizabethan persecution; the Round Tower is all that remains. Saint Laserian (died 639) was the first Bishop of Leighlin; Saint Conleth (c.490), of Kildare. Doctor Leverous (1555-1577) was one of the noted successors of the latter. The old cathedral of Leighlin has been a Protestant church since the Reformation; that of Kildare is now a Protestant cathedral. The ruins of 240 churches and 63 religious houses attest the persecution of that period. See also:
Catholic-Hierarchy.Org
diocese of Kildare and Leighlin
patron saints index : diocese of Kildare
patron saints index : diocese of Leighlin
New Catholic Dictionary