The Bishop of Mayo was an episcopal

Episcopal polity

Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...

 title which took its name after County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

 in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. After the Reformation

English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

, the title was briefly used by the Church of Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

 until 1559 and by the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 until 1631. With each denomination

Christian denomination

A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...

, the bishopric was united to the archbishopric of Tuam

Archbishop of Tuam

The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...

.

History

The diocese of Mayo was not established at the Synod of Rathbreasail

Synod of Rathbreasail

The Synod of Ráth Breasail took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and parish-based church...

 in 1111, but was recognized 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

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 in 1172.

In 1202, the papal legate, Cardinal John, had the see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 of Mayo united to the archbishopric of Tuam

Archbishop of Tuam

The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...

. In 1216, Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....

 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

Pope Gregory IX

Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...

 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.

During the Reformation

English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

, the church in Ireland broke allegiance from the papacy. In 1536, King Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 was declared by an Irish Parliament to be the Supreme Head

Supreme Head

Supreme Head of the Church of England was a title held by King Henry VIII of England signifying his leadership of the Church of England.-History:...

 of the Church in Ireland. The bishops of Mayo continued to conform to the Protestant church under Edward VI

Edward VI of England

Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...

, but under Mary I

Mary I of England

Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

 they reverted back to the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

.

After the Reformation, the Church of Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

 see was united to the Protestant archbishopric of Tuam

Archbishop of Tuam

The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...

, circa 1559. The Roman Catholic see continued until the early seventeenth century, when, after a long vacancy, it was united to the archdiocese of Tuam

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam is a Roman Catholic archdiocese in western Ireland. According to tradition, the "Diocese of Tuam" was established in the sixth century by St. Jarlath...

 in 1631.

Pre-Reformation bishops

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 Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...
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 Bishopric of Worms The Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Palatinate. Worms had been the seat of a bishop from Roman times...  in 1461; died 28 August 1470
1470	1493	No bishops appointed

Bishops during the Reformation

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 to 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 Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:... ; died circa 1559
In circa 1559, the Church of Ireland Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...  see was united to the Protestant archbishopric of Tuam Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...

Post-Reformation bishops

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 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 Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Roman Catholic Church.-History:...