The monastery at Kilfenora was reportedly founded by Saint Fachanan in the sixth century.
[1][2] Part of the Archdiocese of Cashel, it only extended over 200 square miles of very thinly populated land.
[6] The first holder of this unusual arrangement was Peter Kilkelly, who had been Bishop of Kilmacduagh since 1744, and became Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora in September 1750.
In 1866, Patrick Fallon, the sitting Bishop of Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora, resigned due to ill health, and John McEvilly, the Bishop of Galway, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of both Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora.
Upon McEvilly's succession in Tuam, the three sees of Galway, Kilmacduagh, and Kilfenora remained vacant for two years.