Laurence Gillooly CM (12 May 1819 – 12 January 1895) was an Irish Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Elphin from 1858 to 1895.Bishop Laurence Gillooly. Catholic Hierarchy website. Retrieved 5 May 2022. The son of Laurence Gillooly and his wife Margaret (née McGann), he was born at Bothair Garbh, Gallowstown, County Roscommon, near Roscommon Town. His older brother, Timothy, also became a priest.
Brought up an Irish Catholic, he was educated locally in Roscommon, and at St Nathy's College in Ballaghadereen. He studied at the Irish College in Paris before ordination as a Vincentian Priest in 1847.Parish History - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Favoured by Cardinal Cullen, his status as a ultramontanist helped him to obtain the position of bishopric of Elphin.'Paul Cardinal Cullen and the Shaping of Modern Irish Catholicism' (1983) By Desmond Bowen.
During Gillhooly's time in Elphin, he developed many churches, including the redevelopment of Sligo Cathedral. He founded Summerhill College (originally outside Athlone, now in Sligo) as a Diocesan College. Gillhooly Hall is named after him.
He was succeeded as Bishop of Elphin by John Joseph Clancy (bishop), a priest of the diocese and professor at Maynooth College.
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