St. Joseph’s Church Carrickmacross
Deus Vobiscum...May God Be With You
The Clergy
The Fr. Hughes mentioned above was the author of much correspondence in the Democrat concerning a disagreement about the distribution of the prizes. The parish priest at this time was Rev. James Joseph McMahon, who was appointed in 1854.
In the novel “Oriel”, by Bernard Duffy, the character of Dean McMahon is delightfully drawn as the Dean of “Farney”.
We are told in McKenna’s “Diocese of Clogher” that he was a native of Aghabog, son of a carpenter who had settled for a time at Arney, Co. Fermanagh. He attended Portora School and later Maynooth College where he was ordained. He was inducted as Dean of Clogher by Dr. McNally in 1862, and remained parish priest of Machaire Rois for 30 years until his death in 1884.
A marble slab to his memory can be seen in the floor of St. Joseph’s where he is interred alongside two of his curates, Fathers James Joseph Hughes and Patrick Joseph McCullough who died in 1870 and 1868 respectively. Fr. Hughes was born in Donagh parish and Fr. McCullough was from Monaghan.