John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam, was a child of their diocese. He was born at Tubbernavine on 6 March 1791; became Coadjutor Bishop of Killala in 1825, bishop in 1834, and later in the same year was transferred to Tuam. He died on 7 November 1881, and is buried in the sanctuary of Tuam's cathedral. After him came Dr Finan, a Dominican priest unfit, owing to his continental training, to direct the affairs of an Irish diocese. On his resignation in 1838, a parish priest of the Archdiocese of Tuam, Rev. Thomas Feeney, who had formerly been professor and president of St. Jarlath's College at Tuam, was chosen for the task of repairing the injury that ecclesiastical discipline had suffered during his thirty-five year tenure. Along the left bank of the river are the ruins of several monasteries. Rosserk, a Franciscan house of strict observance, was founded in 1460. The Abbey of Moyne still stands on a site just over the river, and further on, north of Killala, was the Dominican Rathfran Friary. On the promontory of Errew running into Lough Conn another monastery existed as such till comparatively recent times. A round tower in Killala itself, still preserved, indicated the ancient celebrity of the place as an ecclesiastical centre. 18th century By the end of the 18th century, Killala had established a small sea port, where fishing was the primary activity. The town also produced coarse linens and woolen products. French invasion Killala was the site of the first engagement which the French force of General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert that invaded Ireland to assist the Irish Rebellion of 1798 participated in. On 22 August 1798, Humbert landed at the nearby Kilcummin Harbor with 1,109 French troops with the objective of supporting the rebellion. Humbert's force quickly seized the town and advanced to Ballina, which his men also captured with little trouble. The force then moved further inland and on 27 August, it won a battle in Castlebar against a larger government force commanded by General Gerard Lake. The town was also the site of the last land engagement of the rebellion on 23 September 1798 when a government force led by Major-General Eyre Power Trench captured Killala. Transport Harbour Killala has a harbour at the south end of Killala Bay. Road The R314 road connects Killala south to Ballina (and the N26 and N59 roads) and north to