Ss. Peter and Paul Parish is one of the Diocese of Elphin’s most easterly parishes. It is located in Athlone on the Shannon’s western bank.
The parish covers Athlone West and surrounding regions of County Roscommon, and is served by the churches of Ss. Peter and Paul, Athlone, St. Brigid’s, Drum, and Our Lady of the Wayside Clonown.
The names Ss. Peter and Paul may be traced back to the 12th century Cluniac Abbey known as the Priory of St Peter and Paul, also known as De Innocentia, situated on the west bank of the Shannon.
Following the collapse of the monasteries during the Reformation and the subsequent fall of the Abbey, a modest chapel was constructed inside the boundaries of the old Priory about 1795.
