Congus (also called Congas, Conghas, Conghus) b. c.680 - d.750, was the

Bishop of Armagh A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 730 to 750.

Genealogy and Birth

Congus was from Cul Athguirt in the parish of

Islandmagee Islandmagee () is a peninsula and civil parish on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Whitehead. It is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rural ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. He was descended from Dá Slúaig, the son of Ainmere so he was a member of the Húi Nadsluaga clan who were one of the five prímthúatha of

Dál mBuinne Dál mBuinne, alias Dál mBuain, meaning the "portion of Buinne", was a medieval Irish Cruthin petty-kingdom that was part of Dál nAraidi of Magh Line in the over-kingdom of Ulaid. Their eponymous ancestor was Buinn, son of the legendary Ulaid ki ...

, east of Lough Neagh, County Antrim."The Ancient List of the Coarbs of Patrick", by Rev. H. J. Lawlor and R. I. Best in PRIA, Vol. XXXV (1919), p. 321, No. 23. Congus was a scribe before being elevated to the See of Armagh.

Bishop of Armagh

On the death of Saint Suibne, the Bishop of Armagh, on 21 June 730, Congus was appointed as the 20th

coarb A coarb, from the Old Irish ''comarbae'' (Modern Irish ''comharba'', Latin: ''hērēs''), meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the medieval church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears intercha ...

in succession to Saint Patrick. Congus reigned as Bishop for 20 years.

Supremacy of Armagh

The primacy and influence of Armagh expanded greatly during the rule of Congus. This was mainly due to his influence over two successive High Kings of Ireland,

Áed Allán Áed Allán (or Áed mac Fergaile) (died 743) was an 8th-century Irish king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. Áed Allán was the son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin and a member of the Cenél nEógain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill. F ...

whose spiritual confessor he was and

Flaithbertach mac Loingsig Flaithbertach mac Loingsig (died 765) was a High King of Ireland. He was a member of the Cenél Conaill, a branch of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Loingsech mac Óengusso (died 703), a previous high king. He ruled from 728 to 734. H ...

whose bishop-abbot he was. Before the reign of Congus the primates generally restricted themselves to the see of Armagh but afterwards they began to make circuits and visitations through the rest of Ireland for the collection of their dues. This was called the Cattlecess or "Law of St. Patrick".

Geoffrey Keating Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and a ...

states- "''It was about this time that a meeting took place between Aodh Ollan, king of Ireland, and Cathal, son of Fionghaine, king of Munster, at Tir Daghlas, in Urmhumha, where they imposed Patrick's rule and law and tribute on Ireland''" The Annals of Ulster have the following entries under the year 737- "''A meeting between Aed Allán and Cathal at Tír dá Glas. The law of Patrick was in force in Ireland''" A further impetus to the widening influence of Armagh was the fact that the High King of Ireland

of the

Cenél Conaill Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history * Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) i ...

abdicated his throne in 734 and went to reside in Armagh monastery for the rest of his life

Battle of Fochart

The

Battle of Fochart A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 732 is alleged to have taken place between

Áed Róin Áed Róin mac Bécce Bairrche (died 735) was the Dál Fiatach ruler of the over-kingdom of Ulaid in Ireland. He reigned from 708 to 735. He was the son of Bécc Bairrche mac Blathmaic, (died 718), a previous king of Ulaid who had abdicated in 707 ...

, king of

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...

, and

, High King of Ireland, as a result of a quatrain composed by Congus whilst bishop. It resulted in a devastating defeat for the Ulaid, to which Congus belonged, and resulted in the death of Áed Róin. An Irish proverb arose from this incident- "Torad penne Congusa" (the fruit of Congus's pen), i.e. the downfall of the Ulaid resulted from the letter of Congus.

Death

Congus died in 750. The Annals of Ireland give the following obits- * Annals of the Four Masters 749- "''Congus, the scribe, Bishop of Ard-Macha, died; he was of the race of Ainmire''" * Annals of Inisfallen 750- "''Repose of Congus, abbot of ArdMacha''" * Annals of Ulster 750- "''Repose of Congus, bishop of ArdMacha''" * Annals of Tigernach 750- "''The rest of Congus, bishop of Armagh''"

References

{{authority control 680s births 750 deaths 8th-century Irish bishops Bishops of Armagh