Gilla CrÃst Ua Mocháin was an
Irish craftsman, fl. 1120s.
Background
Gilla CrÃst Ua Mocháin was a member of a
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uà Fiachrach, Uà Briúin, Uà Maine, ConmhaÃcne, and Delbhn ...
family who "were a prominent Connacht ecclesiastical family".
[Bhreathnach, 2005, p. 378] There were two apparently distinct families: one were natives of the
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
of
Kilmacduagh
Kilmacduagh () is a small village in south County Galway, near Gort, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the site of Kilmacduagh monastery, seat of the Diocese of that name. The diocese is now part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Ki ...
, apparently from the vicinity of
Ballyvaughan
Ballyvaughan or Ballyvaghan () is a small harbour village in County Clare, Ireland. It is located on the N67 road on the south shores of Galway Bay, in the northwest corner of The Burren. This position on the coast road and the close proximity ...
(Baile Uà Bheacháin); another were of ''Cill
Athracht, taobh le
Loch Gara i
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...
.'' Two other unrelated families of the name, natives of what are now
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
and
County Monaghan.
The
Annals of Connacht mentions members of the family, ''sub anno'' 1361, 1392, 1414, 1460, 1470–71. The name is now variously rendered as Maughan, Moghan, Mohan, and Moughan, and found mainly in
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
and
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
.
Shrine of Colmáin mac Lúacháin
Following the re-discovery of the
relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
of
Colmáin mac Lúacháin,
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of Lann (now Lynn, near
Lough Ennell
Lough Ennell () is a lake near the town of Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. It is situated beside the N52 road, off the Mullingar/ Kilbeggan road. The lake is part of the Lough Ennell Special Protection Area. It is long by wide, with an ...
in
County Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...
in 1122 – they had been concealed and forgotten during the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
– Gilla CrÃst Ua Mocháin became responsible for the construction a new
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
for the relics. This was apparently at the behest of the head or ''
erenagh'' of Lann,
Gilla CrÃst mac Gilla Pátric, and during the reign of King Murchad of
Mide (died 1153).
Destruction of shrine
The church of Lann, with its shrine and relics, were destroyed in 1394 by the king of
Cenél Fiachrach,
Muirchertach Óg Mac Eochagáin.
Other bearers of the name
*
Gregorius Ó Mocháin,
Bishop of Elphin 1357–72,
Archbishop of Tuam
The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church.
Histor ...
1372–1383
*
Gregorius Ó Mocháin, Bishop of Elphin, 1383,
Bishop of Derry, 1394
*
Gregorius Ó Mocháin II,
Archbishop of Tuam
The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church.
Histor ...
, 1384–86
*
Cornelius Ó Mochain,
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of
Boyle
Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include:
Disambiguation
*Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
to 1449,
Bishop of Achonry
The Bishop of Achonry () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Achonry in County Sligo, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bis ...
1449–73
References
Sources
* ''Bertha Colmáin maic Lúacháin. Life of Colmán maic Lúacháin'', pp.v-vi,
Kuno Meyer, Dublin, 1911.
* ''A Midhe is maith da bhá mar: thoughts on medieval Mide'', pp. 373–82,
Edel Bhreathnach
Edel Bhreathnach is an Irish historian and academic and former CEO of the Discovery Programme.
Bhreathnach was a Tara Research Fellow for the Discovery Programme from 1992 to 2000. In 2005 she was appointed Post-Doctoral Fellow at the MÃcheál à ...
, in ''Above and Beyond: essays in memory of Leo Swan'', ed. Condit and Corlett, 2005.
External links
* http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID=
* http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100011/index.html
* http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T201036/index.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ua Mochain, Gilla Crist
Medieval Gaels from Ireland
12th-century Irish people
People from County Galway