Malachy of Ireland (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1279–1300), also known as Malachias Hibernicus, was a theologian and

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 ...

in 1280. He was a

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and was elected

, though never officially installed. He was first mentioned in a letter of 1279 from Nicol Mac Máel Ísu,

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

, to

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

Lord of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...

, asking that Brother Malachy be appointed to Tuam. The king granted this request in a letter dated 22 April 1280. However, five of the seven canons of Tuam chosen as electors voted for Nicol Mac Flainn, a fellow canon. This resulted in

Stephen de Fulbourn Stephen de Fulbourn (died 3 July 1288) was an English-born cleric and politician in thirteenth-century Ireland: he was Justiciar of Ireland, and Archbishop of Tuam 1286–88. He was a member of the Order of Knights Hospitallers. Biography A nat ...

being transferred from Waterford to Tuam. Malachy had by then abandoned his claim, and his election was annulled. Malachy may also be the author of a

treatise A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...

, ''De veneno'', on the

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...

, published in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1518 and alternatively attributed to

Robert Grosseteste Robert Grosseteste, ', ', or ') or the gallicised Robert Grosstête ( ; la, Robertus Grossetesta or '). Also known as Robert of Lincoln ( la, Robertus Lincolniensis, ', &c.) or Rupert of Lincoln ( la, Rubertus Lincolniensis, &c.). ( ; la, Rob ...

. It is stated as having been written ''"for the instruction of simple men who have to teach the people"''. The edition stated that he was a Franciscan preacher who was alive in 1300, ''"a doctor of theology, a strenuous expounder of the scriptures and a most zealous rebuker of vices."'' Apparently he also wrote a book of sermons, now lost.

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...

recorded that he was well received in Ireland, esteemed at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and preached before

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

References

* ''Dictionary of Irish Biography from the Earliest Times to the Year 2002'', p. 308, Cambridge, 2010. * ''Friar Malachy of Ireland'', Mario Esposito, Early Historical Record xxxiii (1918), pp. 359–66. * A.B. Scott, 'Latin Learning and Literature in Ireland: 1169-1500', in ''A New History of Ireland'', volume one, pp. 969–71. Medieval Irish writers Clergy from County Limerick People from County Galway 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland 13th-century Latin writers Roman Catholic writers Gaels {{Ireland-writer-stub