Maol Chosna () was an Irish missionary and founder of the church of ''Cill Maol Chosna'' ("the church of Maol Chosna"), which gave its name to the

vicarage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

of the east half of

Ballymacward Ballymacward () is a village in County Galway, Ireland, on the R359 regional road between the main road and rail networks which traverse east-west, 24 kilometres from Ballinasloe and approximately 48 kilometres from Galway City. It was once ...

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 = ...

. The site is located at Kilmelcosing cemetery,

. A note added to the '' Félire Óengusso'' identifies him as "Máel-coisne of Cell Máel-coisne i Huí Maini in Connaught on the same feast as Mary the Mother of Jesus".''Félire Óengusso'', tr. Stokes, p. 187. He would appear to have been one of the second generation of missionaries among the

Soghain The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. The 17th-century scholar Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin. Mac Fhirbhisigh stated that the Cruithin included "the Dál Araidhi ál nAraidi t ...

after

Kerrill Saint Kerrill aka Caireall mac Curnain was a Christian missionary in what is now east County Galway, alive in the mid-to-late 5th century. Origins Caireall mac Curnain was a member of the Soghain people of Ireland, specifically those located in ...

, who was ordained by

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

; thus he would have been active sometime in the early decades of the 6th century. A holy well in Kinreask townland may commemorate him. Well into the 20th century it was visited on 29 June, and its waters said to cure eye ailments. Nothing else appears to be known of Maol Chosna. His feast day was 16 August.

Notes

References

* * ''The Life, Legends and Legacy of Saint Kerrill: A Fifth-Century East Galway Evangelist'',

Joseph Mannion Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, 2004. 0 954798 1 3 People from County Galway Medieval saints of Connacht 5th-century Irish priests 6th-century Irish priests {{Ireland-reli-bio-stub