Maol Muire Ó hÚigínn, also Maol Muire Ó Huiginn (

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

: Miler O'Higgin; died 1590 at Antwerp), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. A

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 ...

, he was appointed

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 ...

by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

on 24 March 1586, and died in office. Ó hÚigínn was a son of Mathghamhain mac Maol Ó hÚigínn of Dougharane, Leyeny,

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 ...

, a descendant of Tadgh Óg Ó hÚigínn (died 1448). His brother was the poet Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn. Little is known of Ó hÚigínn's early life, but Tadhg Dall was fostered at

Tír Conaill Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...

with the ruling Uí Domnaill family, and Maol Muire may have gone there with his brother. According to McGettigan, "A later source states that in his youth Maol Muire was an accomplished poet and harpist and also something of a philosopher." Ó hÚigínn was educated on the continent, where he took degrees in canon law, civil law and theology. This high standard of education led to his consecration as Archbishop of Tuam in April 1586. He left for

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

sometime prior to 1590, possibly as a result of the severity of the rule of Richard Bingham. He was on his way back from Rome when he died at the episcopal palace at

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

on 5 August 1590, and was buried in the Cathedral of Our Lady within the city. Some of Ó hÚigínn's poems are extant. One, on the uncertainty of life, begins its twelve verses: , ( en, 'O man that ploughest the hillside'). Another, in praise of Ireland, is one hundred and thirty-six verses long. Its first line is: , (). Several other of his poems on religious subjects survive. Ó hÚigínn's poems were still known by poets and historians, and continued to be copied in manuscripts well into the 19th century.

References

Further reading