Muircheartach mac Pilib Ó Ceallaigh (Maurice O'Kelly; died 1407 or 1409) was

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 Ireland, and patron of the literary compilation ''An

Leabhar Ua Maine ''Leabhar Ua Maine'' (also ''Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin'', ''The Book of Hy-Many'' and RIA MS D ii 1) is an Irish genealogical compilation, created c. 1392–94. History Previously known as ''Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin'', after Seán Mór Ó Dubhagá ...

''. He was a son of Pilib Ó Ceallaigh, and a brother to

William Buidhe Ó Cellaigh William Ua Cellaig (modern ga, Uilliam Buidhe Ó Cellaigh), also known as William Boy O'Kelly or William Buí Ó Ceallaigh, was Taoiseach of Uí Maine and Chief of the Name. He died c.1381. On Christmas Day, 1351, Ó Ceallaigh invited poets, ...

, King of

Uí Maine U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pro ...

and

Chief of the Name The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan (''fine'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland In Eliza ...

(died ).

Leabhar Ua Maine

While Bishop of Clonfert, Ó Ceallaigh commissioned the work known as ''

'', written by ten scribes in

before 1392 and after 1394. It includes a series of metrical dindsenchas, An

Banshenchas ''An Banshenchas'' (literally "the woman lore") is a medieval text which collects brief descriptions of prominent women in Irish legend and history into a poetic narrative. Unlike much of early Irish literature, ''An Banshenchas'' may be attrib ...

, poems, genealogies and pedigrees. The largest single section is devoted to the origins and genealogies of the Ó Cellaigh dynasty of Ui Maine, its contents updated to the time of compilation. There were ten scribes, eight of whom are anonymous. It remained in the possession of the O'Kelly family till 1757.

Archbishop

Ó Ceallaigh has been described as "a learned and witty prelate" and was in favour with the Pope.Henry Cotton (1850)
''The Succession of the Prelates and Members of the Cathedral Bodies in Ireland''
volume IV, p. 9. He was elected archbishop of Tuam in the summer of 1392, but not translated from Clonfert until 26 January 1393. He died 29 September 1407 or (according to Cotton) 1409.

References

* ''The Ó Cellaigh Rulers of Uí Maine - A Genealogical Fragment, c.1400, (Part 1)'', Nollaig Ó Muraíle, Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, pp. 32–77, volume 60, 2008 * ''Compilations of lore and legend: Leabhar na hUidhre and the Books of Uí Mhaine, Ballymote, Lecan and Fermoy'', John Carey, in Bernadette Cunningham and Siobhán Fitzpatrick (eds), ''Treasures … '', Dublin, 2009, pp. 17–31. *

External links

''Annals of the Four Masters''
CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts Archbishops of Tuam 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Christian clergy from County Galway Bishops of Clonfert 1407 deaths 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland {{Medieval-bishop-stub