Saint Molua (d. c 609),''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints'', p.343 (also known as ''Lua'', ''Da Lua''), was an Irish saint, who was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

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. Th ...

in the

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. Saint Molua's feast day is on 4 August. He is venerated in the

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and

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Life

St Molua was an Irish priest of the 6th century who like Columba and Gall trained in the monastery at Bangor, County Down (about twelve miles from Belfast). The saint's real name was originally Lughaidh (pronounced Lua). His father is believed to have been Coche or Carthach of the Corca Oiche, a sept associated with the Ui Fidgenti from the Limerick area. His mother, Sochla was from Ossory."who was St. Molua/", St. Molua's Church, Stormont
/ref> Local Historians note of stories that tarnished the Saint's reputation in his time, those being that he had fathered many children to the daughter of a local Eóganachta Chieftain in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

. These children were named locally as Ó Maoldomhnaigh which in turn birthed the family name of Moloney. Little is known on Molua other than he was a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, a builder and possibly a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite ( adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a C ...

. Molua was the founder of Killaloe ( ga, Cill-da-Lua), which bears his name ''Lua''. Molua had his oratory on Friar's Island, later replaced by a

stone church In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

near the present village of Killaloe. Like most Irish saints he appears to have been very hospitable, believing that in entertaining others he was entertaining Christ. He was kind to animals as well as humans and it was said that when he died all living creatures bewailed him.

Legacy

Molua's principal disciple was Saint Flannan, who succeeded Molua. His monastery in Clonfert-Mulloe in Osraige produced the scholar Laidcenn mac Buith Bannaig.

References

Sources

*Farmer, David Hugh. ''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints''.

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, 1992. * 7th-century deaths 7th-century Christian saints Dál gCais Medieval saints of Munster 6th-century Irish abbots 7th-century Irish abbots Year of birth unknown {{Ireland-saint-stub