Saint Molua (d. c 609),''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints'', p.343 (also known as ''Lua'', ''Da Lua''), 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 ...

saint, who was a Christian abbot in the Early Middle Ages. Saint Molua's feast day is on 4 August. He is venerated in the

Catholic Church 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 ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

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 118,81 ...

. 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 builder and possibly a hermit. 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 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''. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 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