Tommaltach Ua Conchobair,

bishop of Elphin The Bishop of Elphin (; ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...

and archbishop of Armagh, lived from c. 1150–1201.

Family background

Ua Conchobair was a grandson of King

Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair Toirdhealbhach Mór Ua Conchobhair (old spelling: Tairrdelbach Mór Ua Conchobair; 1088 – 1156) anglicised Turlough Mór O'Conor, was King of Connacht (1106–1156) and High King of Ireland (ca. 1120–1156). Family background and early life ...

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

(1088–1156) via his son, Aed. However, Tairrdelbach had two sons of that name, one of whom, Aedh Dall Ua Conchobair, was blinded by Tairrdelbach for rebellion in 1136. Tommaltach was nephew to Ruaidhri, King of Ireland (reigned 1156–1183) and King Cathal of Connacht, (reigned 1202–1224); first cousin to Rose, wife of Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath (died 1186), and associate of archbishop of Dublin, Lorcan Ua Tuathail (died 1180).

Early career

He became bishop of Elphin about 1174, and may have travelled to Rome to receive confirmation. He may have been responsible for the founding of a Cistercian house at Athlone. In 1179 he attended Ua Tuathail's council in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, giving the latter's reforms his support. Ua Conchobair travelled with the archbishop to Armagh early in 1180 to settle the diocese's succession dispute; Ua Tuathail, at the time the Papal Legate to Ireland, appointed Ua Conchobair to the position.

Archbishop of Armagh

However, he was not fully accepted by the local clergy on his own terms until 1181. In 1184, there was an attempt to replace him with a member of the ruling dynasty of the kingdom of Airgialla, bishop Mael Isu Ua Cerbaill of

Clogher Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and ...

, with Ua Conchobair unable to fully regain his see until 1186. He appears to have maintained good relations with Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, and King John during the latter's visit to Ireland in 1185. Later he was assisted by de Courcy in commissioning a life of Saint Patrick to advance Armagh's claim to the primacy of Ireland, against that of Dublin. At the 1192 Synod of Dublin, he successfully regained for Armagh control of the diocese of

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

, which had been claimed by King Donnchadh Ua Cearbaill of Airgialla in the 1150s. Ua Conchobair spent the last five years of his life in Drogheda. Much of his correspondence and diocesan documents have been lost, but those that survive include letters from

Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

concerning disputed elections, support for canons of the Arrouasian order and the canonical position of women. He died in 1201 while travelling to Armagh, and was buried at the Cistercian abbey of

Mellifont Mellifont Abbey ( ga, An Mhainistir Mhór, literally 'the Big Monastery'), was a Cistercian abbey located close to Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland. It was the first abbey of the order to be built in Ireland. In 1152, it hosted the Synod o ...

References

* ''Tomaltach Ua Conchobair, coarb of Patrick'',

Aubrey Gwynn Aubrey Osborn Gwynn (17 February 1892 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish Jesuit historian. Life Aubrey Gwynn was born in Dublin on 17 February 1892. His father was the author and sometime Member of Parliament Stephen Gwynn; his paternal grandfather ...

, ''Seanchas Ardmhacha'' vii (1973-7), pp. 231–74 * ''Ua Conchobair, Tommaltach'', David Beresford, ''Dictionary of Irish Biography ... to the Year 2002: Volume 9, Staines – Z'', pp. 579–80 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ua Conchobair, Tommaltach Medieval Gaels from Ireland People from County Galway 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Archbishops of Armagh