Máel Muire ("servant of Mary") mac Céilechair (died 1106) was an Irish cleric of the monastery of

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise or Clonmacnois (Irish language, Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery in County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ciarán, ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

, and one of the principal

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

s of the manuscript ''

Lebor na hUidre (, LU) or the Book of the Dun Cow (MS 23 E 25) is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many ...

''. He came from a prominent clerical family with links to Clonmacnoise going back six centuries. He was the son of Céilechar Mugdornach (of the Mugdornai, a people of early Ireland), bishop of Clonmacnoise; son of Conn ma mBocht ("of the poor"), head of the Céli Dé and an

anchorite In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress); () is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, Asceticism , ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Anchorit ...

of the same monastery, d. 1059; son of Joseph, a confessor at Clonmacnoise, d. 1022; son of Dúnchad, bishop of Clonmacnoise, d. 953; son of Égertach, superior of Ecclais Becc, d. 893; grandson of Eogan, an anchorite of Clonmacnoise, d. 845; son of Aedagán, abbot of Louth, d. 834; son of Torbach, scribe, lector and abbot of

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, d. 807; son of Gormán, successor of Mochta of Louth, who died in 753 while on a pilgrimage to Clonmacnoise. Another Gormán of the Mugdornai, who according to the '' Annals of Clonmacnoise'' was an ancestor of Máel Muire, also died while on pilgrimage to Clonmacnoise in 610. Máel Muire was one of the three scribes who worked on the manuscript ''

'', the earliest and one of the most important collections of

early Irish literature Early Irish literature, is commonly dated from the 8th or 9th to the 15th century, a period during which modern literature in Irish began to emerge. It stands as one of the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe, with its roots extendin ...

. He wrote his name on the manuscript in two marginal '' probationes pennae'' (pen tests), and comparison of the handwriting identifies him as one of the two scribes who wrote the original manuscript, which was later amended by a third hand. His contribution amounts to roughly 60% of the surviving manuscript. A note in the manuscript, made in 1345, credits him as the one who "copied and searched out this book from various books". The ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

'' record his death in 1106 in a

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

raid on Clonmacnoise.''

'
M1106.7
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mael Muire mac Ceilechair Irish scribes 1106 deaths 10th-century Irish Christian clergy 11th-century Irish Christian clergy People from County Offaly 11th-century Irish historians Year of birth unknown Medieval European scribes