Biographies A-Z

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Ua Conchobair, Tadc in Eich Gil

Ua Conchobair, Tadc in Eich Gil (d. 1030), a son of Cathal and overking of Connacht, belonged to the dynasty of Síl Muiredaig. In later sources he is called in Eich Gil (of the white steed) to distinguish him from the earlier Tadc in Túir (of the tower; d.…

Ua Conchobair, Tairdelbach (O'Conor, Turlough)

Ua Conchobair, Tairdelbach (O'Conor, Turlough) (1088–1156), king of Connacht and high-king of Ireland ‘with opposition’. His accession to the kingship of Connacht in 1106, and his domination of that province for the next half-century, saw the emergence of Connacht as a major…

Ua Conchobair, Tommaltach

Ua Conchobair, Tommaltach (c.1150–1201), bishop of Elphin and archbishop of Armagh, was son of Áed and grandson of Tairdelbach Ua Conchobair (qv), king of Connacht, and became bishop of the O'Connor-…

Ua Cúanáin, Echtgus (Isaac)

Ua Cúanáin, Echtgus (Isaac) (d. 1161), first known bishop of Roscrea and author of a poem on the Real Presence, was probably consecrated bishop at the synod of Kells-Mellifont (March 1152) by the papal legate Iohannes Cardinal Paparo…

Ua Dímasaig, Diarmait

Ua Dímasaig, Diarmait (d. 1193), son of Cú Broga and king of Uí Fhailge, belonged to the dynasty of Clann Maíl-augrai. His grandfather Áed died in 1158 as local ruler of a territory on the western fringes of Uí Fhailge (straddling the modern counties of Laois and Offaly), whose line…

Ua Dubthaig, Cadla (Catholicus)

Ua Dubthaig, Cadla (Catholicus) (d. 1201), archbishop of Tuam, belonged to an ecclesiastical line that gained promotion in Connacht, in the context of the church reform, under the Ua Conchobair kings. Ironically given that they were activists in the reform movement, several…

Ua Duinn, Gilla-na-Náem

Ua Duinn, Gilla-na-Náem (c.1102/3–1160), chief poet in Leinster, was historian and lector of the school of Inis Clothrann in Loch Ree (Inchcleraun, Co. Longford). The Uí Duinn were a branch of the Uí Riacáin lineage of the Uí Fhailge of Leinster. Poems attributed to him…

Ua Dúnáin, Máel-Muire

Ua Dúnáin, Máel-Muire (1040–1117), possibly the first papal legate in Ireland, was appointed c.1100 by Pope Paschal II (1099–1118). He probably began his religious life as a monk at Clonard (Co. Meath), but his name is first documented in a charter (no. III) in the Book of…

Ua Fáeláin, Máel-Sechlainn

Ua Fáeláin, Máel-Sechlainn (fl. c.1173), king of the Déisi Muman, belonged to a line of the Déisi traced to Fáelán (d. 966), ruler of a petty kingdom which leaves its name on the two baronies of Decies, Co. Waterford. Little is known of Máel-Sechlainn's immediate family…

Ua Gormáin, Flann

Ua Gormáin, Flann (d. 1174), chief lector of Armagh, may have belonged to an ecclesiastical line of the Uí Bairrche dynasty of Leinster. As a young man, Flann travelled to England and to the Frankish realms in pursuit of further education; according to his obit in AU, he spent…

Ua Gormáin (Mac Gormain), Find

Ua Gormáin (Mac Gormain), Find (d. 1160), bishop of Kildare, probably belonged to the Uí Bairrche dynasty of north Leinster. His father may have been Gussán, a son of Muiredach Ua Gormáin (d. 1124), king of Uí Bairrche, and if so, he had at least two brothers, Óengus and…

Ua Gormáin, Máel Muire

Ua Gormáin, Máel Muire (fl. c.1170), abbot and martyrologist, appears to have belonged to the same distinguished ecclesiastical family as Flann Ua Gormáin (qv), who on his return to Ireland from his studies abroad became…

Ua hÁedacáin, Imar

Ua hÁedacáin, Imar (d. 1134), anchorite and reforming abbot of Armagh, was, for a time, spiritual mentor of St Malachy (qv). Apart from a few meagre references in the Irish annals, Bernard of Clairvaux is the main source…

Ua hAingliu, Donngus (Donatus)

Ua hAingliu, Donngus (Donatus) (d. 1095), third bishop of Dublin, was elected several months after his predecessor Patrick (qv) was drowned in the Irish Sea (10 October 1084). It would seem that Donngus was selected at a general synod…

Ua hAingliu, Samuel

Ua hAingliu, Samuel (d. 1121), fourth bishop of Dublin, was nephew of his predecessor Donngus Ua hAingliu (qv), who died of plague in 1095. He had been trained as a Benedictine monk at St Albans in England. He was…

Ua hAinmire, Máel-Ísu (Malchus)

Ua hAinmire, Máel-Ísu (Malchus) (c.1047–1135), first bishop of Waterford, was one of the earliest and most important figures in the eleventh-century reform movement in the Irish church. Nothing is known of his ancestry or family background. In 1095…

Ua hartacáin, Cináed

Ua hartacáin, Cináed (d. 975), was a poet who, according to a note in the Annals of Ulster, belonged to the sept of Cernach Sotal, who held lands in Brega. A kinsman, Fiachra Ua hArtacáin (d. 978), was abbot of Iona. It has been persuasively argued that Ua hArtacáin was already…

Ua hÉnna, Domnall

Ua hÉnna, Domnall (1023?–1098), chief bishop of Munster, was a leading figure of the first phase of church reform in late eleventh-century Ireland. He belonged to an ecclesiastical lineage of Dál Cais origin which, in his day, filled various church offices in Munster; contemporary…

Ua hEochada, Donnchad

Ua hEochada, Donnchad (d. 1113), son of Donn Slébe and overking of Ulaid, belonged to the dynasty of Dál Fiatach. For most of the eleventh century, the dynasty had been wracked by internal dissensions; since the death of the eponymous Eochaid (1004), the kingship had been contested…

Ua Lochlainn (Mac Lochlainn), Domnall

Ua Lochlainn (Mac Lochlainn), Domnall (1048/9–1121), son of Ardgar and overking of Leth Cuinn (the northern half of Ireland), was an early representative of the Mac Lochlainn family line within the Northern Uí Néill dynasty of Cenél nÉogain. Domnall's father Ardgar (d. 1064) had…

Ua Longargáin, Donnchad

This is a co-subject for the entry on Ua Longargáin, Donnchad (Dionisius). View the original entry.

Ua Longargáin, Donnchad (Dionisius)

Ua Longargáin, Donnchad (Dionisius) (d. 1216), archbishop of Cashel, belonged to an ecclesiastical lineage of Dál Cais, descended from Donn Cuan, son of Cennétig. Earlier members of the family included Annad (d. 1099), abbot of Terryglas, Domnall (d. 1158), archbishop of Cashel,…

Ua Lothcháin, Cúán

Ua Lothcháin, Cúán (d. 1024), poet to Máel-Sechnaill, king of Mide, was a native of Tethba in the kingdom of Mide. His family belonged to the Uí Lothcháin, rulers of Gailenga Móra (in present-day Co. Meath and Co. Longford), and were descendants of Cormac Gaileng. He composed…

Ua Máelshechlainn, Conchobar

Ua Máelshechlainn, Conchobar (d. 1073), son of Domnall and king of Mide, belonged to the Clann Cholmáin dynasty of the Uí Néill. A grandson of Máel-Sechnaill (qv) son of Domnall, he was the first member of the…

Ua Máelshechlainn, Murchad

Ua Máelshechlainn, Murchad (d. 1153), son of Domnall and king of Mide, belonged to the Clann Cholmáin dynasty of Uí Néill. He survived as king for forty-seven years, in itself no mean achievement. Although his political fortunes fluctuated greatly (he was temporarily displaced…