Albin O'Molloy () (died 1223) was the Irish

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

Background

O'Molloy was native of what is now north

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

. He became a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monk at

Baltinglass Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road (Ireland), N81 road ...

, and eventually rose to be

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of that house. His family, the O'Molloy, claimed descent from the branch of the

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasty, dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King of Ireland, High King Conn of the Hundred Battles, Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western Provinces of ...

later to be known as the southern

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties that claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who is believed to have died around c. 405. They are generally divided ...

. Albin's ancestor,

Fiachu mac Néill Fiachu mac Néill (flourished 507–514) was a king of Uisnech in Mide of the Ui Neill dynasty. He was the son of the high king Niall Noígíallach. According to the king list in the ''Book of Leinster'', he succeeded his brother Conall Cremth ...

(flourished 507–514), was one of the

Kings of Uisnech The Kings of Uisnech were of the Uí Néill and one of its major southern branches, the Clann Cholmáin. The Hill of Uisnech is located in what is now County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Re ...

; his descendants, the

Cenél Fiachach Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

, held lands from Birr to

Uisnech The Hill of Uisneach or Ushnagh ( or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial site in the barony of Rathconrath in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is a protected national monument. It consists of numerous monuments and earthworks—prehistoric and medi ...

in southern

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

and part of

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

. Their southern territory became known as Fir Cell (land of the churches) covering a large part of what is now

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 ...

, where the

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

O'Molloy is still very common.

Sermon in Dublin

In Lent 1186, when

John Comyn John Comyn III of Badenoch, nicknamed the Red ( 1274 – 10 February 1306), was a leading Scottish baron and magnate who played an important role in the First War of Scottish Independence. He served as Guardian of Scotland after the forced ...

archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

, held a synod at Holy Trinity Church, O'Molloy preached a long sermon on clerical continency, in which he laid all the blame for existing evils on the Welsh and English clergy who had come over to Ireland.

Bishop of Ferns

O'Molloy was shortly afterwards made bishop of Ferns, the see having been previously declined by

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

. He was present at the coronation of

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

on 3 September 1189. On 5 November, he was appointed by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

, with the

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ) is an Episcopal polity, archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Cathol ...

and

Bishop of Kilmacduagh The Bishop of Kilmacduagh was an episcopal title which took its name after the village of Kilmacduagh in County Galway, Ireland. In both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church, the title is now united with other bishoprics. Histo ...

, to excommunicate the

Bishop of Waterford The Bishop of Waterford was a medieval prelate, governing the Diocese of Waterford from its creation in the 11th century until it was absorbed into the new Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore in the 14th century. After the creation of ...

, who had robbed the Bishop of Lismore. In 1205, O'Molloy received 10

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s from the royal gift, and on 3 April 1206 was recommended by the king to the chapter of Cashel for archbishop. In November 1207, Innocent addressed a letter to O'Molloy with reference to persons who had been improperly ordained. On 17 June 1208, O'Molloy was sent by the king on a mission to the

King of Connaught The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...

. On 15 September 1215, he had protection while attending the council at Rome; and on 5 September 1216 received custody of the bishopric of Killaloe.

Excommunication of Earl of Pembroke

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Anglo-Norman language, Norman French: ', French language, French: '), was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman during High Med ...

, while in Ireland between 1207 and 1213, seized two manors belonging to the Bishop of Ferns. For this O'Molloy excommunicated him; but the earl pleaded that it was done in time of war, and retained the manors all his life. After Marshal's death, O'Molloy came to the king at London and petitioned for the restoration of his lands. King Henry III begged the bishop to absolve the dead, but O'Molloy refused to do so unless restoration were made. To this the younger William Marshal and his brothers refused their consent, and O'Molloy then cursed them, and foretold the end of their race. The quarrel appears to have been at a crisis in 1218. On 18 April of that year, O'Molloy was prohibited from prosecuting his plea against William, earl Marshal, and on 25 June Pope Honorius III directed the Archbishop of Dublin and the legate to effect a reconciliation between the bishop and the earl. Nevertheless, the male line of the Marshall family ended with the death of Anselm Marshal, 6th Earl of Pembroke (2nd Creation) in 1245. Like all his brothers, he had no children, and the estate was divided up among female heirs.

Life of Abban

About 1218, O'Molloy wrote a life of

Abbán Abbán of Corbmaic (, ; d. 520?), also Eibbán or Moabba, was a saint and abbot. He is associated, first and foremost, with the Mag Arnaide (Moyarney or Adamstown, County Wexford, near New Ross).Ó Riain, "Abbán" His order was, however, also c ...

of Mag Arnaide ( Adamstown), who died about 520. His interest in the saint partly stemmed from the fact that Mag Arnaide lay within the diocese of Ferns, but also denoted his personal attachment to the saint's cult in an episode where Abbán converts a man of royal rank from the area and baptises his son: "I who gathered together and wrote the Life am a descendant eposof that son". However, the immediate circumstances which prompted the composition of the Life are likely to have been political, a direct consequence of his quarrel with the Marshall family.

Death

O'Molloy died on 1 January 1223.Annals of Loch Cé, i. 267

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (; 1200 – 1259), was an English people, English Benedictine monk, English historians in the Middle Ages, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St A ...

speaks of him as conspicuous for his sanctity. O'Molloy consecrated the infirmary chapel at the Cistercian abbey of Waverley on 6 November 1201, and dedicated five altars there on 10 July 1214. The monks of St. Swithin's, Winchester, made him a member of their fraternity. He appears as a witness to several charters in the Chartulary of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OMolloy, Albin Bishops of Ferns 1223 deaths Cistercians Medieval Gaels from Ireland 12th-century Irish writers 13th-century Irish writers Christian clergy from County Waterford Christian clergy from County Tipperary 13th-century writers in Latin Year of birth unknown 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 13th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland