Mo Chua or Crónán mac Bécáin, also called Claunus, Cuan, Mochua, Moncan and Moncain (died 30 March 637) was a legendary Irish saint who founded the monastery in Balla.

Life

Mo Chua was the youngest of the three sons of Becan (supposedly descended from

Lugaid mac Con Lugaid Mac Con, often known simply as Mac Con, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He belonged to the Corcu Loígde, and thus to the Dáirine. His father was Macnia mac Lugdach, and his mothe ...

) and Cumne (daughter of Conamail of the

Dál mBuinne Dál mBuinne, alias Dál mBuain, meaning the "portion of Buinne", was a medieval Irish Cruthin Túath, petty-kingdom that was part of Dál nAraidi of Magh Line in the over-kingdom of Ulaid. Their eponymous ancestor was Buinn, son of the legendary U ...

). His hair fell out in patches, and he worked as a shepherd.

Comgall Saint Comgall (c. 510–520 – 597/602), an early Irish saint, was the founder and abbot of the great Irish monastery at Bangor in Ireland. MacCaffrey,James (1908). " St. Comgall". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Co ...

of Bangor happening to visit Becan's house, and finding Mo Chua neglected by the family, took him with him to

Bangor Abbey Bangor Abbey was established by Saint Comgall in 558 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland and was famous for its learning and austere rule. It is not to be confused with the slightly older abbey in Wales on the site of Bangor Cathedral. Hi ...

to educate him.Grattan-Flood, William. "Cronan." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 29 July 2019 BallaRoundTower

After growing to adulthood at Bangor Abbey, Mo Chua was eventually expelled, like many other Irish monks who shared his opinions, for being a "Romanist" who opposed the degree to which the monasteries and clergy of the

Celtic Church Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unified and identifiab ...

had been absorbed into the

Irish clan Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or in Irish, plural ) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...

system and lost their independence from control by local lay rulers from the

Gaelic nobility of Ireland This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion. It is one of three groups of Irish nobility, the others bei ...

, Mo Chua founded Feara-rois monastery in

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

, before traveling in 616, at the age of thirty-five, to

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

, where he lived as a hermit in a stone cell. Eochaidh Minnech, the

Chief of the Name The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan ( Irish and Scottish Gaelic: ''fine'') in Ireland and Scotland. Ireland There are instances where Norman lords of the time like ...

of the Clan Fiachra, found him there, and gave him the land to found a monastery, calling him 'Mochua of the narrow prison.' The ruins of the Balla monastery, and the later

Balla Round Tower Balla Round Tower is an Irish round tower and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland. Location Balla Round Tower is located in central Balla, west of the Main Street (part of the N60) on the site of the modern graveyard. History ...

, still remain on the location. Different accounts claimed that Mo Chua lived at Balla for either twenty-one or thirty-one years, before dying on 30 March 637. The

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

therefore celebrates his feast day on 30 March, although the

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...

erroneously lists it as 1 January.

Legend

A number of miracles and heroic acts are attributed to Mo Chua, who is in large part a legendary figure. According to one story, a woman came to Mo Chua during his education in Bangor, intending to ask him to pray for her to have children. When she found him absorbed in prayer and weeping, she caught his tears in her hand, drank them, and obtained her desire. In another story, Mo Chua was guided by a miraculous moving

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

from Bangor to Ross Darbrech, passing on the way through

Gael The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic ...

, Fore, Tech Telle,

Hy Many HY or Hy may refer to: Science and technology * Hy (programming language), a Lisp dialect for Python * HY (satellite), a series of Chinese marine remote sensing satellites * H-Y antigen, a male tissue specific antigen Other uses * HY (band), a ...

, Lough Cime, and Ros Dairbhreach, where it stopped and was at once surrounded by a wall of massive stones, forming the

. Room, Adrian.''A Dictionary of Irish Place Names'', Appletree Press, 1988 p. 19 Mo Chua supposedly once encountered two mighty women named Bee and Lithben, who transported passengers over a dangerous creek in a basket, and converted and baptized both them and their fathers. Other legendary exploits of Mo Chua include piercing a mountain to bring water from

Lough Leane Lough Leane (; , a personal name) is the largest of the three lakes of Killarney, in County Kerry. The River Laune flows from the lake into the Dingle Bay to the northwest. Etymology and history Although the lake's name has been misinterprete ...

to a mill in Fore, transferring the yellow color of the Yellow Plague to his

crozier A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

(winning him the title of Bachall Buidhe, 'Yellow Crozier'), defeating a monster in Lough Cime, and shaking his crozier to create a bridge over

Lough Conn Lough Conn () is a lake in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With an area of about , it is Ireland's seventh largest lake. With its immediate neighbour to the south, Lough Cullin, it is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the River Moy. ...

connecting Inishlee Island to the mainland.

References

;Attribution * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mo Chua 637 deaths 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Irish Christian clergy Medieval Irish saints Medieval saints of Connacht Medieval saints of Leinster Medieval saints of Meath Christian clergy from County Down Christian clergy from County Mayo Year of birth unknown