Saint Muiredach mac Echdach, also known as Murtagh, was the founding

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

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the 6th century.

Life

Muiredach was of the Cenél Lóegairi,Mac Shamhráin, Ailbhe. "Muiredach", Dictionary of Irish Biography'', 2009
/ref> and connected to the royal family of King

Lóegaire mac Néill Lóegaire also Lóeguire, is said to have been a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. The Irish annals and king lists include him as a King of Tara or High King of Ireland. He appears as an adversary of Saint Patrick in several hagiographies. His ...

. He is described as an old man of Patrick's family, and was placed at the head of the Church of Killala by St. Patrick, as early as 442 or 443.Healy, John. "Killala." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 21 Mar. 2013
/ref> The connection with Patrick doesn't reconcile with Muiredach's being active in the late 6th century, and probably reflects Armagh's interests in Killala. He appears active in County Sligo, and allegedly met with

St. Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

in the year 575, in a town called

Ballysadare Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. Ballysadare is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. ...

. He likely retired to an island off the

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

coast in Donegal Bay to an uninhabited island, Inishmurray, that bears his name. He may also be a patron of the monastery on that island founded by Laisrén mac Decláin. Muiredach died there as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

, and his

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is 12 August. St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala."St. Muredach’s Cathedral Ballina", Mayo North
/ref>

References

Bishops of Killala 6th-century Christian saints Canonizations by Pope Leo XIII 5th-century Irish Christian clergy 6th-century Irish bishops Medieval saints of Connacht Disciples of Saint Patrick {{Ireland-saint-stub