Annaghdown
Diocese and the battle with the
Archdiocese
of Tuam
Niall
C.E.J. O’Brien
For much of the
medieval period the diocese of Annaghdown, Co. Galway fought to maintain its
independence from the aggression of successive Archbishops of Tuam who tried to
have it as part of the diocese of Tuam. This article hopes to capture some of
that struggle in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The centre of the
diocese was at the cathedral of Annaghdown which was in the village of the same
name on the shores of Lough Corrib.
Site
and location
The ecclesiastical site
of Annaghdown lies on the eastern shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, a few
miles north of Galway and to the west of the Galway to Ballinrobe road. Annaghdown
is on the north shore of a small inlet from Lough Corrib with Annaghdown Castle
on the southern shore. The marshy ground in the area is reflected in the name
of Annaghdown which is Eanach Dúin or
‘marsh of the fort’. The fort was possibly owned by the king of Magh Seola who
at some time gave the site to the church.[1]
The cathedral of
Annaghdown is at the south end of the ecclesiastical site. The cathedral in its
present state is mostly fifteenth century but includes elements from earlier
times like the twelfth century doorway and a window. To the north of the
cathedral is an earlier church of eleven or twelfth century date with later
additions. Further north again is another church from medieval times. About a
hundred west of the cathedral is the nunnery of St. Mary of the Arroasian
order, founded as a dependent of Clonard in 1195. South of the nunnery was an
Augustinian abbey, founded in the mid twelfth century with its own abbey
church. It is unclear if the canons and the nuns used the same church.[2]
Foundation
of Annaghdown
The first Christian
religious building at Annaghdown was a nunnery founded by St. Brendan (died
c.578) for his sister, Briga.[3]
St. Brendan was one of the greatest of the early Irish saints. Known to
historians as St. Brendan of Clonfert, he is better known to the wider world as
Brendan the Navigator. The story of his travels was a medieval best seller across
Europe and still captures the imagination to this day. St. Brendan came from
the Ciarraige Luchra people of Co. Kerry where he received his early education.
He later studied under St. Jarlath at Tuam and Clonard. St. Brendan’s first
monastery was at Clonfert on the River Shannon. From there he founded
monasteries in Counties Kerry, Galway (Annaghdown) and Mayo before establishing
additional monasteries along the west coast of Scotland. As a seafarer, St.
Brendan placed all these monasteries along the coast or on navigable rivers and
lakes.[4]
It is suggested, even
stated as fact, by some sources that St. Brendan was given the site of
Annaghdown by Aodh, son of Eochu, King of Connacht. As two of the three sources
of this information were written in much later times it is difficult to trust
their historical accuracy as later writers sometimes re-wrote earlier works to
reflect the political climate of their own time. As Aodh son of Eochu was of
the Ui Briuin Aoi based in present-day County Roscommon some have concluded
that even as King of Connacht that he could not grant away land in another
kingdom to his own, i.e. in the kingdom of Ui Briuin Seola.[5]
Early
church history
The surviving annals of
Ireland record the important events in early medieval history but they do not
cover all the country in detail. There is a notable absence of events recorded
for Connacht in the time before the Norman Conquest (1169).[6]
The early history of Annaghdown, which is in Connacht, is therefore difficult
to construct but we can put some fresh upon the scene. In pre-Christian times
the plain between Lough Corrib and Tuam was known as Magh Seola. Annaghdown was
on the western side of this plain. The land of Magh Seola formed the core area
of the kingdom of Uí Briúin Seola. The first historically recognised king of
Magh Seola was Cennfaelad mac Colgan who died in 682 as king of Connacht. After
Cennfaelad, the kingdom of Uí Briúin Seola was divided between his two sons.
The land in the immediate area around Annaghdown formed the sub-kingdom of Uí Briúin
Ratha and included the later parishes of Annaghdown, Claregalway and Lackagh.[7]
About the year 800
there is a reference to a person called Ciarán of Annaghdown. The evidence from
other local place-names identifies this person as Ciarán of Clonmacnoise. This
would suggest that the monastery at Annaghdown was part of the paruchia of Clonmacnoise and not that of
Clonfert. The later aggressor of Annaghdown, church of Tuam, was in the paruchia of Clonfert.[8] Thus
the rivals were in different camps from early times.
The cathedral of Annaghdown
Local
political map
In the eleventh century
the O’Connors of Uí Briúin Ai displaced the O’Flaherty family of Uí Briúin
Seola from the plains around Tuam. The O’Flaherty family grouping moved west of
Lough Corrib into the land of Delbna.[9] The
O’Connors, kings of Connacht, became patrons of Tuam and were the powerful
backers that made Tuam an archdiocese in 1152.
The aggression wars
made by the O’Connor family made a number of areas in Connacht into disputed
lands. The area south of Tuam was much fought over by the different kingdoms that
the disputed lands extended beyond the secular world and into the
ecclesiastical world. The dioceses of Annaghdown and Tuam both claimed the
parishes of Cummer and Belcare as their own.[10]
Diocesan
formation in Ireland
In 1111 a synod of the
Irish church was held at Raithbreasail, in what is now County Tipperary, to
introduce various reforms in the structure of the church. One of the main
reforms was to replace the monastic confederation or paruchia with the diocese structure of the rest of Europe. Two
archdioceses were created; Armagh with twelve dioceses under it in the north
and Cashel with twelve dioceses under it in the south. Some dioceses like
Dublin refused to join the system and acknowledged the Archbishop of Canterbury
as their head church. Annaghdown was then part of the diocese of Tuam and so
under the control of Armagh.[11]
The palls from Rome
which gave legal status and formal recognition of an archbishopric were not
given to Armagh and Cashel immediately after Raithbreasail. The new
archbishopric of Cashel was thus not recognised by Rome and this allowed
suffragan bishops of Cashel, like Bishop Gilbert of Limerick, free to recognise
the Archbishop of Canterbury as the head church for some Irish dioceses. It
would be nearly forty year before the palls came from Rome and then there came
four palls not two.[12] In
1152 the synod of Kells acknowledged the four palls of archbishopric for
Armagh, Cashel, Dublin and Tuam. The areas covered by the two new archdioceses
were carved out of the former two archdioceses. The town of Tuam formed the
centre of the archdiocese of Tuam. The suffragan dioceses of Tuam were the old
dioceses of Tuam, Cong, Killala, Ardagh and Clonfert. At Kells three additional
dioceses were created, namely; Mayo, Achony and Kilmacduagh.[13]
Annaghdown was still part of the diocese of Tuam in 1152.
Changing
political climate and formation of Annaghdown diocese
In 1169 the political climate
in Ireland changed forever with the coming of the Anglo-Normans. As the
Anglo-Normans conquered the country so they appointed their own people to the
secular and ecclesiastical offices in the areas they controlled. The four
archbishoprics were divided into two with Anglo-Norman archbishops at Armagh
and Dublin and Irish archbishops at Cashel and Tuam.
As the old Irish power
centres declined in the advance of the Anglo-Normans opportunities of freedom
were given to those who lived under some powerful Irish rulers. Rory O’Connor
was no longer high king of Ireland and his undisputed control of Connacht was
challenged by his subject Irish rulers. The O’Connors were long time patrons of
Tuam and its large diocese. Now the O’Connors were too busy with their own
survival to watch over their church. Roderic O’Flaherty, king of Delbna (from
Galway to Cliften) and Uí Briúin Ratha (east of Lough Corrib, including
Annaghdown) saw his chance to break free from the O’Connor overlordship. O’Flaherty
placed his chaplain into Annaghdown where he appointed him bishop and formed
the lands of his kingdom into a new diocese, lands which were up until that
time part of the diocese of Tuam.[14] The
clerics at Tuam did not forget this act of independence and for the rest of the
medieval period sought to suppress the new diocese and restore the full extent
of the Tuam diocese.
The dioceses of Ireland in the thirteenth century by John Watt
Early
bishops of Annaghdown
The first named bishop
of Annaghdown was Conn O Mellaigh in 1189 and he was one of three Irish bishops
to attend the coronation of King Richard I at Westminster in that same year.
Bishop O Mellaigh later attended a great council held by King Richard at
Pipewell.[15]
It is suggested that Annaghdown, along with the diocese of Dromore, was given
official recognition as a diocese at a synod held in Dublin in 1192. The Archbishop
of Dublin at the time was also the papal legate (Pope’s ambassador) in Ireland
and so had authority to give such recognition.[16]
In 1202 Bishop Conn O Mellaigh of Annaghdown died. A synod in Connacht of both lay people and clerics was held later that year before the new papal legate. It is not known what representation Annaghdown had at the synod or to what extend its recent separation from the diocese of Tuam was discussed. The next bishop of Annaghdown, Murchadh O'Flaherty, did attend the fourth Lateran Council in 1215 along with the Archbishop of Tuam and seventeen other Irish bishops and two bishops-elect. One of the main issues at the Council was the increase in the number of Irish dioceses since the synod of Kells. Cardinal Papiron advised that the smaller dioceses, including Annaghdown, be absorbed into larger dioceses.[17] This was first official attack on the independence of Annaghdown. Over the next few years Archdiocese of Dublin annexed the diocese of Glendalough and the Archdiocese of Tuam annexed the diocese of Mayo. The efforts of the diocese of Waterford to annex the diocese of Lismore did not succeed and the two dioceses were not united until 1363 under Bishop Thomas le Reve of Lismore [see article on Thomas le Reve = http://celtic2realms-medievalnews.blogspot.ie/2013/05/thomas-le-reve-first-bishop-of-united.html].
In 1202 Bishop Conn O Mellaigh of Annaghdown died. A synod in Connacht of both lay people and clerics was held later that year before the new papal legate. It is not known what representation Annaghdown had at the synod or to what extend its recent separation from the diocese of Tuam was discussed. The next bishop of Annaghdown, Murchadh O'Flaherty, did attend the fourth Lateran Council in 1215 along with the Archbishop of Tuam and seventeen other Irish bishops and two bishops-elect. One of the main issues at the Council was the increase in the number of Irish dioceses since the synod of Kells. Cardinal Papiron advised that the smaller dioceses, including Annaghdown, be absorbed into larger dioceses.[17] This was first official attack on the independence of Annaghdown. Over the next few years Archdiocese of Dublin annexed the diocese of Glendalough and the Archdiocese of Tuam annexed the diocese of Mayo. The efforts of the diocese of Waterford to annex the diocese of Lismore did not succeed and the two dioceses were not united until 1363 under Bishop Thomas le Reve of Lismore [see article on Thomas le Reve = http://celtic2realms-medievalnews.blogspot.ie/2013/05/thomas-le-reve-first-bishop-of-united.html].
In 1238 one of the last
round towers was built in Ireland was erected at Annaghdown.[18] By
1238 the round tower had been replace with the much smaller bell-cote of the
gable end of a church. The purpose of this round tower or bell tower was not so
much to call the faithful to pray but to establish the antiquity of Annaghdown.
Nearly every ancient monastic site in Ireland worth calling itself important
had a round tower and there were a few in the County Galway area but significantly
not at Tuam. By building a round tower Annaghdown could further show why it had
a right to be an independent diocese.
By 1845 no trace of the
round tower existed. George Petrie speculated that it could have been a
quadrangular design connected to the cathedral but for the political purpose of
its construction a traditional round tower is more likely. Local folklore
placed the round tower south of the cathedral.[19]
Annaghdown needed its new
round tower to give itself some strength in 1238 as Aedh O’Connor, aided by the
English, was advancing against the various peoples of Connacht who had rebelled
against him. Aedh O’Flaherty, ruler of Delbna and patron of the Annaghdown diocese,
was one of the rebels. With the help of Norman armies entering Connacht through
Athlone and up from Munster, Aedh O’Connor, King of Connacht was able to regain
control. In 1238 Ruaidhri, son of Aedh O’Flaherty was taken prisoner by the
Normans and Aedh O’Flaherty submitted shortly after. Aedh surrendered his
island fortress on Lough Corrib and his boats.[20]
Successive
bishops struggle for independence
The diocese of Annaghdown
survived these wars and continued to have its own bishop to the opposition of
the Archbishop of Tuam. In 1241 Bishop Murchadh O’Flaherty of Annaghdown died.[21]
The next bishop of Annaghdown was Thomas O Mellaigh who served until his death
in 1250. The Annals of Loch Cé give
the year 1252 for the death of Bishop O Mellaigh but this is incorrect from
other evidence. The chapter at Annaghdown elected a cleric called Conor (or
Concord), canon of Annaghdown, as the new bishop and in January 1251 Pope
Innocent confirmed the election. The Annals
of Ulster say that on 8th May 1251 the royal assent was given
for the election even though the election was held without the royal licence.
Yet government documents dispute this claim. On 27th May 1250
licence was given to the dean and chapter of Annaghdown, by William Brown, to
elect a new bishop after the death of Bishop Thomas. The royal assent on 8th
May 1251 said the chapter were in future not to elect without royal licence. Although
this could be interpreted as saying that no licence was given for Conor’s
election we have seen such licence given by way of William Brown. The assent
gave a mandate to the new Archbishop of Tuam to “do what is his in this matter”
and the Archbishop of ideas of what to do but not to the benefit of Annaghdown.[22]
The
diocese of Tuam seeks annexation of Annaghdown
Instead newly elected Archbishop
of Tuam, Florence mac Flainn, made strong efforts to annex the diocese of
Annaghdown and make it part of the larger diocese of Tuam. Before August 1252
the Archbishop of Tuam wrote to King Henry III concerning the suppression of
the diocese of Annaghdown. The Archbishop claimed that the church of Annaghdown
was an old parish church and not a cathedral church although two bishops lived
there in succession. The Archbishop prayed that Henry III would assent to the
reduction of Annaghdown to its former state as a parish church as recommended
by certain papal letters.
On 18th
August 1252 Henry III wrote to the justiciar of Ireland, John Fitz Geoffrey, to
make effective that reduction of Annaghdown from a diocese to a parish. As part
of this action John Fitz Geoffrey was to arrange, with the consent of the
Archbishop and chapter of Tuam, for the retention of a place in the vill of
Annaghdown for a royal castle along with adjacent lands while allowing some
buildings near the church to be retained by the management of Annaghdown
church. The Archbishop of Tuam was to be compensated with lands elsewhere.
King Henry III asserted
that he was the patron of Annaghdown and had consented to the election of
previous bishops of the diocese. To show his patronage on 19th
August 1252 Henry III issued a letter of unlimited protection, to last for the
king’s life, to the abbot and convent of St. John the Baptist at Annaghdown. Yet
justiciar of Ireland, John Fitz Geoffrey, was to certify the old patronage of
Annaghdown and what land it possessed before a bishop was appointed. The
justiciar was then to give the Archbishop of Tuam lands and rents in Annaghdown
which the Bishop of Annaghdown held in possession.[23]
Tuam
gets Annaghdown
On 30th July
1253 Henry III restored the temporalities of the bishopric of Annaghdown to
Florence, Archbishop of Tuam in exchange for the king having the vill of
Annaghdown in order that the king may there erect a castle. The Archbishop was
to have lands elsewhere in exchange for the lands around Annaghdown retained by
the king. A second letter on the same day told the justiciar of Ireland to give
all the issues received from the vill of Annaghdown to the Archbishop until an
exchange of lands could be made.[24]
The Archbishop of Tuam
was particularly favoured by the king about 1252-3. On 27th July
1253 the king allowed the Archbishop to be exempted from any plea at the courts
held by the justices in eyre. On 30th July 1253 the king allowed
Archbishop Florence to retain the chattels of clerks in the diocese of Tuam who
were convicted of felony. The king’s bailiffs had initially seized these chattels
believing that bad clerks came under royal jurisdiction. By another letter the
king’s bailiffs were restricted from molesting the Archbishop’s tenants.[25]
These letters and
agreements should have ensured the suppression of the diocese of Annaghdown and
the construction of another royal castle on former church ground. Yet trying to
establish control within Annaghdown proved difficult for both sides. For starters
it is not recorded if the king did build a castle in the vill of Annaghdown.
Detailed financial accounts of the Dublin government do not start until 1270
and thus it is difficult to match aspirational plans with reality on the
ground.
The
chapter of Annaghdown elect a new bishop
The Archbishop of Tuam
also found it difficult to establish authority in the old diocese of
Annaghdown. The dean and chapter at some time after August 1252 disregarded the
Archbishop and elected a cleric called Thomas as Bishop of Annaghdown. In 1255
Archbishop Florence went to England to get a number of things for his
archdiocese of Tuam. The Annals of Loch Cé
said the Archbishop returned with all his demands but the diocese of Annaghdown
was not or surrender.[26]
Bishop Thomas remained bishop of Annaghdown until his death in 1263 after which
Christian the clerk went to King Henry III to ask for a licence to elect a new
bishop. After ignoring the agreements of 1252 the king granted the chapter of
Annaghdown a licence to elect a new bishop.[27]
In 1283 the bishopric
of Annaghdown was again vacant yet maintaining a somewhat independent of
control from Tuam. The chapter at Annaghdown lost little time in finding a new
bishop to keep their independence and elected John de Ufford, archdeacon of
Annaghdown. On 16th March 1283 King Edward I gave the royal assent
to the election. But John de Ufford felt he needed more than just royal assent
and proceeded to Rome for papal approval. It was a previous pope who ordered
the reduction of Annaghdown from a cathedral to a simple parish church. On 14th
March 1283 Edward I granted de Ufford licence to travel to Rome.
The Archbishop of Tuam
would not accept the election and consecrate John as bishop. On 30th
August 1284, John, styled bishop-elect, got letters of protection for two years
as he travelled to Rome to seek papal confirmation to his election. But John de
Ufford could not break the power of Tuam and gave up his attempts to be bishop
of Annaghdown when he was made archdeacon of Tuam.[28]
Annaghdown
without a bishop
The diocese of
Annaghdown was again without a bishop and without protection. Sometime before
May 1297 Philip le Blund destroyed the pontificalia at Annaghdown. Yet still
the chapter refused to give up and in 1306 elected Gilbert O Tigernaig, a Friar
Minor, as bishop of Annaghdown. The Archbishop of Tuam refused to accept the
election but Richard Taaffe on behalf of the Archbishop of Armagh, the primate
of Ireland, accepted the election and Annaghdown was a diocese again. The archbishops of Tuam and Armagh had long disputes over which dioceses were within the jurisdiction of each other and in later times called into question Armagh's claim to be primate of Ireland.[29]
The
value of the bishopric
In the 1302-6 papal
taxation returns recognised the diocese of Annaghdown as a separate diocese yet
the visitations of the archdeaconry of Annaghdown were included in the returns
for the diocese of Tuam. The revenue of the Bishop of Annaghdown as recorded
included goods and rents worth £28 along with the fourth part of nearly every
parish church in the diocese. The bishop received from the church of Mecheri (Ballynacourty)
33 shillings 4 pence, Foranmore (Oranmore) church 40s, Roscam church 10s,
Galway church 33s, Clardun church 40s, Delgill church 5s, Kellchama church 5s,
Letragh church half mark, Killeany church 3s 4d, Kellfinfyt church 7s 6d,
Donaghpatrick church 6s 8d, Killower church 5s, Rath-maolid church 6s 8d,
Shrule church 20s, Kilkilvery church 5 shillings and Annaghdown parish church 1
mark. This total of £40 5s 6d when the total value of the diocese was £72 19s
8d.[30]
A
new group of bishops of Annaghdown
Bishop Gilbert O
Tigernaig took the temporalities of Annaghdown in 1308 but found it difficult
to operate under the weight of the Archbishop of Tuam. Thus Bishop Gilbert
spent much of his time as a suffragan bishop on various English dioceses. Yet Bishop Gilbert did not totally give up on Annaghdown. In 1321 he sent a letter to King Edward II asking for an inquiry into the seizure by the Archbishop of Tuam of the temporalities of Annaghdown without warrant. King Edward and his chief advisers, Walter of Norwich and William de Ayremynne, sent the petition to the Dublin government to enquire about the matter and draw up a report. It is not known if this report was ever acted on or was it just filed away to gather dust. Whichever the case Bishop Gilbert was in too failing health to press the matter and he
died before December 1322 when James O Cethernaig was elected bishop but he
only stayed less than two years before transferring to the diocese of Connor.
The former bishop of Clonfert, Robert Petit, then became bishop of Annaghdown and got the temporalities in 1326 but was dead by April 1328. John, the dean of Annaghdown and the chapter wrote to King Edward III for a licence to elect a new bishop and got the licence. The chapter then elected Albertus as the new bishop. Shortly after Bishop Albertus got possession of the temporalities but within a few months the bishop had died or resigned. In this situation of bishops in quick succession and little effective control the richest church in the diocese of Annaghdown, St. Nicholas's Church in Galway, transferred its allegiance to the archdiocese of Tuam.[31]
The former bishop of Clonfert, Robert Petit, then became bishop of Annaghdown and got the temporalities in 1326 but was dead by April 1328. John, the dean of Annaghdown and the chapter wrote to King Edward III for a licence to elect a new bishop and got the licence. The chapter then elected Albertus as the new bishop. Shortly after Bishop Albertus got possession of the temporalities but within a few months the bishop had died or resigned. In this situation of bishops in quick succession and little effective control the richest church in the diocese of Annaghdown, St. Nicholas's Church in Galway, transferred its allegiance to the archdiocese of Tuam.[31]
The
last effective bishop
Thomas O Mellaigh
replaced Albertus as the new bishop of Annaghdown. Thomas came from an old
family that had held the diocese of previous occasions. Yet ancient lineage
counted for nothing with the Archbishop of Tuam and Bishop Thomas had to travel
the long road to Rome to get papal approval. Before he left for Rome Bishop Thomas wrote to King Edward III asking the king to write to the pope objecting to the union of the two dioceses of Annaghdown and Tuam. It is not known if the king ever wrote the letter as Edward III was under the control of his mother and her lover at the time.
King Edward did show favour to the chapter of Mayo in 1328 when they elected a new bishop and complained that the Archbishop of Tuam had occupied the diocese of Mayo for a hundred years. Edward III directed a letter to the pope asking for recognition of the new bishop of Mayo and may have writen in similiar support for Annaghdown. Yet time was against the small diocese. While there at the papal court in Rome, in 1328, Bishop Thomas O Mellaigh of Annaghdown died.[32]
King Edward did show favour to the chapter of Mayo in 1328 when they elected a new bishop and complained that the Archbishop of Tuam had occupied the diocese of Mayo for a hundred years. Edward III directed a letter to the pope asking for recognition of the new bishop of Mayo and may have writen in similiar support for Annaghdown. Yet time was against the small diocese. While there at the papal court in Rome, in 1328, Bishop Thomas O Mellaigh of Annaghdown died.[32]
The ruins of Annaghdown and the end of a diocese
The
end of the diocese of Annaghdown
Pope John XXII took the
opportunity to issue a decree ordering the union of the dioceses of Achonry,
Kilmacduagh and Annaghdown with Tuam.[33] Despite
this forced union a series of bishops of Annaghdown were elected over the
succeeding decades but their efforts to gain control of Annaghdown failed. Many
spent their years as suffragan bishops in English dioceses.
In 1393 the then
titular bishop of Annaghdown petitioned the king to have leave to recruit 200
archers in England for service in Ireland. The bishop claimed that the malice
and power of the king’s enemies made it impossible for him to live in the
diocese or even collect its revenues.[34] But
he failed in his efforts to wrestle control of Annaghdown from the Archbishop
of Tuam. In 1411 the monastery at Annaghdown was burnt down.[35] This
fire symbolically marked the end for an independent Annaghdown. Although further bishops were named for Annaghdown the diocese was by 1411 just an archdeaconry within the larger diocese of Tuam.
===============
End of post
===============
[1] Dónall
mac Giolla Easpaig, ‘Early ecclesiastical settlement names of County Galway’,
in Galway History and Society, edited
by Gerard Moran & Raymond Gillespie (Geography Publications, Dublin, 1996),
p. 800
[2]
Peter Harbison, Guide to National and
Historic Monuments of Ireland (Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1992), p. 143
[3] A.
Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious House: Ireland (Irish Academic Press, Dublin, 1988), p. 312
[4]
Daphne D.C. Pochin Mould, Ireland of the
saints (Batsford, London, 1953), p. 153
[5] Dónall
mac Giolla Easpaig, ‘Early ecclesiastical settlement names of County Galway’,
in Galway History and Society, p.
801
[6] A.
Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious House: Ireland, p. 25
[7]
Paul MacCotter, Medieval Ireland:
Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions (Four Courts Press, Dublin,
2008), pp. 132, 143
[8] Dónall
mac Giolla Easpaig, ‘Early ecclesiastical settlement names of County Galway’,
in Galway History and Society, p.
801
[9]
Francis J. Bryne, Irish Kings and
High-Kings (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2001), p. 230
[10]
Paul MacCotter, Medieval Ireland:
Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions (Four Courts Press, Dublin,
2008), p. 144
[11]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious House: Ireland, p. 49; Geoffrey Keating, General History of Ireland, edited by Dermod O’Connor (James Duffy,
Dublin, 1861), p. 511
[12]
Donal O’Connor, ‘Bishop Gilbert of Limerick, Suffragan of Canterbury’, in Decies, No. 69 (2013), pp. 3-5
[13]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious House: Ireland, pp. 51, 53
[14]
Ven. St. John Seymour, ‘The medieval church’, in History of the Church of Ireland from the earliest times to the present
day, edited by Walter Alison Philips (Oxford University Press, 1934), p. 80
[15]
A. Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious House: Ireland, p. 60
[16] A.
Gwynn & R.N. Hadcock, Medieval
Religious House: Ireland, p. 54
[17] The Annals of Loch Cé (2 vols. Stationery
Office, Dublin, 1939), vol. 1, pp. 223, 227; Patrick Dunning, 'Irish representatives and Irish ecclesiastical affairs at the Fourth Lateran Council', in Medieval Studies presented to Aubrey Gwynn, edited by J.A. Watt, J.B. Morrall & F.X. Martin (editors, Dublin, 1961), pp. 91-2
[18] The Annals of Loch Cé, vol. 1, pp. 349
[19]
Sean Spellissy, The history of Galway
City & County (Celtic Bookshop, Limerick, 1999), pp. 255-6
[20] The Annals of Loch Cé, vol. 1, p. 349; Goddard
Henry Orpen, Ireland under the Normans
(4 vols. in 1, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2005), vol. 3, p. 161
[21] The Annals of Loch Cé, vol. 1, p. 357; The Annals of Ulster (4 vols. Royal
Irish Academy, Dublin, 1901), year 1241
[22] The Annals of Loch Cé, vol. 1, p. 393; The Annals of Ulster, year 1250, note 2;
H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland (5 vols. Kraus reprint, 1974), Vol. 1 (1171-1251),
nos. 3048, 3131
[23] H.S.
Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents
relating to Ireland, Vol. 2 (1252-1284), nos. 76, 77, 79; Charles McNeill
(ed.), ‘Harris Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis’, in Analecta Hibernica, No. 6
(1934), p. 281
[24]
H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 2 (1252-1284), nos. 274, 275
[25]
H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 2 (1252-1284), nos. 268, 276, 277
[26] The Annals of Loch Cé (2 vols. Stationery
Office, Dublin, 1939), vol. 1, p. 407
[27]
H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 2 (1252-1284), no. 738
[28]
H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 2 (1252-1284), nos. 2066, 2067, 2277; Sean
Spellissy, The history of Galway City
& County, p. 256
[29] Sean
Spellissy, The history of Galway City
& County, p. 255;
[30]
H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland (5 vols. Kraus reprint, 1974), Vol. 5
(1302-1307), pp. 234-236
[31] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_of_Annaghdown
accessed 31 May 2014;
[32] The Annals of Loch Cé, vol. 1, p. 609; The Annals of Ulster, year 1328; Philomena Connolly (ed.), 'Irish material in the class of ancient petitions', in Analecta Hibernica, No. 34 (1987), p. 77; G.O. Sayles (ed.), Documents on the Affairs of Ireland before the King's Council, pp. 146-7; ; Philomena Connolly (ed.), 'Irish material in the class of chancery warrants', in Analecta Hibernica, No. 36 (1995), pp. 144-5. This letter to Edward III is often dated to 1330 but if the Annals are correct and Bishop Thomas died in 1328 then the letter to Edward must be 1328 or before. Of course it is possible the Annals are in error. More research is needed.
[33] Sean
Spellissy, The history of Galway City
& County, pp. 255
[34]
A.J. Otway-Ruthven, A history of medieval
Ireland (Ernest Benn, London, 1980), p. 325
[35] The Annals of Loch Cé, vol. 2, p. 137
