Albin O'Molloy
Irish bishop of Ferns
Albin O'Molloy (Irish: Ailbe Ua Maíl Mhuaidh) (died 1223) was the Irish bishop of Ferns.
Background
O'Molloy was native of what is now north County Tipperary. He became a Cistercian monk at Baltinglass, and eventually rose to be abbot of that house. His family, the O'Molloy, claimed descent from the branch of the Connachta later to be known as the southern Uí Néill.
Albin's ancestor, Fiachu mac Néill (flourished 507–514), was one of the Kings of Uisnech; his descendants, the Cenél Fiachach, held lands from Birr to Uisnech in southern Westmeath and part of Offaly.
Their southern territory became known as Fir Cell (land of the churches) covering a large part of what is now County Offaly, where the surname O'Molloy is still very common.
Sermon in Dublin
In Lent 1186, when John Comyn, archbishop of Dublin, 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. He was present at the coronation of Richard I on 3 September 1189. On 5 November, he was appointed by Pope Innocent III, with the Archbishop of Tuam and Bishop of Kilmacduagh, to excommunicate the Bishop of Waterford, who had robbed the Bishop of Lismore.
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This entry incorporates text from “Albin O'Molloy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.