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Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil

Irish Franciscan Archbishop of Armagh (1571–1626)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ3620537
Source-derived summary

Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil, O.F.M. (Latin: Hugo Cavellus; anglicised: Hugh MacCaghwell; 1571 – 22 September 1626), was an Irish Franciscan theologian and Archbishop of Armagh. He was known by Irish speakers at Leuven (Louvain) by the honorary name Aodh Mac Aingil ("Mac Aingil" is Irish for "Son of an Angel"), and it was under this title that he published the Irish work Scáthán Shacramuinte na hAthridhe.

Life

Mac Cathmhaoil was born in 1571 at Saul, County Down, and received his earliest education in his native place; he trained at one of the bardic schools still operating in Ulster. He next studied at a famous school in the Isle of Man. On his return to Ireland, he was hired by Hugh O'Neill, The O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, as a tutor to his sons Henry and Hugh.

Mac Cathmhaoil was sent by the Earl as special messenger to the Court of Spain to solicit aid for the Ulster forces. During his stay at Salamanca, where the Court then resided, he frequented the schools of the university and took doctor's degrees in divinity. Soon afterwards he entered the Order of Friars Minor. He enjoyed a great reputation as a theologian, and his commentaries on the theologian Duns Scotus (1266–1308) were held in high repute. It was principally due to his great influence at the Spanish Court that the Irish Franciscan College of St.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil” as irish Franciscan Archbishop of Armagh (1571–1626). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1571, 1626, 1266, 1308—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1571-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Aodh, Cathmhaoil and Irish can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as irish Franciscan Archbishop of Armagh (1571–1626). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3620537. VIAF identifies the subject as 27179285. The Library of Congress control number is n85318197. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1571, 1626, 1266 and 1308.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil” 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.