Máel Ísa
Encyclopedia
Mael Isa Ua Conchobair, Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

 of Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

 and Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

 of Roscommon
Roscommon
Roscommon is the county town of County Roscommon in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 5,017 . The town is located near the junctions of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.-History:...

, died 1223.

Family background

Mael Isa was a son of King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair of Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

 by one of his six wives.

He is listed as having two full-brothers (Jaski, EIKS, p. 152 n44) - Aedh Dall Ua Conchobair
Aedh Dall Ua Conchobair
Aedh Dall Ua Conchobair, Prince of Connacht, died 1194.Aedh was the eldest child of King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair . His mother's identity is uncertain - Tairrdelbach had six wives - but his full brothers were Tadhg Alainn and Abbot Máel Ísa of Roscommon .Despite his seniority, Aedh's...

 (died 1194 and Tadg Alainn (died 1143/1144), all by Tairrdelbach's primary wife. He had twenty half-brothers, products of Tairrdelbach's marriages and relationships with at least six other women.

Abbot of Roscommon

Mael Isa is recorded as a generous benefactor to Coman's monastery. His father had bestowed upon it a relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...

 known as An Bachall Buidhe, which contains a portion of the True Cross
True Cross
The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...

 brought to Ireland in 1123. It is now known as the Cross of Cong
Cross of Cong
The Cross of Cong is an early 12th century Irish Christian ornamented cusped processional cross, which was, as an inscription says, made for Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair , King of Connacht and High King of Ireland to donate to the Cathedral church of the period that was located at Tuam, County...

.

Though Gaelic clerics could and did marry, it is not known for certain if Mael Isa had any offspring.
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