Conchobar Ó Muirdaig was Bishop of Kilmacduagh

Bishop of Kilmacduagh

The Bishop of Kilmacduagh was an episcopal title which took its name after the village of Kilmacduagh in County Galway, Ireland. In both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church, the title is now united with other bishoprics.-History:...

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Ó Muirdaig's surname is a common one in Ireland, variantly written as Ó Muireachaidh. The most prominent 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...

 family of the name were natives of the kingdom Uí Maine (now east County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

 and south County Roscommon

County Roscommon

County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...

). The surname is now generally anglicised as Murray

Murray (surname)

Murray is a common variation of the word Moray, an anglicisation of the Medieval Gaelic word Muireb ; the b here was pronounced as v, hence the Latinization to Moravia. These names denote the district on the south shore of the Moray Firth, in Scotland...

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The Annals of the Four Masters

Annals of the Four Masters

The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...

, sub anno 1246, reads "Turlough, the son of Hugh O'Conor, made his escape from the Crannog wooden house of Lough Leisi in Autumn, having drowned his keepers, namely, Cormac O'Murray, and the two O'Ainmireachs. He was again taken while under the protection of the Bishop of Cluain Clonfert, and, being given up into the hands of the English, was confined in the castle of Athlone."

An extract from the same annals, dated 1484, reads "Teige, the son of William, son of Hugh, son of Brian O'Kelly, was slain by Brian O'Kelly, his own brother, and William O'Murray, his own foster-brother, who were afterwards hanged by O'Kelly for their misdeeds."

Bishop Ó Muirdaig's term witnessed the invasion and encastellation

Encastellation

Encastellation is the process whereby the feudal kingdoms of Europe became dotted with castles, from which local lords could dominate the countryside of their fiefs and their neighbours', and from which kings could command even the far-off corners of their realms...

 of Connacht begin under Richard Mor de Burgh

Richard Mor de Burgh

Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connaught , Justiciar of Ireland.-Background:De Burgh was the eldest son of William de Burgh and a daughter of Domnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond. His principal estate was in the barony of Loughrea where he built a castle in 1236 and a town was founded. He also...

 (c. 1194–1242) and the collapse of the Ó Conchobair kingship.

External links

• http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005C/
• http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID=

• The Surnames of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght
  Edward MacLysaght
  Edward MacLysaght was one of the foremost genealogists of twentieth century Ireland. His numerous books on Irish surnames built upon the work of Patrick Woulfe's Irish Names and Surnames and made him well known to all those researching their family past.-Early life:Edward was born in Flax Bourton...
  
  , 1978.
• A New History of Ireland: Volume IX - Maps, Genealogies, Lists, ed. T.W. Moody, F.X. Martin, F.J. Byrne, pp. 322–324.