MÁEL-SECHNAILL I (D. 862)most notable followers were Máel-Díthruib of Tír dá
glass(Terryglass); Fedelmid mac Crimthainn, king of
Cashel; Diarmait ua hÁedo Róin of Dísert Diarmata
(Castledermot, County Kildare) and Óengus, author of
theFélire Óengusso.
Many of his followers did not live with him at
Tallaght, but were rather personal associates residing
at their own houses either attached to older monastic
foundations or in some cases newly founded centers.
He seems to have been in continuous contact with
followers outside his Tallaght community, advising
Céli Déleaders on how to guide their communities
toward greater spiritual purity.
Although Máel-Ruain is credited with the author-
ship of The Rule of the Céli Dé, the surviving text has
been changed from the original verse into prose. It
still, however, offers some insight into the sort of
ascetic practices advocated at Tallaght. Additionally,
there are three other works associated with the Céli
Démovement that show evidence of his influence.
From these texts, The Monastery of Tallaght,The
Teaching of Máel-RuainandFélire Óengussa, we gain
some understanding of the sort of community he led
at Tallaght, and advocated among his associates. Máel-
Ruain appears to have run a very disciplined and strict
community. His monks said the whole Psalter daily,
and two monks remained in the church saying the
psalms until matins (the night office), when they were
then replaced by another pair who said the psalms from
matins until lauds. He advised his monks not to ask
for news from outside, to avoid becoming involved
with worldly disputes, and to never plead for anyone
in a law court or assembly. In general he was wary of
contact with the outside world, and forbade pilgrimage
outside of Ireland, fearing that such influences would
distract monks’ minds from God.
Máel-Ruain also saw physical pleasures of the
body as a constant threat. Women in particular pre-
sented a serious danger to one’s spiritual purity. A
priest who broke his vow of chastity was no longer
allowed to say mass. Married couples under spiritual
direction were likewise held to a severe regimen, and
expected to abstain from sex for four days and nights
in every seven. He encouraged the practice of the
cross-vigil—praying with one’s arms outstretched—
as well as vigils standing in water and flagellation
performed by another monk. His community
abstained entirely from the consumption of alcohol,
even on feast days. Similarly, he did not allow the
playing of music, and when the anchorite and piper
Cornán asked if he might play for him, Máel-Ruain
responded that “his ears were not lent to earthly
music, that they may be lent to the music of heaven.”
He expected his monks to consult their anamchara,
“confessor,” no less than once a year.
The overall impression of the life of a monk of
Máel-Ruain is one of severe discipline and rigorous
self–denial; however, excessiveness was not encour-
aged. He did not wish for his monks to leave the
monastery, particularly in permanent exile, as this
brought only questionable benefit to the exile and
deprived the monastery of an important member. Even
occasional exile to a local wilderness could have neg-
ative effects, for without the control of the monastic
environment an anchorite could be overzealous in his
penance and become unfit for normal work or com-
munal life. Ultimately, Máel-Ruain advocated that one
live in a communal lifestyle, moderate in its ascetic
practice, and devoted to God.
MICHAEL BYRNESReferences and Further Reading
Stokes, W., ed. and trans. The Martyrology of Oengus the
Culdee: Félire Óengussa Céli Dé. Henry Bradshaw Society- London, 1905, Reprint, Dublin, 1984.
Gwynn, E. J. and W. J. Purton, ed. and trans. “The Monastery
of Tallaght.” Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy29, C,
no. 5 (1911): 115–179.
Gwynn, E. J., ed. and trans. “The Rule of Tallaght.” Hermathena
44, second supplemental volume (1927).
Kenney, James F. The Sources for the Early History of Ireland:
Ecclesiastical. New York: Columbia University Press, 1929.
Hughes, Kathleen. The Church in Early Irish Society. London:
Methuen,1966.
O’Dwyer, Peter. Céli Dé. Dublin: Carmelite Publications, 1977.
Etchingham, Colmán. Church Organisation in Ireland A.D. 650
to 1000. Maynooth: Laigin Publications, 1999.
See also Céle Dé; Devotional and Liturgical
literature; Ecclesiastical Organization;
Hagiography and Martyrologies; Metrics; Moral
and Religious Instruction; Penitentials; Poetry,
Irish; Scriptoria
MÁEL-SECHNAILL I (D. 862)
Máel-Sechnaill I was the son of Máel-ruanaid and
belonged to Clann Cholmáin of Mide, a southern Uí
Néill dynasty. The first of the kings of Tara who
received the submission of all the provincial kings and
earned the title “king of all Ireland,” his reign wit-
nessed the appearance of the Vikings on the political
stage as allies and mercenaries. In the 840s, Clann
Cholmáin were divided between the descendants of
Donnchad Midi (king of Tara 770–797). Máel-Sechnaill
eliminated his rivals in 845. The same year he drowned
the Viking leader Tuirgéis, who had been raiding the
midlands from a base at Lough Ree. When Niall Caille
of Cenél nÉogain died in 846, Máel-Sechnaill suc-
ceeded him as king of Tara. A year later Fedelmid
mac Crimthainn died, and the Irish kings now turned
their attention to the Vikings. Máel-Sechnaill