extending behavioral reform to the laity is evidenced
by his leading role, with the political support of high
king Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, at the synods of Athboy
(1167) and Clonfert (1179).
Presumably, Lorcán realized that initiatives to
enforce clerical celibacy and to end hereditary eccle-
siastical succession would conflict with dynastic
agendas—including those of Uí Muiredaig. The appoint-
ment of his nephew Thomas as abbot of Glendalough
mayrepresent a compromise in this regard. The latter,
whether or not in priests orders, was apparently a non-
celibate cleric, and had a son—and later a grandson—
who witnessed early-thirteenth-century charters. Fur-
thermore, the succession of Thomas, sometime in the
mid 1160s (the record is unclear), apparently took place
against a background of dynastic intervention. The
assertion of Lorcán’s hagiographer that Thomas was
chosen not because of his lineage, but on account of his
worthiness, hints at some controversy.
After the Anglo-Norman invasion, Lorcán found
himself increasingly drawn into the sphere of poli-
tics—torn between obedience to the new political
order, loyalty to his dynasty, and commitment to
reform. In the summer of 1170, when MacMurchada
and Strongbow advanced on Dublin, Lorcán was
implored by the leading citizens to negotiate on their
behalf. Existing difficulties, posed by his in-law relation-
ship to the over king, were exacerbated when, during
the negotiations, an English contingent seized control
of the town. In the event, the archbishop apparently
salvaged his integrity. To some, Lorcán was clearly an
Irish partisan; Giraldus Cambrensis alleges that he
incited resistance to Strongbow when the latter claimed
sovereignty of Leinster following MacMurchada’s death
in May 1171. Yet, that autumn, when Dublin was
besieged by Ua Conchobair, Lorcán was chosen as nego-
tiator by Strongbow—now married to the archbishop’s
niece, Aífe. Throughout the crisis of 1171, as his hagiog-
rapher emphasizes, Lorcán exerted himself, at great per-
sonal risk, ministering to the hard-pressed populace.
If Lorcán’s submission to the English King Henry II
in December 1171 implied recognition of political
realities, he apparently trusted in Henry’s support for
church reform—which perhaps explains his support
for the Synod of Cashel, which the king summoned in
- Quite likely, Lorcán nurtured expectations that
Henry, as Lord of Ireland, would bring political sta-
bility. However, the situation continued to deteriorate.
Offensives by Irish regional kings in 1173, and retal-
iatory attacks the following year, increased anxieties.
Lorcán was persuaded by Irish interests to mediate
with Henry in an effort to restrain English colonial
expansion. As an ambassador of Ua Conchobair, he
attended the Council of Windsor in 1175, although he
did not lead the negotiations.
Concern for Glendalough properties, threatened by
colonial expansionism, perhaps motivated Lorcán to
seek confirmation of the abbatial possessions; he is the
principal witness to Strongbow’s charter. However, the
death of Strongbow (May 1176) prompted rapid expan-
sion of the colony, with the effective abandonment of
the Windsor agreement. Following the dispossession of
Uí Muiredaig (1178) from ancestral territories in
County Kildare, Lorcán perhaps collaborated in reset-
tling remnants of his dynasty on Glendalough lands;
the archbishop, it appears, conveyed several holdings
to his nephew Thomas around this time. Certainly, the
closing years of his life saw relationships between
Lorcán and Henry II deteriorate dramatically.
On his way to the Lateran Council in 1179, Lorcán
was warned by King Henry (who no longer trusted
him) not to prejudice English interests. However, he
persuaded the papacy of the threat to Ireland’s eccle-
siastical and political establishment from English
expansionism, securing papal protection for the dio-
ceses of Dublin and of Glendalough—which the
English administration wanted to suppress. Returning
to Ireland as papal legate, he consecrated Tommaltach,
nephew of Ua Conchobair, as archbishop of Armagh.
Although greatly incensed, Henry, already responsible
for murdering Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury,
could not risk confrontation with a papal emissary.
When, the following year, Lorcán undertook a diplo-
matic mission to England on behalf of Ua Conchobair,
the king refused to meet him. Realizing that Henry
had departed for France, Lorcán followed but collapsed
with fever and died at the priory of Eu, Normandy on
November 14, 1180. The Life commissioned by the
community of Eu, stressing his spiritual qualities—
with a persuasive account of his asceticism, charity,
and dedication to pastoral responsibilities—helped
to expedite his canonization by Pope Honorius III
in1226.
AILBHE MACSHAMHRÁINReferences and Further Reading
Plummer, Charles, ed. “Vie et miracles de S Laurent, archeveque
de Dublin.” Analecta Bollandiana33 (1914): 121–186.
McNeill, Charles, ed. Calendar of Archbishop Alen’s Register, pp.
2, 8, 9. Dublin: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 1950.
Giraldus, Cambrensis. Expugnatio Hibernica. Edited by A. B.
Scott and F. X. Martin, pp. 67, 79, 99, 167, 197, 306n116,
342n281. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1978.
Flanagan, Marie-Therese. Irish Society, Anglo-Norman Settlers,
Angevin Kingship, pp. 101–102. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1989.
Gwynn, Aubrey. The Irish Church in the Eleventh and Twelfth
Centuries.Edited by G. O’Brien, pp. 66, 135–143. Dublin:
Four Courts Press, 1992.
MacShamhráin, Ailbhe. Church and Polity in Pre-Norman
Ireland: The Case of Glendalough, pp. 103, 104, 154–155,
157–159, 161. Maynooth: An Sagart, 1996.UA T UATHAIL (O’TOOLE), ST. LAWRENCE (d. 1180)