Muiredach of Killala

Saint Muiredach mac Echdach, also called Murtagh, was born in Ireland, a member of the Cenél Lóegairi and linked to the royal line of King Lóegaire mac Néill. In the early centuries of Irish Christianity he is remembered as the founding Bishop of Killala, appointed to shepherd that young church and to strengthen the faith in the west. Later tradition calls him an aged member of “Patrick’s family,” suggesting a spiritual kinship with Saint Patrick and the missionary zeal that marked the first flowering of the Gospel in Ireland. Muiredach’s ministry is associated with the region of County Sligo, where he is said to have met Saint Columba at Ballysadare in 575, a sign of the shared holiness and fellowship among Ireland’s early saints. In his later years he sought deeper solitude, withdrawing to the island of Inishmurray in Donegal Bay. There, near a monastic community, he lived and died as a hermit, leaving a legacy of pastoral care and contemplative prayer. He is remembered in the patronage of St Muredach’s College. His feast day is August 12.