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St. Mo-Luag (Died AD 592) Commonly known as St. Moluag, this man's real named was Lugaidn - pronounced Lua. The 'Mo' prefix is a term of endearment meaning "My Dear". Moluag was an Irish missionary trained by
Comgall in Bangor. He traveled to Scotland in AD 562, becoming a friendly
rival to St. Columba after both men tried to claim Lismore in the Inner
Hebrides as their base. Tradition says that they had a race to the island
in coracles. Moluag was about to lose, when he drew out his dagger, cut
off his thumb and threw it ashore. "My flesh and blood have possessed
the island first and I bless it in the name of the Lord," he cried.
Columba was furious and cursed, In the 13th century, St. Moluag's Church on Lismore was made the Cathedral of the Isles and the present parish church still incorporates part of its chancel. Moluag's blackthorn crozier known as the "Bachuil Mor" or "Bachuil Buidhe" has, for centuries, been preserved in the safe hands of the Livingstone Barons of Bachuil, on the Isle of Lismore; and an ancient iron bell from Lismore was discovered in the nineteenth century at Kilmichael Glassary.
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