Gelasius Ó Cuileanáin
Gelasius Ó Cuileanáin (Or Glaisne O'Cullenan) was a martyred Cistercian Abbot of Boyle, Ireland,
Biography
He was born probably near Assaroe Abbey, at Ballyshannon, County Donegal; martyred, 21 November 1580. Three of his brothers were Cistercian abbots, and a fourth Bishop of Raphoe.
Gelasius, the eldest, studied at Salamanca University in Spain, went thence to Paris where he took his doctorate at the Sorbonne, made his monastic profession, and was created Abbot of Boyle, County Roscommon.
This abbey had been confiscated and granted to Cusack, Sheriff of Meath; but the Irish regulars continued to appoint superiors to the suppressed houses. The young abbot went immediately to Ireland and is said to have obtained restoration of his abbey. He was, however, seized at Dublin by the Government and imprisoned with Eugene O'Mulkeeran, Abbot of Holy Trinity at Lough Key. Refusing to conform, they were tortured and finally hanged outside Dublin, 21 November 1580. O'Cullenan's body was spared mutilation through his friends' intercession. His clothes were divided as a martyr's relics among the Catholics.
Sources
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1911). "Gelasius O'Cullenan". Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Irish abbots
- 1580 deaths
- Gaels
- University of Salamanca alumni
- University of Paris alumni
- Irish Cistercians
- 16th-century Irish people
- 16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
- 16th-century Roman Catholic clergy
- People from Ballyshannon
- People from County Donegal
- People executed by the Kingdom of Ireland by hanging
- Irish expatriates in Spain
- Irish expatriates in France
- Executed Irish people