Bishop of Ardagh
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The Bishop of Ardagh was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Ardagh, County Longford in Ireland. It was used by the Roman Catholic Church until 1756, and intermittently by the Church of Ireland until 1839.
The church of Saint Mel
Church of St Mel, view across the graveyard. June 2013
List of the Bishops of Ardagh in St Mel's Cathedral. This list gives the Catholic succession and includes Saint Mél, Melchu, Erhard of Regensburg, several abbots attested in medieval annals, and the Penal-era Vicars Apostolic.
Mél of Ardagh
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Mél of Ardagh, also written Mel or Moel, was a 5th-century saint in Ireland who was a nephew of Saint Patrick. He was the son of Conis and Patrick's sister, Darerca. Saint Darerca was known as the "mother of saints" because most of her children entered religious life, many were later recognized as saints, and several of her sons became bishops.
Pedimental sculpture by George Smyth at St Mel's Cathedral, depicting Mél after his consecration by Saint Patrick
Church of St Mél, Ardagh