The Medieval Archbishops of Armagh, an online lecture, explores the medieval archbishops of Armagh and the times they lived through. It covers the period from Celsus (Cellach mac Aeda), 1106-1129, to Octavian de Palatio, who died in 1513. Reference is made to the surviving Medieval Registers of Armagh which, originally held in Armagh Diocesan Registry (No 5 Vicars’ Hill), are now in Belfast at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. The talk makes reference to the relations of the Archbishops of Armagh with the Papacy, English Kings, Gaelic and Anglo-Irish lords.
The speaker, Dr Katharine Simms, is a Research Associate, Centre for Research in Medieval History, School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College Dublin and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Dr Simms was a lecturer in Medieval History at Trinity College Dublin from 1980 until her retirement in 2010. Her father, George Otto Simms, was Archbishop of Armagh from 1969-1980. An expert on the ecclesiastical history of medieval Ireland, Dr Simms’ publications include ‘From Kings to Warlords: the Changing Political Structure of Gaelic Ireland in the Later Middle Ages’ (1987), ‘Medieval Gaelic Sources’ (2009) and ‘Gaelic Ulster in the Middle Ages: History, Culture and Society’ (2020).
Armagh Robinson Library organised the lecture as the first in a series to mark the 250th anniversary of its second building at No 5 Vicars’ Hill (formerly the Armagh Diocesan Registry). We are grateful to the Social Enterprise Academy and the National Lottery Heritage Fund for its support.
All the lectures in the Lecture Series – 250th Anniversary are available online.
