Ioseph of Loch Con

Who is Ioseph of Loch Con?

Ioseph of Lough Conn, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, died 904.

The Annals of Inisfallen, sub anno 899, state "Joseph of Loch Con, Abbot of Cluain Mic Nois, of the tribe of the northern Ui Fiachrach" died. These annals are often out of synch by as much as five years. Lough Conn is located in what is now County Mayo, in what was then the kingdom of Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe. This kingdom was in decline by the late 9th century which may account for Ioseph's acension as abbot, as Clonmacnoise generally took people from the non-royal or minor dynasties of Ireland. He may have been attached to a monastery active in these years in Lough Conn.