Baron Longford Baron Annaly Delvin Lord Baron Ireland

Summary of the 1551 Ardagh–Delvin Indenture

Date: 21 April 1551
Parties:

Richard, Bishop of Ardagh (Diocese in Annaly / County Longford)
Richard Nugent, Baron of Delvin

Key Terms of the Agreement

The Bishop of Ardagh grants and conveys to Baron Richard Nugent:
- A moiety (half) of one carucate of land in Ardagh (the ancient ecclesiastical seat of the diocese).
- A moiety of the houses in the town of Ardagh.
- One full carucate of land located in Moyllyne, Downe, Ardneyskin, and Lysnaskyeaghe (townlands within the Annaly region, near modern Ardagh–Edgeworthstown).
Tenure: 60 years (a leasehold term).
Rent: 20 shillings English per year.

Signatories and Witnesses

Richardus Ardachaden – Bishop of Ardagh (grantor)
John O’Fergail, Dean of Ardagh
Donaldus Magranill, Official (church judge)
(These were senior clergy of the Annaly diocese, acting under episcopal seal.)

Historical Significance

Early Episcopal Lease to the Delvins:
This 1551 deed shows the Nugents already securing lands and houses at Ardagh, long before Elizabeth’s later grant of the Captaincy of Slewght William (1565).
It places the family firmly in southern Annaly (Teffia) — the heart of the later Delvin palatine liberty.
Church–Noble Alliance:
The Bishop and Dean were of O’Farrell lineage (Ardagh was the O’Farrell dynastic diocese).
The lease thus represents cooperation between the Gaelic ecclesiastical hierarchy and the Anglo-Norman nobility, bridging two cultures just before the Reformation in Ireland.
Legal Type:
It was a term lease (60 years), not a freehold grant — but effectively gave the Delvins long-term control over church temporalities in Ardagh.
Geopolitical Role:
These lands became part of the Captaincy of Slewght William and later Annaly–Teffia jurisdiction, anchoring the Nugents’ power base in Longford.

✅ In brief:
In 1551, the Bishop of Ardagh leased to Richard Nugent, Baron of Delvin, half of the Ardagh lands and houses, plus additional holdings in nearby parishes, for 60 years at a rent of 20 shillings.
This ecclesiastical lease marks the earliest documented foothold of the Nugent Barons of Delvin in Annaly–Teffia, foreshadowing their later elevation to hereditary captains and palatine lords of the region.

Bishop of Ardagh (in 1551, Richard O’Ferrall / Richardus Ardachaden) was not merely a churchman, but one of the most politically influential Gaelic bishops in mid-Tudor Ireland.
He embodied both ecclesiastical and territorial authority in Annaly / County Longford, which at that time was a semi-independent Irish kingdom.

Let’s break down how powerful he really was — in context.

⚜️ I. Status of the Diocese of Ardagh

The See of Ardagh (Latin Ardaghaden / Ardachaden) was one of the oldest episcopal sees in Ireland, founded in the 5th century by St. Mel, a disciple of St. Patrick.
By the 15th–16th centuries, the see encompassed the heartlands of Annaly (O’Farrell territory) — including Ardagh, Edgeworthstown, Granard, and Longford.
The bishop effectively served as the chief spiritual and sometimes political leader of the O’Farrell princes, who ruled Annaly before English conquest.

🏰 II. The Bishop’s Dual Authority — Ecclesiastical & Temporal

Power Type	Description
Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction	The Bishop controlled nearly all church property in Longford/Annaly — monasteries, abbey lands, rectories, and tithes, including the Abbey of Ardagh, Abbeylara, Inchcleraun, and Granard Friary.
Temporal Power	The bishop had lordship over several carucates of land and villages, collected rents and tributes, and could field armed retainers under Gaelic custom.
Legal Authority	As “Officialis” of the diocese, his ecclesiastical court could enforce contracts, settle disputes, and impose censures — making him a kind of lord-justice within the church lands.
Political Role	Because Ardagh lay on the frontier between the English Pale and Gaelic Longford, the bishop acted as a mediator between the Crown and the Gaelic princes. He negotiated leases and “indentures” with Anglo-Irish nobles like the Nugents.

⚖️ III. Richard O’Ferrall (Richardus Ardachaden) — The Bishop in 1551

Name: Richard O’Ferrall (sometimes O’Farrell or Ardachaden from Ardagh).
Lineage: From the ruling O’Farrell chieftain family of Annaly — so he was both a cleric and a dynastic noble.
Influence:
- Controlled large tracts of land and revenues across the diocese.
- Possessed the legal power to lease church estates — as seen in the 1551 indenture with Richard Nugent, Baron of Delvin, conveying carucates of Ardagh lands for 60 years.
- As a Gaelic bishop pre-Reformation, he answered nominally to Rome but practically acted autonomously, often negotiating with the Tudor Crown on his own terms.

💰 IV. Economic & Political Weight

A single carucate of land equaled roughly 120 acres (and Ardagh’s multiple carucates made the bishop a substantial landlord).
His revenues came from:
- Church rents and “spiritualities” (tithes, offerings).
- Temporal leases (like the Nugent indenture, which yielded annual rent in English shillings).
- Tribute from the O’Farrell chiefs for use of church lands.

In 1551 terms, this made the Bishop of Ardagh one of the wealthiest local magnates in Longford, roughly equivalent to a baron or viscount in power, though cloaked in clerical robes.

🕊️ V. Relations with the Crown and Nobility

The Tudor government (under Edward VI and later Mary I) tolerated him because:
- He kept peace in the Annaly frontier.
- He cooperated with Anglo-Irish nobles like the Nugents.
His signing of the 1551 lease to Richard Nugent shows:
- The bishop was powerful enough to grant lands independently.
- He could negotiate long leases without royal interference — proof of quasi-sovereign authority in the region.

👑 VI. Spiritual and Symbolic Importance

Ardagh was not only an episcopal see — it was also a symbol of Irish kingship and sanctity, where St. Mel crowned early Christian kings of Teffia.
Holding the bishopric meant inheriting that sacral authority of kingship — the right to bless rulers and legitimize power in Annaly.

Thus, in 1551, Richard O’Ferrall as Bishop of Ardagh stood at the crossroads of religion, politics, and land — effectively the spiritual prince of Annaly.

✅ Summary of Power

Sphere	Power Level (1551)	Description
Religious	High	Head of the Ardagh Diocese; influence over clergy across Annaly/Teffia.
Economic	High	Controlled carucates of land and abbey incomes; leased estates to nobles.
Political	Medium-High	Mediator between Gaelic chiefs and English lords; allied with Nugents.
Symbolic	Very High	Successor of St. Mel — spiritual legitimizer of local sovereignty.

⚜️ In Essence

The Bishop of Ardagh in 1551 was a prince-bishop in all but name — a Gaelic noble of the O’Farrell dynasty, lord of extensive lands, and guardian of Ireland’s ancient Christian capital at Ardagh.
His alliance with Richard Nugent, Baron of Delvin, through the 1551 lease, marked the first fusion of Gaelic ecclesiastical power and Anglo-Norman feudal authority in Annaly — paving the way for the later palatine jurisdiction of the Nugent Barons Delvin in Longford.