Mo Chutu of Lismore was a 6th and 7th-century Irish saint and abbot. Born in County Kerry, he initially served as the leader of the monastery at Rahan. Following his expulsion from that community in 637, he established several monastic sites, most notably the great abbey at Lismore in County Waterford. He is remembered for his literary contributions to the early Irish Church and for founding a religious center that eventually became a major episcopal see.
Life and work
After serving as abbot at Rahan, Mo Chutu composed a significant 580-line metrical poem to serve as a rule for his monks. Following a period of conflict and expulsion from Rahan, he moved south to the territory of the Déisi. There, he established monastic cells at Ardfinnan and Lismore, the latter of which grew into a prominent religious institution that survived Viking raids.
Veneration
The saint is commemorated on 14 May in various Irish martyrologies and the Eastern Orthodox Great Synaxaristes. In the modern Catholic calendar in Ireland, his memorial is observed on 15 May. His foundation at Lismore eventually achieved the status of an episcopal see, overshadowing his earlier monastic work.