Maoilíosa

This name derives from the Old Irish “Maoil Íosa,” meaning “Servant of Jesus (devoted to Jesus, a follower of Jesus).” Maoil derives from the Old Irish and Proto-Celtic “máel / mael,” meaning “bald, bare, shaved, shorn, tonsured (chief, the prince).” In the pre-Christian era, the meaning was “of a slave.” After the introduction of Christianity to Ireland, the name was changed as someone who is devoted (to God or a given saint). Máel Íosa Ua Dálaigh, an Irish poet, died 1185. Máel Íosa meaning “follower of Jesus” was a member of the Ó Dálaigh family of bards, of whom some forty are attested in Ireland and Scotland between the 12th and 17th century. Upon his death, he was described as “Chief poet of Ireland and Scotland.” He was also lord of the minor midland kingdom of Corca Raidhe in what is now County Westmeath.