Cullens in Clogher history: Priests: Archdeacon Muireadhach O'Cuillen

from lewis' topographical dictionary of Ireland (1842):
Tyrone--Clogher
scroll down or search for Clogher or O'Cuillen:

Clogher is called by Ptolemy Rhigia or Regia; and according to some authors, St. Patrick founded and presided over a monastery here, which he resigned to St. Kertenn when he went to Armagh, to establish his famous abbey there; but according to others, it was built at the command of St. Patrick in the street before the royal palace of Ergal, by St. Macartin, whoe died in 506, and from its vicinity to this palace both the abbey and the town appear anciently to have been called Uriel or Ergal. In 841, the abbot Moran Mac Inrachty was slain by the Danes. In 1041 the church was rebuilt and dedicated to St. Macartin. In 1126 the Archdeacon Muireadhach O'Cuillen was killed by the people of Fermanagh. Moelisa O'Carrol, Bishop of Clogher, in 1183, on his translation of the archbishoprick of Armagh, presented to this abbey a priest's vestments and a mitre, and promised a pastoral staff; he also consecrated the abbey church. etc etc

Why did the people of Fermanagh kill the archdeacon?

Cullens in Clogher history: Priests: Piers O'Cullen

from Military History magazine:
Irish Triumph at Yellow Ford

"Russell was only too glad when the Irish agreed to a truce in southeast Ulster, which lasted until the summer of 1597. During that time, however, the English were alarmed to learn that a priest named Piers O'Cullen of Clogher had sailed to Spain, bearing a letter dated September 19 and signed by O'Neill and O'Donnell. The letter beseeched the Spanish king to send 2,000 to 3,000 men, along with arms and money, to Ireland "to restore the faith of the [Catholic] Church and so secure you a kingdom." By seeking aid from England's principal rival, the Irish coalition was raising the stakes of the war"

Was O'Cullen from Clogher, or just priest there? Was he related to Bishop Cullen?

Cullens in clogher history: Cullen's Point, Cormore

Clogher is a very small town in county tyrone which I visited in 1989. I also visited my Heagney relatives in Tullycorker, which is a townland (like a rural crossroads) just a couple miles to the north of Clogher. My Cullen ancestors are from Tullycorker, and there were Cullens living there in 1989, but we didn't know how our families were connected. I know they're not (male line) descendants of my ancestor Thomas Cullen who lived cir 1835-1900, but some could possibly be descendants of a brother of his, which would make them fourth cousins.

My major genealogy interest right now is sorting out all the Cullens in Clogher parish through microfilmed records. Most of the Cullens were in Tullycorker, but some lived in adjacent Cormore townland, and others in Eskernabrogue and Tycanny. Hopefully DNA testing (I need volunteers from Northern Ireland!!) will be able to determine whether these Cullens are all related, and whether they are related to any of the Cullinans who also lived in the area.

Thomas Cullen's wife was Mary McCann from adjacent Eskragh or Eskra townland. I did a google search for Clogher and Cullen and I found a wikipedia entry for Eskra. How does such a small place get mentioned on wikipedia?

wikipedia on Eskra

the main author of this aricle, who I believe goes by Ardfern, writes:

Many sites of penal day massrocks are still remembered by the local people. One such hallowed spot is 'The Altar Field' near Cullen's Point in the townland of Cormore. Another is in the hallow at the rear of the new church in Lisnarable. The old St. Patrick's Church - sometimes referred to as the 'Lower Mountain Church' was really a barn bought from a local farmer named Traynor and upgraded to serve as a church in the first quarter of the 19th century

Cullen's Point! I wonder if my father knows about it?