Famous Mellamphys
From centuries of genealogy leading directly back to the Kings of Ireland, to the family Saint, English literature, and even back to Greek mythology, this page summarizes research done by Mellamphilosophers of New Zealand and Canada, work discussed in detail in the family forum on Brian Malanaphy's MalanaphyFamily.com web site:
It is not yet certain where the original Maolanfaidh family is from in Ireland, but indications are that it is a fairly rare surname. The given name MAL-ANFAIDH appears in ten pre-Norman Irish genealogies, as of the 7th or 8th centuries in most cases. One tribe appears in what is now Ulster; the other nine are in the southeastern quarter of Ireland: two in Osraige (modern County Kilkenny), two in North Leinster (most likely modern Kildare), and the other five in what would now be Counties Cork, Waterford, and Tipperary. According to the Book of Muster (1703) Maolanfaidh is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Ailill Olum, legendary 2nd Century ruler of Ireland. For more details on Maolanfaidh genealogy, click here.
Saint Mael Anfaid mac Anfothaig of Cell Maile Anfaidh
Padraig O Riain's Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1985) a compendium of all existing Saints' genealogies, names a MAEL ANFAID Mac ANFOTHAIG, of Cell MAILE ANFAIDH on Dairinis Mor (Great Oak Island) — now Molana on the River Blackwater near the border between Cork and Waterford. "Molana" is probably a worn-down version of Cell Maile Anfaidh, Mael Anfaidh's Church. For details on Saint Mael Anfaidh and the Birds' Lament of Saint Molua, as well as information about the abbey on Great Oak Island and the tale of the "Molamphy Monks" of Holy Island, click here.
A John Mellamphy appears as the protagonist of a modern Victorian-type mystery novel by Charles Palliser, named The Quincunx. Identity and Mellamphyhood in general are central to the story. For more details on the book, click here.
Mellamphys in Ancient Greece? It may not be as far-fetched as you think, as there seems to have been a mythological Melampus, who was cousin of Bellerophon, the son of the king of Corinth. By some accounts he was the first mortal to have had prophetic powers, and he is said to have ruled over Tiryns with his brother, Bias. He, like St. Mael Anfaidh, also communicated with birds and other creatures: He saved some snakes from a tree being felled and, to show their gratitude, the snakes licked the insides of his ears so that he was able to understand the language of animals. He ultimately won fortune and fame (or at very least repute) thanks to overhearing a conversation between birds, and he's apparently subsequently had species of both bug and beast named for him, giving us Mellamphys of a sort in Northern Italy and Austria, in Zimbabwe, and in the Carribean (among other places) as well. For more details on the Greek myth of Melampus, click here.
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