Saint Uncan, August 21
On August 21 Canon O'Hanlon brings yet another obscure saint to our attention - Saint Uncan:Sr. Uncan or Unchan Tughneda. No doubt, from his early days, the ambition of this saint received a right...
View ArticleSaint Sedrach, August 22
Another obscure name is found on the Irish calendars at August 22 - Saint Sedrach. Canon O'Hanlon records that the Martyrology of Tallaght describes him as a bishop, but otherwise has no other...
View ArticleSaint Seighein, August 24
Another saint known only from the recording of his name on the Irish calendars is Saint Seighein, whose feast is recorded on August 24, as Canon O'Hanlon explains:St. Segin or Seighein. Scant justice...
View Article'The Lord's chaste apostle, Bartholomew to whom I pray'
August 25 is the feast of Saint Barthlomew the Apostle, whom tradition says met a particularly gruesome death by being flayed alive. His feast appears on the Irish calendars with the Martyrology of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
'The Conspicuous One out of Africa': The Feast of Saint Augustine on the...
August 28 is the feast of the great Doctor of the Western Church, Saint Augustine. Not surprisingly, since he was himself a monastic of the Augustinian order, the twelfth-century Irish calendarist,...
View ArticleSaint Fiachra and Kilfera by the Nore
August 30 is the feast of Saint Fiachre of Brieul. In the 1904 poem below, Alice Esmonde suggests that even in his French exile Saint Fiachra never quite forgets another quiet hermitage - that of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
'His Cross is our saving herb...'
September 14 is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and to mark the feast below is a short excerpt from an Irish bardic poem translated by Irish Jesuit, Father Lambert Mc Kenna...
View ArticleSaint Gema of Riacc Innse, September 18
The name of an obscure Irish female saint is found in some of the Irish calendars at September 18. As Canon O'Hanlon explains below, the name of Gema of Riacc Innse is found in the Martyrology of...
View ArticleSaint Anci, September 19
Canon O'Hanlon flags up an obscure entry in some of the Irish calendars at September 19 for a saint Anci. The name first appears in the Martyrology of Tallaght and then later in the Martyrology of...
View ArticleSaint Adamnan, September 23
September 23 is the feast of Saint Adamnan, a saint who made his mark in more than one field of endeavour in the world of the seventh century. In this 1882 article below, the future Archbishop of Tuam,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hymn of Saint Colman in Praise of Archangel Michael
September 29 is the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, a saint with a long history of devotion in Ireland. Below is a hymn in praise of the Archangel from the Irish Liber Hymnorum, where it is...
View ArticleThe Seven Bishops of Cluain Caa, October 3
On October 3 we find another of the groups of saints who are a feature of the Irish calendars - The Seven Bishops of Cluain Caa. The Martyrology of Donegal records:THE SEVEN BISHOPS, of Cluain Cua. We...
View ArticleHoliday Customs in Ireland: Saint Martin's Day
November 11 is the feast of Saint Martin of Tours, a saint much venerated in the Early Irish Church. I have previously given a summary of this devotion here, and now we can turn to having a look at...
View ArticleSaint Columbanus, November 21
November 21 is the feast of Saint Columbanus, one of the most distinguished Irish saints to have left these shores for missionary work in continental Europe. Below is an account of the man and his...
View ArticleIrish Saints Honoured in Scotland
November 30 is the feast of the Scottish patron, Saint Andrew. Last year I posted an article by the Fort Augustus Benedictine hagiologist, Dom Michael Barrett, on The Saints of Catholic Scotland. To...
View ArticleSaint Nuadha of Clones, December 2
December 2 is the feast of a holy man bearing the ancient name of Nuadha who is associated with the monastery of Clones, County Monaghan. The most famous of the saints of Clones is the founder Saint...
View ArticleSaint Banbán, December 3
At December 3 both the Martyrology of Gorman and the Martyrology of Donegal record the name of 'Banbán, Bishop'. This is an interesting and ancient Irish name whose most well-known saintly bearer is...
View ArticleThe Hymn of Saint Cuchumneus in Praise of the Blessed Virgin
Below is a hymn in honour of the Mother of God attributed to Saint Cuchumneus (Cuchuimne), whose repose is recorded in the Irish Annals in the 740s. Hymns like this gave a certain measure of discomfort...
View ArticleThe Scholars of Clonard: A poem of Sedulius Scottus
Below is the translation of a poem on the Scholars of Clonard attributed to the prolific ninth-century Irish poet, Sedulius Scottus. Sedulius made his career abroad in the courts of continental Europe,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Saint Adamnan of Iona and the Genealogy of Christ
St Matthew from the Book of DurrowJ.O. Westwood (1868)As we approach the feast of Christmas we will be hearing the genealogy of Christ among the readings for the season. This is an aspect of the...
View Article