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St. Christian O'Connarchy of Mellifont, March 18
Last year we were introduced to a twelfth-century Cistercian saint, Christian O'Connarchy of Mellifont Abbey. Here is a brief reminder of him from a late nineteenth-century guide to the monastery this...
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Erin's Saints and Monks in Germany
March 27 is the feast of an important saint from the Germanic world, Rupert of Salzburg. He is one of the saints referenced below in a paper from 1900 on 'Erin's Saints and Monks in Germany'. I reprint...
View ArticleFaithful Irish Exiles- Pioneers of the Faith in Many Lands
April 10 is the feast of Saint Paternus of Paderborn, one of many Irish or reputedly Irish holy men who left this country for continental Europe. I say reputedly as many of the claims of Irish links...
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Bi-Centenary of the Birth of Canon O' Hanlon
Today marks the bi-centenary of the birth of John, Canon O'Hanlon whose monumental Lives of the Irish Saints provided the original inspiration for this blog. Over the years I have developed not only a...
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An Odysseus of the Irish Church
May 16 is the feast of one of the most famous of the Irish saints, Brendan the Navigator. The account of his voyaging was one of the most popular works of the Middle Ages and survives in over one...
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Names of Irish Saints
I recently ended a series on Irish saints' names published in the Australian press in 1914, links to which can be found here. There is another example below, this time from 1918, where a selection of...
View ArticleSaint Colman Steallan of Terryglass, May 26
May 26 is the commemoration of Saint Colman Steallan, a saint of the monastery of Terryglass, County Tipperary. This foundation produced a number of notable holy men including Saint Colum, one of the...
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An Irish Poem in Praise of the Blessed Sacrament
This beautiful poem in praise of the Blessed Sacrament was written by a 12th-century poet who may also have been an abbot, Donnchadh Mór Ó Dálaigh, described in The Annals of Clonmacnoise as “Chief of...
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A Hymn in Honour of Saint Moninne
July 6 is the Feast of Saint Moninne of Killeevy, one of three women saints along with Brigid and Bronagh important to the people of the historic kingdom of Oriel in south-east Ulster. She is also one...
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A Legend of Saint Molua
August 4 is the feast of Saint Molua, an entry on whose life can be found here. Below, is a charming vignette from the Irish Celtic Revival scholar, Maud Joynt (1868-1940), which records the grief of...
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The Founding of Achonry
Today is the feast of Saint Nathy, patron of the Diocese of Achonry. Below is an 1889 poem by an Irish-American contributor to the Catholic press of his day, Patrick J. Coleman, which recounts the...
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The Prayer of Saint Atty
A couple of days ago I reprinted a poem by Philadelphia resident Patrick J. Coleman on the founding of the diocese of Achonry by Saint Nathy. Now we have another of his poetic offerings, this time in...
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'A Vessel of Wisdom and a Man Full of the Grace of God': Saint Adamnan of Iona
September 23 is the feast of Saint Adamnan, a seventh-century Donegal saint who was the ninth abbot of Iona and one of the most prominent churchmen of his time. I recently treated myself to a copy of a...
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Saint Gall and the Miracle of the Fishes
October 16 is the feast of Saint Gall, the Irish Apostle to Switzerland. I have previously introduced him and his formidable monastic superior, Saint Columbanus, here. The relationship between the two...
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Saint Maelaithgen of Clonenagh, October 21
October 21 is the feast of Saint Maelaithgen of Clonenagh, whose death, according to the Annals of the Four Masters, occurred in the eighth century: The Age of Christ, 767. Maelaithgen, Abbot of...
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An Irish Bishop Saint: Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy
October 25 is the feast of Blessed Thaddeus [Tadhg] McCarthy, a fifteenth-century Irish Bishop who, having been unjustly deprived of his see, set off to obtain redress in Rome only to die alone on his...
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'A Seasoning to our Earthly Life': A Thought for the Feast of All Saints
November 1 is the Feast of All Saints and below is a reflection on the importance of recording the lives of the saints from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of Saint Malachy the Irishman. We will be...
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Saint Malachy of Armagh, November 3
Saint Malachy's Vision of his Dead SisterNovember 3 is the feast of Saint Malachy of Armagh (c.1094-1148), who is also the diocesan patron of Down and Connor. He is an important saint with a...
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"Ireland, though fruitful in soil, is much more celebrated for saints"
November 6 is the Feast of All the Saints of Ireland and below is a reflection from Father William P. Treacy (1850–1906) on the legacy of those Irish saints who carried the Gospel outside these shores....
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Celebrating Saint Caillín's Pattern Day
November 13 is the feast of Saint Caillín of Fenagh whom I have introduced in a previous post here. In the article below we are given a fascinating glimpse into the celebration of his feast or...
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