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The Monk of Devenish
May 17 is the feast of Saint Siollan of Devenish, County Fermanagh, an account of whose life can be read at the blog here. Below is a short story called The Monk of Devenish published just over one...
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Saint Colmán Lobhar of Moynoe, May 21
On May 21 we find the feast of Saint Colmán, one of a number of Irish saints to be described as lobhar, a 'leper'. The name Colmán is derived from Colum and along with a bewildering number of other...
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Saint Buryan, May 29
May 29 is the feast of the County Offally female Saint Brunsecha of Killyon, whose story is interwoven with that of Saint Ciarán of Saighir and his mother, Saint Liadhain. Today we are going to reprise...
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The Larks of Glendalough
June 3 is the feast of Saint Kevin of Glendalough, a saint in whom there has been a revival of interest in recent decades thanks to his status as a poster boy for 'Celtic Christianity'. This movement...
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On the Day of Pentecost
This advent of the Spirit on the apostles was prefigured in the fire that came from heaven on the offerings of righteous Abel, as is testified in Genesis, (the book) of the Law, where it says,'respexit...
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The Three Scoto-Irish Hermits of Griesstetten
On June 12, 1689 the relics of three reputedly twelfth-century Irish hermits, Marinus, Vimius and Zimius, were translated to a new chapel at Griesstetten in Bavaria, where they continue to be held in...
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Saint Killian of Würzburg, July 8
8 July is the feastday of Killian of Würzburg, an Irish missionary saint and martyr, whose memory is still very much alive today. I have previously published an account from Abbé McGeoghegan here and...
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Beatha Mhairghréad- An Irish Life of Saint Margaret
Although this site is dedicated to the saints of Ireland, I also enjoy seeing how devotion to saints of the universal Church manifests in an Irish context. July 20 is the feast of Saint Margaret of...
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Saint Davog of Lough Derg, July 24
July 24 is one of the three feast days assigned to Saint Davog (Dabheoc) of Lough Derg, County Donegal, home to the medieval pilgrimage site of Saint Patrick's Purgatory. As this day falls within the...
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Saint Bití of Inis Cumscraigh, July 29
A County Down monastic saint, Bití (Bitus, Bite) of Inis Cumscraigh, is commemorated on the Irish calendars on July 29. Inis Cumscraigh is today known as Inch, which as the name suggests was once an...
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St.Cobthach of Iona, July 30
On July 30 Canon O'Hanlon has a short account of Saint Cobthach, kinsman of Saint Colum Cille of Iona, whom he claims has a feast on this day, at least according to the two nineteenth-century scholars...
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Saint Papán of Santry, July 31
July 31 is the feast of a County Dublin saint, Papán of Santry. As Canon O'Hanlon's entry for this saint in Volume VII of his Lives of the Irish Saints explains, a seventeenth-century hagiologist,...
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Saint Sárán of Bangor, August 1
The holy valiant deeds Of sacred fathers.Based on the matchlessChurch of Bangor;The noble deeds of abbots,Their number, times, and names,Of never-ending lustre—Hear, brothers, great their desert,Whom...
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Saint Lonan, son of Laisre, August 2
On August 2, the Irish calendars record the name of 'Lonan, son of Laisre' but without any further details as to when or where he flourished. The task of identifying this saint is not made any easier...
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Saint Aodhán of Clontarf, August 3
On August 3 the Irish calendars record the name of Saint Aodhán of Clontarf. Although there are no other details of the saint as an individual, the location associated with him remains rather more...
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The Angel of Saint Lugith
August 4 is the feast of Saint Molua of Kyle. I have previously posted an account of his life here, but today we have a reminder of his many miracles in an 1878 article reprinted from The Messenger of...
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Saint Earnán of Cloonrallagh, August 5
On August 5/6 the Irish calendars record the feast of Saint Earnán (Eirne, Eirnín) of Cloonrallagh. He is yet another of those Irish saints whose names are preserved along with the date of their feast...
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The Feast of the Transfiguration in the Martyrology of Oengus
August 6 is the day on which the Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated throughout the Universal Church. However, it was not always so, as a German ecclesiastical historian explains: From quite an...
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Saint Aedhán, son of Meallán, August 7
August 7 is the feast of one of the many Irish saints called Aedhán (Aodhán, Aiden). Today's saint is distinguished by the use of a patronymic, for he is described on the calendars as the son of...
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Saint Beoán of Feighcullen, August 8
August 8 is the feast of Saint Beoán of Feighcullen, County Kildare. His feast is found on all of the Irish calendars and his name also preserved in genealogical sources. There he is described as one...
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