Athracht (Modern Irish ''Naomh Adhracht''; in Latin sources ''Attracta'') is the patron saint of the parish of Locha Techet (Lough Gara) and

Tourlestrane Toorlestraun or Tourlestrane () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Village The village of Tourlestrane itself is the smaller of the two villages in the parish of Kilmactigue, the other being Aclare. It is a market centre for local dairy far ...

, Co. Sligo,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. She was a sister of Bishop

Conal Conal (or Conall) was an Irish bishop who flourished in the second half of the fifth century and ruled over the church of Drum, County Roscommon, the place being subsequently named Drumconnell, after St. Conal. Life He was a brother of Attr ...

of Drumconnell. Her feast day is 11 August.

Life

A native of County Sligo, Athracht resolved to devote herself to God, but being opposed by her parents, fled to south Connacht and made her first foundation at

Drum, County Roscommon Drum () is a civil parish in south County Roscommon about 5 km west of Athlone. It lies in the barony of Athlone. One of the townlands in the parish is also called Drum. Meehambee Dolmen, a portal tomb estimated to be 5,500 years old, i ...

, where her brother

had established a church. The place came to be called Drumconnell. From there she removed to Greagraighe or Coolavin, County Sligo. Her legend states that she took her vows as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

under

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

at Coolavin. She then moved to

Lough Gara Lough Gara () is a lake in Counties Sligo and Roscommon, Ireland. It is an Important Bird Area protecting 1,788 ha of which most (1,742 ha) is covered by a Ramsar Site. History Lough Gara was known in ancient times as Loch Techet, but the O’ ...

, where she founded a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

for travellers at a place now called Killaraght in her honour. The hostel survived until 1539. She was known for her charity and the hospitality extended to travelers and the homeless. She lived in the sixth century, and is associated with

Conainne Conainne, also known as Dachonna, ( ) was an Irish missionary and saint. The Irish terms of endearment, ''mo'' and ''do'', were regularly added to the names of Irish saints and secular people, hence the origin of her diminutive pseudonym, Dachonn ...

. Local tradition remembers her great healing powers. Her convents were famous for hospitality and charity to the poor.

Legacy

A local well is named after her, as is the new secondary school in

Tubbercurry Tubbercurry or Tobercurry () is the second-largest town in terms of both population and land area in County Sligo, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the Ox Mountains, on the N17 national primary road. The village is twinned with Viarmes in Fran ...

and the parish's second church in

Kilmactigue Kilmactigue (), is a townland and parish in County Sligo, Ireland. The parish covers the villages of Aclare, Banada and Tourlestrane, as well as their surrounding townlands. The parish church is situated in Tourlestrane, and there are smaller ...

.Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Attracta." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 28 Oct. 2014
/ref> St. Attracta's Senior School, Dublin is named after her. EI-LRB 10062019LHR (48941296761)

In September 2019,

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

took delivery of Airbus A321LR registration EI-LRB and named it Saint Attracta.Airbus A321LR on planespotters.net
/ref>

Notes

References

*st attracta * *Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. . {{Authority control People from County Roscommon People from County Sligo 5th-century Irish nuns 6th-century Christian saints Female saints of medieval Ireland Medieval saints of Connacht Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 6th-century Irish nuns Medieval Irish saints