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Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c. 516 – c. 549), supposedly born Ciarán mac an tSaeir ("son of the carpenter"), was one of the
Twelve Apostles of Ireland The Twelve Apostles of Ireland (also known as Twelve Apostles of Erin, ir, Dhá Aspal Déag na hÉireann) were twelve early Irish monastic saints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian (d. 549) at his famous monastic school Clona ...
and the first
abbot of Clonmacnoise The Abbot of Clonmacnoise was the monastic head of Clonmacnoise. They also bore the title " Comarba of Saint Ciarán", "successor of Saint Ciarán". The following is a list of abbots: List of abbots to 1539 Notes References *Annette Kehnel, ...
. He is sometimes called Ciarán the Younger to distinguish him from the 5th-century Saint Ciarán the Elder who was
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of
Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home o ...
. His name produced many variant spellings, including Ceran, Kieran, Queran and Queranus.


Life

Ciarán was born in around 516 in
County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...
,
Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
, in Ireland. His father was a carpenter and chariot maker."St Ciaran of Clonmacnois", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> As a boy, Ciarán worked as a cattle herder.
/ref> He was a student of Finian's at Clonard and in time became a teacher, himself.
Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
of Iona said of Ciarán, “He was a lamp, blazing with the light of wisdom.” In about 534, he left Clonard for
Inishmore Inishmore ( ga, Árainn , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 762 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and ...
where he studied under
Enda of Aran Saint Enda of Aran (Éanna, Éinne or Endeus, died 530 AD) is an Irish saint. His feast day is 21 March. Enda was a warrior-king of Oriel in Ulster, converted by his sister, Saint Fanchea, an abbess. About 484 he established the first Iri ...
, who ordained him a priest and advised him to build a church and monastery in the middle of Ireland. Later, he travelled to
Senan The National Aeronaval Service of Panama, also called SENAN (abbreviation for es, Servicio Nacional Aeronaval), is a branch of the Panamanian Public Forces which is responsible for carrying out naval and air operations. Its role is to perform pro ...
on
Scattery Island Inis Cathaigh or Scattery Island is an island in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland, off the coast of Kilrush, County Clare. The island is home to a lighthouse, a ruined monastery associated with Saint Senan, an Irish round tower and the remains of a ...
(in about 541). In 544, he finally settled in Clonmacnoise, where he founded the Monastery of Clonmacnoise with ten fellow companions. As abbot, he worked on the first buildings of the monastery; however, he died about seven months later of a plague, in his early thirties. His
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is 9 September.


Legends

Various legends are connected to St Ciarán. One of the most famous relates that it was his cow – which he took with him as payment when he went to Clonard and gave milk to all at the Abbey – which supplied the
parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
for the ''Leobr na h'Uidre'', '' Book of the Dun Cow'', one of the oldest and most important Irish literary collections, compiled by a Clonmacnoise scribe in 1106. One story tells that he lent his copy of the Gospel of St Matthew to fellow-student St Ninnidh. When Finnian tested the class, Ciarán knew only the first half of the Gospel. The other students laughed and called him “Ciarán half-Matthew.” St Finnian silenced them and said, “Not Ciarán half-Matthew, but Ciarán half-Ireland, for he will have half the country and the rest of us will have the other half.” Another tale relates that as a student, a young fox would take his writings to his master, until it was old enough to eat his
satchel A satchel is a bag with a strap, traditionally used for carrying books.Satchel
The Cambridge Dictionary. ...
. Yet another tale tells of the other Irish saints envying him to such a degree that every one of them (apart from St Columba) prayed for his early death; and finally, he is supposed to have told his followers that upon his death, they were to leave his bones upon the hillside, and to preserve his spirit rather than his relics.


Legacy

The monastery at Clonmacnoise became one of the most important centres of learning and religious life in Ireland. Unusually, the title of abbot which included the title "
Comarba A coarb, from the Old Irish ''comarbae'' (Modern Irish ''comharba'', Latin: ''hērēs''), meaning "heir" or "successor", was a distinctive office of the medieval church among the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland. In this period coarb appears intercha ...
of Saint Ciarán" at the community was not
hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
, which reflected the humble origins of its founder. It managed to survive the plunderings of the Viking raids and the Anglo-Norman wars, and was only destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1552. The ruins still exist, and remain a centre of civic and religious activity to this day. The treasures of Ciarán's shrine were dispersed throughout the Medieval era; although the Clonmacnoise Crozier still exists and is stored in the
National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...
. The Celtic scholar
Charles Plummer Charles Plummer, FBA (1851–1927) was an English historian and cleric, best known as the editor of Sir John Fortescue's ''The Governance of England'', and for coining the term "bastard feudalism". He was the fifth son of Matthew Plummer of St ...
suggested that Ciaran of Clonmacnoise was the patron saint of Cornwall
Saint Piran Saint Piran or Pyran ( kw, Peran; la, Piranus), died c. 480,Patrons - The Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael and Holy Piran'' Oecumenical Patriarchate, Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. Laity Moor, Nr Ponsanooth, Cornwall. TR3 7H ...
challenging the broadly accepted belief that he was Ciaran of Saigir. The difference in spelling is for dialect or linguistical reasons between the two
Insular Celtic languages Insular Celtic languages are the group of Celtic languages of Brittany, Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. All surviving Celtic languages are in the Insular group, including Breton, which is spoken on continental Europe in Brittany, ...
. Brytonic was categorized as
P-Celtic The Gallo-Brittonic languages, also known as the P-Celtic languages, are a subdivision of the Celtic languages of Ancient Gaul (both '' celtica'' and '' belgica'') and Celtic Britain, which share certain features. Besides common linguistic in ...
, as it replaced the harder ‘c’ or k sound in the
Goidelic languages The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historically ...
with the softer letter ‘p’. On the other hand, Goidelic was seen by scholars as being
Q-Celtic The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward L ...
, as the earliest
Ogham Ogham ( Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langu ...
inscriptions used a 'Q' transcribed by Queirt, which represented the Apple Tree to phonetically pronounce the k sound, although Q was later replaced by the letter 'C' in the Old Irish alphabet. Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise has a strong connection with
Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...
,
Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
in Scotland. Campbeltown was formerly known as Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain which means "head of the loch by the kirk of Ciarán" Pilgrims frequently take place were tourists visit a cave associated with the Saint near
Island Davaar Island Davaar or Davaar Island ( gd, Eilean Dà Bhàrr) is located at the mouth of Campbeltown Loch off the east coast of Kintyre, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is a tidal island, linked to the mainland by a natural Shingle beach, shingle cau ...
. The Saint is believed to have lived for a time in an area that would later become known as Campbeltown at the same time as the legendary king
Fergus Mór Fergus Mór mac Eirc ( gd, Fearghas Mòr Mac Earca; English: ''Fergus the Great'') was a possible king of Dál Riata. He was the son of Erc of Dalriada. While his historicity may be debatable, his posthumous importance as the founder of Scotl ...
was establishing the kingdom of the Scottish
Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now ...
, after invading
Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
from Ireland.Ian Campbell Bradley, Argyll:The making of a spiritual landscape, Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, 2015
/ref> A primary school in Hartstown,
Dublin 15 Dublin 15, also rendered as D15, is a postal district in the suburbs of Dublin in Fingal, Ireland. It is west of the GPO in Dublin city. Geography and political subdivisions Dublin 15 covers a large area, rising from the River Liffey to at t ...
is named after Saint Ciarán. San Cirano shool in Argentina is named after Sanint Ciarán.


See also

* Ciarán of Saigir *
Saint Cera Saint Ciera of Ireland (alternately Chera, Chier, Ciara, Cyra, Keira, Keara, Kiara, Kiera, Ceara, Cier, Ciar) was an abbess in the 7th century who died in 679. Her history is probably commingled with another Cera (alternately Ciar, Ciara) who live ...
* Early Irish Christianity *
Maolán Maolán was an early Christianity, Christian bishop in Connacht, whose feast day is given as 25 December. He is commemorated in the placnames ''Cill Easpaig Mhaoláin'' (the church of Bishop Maolán) or Killaspugmoylan, parish of Kilconickny, Lou ...


References


External links


Catholic ForumThe story of St Ciaran's church of Clonmacnoise
YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciaran Of Clonmacnoise 516 births 549 deaths 6th-century Irish bishops People from County Offaly People from County Roscommon 6th-century Christian saints Medieval saints of Meath Medieval saints of Connacht