Saint Conleth (; sga, Conláed ;

Modern Irish Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was t ...

: ''Naomh Connlaodh''; also ''Conlaeth; Conlaid; Conlaith; Conlath; Conlian, Hugh the Wise'')"Churches of county Kildare", County Kildare Heritage
/ref> was an Irish

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

and metalworker, also said to have been a copyist and skilled illuminator of manuscripts. He is believed to have come from the

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...

area.

Life

While living in seclusion at Old Connell on the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...

in what is now Newbridge Conleth was persuaded by Saint Brigid to make sacred vessels for her convent. Conleth, Tassach of Elphin (Saint Patrick's craftsman), and Daigh (craftsman of Kieran of Saigher) were acclaimed the "three chief artisans of Ireland" during their period. Conleth was head of the Kildare school of metal-work and penmanship. According to Brigid's biographer, Cogitosus, a community of monks grew up which, under his guidance, excelled in the making of beautiful chalices and other metal objects needed in the church, and in the writing and ornamentation of missals, gospels, and psalters. A product of Saint Conleth's metalwork for which he is noted is the crozier that he fashioned for Saint Finbarr of Termonbarry.Duffy, Patrick. "St. Conleth", Caitlicigh Ar An Ngreasan
/ref> The Diocese of Kildare appears to have been founded around 490, by Conleth who, with the assistance of St. Bridget, then presiding over the monastery, erected the cathedral and became first bishop. Cogitosus, in his ''Life of Brigid'', calls him "bishop and abbot of the monks of Kildare". Conleth died when he was attacked by wolves in the forests of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

on pilgrimage to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 4 May 519 and was buried nearby. In 799 his relics were transported and laid beside Brigid's in the great cathedral in

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...

. His relics were finally laid to rest in Connell in 835 to protect the inhabitants from invading Danes.

Veneration

Conleth is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the Roman Catholic St Conleth's Parish, which includes Newbridge and the surrounding areas. Old Connell – the site of Conleth's original cell, which is now a graveyard – is within the parish limits. Conleth's feast day is 4 May. Every year on the Sunday after St Conleth's Day a pilgrimage takes place from the parish church in Newbridge to Old Connell, about two miles outside the town.

Legacy

St. Conleth's College is located in Dublin. His tale and community are briefly described in

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,2 ...

's "A Book of Cornwall" (now in the public domain,) in which his name is spelled "Conlaeth." St. Conleth's Park is the name of

Kildare GAA The Kildare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kildare GAA, is one of 12 County board (Gaelic games), county boards governed by the Leinster GAA, Leinster provincial council of the GAA in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and ...

's home stadium, located in

Newbridge, County Kildare Newbridge, officially known by its Irish name Droichead Nua (), is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. While the nearby Great Connell Priory was founded in the 13th century, the town itself formed from the 18th century onwards, and grew rapidly ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conleth 6th-century Irish bishops Irish Christian monks 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Irish saints Canonizations by Pope Leo XIII Irish goldsmiths Irish silversmiths Irish metalsmiths People from County Kildare People from County Wicklow 519 deaths Year of birth unknown Bishops of Kildare Irish artists Deaths due to wolf attacks