Finnian of Clonard ('Cluain Eraird') – also Finian, Fionán or Fionnán in Irish; or Finianus and Finanus in its Latinised form (470–549) – was one of the early Irish monastic

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s, who founded

Clonard Abbey Clonard Abbey (Irish, ''Cluain Eraird'', or ''Cluain Iraird'', "Erard's Meadow") was an early medieval monastery situated on the River Boyne in Clonard, County Meath, Ireland. Early history The monastery was founded in about 520 by Saint F ...

in modern-day

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. 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 ...

studied under him. Finnian of Clonard (along with

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 ...

) is considered one of the fathers of Irish

monasticism Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

Early life

Finnian was born at the

Kingdom 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 Ire ...

, son of Findlog. His birthplace is generally supposed to have been near the present town of New Ross. He was a member of

Clanna Rudhraighe The Clanna Rudraige (modern Irish: Clanna Rudhraighe), Anglicised as Clanna Rory, is according to Irish mythology an ancient tribe that ruled the ancient province of Ulaid in Ireland. The people that lived in this province, also called the Ulaid, a ...

from the

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

. Abban baptised Finnian, and at an early age, he was placed under the care of Bishop Fortchern of Trim.Thunder, John., "St. Finnian of Clonard", ''Irish Ecclesiastical Record'', Vol. XIII, p. 810, 1892
/ref> According to some sources, Finnian studied for a time at the monastic centre of

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

in Gaul. Tours was noted for its austerity. He later went to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and continued his studies at the monastery of

Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog ( lat-med, Cadocus; also Modern Welsh: Cattwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the British church as a centre of learni ...

the Wise, at

Llancarfan Llancarfan is a rural village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village, located west of Barry and near Cowbridge, has a well-known parish church, the site of Saint Cadoc's 6th-century clas, famed for its learning. Cainnech o ...

(whose place-name translates as 'the

Llan Llan may be: * Llan (placename), a Celtic morpheme, or element, common in British placenames ** A short form for any placename . * Llan, Powys, a Welsh village near Llanbrynmair * Llan the Sorcerer La Lunatica Lacuna Lady Bullseye Lady De ...

of the stags') in

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

. He remained there for years, at prayer and study."St. Finian of Clonard", All Saints Parish
Finnian made copies of Rome's classics and of St. Jerome's Vulgate. After a sojourn in Wales of thirty years, according to the ''

Codex Salmanticensis The ''Codex Salmanticensis'' (Brussels, Royal Library 7672–4) is a medieval Irish manuscript containing an extensive collection of Irish saints' Lives, now in the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels. It was culled by the compilers from various so ...

'', he returned to his native land. Although, as Hickey (1996, p. 9) notes, "Thirty years away from Ireland seems too long when we consider Finnian's achievements in Ireland".

Foundations

Finnian came first to Aghowle in County Wicklow at the foot of Sliabh Condala, where Oengus, the king of Leinster granted him a site. He then founded a monastic community on

Skellig Michael Skellig Michael ( ga, Sceilg Mhichíl ), also called Great Skellig ( ga, link=no, Sceilig Mhór ), is a twin-pinnacled crag west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The island is named after the archangel Michael, with "Skellig ...

, off the coast of Kerry, 'though this is doubted by historians. From there, he went to Brigid's monastery at Kildare.Lapa, Dmitry. "Venerable Finnian, Abbot of Clonard", Provoslavie.ru
/ref> Around 520, he was at last led by an angel to Cluain Eraird (Clonard, County Meath) on the River Boyne, which he was told would be the place of his resurrection. At Clonard Finnian built a little cell and a church of clay and wattle, and entered on a life of study, mortification, and prayer. The fame of his learning and sanctity soon spread, and scholars of all ages flocked from every side to his monastic retreat.
/ref> Finnian established a monastery modelled on the practices of Welsh monasteries, and based on the traditions of the

Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt , conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt , common_name = Egypt , subdivision = Province , na ...

and the study of Scripture. The rule of Clonard was known for its strictness and asceticism. The pupils of Finnian who became the founding fathers of monasteries are described as leaving Clonard bearing a book or crozier or some other object, suggesting that a working scriptorium and craft workshops were established at Clonard at an early date. ''The Penitential of Finnian'' prescribes penances with a view to correcting sinful tendencies and cultivating the contrary virtue. The document shows wide learning and draws on the teaching of John Cassian on overcoming the eight evil tendencies – gluttony, fornication, covetousness, anger, dejection, accidie (laziness), vainglory and pride (''The Institutes'', Books 5–12).Duffy, Patrick. "St Finnian, abbot of Clonard", Catholic Ireland News, December 12, 2012

Later life and death

In the Office of St. Finnian it is stated that there were no fewer than 3,000 pupils getting instruction at one time in the school in the green fields of Clonard. The master excelled in exposition of the Sacred Scriptures, and to this fact must be mainly attributed the extraordinary popularity which his lectures enjoyed. Finnian's gift for teaching and his absolute dedication to the ascetic ideal inspired a whole generation. Clonard drew students from various parts of Europe.

Ciarán of Clonmacnoise 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 and the first abbot of Clonmacnoise. He is sometimes called Ciarán the Young ...

and

Columcille 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 ...

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

are among the many who trained under him. They and many others took seeds of knowledge from Finnian's monastery at Clonard and planted them abroad with great success. Finnian died of the plague in 549. Hickey (1996) says: "If we consider his achievements in life, rather than the fabulous age attributed to him by his biographer (140 years), we may guess his age at death as perhaps sixty or sixty-five." His burial-place is in his own church of Clonard. Finnian's sister, Regnach, was Abbess of Kilreynagh, near the present town of Banagher.

Veneration

Clonard became an important school because of the number of its students who went on to found other monasteries. For centuries after his death, the school continued to be renowned as a seat of Scriptural learning, but it suffered at the hands of the Danes, especially in the eleventh century, and two Irishmen, O'Rorke of Breifney and Dermod McMurrough, helped to complete the work which the

Northmen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...

had begun. The relics of Finnian himself were enshrined at Clonard until 887, after which the shrine was destroyed. With the transference by the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Bishop of Rochfort, in 1206, of the See of Meath from Clonard to

Trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

, the glory of the former place departed forever. Finnian of Clonard's feast-day is 12 December, which is first attested in a Spanish

Martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

of the 9th century. In later years the monastery of Clonard came under the rule of the

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into the ...

, and came to share an abbot with either

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 cen ...

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise (Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th ce ...

Patronage

Finnian is the patron saint of the Diocese of Meath."Feast of St Finian, Patron of Meath Diocese", Diocese of Meath
/ref>

Notes

References

* .

External links

Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Saints'', Vol. XII, 1866

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnian Of Clonard 470 births 540s deaths 5th-century Irish people 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Irish abbots 6th-century Latin writers Irish writers Medieval Irish saints Medieval saints of Meath People from County Carlow People from County Meath Angelic visionaries

Early life

Foundations

Later life and death

Veneration

Patronage

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

Secondary sources

Primary sources

External links