This is a list of the saints of Ireland, which attempts to give an overview of saints from Ireland or venerated in Ireland. The vast majority of these saints lived during the 4th–10th centuries, the period of
early Christian Ireland
Early may refer to:
History
* The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.:
** Early Christianity
** Early modern Europe
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa
* Early, Texas
* Early ...
, when
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...
produced many
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
to Great Britain and the European continent. For this reason, Ireland in a 19th-century adage is described as "the land of saints and scholars".
The introduction of Christianity into Ireland was during the end of the 4th century. Its exact introduction is obscure, though the strict
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
nature of monasticism in Ireland derives from the Desert Fathers. Although there were some Christians in Ireland before him,
Patrick, a native of
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
, played a significant role in its full Christianisation.
Some of the most well known saints are
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 b ...
,
Colmcill,
Brigid of Kildare
Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogr ...
and 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 ...
.
After 1000, the prerogative of naming saints was granted exclusively to Rome, and the number of saints dropped. Saints canonized in the modern era include
Oliver Plunkett
Oliver Plunkett (or Oliver Plunket) ( ga, Oilibhéar Pluincéid), (1 November 1625 – 1 July 1681) was the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland who was the last victim of the Popish Plot. He was beatified in 1920 an ...
(d. 1681, canonized 1975 by
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
) and
Charles of Mount Argus
Charles of Mount Argus (11 December 1821 – 5 January 1893), was a Dutch Passionist priest who served in 19th-century Ireland. He gained a reputation for his compassion for the sick and those in need of guidance. His reputation for healings ...
(d. 1893, canonized 2007 by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
).
Early saints
Modern saints
Modern saints include:
[ Retrieved on 19 March 2021.]
* Saint
Charles of Mount Argus
Charles of Mount Argus (11 December 1821 – 5 January 1893), was a Dutch Passionist priest who served in 19th-century Ireland. He gained a reputation for his compassion for the sick and those in need of guidance. His reputation for healings ...
* Saint
Oliver Plunkett
Oliver Plunkett (or Oliver Plunket) ( ga, Oilibhéar Pluincéid), (1 November 1625 – 1 July 1681) was the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland who was the last victim of the Popish Plot. He was beatified in 1920 an ...
Beatified people
Blessed
* Blessed
John, or Terrence, Carey
* Blessed Ralph Corby (Corbington) (1598-1644), professed priest, Jesuits, born in Ireland but included in the Martyrs of England and Wales
* Blessed John Grove (d. 1679), layman, born in Ireland but included in the Martyrs of England and Wales
* Blessed
Columba Marmion
Columba Marmion, OSB, born Joseph Aloysius Marmion (April 1, 1858 – January 30, 1923) was a Benedictine Irish monk and the third Abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium. Beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000, Columba was one of t ...
, Benedictine priest
* Blessed
Charles Meehan (Mahoney) (1640-1679), professed priest, Franciscan Friars Minor (Recollects), born in Ireland but included in the Martyrs of England and Wales
* Blessed
Dermot O'Hurley
Dermot O'Hurley (c. 1530 – 19 or 20 June 1584)—also ''Dermod or Dermond O'Hurley'': ga, Diarmaid Ó hUrthuile—was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cashel in Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth I, who was put to death for treason. He ...
, Archbishop of Cashel, and 16 Companions, martyrs
**
Patrick O'Hely
Patrick O'Hely ( ga, Pádraig Ó hÉilí) (born between 1543 - 1546, died 31 August, 1579) was an Irish Roman Catholic bishop of Mayo, Ireland, who was executed by the English secular authorities.
Biography
Born in Dromahair, County Leitrim, ...
professed priest, Franciscan Friars Minor (Observants); bishop of Mayo
** Conn O'Rourke, professed priest, Franciscan Friars Minor (Observants)
**
Matthew Lambert, layman
**
Robert Meyler, layman
**
Edward Cheevers, layman
**
Patrick Cavanagh, layman
**
Margaret Ball, laywoman
**
Maurice MacKenragaghty, priest
**
Dominic Collins
Dominic Collins (; 1566 – 31 October 1602) was an Irish Jesuit lay brother, an ex-soldier, who died for his Catholic faith. He was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on 27 September 1992.
Life
Collins was born in 1566 of a prominent ...
, professed religious, Jesuits
**
Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh, professed priest, Franciscan Friars Minor (Observants); bishop of Down and Connor
**
Patrick O'Loughran
Patrick O'Loughran (''in Irish: Pádraig Ó Lochráin'') (died 1 February 1612) was a priest of the archdiocese of Armagh and an Irish Catholic Martyr.
O'Loughran was born in Donaghmore, County Tyrone to an '' Erenagh'' family. He later became ...
, priest of the archdiocese of Armagh
**
Francis Taylor, layman
** Peter Higgins, professed priest, Dominicans
**
Terence O'Brien, professed priest, Dominicans; bishop of Emly
** John Kearney, professed priest, Franciscan Friars Minor (Observants)
**
William Tirry
William Tirry OSA (1609 – 12 May 1654) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest of the Order of Saint Augustine. He suffered martyrdom in Clonmel in the context of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1992.
Lif ...
, professed priest, Augustinians
* Blessed
Edmund Ignatius Rice
Edmund Ignatius Rice ( ga, Éamonn Iognáid Rís; 1 June 1762 – 29 August 1844) was a Catholic missionary and educationalist. He was the founder of two religious institutes of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and t ...
, founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers
* Blessed John Roche (d. 1588), layman, born in Ireland but included in the Martyrs of England and Wales
* Blessed Patrick Salmon, companion-martyr of
John Cornelius
* Blessed
John Sullivan, professed priest, Jesuits
Venerable
* Venerable
Mary Aikenhead
Mother Mary Frances Aikenhead (19 January 1787 – 22 July 1858) was born in Daunt's Square off Grand Parade, Cork, Ireland. Described as one of nursing's greatest leaders, she was the founder of the Catholic religious institute, the Relig ...
, founder of the Religious Sisters of Charity
* Venerable
Catherine McAuley
Catherine McAuley, RSM (29 September 1778 – 11 November 1841) was an Irish Catholic religious sister who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831.Austin, Mary Stanislas"Sisters of Mercy."''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Ap ...
, founder of the Sisters of Mercy
* Venerable
Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, founder, Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm; born in Ireland
* Venerable
Nano Nagle
Venerable Honora Nagle ( – 26 April 1784), known informally as Nano Nagle, was a pioneer of Roman Catholic education in Ireland despite legal prohibitions. She founded the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), c ...
, founder of the Presentation Sisters
* Venerable
Patrick Peyton
Patrick Peyton, CSC (January 9, 1909 – June 3, 1992), also known as "The Rosary Priest", was an Irish-born Catholic priest, member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and founder of the Family Rosary Crusade. He popularized the phrases "The f ...
, professed priest, Congregation of Holy Cross; born in Ireland
* Venerable
Edel Quinn, member, Legion of Mary, born in Ireland
* Venerable
Matt Talbot, lay ascetic
See also
*
Irish Catholic Martyrs
Irish Catholic Martyrs () were 24 Irish men and women who have been beatified or canonized for dying for their Catholic faith between 1537 and 1681 in Ireland. The canonisation of Oliver Plunkett in 1975 brought an awareness of the others who ...
*
List of Anglo-Saxon saints
*
List of Cornish saints
This is a list of Cornish saints, including saints more loosely associated with Cornwall: many of them will have links to sites elsewhere in regions with significant ancient British history, such as Wales, Brittany or Devon.
List of some o ...
*
List of Welsh saints
This list of Welsh saints includes Christian saints with Welsh connections, either because they were of Welsh origin and ethnicity or because they travelled to Wales from their own homeland and became noted in their hagiography for their work th ...
*
List of saints of Northumbria
*
List of Breton saints
Breton saints refers to one of two groups, the innumerable people who lived, died, worked in, or came to be particularly venerated in the nine traditional dioceses of Brittany (Cornouaille, Dol, Léon, Nantes, Rennes, Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Malo, ...
*
List of saints of the Canary Islands
This is a list of saints and blesseds of the Catholic Church associated with the Canary Islands, today an archipelago part of Spain. In addition, the list includes the venerable and servants of God born or linked to the archipelago.
* Sai ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Ancient Order of Hibernians— complete list of Ireland's saints
Catholic Online— Irish saints
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Saints Of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
Saints
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...
Saints
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...
Saints
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...