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Saint Moninne or Modwenna of Killeavy was one of
/ref> One night the nuns were disturbed by sounds of profane merriment from the homesteads lower down the hill, and when they enquired the cause were told that there was a wedding party in one of the houses. Moninne and her sisters, who knew no other espousal than that of Christ, thereupon determined to seek for themselves a place more suited to their way of life. She took her Sisters west to the island of Begerin to be guided in the ways of monastic life by her uncle, one of the first Irish bishops, St. Ibar.Duffy, Patrick. "Saint Moninne of Killeavy", CatholicIreland.net
/ref> The community eventually returned from Leinster to the north of Ireland, settling first at Faughart, then at Killeavy. Faughart Church was founded by Saint Moninne in honour of Brigid. The monastery at Killeavy (meaning "church of the mountain"), initially consisting of eight virgins and a widow with a baby boy. The lad, whose name was Luger, was lovingly raised by the sisters and in time became a bishop. The number of nuns eventually grew to over 150. She died around the year 517 and was buried at Killeavy.
The Pattern Day of St Moninne was 6 July, but with the coming of persecution to the Catholic faith, these religious ceremonies were banned by law. After the suppression of the Pattern in 1825, the existence of the Holy Well was forgotten about but it was re-discovered by Father James Donnelly, C. C., Meigh in 1880.
Saint Moninne's Well is marked by a large white cross. The Pattern was revived in 1928 and appears to have survived until 1934. A shrine was placed over the well with a statue Of the Virgin Mary. The inscription on the well reads "Tobhar Naoimh Blathnaidh". The scene was an historical setting for the Holy Year Pilgrimage on 4 August 1974.
Monnine's feast day is celebrated on 6 July and is marked by pilgrims visiting her well. The
Reade, George H., ''Cill-Sleibhe-Cuillinn, Founded by St. Darerca, alias Moninne, about 518'', 1868
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moninne 432 births 518 deaths 5th-century Irish abbots 6th-century Irish abbots People from County Armagh 6th-century Christian saints Female saints of medieval Ireland Medieval saints of Ulster Irish-language feminine given names 5th-century Irish women 6th-century Irish women
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 ...
's early female saints. After instruction in the religious life, she founded a community, initially consisting of eight virgins and a widow with a baby, at Slieve Gullion, in what became County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...
. They lived an eremitical
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 ...
life, based on that of Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...
and Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
. Moninne died in 517. Her feast day is 6 July.
Life
Moninne was born around 435 in the Donaghmore area of County Down. Her father was Machta, King of the territory stretching from Louth to Armagh and her mother was Comwi or Coman daughter of one of the northern kings. It was said that she was baptised and confirmed by Saint Patrick. When he was passing through the lands of Machta he stopped at her parents' house and predicted that Moninne's name would be remembered throughout time. It was said that she was veiled by Saint Patrick also. There are a couple of versions of the name Moninne, for example Darerca, Blinne or the spelling Moninna which means in Irish "My Ninna" or "My Daughter". A legend says that she got the name "Moninna" when she cured a dumb man and the first word he uttered was "Ninna Ninna". It was also said that when she was a baby the first word she said was Ninna. She is said to have been brought up by St.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 ...
. Monenna founded a number of convents in Scotland and England and also founded a monastery of nuns in Faughart, Co. Louth,"St. Morinne's Well", Armagh Archdiocese/ref> One night the nuns were disturbed by sounds of profane merriment from the homesteads lower down the hill, and when they enquired the cause were told that there was a wedding party in one of the houses. Moninne and her sisters, who knew no other espousal than that of Christ, thereupon determined to seek for themselves a place more suited to their way of life. She took her Sisters west to the island of Begerin to be guided in the ways of monastic life by her uncle, one of the first Irish bishops, St. Ibar.Duffy, Patrick. "Saint Moninne of Killeavy", CatholicIreland.net
/ref> The community eventually returned from Leinster to the north of Ireland, settling first at Faughart, then at Killeavy. Faughart Church was founded by Saint Moninne in honour of Brigid. The monastery at Killeavy (meaning "church of the mountain"), initially consisting of eight virgins and a widow with a baby boy. The lad, whose name was Luger, was lovingly raised by the sisters and in time became a bishop. The number of nuns eventually grew to over 150. She died around the year 517 and was buried at Killeavy.
Veneration
A largegranite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
stone covers the supposed grave of St Moninne and on days when the Pattern (which was the anniversary of the day on which a church had been dedicated to a saint) was celebrated, prayers were said at this spot and the pilgrims continued to her Holy Well further up the slopes of Slieve Gullion, returning to this gravestone for the final prayer.
The Pattern Day of St Moninne was 6 July, but with the coming of persecution to the Catholic faith, these religious ceremonies were banned by law. After the suppression of the Pattern in 1825, the existence of the Holy Well was forgotten about but it was re-discovered by Father James Donnelly, C. C., Meigh in 1880.
Saint Moninne's Well is marked by a large white cross. The Pattern was revived in 1928 and appears to have survived until 1934. A shrine was placed over the well with a statue Of the Virgin Mary. The inscription on the well reads "Tobhar Naoimh Blathnaidh". The scene was an historical setting for the Holy Year Pilgrimage on 4 August 1974.
Monnine's feast day is celebrated on 6 July and is marked by pilgrims visiting her well. The Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
club founded in Killeavy in 1888 is Killeavy St Moninna's GAC.
See also
* DarercaReferences
External links
Reade, George H., ''Cill-Sleibhe-Cuillinn, Founded by St. Darerca, alias Moninne, about 518'', 1868
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moninne 432 births 518 deaths 5th-century Irish abbots 6th-century Irish abbots People from County Armagh 6th-century Christian saints Female saints of medieval Ireland Medieval saints of Ulster Irish-language feminine given names 5th-century Irish women 6th-century Irish women