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 the ...
: ''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 ...
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 River ...
in what is now Newbridge Conleth was persuaded by Saint Brigid
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 hagiogra ...
to make sacred vessels for her convent. Conleth, Tassach
St. Tassac (also Tassach; died c. AD 497) was an Irish people, Irish saint, born in the first decade of the 5th century, died c. 497 and whose feast day falls on the 14 April.
Life
He was one of Saint Patrick's disciples, and when St Patrick f ...
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
Cogitosus (fl. c. 650) was an Irish monk, who wrote the ''Vita Sanctae Brigidae''.
Life
Cogitosus was a monk of Kildare, an important monastery in Ireland, who wrote the oldest extant vita of Saint Brigid, '' Vita Sanctae Brigidae'', around 6 ...
, 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
A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...
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
Cogitosus (fl. c. 650) was an Irish monk, who wrote the ''Vita Sanctae Brigidae''.
Life
Cogitosus was a monk of Kildare, an important monastery in Ireland, who wrote the oldest extant vita of Saint Brigid, '' Vita Sanctae Brigidae'', around 6 ...
, 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 Ir ...
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 cen ...
. 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 1,240 ...
's "A Book of Cornwall" (now in the public domain,) in which his name is spelled "Conlaeth."
St. Conleth's Park
St Conleth's Park ( ga, Páirc Naoimh Conlaith) is a GAA stadium in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the county ground of Kildare's Gaelic football and hurling teams. It also served as the town's greyhound racing track from 1948 until ...
is the name of Kildare GAA
The Kildare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kildare GAA, is one of 12 county boards governed by the Leinster provincial council of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County ...
'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 a ...
.
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