Seiriol (, ) was an early 6th-century saint, who created a cell at Penmon Priory on

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, off the coast of north

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 ...

. He later moved to Ynys Seiriol ( Puffin Island).

Narrative

Seiriol was a son of King

Owain Danwyn Owain Danwyn ( fl. 440) was a king of Rhos in Gwynedd, Wales, in the mid-5th century. He was the son of Einion Yrth and the father of Cynlas Goch, probably the Cuneglasus excoriated by Gildas. Very little is known of his life. Graham Phillips a ...

of Rhos,James, Chancellor John Williams. "Seiriol", ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'', 1959
/ref> and younger brother of King Cynlas of Rhos and King Einion of Llŷn. His cell at Penmon is said to have been rebuilt by his brothers, as they didn't think his humble residence was good enough. St Seiriol's Well (Ffynnon Seiriol) lies in a small chamber adjoining its remains. Both are protected by

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

, the publicly funded body responsible for the historic monuments of Wales. Adjacent to them are the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

and ruins of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

also dating back to Seiriol's day. According to legend, he and

Saint Cybi Saint Cuby (in Cornish) or Saint Cybi (in Welsh) was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'. Life in Cornwall ...

were good friends, and would meet weekly near

Llanerchymedd Llannerch-y-medd, is a small village, community and post town on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The Royal Mail postcode is LL71, and it has a population of 1,360, of whom more than 70% is Welsh speaking. The village is situated near the centre ...

, at the Clorach wells. Saint Cybi would walk from

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

, facing the rising sun in the morning and setting sun in the evening. Saint Cybi was known as ''Cybi Felyn'' (''Cybi the Tanned''), as he was tanned during his journey. Seiriol, travelling in the opposite direction, from Penmon, would have his back to the sun.Thus, he was known as ''Seiriol Wyn'' (''Seiriol the Fair''). Rhyd-y-Saint railway station (''English: Ford of the Saints railway station'') on the

Red Wharf Bay branch line The Red Wharf Bay branch line was a standard gauge railway line in Anglesey, Wales, a branch off the Anglesey Central Railway. It opened fully in 1909, but closed to passengers in September 1930.Richards, Melville: An Atlas of Anglesey, page 99 ...

near

Pentraeth Pentraeth (; ) is a village and community on the island of Anglesey (''Ynys Môn''), North Wales, at . The Royal Mail postcode begins LL75. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 1,178. The village itself having a population of ...

was named so, since Seiriol and Cybi are said to have met there. St Seiriol's Well is a small rectangular pool set in a well chamber to the north of Penmon Priory church. In his old age, Seiriol retired to Ynys Lannog which subsequently became known (in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

) as Ynys Seiriol. Later it would be known to the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s as Priestholm, and is known as Puffin Island in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

since the 19th century.

Veneration

Saint Seiriol is commemorated 1 February in both the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

es. The

Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh The Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (russian: Суро́жская епа́рхия) is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), covering the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Since 28 December 2018, the Diocese of Sourozh is part ...

of Great Britain and Ireland (

Moscow Patriarchate , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

) holds an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Well of St. Seiriol in Penmon, most recently on July 23, 2022. Trams on the

Great Orme Tramway The Great Orme Tramway ( cy, Tramffordd y Gogarth) is a cable-hauled gauge tramway in Llandudno in north Wales. Open seasonally from late March to late October, it takes over 200,000 passengers each year from Llandudno Victoria Station to just b ...

are named after local saints, #6 being Seiriol. The Liverpool and North Wales Steamship Company steamer St Seiriol ran excursions to the Isle of Man."St Seiriol", Simplon
/ref> It served as an Auxiliary minesweeper during WWI. St Seiriol is depicted in a Venetian Glass mosaic by

Gary Drostle Gary Drostle (born 1961) is a British artist specialising in public art, sculpture and mosaic as well as mural painting and drawing. He was also President of the British Association for Modern Mosaic, a lecturer at The Chicago Mosaic School. an ...

at the western end of The Celtic Gateway footbridge in Holyhead.

References

Sources

Seiriol
on National Library of Wales ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

External links

Mosaic of St. Seriol at Holyhead
{{authority control People from Anglesey Welsh royalty Welsh Roman Catholic saints Medieval Welsh saints 6th-century Christian saints