Tigernach mac Coirpri (''d''. 549) was an early Irish saint, patron saint of
Clones
Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to:
Places
* Clones, County Fermanagh
* Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland
Biology
* Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...
(Co. Monaghan) in the province of Ulster.
Background
Tigernach or Tiarnach of Clones (anglicised ''Tierney'') was one of the pre-eminent saints of the territory ruled by the
Uí Chremthainn dynasty, together with
Mac Caírthinn of Clogher and
Mo Laisse of Devenish. His principal foundation is Clones, which lay in the western part of
Fernmag, a kingdom ruled by the Uí Chremthainn branch Uí Nad Sluaig. The first foundation by Tigernach, in about the same area, is Gabáil-liúin, now Galloon Island, Upper
Lough Erne
Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...
(
Co. Fermanagh), on the border of that kingdom.
[Charles-Edwards, "Ulster, saints of (''act. c''.400–''c''.650)"]
Life
Tigernach’s ''Life'' depicts an early stage when the Uí Chremthainn had not yet branched off but had a single royal seat near Clogher. Tigernach was born out of an illicit union between a king's daughter and an alien warrior: his mother, Der Fraích, was a daughter of Eochaid, king of the Uí Chremthainn, while his father, Coirpre, was a Leinsterman in Eochaid's service, the Irish genealogies specifying that Coirpre belonged to the Uí Briúin branch of the
Uí Bairrche
Uí Bairrche ( Modern Irish: ''Uí Bhairrche'', IPA: �iːˈwaːɾʲɾʲçə was an Irish kin-based group that originally held lands in the south of the ancient province of Leinster (or ''Cóiced Laigen'' "the Fifth of the Laigin"). Another south ...
. Soon after his birth, he was brought to Leinster.
Brigit 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 hagiogra ...
named the child Tigernach, meaning "princely". According to Butler, Tigernach was baptized by Conleth, bishop of Kildare with Brigid as godmother. Tigernach's maternal uncle was Cairpre Daim Argat, King of
Airgíalla
Airgíalla ( Modern Irish: Oirialla, English: Oriel, Latin: ''Ergallia'') was a medieval Irish over-kingdom and the collective name for the confederation of tribes that formed it. The confederation consisted of nine minor kingdoms, all independ ...
who died in 514. His maternal aunt was
Cinnia of Druim Dubhain (Feast Day 1 February). His maternal 1st cousin once removed was Damhnat of Slieve Betha (Feast Day 13 June). His maternal second cousin was
Enda of Aran (Feast Day 21 March). His fourth cousins were Saints
Dallán Forgaill and
Mogue.
The ''Life'' goes on to describe a number of experiences in preparation for his career in Ulster: he was educated in ''Rosnat'' in Britain. Lanigan identifies Rosnat with Candida Casa, established by
Ninian
Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedicatio ...
sometime before. However, David Dumville does not find that credible and notes that St. Davids's in Dyfed has also been proposed.
Dumville, David N., ''Saint Patrick'', Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 1999
Having heard his teacher prophesy the foundation of a prominent church, Tigernach went to Rome to obtain relics and returned to Brigit in Leinster, who urged him to become a bishop.[Latin ''Life'' of St Tigernach of Clones, ed. Heist.]
Tigernach then travelled to his birth land, but is not shown founding any church before relations with the ruling dynasty and the churches of the area are put in order. Eochaid welcomed Tigernach as a dear kinsman and offered to install him as bishop in Clogher
Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne ...
. Since, however, this involved ejecting the bishop then in office, Tigernach refused and retreated to a minor church on a mountain slope. However, he earned a good reputation for his ascetic lifestyle and for a miracle by which he raised Doach, the archbishop of Armagh, from the dead. An angel appeared to him and following his directions, Tigernach sought out the boundary of the kingdom to make his first foundation, namely Galloon. Inspired by God, he offered it to Comgall
Saint Comgall (c. 510–520 – 597/602), an early Irish saint, was the founder and abbot of the great Irish monastery at Bangor in Ireland.
MacCaffrey,James (1908). " St. Comgall". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Co ...
of Bangor and moved a little further east to found Clones. There he is said to have lived like a hermit and died of plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
.
His festival is 4 April.
History of the abbey
:
Clones Abbey, the abbey founded by Tigernach in the 6th century, was dedicated to the Apostles Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
. It was still active before the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, but it had experienced a number of misfortunes. The abbey was destroyed by fire in 836, 1095, and in 1184. In 1207, Hugh de Lacy destroyed the abbey and town; but five years after they were rebuilt by the English, who also erected a castle here. The ruins of a 12th-century abbey building can still be found in the town, along with a sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Gre ...
reputed to have been built to house Tigernach's remains, and a 9th-century round tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...
and high cross
A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradit ...
.
Notes
References
*
*Latin ''Life'' of St Tigernach of Clones, ed. ; ed.
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigernach Of Clones
6th-century Irish priests
People from County Monaghan
Medieval saints of Ulster
Medieval saints of Leinster
549 deaths
Year of birth unknown