St. Cianán, or Kenan, (died 24 November 489) was a Bishop of Duleek in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was descended from the royal blood of the kings of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. His feast day is 24 November.

Life

He was a pupil of the monk Nathan. As a youth, he was one of the fifty hostages whom the princes of Ireland gave to king

Lóegaire mac Néill Lóegaire also Lóeguire, is said to have been a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. The Irish annals and king lists include him as a King of Tara or High King of Ireland. He appears as an adversary of Saint Patrick in several hagiographies. His ...

, by whom he was set free at the intercession of Bishop

Ciarán Ciarán (Irish language, Irish spelling) or Ciaran (Scottish Gaelic spelling) is a traditionally male given name of Irish origin. It means "little dark one" or "little dark-haired one", produced by appending a diminutive suffix to ''ciar'' (" ...

. He then went into Gaul, and passed some time at

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

in the monastery of St. Martin.Butler, Alban. ''The Lives of the Saints'', Volume XI, 1866
/ref> Returning to his native country, he converted great numbers to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. Then he went to

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

, and founded a church in a place called to this day the Wood of Cianán. At length he went into the territory of Eoghan (

Tír Eoghain Tír Eoghain (), also known as Tyrone, was a kingdom and later earldom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising parts of present-day County Tyrone, County Armagh, County Londonderry and County Donegal (Raphoe). The kingdom represented the core homeland of ...

), who was his mother Eithne's uncle. There he broke down a pagan altar and an idol and on the place built a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

church. According to manuscripts extant in the library at Cambridge, Cianán built here a church of stone, on that account called Damliag, corrupted into

Duleek Duleek (; ) is a small town in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Duleek takes its name from the Irish language, Irish words ''daimh'' and ''liag'', meaning house of stones, referring to an early stone-built church, St. Cianán's Churc ...

. It was the site of the first stone church in Ireland.Duleek Heritage Trail
/ref> He died on 24 November, in 489. Modern research indicates he may have been the origin behind the tribal name of Ciannachta. It also could explain the confusion over the site of his stone church being located in accounts within the territory of Eoghan, in north Ulster, while actually at Duleek in County Meath. A branch of the Ciannachta settled in Keenaght, County Londonderry, and may have carried the association with them. Duleek having suffered greatly by several fires and devastations of the Danes, its episcopal see was united to the diocese of Meath.

References

Sources

James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific Irish scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ...

, Antiq. 1. 29, and Primord. p. 1070. *Usher, Ind. Chron. ad ann. 450. 489 deaths Christian clergy from County Meath 5th-century Irish bishops Medieval Irish saints 5th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Bishops of Duleek {{Ireland-saint-stub