Ciarán of Saigir (; 5th century – ), also known as Ciarán mac Luaigne or Saint Kieran (), was one of the
Twelve Apostles of Ireland
The Twelve Apostles of Ireland (also known as Twelve Apostles of Erin, ) were twelve early Irish monastic saints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian (d. 549) at his famous monastic school Clonard Abbey at Cluain-Eraird (Erard's ...
and is considered the first saint to have been born in Ireland,
[''Catholic Online'']
St. Kieran
/ref> although the legend that he preceded Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
is questionable. Ciarán was bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of Saighir (Seir-Kieran) and remains the patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of its successor, the diocese of Ossory.
His feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
is celebrated on 5 March. He is sometimes called Saint Ciarán the Elder ( or ''Ciaranus Maior'') to distinguish him from the other 6th-century Irish Saint Ciarán, who was abbot of Clonmacnoise. He shares the feast date of 5 March with his mother, St. Liadán, and his disciple and episcopal successor, St. Carthach the Elder.
His identity is sometimes equated with that of Saint Piran.
Sources
Various medieval traditions about the saint are recorded in a number of hagiographic
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...
works: two ''Lives'' in Latin, both of uncertain date, and two ''Lives'' in Irish. The shortest Latin ''Life'' is preserved in the ''Codex Salmanticensis
The ''Codex Salmanticensis'' (Brussels, Royal Library 7672–4) is a medieval Irish manuscript containing an extensive collection of Irish saints' Lives, now in the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels. It was culled by the compilers from various ...
'', while the longer one is found in the Codex Kilkenniensis. The latter was rendered into Irish and a second Irish ''Life'' was produced after the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
. The latter, though the latest of the four, is thought to draw on the oldest traditions when it deals sympathetically with the Osraige
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
. Primarily intended to edify, educate and entertain, it is unclear to what extent they are an accurate representation of events.
Family background and early career
The martyrologies, notably the ''Félire Óengusso'', and medieval Irish genealogies identify Ciarán's father as Lugna (also Laighne), a nobleman of the Dál Birn rulers of Osraige
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
, and his mother as Liadán, of the Corcu Loígde
The Corcu Loígde (Corcu Lóegde, Corco Luigde, Corca Laoighdhe, Laidhe), meaning Gens of the Calf Goddess, also called the Síl Lugdach meic Itha, were a kingdom centred in West County Cork who descended from the proto-historical rulers of M ...
. Before he was conceived Ciarán's mother had a dream that a star fell into her mouth. She related this dream to the druids who were knowledgeable of such things, and they told her that she would bear a son whose fame and virtues would be known as far as the world's end.[O'Conor, Maurice, "Life of Saint Kieran of Saighir"]
'' Silva Gadelica'' (I-XXXI). ed. Standish Hayes O'Grady. Reprint of the 1892 ed. New York, Lemma Pub. Corp., 1970 Cape Clear Island southwest of County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
is regarded as his birthplace and it is said that a church was built by him on the island.
Ciarán's biography is full of obscurities. It is commonly said, however, that he left Ireland before the arrival of St Patrick. Already a Christian, and of royal Osraige blood, he had determined to study for the Church; hence, he secured an education 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 ...
and Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
.["Saint Ciaran of Saigir", ''New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge'', p.117]
/ref>
Foundation of Saighir
By one account Patrick sent Ciarán to precede him and directed him to build a monastery at the site of a well. When Ciarán asked how he should find this well, Patrick gave him a little bell, that would not ring until he reached the well.[
On his return from Rome, he built himself a little cell in the woods of Upper Ossory. He settled as a hermit at Saighir (alternately called '' Seir Kieran'', or just ''Seir'') near to the ]Slieve Bloom Mountains
The Slieve Bloom Mountains (; ) is a mountain range in Ireland. They rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of . While not very high, they are extensive by local standards. The highest points are Arderin () () at the southwestern en ...
, but soon disciples were attracted to him and a large monastery grew up round his cell, which became the chosen burial place for the Kings of Osraige
The kings of Osraige (alternately spelled ''Osraighe'' and Anglicised as ''Ossory'') reigned over the medieval Irish kingdom of Osraige from the first or second century AD until the late twelfth century. Osraige was a semi-provincial kingdom in s ...
. A tradition shared by all four ''Lives'' describes Ciarán as a holy man wearing skins, whose first pupils are animals in the forest.
This corresponds to the image of him as a Western John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
, wearing skins and dwelling in the wilderness, seemingly as a forerunner to Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
as John was to Christ
Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
. His mother, Liadan, is said to have gone to Saighir with a group of women who devoted their lives to the service of God and the members of her son's community.[
Sier Kieran became the chief church of the Osraighe, a centre for the preaching of the Gospel and a large industrial community noted for its wealth.][ It was superseded by the later monastic foundation of St Canice at nearby Aghaboe.][
]
Pre-Patrician Arrival
Like the saints Ailbe of Emly
Saint Ailbe ( ; ), usually known in English as St Elvis (British/ Welsh), Eilfyw or Eilfw, was regarded as the chief 'pre-Patrician' saint of Ireland (although his death was recorded in the early 6th-century). He was a bishop and later saint.
L ...
, Declán of Ardmore
Declán of Ardmore (; ; ; died 5th century AD), also called Déclán, was an early Irish people, Irish saint of the Déisi Muman, who was remembered for having converted the Déisi in the late 5th century and for having founded the monastery of ...
and Abbán
Abbán of Corbmaic (, ; d. 520?), also Eibbán or Moabba, was a saint and abbot. He is associated, first and foremost, with the Mag Arnaide (Moyarney or Adamstown, County Wexford, near New Ross).Ó Riain, "Abbán" His order was, however, also c ...
, Ciarán is credited with a pre-Patrician career in Munster, though the ''Lives'' hardly refer to these putative contemporaries. This tradition may reflect interaction with Christians of south Wales before St Patrick came to Ireland.
Ciarán is said to have met Patrick in Italy and made allegiance to him. Some writers say that when St. Patrick arrived in Ireland, Ciarán was already a bishop, having been ordained while on the continent. It seems more likely, however, that he was one of the twelve men that Patrick, on his arrival, consecrated as helpers. He became the first bishop of Ossory
.
The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...
.
There is long-standing academic disagreement in the dating of the life of St. Ciarán of Saighir. Traditional Irish sources (his vitae, the Félire Óengusso, etc.) ascribe his missionary activity as before St Patrick, but assign no dates to his life. If true, he would have likely been born somewhere near the end of the 4th century and evangelised in the 5th, and some writers accept this (Plummer, Hogan, Kenny).
According to W. O'Halloran, the ''Annals of Inisfallen
The ''Annals of Inisfallen'' () are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland.
Overview
There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between 433 and 1450. The manuscript is thought to have been compiled in 1092, as the chronic ...
'' have Ciarán born at Cape Clear in Cork in 352.
Others such as Baring-Gould, Sharpe, O'Riain, and Sperber push his life forward variously into the 5th and even 6th centuries. Lanigan and Leslie Stephen place him in the 5th century, based on anecdotes that make him a contemporary of Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Brendan of Birr
Brendan of Birr (died c. 572) was one of the early Irish monastic saints. He was a monk and later an abbot, of the 6th century. He is known as "Saint Brendan the Elder" to distinguish him from his contemporary and friend Brendan the Navigator o ...
, and Brendan of Clonfert
Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold ...
. Lanigan suggests that Ciarán of Saighir was one of Finnian of Clonard
Finnian of Clonard ('Cluain Eraird') – also Finian, Fionán or Fionnán in Irish; or Finianus and Finanus in its Latinised form (470–549) – was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath ...
's first students, and indicates that he was likely bishop sometime prior to 544.
Miracles
Legends attribute remarkable miracles to Ciarán. One day when Ciarán was still yet a child he made a beginning of his miracles; for in the air right over him a kite came soaring and, swooping down before his face, lifted a little bird that sat upon her nest. Compassion for the little bird took Ciarán, and he deemed it an ill thing to see it in such plight; thereupon the kite turned back and in front of him deposited the bird half dead, sorely hurt; but Ciarán bade it rise and be whole. The bird arose, and went whole upon its nest again.[
One such relates how the Lord Justice of Ireland, ]Risteárd de Tiúit Risteárd de Tiúit ( anglicised as Richard Tuite) (ob. 1210) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and a member of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke's Irish invasion force, and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. His part in the original invasion is ackno ...
, went to Athlone, with the intention of sending his brothers to Limerick, Waterford, and Wexford, that he himself might reside in Dublin and Athlone (alternately); but it happened, through the miracles of God, St Peter and St Ciarán, that some of the stones of the castle of Athlone fell upon his head, killing him, his priest and a number of his people.
He is reputed in the Lives as having miraculously performed abortion in a raped nun called Bruinnech. The Catholic News Agency cites Thomas Charles-Edwards, "... ese accounts need to be put in context. In these examples, the saint's intervention is directed towards restoring the honor of the woman concerned. ...The evidence of saints’ lives concerns miracles as conceived by later hagiographers. It is usually bad evidence for what they actually did, better evidence for what later writers could imagine happening." However, Callan's claims are somewhat dubious. They drew criticism from Dr. Paul Byrne, a Dublin-based independent scholar who has lectured in early Irish history at University College Dublin. "There is no credible evidence that any Irish saints were involved in any form of abortion," Byrne said in comments provided to CNA. Maeve Callan suggests that abortion was seen as a lesser sin at the time.
Another story is that he blessed a well so that "it had the taste of wine or honey for everyone who drank it got drunk as well as filled”.[Duffy, Patrick. "Kieran of Saighir (6th cent.)", ''Catholic Ireland'']
/ref>
Folklore also relates many charming tales of St Ciarán's influence on wild animals. Tales tell of a fox, badger and wolf who worked with Ciarán and his monks to cut wood and build huts for the brothers. One day the fox stole Ciarán's shoes; upon which Ciarán ordered the badger to retrieve them. The badger found the fox, and bound him from head to tail, returning him to his master; the saint ordered the fox to repent for his sin as a monk would, and to return to his tasks as before.
Scholia in the Martyrology of Oengus states that he foretold of the sanctity of Conall and Fachtna of Rosscarbery. Ciarán's date of death is uncertain but he is thought to have died at an advanced age from natural causes.
Legacy
The ruins of Ciarán's monastery - which were long the burial place of the Kings of Osraige
The kings of Osraige (alternately spelled ''Osraighe'' and Anglicised as ''Ossory'') reigned over the medieval Irish kingdom of Osraige from the first or second century AD until the late twelfth century. Osraige was a semi-provincial kingdom in s ...
- remain to this day. He is also associated with a monastic site near Errill. Another site exists on the island of Cape Clear, which is said to have been his birthplace and the hermitage of his youth. Church ruins and a well exist here of considerable age. Saint Ciarán is venerated in England, Brittany, Wales, and Scotland, on 5 March. St. Kieran's College (est. 1782) is the oldest Roman Catholic secondary school in Ireland, and is named for the saint.
He is sometimes listed as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland
The Twelve Apostles of Ireland (also known as Twelve Apostles of Erin, ) were twelve early Irish monastic saints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian (d. 549) at his famous monastic school Clonard Abbey at Cluain-Eraird (Erard's ...
, although in the Martyrology of Oengus, Ciarán of Saighir is not enumerated as such, and his association with the students of St. Finnian may be a persistent confusion.
St. Ciarán of Saigir was the subject of New Hagiography's 5 March 2018 release of "Mr. Fox Felt Really Bad"; a reference to the stealing of the saint's leather shoe by one of his first vulpine monastic recruits.
He is traditionally identified with the Saint Piran who is venerated in Cornwall, Wales, and Brittany.[Johnston, "Munster, saints of (act. ''c''.450–''c''.700)",][ although ]Pádraig Ó Riain
Pádraig Ó Riain is an Irish Celticist and prominent hagiologist focusing on Irish hagiography, martyrdom, mythology, onomastics and codicology.
Ó Riain has spent much of his academic life at the University College Cork, where he became a lec ...
considers this "groundless".
Some have suggested that the saint name of Ciaran is a Christianized version of the earlier pagan god of Cernunnos
Cernunnos is a Celtic god whose name is only clearly attested once, on the 1st-century CE Pillar of the Boatmen from Paris, where it is associated with an image of an aged, antlered figure with torcs around his horns.
Through the Pillar of the ...
. The name Cernunnos is the Old Irish word for ‘The horned one’, Goidelic languages
The Goidelic ( ) or Gaelic languages (; ; ) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle o ...
being one of two Celtic languages still surviving of close relation to Proto Celtic. The pagan god has many similar traits mostly to Ciaran of Saighir, both were known as tamers of wild animals and heavily connected to the wild and forests. Ciaran spent his early years as a Christian hermit in forests surrounded by the wild animals of the woods, who were said to have been his first pupils. The animals helped Ciaran construct his first cell in the woods, as a result, the saint always remembered them all as being the first brother monks of his little monastery. Cernunnos had strong connections with the underworld, he was born on the darkest day of the year, the winter Solstice and during the winter he was known as ‘The Dark Man’, the god who dwells in the House Beneath the Hill, the Underworld. In the spring he was known as Green Man, the god of the forest and the wild. The Pagan faith of the Wicca
Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...
have the belief that the horned god is born on Winter Solstice, 21 December and dies on Samhain, 31 October. There have also been attempts to connect Cernunnos with Arawn, another key horned figure of the underworld or otherworld, known as ‘Lord of the Dark Forest’ in Welsh mythology and also the pagan god may have been the who Herne the Hunter
In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. He is said to have antlers growing from his head, ride a horse, torment cattle, and rattle chains. The earliest ...
in English folklore was based upon. In Continental Christianity in general the old pagan/pre-Christian worship of Cernunnos was regarded as demonic but some of his traits can be seen preserved in Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic languages, Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unifi ...
.
See also
* Carthage the Elder
* Dál Birn
* Diocese of Ossory
* Early Irish Christianity
* History of Roman Catholicism in Ireland
*Kingdom of Ossory
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of t ...
* Saint Cera
*Seir Kieran GAA
Seir Kieran is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in a parish and Electoral division (Ireland), Electoral Division of the same name in Ireland (population approximately 460). Seir Kieran takes its name from Saint Ciarán of Saigir, Ci ...
Notes
References
Primary sources
*
ISOS digital view
of Codex Kilkenniensis'' (MS Z 3.1.5) in Marsh's Library, Dublin. Life of Ciarán of Saighir begins on f. 106 v.
*''Bethada Náem nÉrenn''. (Two different ''Lives'' of St. Ciaran of Saighir.) Edited and trans. by Charles Plummerbr>Available through CELT
*Irish ''Life'' of Ciarán of Saigir, ed. and tr. Standish Hayes O'Grady, "Life of S. Kieran of Saighir." In '' Silva Gadelica''. 1892
Translation transcribed to HTML by Mary Jones
*
Life of Ciarán of Saigir
', ed. and tr. Rev. D.B. Mulcahy.
Secondary sources
*.
*.
*Johnston, Elva.
Munster, saints of (act. ''c''.450–''c''.700)
" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press, Sept 2004, online edition May 200. Accessed: 14 Dec 2008.
*.
External links
Roaringwater Journal: A Saint's Day – Ciarán and Piran
The Fitzpatrick – Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciaran Of Saighir
People from County Cork
People from County Kilkenny
6th-century Irish bishops
6th-century Christian saints
Medieval saints of Munster
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
FitzPatrick dynasty
Christian miracle workers