OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Tag: Irish Saints

  • Saint Doroma, September 20

    On September 20 we have a notice of another of our enigmatic female saints, Doroma or Daroma. The Martyrology of Oengus describes her as a ‘queen’:

    D. xii. cal. Octobris.
    Attecham na hóga
    doairset ar nhdala,
    ind rígain Daroma
    cona slóg ron-snáda!

    20. Let us beseech the virgins,
    may they visit our assemblies!
    may the queen Daroma
    with her host protect us!

    although the notes added by a later anonymous commentator describe her rather more prosaically as a ‘virgin’ and reduce her ‘host’ to ‘five companions’:

    20. Doroma .i. uirgo. L. cum .u. socis suis.

    20. Doroma, i.e. a virgin with her five companions.

    I find this notice intriguing and would love to have some further details of this holy lady, but alas, that was a task which defeated Canon O’Hanlon, as he admits below:

    Festival of Doroma.

    The Feilire of St. Aengus has a festival at the 20th of September, for a queen named Doroma and a commentator in the Leabhar Breac copy has notes, which hardly give any additional intelligence regarding her. Nowhere can I find what might serve to throw light on her name, period or place.

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  • Saint Comgell, September 19

    September 19 is the commemoration of an elusive Irish female saint, Comgell. Her name is recorded on the earliest surviving Irish calendar, the Martyrology of Tallaght, as Comgell, virgin, and her feast is also noted on the later Martyrologies of Marianus O’Gorman and of Donegal. Like so many of our holy women, however, we have no details of when and where she flourished, thus Canon O’Hanlon can only bring us the details from the calendars:

    St. Comgell or Caomhgheall, Virgin.

    A festival in honour of Comgell or Caomhgheall, Virgin, is found registered in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 19th of September, although the 16th of October Kalends—corresponding with the 16th of September—is substituted. A similar error occurs in the Book of Leinster entry of her name. At this same date, Marianus O’Gorman commemorates Comgell, noticed by his commentator as having been a virgin. In the Martyrology of Donegal, she is commemorated at the 19th of September.

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  • Saint Criotán of Bangor, September 16

    Among the saints commemorated on the Irish calendars on September 16 is Saint Criotán of the County Down monastery of Bangor. The Martyrology of Gorman describes this seventh-century monastic as Criotán Certronnach Celloir Comhgaill Bennchair, which the editor, Whitley Stokes, translated as ‘Critán, the Justly-Dividing, Comgall of Benchor’s cellarer’.  The Martyrology of Donegal’s entry expands on this to include something of the saint’s genealogy:

    CRIOTAN CERTRONNACH, Cellarer of Comhgall, of Bennchor.

    Eithne, daughter of Saran son of Colgan, and sister of Ronan, was the mother of Criotan Certronnach; who was so called because he used to divide fairly.

    The editor’s note explains that certronnach, ‘divide fairly’ derives from the Irish cert, ‘right’, ‘just’ and roinn or rann, ‘a division’.

    Saint Comgall is the founder of Bangor and thus Saint Criotán is a member of the monastic household, holding a specific office within it. Father John Ryan, in his classic study of Irish monasticism, discusses the office of cellarer, whose responsibilities are perhaps rather more important than one might think:

    The cellarer (ceallóir or coic) had under his charge not only the kitchen, but the supplies upon which the kitchen depended. He had, therefore, to be a man in whom the fullest reliance could be placed. Over-generosity on his part might lead to unbecoming ease and laxity, whilst an all too rigorous regime might lead to murmuring, discouragement and discontent. Even Caesarius of Arles proved a failure when appointed to fill this office at Lérins, and had to be superseded by another. Hence much might be said in justification of a statement made in one of the later rules that the discipline of the community depends on the cellarer. [This statement is from the Rule of Ailbe, 32: ‘as the food is, so will the order be’.]

    John Ryan S.J., Irish Monasticism – Origins and Early Development, (2nd. edition, Dublin, 1972), 274 .

    It would seem therefore that our saint made a success of his office and was awarded the epithet of ‘the justly-dividing’ in recognition. We can conclude with Canon O’Hanlon’s account from Volume IX of his Lives of the Irish Saints:

    St. Criotan, or Critan Certronnach of Bangor, County of Down.

    [Seventh Century.]

    An entry of Critain is found in the Book of Leinster copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh for the 16th day of September; but, it is omitted from the published edition of Rev. Dr. Kelly. However, the festival of Critan is found in the Martyrology of Marianus O’Gorman, at this date. Veneration was given, at the 16th of September, as we find set down in the Martyrology of Donegal, to Criotan Certronnach, Cellarer of Comhgall, of Bennchor. Eithne, daughter to Saran, son of Colgan, and sister to Ronan, was the mother of this Criotan Certronnach, who was so called because he used to divide fairly. The present Saint is entered in our Calendars without such a distinction; and, therefore, we may doubt, if he filled any higher office than that of Cellarer in the Monastery. The Annals of Ulster and of the Four Masters placed his death under the year 668. The Annals of Clonmacnoise enter his decease previously to this date, and on the same year, A.D. 665, with Mochua, or Mochuo, son of Ust, who is also called Abbot of Bangor.

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