Declán of Ardmore
Encyclopedia
Declán mac Eircc Declanus in Latin sources, was an early 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 Ardmore
(Ard Mór) in what is now Co. Waterford. The principal source for his life and cult is a Latin Life of the 12th century. Like Ailbe of Emly
, Ciarán of Saigir
and Abbán of Moyarney, Declán is presented as a Munster saint who preceded Saint Patrick
in bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was regarded as a patron saint of the Déisi
of East Munster.
or vita, which however, survives only in a redaction of the late 12th century. It is witnessed by two manuscript texts which Charles Plummer has shown to derive from the same original: (1) Dublin, TCD, MS E.3.11 (dubbed T by Plummer), f. 66b-71d; and (2) a somewhat more damaged version in Dublin, Primate Marsh's Library, MS V.3.4 (Plummer's M), f. 101 ff. These two manuscripts are also collectively known as the Dublin Collection (or the Codex Kilkenniensis, though the name is also used to refer to the Primate Marsh's Library manuscript only). In its received form, the Life leans heavily on the Life of St Ailbe of Emly
in the Codex Salmanticensis
, but earlier materials may have been incorporated. The introductory chapters draw on early Irish sagas, notably the origin legend of Déisi related in the Expulsion of the Déisi and the story of Lugaid Riab nDerg
in Aided Meidbe and Medb
's Three Husbands. Declán is emphatically designated as a bishop of the Déisi, which appears to echo the monastery's political ambitions in the 12th century, when the Irish Church was reformed into a diocesan
system (see the Synod of Rathbreasail
and Synod of Kells). Ardmore aspired to the status of episcopal see
in the new diocese, but the privilege went instead to Lismore
, founded by St Mochuda.
Declán's Latin Life was later translated into Irish. This vernacular version, sometimes referred to as Betha Decclain, is preserved in two classes of copies. The earliest of these is a copy made, with some revision, by Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
in 1629 and catalogued as Brussels, Royal Library, MS 4190-4200. Ó Cléirigh reports that his ultimate source was an "old book" (seinleabhar), but his direct exemplar was a manuscript dated 1582, in the possession of Eochaidh Ui Ifernain (Eochy O'Heffernan). The two remaining copies are Dublin, Royal Irish Academy MS 23 M 50, pp 109–120, in the hand of one John Murphy "na Raheenach" and dated 1740, and a further manuscript once in private possession. The exemplar which underlies either of these is itself an imperfectly transmitted text.
Genealogies relevant to the saint are included in the Book of Leinster
, Leabhar Breac
, Book of Ballymote
, a gloss to Félire Óengusso, and Rawlinson B 502.
It was through his father that Declán belonged to the royal dynasty of the Déisi Muman. The Latin Life names his father Erc(c), as do the Félire Óengusso and the genealogy in the Book of Ballymote, f. 231b. Variant traditions are recorded in the Book of Leinster (f. 348c) and the Book of Ballymote, f. 218b, which call his father Ernbrand, and in the Leabhar Breac (f. 15d), which calls him Ross (or Russ). The conflated version Ercbrand is found in Rawlinson B 502. Declán's mother Dethiden or Dethidin, as she is called in the Latin Life (§ 3), is not given any pedigree in the sources. Declán's birth-place is said to be Drumroe, near Cappoquin
(west Co. Waterford).
In the Latin Life, Declán first embarks on a journey to Rome, where he studies and is ordained bishop by the Pope. At Rome, he meets his fellow countryman St Ailbe of Emly, and on returning to Ireland, he meets St Patrick. Throughout the text, Declán recognises the supreme authority of both saints and with Patrick he comes to an arrangement about the sphere of their mission in Ireland. On St Patrick's instructions, Declán founds the monastery of Ardmore (Irish Ard Mór), which lies near the Irish coast, in the southeast of the kingdom of the Déisi Muman, and having obtained Patrick's blessing, goes on to convert the Déisi to Christianity.
The span of Declán's lifetime and career is extended in another chapter (§ 15), which makes him a contemporary of Saint David
of Wales in the 6th century. Likewise, the even later saint Ultan of Ardbraccan
(d. 655 x 657) is presented as Declán's pupil.
The Lives also relate that the saint later paid a visit to the Déisi of Mide/Meath, where the King of Tara welcomed him and granted him land for the purpose of founding a "monastery of canons". The monastery founded there became known as Cill Décláin (Kilegland, Ashbourne, Co. Meath
).
, Ciarán of Saigir
and Abbán of Moyarney. The same claim was apparently made for Íbar of Beggery Island, according to the Life of St Abbán, which identifies him as Abbán's uncle and teacher, but no separate Life survives which offers any information to this effect. The relevant Lives are all found in the so-called Dublin Collection (see above), which bears a stamp of editorial intervention.
Their testimony, late though it seems, has often been treated in relation to the historical question of pre-Patrician Christianity in the south of Ireland. It has been argued that before the coming of Patrick, the south coast of Munster would have provided the most likely point of entry for the introduction of Christianity via Britain or via Gaul. The settlements of the Déisi and the Uí Liatháin
in southwest Wales, as evidenced by the distribution of ogam-stones, provided an important connection between Britain and Ireland. A key aspect of this overseas link, the import of slaves, usually British Christians, by Irish raiders would have directly exposed Munster to the influence of Christianity. Further, Munster, lying opposite to Gaul, would have represented a first destination for Irish trading connections with the Continent. In the context of wine-trade, this is in some way corroborated by the archaeological record for pottery in Munster settlements.
The credit traditionally given to St Patrick for bringing Christianity to the island appears to owe much to the propaganda of one particular foundation. As early as the 7th century, Armagh
was busy bolstering its claim to the status of the principal house founded by St Patrick. By promoting the cult of the saint, which entailed that Patrick was propagated as the apostle and first bishop of the Irish, it sought to establish and control a network of religious houses throughout the country. The fact that a missionary sent by Rome, Palladius
, had been active before St Patrick, in 431, possibly in Leinster, did not sit well with its agenda. In the writings of Armagh scholars, notably Tírechán
and Muirchu
, Paladius' activities were therefore belittled as a failure, ignored or, as T.F. O'Rahilly famously argues in his hypothesis of the 'Two Patricks', silently conflated with Patrick's.
In Armagh historiography, the conversion of Munster became embodied in the story of the conversion of Óengus mac Nad Froích
by St Patrick at Cashel
, first told by Tírechán
and subsequently elaborated many times over.
The Lives of Ailbe, Declán, Ciarán and Abbán in the Dublin Collection appear to reflect the need of the Munster houses to offer some counterweight against the Patrician dossier promoted by Armagh, even though they do not deny the national importance of St Patrick. Richard Sharpe has proposed that the earlier Life of Ailbe in the Codex Salmanticensis was originally composed in the 8th century to further the cause of the Éoganacht
Church of Emly. In the same century, the Law of Ailbe (784) was issued, possibly in response to the Law of Patrick. The Dublin Collection, however, goes further when it attributes to the saints an important pre-Patrician career. Pre-eminence is given to Ailbe, whose Dublin Life asserts that Munster was entrusted to him by St Patrick, while to similar effect, Ailbe is called a "second Patrick and patron of Munster" (secundus Patricius et patronus Mumenie) in Declán's Life.
Dagmar Ó Riain-Raedel has argued that this way of promoting Munster saints was anticipated in texts emanating from the Schottenklöster or Irish Benedictine monasteries of southern Germany, whose principal house was at Regensburg
. Not only was there a strong Munster presence, but many such texts were written down in recognition of the generous donations received from the kings of Desmond and Thomond. The most substantial achievement is the hagiographic compilation known as Magnum Legendarium Austriacum ("The Great Austrian Legendary"), begun sometime in the 1160s or 1170s. The prologue to a recension of St Patrick's Life preserved incomplete at Göttweig (Austria) asserts that disciples of one Mansuetus, an Irish bishop of Toul, had set themselves up as bishops in Ireland to prepare the way for St Patrick. In the mid-12th century, a Life was composed at Regensburg relating the life and miracles of Ailbe, under his German name St Albert. Ó Riain-Raedel connects this to the establishment of Cashel
as an archiepiscopal seat in 1111, because it was Ailbe, being the patron saint of the nearby foundation of Emly, who played a key role in advertising its new status.
in the martyrologies is July 24. A Middle Irish note added to the Félire Óengusso, which is of no historical value, tells that Declán was responsible for introducing rye
(Irish secal, from Latin secale) into Ireland.
Declán has enjoyed a steady cult in Waterford, where many church dedications still name him. Every year on his feast-day, locals and people from the region celebrate his pattern
. The pattern includes various devotional acts at sites associated with his life.
A round tower still stands at the site of the saint's monastery at Ardmore as well as earlier ecclesiastical ruins, such as a stone oratory and a small stone church. The diocese of Ardmore and its episcopal church lasted until the 13th century.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
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 Ardmore
Ardmore, County Waterford
Ardmore is a fishing village in County Waterford, Ireland, not far from Youghal on the south coast of Ireland, with a population of around 330, although this varies with the tourist season. It is believed to be the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland...
(Ard Mór) in what is now Co. Waterford. The principal source for his life and cult is a Latin Life of the 12th century. Like Ailbe of Emly
Ailbe of Emly
Saint Ailbe was a sixth-century Irish bishop.He is sometimes claimed as one of the pre-Patrician Saints, with Ciaran, Declan, and Ibar, but the annals note his death in 528 . A tradition held that he went to Rome and was ordained bishop by the Pope...
, Ciarán of Saigir
Ciarán of Saighir
Saint Ciarán mac Luaigne or Ciarán of Saigir was an early Irish bishop and patron saint of Ossory, who was supposed to have flourished in the second half of the 5th century. He is also referred to as Ciarán the Elder in order to distinguish him from Ciarán of Clonmacnoise...
and Abbán of Moyarney, Declán is presented as a Munster saint who preceded Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
in bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was regarded as a patron saint of the Déisi
Déisi
The Déisi were a class of peoples in ancient and medieval Ireland. The term is Old Irish, and derives from the word déis, meaning "vassal" or "subject"; in its original sense, it designated groups who were vassals or rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper name for certain septs and...
of East Munster.
Sources
The main source for Declán's life and cult is a Latin LifeHagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
or vita, which however, survives only in a redaction of the late 12th century. It is witnessed by two manuscript texts which Charles Plummer has shown to derive from the same original: (1) Dublin, TCD, MS E.3.11 (dubbed T by Plummer), f. 66b-71d; and (2) a somewhat more damaged version in Dublin, Primate Marsh's Library, MS V.3.4 (Plummer's M), f. 101 ff. These two manuscripts are also collectively known as the Dublin Collection (or the Codex Kilkenniensis, though the name is also used to refer to the Primate Marsh's Library manuscript only). In its received form, the Life leans heavily on the Life of St Ailbe of Emly
Ailbe of Emly
Saint Ailbe was a sixth-century Irish bishop.He is sometimes claimed as one of the pre-Patrician Saints, with Ciaran, Declan, and Ibar, but the annals note his death in 528 . A tradition held that he went to Rome and was ordained bishop by the Pope...
in the Codex Salmanticensis
Codex Salmanticensis
The Codex Salmanticensis is a medieval Irish manuscript containing an extensive collection of Irish saints' Lives, now in the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels...
, but earlier materials may have been incorporated. The introductory chapters draw on early Irish sagas, notably the origin legend of Déisi related in the Expulsion of the Déisi and the story of Lugaid Riab nDerg
Lugaid Riab nDerg
Lugaid Riab nDerg or Réoderg , son of the three findemna, triplet sons of Eochu Feidlech, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland.-Conception:...
in Aided Meidbe and Medb
Medb
Medb – Middle Irish: Meḋḃ, Meaḋḃ; early modern Irish: Meadhbh ; reformed modern Irish Méabh, Medbh; sometimes Anglicised Maeve, Maev or Maive – is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology...
's Three Husbands. Declán is emphatically designated as a bishop of the Déisi, which appears to echo the monastery's political ambitions in the 12th century, when the Irish Church was reformed into a diocesan
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
system (see the Synod of Rathbreasail
Synod of Rathbreasail
The Synod of Ráth Breasail took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and parish-based church...
and Synod of Kells). Ardmore aspired to the status of episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
in the new diocese, but the privilege went instead to Lismore
Lismore, County Waterford
Lismore is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is located where the N72 road crosses the River Blackwater.-History:It was founded by Saint Mochuda, also known as Saint Carthage. In the 7th century, Lismore was the site of the well-known Lismore Abbey. It is also home to Lismore Castle, the...
, founded by St Mochuda.
Declán's Latin Life was later translated into Irish. This vernacular version, sometimes referred to as Betha Decclain, is preserved in two classes of copies. The earliest of these is a copy made, with some revision, by Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...
in 1629 and catalogued as Brussels, Royal Library, MS 4190-4200. Ó Cléirigh reports that his ultimate source was an "old book" (seinleabhar), but his direct exemplar was a manuscript dated 1582, in the possession of Eochaidh Ui Ifernain (Eochy O'Heffernan). The two remaining copies are Dublin, Royal Irish Academy MS 23 M 50, pp 109–120, in the hand of one John Murphy "na Raheenach" and dated 1740, and a further manuscript once in private possession. The exemplar which underlies either of these is itself an imperfectly transmitted text.
Genealogies relevant to the saint are included in the Book of Leinster
Book of Leinster
The Book of Leinster , is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18...
, Leabhar Breac
Leabhar Breac
Leabhar Breac is an Irish language publisher based in Indreabhán in the County Galway Gaeltacht of Cois Fharraige.Specialising in fiction, and named after the 15th century manuscript Leabhar Breac, the publishing house was founded in 1995 by Darach Ó Scolaí and Caomhán Ó Scolaí...
, Book of Ballymote
Book of Ballymote
The Book of Ballymote , named for the parish of Ballymote, County Sligo, was written in 1390 or 1391....
, a gloss to Félire Óengusso, and Rawlinson B 502.
Family background and career
| Mad toich duit, a Hére, | "If thou hast a right, O Erin, |
| dot chobair cing báge, | to a champion of battle to aid thee, |
| thahut cenn céit míle, | thou hast the head of a hundred thousands, |
| Declan Arde máre | Declan of Ardmore." |
| (Félire Óengusso, 24 July) |
It was through his father that Declán belonged to the royal dynasty of the Déisi Muman. The Latin Life names his father Erc(c), as do the Félire Óengusso and the genealogy in the Book of Ballymote, f. 231b. Variant traditions are recorded in the Book of Leinster (f. 348c) and the Book of Ballymote, f. 218b, which call his father Ernbrand, and in the Leabhar Breac (f. 15d), which calls him Ross (or Russ). The conflated version Ercbrand is found in Rawlinson B 502. Declán's mother Dethiden or Dethidin, as she is called in the Latin Life (§ 3), is not given any pedigree in the sources. Declán's birth-place is said to be Drumroe, near Cappoquin
Cappoquin
Cappoquin, also spelt Cappaquin or Capaquin , is a small town in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is on the Blackwater river at the junction of the N72 national secondary road and the R669 regional road. It is positioned on a sharp 90 degree bend in the river and nestles at the foot of the...
(west Co. Waterford).
In the Latin Life, Declán first embarks on a journey to Rome, where he studies and is ordained bishop by the Pope. At Rome, he meets his fellow countryman St Ailbe of Emly, and on returning to Ireland, he meets St Patrick. Throughout the text, Declán recognises the supreme authority of both saints and with Patrick he comes to an arrangement about the sphere of their mission in Ireland. On St Patrick's instructions, Declán founds the monastery of Ardmore (Irish Ard Mór), which lies near the Irish coast, in the southeast of the kingdom of the Déisi Muman, and having obtained Patrick's blessing, goes on to convert the Déisi to Christianity.
The span of Declán's lifetime and career is extended in another chapter (§ 15), which makes him a contemporary of Saint David
Saint David
Saint David was a Welsh Bishop during the 6th century; he was later regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and a relatively large amount of information is known about his life. However, his birth date is still uncertain, as suggestions range from 462 to...
of Wales in the 6th century. Likewise, the even later saint Ultan of Ardbraccan
Ultan of Ardbraccan
For the brother of Saint Fursey, see Ultan.St. Ultan of Ardbraccan was an Irish saint and Abbot-Bishop of Ardbraccan during the 7th Century CE....
(d. 655 x 657) is presented as Declán's pupil.
The Lives also relate that the saint later paid a visit to the Déisi of Mide/Meath, where the King of Tara welcomed him and granted him land for the purpose of founding a "monastery of canons". The monastery founded there became known as Cill Décláin (Kilegland, Ashbourne, Co. Meath
Ashbourne, County Meath
Ashbourne, historically called Killeglan or Kildeglan , is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is about 20 km north of Dublin city centre and is bypassed by the M2 motorway.-History:...
).
The pre-Patrician saints of Munster
Declán is one of four Munster saints who had Lives written for them claiming that they founded monasteries and preached the Gospel in Munster before their younger contemporary St Patrick ever set foot in Ireland. These bishop saints, known since the 17th century as quattuor sanctissimi episcopi, also included Ailbe of EmlyAilbe of Emly
Saint Ailbe was a sixth-century Irish bishop.He is sometimes claimed as one of the pre-Patrician Saints, with Ciaran, Declan, and Ibar, but the annals note his death in 528 . A tradition held that he went to Rome and was ordained bishop by the Pope...
, Ciarán of Saigir
Ciarán of Saighir
Saint Ciarán mac Luaigne or Ciarán of Saigir was an early Irish bishop and patron saint of Ossory, who was supposed to have flourished in the second half of the 5th century. He is also referred to as Ciarán the Elder in order to distinguish him from Ciarán of Clonmacnoise...
and Abbán of Moyarney. The same claim was apparently made for Íbar of Beggery Island, according to the Life of St Abbán, which identifies him as Abbán's uncle and teacher, but no separate Life survives which offers any information to this effect. The relevant Lives are all found in the so-called Dublin Collection (see above), which bears a stamp of editorial intervention.
Their testimony, late though it seems, has often been treated in relation to the historical question of pre-Patrician Christianity in the south of Ireland. It has been argued that before the coming of Patrick, the south coast of Munster would have provided the most likely point of entry for the introduction of Christianity via Britain or via Gaul. The settlements of the Déisi and the Uí Liatháin
Uí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
in southwest Wales, as evidenced by the distribution of ogam-stones, provided an important connection between Britain and Ireland. A key aspect of this overseas link, the import of slaves, usually British Christians, by Irish raiders would have directly exposed Munster to the influence of Christianity. Further, Munster, lying opposite to Gaul, would have represented a first destination for Irish trading connections with the Continent. In the context of wine-trade, this is in some way corroborated by the archaeological record for pottery in Munster settlements.
The credit traditionally given to St Patrick for bringing Christianity to the island appears to owe much to the propaganda of one particular foundation. As early as the 7th century, Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
was busy bolstering its claim to the status of the principal house founded by St Patrick. By promoting the cult of the saint, which entailed that Patrick was propagated as the apostle and first bishop of the Irish, it sought to establish and control a network of religious houses throughout the country. The fact that a missionary sent by Rome, Palladius
Palladius
Palladius was the first Bishop of the Christians of Ireland, preceding Saint Patrick. The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion consider Palladius a saint.-Armorica:...
, had been active before St Patrick, in 431, possibly in Leinster, did not sit well with its agenda. In the writings of Armagh scholars, notably Tírechán
Tírechán
Tírechán was a 7th century Irish bishop and biographer of Saint Patrick. Tírechán wrote his untitled memoir sometime after the death of his mentor, Ultan of Ardbraccan, in 657. The work survives in the manuscript The Book of Armagh.Tírechán's account, which J. B...
and Muirchu
Muirchú
Public Armed Ship Muirchú was a ship in the Irish Naval Service. She was the former Royal Navy ship HMY Helga and was involved in shelling Liberty Hall in Dublin from the River Liffey with her pair of 12 pounder naval guns during the Easter Rising of 1916.Helga was purchased by the Irish Free State...
, Paladius' activities were therefore belittled as a failure, ignored or, as T.F. O'Rahilly famously argues in his hypothesis of the 'Two Patricks', silently conflated with Patrick's.
In Armagh historiography, the conversion of Munster became embodied in the story of the conversion of Óengus mac Nad Froích
Óengus mac Nad Froích
Óengus mac Nad Froích was an Eoganachta and the first Christian king of Munster. He was the son of Nad Froich mac Cuirc by Faochan, a British lady...
by St Patrick at Cashel
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
, first told by Tírechán
Tírechán
Tírechán was a 7th century Irish bishop and biographer of Saint Patrick. Tírechán wrote his untitled memoir sometime after the death of his mentor, Ultan of Ardbraccan, in 657. The work survives in the manuscript The Book of Armagh.Tírechán's account, which J. B...
and subsequently elaborated many times over.
The Lives of Ailbe, Declán, Ciarán and Abbán in the Dublin Collection appear to reflect the need of the Munster houses to offer some counterweight against the Patrician dossier promoted by Armagh, even though they do not deny the national importance of St Patrick. Richard Sharpe has proposed that the earlier Life of Ailbe in the Codex Salmanticensis was originally composed in the 8th century to further the cause of the Éoganacht
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
Church of Emly. In the same century, the Law of Ailbe (784) was issued, possibly in response to the Law of Patrick. The Dublin Collection, however, goes further when it attributes to the saints an important pre-Patrician career. Pre-eminence is given to Ailbe, whose Dublin Life asserts that Munster was entrusted to him by St Patrick, while to similar effect, Ailbe is called a "second Patrick and patron of Munster" (secundus Patricius et patronus Mumenie) in Declán's Life.
Dagmar Ó Riain-Raedel has argued that this way of promoting Munster saints was anticipated in texts emanating from the Schottenklöster or Irish Benedictine monasteries of southern Germany, whose principal house was at Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
. Not only was there a strong Munster presence, but many such texts were written down in recognition of the generous donations received from the kings of Desmond and Thomond. The most substantial achievement is the hagiographic compilation known as Magnum Legendarium Austriacum ("The Great Austrian Legendary"), begun sometime in the 1160s or 1170s. The prologue to a recension of St Patrick's Life preserved incomplete at Göttweig (Austria) asserts that disciples of one Mansuetus, an Irish bishop of Toul, had set themselves up as bishops in Ireland to prepare the way for St Patrick. In the mid-12th century, a Life was composed at Regensburg relating the life and miracles of Ailbe, under his German name St Albert. Ó Riain-Raedel connects this to the establishment of Cashel
Cashel, County Tipperary
Cashel is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 2936 at the 2006 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of Cashel. Additionally, the cathedra of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly was originally in the town prior to the English Reformation....
as an archiepiscopal seat in 1111, because it was Ailbe, being the patron saint of the nearby foundation of Emly, who played a key role in advertising its new status.
Commemoration
According to his Life, Declán reposed in the Lord at his monastery in Ardmore and was subsequently buried there. His feast dayCalendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
in the martyrologies is July 24. A Middle Irish note added to the Félire Óengusso, which is of no historical value, tells that Declán was responsible for introducing rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
(Irish secal, from Latin secale) into Ireland.
Declán has enjoyed a steady cult in Waterford, where many church dedications still name him. Every year on his feast-day, locals and people from the region celebrate his pattern
Pattern (devotional)
Pattern is an Irish term meaning either a saint's feast day, or the various devotional activities that take place on the feast day at sites associated with the saint's life. It is thought to derive from the word patron, as in a patron saint....
. The pattern includes various devotional acts at sites associated with his life.
A round tower still stands at the site of the saint's monastery at Ardmore as well as earlier ecclesiastical ruins, such as a stone oratory and a small stone church. The diocese of Ardmore and its episcopal church lasted until the 13th century.
Primary sources
- Latin Life of St Declán, ed. Charles Plummer, Vitae sanctorum Hiberniae. Vol. 2. Oxford, 1910. pp. 32–59. Available from the Internet Archive.
- Irish Life of St Declán, ed. and tr. Rev. Patrick C. PowerPatrick C. PowerPartick C. Power , was a noted historian of the Catholic Church in Ireland. He was born in Callaghane, Co. Waterford and educated at the Catholic University School and St John’s College, Waterford....
, Life of St. Declan of Ardmore, with an Introduction, Translation and Notes. Irish Texts Society 16. London, 1914. Based on the Brussels MS, with variants from RIA MS 23 M 50. Edition and translation transcribed at CELT. Another transcription can be found at Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.
Secondary sources
- Breen, Aidan. "St Declan (Déclán)." Dictionary of Irish Biography. Accessed: 28 Jan 2010.
- Kelly, Fergus (2000). Early Irish Farming. Early Irish Law Series IV. Dublin: DIAS.
- Sharpe, Richard (1991). Medieval Irish Saints' Lives: An Introduction to 'Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae. Oxford.
- Johnston, Elva (2004). "Munster, saints of (act. c.450–c.700)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, Sept 2004. Accessed: 14 Dec 2008.
- Ó Cathasaigh, Tomás (1984). "The Déisi and Dyfed." Éigse 20. pp. 1–33.
- Ó Riain-Raedel, Dagmar (1998). "The Question of the 'Pre-Patrician' Saints of Munster." In Early Medieval Munster. Archaeology, History and Society, ed. M.A. Monk and J. Sheehan. Cork. 17-22.
Further reading
- Byrne, Francis John (1973). Irish kings and high-kings. London.
- Byrne, Francis John (1994-5). "Dercu: the feminine of Mocu." ÉigseÉigseÉigse: A Journal of Irish Studies is an academic journal devoted to the study of the Irish language and literature. It started life in 1923 as part of an initiative by the Senate of the National University of Ireland to use the Adam Boyd Simpson Fund for the publication of an Irish studies journal...
28. pp. 42–70. - De Paor, Liam (2003). Saint Patrick's World: The Christian Culture of Ireland's Apostolic Age. Dublin: Four Courts Press.
- Ó Cadhla, Stiofán (2002). The Holy Well Tradition: The Pattern of St Declan, Ardmore, County Waterford, 1800-2000. Maynooth Studies in Local History 45. Dublin: Four Courts Press.
- Ó Conchúir, Dónal (2001). Ardmore and Lismore: the Christian Antiquities of Ardmore and the Legacy of the Lismore Monastery. Waterford.
- Ó Riain, Pádraig (2002). "Irish Saints' Cults and Ecclesiastical Families." In: Local Saints and Local Churches in the Early Medieval West, ed. Alan Thacker and Richard Sharpe. Oxford. pp. 291–302.