| Revision as of 03:46, 11 June 2013 editChrisGualtieri (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers457,369 editsm Category Updating (birth/death) + General Fixes, removed stub tag using AWB← Previous edit | Revision as of 18:57, 11 June 2013 edit undoLugnuts (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers1,509,055 editsNo edit summaryNext edit → | ||
| Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 18:57, 11 June 2013
| Macartan of Clogher | |
|---|---|
 St. McCartan's Cathedral, Clogher | |
| Abbot and Bishop | |
| Died | 506 Clogher |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Mac Cairthinn of Clogher" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Saint Mac Cairthinn, also Macartan, belongs to a very early generation of saints in Ireland and is recognized as the first Bishop of Clogher. He is known as Saint Patrick's "Strong Man" for his dedication and faithfulness.
Legend
St. Macartan grew up in the northern part of Ireland. Before his conversion to Christianity the future saint was known by the name Aidus, the son of Caerthen,(son of the Rowan Tree). Hence his later name was Macartan.
Hearing of Patrick's teaching Aidus travelled south from his father's home to hear him preach. He first met Patrick at Drumlease, near Dromahair, County Leitrim. Here Macartan was baptized and soon became one of Patrick's missionary staff. He was spoken of as Patrick's "champion" or "strong man". We are told that when the great Apostle was worn out by his work that Macartan supported his faltering steps over rough roads, marshes and rivers.
He was the "staff of Patrick" in the Irish patron saint's declining years. On one occasion after carrying Patrick over a river, an exhausted Macartan expressed a wish that he might be relieved from further travel and allowed settle down in charge of some church close-by his beloved master where he could spend the evening of his life in peace. Patrick, full of sympathy for his faithful companion and friend agreed that he should establish a monastery in Clogher and finish out his life there. A monastery was established near the ancient royal fort of Rathmore on the outskirts of the town and one of Ireland's oldest bishoprics was established. To commemorate the occasion Patrick gave Macartan his staff and a number of precious relics contained in a shrine known to tradition as the Domhnach Airgid.
Domhnach Airgid
The Domhnach Airgid (the Siver church) was made to enclose a manuscript that consists of fragments of 39 sheets of the Gospels, written in the distinctively Irish lettering of the eighth or ninth century. On the cover of the Domhnach Airgid is one of the earliest surviving metalwork images of St. Patrick. Traditionally, the book was claimed to be that given by St Patrick himself to his companion St Macartan, making it an object of great veneration. Around 1350, the abbot of Clones, John O Carbry, commissioned a substantial remodelling of the Domhnach Airgid. The figure of St. Patrick is thought to be at the lower right of the cover. In the lower left St. Patrick may be handing the Domhnach Airgid to St. Macartan. The Domhnach Airgid can be seen in the National Museum of Ireland.
References
- ^ "Saint Macartan: Our Patron Saint", Saint Macartan's college
- "The Domhnach Airgid", Cultural Heritage of Ireland
- A History of Ireland in 100 Objects
Further reading
- Ó Cróinín, D. "Ireland 400-800." In A New History of Ireland: Prehistoric and early Ireland
- Ó Riain, Pádraig. "Saints in the Catalogue of Bishops of the Lost Register of Clogher." Clogher Record 14.2 (1992). pp. 66–77.