Saint Sillan | |
---|---|
![]() Mosaic at Bangor harbour depicting St Comgall and other monks, one likely being Sillan | |
Born | c.6th century Unknown |
Died | 608 or 610 |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church Orthodox Church |
Feast | 28 February or 28 March |
Saint Sillan (or Sillian) (Latin : Selanus; Irish : Síoláin) (died 608 or 610) was early Irish saint and abbot of Bangor Abbey, Bangor, County Down. He was recorded as being a disciple and second or third successor of Saint Comgall, who was the founder and first abbot of the Benedictine monastery at Bangor. [1] [2] [3] The village of Kilsheelan, County Tipperary is named after him. [4] His Irish name is Sioláin which can translate to either "seed-basket" [5] [6] or "cullender/sieve". [7]
He is recorded in both the Annals of Tigernach and Annals of Ulster as abbot Bennchor (Bangor), in the former as Sillán moccu Cumaine, dying in 608 and the latter as Sillán moccu Minn, dying in 610. [8] [9] Moccu being the equivalent of the Latin gens, indicating an uncertain ancestry. [10]
Variations of his name include Siollan, Silvan, Sylvan, Sillian and Sillán, amongst others. [1] [11]
Dál Riata or Dál Riada was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now Argyll in Scotland and part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. After a period of expansion, Dál Riata eventually became associated with the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba.
Áedán mac Gabráin, also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from c. 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland. Genealogies record that Áedán was a son of Gabrán mac Domangairt.
Comgall mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the early 6th century. He was the son of Domangart Réti and grandson of Fergus Mór. The Annals of Ulster report his death in 538, 542 and 545, the Annals of Tigernach in 537.
Bangor is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked by the A2 road and the Belfast–Bangor railway line. The population was 64,596 at the 2021 census. Bangor was granted city status in 2022, becoming Northern Ireland's sixth city.
Bangor Abbey was established by Saint Comgall in 558 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland and was famous for its learning and austere rule. It is not to be confused with the slightly older abbey in Wales on the site of Bangor Cathedral.
Fedelmid mac Crimthainn was the King of Munster between 820 and 846. He was numbered as a member of the Céli Dé, an abbot of Cork Abbey and Clonfert Abbey, and possibly a bishop. After his death, he was later considered a saint in some martyrologies.
Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/16–600), also known as Saint Canice in Ireland, Saint Kenneth in Scotland, Saint Kenny and in Latin Sanctus Canicus, was an Irish abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary during the early medieval period. Cainnech is one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and preached Christianity across Ireland and to the Picts in Scotland. He wrote a commentary on the Gospels, which for centuries was known as the Glas-Choinnigh or Kenneth's Lock or the Chain of Cainnech.
Saint Comgall, an early Irish saint, was the founder and abbot of the great Irish monastery at Bangor in Ireland.
The Antiphonary of Bangor is an ancient Latin manuscript, supposed to have been originally written at Bangor Abbey in modern-day Northern Ireland.
Báetán mac Cairill was king of the Dál Fiatach, and high-king of Ulaid, from c. 572 until his death. He was the son of Cairell mac Muiredaig Muinderg and brother of Demmán mac Cairill, previous Kings of Ulaid. According to some sources, he was high-king of Ireland.
Clonard Abbey was an early medieval monastery situated on the River Boyne in Clonard, County Meath, Ireland.
Kilsheelan is a village and civil parish within the barony of Iffa and Offa East in County Tipperary, Ireland. A part of the civil parish is in neighbouring County Waterford. It is also one half of the Roman Catholic parish of Kilsheelan & Kilcash in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore.
Events from the 7th century in Ireland.
Events from the 6th century in Ireland.
Máel Umai mac Báetáin was an Irish prince, the son of Báetán mac Muirchertaig of the northern Uí Néill, who appears to have been a significant figure in early Irish tales. His father and his brother Colmán Rímid are both uncertainly reckoned High Kings of Ireland.
The Abbot of Clonard was the monastic head of Clonard Abbey, which is in modern-day County Meath, Ireland. The abbey was founded by Saint Finnian in the early sixth century. After the death of Saint Finnian, the abbots bore the title "Comarbai Finnéin". However, the title was ambiguous, since it may refer to the abbots of Moville, County Down, founded by Finnian nepos Fiatach. The abbots of Clonard were sometimes called 'coarbs of Finnian and Mo Cholmóc'. Until the early twelfth century, a few of the abbots and some others at Clonard Abbey were consecrated bishops, but this did not necessarily mean they were bishops of Clonard, since the diocese of Clonard was not established until the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111.
Tigernach mac Coirpri (d. 549) was an early Irish saint, patron saint of Clones (County Monaghan) in the province of Ulster.
The Abbot of Lismore was the head of Lismore Abbey, which is in modern-day County Waterford, Ireland.
Saint Dubthach the Second was the Bishop of Armagh, Ireland from 536 to 548.
SILLAN (SILVAN, SYLVAN) (St.) Abbot. (Feb. 28) (7th cent.) He was the third successor of St. Comgall in the monastery of Bangor, and bore great reputation for sanctity. A.D. 606 and A.D. 610 are the years assigned by the various writers for his departure from this world.
Fr. Howell explained that the name An Síolán' meant seed basket, or seed bag, the bag used for scattering seed.
Death of Sillán moccu Minn, abbot of Bennchor, and the death of Aedán, anchorite of Bennchor, and the death of Mael Umai son of Baetán.
Death of Sillán son of Cumaine, abbot Bennchor, and death of Aedán the anchorite.