St. Nathy Cruimthir of Achonry, Bishop
(Dathy, David)
The following is a 19th-century description of Saint Nathy’s life, who is the patron saint of the Diocese of Achonry and whose feast day is August 9:
Though Nathy has long had a reputation for holiness equal to that of any other Irish saint, little is known about his life, especially his early years. When the name is mentioned, Irish hagiologists speak of our saint with the utmost reverence, describing him as most holy (sanctissimus) as of exquisite sanctity, (sanctimonice spectatissimce) as of consummate perfection, but none of them gives a formal account of his life, or even mentions facts that would shed much light on his career.
However, it is likely that Nathy existed in the sixth century, and that he was a contemporary of Saint Finian of Clonard, who died in or around 552. “St. Finian of Clonard was his master,” Colgan says. (Vita S. Fechini, Vita S. Fechini, Vita S. Fechini, Vit The most important event in Nathy’s life was the foundation of the church and monastery of Achonry, which he and Saint Finian collaborated on and completed in this manner. Finian paid a journey to Connaught near the end of his life, with the intention of spreading religion among the people of that region; and when he arrived in Leyney, he fell in with Nathy, a priest of great perfection, and admirably qualified by learning, prudence, and sanctity, to rule an ecclesiastical community, Finian resolved to utilize those talents and virtues.
With this goal in mind, the holy man set out to find a suitable location for a religious house, prioritising, above all, that the location be pleasant and scenic, as was the custom of all religious founders at the time. Achonry, a lush tract of land at the foot of Mucklety, not far from the lovely lake of Templehouse, on a vast plain bordered and shielded by the curving and dignified mountains of Leitrim, the Ox range, Keash, and the Curlews, was discovered to be just such a place. 1 (Paraphrased from http://omniumsanctorumhiberniae.blogspot.com/2013/08/saint-nathy-of-achonry-august-9.html) Go there for more detail.
St. Phelim of Kilmore
This extract, paraphrased from Wikipedia reads a little like the book of Genesis… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Felim
Saint Felim (also Feilim, Feidlimid, Feidhlimidh, Felimy, Feidhilmethie, Feidhilmethie, Feidhilmethie, Feidhilmethie, Feidhilmethie, Feidhilmethie, Feidlimthe, Fedlimid, Fedlimidh, Phelim, Phelime) was an Irish Christian hermit
His father was Carill, the son of Laisrén, the son of Dallán, the son of Eógan mac Néill, the son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the son of Eochaid Mugmedón.
Dediva (also known as Editua, Dedi, Deighe, Deidiu, Deaga, or Mediva) was the daughter of Tren, the son of Dubhthach moccu Lughair, who was a Chief Ollam of Ireland. Saint Senan of Laraghbrine, son of Fintan, Saint Caillin of Fenagh, son of Niata, St.Mainchn of Corann, son of Collan of Corann, Saint Daigh of Inniskeen, a son of Carill and Saint Felim’s younger full brother, Saint Femia, a daughter of Carill and Saint Felim’s full sister, and Saint Diarmaid the Just, son of Lugna and Senchán Torpé where his other children.
Felim became a hermit in the townland of Tonymore (Domnach Mor = Big Church) in Kilmore, County Cavan, where he later erected a monastery. He is the patron saint of the diocese of Kilmore.
His feastday is 3 August according to the Martyrology of Tallaght and the Martyrology of Donegal, although other Calendars put it as 9 August, which is commemorated as his feastday today. The disparity arises because the yearly festival or fair consecrated to the saint in Kilmore began on 3 August and continued for a week from 3 to 9 August. The Ulster Plantation papers from 1608 offer a list of fairs in Cavan County, including “One fayre helden att Killmore.” 2
See Catholic Encyclopedia for information about the Dioceses of Kilmor
(KILMORENSIS)
Diocese in Ireland, includes almost all Cavan and about half of Leitrim. It also extends into Fermanagh, and has half a parish in both Meath (Kilmainham Wood) and Sligo (Ballintrillick). It is accordingly seen to be roughly coincident with ancient Breffney, embracing both Breffney O’Rourke and Breffney O’Reilly. St. Fedlemid, or Felim, who flourished in the early part of the sixth century, is the first known Bishop of Kilmore. He is patron of the diocese, and his feast is celebrated on 9 August, the day of his death. A holy well near the old Catholic cathedral of Kilmore still bears his name. From Hugh O’ Finn, appointed 1136, to Andrew MacBrady, consecrated in 1445, the bishops of this see were often styled Episcopi Brefinioe; and no bishop outside of Breffney is known to have ever claimed jurisdiction over it. With a hiatus or two, all its rulers during this period have been ascertained. Many of them are also sometimes called bishops of Triburna, probably from the name of a village near Butlersbridge, close to which village was the episcopal church and most probably the episcopal residence. The spot now marked by the graveyard of Urney (Triburna) contains some remains of this very ancient structure.
Editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight
Sources
1.Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae. 2013. Saint Nathy of Achonry August 9. [ONLINE] Available at: http://omniumsanctorumhiberniae.blogspot.com/2013/08/saint-nathy-of-achonry-august-9.html. [Accessed 8 August 2021].
Photo of Stained glass of St. Nathy of Achonry:Photographer unknown, (un) Saint Nathy of Achonry, August 9. [ONLINE]. Available at: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NdmLonAQM8k/Sn2prTzBnMI/AAAAAAAAAK0/t7eSecji5O8/s1600-h/StNahi.jpg [Accessed 8 August 2021].
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Page last updated: 30 November 2020
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2.Wikipedia. 2021. Saint Felim. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Felim. [Accessed 8 August 2021].
3. Catholic Encyclopedia. 2021. Felim. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08642a.htm. [Accessed 8 August 2021]. Sources HEALY, Life of St. Patrick (Dublin, 1907); BRADY, Episcopal Succession in England, Ireland and Scotland, I (Rome, 1876), 167- 70; WALSH, Irish Hierarchy (Dublin, 1884), 83-84; COTTON, Fasti Eccl. Hibern., III, 154-56; V, 228.
Image of Cavan Cathedral By JohnArmagh – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4075560