Mochua
St. Mochua of Timahoe, Co. Kildare. 5th century. c 657 A.D. Son of Lohan. Founded the monastery at Timahoe. Teach Mochua, the House of Mochua.
St. Mochua of Timahoe, Co. Kildare. 5th century. c 657 A.D. Son of Lohan. Founded the monastery at Timahoe. Teach Mochua, the House of Mochua.
St.Emin or Evin of Monasterevin. Son of Eoghan Mac Murchad of Munster. 7th Century. Died in 689.
PROFILE Betty Costin holds a (B.A) degree and Higher Diploma in Theological Studies from St.Patrick’s College, Maynooth. A native of south Carlow, her interest in hagiography stems from a strong tradition in the area of venerating local saints. S.S Finian & Fortchern of Killoughternane and St. Moling of St. Mullins. Now resident in Kildare, she has prepared an Alphabetical Index on Kildare Saints for the establishment of this website.
Hagiography is the study of saints; hagios comes from Greek meaning saint. The word saint comes from the Latin word santus, which translates to consecrated or holy. The term hagiology refers to the study of saints collectively, without focusing on the life of an individual saint.
Canonisation of a saint is an ecclesial process. Firstly, a candidate is selected because of their noteworthy service to God and their reputation for holiness. Canonization is a posthumous exercise, to canonise means to declare that a person is worthy of a public cult. It is a formal admission by the Holy See that a person is with God. The journey to canonization is lengthy and phased. The earliest stage is referred to as 'Servant of God’, followed by being 'Venerable' the final term being ‘Blessed’ before being recognised by the Church as a saint. The person's name is inscribed in the church's list of saints and he or she is 'raised to the altars' which means they are assigned a feast day for liturgical veneration. Since the beginning of Christianity the stories of saints have been handed down through generations. The existence of saints is celebrated in icons, paintings and statues.
Patron Saints Certain saints are chosen as special protectors or guardians over different areas of life. They are associated with life situations; these can include occupations, illness, causes churches, countries or geographical areas. St.Patrick is Patron Saint of Ireland; St Brigid is Patron Saint of Kildare, Dairy Workers and Scholars.
Martyrs, the word martyr means to witness, e.g. the apostles were witnesses of the Resurrection of Christ. The early Christian saints were martyrs; they bore witness by accepting suffering and even death in pursuance of a principle.
Irish Saints It may come as surprise to hear that most Irish saints are honoured by tradition and have not been canonised. Only three of our numerous Irish saints have been canonised, Malachy in 1190 by Pope Clement 111, Laurence OToole in 1220 by Pope Honorius 111 and Oliver Plunkett in 1975 by Pope Paul V1. Many Irish saints have the same name; some have a multiplicity of names. Some have no known feast day, whilst others appear to have more than one. Sometimes the acts of one saint are absorbed into the life of another e.g. St Cocca of Kilcock and St.Cuach or Coinningean of Kilcullen.