Saint Feichin

Infobox Saint
name=Feichin
titles=Monastic founder, Irish celtic saint
birth_date=Unknown
death_date=Circa 660
venerated_in=Catholicism, Anglicanism
feast_day=14 January
patronage=The persecuted, evangelisers
prayer=

Saint Feichin ("pron". Fe-heen), a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, operated and had his ministry in 7th century Ireland. Feichin's life is surrounded by folklore and mythology, yet the facts of his life demonstrate that he was a profoundly important figure in the spreading of the Irish monastic tradition. clear

Biography

Said to have been descended from Con The Hundred Fighter, Feichin was to become as much renowned for his ascetism and piety as for his prodigious establishment of religious communities. His name comes from the Gaelic word, "Fiach", meaning 'Raven'. With the dimunitive suffix his name thus means "little raven".

Operating throughout Ireland, but particularly in the west, Feichin dedicated his life after ordination (in 610 AD) to establishing oratories and monastic settlements throughout Mayo and Galway and further along the western seaboard of Ireland during the early to latter 7th century. Among these is Fore Abbey, founded by Saint Feichin in 630AD. By the time of Feichin's death it is believed there were up to 300 monks in the monastery. Between 771 and 1169 Fore was burned at least twelve times. Around 1200 Norman landlords the De Lacys built a Benedictine Priory dedicated to Saint Feichin and St Taurin.

Born into the great age of Celtic Christianity, Feichin's life is depicted in stories and legends shrouded in the period's pagan mythology. Stories abound of Feichin's supernatural powers and healing abilities, with holy wells being dedicated to him throughout Ireland, with a concentration of sites in the west.

Although often claimed to be native to manifold regions of Ireland ( "St. Feichin of Fore", "St Feichin of Cong" etc), Feichin had his base in Connemara, a region of county Galway. The abbey at Cong (in county Mayo) is often said to be in the region where Feichin was born as is Leyney in county Sligo, yet more recent research has suggested he was indeed from further south, in Connemara.

The details of Feichin's life are by no means clear, yet the extent of the remains of buildings and villages etc which carry his name bear witness to the immense activity of this early Irish saint. His contribution to the conversion of the Irish cannot be underestimated, and devotion to him remains strong to this day.

On Omey Island in Connemara there are the remains of a monastic community bearing Feichin's name. The holy well bearing his name still stands and remains to this day a pilgrimage site for those seeking a physical cure for all manner of ailments.

St. Feichin died circa 660 AD during the yellow plague which struck the island. It is believed Feichin died at the monastic settlement on Omey Island.

In Scotland Feichin is venerated in the latinised form "Vigeanus". The village of St Vigeans, near Arbroath in Angus, has a major collection of early medieval sculpture surviving from a monastery dedicated to the saint, perhaps founded in unrecorded circumstances among the Picts in the 8th century.

Places connected with Feichin

*Fore Abbey, Westmeath
*Cong Abbey, Mayo
*Omey Island, Galway
*High Island, Galway
*Inishmaan, Galway
*Claddaghduff, Galway
*Cleggan, Galway
*Termonfeckin, Louth

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9B00E5D7113EF932A3575BC0A96F958260 New York Times article on Connemara]
* [http://www.megalithicireland.com/Fore.htm Page on Fore Abbey and St Feichin]