St. Nathy (Dathy, David) Cruimthir of Achonry, Bishop
Feastday: August 9
Died c. 610. Saint Finian of Clonard (f.d. December 12) built a church in 530 and appointed his disciple, Saint Nathy, as its pastor. His
surname (Comrah or Cruimthir) in Erse signifies a priest. In Saint Finian's "vita" he is styled a priest; however, in that of Saint Fechin
(f.d. January 20), he is a bishop or abbot. There is considerable disparity over Nathy's status within the hierarchy; he may never had
been consecrated as bishop, although Achonry is a bishop's see. Nevertheless, Saint Nathy had a powerful influence in Connaught and is
the patron of the diocese of Achonry, Sligo, Ireland.
St. Odhran
d.c. 563 Feastday: October 27
Also Otteran and Oran, an Irish abbot. After serving as abbot of Meath, he journeyed to Scotland with St. Columba to promote the faith and died at Lona. Odhran was the first Irish monk to die at Lona. He may have founded Latteragh Abbey in Tipperary He is considered the principal patron saint of Waterford, Ireland.
St. Odran
d.c. 452 Feastday: February 19
Died c. 452. Saint Odran was the chariot-driver for Saint Patrick. He was assassinated in place of his master because he changed places with Patrick in the chariot when he knew that an ambush awaited them (Benedictines, Encyclopaedia).
Troparion of St Odran tone 5 No task was too humble or too dangerous for thee,/ O Martyr Odran,/ for in thy station as a servant/ thou didst render the ultimate service/ giving thy life for thy master and Ireland's Enlightener./ Pray that we may have the courage to hold nothing back,/ that at the last Christ our God will not withhold His mercy from us.
Kontakion of St Odran tone 3 We salute thee, O Martyr Odran,/ ever seeking to follow thee in service to Christ's holy Church/ and praying for grace to shun the imperfect way of Ananias and Sophia,/ that we may give all we have in selfless devotion/ to Him Who holds all creation in His hands.
Troparion of St Odran
tone 5
No task was too humble or too dangerous for thee,/ O Martyr Odran,/ for in thy
station as a servant/ thou didst render the ultimate service/ giving thy life
for thy master and Ireland's Enlightener./ Pray that we may have the courage to
hold nothing back,/ that at the last Christ our God will not withhold His mercy
from us.
Kontakion of St Odran
tone 3
We salute thee, O Martyr Odran,/ ever seeking to follow thee in service to
Christ's holy Church/ and praying for grace to shun the imperfect way of
Ananias and Sophia,/ that we may give all we have in selfless devotion/ to Him
Who holds all creation in His hands.
St. Odrian
d. 5th century Feastday: May 8
One of the first bishops of Waterford, Ireland. Waterford was part of an ancient deanery system at the time, ruled by abbot bishops. Odrian was a prelate.
St. Oengus Mac Nisse of Dalriada. Connor diocese. 514
September 3
Oengus Mac Nisse (or Macanisius) the first bishop of Connor is thought to have been at Kells as a hermit earlier in his life. The story told of him may reveal his sense of dedication; instead of carrying his Gospel book in his satchel as was customary, he bore it on his shoulders "hunched up or on all fours!"
St. Oliver Plunkett - Archbishop and Martyr
Early in the seventeenth century, there was a move by the English government to establish Plantations throughout Ireland, which were intended to replace Catholic landowners with Protestants. Catholic Anglo-Normans, who generally considered themselves loyal to the Crown became suspect. In Ulster, the resettled lands were those of the Gaelic lords. They did not go quietly.
It was into this world that Oliver Plunkett was born about 1625 to a wealthy Catholic Anglo-Norman family with lands at Loughcrew, near Oldcastle, Co. Meath. He received his early education from Abbot Patrick Plunkett of St. Mary's, Dublin, brother of the first Earl of Fingall, to whom Oliver's family was related. When Plunkett was a young boy, the Gaelic lords who had been displaced led Ulster Rebellion. Largely successful throughout most of the Ulster Province, they wrecked havoc by slaughtering thousands of Protestant settlers in 1641. The Anglo-Normans joined the fray through their alignment with the Confederation of Kilkenny in 1642. The English Parliament's answer was to pass the "Adventurers Act", to fund their opposition to the rebellion. The bonds issued would be redeemed with Irish land.
Events were complicated with the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642. Then, in 1647, at a time when another Oliver (Cromwell) was leading victorious forces in that conflict, Plunkett left Ireland to study at the Jesuit Irish College in Rome. During the early years of Plunkett's time in Rome, Cromwell would lead the call for the trial and execution of the Anglican King Charles I and be declared the Great Protector.
Set upon overcoming the Irish resistance to the English government, Cromwell arrived near Dublin, in 1649. His well-trained troops were quickly successful in their conquest of the island but his tactics were brutal. Determined to avenge the 1641 slaughters in Ulster, they overcame resistance by a Catholic garrison at Drogheda. In keeping with the rules of war at the time, the resisting garrison was slaughtered, along with Drogheda's townspeople, bringing the total casualties to over 3,000.
Cromwell left Ireland in 1650, but set about establishing legal means to overcome the Catholics in Ireland. In 1652, Parliament passed the Settlement Act to arrange payment of the lands owed under the 1642 Adventurers' Act. All Catholic landowners (including Plunkett's older brother Edward) that had supported the rebellion lost their holdings and were banished to the largely undeveloped Province of Connaught.
Oliver Plunkett was ordained in 1654 and remained in Rome to teach theology at the College of Propaganda and to serve as the Irish bishops' representative in Rome. The Restoration in 1660 followed Cromwell's death in 1658, but the Irish Catholics did not regain their lands.
In 1669, Oliver Plunkett was appointed the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland. He returned to Ireland in 1670, intent upon implementing the Church reforms that had come out of the Council of Trent. Almost immediately, he invited the Jesuits to establish a college at Drogheda that was attended by boys of both Catholic and Protestant families.
The tide turned against the Catholics again, however, with the 1672 appointment of the Earl of Essex as Viceroy of Ireland. Essex banned Catholic education and exiled priests. In 1672, the college at Drogheda was destroyed and Plunkett was forced into hiding.
In 1678, Catholics were accused by Titus Oates of the "Popish Plot", allegedly another attempt at rebellion against the Crown. Oliver Plunkett remained in hiding, travelling about as a layman, but continuing his ministry in earnest, confirming over 48,000 Catholics before his capture in December 1679.
His initial internment was at Dublin Castle, where his first trial was adjourned because a conviction on treason charges could not be obtained, even from the Protestant jury. He was transferred to London where perjured testimony from disgruntled Franciscan priests was used to ensure a conviction. His sentence was, in keeping with the time, to be drawn, hung, and quartered. [Note:This was meant to be a brutal death. The executed person was first dragged (drawn) through the streets, hung, until not quite dead, and then disemboweled.] In spite of the fact that it was immediately obvious that his conviction was in error, King Charles II refused to intercede to block his execution.
On 1 July 1681 (11 July in the modern calendar), the sentence was carried out, making Oliver Plunkett the last in a series of Catholic martyrs who died for their faith at the hands of the English Crown. Friends of Plunkett arranged to rescue his remains before they were burned and eventually his preserved head was enshrined at St. Peter's Church in Drogheda. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920, and canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI. His feast day is July 11.
St. Oncho
d.c. 600 Feastday: February 8
Saint Oncho was an Irish pilgrim, poet, guardian of the Celtic traditions, and a collector of holy relics. While pursuing his search for memorials of the Irish saints he died at Clonmore monastery, then governed by Saint Maidoc, and his body was enshrined there together with the relics he had gathered (Benedictines).
Troparion of St Oncho tone 2 Thou didst teach us the value of relics, O Father Oncho, for thou didst spend thy earthly life collecting these precious aids to piety and devotion./ Pray to God for us, that in honouring what is precious to God,/ we may be found worthy of His great mercy.
Kontakion of St Oncho tone 4 Following thine example, most Holy Oncho,/ we pray for strength to defend all precious and holy things,/ resisting to the end all attempts at desecration and sacrilege/ by the agents of the godless,/ that in all things glory may be given to Christ our God.
Otteran, Abbot. Waterford diocese. 563
Feastday: October 27
Otteran, an abbot from Meath, was one of the companions who sailed with Columba from Lough Foyle. He died soon after the landing on Iona. His burying-place, the Realig Odhrain, later became also the burying-place for kings of Dalriada, Scotland and Norway. Scandinavian links with Iona explain the special place Otteran has as Patron of the see of Waterford which was founded by the Danes.