St. Tigernach

The Patron Saint of Clones. No joke--St. Tigernach (d. 548 or 549) was from Ulster, Ireland and founded the monastery and town of Clones, making him the Patron Saint of Clones (Ireland that is). He is also known as Tierney, the English version of his name. His feast day is April 4. 

His story begins in Ulster, where a soldier from Leinster, became a retainer at King Eoclaid's court. His name was Coirpre. His frequent interactions of Eoclaid's family, and thus of his daughter, Der Fraích, led to an illegitimate pregnancy. When the child was born, Coirpre, who must have been terrified of the consequences, confessed that he was the father. Coirpre fled the court to his homeland of Leinster taking Der Fraích and the baby with him. 

Der Fraích was the daughter of a king and thus a princess. Her child, the son of a princess and a courtier, was certainly noble, even part royal. She named him St. Tigernach, which means "princely". He was taken to the font for baptism where St. Brigit of Kildare received him, thus becoming his godparent. St. Brigit, who became an abbess and founder of many monasteries, would have a profound influence on young St. Tigernach, encouraging him in his faith and educating him. 

When St. Tigernach was a young man, he traveled to Scotland. There, in Rosnat (now Whithorn), he continued his ecclesiastical education. One of his teachers prophesied that he had seen a vision of St. Tigernach founding a great church in his homeland. This presumably meant Ulster, the land of his birth and his mother's heritage, although he had grown up in Leinster. This has a profound effect on St. Tigernach, who set off for Rome to collect relics necessary for the founding of a great church. His pilgrimage ended when he returned to Leinster and to his godmother Brigit. Brigit was impressed by his zeal and was determined that he should be a bishop. Following the prophetical teacher's vision, he returned to the land of his mother and maternal grandfather, Eoclaid. 

Although St. Tigernach's birth had been scandalous, Eoclaid and St. Tigernach reconciled when he saw the depth of St. Tigernach's character, his spartan lifestyle and dedication to the church. The current bishop in Clogher prevented St. Tigernach's elevation to bishop. As Eoclaid's relationship with his grandson improved, he eventually suggested removing the bishop and installing his grandson. St. Tigernach refused. Instead, he led an aesthetic life of prayer and contemplation. It was during this time that he performed his most important miracle. The Archbishop of neighboring Armagh had died. St. Tigernach's intercession and prayers brought him back to life, earning him a friend in the bishop. An angel spoke to St. Tigernach and instructed him to leave Clogher and to seek the frontiers of his grandfather's patrimony. St. Tigernach founded Galloon and then, after it was established, to give it away to Comgall of Bangor. 

St. Tigernach went east and founded Clones where he established the Clones Abbey dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. Here, the land was fertile, but far from court life. It was a quiet existence which suited St. Tigernach who spent his time in prayer. His vision eventually worsened into blindness. It is said that an angel attended his soul into heaven. 

Although St. Tigernach was born into a difficult situation, God clearly had plans for him. The fact that he returned to Leinster at just the right time to have St. Brigit of Kildare as a godmother was instrumental. St. Tigernach did not seek the limelight. His entire life was a balance between ambition and humility, with humility winning out in the end. When offered a bishopric by his grandfather, he turned it down because it was the right thing to do. St. Tigernach followed God to the backwaters and frontiers of a land he hadn't known since he was an infant. His hard work in Galloon was simply given away. St. Tigernach practiced charity and lived a prayerful life. The result was the founding of Clones, an abbey which was still around despite several fires when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries (1536-1541), one thousand years later. St. Tigernach continued St. Patrick's work in Ireland and built a great church, not great because of its size or influence, but great because he followed God's instructions as given to him through the angel. The proof of his favor with God are his miracles, especially the rare claim of raising someone from the dead. He is a role-model for obedience to God's will and for humility and charity.

St. Tigernach, pray for us.

Sources: 

Carleton, William. Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry. London: Routledge, 1877. Book.

"Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Web.
Shaw, Ronald. The Men of the North. 1973. Book.