Saint Colman was originally called Mac Lenine, and was to become the founder of a monastery and he is patron of the See of Cloyne. According to the Book of Leinster, Mac Lenine was a descendant of Mogh Nuadha, King of Munster. Colman was born around the early 500’s A.D.
Mac Lenine, was brought up as a heathen, adopted the profession of bard. He became attached to the court of the King of Cashel, in Tipperary. Mac Lenine was employed as a bard with duties as a historian as well as a poet. His job was to record the deeds of the king, good and bad, to register the genealogies and privileges of noble families, together with the bounds and limits of their lands and territories. Mac Lenine was engaged in these activities for about the forty-eighth year of his life.
In 570 A.D. a royal dispute for the throne of Cashel took place between Aodh-dubh and Aodh-caomh. Saint Brendan of Clonfert and Mac Lenine intervened. A compromise was reached in which Aodh-caomh was acknowledged as king of Cashel and the first Christian king of that kingdom. As it happened around the same timeframe, a stolen relics of Saint Ailbe (live rock) of Emly of great value, was discovered by Mac Lenine, and at the behest of St. Brendan, he became a Christian and took the name of Colman of whom later became the saint and patron of the diocese of Cloyne.
Colman was granted land from the king and with this, he became first Abbot of a newly established monastery at Cloyne in 560 A.D. Colman laboured for more than forty years on his extensive monastic estate. This monastery was later to become the seat of the diocese of Cloyne after the synods of Rath Breasail and the synod of Kells. St Colman was a friend of St Finbarr. From the time of Colman and Finnbarr, Cloyne was a great centre of ecclesiastical power. Today the old cathedral is now Church of Ireland, and is in need of repair. The current seat of the Catholic diocese is now based in Cobh, near Cork city.
St. Brendan says that this Colman, son of Lenin, was distinguished amongst the saints by his life and learning. St. Colman was endowed with extraordinary poetic skill, being dubbed by his contemporaries as the “Royal Bard of Munster”. Several of his Irish poems are still extant, notably a metrical panegyric on St. Brendan. A historian type figure, Colgan, attributes to Colman a metrical life of St. Senan.
We conclude now as we think of the many people in Ireland today who like Mac Lenine, are well educated, but may lack knowledge of the one true God. We therefore ask Saint Colman to intercede for these poor souls to come to know and revere Jesus as their personal saviour and King. We ask Our lady to direct our steps in finding the lost sheep for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
We remember St. Colman of Cloyne on the 25th November
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