SAINT AENGUS

Called Dengus and “the Culdee,” a hermit and author of the Festlology of the Saints of Ireland, The Felire. The term Culdee refers to Aengus’ love of solitude: Ceile De was a name given to the hermits of the time. Aengus, born in Clonengh, Ireland, became a solitary monk on the banks of the river Nore, where he communed with angels. In time he sought a more remote site near Maryborough, erecting a small hermitage there. Visitors drawn by his reputation for holiness drove Aengus to the monastery of Tallaght, near Dublin, then under the control of St. Maelruain. He tried to enter as a simple lay brother, not telling anyone who he was. Aengus, along with Maelruain (who had discovered the Culdee’s real identity), wrote the Martyrology of Tallaght together in 790. Aengus completed his Felire in 805 in his Maryborough hermitage, having returned there when Maelruain died. Aengus passed away on March 11, 824, and was buried in Clonenagh. Died: 824, Feastday: March 11.

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