Father of Irish monasticism

St Enda of Aran

Q: Who was St Enda of Aran?

Father of Irish monasticism. A warrior prince who turned monk and founded the monastery on Inis Mór around 484 — the earliest Irish monastic foundation on record. Ciarán of Clonmacnoise and Brendan the Navigator are both said to have trained there, which makes the bare rock of Aran the seedbed of the whole Irish golden age.

Naomh Éanna

Feast day · 21 March

🏔 Galway Source: Wikipedia ↗

The story

A warrior prince who turned monk and founded the monastery on Inis Mór around 484 — the earliest Irish monastic foundation on record. Ciarán of Clonmacnoise and Brendan the Navigator are both said to have trained there, which makes the bare rock of Aran the seedbed of the whole Irish golden age.

The name they gave

Enda — “EN-da”

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