Athracht (Modern Irish ''Naomh Athracht''; in Latin sources ''Attracta'') is the patron saint of the parish of Locha Techet (Lough Gara) and

Tourlestrane Toorlestraun or Tourlestrane () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Village The village of Tourlestrane itself is the smaller of the two villages in the parish of Kilmactigue, the other being Aclare. It is a market centre for local dairy far ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. She was a sister of Bishop Conal of Drumconnell. Her feast day is 11 August.

Life

A native of County Sligo, Athracht resolved to devote herself to God, but being opposed by her parents, fled to south Connacht and made her first foundation at

Drum, County Roscommon Drum () is a civil parish in south County Roscommon about 5 km west of Athlone. It lies in the barony of Athlone. One of the townlands in the parish is also called Drum. Meehambee Dolmen, a portal tomb estimated to be 5,500 years old, is ...

, where her brother Conal had established a church. The place came to be called Drumconnell. From there she removed to Greagraighe or Coolavin, County Sligo. Her legend states that she took her vows as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

under

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

at Coolavin. She then moved to

Lough Gara Lough Gara () is a lake in Counties Sligo and Roscommon, Ireland. It is an Important Bird Area protecting 1,788 ha of which most (1,742 ha) is designated as a Ramsar Site (a wetland having international importance under the Ramsar Convention). ...

, where she founded a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

for travellers at a place now called Killaraght in her honour. The hostel survived until 1539. She was known for her charity and the hospitality extended to travelers and the homeless. She lived in the sixth century, and is associated with Conainne. Local tradition remembers her great healing powers. Her convents were famous for hospitality and charity to the poor.

Legacy

A local well is named after her, as is the new secondary school in

Tubbercurry Tubbercurry or Tobercurry () is the second-largest town in terms of both population and land area in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the Ox Mountains, on the N17 road (Ireland), N17 national primary road, and ...

and the parish's second church in

Kilmactigue Kilmactigue, also Kilmacteige (), is a townland and Catholic parish in County Sligo, Ireland. Kilmacteige is also a civil parish. The Catholic parish, in the Diocese of Achonry, covers the villages of Aclare, Banada and Tourlestrane, as wel ...

.Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Attracta." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 28 Oct. 2014
/ref> St. Attracta's Senior School, Dublin is named after her. In September 2019,

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

took delivery of Airbus A321LR registration EI-LRB and named it Saint Attracta.Airbus A321LR on planespotters.net
/ref>

Notes

References

*st attracta * *Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. . {{Authority control People from County Roscommon People from County Sligo 5th-century Irish nuns 5th-century Christian nuns 6th-century Christian saints Female saints of medieval Ireland Medieval saints of Connacht Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 6th-century Irish nuns 6th-century Christian nuns Medieval Irish saints