Saint Colmán of Dromore, also known by the pet form Mocholmóc, was a 6th-century Irish

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Life

Colman was a native of Dalriada, born roughly a generation after Patrick's apostolate to Ireland, and was baptized by a bishop, bearing his own name who was also his uncle. It is believed that Colman was educated at the monastic foundation at Nendrum, on the shores of

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough () is a large sea lough or inlet in County Down, in the east of Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in Ireland and the wider British Isles, covering . The lough is almost fully enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and is linke ...

, which had been established by Saint Caolán (Mochaoi) sometime earlier.McMahon, Andrew. "Parish of Dromore", The Diocese of Dromore
/ref> Colman was a disciple of Caolán when the latter ruled as Abbot of Nendrum about 520.
/ref> Tradition has it that Caolán was so impressed with Colman's potential as a Christian apostle and with his charism for performing miracles that he sent him to visit various other monasteries so that he might learn from the religious practices and forms of community life he would encounter there and enjoy the opportunity of more extensive learning, especially in Holy Scripture. To perfect his knowledge of the Scriptures St. Colman went to the great school of Emly, c. 470 or 475, and remained there some years. At length he returned to Mahee Island to see his old master, St. Mochae, and remained under his guidance for a long period, acting as assistant in the school. Among his many pupils at Mahee Island, in the first quarter of the sixth century, was St.

Finnian of Moville Finnian of Movilla (–589) was an Irish Christian missionary. His feast day is 10 September. Origins and life Finnian (sometimes called Finbarr "the white head", a reference to his fair hair), was a Christian missionary in medieval Ir ...

.Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Colman." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 21 Jul. 2013
/ref> He was the first abbot of Muckmore, in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, and afterwards was persuaded by Saint Mac Nissi to settle at Dromore. Colman set up a small

wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite material, composite building method in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called "wattle (construction), wattle" is "daubed" with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, and ...

church on this site around 514, probably thatched with reeds from the River Lagan which flows beside it. His followers observed a very strict rule of discipline. St. Finnian, who later established a monastery at Movilla, about five miles from Bangor, is believed to have been a former monk of Dromore. During Colman's lifetime the abbey came to enjoy the status of an Episcopal See and so Colman possibly finished his days not just as Abbot of Dromore, but also as Bishop. St. Colman is said to have baptised Saint

Declán of Ardmore Declán of Ardmore (; ; ; died 5th century AD), also called Déclán, was an early Irish people, Irish saint of the Déisi Muman, who was remembered for having converted the Déisi in the late 5th century and for having founded the monastery of ...

Veneration

His feastday is on 7 June.

Patronage

Colman is the principal patron of the Diocese of Dromore.

Legacy

St.Colman's College was founded by Fr. J.S. Keenan in William Street, Newry in 1823 as the Dromore Diocesan Seminary. Known throughout Ireland as Violet Hill, the College has occupied its rural setting since 1829.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colman Of Dromore 6th-century deaths 6th-century Christian saints Medieval Irish saints Christian clergy from County Down 6th-century Irish abbots Year of birth unknown