Coman mac Faelchon was an Irish saint, the founder,

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who bui ...

, fl. 550.

Life

Coman was a member of the Cinel Domaingen, a branch of the Sogain of Connacht. He studied at the monastic school of Clonard in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

, where he became associated with Saint

Finnian of Clonard Finnian of Clonard ('Cluain Eraird') – also Finian, Fionán or Fionnán in Irish; or Finianus and Finanus in its Latinised form (470–549) – was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meat ...

. About 550, after completing his education, he founded a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

on the east bank of the

River Suck The River Suck ( ga, An tSuca ) is a river within the Shannon River Basin in Ireland, 133 km (82.5 mi) in length. It is the main tributary of the River Shannon. It meets the Shannon a kilometre south of the village of Shannonbridge ...

, at a wood (''ros'') which was called after him ( ''Ros Comain''). Ros Comain was situated on Magh nAi (later known as ''the plains of Roscommon''/''the plains of Boyle''), homeland of the Ui Briuin

Kings of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...

. He successfully sought their patronage, ensuring his influence within their spheres of power. His successors are named in the

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over t ...

between the years 782 and 1135. He has been linked with the foundation of Kilcommon in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Coun ...

and the early monastic church at Leithglin,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by ...

. He composed a rule for monks, which came to be observed by many religious bodies in Connacht. His feast day is 26 December.

Notes

References

* ''Saint Coman of Roscommon:A Sixth-Century East Galway Missionary'', Joseph Mannion, in ''Gurteen Journal 2005'', pp. 17–19. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coman mac Faelchon 6th-century Irish bishops People from County Galway People from County Roscommon