Saint Mura ( 550–645) was the first
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of the monastery at
Fahan
Fahan (; pronounced 'Fawn'. ) is a district of Inishowen in the north of County Donegal, Ireland, located south of Buncrana. In Irish, Fahan is named after its patron saint, Saint Mura, first abbot of Fahan, an early Christian monastery.
Hi ...
, County Donegal, Ireland. He is the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of Fahan. His feast is March 12.
St. Mura's cross is near the ruins of monastery and dates to the 8th century. It stands over 6 foot tall. The west face of the cross has a complex triple banded interlace relief. St. Mura's
crosier
A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catho ...
is held in the
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...
, Dublin.
References
Irish Roman Catholic saints
Patron saints
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