Biography

Saint Declan was an early Irish bishop and abbot. He is sometimes said to be one of four bishops to have preceded Saint Patrick in Ireland in the early 5th century (the others were Saints Ailbhe, Ciaran and Ibar), although he is also made a contemporary of Saint David in the mid 6th century. He converted the people of the Decies, an ancient principality of southern Ireland, to Christianity. There he founded the monastic settlement of Ardmore. Although Ardmore is no longer the seat of a diocese, the local Catholic parish bears Declan's name. His Life is preserved in both a Latin and Irish version; the latter was translated into English by Rev. P. Power in 1914.