St. Coleman of Cloyne was born in County Cork, Ireland, in 522 and died about 610. His Feast Day is November 24th.
As a young man, he was blessed with many talents and he so excelled in the arts of poetry and music that he was made one of the Royal Bards (chronicler and genealogist as well as poet laureate) at the King's Palace in Cashel, Tipperary, Ireland.
When Coleman was about fifty years of age, he became a Catholic. One of his instructors in Faith was St. Brendan the Navigator who, according to some historians, may have landed in America long before either Christopher Columbus or Leif Erickson.
St. Brendan baptized Coleman and soon afterwards Coleman embraced the monastic life and was ordained a priest. He preached the Gospel in the areas of the Counties of Limerick and Cork for several years and finally founded the Church of Cloyne, County Cork, of which he became the first bishop. For many years thereafter, he labored for the glory of God and the Church and established many more Churches in the soutweast area of Ireland.
In his later years, he was able to devote more time to his literary talents in the service of God. During those years he composed several poems on sacred subjects.
Learn more about The Saints.