Brónach
Encyclopedia
Saint Brónach sometimes anglicised to Bronagh, was an Irish holywoman, reputed founder and patron saint of Cell Brónche ("the church of Brónach"), now Kilbroney in County Down
.
Lying in Glenn Sechis, a mountain valley in Co. Down (near Rostrevor
), Cell Brónche lay at some distance from the major political centres of the region. It may have been a nunnery in origin, but later came to serve as a pastoral church manned by nuns as well as one or several priests. It was chosen as the parish church of Glenn Sechis.
According to the genealogies of the saints, she is the mother of Saint Mo Chóe of Nendrum and herself a daughter of Míliucc maccu Buain.
As a disciple to St Patrick she is said to have founded her convent to help sailors cast up on the beach by a cruel sea.
In the Irish martyrologies (O'Clery, Martyrology of Tallaght
, note added to Félire Óengusso), her feast day is 2 April.
A high cross
which survives among the ruins of Cell Brónche attests to the importance of her church. It is made of Mourne granite and stands over the traditional site of her grave in the old cemetery. The building suffered damage during the 1641 Rebellion, as well as in Cromwellian times.
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
.
Lying in Glenn Sechis, a mountain valley in Co. Down (near Rostrevor
Rostrevor
Rostrevor is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough. The Kilbroney River flows through the village....
), Cell Brónche lay at some distance from the major political centres of the region. It may have been a nunnery in origin, but later came to serve as a pastoral church manned by nuns as well as one or several priests. It was chosen as the parish church of Glenn Sechis.
According to the genealogies of the saints, she is the mother of Saint Mo Chóe of Nendrum and herself a daughter of Míliucc maccu Buain.
As a disciple to St Patrick she is said to have founded her convent to help sailors cast up on the beach by a cruel sea.
In the Irish martyrologies (O'Clery, Martyrology of Tallaght
Martyrology of Tallaght
The Martyrology of Tallaght, which is closely related to the Félire Oengusso or Martyrology of Óengus the Culdee, is an eighth- or ninth-century martyrology, a list of saints and their feast days assembled by Máel Ruain and/or Óengus the Culdee at Tallaght Monastery, near Dublin...
, note added to Félire Óengusso), her feast day is 2 April.
A high cross
High cross
A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors...
which survives among the ruins of Cell Brónche attests to the importance of her church. It is made of Mourne granite and stands over the traditional site of her grave in the old cemetery. The building suffered damage during the 1641 Rebellion, as well as in Cromwellian times.
External links
- Kilbroney High-cross, Megalithic Ireland.