Ruadán of Lorrha

  • d. 584
  • feast-day: 15 April
  • saints of Ireland
  • Lothra, Cell Cluana, Ros Énne
Ruadán mac Fergusa Birn, patron saint of Lothra (Lorrha, Co. North Tipperary)
See also: Díarmait mac CerbaillDíarmait mac Cerbaill
(supp. d. 565)
In Irish historical tradition, high-king of Ireland, son of Fergus Cerrbél.
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See also references for related subjects.
Ó Riain, Pádraig, Four Tipperary saints: The lives of Colum of Terryglass, Crónán of Roscrea, Mochaomhóg of Leigh and Ruadhán of Lorrha, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014.  
abstract:
When St Patrick was leaving Munster via the Little Brosna river, close to Tipperary’s northern boundary, he is said to have given a blessing to the province’s people, its men, women and children. Much of this blessing must have lingered over north Tipperary, because no fewer than four of its saints were made the subjects of written Lives, Ruadhán and Colum from the neighbouring parishes of Lorrha and Terryglass, Crónán of Roscrea, and Mochaomhóg of Leigh in Twomileborris. The Lives written for these saints in Latin, translated here for the first time into English, contain much that is of interest, not only to Tipperary people, but to all who wish to know more about the history of early Irish Christianity. Written many centuries after the golden age of the saints, these texts tell us a great deal about the fortunes of their churches, and about the aims and associations of the communities devoted to them. Pádraig Ó Riain, in this new translation, gives access to these four Lives to a brand new audience.
(source: Four Courts Press)
Szacillo, Judyta Aleksandra, “Irish hagiography and its dating: a study of the O’Donohue group of Irish saints’ lives”, PhD thesis, Queen’s University Belfast, School of History and Anthropology, 2013.  
abstract:
The so called O'Donohue group of Irish saints' Lives has been defined and tentatively dated to circa 800 by Richard Sharpe in 1991. Sharpe's dating was based mainly on linguistic features and on the reconstruction of editorial work of medieval collectors and scribes of the manuscripts that are still extant. However, there is no scholarly consensus regarding the proposed date. This thesis offers a detailed discussion of a Dumber of datable features that may be found in some of the O'Donohue Lives. The Lives subjected to scrutiny are: the Life of Ailbe of Emly, the Life of Ruadán of Lorrha, the Life of Aed mac Bricc, the Life of Munnu of Taghmon and the Life of Colmán Ela. The contents of these texts have been verified against the information preserved in other Irish medieval sources: annals, genealogies, martyrologies and other saints' Lives that have been assigned secure dates.
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Johnston, Elva, “Munster, saints of (act. c.450–c.700)”, Oxford dictionary of national biography, Online: Oxford University Press, 2008–. URL: <http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/51008>.