Ciarán of Saigir
Irish saint
Ciarán of Saigir (Old Irish pronunciation: [ˈkʲiːa̯ɾaːn … ˈsagʲiɾʲ]; 5th century – c. 530), also known as Ciarán mac Luaigne or Saint Kieran (Welsh: Cieran), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and is considered the first saint to have been born in Ireland, although the legend that he preceded Saint Patrick is questionable. Ciarán was bishop of Saighir (Seir-Kieran) and remains the patron saint of its successor, the diocese of Ossory.
His feast day is celebrated on 5 March. He is sometimes called Saint Ciarán the Elder (Latin: Kyaranus or Ciaranus Maior) to distinguish him from the other 6th-century Irish Saint Ciarán, who was abbot of Clonmacnoise. He shares the feast date of 5 March with his mother, St. Liadán, and his disciple and episcopal successor, St. Carthach the Elder.
His identity is sometimes equated with that of Saint Piran.
Sources
Various medieval traditions about the saint are recorded in a number of hagiographic works: two Lives in Latin, both of uncertain date, and two Lives in Irish. The shortest Latin Life is preserved in the Codex Salmanticensis, while the longer one is found in the Codex Kilkenniensis.
The public source identifies “Ciarán of Saigir” as irish saint. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ciarán, Saigir and Irish.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2280421. VIAF identifies the subject as 31323224. The Library of Congress control number is n99000162. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Ciarán of Saigir” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.