Declan
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2008-07-10T18:31:38Z
TheRetroGuy
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[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 224844963 by [[Special:Contributions/76.236.128.235|76.236.128.235]] ([[User talk:76.236.128.235|talk]]) good for him
{{ For|the album 'Declan' of the same name|Declan (album) }}
{{Infobox Saint
|name=Saint Declan
|birth_date=5th century
|death_date=5th century
|feast_day=[[July 24]]
|venerated_in=[[Roman Catholicism]]
|image=
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|birth_place=[[Ireland]]
|death_place=
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|major_shrine=[[Ardmore, County Waterford|Ardmore]]
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'''Saint Declan''' was an early [[Irish people|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 (See also Saints [[Ailbhe]], [[Ciaran]], and [[Saint Ibar|Ibar]]), although he is also made a contemporary of [[Saint David]] in the mid-6th century. His [[calendar of saints|feast day]] is [[July 24]].
==Life==
He converted the people of the [[Decies]], an ancient [[principality]] of southern Ireland, to [[Christianity]]. There he founded the [[Christian monasticism|monastic]] settlement of [[Ardmore, County Waterford|Ardmore]]. Although Ardmore is no longer the seat of a [[diocese]], the local [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] parish bears Declan's name. His [[hagiography|Life]] is preserved in both a [[Latin]] and [[Irish language|Irish]] version; the latter was translated into [[English language|English]] by Rev. P. Power in 1914. Rev. Power's translation is available online from Christian Classics Ethereal Library [http://www.ccel.org/d/declan/life/declan.html].
There was much controversy involving which Saint was to become the Patron Saint of Ireland. Since St. Patrick was not of Irish heritage many of the Irish people believed that St. Declan should instead become the country's Patron Saint.{{fact|date=March 2008}}
==Pattern==
[[Image:Celtic cross.svg|100px|thumb|right|The Black Cross of St. Declan]]
Every year on his feast day, locals and people from the region celebrate his ''[[pattern (devotional)|pattern]]''. The pattern includes various devotional acts at sites associated with his life.
==Namesakes==
Due to popular devotion to the saint, the name '''Declan''' has been relatively common in [[County Waterford]] for centuries. Its use has since spread beyond Munster, and even outside of Ireland.
* [[Declan Bree]], Irish politician & social campaigner
* [[Declan Costello]], [[Attorney-General of Ireland]]
* [[Declan Curry]], Irish journalist who works for [[BBC News (TV Channel)|BBC News]] and [[BBC Breakfast]] in the [[United Kingdom]]
* [[Declan de Barra]], Irish musician, vocalist and [[bodhrán]] player of the former band [[Clann Zú]]
* [[Declan Davis]], British mathematician
* [[Declan Donnellan]], British theatre director
* [[Declan Donnelly]], one half of British television duo [[Ant and Dec]]
* Declan Finney, son of, actor, [[Albert Finney]]
* [[Declan Galbraith]], English singer
* Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus (better known as [[Elvis Costello]]), British musician
* [[Declan McCullagh]], journalist
* [[Declan McGonagle]], Irish art curator
* [[Declan Nerney]], Irish country music personality
* [[Declan Ryan]], Irish sportsman
* [[Declan Sinnott]], Irish musician
* [[J. Declan Flynn]]. Filmmaker
== In popular culture ==
The Declan cross is associated with the [[Ku Klux Klan]], neo-nazism, and the [[Zodiac killer]] of [[California]] during the late 1960s{{fact|date=April 2008}}.
==External links==
* {{gutenberg|no=11168|name=Lives of SS. Declan and Mochuda}}
[[Category:Irish saints]]
[[Category:July observances]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:5th century bishops]]
{{Ireland-saint-stub}}