Íte of Killeedy

Íte
Born	c. 475 County Waterford, Ireland
Died	(570-01-15)15 January 570
Venerated in	Catholic Church, Orthodox Church
Feast	15 January
Patronage	Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick, Ireland

Íte ingen Chinn Fhalad {d. 570/577), also known as Ita, Ida or Ides, was an early Irish nun and saint, patron of Killeedy (Cluain Credhail). Her feast day is 15 January.

Ida, called the "Brigid of Munster", was born in the present County Waterford. She became a nun, settling down at Cluain Credhail, a place-name that has ever since been known as Killeedy--that is, "Church of St. Ita"--in County Limerick. There, she was the head of a community of women. That group seems to have had a school for little boys where the boys were taught "Faith in God with purity of heart; simplicity of life with religion; generosity with love". Her pupils are said to have included Saint Brendan. Her legend places a great deal of emphasis on her austerities are told by St. Cuimin of County Down, and numerous miracles are recorded of her. She is also said to be the originator of an Irish lullaby for the infant Jesus, an English version of which was set for voice and piano by the American composer Samuel Barber. She probably died of cancer though contemporary chroniclers describe how her side was consumed by a beetle which eventually grew to the size of a pig, understandable given the early medieval conflation of sanctity and suffering. The particular species of beetle is not described.

She was also endowed with the gift of prophecy and was held in great veneration by a large number of contemporary saints, men as well as women. When she felt her end approaching she sent for her community of nuns, and invoked the blessing of heaven on the clergy and laity of the district around Kileedy. Not alone was St. Ita a saint, but she was the foster-mother of many saints, including St. Brendan the Navigator, St. Pulcherius (Mochoemog) and Cummian. At the request of Bishop Butler of Limerick, Pope Pius IX granted a special Office and Mass for the feast of St. Ita, which is kept on 15 January.

St. Ita's AFC is the name of the association football club which is based in Killeedy. The saint appears on the club's crest.

Another village in County Limerick, Kilmeedy (In Irish - Cill m'Ide, or church of my Ita) has links with the saint as well - having first setup a church in Kilmeedy before the one in Killeedy.

See also

• Mary of Egypt
• Theoctiste of Lesbos

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Orthodox Church in America

Further reading

• Johnston, Elva (May 2008) [Sept 2004], "Munster, saints of (act. c.450–c.700)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.), Oxford University Press, retrieved 14 Dec 2008