Monire

Saint Monire was a bishop in Scotland, counted among the apostles of the north of the land, and died in 824. He is commemorated on 19 January. His name appears in the forms Manire, Monire, Miniar, Manirus or Niniar.

He worked above all at bringing the inhabitants of mountainous northern Scotland to Christianity. The apostles who brought the Gospel to Deeside were Saint Devenick and Saint Monire. Both worked in the glens in the ninth century, but the churches they founded were far apart.

Monire was one of the successors of Saint Drostan in the district of Deer and struggled not far from Aberdour. His chief work took place in upper Deeside, at Crathie, where he founded his church, at Rhynabaich, on a hill north of the north road of Deeside. From the building there remain a lone stone and place names such as Alt Eaglais and Creag Eaglais, that is "church hill", and Pollmanire, that is "Monire's pool", a deep pool on the river Dee, where salmon were bred, almost opposite Balmoral Castle, which recalls the work of this almost forgotten saint. The old church at Crathie, south of the present one, bears his name.

According to tradition he was persecuted, but did not win the crown of martyrdom. For this reason he appears in the calendars as a confessor, not a martyr.