Samthann

Venerable Samthann was abbess of Clonbroney in Ireland and reposed in 739, according to the Annals of Ulster. She is one of the few Irish women saints whose Life survives in Latin.

Her Life, preserved in three manuscripts, begins with her marriage. She was of Ulster stock and served first as a steward at Urney in Tyrone. She did not found Clonbroney, near Ballinalee in County Longford: she took it over after its founder, Fuinnech, had a vision of her future greatness. What is told of her links her to the Céli Dé reform movement; a Tallaght text records her dealings with Saint Maelrain, and a hymn in her honour stands in the Martyrology of Tallaght. The Life also tells of miracles, among them one with her staff and one with a giant eel that bit a monk tempted by impure thoughts and would not let go until he asked forgiveness.

She is honoured as a saint of the undivided Church and remembered on 19 December in the Western calendar (new style).