Born in Connaught, Ireland; died 598. Dallan, a kinsman of
Saint Aidan of Ferns (f.d. January 31)
and a renowned scholar in his own right. The
intensity of his study strained his eyes to the point where he became
blind.
In 575, Dallan was the Chief Bard of Ireland, a position second only to
the king in honour. When the king of Ireland, Aedh MacAinmire, called
upon the Assembly of Drumceat to abolish the bardic guild and its
privileges,
Saint Columba (f.d. June 9)
successfully argued that the bards were necessary to preserve the
history of the nation and that it would be prudent to punish abusive
bards rather than destroy the order.
In recognition of Columba's defence of the bards, Saint Dallan wrote a
panegyric, "Amra Choluim Kille" or "Eulogy of Columba". To account for
its obscure and intentionally difficult language, legend tells us that
in his humility Columba would only permit it to be written if it were
incomprehensible to the Irish. Saint Dallan also wrote the "Eulogy of
Senan".
Today's saint reorganised and reformed the Bardic Order and initiated a
strictly supervised school system for it that encouraged the cultivation
of the Gaelic language and preservation of its literature. The order
itself was active until 1738 when Turlough O'Carolan, the last of the
great Irish bards and composer of the tune of the "Star Spangled
Banner," died. Until that time, the bards participated in every major
Irish celebration.
He is venerated as a martyr because he was murdered at Inis-coel
(Inniskeel) by pirates who broke into the monastery
(
Benedictines,
D'Arcy,
Healy,
Kenney,
Montague,
Montalembert,
Muirhead).