¹ Here begins the Life of Saint Ruadhan, Abbot and Confessor.

² The most blessed abbot Ruadhan was born of a most noble stock of Ireland, that is, of the people of the Eóganacht. His father was called Byrra, who was descended from the seed of Duach; and he himself, as we have said, was of the race of the Eóganacht, but he dwelt in the western region of the Laigin, which is called Osraige, whose offspring are called the grandsons of Duach, who even now dwell in that same region.

³ Saint Ruadhan was chosen by God from his mother’s womb, and from infancy he loved God with his whole heart. From his boyhood miracles began to arise through him. And, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he left his homeland his parents and went to Saint Finnian, a most wise man, who lived in his city of Clonard, which lies on the border of the Laigin and the region of Meath.

⁴ There the blessed Ruadhan remained with the same Saint Finnian, reading various Scriptures and making great progress in them. And the holiness of the life of Saint Ruadhan provided instruction for many.

⁵ When the blessed Ruadhan had been instructed in all disciplines, Saint Finnian, his master, compelled him to receive the priestly rank. After he had now received the grade of the presbyterate, Saint Finnian the abbot sent him into his own province, that is, Munster, with some monks, so that there he might build a place for God.

⁶ And when the blessed Ruadhan had taken leave of his holy master Finnian, he came with his disciples to the province of the Munstermen. He entered the region which is called Muskerry Thire; and, when he had found a place there, he began to build a monastery for God.

⁷ When Saint Ruadhan had already remained for some time in that place in great holiness, an angel of the Lord came to him and said to him: “Your resurrection, servant of God, will not be in this place, but you will rise at the coming of Christ in the place which is called Lothra.” Obedient to the voice of the angel, Saint Ruadhan set his place in order and from there went on to the place of his resurrection.

⁸ And when Saint Ruadhan came to the same place, a wild boar leapt out fearfully before him from a hollow. For that place had formerly been deserted. That place indeed is in the above-mentioned region of Muskerry. There the holy father Ruadhan founded a great monastery, where he himself is buried, which is called Lothra. And there a renowned settlement grew, which is called by the same name; and there Saint Ruadhan led a wondrous life, and many miracles God worked through him in his lifetime, and his grace is still frequently sought.

⁹ Saint Abbot Brendan built a cell not far from the monastery of Saint Ruadhan, in a place which in the Irish tongue is called Tulach Brenainn, that is, the Hill of Brendan. And the sound of the bells of both could be heard from one place to the other. One day the blessed Brendan, urged by divine inspiration, said to his brethren: “I will leave this region to Saint Ruadhan, and I will go into another province.” And the blessed Brendan sought the blessing and prayer of Saint Ruadhan. And Saint Ruadhan blessed him and his journey. And Saint Brendan went into the province of the Connachtmen and there founded his settlement, which is called Clonfert, in which he himself is buried.

¹⁰ At a certain time the blessed father Ruadhan entrusted his monastery of Lothra to holy men, and with certain monks went to the northern region of Ireland, wishing to sow the word of God among the peoples. And there he performed many works of power in the name of God and found a great parish.

¹¹ In a certain place Saint Ruadhan wished to build a cell; but a certain man, whose field that place was, forbade that cell to be built and committed a great injury against the saint of God. And when Saint Ruadhan spoke to him, that man seized the hand of the man of God, and dragging him, drove him out with shame from the place. And this the saint of God bore patiently. But Christ quickly avenged his injury. For in that very hour sand sea covered that field. And from that day until today that place is uninhabitable.

¹² At another time, when Saint Ruadhan had come to the settlement which is called Snam Luthir, in the region of Cairbre Mór, at that same hour the leader of that region was being carried dead to his city. And all that people were around him, mourning. And when they saw Saint Ruadhan, they made lamentation with mournful cries over the death of their leader. Then Saint Ruadhan, moved by their misery, had compassion on them. And approaching the bier full of faith, he prayed to Christ for the soul of the leader. And while he was praying, at once the leader rose up unharmed and greeted all, giving thanks to God and to Saint Ruadhan. For he knew that he had been restored to life by his prayer. And the leader offered the same settlement, Snam Luthir, and his territory to God and to Saint Ruadhan forever.

¹³ On a certain day, when Saint Ruadhan came to a place which is called Ross Ernem, in the region of na n-Airthir, he found there a crowd of that people gathered, and he asked them what they were doing there. But they answered, saying: “In this village there was a treasure in which much of our wealth had been, and it was taken a long time ago and hidden in this field, and we do not know in what place. And we cannot well overturn the whole field. Therefore we beg you, servant of God, through Christ, that in the name of the Lord you show us the place in which it is.” Then Saint Ruadhan, adjured in the name of God, went about the circuit of the place. And marking the ground with his staff, he was blessing and praying. And when he came to the place in which the treasure was, immediately the earth opened its mouth and a great store of goods appeared. Then the people gave thanks to God and offered to Saint Ruadhan the same village with its inhabitants. And the saint of God established there a church and holy men from among his disciples.

¹⁴ After these and other miracles, Saint Ruadhan left the north and came to the south of Ireland; and in like manner he built places for God there, and great miracles were worked through him. But while he was on his journey, he came to his sister, who was called Dare, and she dwelt in the borders of Hílela. And the inhabitants of that land offered a certain place to Saint Ruadhan. And there the holy man built a monastery, which is called Senchue.

¹⁵ At a certain time a servant of the kitchen of the monastery of Saint Ruadhan was carrying milk from the dairy to the monastery on a horse. But as he passed through the portico of the settlement, the milk was being spilled onto the ground every day for seven days. On another day the holy father Ruadhan, wishing to know from where this evil came, went out in order to learn the cause of this mischief. And he saw in the portico two demons, one on the right and the other on the left, holding iron hammers in their hands, with which they were striking the vessels, and when they were broken they fell to the ground. And Saint Ruadhan questioned the demons why they dared to inflict this evil upon the servants of Christ. They confessed, saying: “We dare to inflict this evil upon you because of the malice of the servant, for he himself has an evil intention.” And when these things had been said, Saint Ruadhan sent the demons into the depth of a nearby lake and commanded them in the name of Christ that they should remain there, harming no one. And so it was done as the saint of God had commanded.

¹⁶ A certain young man of the people who are called the Aíad Chach, in the region of Munster, wishing to learn medicine, came to Saint Ruadhan and asked him that he might bless his hands and his eyes and his mind. And Saint Ruadhan blessed his eyes and his mind, and at once that man became skilled in the art of medicine.

¹⁷ At the same time the wife of the count of the region of Cualu, in the eastern part of the Laigin by the sea, was being tortured by an incurable pain. And almost fifty physicians brought her remedies, but they brought her no healing. Afterwards that lady dismissed all the physicians and commended herself to Christ and to Saint Ruadhan, who was far from her. And an angel of the Lord came to Saint Ruadhan, saying to him: “The wife of the count of the region of Cualu is held by a most grievous disease, and in no way were the physicians able to cure her. For God has granted to you that through you she may receive health, whose disease the physicians do not know. For she has in her womb a bloody birth, and she cannot give birth.”

¹⁸ Then on a certain night the holy father Ruadhan, by the will of God, showed himself to that lady in a vision in her sleep with a bright light, saying to her: “Do not fear; I will now heal you in the name of Christ. For I will send to you a certain young man who will cure you. But about the other physicians do not trouble yourself, just as you have begun to reject them, who can bring you no medicine.” And after these things he departed from her.

¹⁹ On the next day Saint Ruadhan called a certain young man to himself and blessed water and cast his saliva into it, and said to the young man: “Go to the region of the Laigin and help the countess of the region of Cualu, who is gravely ill and hopes for the mercy of Christ through me.” And that brother, obedient, took the water in a bronze vessel from the hand of the man of God and set out on the long road to that countess, and gave her the blessed water of Saint Ruadhan.

²⁰ Now rejoicing, the countess drank the water and sprinkled her body with it, and immediately what was in her womb was dissolved and vanished. And that lady herself, freed from her pains, was made whole and unharmed, and she gave thanks to God and to Saint Ruadhan.

²¹ When the countess wished to send gifts to Saint Ruadhan, his servant refused all of them except a certain linen cloth of the countess, which was placed upon the altar of Lothra, the monastery of Saint Ruadhan, for a long time. For thus Saint Ruadhan had commanded him when he sent him on his way.

²² At a certain time the ship of Saint Brendan, in the strait which is called Luimnech, in the western region of Munster toward the ocean, was sunk; and the son of the king of Britain, who was sleeping in the prow of the ship, was drowned. Saint Brendan said to some of his disciples: “Go quickly to Saint Ruadhan, and ask him in my name to come to us; for the Lord has granted to him that he may raise up our ship and restore to life the young man who has been drowned.” When Saint Ruadhan heard these things, he immediately went with them to Saint Brendan. And when he prayed at the place where the ship had been sunk, at once it rose from the depth of the strait and came to the shore where the saint was. In like manner also the son of the king, who had been drowned, rose alive from the depths of the sea, saying that the staff of Saint Ruadhan had been around him and that he had been restored to life by him. Now the powers of the two saints are shown in this miracle, that is, the prophecy of Saint Brendan and the strength of the prayer of Saint Ruadhan. And he who had been drowned lived afterwards for many days.

²³ There were ninety monks in the monastery of Lothra with Saint Ruadhan, to whom almighty God, without any labor except prayer and bending of the knees, granted food. For there was a certain tree in the court of the monastery, whose sap sufficed for the same monks and for guests. For the sap of that tree was very sweet and sufficed for all who tasted of it both as food and as drink. When this was heard, throughout all Ireland monks fled from their cells to the place where they heard of so great a grace of God. For the same monks with their guests tasted nothing else except the sap of the same tree with vegetables.

²⁴ Then the saints of Ireland, being indignant, having taken counsel, asked Saint Finnian, the master of Saint Ruadhan, that he would ask his foster-son, namely Ruadhan, to cease from this idle life with his monks, lest he provide murmuring to the other saints, whose monks were fleeing to Saint Ruadhan. Now by the command of the saints of Ireland the holy father Finnian went from his monastery of Clonard to Lothra, the monastery of Saint Ruadhan. And with the permission of Saint Ruadhan he signed the tree with the sign of the holy cross, and immediately the tree ceased to flow with its sap.

²⁵ When this had been done, the cellarer said to Saint Ruadhan: “What will the brothers and the guests eat and drink this neart?” To him Saint Ruadhan said: “Almighty God will send us refreshment; but pour water into your vessels, and the power of Christ, for the sake of my father Finnian, will turn it into wine.” And so all things came to pass. The cellarer himself, drawing water with the servants from the stream of the monastery, a fish of wonderful size burst forth through a stone, which sufficed for the inhabitants of that place that night, whose mark in the stone remains until today. And the water was changed into the strength and taste of wine, and they gave thanks to God, magnifying his saints.

²⁶ And Saint Finnian blessed the field of the monastery of Lothra, saying to its monks: “Pray to God and cultivate the land, and without any dressing of manure, by its own richness, it will always give you its fruit by the gift of God.” And so it is. And when the saints had blessed one another, Saint Finnian departed in peace on his way. But Saint Ruadhan remained in his monastery of Lothra, commanding his monks to live as the others do.

²⁷ At the same time there was in Ireland a powerful and peaceful king, who reigned in Tara, whose name was called Diarmaid son of Cerball. He established a very firm peace in his kingdom and commanded that no one should dare to give even a blow to anyone in anger. But the prefect of the king went into the province of the Connachtmen, that is, into the region of Uí Maine, and his herald was with him. That herald, persuaded by the devil, resolved that he would not pass through fortresses unless those fortresses were broken down, so that he himself might enter holding a spear crosswise in his mouth, and thus he boasted the power of the king in a чуж land.

²⁸ And when he came to a certain fortress, it was destroyed for him, as we have said, because of fear of the prefect and of the king. But the king did not know this. When the lord of that fortress came to his house and saw the gate of his fortress destroyed, he was filled with unbearable anger and killed that herald. And because of fear of the king he left his homeland with all his household and came to the province of the Munstermen, to the region of Muskerry, to a certain holy bishop named Senach.

²⁹ That lord who had killed the same herald was called Áed, and he was a bold warrior. Now the mother of that Áed and the mother of Saint Senach were two sisters. And the blessed bishop, not being able to keep the guilty man with himself, led him to Saint Ruadhan, that he might defend him. And Saint Ruadhan received him under his protection, wishing to help his misery. Two sisters of Saint Ruadhan, Cél and Ruadhnait, had nourished Bishop Senach.

³⁰ But King Diarmaid, hearing of the killing of a man in his kingdom, was greatly indignant and sent persecution after him, so that he might not be able to live. And when King Diarmaid learned that Áed had fled into Britain, he sent his embassy to the king of Britain that Áed might not be able to remain there. And Áed, not daring to be in Britain, was brought back secretly into Ireland to Saint Ruadhan, and he was hidden with Saint Ruadhan in a certain pit in the ground. But this was reported to the king by envious and malicious men.

³¹ Therefore, when the king learned this, he himself came to Saint Ruadhan, in order to take Áed away from him. Saint Ruadhan had built many places, as we have said above, and in one of them Saint Ruadhan was then staying when the king went to him. And that monastery is called Poll Ruadháin, which is in the southern part of the region of Osraige, on the bank of the river Suir, opposite the region of na nDéisi.

³² And when the king came to the same monastery of Saint Ruadhan, that is, Poll Ruadháin, he sent his soldiers to bring Áed out to him. And when the king’s charioteer entered the cell before all the others, his eyes were struck blind; but the others, fearing, returned to the king. Then the king himself, knowing that Saint Ruadhan did not speak falsehood, entered and questioned him, saying: “Where is Áed, the culprit of the king?” The saint answered him: “I do not know, unless he is under you.” For the king was standing over the pit in which Áed was.

³³ Then the king, not questioning Saint Ruadhan further, went out a little from the cell. But there he remembered, pondering the words of Saint Ruadhan, that is: “I do not know, unless he is under you.” And the king immediately returned to the same place, and, lighting a lamp, ordered one of his attendants, who was called Donnán, to dig the pit in which Áed was. And when that man had lifted his hand with the hoe, his hand at once withered and remained immovable.

³⁴ And doing penance, that soldier Donnán was healed, and the charioteer who had been blinded was healed with him; and both, receiving the holy habit with Father Ruadhan, afterwards lived in great holiness. These two saints lie named in that same monastery of Poll Ruadháin, whose life provided good examples for many.

³⁵ King Diarmoid, however, entered the monastery and brought Aed out of the pit, and he ordered his men to carry him to Temoria, that is, to his own city, so that all might see his torments. Saint Ruadhan, however, struck his cymbal over the king. And still wishing to defend Aed, he went with the king to Temoria, and Saint Brendan with him.

³⁶ When the saints arrived at Temoria, namely Ruadhan and Brendan, they lifted up their cymbals and, fasting, sang against the king. But on the first night the king did not listen to them, making little of it. In that same night, twelve sons of twelve dukes of Ireland, who had been reared with the king in Temoria and whom the king loved greatly, died.

³⁷ And a great mourning arose in the king’s hall. And the fosterers of the sons and their parents came and said to the king: “Ruadhan has killed our sons.” On the next day the fosterers of the sons came, weeping, to Saint Ruadhan, and they made before him a pitiful complaint about the death of the innocent sons.

³⁸ Saint Ruadhan, however, moved by mercy, prayed to the Lord for the dead, and immediately, while he was praying, the twelve little boys rose from death. And those who saw so great a miracle were filled with fear, and they glorified the grace of Christ in Saint Ruadhan. But the king was unwilling to relax the pact of his kingship.

³⁹ The saints were fasting and praying against the king. When the king learned this, he too was fasting and praying against the saints. And the saints availed nothing against him, while the king himself was fasting and praying. For the king was a peaceful defender of the fatherland, a helper of churches and of the poor, truthful in speech, just in judgment, and firm in faith.

⁴⁰ Now one night the saints pretended to eat, but did not eat. And the king, thinking that the saints had eaten, himself ate, and that night he slept. And in that same night the king saw a dream.

⁴¹ He saw a splendid tree reaching up to heaven, under whose shade Ireland stood; and he saw twelve elders with their disciples, in the number of one hundred and fifty, cutting it down with axes. And one of them, stronger than all, was cutting down the tree; and the tree fell to the ground. And the sound of the falling tree woke the king from his sleep in terror, and the cry of the synod then chanting filled his ears.

⁴² And the king at once understood his whole vision by divine insight: that he himself was that tree, who governed Ireland; and that those twelve elders with the others cutting down the tree were Saint Ruadhan and Saint Brendan with ten other holy fathers and their disciples; and that Ruadhan was the one cutting down the tree more strongly; and that the fall of the tree meant the end of his life and of his reign, to be given to the saints by God. And thus the king interpreted the dream to his friends.

⁴³ And the king himself came to the saints as they were keeping vigil, and said to them: “I have strengthened the regions, and I have made a firm pact in every place, that there might be firm peace everywhere for churches and peoples. I defend the good according to the law of Christ; but you do evil in defending a man guilty of death. For from a small thing many evils will arise.”

⁴⁴ The king turned to Saint Ruadhan and said to him: “For this deed which you have done, Ruadhan, you will receive vengeance from the Holy Trinity. For your parish will be the first in Ireland to fail.”

⁴⁵ Then King Diarmoid and Saint Ruadhan himself entered into a wretched conflict with one another. For Saint Ruadhan answered the king, saying: “Your kingdom will fail first, and from your seed no one will reign forever.”

⁴⁶ The king said: “Your beloved place will be deserted, and swine will overturn it with their snouts.” Ruadhan said: “This your royal city of Temoria, in which the kingdom of Ireland has been ruled for many years, will be empty a hundred years beforehand.” The king answered: “Your body from this day will have a blemish, and one of your members will perish; and one of your eyes will never see the light.” Ruadhan replied: “Your body will be slain by enemies, and your limbs will be separated from one another.” The king said: “A fierce boar will pierce your pyramid with his tusk.” Ruadhan said: “Your thigh, which was not raised before me, will not be buried with your body; but a day will come when a certain man, from atop his dung-cart, will throw it from the dung-heap of his sheep.”

⁴⁷ Then the king, seeing that Saint Ruadhan had spoken harsher things to him, turned to all the saints and said: “You, fathers, truly defend iniquity; but I now defend truth in the name of Christ. You have slain me and destroyed my kingdom; for God loves you more for your merits than me; but in the mercy of my God I will hope. Go therefore, and lead that man away free, and restore the price to the kingdom for him.” This word the saints gladly heard.

⁴⁸ Afterward, thirty horses of hyacinth color, appearing from the sea, came to Temoria and boldly entered through all to Saint Ruadhan. And he said to the king: “Receive these splendid and swift horses, sent by God as the price for your captive.” But the king gave those horses to the dukes and princes of Ireland.

⁴⁹ After this, the saints and King Diarmoid, being reconciled, prayed for one another. But the things which Saint Ruadhan and the king had earlier said against one another in their conflict are truly fulfilled day by day. And Saint Ruadhan, having released Aed free, reconciled, returned from Temoria to his own place. But the same horses, after a short time, of themselves returned into the sea from where they had come.

⁵⁰ And when Saint Ruadhan had departed from Temoria, certain lepers met him on the road, asking him to give them alms. And Saint Ruadhan gave them the horses of his chariot. And immediately two stags from a nearby forest came to Saint Ruadhan, and they placed their necks, tamed and gentle, under the chariot of the saint. And thus they went out with Saint Ruadhan until he came to his cell.

⁵¹ On a certain day, when Saint Ruadhan was making a journey with his disciples, they found a tree lying across the road, and they could not lead the chariot because of that tree. When Saint Ruadhan saw this, he blessed that tree with the sign of the holy cross; and at once the wood rose up on high, and for a long time that tree stood upright.

⁵² At another time Ruadhan commanded his monks that, at the coming of holy guests, they should eat meat. But there was there a certain converted monk who was unwilling to eat meat with the brothers at supper in charity. And the bread which he was eating appeared to all to be raw and bloody flesh.

⁵³ When the holy father Ruadhan saw this, he blessed a certain portion of the meat which they were eating, and made bread from it before that convert. Then that convert did penance before the saints and was healed. And when Saint Ruadhan blessed the raw flesh which, in the hand of that convert, had been made bloody flesh from bread because of his disobedience, it was again changed back into bread. And the holy guests and the brothers, seeing such things, were strengthened in the love of God and in the honor of Saint Ruadhan.

⁵⁴ On a certain day in summer, twelve lepers came to Saint Ruadhan in a dry land, seeking alms from him. Then Saint Ruadhan pressed his staff into the ground, and immediately from there a clear spring rose up. And he made there a pool, and he ordered the lepers to wash themselves in it.

⁵⁵ And as the lepers washed themselves in it, all came out of the water cleansed from leprosy. And seeing that they had been made clean, they gave thanks to God and to Saint Ruadhan. And that pool, from the name of Saint Ruadhan, is called so even to this day.

⁵⁶ When at another time guests arrived on a cold day, Saint Ruadhan ordered his disciples to light a fire quickly for those who were cold. But when no vessel was immediately found in which the fire might be carried to the house of the guests, the holy father Ruadhan, burning with charity, with his own hands placed fire in the bosom of one of his disciples; and not only were his garments not burned, but not even the color of his clothing was changed.

⁵⁷ For a long time a certain hind used to come to Saint Ruadhan about sunset, and she was milked for Saint Ruadhan. And that same hind, running swiftly over a long journey, came on the next day in the morning to Saint Colman of Ela, and the hind was milked for him. And thus the hind lived between the two saints, and the saints lived from her milk.

⁵⁸ At another time, when Saint Ruadhan was living with his monks in the monastery which was formerly called Daire Ethnech (but is now called Daire na Fland, in which most religious men always dwell, and which is situated on the border of the regions of Eile and Eoganacht), Saint Bishop Columbanus, son of Darane, who dwelt in the place called Daire Mór, sent a vessel full of butter to Saint Ruadhan and his monks on a cart drawn by two oxen.

⁵⁹ Between the same places there is a very great and very wet marsh, which is called the marsh of the lake of Lurgan. For formerly there was there a lake, in which there was a very poisonous beast, which killed many. And a certain very brave hero named Ferdomuyn cut it in two parts with one stroke of the sword; but the hind part of the beast, swimming to him through the water, cut him through the belly near the ground, and he died there. Of whom it is related that in one battle he killed six hundred soldiers. He was of the race of the men of Leinster.

⁶⁰ And when the oxen came to that marsh, they found a flat and very firm road through the marsh all the way to the cell of Saint Ruadhan, a road which no one found there either before or after.

⁶¹ From the beginning of spring until Pentecost that vessel was divided among Saint Ruadhan’s one hundred and fifty monks with their guests; and on the day of Pentecost that vessel, by God’s gift, was found full of butter.

⁶² At a certain time, when the holy old man Ruadhan was in a certain place, a woman came to him with tears, asking him to raise her dead son from death in the name of Christ. Seeing the misery of her, the holy old man prayed to God for him. And while Saint Ruadhan was praying, the boy rose from death, and he gave him back alive to his mother.

⁶³ Another boy, in the region of Hua Luigdech, the most holy old man Ruadhan, by the grace of God, raised from death. For when the boy had died and had been placed beneath the chasuble of Saint Ruadhan, he immediately rose from death and lived for many days.

⁶⁴ A third boy also the most blessed old man Ruadhan raised from death in the region of Eile. And that place in which that boy was raised after he had died was formerly called Cullen, but now is called Tulach Ruadayn, that is, the Hill of Ruadhan. For the father of the boy who had been raised offered that son himself, together with that field, to God and to Saint Ruadhan.

⁶⁵ There was a most wicked man in the region of Meath, named Eighmach, who at one time offered a village to Saint Bishop Aed, son of Brich, that he might build there a cell for God. And the holy bishop promised that impious man the kingdom of heaven.

⁶⁶ Afterwards that man died, and demons seized him and carried him away with them. But Saint Bishop Aed, wishing to fulfill in God what he had promised, prayed to Christ, and for his soul fought against the demons in the air. And when the demons had prevailed and had begun to drag the soul of that wretched man away from the holy bishop, he called Saint Ruadhan and Saint Columba of Iona to his aid.

⁶⁷ But the saints heard him spiritually from afar, and they came swiftly to him in the same manner in which he had gone out; and immediately they overcame the demons and led the soul of the same man to rest. But the mystery of this matter the almighty God and the saints themselves know.

⁶⁸ And when the saints had come down from heaven, they greeted one another; and each of them ran at the sound of his own cymbal then ringing. Saint Columba, therefore, had in his hand a little writing-tablet from which he used to write, which shone with the color of gold, and he gave it to Saint Ruadhan. At that time Saint Columba was staying on the island of Iona.

⁶⁹ And Saint Baithenus, who succeeded Saint Columba, on a certain day questioned him, saying: “Where is your writing-tablet which you have had for many days?” Saint Columba answered him: “I and Saint Ruadhan, fighting against the demons for the soul of a wretched man together with Saint Bishop Aed, gave it into the hand of Saint Ruadhan.”

⁷⁰ Marveling at this, Saint Baithenus was told by Saint Columba: “You are now going to Ireland; go to Saint Ruadhan, and you will find my writing-tablet with him, and bring it back here to me.” But Saint Ruadhan prophetically foresaw the coming of Saint Baithenus as he was coming to him, and ordered that the necessary things be prepared for him. And Saint Baithenus found him, just as Saint Columba had foretold to him; and after the kiss of peace he returned from Saint Ruadhan.

⁷¹ After these things, and other similar miracles, our most holy old man Ruadhan, in his most venerable old age, began to fall sick to death. And many saints from here and there came together for his passing.

⁷² Father Ruadhan, since he himself had been born of the race of kings, had a royal bearing. For the length of his body was twelve feet. Outwardly he was fair, but fairer within. Noble according to men, but more noble according to God. Great in body, but greater in grace. Great before men, but greater before God.

⁷³ He was full of charity and humility, of patience and mercy, and of other good works. For these most excellent things, therefore, our patron Ruadhan attained great glory before God and men. On the seventeenth day before the Kalends of May, the most blessed old man Ruadhan passed to heaven, and his most happy body was honorably buried by the holy fathers in his city of Lothra.

⁷⁴ For the benefits of God are worked at his relics at all times. For he has honor and everlasting reward in heaven in the sight of the eternal Father, and of Jesus Christ his Son, our Lord, and of the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, to whom, the triune and one God, be honor and glory to ages of ages. Amen.

⁷⁵ Here ends the Life of Saint Ruadhan, Bishop and Confessor.