Abbán
saint
Feast: 16 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Abbán of Magheranoidhe (also written Murneave or Murnevin) was a nephew of St. Ibar, the apostle of Wexford, and a son of Cormac, King of Leinster. He founded many churches in Ui Cennselaigh, the district that roughly matches today's County Wexford and Diocese of Ferns.
His chief monastery was at Magheranoidhe, later called Abbanstown and now Adamstown, and he also founded an abbey at New Ross that later became well known as a place of learning. He died on 16 March 620.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Leinster prince who founded many churches and monasteries in Wexford.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Abban of Magheranoidhe
- Wikidata Q305843 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Abbán (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.