Saint Dymphna

Dymphna was born in Clogher in County Tyrone, Ireland. Her father was a local chieftain. When her mother died, her father Damon scoured the world for a suitable and equally beautiful replacement. After the search failed, his advisors pointed out to the chief that his teenage daughter had inherited her mother’s looks. Driven mad by grief, Damon made advances on Dymphna. Together with her confessor, the elderly priest St. Gerebernus, she fled to Belgium. There they took refuge at a chapel near the present day site of Gheel, not far from Antwerp. However Damon’s spies tracked them down and the chief set out after them. Confronting them at Gheel, he ordered his soldiers to slay Gerebernus and begged Dymphna to return with him to Ireland. When she refused, he decapitated her in a rage. Locals later buried the two bodies.

The historical basis for this story is uncertain. There are variations in the legend and it has counterparts in the folktales of many European countries. The Irish version of her name is Davnet and has given its name to the village and parish of Tydavnet in County Monaghan in Ireland, just 10 miles from her birthplace in Clogher. She is thought to have established a church there and a Staff or Crozier attributed to her is now in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. The body of St. Dymphna is held in a silver reliquary in the Gheel church named in her honor, although the original church burnt down in the 15th century.