Saints
of the
Archdiocese of Dublin
Read Alive-O 7 pupil
book pages 57 & 58 to
find the answers.
•
•
•
•
•
•
St Kevin
Why did Kevin go off to the
Wicklow mountains when he was
a young man?
Why did hermits and monks
sometimes pray with their arms
outstretched?
How do we know Kevin loved
God’s Creation?
What is your favourite legend
about St Kevin?
Where can we see one of the
best examples of a round tower
in Ireland?
According to legend,what age
was Kevin when he died?
3 June
Use the code below to find out what
Glendalough stands for?
=G =L
=K =O
=N
=F
=E
=W
     

 
=H =T
=A =S

Write your answer here:
__ __ __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
__ __ __
__ __ __ __ __
Find your A4
size poster of
St Kevin in your
Alive-O 7 Pack.
Watch the
Alive-0 7
DVD material
on the icon
of St Kevin.
Read the poem one of
our great Irish poets
wrote about St Kevin.
St Kevin and the Blackbird
And then there was St Kevin and the blackbird.
The saint is kneeling, arms stretched out, inside
His cell, but the cell is narrow, so
One turned-up palm is out the window, stiff
As a crossbeam, when a blackbird lands
and lays in it and settles down to nest.
Kevin feels the warm eggs, the small breast, the
tucked neat head and claws and, finding himself
linked
Into the network of eternal life,
Is moved to pity: now he must hold his hand
Like a branch out in the sun and rain for weeks
Until the young are hatched and fledged and flown.
And since the whole thing's imagined anyhow,
Imagine being Kevin. Which is he?
Self-forgetful or in agony all the time
From the neck on out down through his hurting
forearms?
Are his fingers sleeping? Does he still feel his
knees?
Or has the shut-eyed blank of under earth
Crept up through him?
Is there distance in his head?
Alone and mirrored clear in Love's deep river,
'To labour and not to seek reward,' he prays,
A prayer his body makes entirely
For he has forgotten self, forgotten bird
And on the riverbank forgotten the river's name.
Seamus Heaney
Sing “All the Nations of the
Earth” from Alive-O 8.
Down:
St Kevin Crossword
 1) Where did St Kevin study for
the priesthood?
 2) To what hill did St Kevin go to
meet other abbots in 544?
 3) On what kind of ground was
the first church built when others
began to join St Kevin?
 4) What was the name of the
bishop who ordained St Kevin?
 5) In what age was St Kevin's
bed believed to have been a
tomb?
St Kevin
Across:
 1) In what part of Co.
Wicklow did St Kevin settle?
 2) For how many years was St
Kevin believed to have lived
alone?
 3) What kind of building was
St Kevin's bed?
 4) Which saint is said to have
baptised St Kevin?
 5) What kind of life did St
Kevin live alone in Co.
Wicklow?
See Alive–O7 Teacher’s
Manual T 1 L8
Answers to St Kevin crossword:
Down: 
1) Killnamanagh
2) Uisneach
3) Holy
4) Bishop Lugidus
5) Bronze Age
Across: 
1) Glendalough
2) Seven
3) Cave
4) Crónán
5) Hermit
What is an icon?
Icons of Celtic
Saints
The word “icon” comes from
the Greek word for “image.”
It usually has no frame and
was normally painted on
wood.
Icons were considered more
than just a painting. They
were written after much
prayer, reflection and
meditation.
1) An icon usually has a frame.  x
2) Many icon painters were monks and
nuns living in monasteries.
x
3)The gold on an icon represents the
Presence of God as light.  x
4) Icons don’t often hold our
attention.  x
Read more about icons on p. 56
Book of Kells
of Alive-0 7
How about visiting Trinity College to view the Book of Kells?
Icon of St Kevin
3 June
Icon of St Laurence
14 November
St Laurence O’Toole
14 November
St Laurence O'Toole
(Lorcán Ó Tuathail) was
born in Castledermot,
Co. Kildare in 1128.
He became Abbot of
Glendalough in 1153 and
Archbishop of Dublin in
1162. He died in
Normandy on the 14th
of November 1180 and
was canonised in 1225.
See Alive-0 7
Who is the current
Archbishop of Dublin?
On this website ,there is a prayer service
for St Laurence O Toole’s Feast Day.
To learn more about the
Archdiocese of Dublin see
www.education.dublindiocese.ie
St Brigid
1 February
St Brigid- the early years
• St Brigid came from a • The family moved to
noble family like many
Kildare where St Brigid
others of our early
spent her childhood
saints
• Her father Dubthach • Brigid was baptised and
[Duffa]
was
a
raised as a Christian
distinguished
Leinster
chief descended from
• It is believed that St
the kings of Ireland
Brigid met St. Patrick
• Dubthach and his wife
when she was a child
lived for a time at
Faughart near Dundalk
• St Brigid was born about
the year 450
St Brigid
Read about the charism of
the Brigidine Sisters today
& how they live, inspired by
the person of Jesus and the
vision of St Brigid.
You can find their website
@ www.brigidine.org.au
A charism is a gift of the
Holy Spirit given to some
body or some group of
persons.
Read more about St Brigid in Alive-O
& Alive-0 2 Teacher’s Manual Term 2 Lesson 3
Sing “We sing a song to Brigid” in Alive-O 2 & 3
Maybe you
could visit
St Brigid’s
well in Co.
Kildare
For more about
St Brigid, look
in Catholic
Schools’ Week
Booklet
Prayers to St Brigid
One writer recently
referred to Brigid as:
“the woman who, above all
others, embodies the
spirit of pre-Christian and
Christian Ireland.”
Let us pray:
St Brigid’s Blessing
May Brigid bless the house wherein you dwell
Bless every fireside every wall and door
Bless every heart that beats beneath its roof
Bless every hand that toils to bring it joy
Bless every foot that walks its portals through
May Brigid bless the house that shelters you.
See our website for a prayer service for
St Brigid’s Feast Day.
Write your own prayer to St Brigid
St Brigid Mary of Ireland
ask for us all today,
the courage to do God's
bidding
whatever the world may
say.
The grace to be strong and
valiant,
the grace to be firm and
true
the grace to be faithful
always
to God, to Mary and you
Blessed Margaret Ball
30 January
Blessed Margaret Ball was born Margaret Bermingham about
_ _ _ _ in Skreen, Co. Meath.
She married Bartholomew Ball, a prosperous and important
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in Dublin.
As this was a time of religious persecution, it was well known
that Margaret provided
‘safe _ _ _ _ _ _’ for any bishops or _ _ _ _ _ _ who
might be passing through Dublin.
She would often invite her son _ _ _ _ _ _ to dine with
them on these occasions, hoping for his reconversion.
Margaret’s son Walter Ball was elected
_ _ _ _ _ of Dublin. He had his mother arrested and drawn
through the_ _ _ _ _ _ _ on a wooden hurdle, as she could no
longer walk, to Dublin _ _ _ _ _ _ where she was to be
imprisoned for the rest of her _ _ _ _. The conditions in jail
were extremely harsh and she _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ greatly and
died in prison in _ _ _ _. Blessed Margaret Ball is one of the
_ _ Irish Martyrs and her feast day is celebrated on the
30th _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
Perhaps you could visit the
Chapel of Blessed Margaret
Ball in Santry in Dublin
Find the missing words:
mayor
suffered
January
streets
1584
17
castle
life