Biography
Ita of Killeedy
About Ita of Killeedy
Ita is remembered as the founder of a community of women at Killeedy in what is now County Limerick. The account of her life was written centuries after her death, and its royal ancestry, marriage refusal and miraculous episodes belong to hagiographic tradition.
The diocesan heritage account places her origins in the Tramore area of County Waterford and recounts her journey to Killeedy with her sister Fiona. It remembers a community engaged in prayer, teaching and care for people who were sick, poor or elderly.
A story still retold by Bishop Brendan Leahy in 2014 describes a local ruler offering Ita a large estate. She accepts only a small garden for the community. In this remembered episode, the community’s needs set the limit on what she takes.
Another tradition makes her a foster mother to Brendan and places him among those who seek her counsel. The Norwegian church biography cautions that this relationship is difficult to reconcile chronologically. The stories should therefore be read as traditions about her spiritual motherhood, rather than as a secure record of Brendan’s childhood.
Her death is generally placed around 570; the diocesan heritage account also records 569. A shrine among the church ruins at Killeedy is believed locally to mark her grave, and visitors cover it with flowers.
The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference lists Ita and Munchin as the patrons of the Diocese of Limerick. Her feast is January 15. The continuing diocesan celebration preserves the memory of a woman around whom a religious community formed.
Wondering how to weigh the stories and sources? Learn how to read a saint biography.