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Saint Conal
Irish bishop
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 18 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
401
Died
500
verified
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Conal was bishop of the church of Drum, now Drumconnell, near Boyle in County Roscommon, in the second half of the fifth century. He was the half-brother of St Attracta.
He is known as 'Blessed Conal of Drum' and died about 500.
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
An early bishop of Connacht.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Conal
- Wikidata Q7401137 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Conal (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.