Legend of Ciara
Pronunciation: Key-rah
Meaning: Ciara (alternately Chera, Chier, Ciara, Cyra, Céire, Keira, Keara, Kiara, Kiera, Ceara, Cier, Ciar) is derived from the old Gaelic word Ciar, meaning dark or black; also beauty and strength
Legends:
In ancient Celtic mythology, Ciara was associated with the goddess Ciar, who symbolized the dark forces of nature.
Saint Ciera of Ireland was an abbess in the 7th century who died in 679. Her history is probably commingled with another Cera (alternately Ciar, Ciara) who lived in the 6th century. However, some authors maintain that monastic mistakes account for references to Cera in the 6th century or that a single Cera had an exceptionally long life span.
According to one story, St. Ciara was called upon by St. Brendan to quell a fire at his monastery which she did by saying a single prayer.
In a variation of this first story, Ciera's prayers saved a whole town from a foul-smelling fire. When a noxious blaze broke out in "Muscraig, in Momonia," St. Brendan instructed the inhabitants to seek Ciera's prayers. They followed his instructions, Ciera prayed in response to their supplications, and the fire disappeared. Since St. Brendan died in 577, this story likely refers to an earlier Ciera. "Muscraig, in Momonia" may refer to Muskerry, an area outside of Cork. "Momonia" refers to southern Ireland in at least one ancient map.
We speculate that St. Brendan was a Capuchin monk, from which cappuccino got its name.
The other story relates how St. Ciera established a nunnery called Teych-Telle around the year 625. Ciera was the daughter of Duibhre (or Dubreus) reportedly in the bloodline of the kings of Connor (or Conaire). She, along with five other virgins asked Saint Fintan Munnu for a place to serve God. He and his monks gave the women their abbey in Heli (or Hele). Heli may have been in County Westmeath. He blessed Ciera, and instructed her to name the place after St. Telle who had given birth to four children, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the plain of Miodhluachra that day.
St. Ciera eventually returned to her own province and founded another monastery, Killchree, which she governed until her death in 679. The later Franciscan Kilcrea Friary stands about a mile west of where her monastery stood, and claims to have taken its name, Kilcrea, in her honor: "Kilcrea (Cill Chre) means the Cell of Cere, Ciara, Cera or Cyra."
Sources: Ancestry.com | Wikipedia
