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As a boy of Magh Lacha, Ireland, Senan was so precocious in his piety that once, while walking with his mother, having observed her eating berries that she had plucked along the way, he reprimanded her for snacking between meals. Years later, after serving in the military, Senan resolved to become a religious, receiving his spiritual formation from the abbot Cassidus. The latter subsequently sent him to the abbot of Kilmanagh, Saint Natalis. At Kilmanagh Senan became known for his great holiness and the miracles he wrought, with increasing numbers of the faithful coming to hear his wisdom and to ask for his prayers. Natalis thereafter sent Senan out to found a new monastery, instructing him to go wherever divine providence led him. Following a pilgrimage to Rome and back, Senan was guided by an angel to Scattery Island, where he founded the monastery of Iniscathay. Senan was also consecrated a bishop, with Iniscathay as his episcopal seat. While returning from a visit to his aunt’s convent, Senan heard a voice from heaven telling him, “Senan, servant of God, you are called to heaven.” Later that same day, he died.