Saint Piran
Saint Piran or Pyran (; ), died c. 480, was a 5th-century Cornish abbot and saint, of Irish origin. He is the patron saint of tin-miners, and is also generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall, although Saint Michael and Saint Petroc also have some claim to this title. Traditionally, St Piran has been identified as the Irish saint Ciarán of Saigir. Saint Piran's Flag, a white cross on a black background, traditionally the emblem of the Cornish tinners, is the Cornish national flag. Saint Piran's Day falls on 5 March. Suggested Irish origins. Piran  is the most famous of all the saints said to have come to Cornwall from Ireland. By at least the 13th century, since Brittonic languages and Goidelic languages regularly alternate p and k sounds (see the classification of Celtic languages for an explanation), he had become identified as the Irish Saint Ciarán of Saigir who founded the monastery at Seir-Kieran in County Offaly. The Celtic Scholar Charles Plummer suggested that Ciaran of Clonmacnoise was the patron saint of Cornwall Saint Piran challenging the more broadly accepted belief that he was Ciaran of Saigir. The difference in spelling is for  dialect or linguistical reasons between the two Insular Celtic languages. Brytonic was categorized as P-Celtic, as it replaced the harder 'c' or k sound in the Goidelic languages with the softer letter 'p'. On the other hand, Goidelic was seen by scholars as being Q-Celtic, as one of the earliest Ogham inscriptions used a 'Q' represented by Queirt, which was symbolised by the Apple Tree to phonetically pronounce the k sound, although Q was later replaced by the letter 'C' in the Old Irish alphabet. The fourteenth-century "Life of Saint Piran", probably written at Exeter Cathedral, is  a complete copy of an earlier Middle Irish life of Saint Ciarán of Saighir, with different parentage and a different ending that takes into account Piran's works in Cornwall, and especially details of his death and the movements of his Cornish shrine; thus "excising the passages which speak of his burial at Saighir" (Doble). However, there is no shrine to him in Ireland. 5 March is the traditional feast day of both St Ciarán of Saighir and St Piran. However the Calendar of Launceston Church records an alternative date of 18 November for the latter. In Perranzabuloe parish Perran  Feast is traditionally celebrated on the last Monday in October. On the previous Sunday there are services at the site of St Piran's Oratory and in the parish church of St Piran. Death and veneration. It is said that at his death, the remains of the Blessed Martin the Abbot which he had brought from Ireland were buried with him at Perranzabuloe. His own remains were subsequently exhumed and redistributed to be venerated in various reliquaries. Exeter Cathedral was reputed to be the possessor of one of his arms, while according to an inventory, St Piran's Old Church , Perranzabuloe, had a reliquary containing his head and also a hearse in which his body was placed for processionals. In 1443, Cornish nobleman, Sir John Arundell bequeathed money in his Will for the preservation of the head of St Piran in the chapel at Perranzabuloe. The churches at Perranuthnoe and Perranarworthal were dedicated to Piran and holy wells at Perranwell and Probus, Cornwall are named after him. In Brittany St. Peran, Loperan and Saint-Perran are also named after him. The former Methodist chapel at Laity Moor has served as the Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael and Holy Piran since  1996. The earliest documented link to the design of the St Piran's Flag with St Piran is on the coat of arms of the "de Saint-Péran" or "Saint-Pezran" (pronounced "Péran") family from Cornouaille in Brittany. The earliest evidence known comes from the 15th century, with the arms being "De sable à la croix pattée d'argent." (a black shield with a white cross pattée). Mount St. Piran is a mountain in Banff National Park near Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, named after the saint. St Piran's crab, "Clibanarius erythropus", was also named in his honour, in 2016. St  Piran's Day. St Piran's Day on 5 March is popular in Cornwall and the term 'Perrantide' has been coined to describe the week prior to this day. Many Cornish-themed events occur in the Duchy and also in areas in which there is a large community descended from Cornish emigrants. The village of Perranporth ('Porthpyran' in Cornish) hosts the annual inter-Celtic festival of 'Lowender Peran', which is also named in honour of him. The largest St Piran's Day event is the march across the dunes to St Piran's cross which hundreds of people attend, generally  dressed in black, white and gold, and carrying the Cornish Flag. A play of the Life of St Piran, in Cornish, has been enacted since 2000 at the event. Daffodils are also carried and placed at the cross. Daffodils also feature in celebrations in Truro, most likely due to their 'gold' colour. Black, white and gold are colours associated with Cornwall due to St Piran's Flag (black and white), and the Duchy Shield (gold coins on black). In 2006 Cornish MP Dan Rogerson asked the government to make 5 March a public holiday in Cornwall to recognise celebrations for  St Piran's Day. In 2010, a short movie about St. Piran was made and premiered at the Heartland Film Festival.