OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Category: Female Saints

  • Saint Brigid, March 14

    March 14 is the feast of a Saint Brigid, around whose precise identity much confusion reigns. Canon O’Hanlon’s source is Bishop Forbes’ Scottish Kalendars and so we can turn directly to this account:

    BRIGIDA II. V, March 14.—

    A Scotch S. Brigida’s relics were preserved in Abernethy. It is probable that there were two saints of this name. —(See Ussher, Works, edition Elrington, vol. vi 256, 257, 451.) A Brigida is said, in the Irish Life of S. Cuthbert, to have been brought from Ireland, and educated by S. Columba with S. Cuthbert at Dunkeld.—(Libellus de Nativitate S. Cuthberti, c. xxi.) The Brigida of Abernethy is associated with the nine Maidens. See Mazota. [1]

    O’Hanlon reproduces this information but ends by saying that ‘Most likely, the present St. Brigida, or Brigid, was an Irish saint.’ He does not, however, have any supporting evidence to offer nor does he address the Scottish links in the sources.

    Miss Agnes Dunbar in her work on women saints also mentions the Scottish Brigid of Abernethy:

    The Aberdeen Breviary, in the story of St. Mazotta, says that St. Brigid of Abernethy was cousin of Graverdus, king of the Picts, who during his wars with the Britons was admonished by supernatural means to send to Ireland for Brigid, and follow her advice. She came with St. Mazota and eight holy virgins, and settled at Abernethy, and there built a church, where the king was baptized. [2]

    and the Dunkeld Brigid:

    St. Brigid March 14. An Irish virgin, brought up at Dunkeld with St. Cuthbert, by St. Columba. Bishop Forbes, Scot. Cal [3]

    There may be a third possiblity, that Brigid of Abernethy is a manifestation of the cult of Saint Brigid of Kildare in Scotland. It is interesting that the Aberdeen Breviary mentions that the Pictish King ‘sent to Ireland for Brigid’ and Abernethy seems to have enlisted not only Ireland’s patroness but also our patron in its foundation story:

    Special notice has here been taken of St Bridget’s connection with the church of Abernethy, in as much as the Aberdeen Breviary links the story of St Mazota with that of the Abbess of Kildare, thereby removing Mazota to a date earlier than her own. The narrative in the Breviary is thus given by Bishop Forbes: “Graverdus, son of Domath, the distinguished king of the Picts, and cousin of S. Brigida, while fighting against the Britons, is supernaturally warned to send for her to Hibernia and to obey her precepts. S. Brigida obeyed the summons, and with nine holy virgins came from Hibernia to Scotia, and settled at Abirnethy close to the Taye on the south, in which places he erected a basilica in honour of Almighty God and the Virgin Mary, in which the king with all his family was baptized. Mazota was the most remarkable of these virgins, and she followed in all things the steps of Brigida. The king of the Picts promised that the church should be dedicated by S. Patrick, at that time dwelling in Scotia, and there Mazota with the other virgins continued to serve God, till they all died and were buried. No tongue can tell the miracles that God in Heaven caused to take place by her agency.” We may remark in passing that an interesting reminiscence of St Bride’s Nine Maidens was to be met with till recent times in Sanquhar parish, Dumfriesshire, where “it was customary to resort on May-day to St Bride’s Well, where each maiden presented nine smooth white stones as an offering to the Saint, which correspond in number with St Bride’s nine virgin attendants.” [4]

    Interesting too in this regard is the fact that Saint Darlugdacha, the immediate successor to Saint Brigid at Kildare, is also part of the foundation legend of Abernethy:

    Thomas Innes says, “The death of Brigid was soon after followed by that of Darlugtach Virgin, her disciple : the same who came over to Britain in the time of Nectan, the third king of the Picts, and conversed with him on the first foundation of the ancient church of Abernethy. Her feast is celebrated February the first.”—(Innes, Civ. and Eccl. Hist, of Scotland, p. 128: Spalding Club. See Irish Nennius, p. 163) [5]

    So, in summary we can say that there is a record of the commemoration of a Saint Brigid in Scottish sources on March 14 with two possible identities proposed (1) Brigid of Abernethy and (2) Brigid of Dunkeld. I doubt though that we will ever be able to say with any confidence who exactly the Saint Brigid commemorated on March 14 actually was.

    [1] Alexander Penrose Forbes, D.C.L. Bishop of Brechin, Kalendars of Scottish Saints, (1872), 291-2.

    [2] A dictionary of saintly women (Volume 1) (London, 1904), 135-6.

    [3] ibid.

    [4] J.M.Mackinley, ‘Traces of the Cultus of the Nine Maidens in Scotland’ in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Volume 40 (1906), 259.

    [5] Forbes, op.cit., 321.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Foila of Killeely, March 3

    A female saint of the west, Foila of Killeely, County Galway is commemorated on March 3. Canon O’Hanlon has this account of her:

    St. Foila or Foilenna, Virgin, and Patroness of Kill-faile now Killeely Parish, County of Galway.

    Colgan could not procure any special Acts of this saint, who was venerated in the southern parts of Connaught, in his own time. However, he and the Bollandists have short notices of her, at this day. St. Foilenna, Failenna, or Fallenda, or as more commonly called, St. Foila or Faila, also denominated Foilend, or Faoileann, is thought to have been daughter to Aidan, surnaraed Draignech, son to Lugadius, son to Dathy, King of Ireland; and, her mother, Cuillenn, or Cullenda, was likewise descended from a distinguished family. She had three brothers, Colgeus, or Colga, Aldus and Sorarius, who are numbered amongst the saints of our country. At what particular time St. Foila was born, we are not informed ; but, it was thought, probably, in an early part or towards the middle of the sixth century. It seems probable, she lived in Kill-faile. This place is identical with the present parish of Killeely, in the barony of Dunkellin, county of Galway. The old church there is yet in good preservation, being, in the opinion of Dr. O’Donovan, modernized during the 14th or 15th century. Measured on the inside, it is 63 feet long by 21 broad. The pointed or Gothic style there prevails. It is remarkable, that this parish joins Kilcolgan, where St. Faile’s brother, Colga or Colgan had been venerated. Both churches were near Ath cliath Medhruidhe, the ancient name for Clarinbridge. Both saints also belonged to the race of the Hy Fiachrach Aidhne. The church of Kill-faile derives its name from St. Foila, and it is situated within the diocese of Kilmacduagh. During her lifetime, St. Foila performed many miracles. The day and year of her death is not recorded ; but, the former probably fell on the 3rd of March, when her festival was kept, in the church of Kill-faile. It is commemorated on this day, according to the Martyrologies of Tamlacht, of Marianus O’Gorman, of Maguire and of Donegal. After her death, frequent pilgrimages were made to St. Foila’s tomb, from distant parts of the country, by persons afflicted with various maladies. For the cure of these, they reposed great confidence, in her merits and intercession.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Gobnait of Ballyvourney, February 11

    February 11 is the feastday of Saint Gobnait (Gobnet, Gobnata) of Ballyvourney. A previous post on her life can be found here. Below is a charming account of the saint and her locality, taken from the pioneering work on Irish pilgrimage by Daphne Pochin-Mould:

    St. Gobnet is one of many early Irish saints about whom there is no written record, only a continuing and deep love and devotion amongst the people of the countryside that she had travelled, and a handful of traditional stories. Her connection with St. Abban puts her in the 6th century but there is no further definition to be had about her dates. She was on the Aran Islands and founded a church there and the islanders still honour her on her day, February 11th. The tradition is that she came seeking shelter on the islands from some enemy in Co. Clare. But she was not to remain there permanently, for an angel appeared and told her that that she must go and seek a place where nine white deer were grazing. There she would found a convent and settle permanently, there she would die and there would be, in the Irish phrase, the ‘place of her resurrection’.

    So Gobnet went back to the mainland and travelled over southern Ireland seeking the white deer. There are a number of old Celtic church sites and holy wells bearing her name, and most of these still seem to be venerated and visited. They include a site at Dungarvan, in Co. Waterford, and at Ballyagran near Charleville, the Kerry sites of Dunquin, looking out to the Blasket Islands, and of Cahirciveen. Not till she came to Clondrohid in Co. Cork did she meet any deer, but there she found three white ones grazing. Here is a special stone still venerated in her name, Cloch Ghobnatan, Gobnet’s stone, and it is traditional to carry a coffin deiseal once round this before the burial takes place. Next the saint met six white deer, at Ballymakeera, the next hamlet to Ballyvourney; finally at the latter place she found the full complement of deer.

    St. Gobnet’s little settlement is in a place where one might indeed expect to find nine white deer grazing. The River Sullane, a tributary of the Cork Lee, takes origin in the moorland and rock of the Derrynasaggart mountains, flowing from them into a deep but spacious valley, its flanks checkered with fields, broken with woodland and coppice. Even today one can realize the kind of place it was in the 6th century, little fields amongst trees and grassy stretches of sunlit turf amongst the woods of birch and hazel and oak, where one would come upon deer grazing peacefully. Gobnet’s convent was high up on the slope of the valley, set well above the river, amongst this bosky country where the rock begins to show through the grass, and the fields end against moor and wood; from it there is a great outlook down the river valley.

    There are some pleasant traditions about St. Gobnet and her nuns at Ballyvourney. How a robber tried to build a castle in the glen and how Gobnet resisted him, throwing a stone ball at his constructions as soon as he had begun them and knocking them down. The ball returned to Gobnet of itself; eventually the man tired of his fruitless labour and went away; but the miraculous stone ball is still venerated at Ballyvourney, preserved in a niche in the wall of the old church. Again, another robber came to drive off all the Ballyvourney people’s cattle. St. Gobnet was a great bee-keeper; she turned the bees onto him and he, not unnaturally, fled, leaving behind his prey of beasts. One account makes the rather unnecessary addition of each bee turning into an armed soldier for the attack. St. Gobnet is always represented in art with her bee skip, or beachaire.

    The saint also stopped the plague spreading into the district, by her prayers; when illness did come she was a good nurse. One of her nuns was sick and Gobnet took her to a sequestered glen to recover, praying God that no noise or disturbance would worry the nun. Ever since not even the loudest thunder has been heard in this place. The saint was also noted for her kindness and generosity to the poor; when she was very young she was taking meat to give to the poor. She met her father, who objected violently to these practices, and demanded to know what she was carrying. She was forced to produce her basket, but it was full of flowers into which the meat had been miraculously changed.

    Out of the traditions something emerges; the little community of women on the hillside, with their bees and their garden and a little farm; Gobnet helping the Ballyvourney people and curing their sicknesses. The convent is no longer there but the saint’s help remains, and to ask her assistance the crowds still come both on February 11th and on Whitsunday, when a second big pilgrimage takes place…..

    D.D.C. Pochin Mould, Irish Pilgrimage (Dublin, 1955), 93- 95.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.