St. Patrick - Ireland's Patron Saint

 

Stained glass image of St. Patrick. Photo: Wikipedia

Place of Birth

Much controversy surrounds the details of St. Patrick's life. He is believed to have been British by birth, the son of a decurio or town councillor. His place of birth is said to have been somewhere in the west between the mouth of the Severn and the Clyde. He was born sometime between 385 and 389. Patrick himself tells us he was of Romano-British origin. The names of his parents were Calpurnius and Concessa.

Captured Slave

While still a youth he was captured by Irish pirates and reduced to slavery. For six years he herded swine or sheep in Co. Antrim or on the coast of Co. Mayo. During the period of Patrick's captivity in Ireland he learned the native language and got to know the pagan practices of the Druid priests.

Escape

St. Patrick eventually escaped and returned to his family. However, he was constantly troubled by visions of the pagan Irish imploring him to walk among them once more.

Ordained Bishop

Patrick was later ordained a bishop and in the year 432 AD he returned to Ireland. He knew very well that if he was to succeed in Ireland then he must first convert the kings and chieftains. Otherwise, the people would not be allowed to worship in peace. He faced many dangers including assassination, the military might of kings, and opposition of the powerful druids whose very existence he threatened.

First Church

It was the Chieftain Dichu who gave Patrick a plot of land on which to build his first church in Co. Down. St. Patrick spent many years in Ireland although exactly how long we do not know. During this time, he travelled extensively. He writes:

“I journeyed among you, and everywhere, for your sake, often in danger, even to the outermost parts beyond which there is nothing, places where no one had ever arrived to baptise or ordain clergy or confirm the people.”

Celtic Religion and Art

Ireland, in those days, was quite different from Britain in many ways: it had its own language, political structures, customs and laws. It had not been invaded by Roman legions. It was also located at the furthest reaches of the known world.

Decorated Grave Slab from Carrowntemple, Co. Sligo (Replica)

We can also see the merging of pagan and Christian art as Christianity gradually replaced paganism. Two of the grave slabs at Carrowntemple, Co. Sligo, bear art of the Early Christian period that is derived from the Celtic art of the preceding Pagan Iron Age. One of these is close to a design in the Book of Durrow and is datable to c. 650 AD. Several of the panels of the seventh century Moylough Belt-shrine, found only a few miles west of Carrowntemple, have this same mix of Pagan and Christian artwork.

Early Irish texts suggest that holy wells may have remained associated with non-Christian rituals and were even protected by the old religion. For example, it is believed that wells were used instead of baptisteries in Ireland, which may explain the substantial number of holy wells throughout the country.

In some respects, the nature of the Celtic religion helped in the development of Christianity. Their belief in the indestructibility of the souls of the dead helped in understanding the resurrection of Christ. The Celts also had their own sacrifices and ritual meals which, in a sense, mirrored aspects of Christian message.

Lough Gara formerly known as Loch Techet

Patrick Travels to the West

We know from ecclesiastical history that he travelled to the west of Ireland. After visiting Elphin and Croghan, he came around the north of Loch Techet, the ancient name for Lough Gara, through the present townlands of Cuppenagh and Templeronan. It is said that he went to Gregraidhe of Loch Techet. The Gregraidhe (horse people) or Gregory comprised the baronies of Coolavin in Sligo and Costello in Mayo. According to an entry in the Annals of Tigernach (AU 665) Cummeni, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, was of the Gregraige of Loch Techet.

When the tribe responded to the Gospel, an enclosure would be set aside, with boundaries and ‘termon’ crosses, sometimes with a ditch, sometimes with a wall, clearly marking out to everyone that the area was sacred. Within it a tiny church of wattle and daub would be built.

Monasteries

Many monasteries were built at tribal meeting places or on tribal boundaries. As monastic communities grew, they attracted a resident local community. The monasteries provided for the spiritual needs of local families and taught the children. The monastery and the village grew together. Monks undertook tasks such as the creating and copying of literature and highly specialised metalware.

According to Tirechan, the Bishop of North Mayo, Patrick came from the plain of Mirteach, between Castlerea and Ballaghaderreen, to a place called Drummut Cerrigi or Drumad of the Ciarraige. This is now the townland of Drumad in the Parish of Tibohine. It is said that he dug a well here and no stream went into it or came out of it, but it was always full. The well was named Bithlan (i.e. ever full).

Here, the saint found two brothers, Bibar and Lochru, the sons of Tamanchend, fighting about the division of their father's lands. St. Patrick reconciled them by a miracle, and he blessed them and made peace between them. The brothers gave their land to Patrick, and he founded a church there.

Patrick then went to Aileach Esrachta which was at Telach Liac or Telach na Cloch, which later became known as Tullaganrock in the Parish of Kilcolman. It is said that local people were afraid of the stranger and the eight or nine men accompanying him, so they decided to kill him. The crowd was restrained by a brave man named Hercait of the race of Nathi. Hercait and his son Feradach were babtised and Feradach joined St Patrick. Patrick gave Feradach a new name calling him Sachail. He eventually became bishop and was associated with a famous church called Basilica Sanctorum which is now known as Baslik - a parish between Castlerea and Tulsk.

Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo. Photo: Wikipedia

Forty Days and Nights

Patrick spent forty days and nights fasting on the top of Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a church/oratory dating from the early Christian period on the top of this mountain. The entire summit was enclosed by a stone wall which may have been the enclosing wall of an early monastic site.

Death

We are told that when the shadow of death came near, Patrick returned to the first church he had built at Soul, Co. Down and died on March 17th, 461. There is, however, some uncertainty as to the actual year of his death.

Legend has it that St. Patrick expelled snakes from Ireland, explained the Trinity using the shamrock, and accomplished single-handed great missionary tasks of conversion. Scholars doubt if there were ever snakes in Ireland.

St. Patrick remains the most popular of Irish saints. In art, he is usually depicted wearing the vestments of bishop treading on snakes. In the National Museum of Ireland shrines survive of his bell and his tooth (12th & 14th century). His fame has spread throughout the world, and we celebrate his feast day on 17th March.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIphXep4nSQ

 

Ballymacombs More Woman

 

       The site in Bellaghy, Co Londonderry, where human remains were found in October 2023

Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Irish bog bodies are in the news again with the discovery in October 2023 of ancient human remains in a Co Derry bog. It was found by workers at a peat extraction company at Newferry, near Bellaghy. The remains have been dated to around 343 BC to 1 BC, during the Iron Age.

Originally believed to be male, it is now thought the remains are those of a woman aged between 17 and 22 years old who has been given the name Ballymacombs More Woman. The individual had an estimated height of around 1.7m (5' 6").

The study, led by National Museums NI, has involved collaboration with organisations across Ireland, the UK and Europe, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, Queen's University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Copenhagen, University of Glasgow, and University of Bradford.

This discovery has caused considerable excitement among archaeologists and is even more significant given that most of the bog preserved individuals that have been found from this period are male.

       The PSNI’s body recovery team at the site in Bellaghy

Photograph: Police Service of Northern Ireland/PA Wire

            The body was well preserved, but the skull was absent and was not recovered. Cut marks on the neck vertebrae indicate the cause of death as intentional decapitation, possibly as part of a ritual and sacrifice during the Iron Age period. Interestingly, part of an unidentified woven item made of plant material was also recovered from the burial site. Specialists are currently working to identify the object.

Bog Bodies

The term “Bog Bodies” is used to describe human remains which have been naturally preserved by the chemistry of Northern Europe’s bogs. Hundreds of bog bodies have been discovered in the boglands of Europe over the last few centuries, of which about 130 have been found in Ireland. Some of the human remains discovered show signs of torture and execution, with evidence of hanging, strangulation, stabbing and bludgeoning.

The Ballymacombs More Woman has been hailed as ‘one of the most important archaeological discoveries on the island of Ireland’ Photograph: Police Service of Northern Ireland/PA Wire

The oldest known bog body is the Koelbjerg Woman from Denmark, who has been dated to 8000 BC, during the Mesolithic period or Middle Stone Age. Most bog bodies – including famous examples such as Tollund Man, Grauballe Man and Lindow Man – date from the Iron Age and have been found in Northern Europe, particularly Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The newest bog bodies are those of soldiers killed in the Russian wetlands during the Second World War.

In 1950, Tollund Man’s discoverers “found a face so fresh they could only suppose they had stumbled on a recent murder.” Photograph: Smithsonian Magazine

Many bog bodies have been found in marginal areas such as ancient boundaries and wetlands. While most of Northern Europe lay under a thick canopy of forest, bogs did not and were open to the sky. In a sense, they were borderlands to what lay beyond. Radiocarbon dating shows that most bog bodies date from the Iron Age, between 500 B.C. and A.D. 100.

Other Irish Bog Bodies

In Ireland, Cashel Man was unearthed in 2011 in Cul na Mona bog in Cashel, County Tipperary.

In 2003, peat cutters found Oldcroghan Man and Clonycavan Man in two different bogs in Ireland. Both had lived between 400 and 175 B.C., and both had their nipples mutilated. The best-preserved bodies were all found in raised bogs, which contain few minerals and very little oxygen.

Kingship

Experts believe that many of the Irish Iron Age bog bodies are the remains of former kings who were sacrificed. The scarcity of such finds suggests that the sacrificial killings were only undertaken when a king’s reign had proven unsuccessful because of defeat in war, or due to famine or pestilence.

In ancient Ireland, sucking a king’s nipples was a gesture of submission and a means of placing oneself under the protection of the king. Archaeologists believe that the cutting of the nipples was part of the ritual in which he was ‘decommissioned’ from the role of king.

The archaeologist, Eamon Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland, points out that a key aspect of kingship was to ensure the annual success of the harvest, to safeguard crops and livestock from disease, and to prevent inclement weather, warfare, and theft.

Important discovery

Niamh Baker, Curator of Archaeology at National Museums NI, described the Ballymacombs More Woman as one of the most important archaeological discoveries on the island of Ireland".

"This important discovery gives us a glimpse into the lives of the people of our ancient past and offers insights into how they lived, interacted with their environment, and developed their cultures," she said.

Professor of Archaeology at the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen's University, Eileen Murphy, who conducted the osteological assessment which provided a biological profile for the individual and ascertained the cause of their death said:

“As is the case for so many Iron Age bog bodies, the young woman suffered a highly violent death which involved the flow of blood from her throat followed by decapitation.

The head was taken away, but the body was left where it fell only to be discovered by machine workers some 2,000 years later."

Conclusion

Ballymacombs More Woman from County Derry has been dated to 343 BC to 1 BC, during the Iron Age. The discovery is particularly significant given that most of the bog preserved individuals that have been found from this period are male. Cut marks on her neck vertebrae indicate the cause of death as decapitation, possibly as part of a ritual and sacrifice.

Other recent bog bodies from Ireland include Cashel Man, Oldcroghan Man and Clonycavan Man. Famous examples such as Tollund Man, Grauballe Man and Lindow Man, all dating from the Iron Age, have been found in Northern Europe, particularly Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

For more information see:

https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2024/0125/1428560-bog-body-derry/

            https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/europe-bog-bodies-reveal-secrets-180962770/

            https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/lindow-man-0013470

 

St Brigid (450-525 AD) – Feast Day: 1st February 2025

 

                             Saint Brigit as depicted in Saint Non's chapel, St Davids, Wales.

On, 1^st February, we celebrate the feast day of St Brigid of Ireland. Originally, this was a pagan festival called Imbolc which marked the beginning of spring.

Who was St Brigid?

St Brigid is one of the Patron Saints of Ireland, together with St Patrick and St Colmcille. She was born in Faughart, north of Dundalk, Co Louth in Ireland, approximately 450 AD and was the founder of the first monastery in County Kildare. Her father was a pagan chieftain of Leinster named   and her mother was a Christian slave named Brocca.

Dubthach’s wife insisted that he get rid of the slave girl. He sold Brigid’s mother to a poet but not the child in her womb for whom he was responsible. Later, the poet sold Brigid’s mother to a druid. As Brigid was filled with the Holy Spirit, she could not digest the druid’s ‘unclean’ food and

‘thereupon he chose a white cow and set it aside for the girl, and a certain Christian woman, a very God-fearing virgin, used to milk the cow and the girl used to drink the cow’s milk and not vomit it up as her stomach had been healed. Moreover, this Christian woman fostered the girl’.

When she was young, St Brigid wanted to join a convent. However, her father insisted that she marry a rich man to whom he had promised her hand. According to legend, Brigid prayed that her beauty be taken so no one would want to marry her and her prayer was granted. It was not until after she made her final vows that her beauty was restored. 

Brigid enlisted God’s help again to convince her father to give her land on which to build a convent. Her father agreed to give her as much land as her cloak could cover. It is said that the cloak grew to cover 2,000 acres of land! One of five ancient roads in Ireland that lead to Tara passed through Kildare.

According to tradition, around 480 AD Brigid founded a monastery at Kildare (Cill Dara: “church of the oak”), on the site of a pagan shrine to the Celtic goddess Brigit. Her monastery developed a reputation for hospitality, compassion and generosity. It was known as the ‘City of the Poor’. St Brigid worked with the sick, poor, and outcast.

As monastic communities grew, they attracted a resident local community. The monasteries provided for the spiritual needs of local families and taught the children. The monastery and the village grew together. The monks undertook tasks such as the creating and copying of literature and highly specialised metalware.

St Brigid’s Rush Cross

On one occasion, St Brigid was sitting by the sick bed of a dying pagan chieftain comforting him with stories of her faith in God. She told him the story of Christ on the cross while at the same time picking up rushes from the ground to make a cross. Before he died, the chieftain asked to be baptised. People made similar crosses to hang over the door of their homes to scare off evil, fire and hunger. Word spread of St Brigid’s kindness and faith and the making of the cross from rushes that we know today became associated with her name.

It was said that St Brigid could miraculously milk her cows three times a day to provide a meal for visitors. According to the Celtic tradition, the guest was seen as Christ and hospitality was extended in that spirit.

Brigid later founded a school of art that included metalwork and illumination. It was at this school that the Book of Kildare, which Gerald of Wales praised as "the work of angelic, and not human skill," was beautifully illuminated. Sadly, this book was lost three centuries ago.

We can also see the merging of pagan and Christian art as Christianity gradually replaced paganism. For example, two of the grave slabs at Carrowntemple, Co. Sligo, bear art of the Early Christian period that is derived from the Celtic art of the preceding Pagan Iron Age. One of these is remarkably close to a design in the Book of Durrow and is datable to c. 650 AD.

The Celts worshipped hundreds of gods and goddesses. In some respects, the nature of the Celtic religion helped in the development of Christianity. Their belief in the indestructibility of the souls of the dead helped in understanding the resurrection of Christ. The Celts also had their own sacrifices and ritual meals which, in a sense, mirrored aspects of Christian message.

Brigid’s enduring legacy

St Brigid still lives on 1,500 years later in the minds and hearts of the people of Ireland. Her monastery grew and grew and people from all over Ireland came here, many of whom joined the monastery. St Patrick and St Brigid paved the way for Christianity in Ireland and later to Europe.

Hundreds of holy wells are dedicated to St Brigid in Ireland. Early Irish texts suggest that holy wells may have remained associated with non-Christian rituals and were even protected by the old religion. For example, it is believed that wells were used instead of baptisteries in Ireland, which may explain the large number of holy wells throughout the country.

More places names in Ireland are named after St Brigid than St Patrick himself. St Brigid is associated with fertility on the land. Straw doll-like effigies of St Brigid known as Breedeag were used to bless homes.

St Brigid’s relevance today.

St Brigid appreciated the importance of the land, nature and the seasons. At a time when our planet is threatened by global warming and climate change, Brigid reminds us of the need to confront these challenges now. Today, we can learn from her example of compassion, kindness, generosity, and hospitality, as the World deals with the consequences of poverty, war, population displacement and the current Covid-19 pandemic.

On February 1^st, 525, St Brigid died of natural causes. Her body was initially kept to the right of the high altar of Kildare Cathedral. In 1185, John de Courcy had her remains relocated in Down Cathedral. Today, Saint Brigid's skull can be found in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Lumiar, Portugal. The tomb in which it is kept bears the inscription,

"Here in these three tombs lie the three Irish knights who brought the head of St. Brigid, Virgin, a native of Ireland, whose relic is preserved in this chapel. In memory of which, the officials of the Altar of the same Saint caused this to be done in January AD 1283."

In 1905 Sister Mary Agnes of the Dundalk Convent of Mercy took a purported fragment of the skull to St Bridget's Church in Kilcurry. In 1928, Fathers Timothy Traynor and James McCarroll requested another fragment for St Brigid's Church in Killester, a request granted by the Bishop of Lisbon, António Mendes Belo.

For further information please see:

 

References:

(1) Sacred Heart Messenger, February 2019 – article by John Scally

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UwJD00w9UM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndQKbE0M7l8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqpJkSfIrAc