Irish Monasticism part 1
The ‘Catalogue of the Saints of Ireland’ divided the Saints of
Ireland into three orders. The first contains all those bishops deemed
to have received their ministry from St Patrick. The second lists monks
who had received their ministry from Britain. The third consists of
hermits. But the document is of 9C or even 10C and is clearly designed
to boost the prestige of Patrick and his bishops over against the monks
and hermits. But these orders were not consecutive but contemporary one
with another and should be dated to the 6C. This century was one of
great expansion which saw not only bishops, but monks and hermits,
spreading everywhere in Ireland. The result was that the monasteries
became the de facto centres of the church. Monasticism, with its
multiple forms, had great appeal because its adaptability.
The traditional founder of the monastic movement is said to have been
St Finnian
of Clonard (548) who had received training in Wales. He was undoubtedly
a great founder and teacher. But there were many before him.
Patrick’s relation to the monastic life is unclear though interesting.
Some deny he founded any monasteries on the grounds that bishops came
first and monks later. Yet St Patrick was firmly in favour of the
dedicated life; he refers to it four times. Most explicit is his
statement that, ‘The sons of the Irish and the daughters of their kings
are monks and brides of Christ’. But even if this only referred to
individuals not communities – and this is not clear- for a bishop in the
5th C to be so positive is unusual. His companion
St Tassach
(470), founder of the church at Raholp just 2 miles from Saul, is said
to have spent 7 years on Rathlin O’Birne off the coast of Donegal with
other hermits before 500. If so this is of extraordinary interest.
St Enda
(530) spent many years first as a hermit, founder of a monastery and
teacher of many on Inishmore, the main island of Aran Co Galway.
St Donard (507) at Maghera Co Down is said to have had a hermit’s cell on top of Slieve Donard in the Mountains of Mourne.
St Forthchern (5C), who is said to have been a bishop and then a hermit in Meath, may have been the teacher of Finnian.
St Buite
(523) founded Monasterboice in Co Louth. St Senan (546) evangelised
West and South Clare and he and his disciples founded many places around
the Clare coast and on the islands of the Shannon estuary. There are
also several remarkable women saints from the early period,
St Gobnait (5C) at Ballyvourney (Co Cork),
St Arraght (5C) at Killaracht and Monasteraden (both Co Sligo),
St Monnina at Killevy (Co Armagh) (517),
St Brigit (524) at Kildare,
St Bronagh at Kilbroney, Rostrevor (Co Down) and St Ita (570) at Killeedy (Co Limerick).
St Columba (597) was perhaps the most prolific founder of
monasteries of all. Born at Garten in Co Donegal, he was of royal blood,
of commanding stature and evidently of great charisma. He eventually
left Ireland for Scotland where, from this base on Iona, he evangelised
among the Picts. His ‘Life’ written by St Adamnan gives a vivid picture
of an Irish saint and Irish monasticism..
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