There’s more to Ireland than St. Patrick’s Day! There are also other saints, such as the famous Saint Finbarr of Cork (550 – 620). Also known as Saint Finbar, Finbarr, Finnbar, Barra or Fionnbharra in Irish, this high figure is notably known for having been bishop of Cork, but also abbot of a local monastery. Some extravagant miracles have also been attributed to him, but these have never been proven…
Gougane Barra’s St Finbarr’s oratory – © bacothelock
Did you know that Cork has its own patron saint? As the city’s cathedral, St Finbarr’s Cathedral, testifies, Cork is a city that remains particularly attached to this religious figure.
Although little information is available on the subject, Saint Finbarr is celebrated every year on September 25.
It is said to have originated in Bandon, and was originally called Lóchán. He was the son of Amergin de Maigh Seóla, an artisan from Galway.
An early scholar, he studied in Ossory, which would roughly correspond to present-day County Kilkenny. He soon dedicated his life to God and was renamed “Fionnbharra” after being tonsured.
He multiplied his pilgrimages, including to Rome.
On completing his studies, he returned home and lived for some time on an island in the small lake, then called Loch Irce (now Gougane Barra).
He then decided to build many small churches on the island of Ireland.
St Finnbarr Cathedral – © Madrugada Verde
He spent the last seventeen years of his life in Cork, where he founded a major monastery. The latter became an important cultural and religious center, attracting monks and students in large numbers. The place was so important that it gave rise to the expression “Ionad Bairre Sgoil na Mumhan”, which means:
Where Finbar taught, let Munster learn.
A phrase that became the motto of today’s University of Cork.
It is precisely on the site of this monastery that today’s Saint Finnbarr’s Cathedral, Cork’s most famous cathedral, stands.
Saint Finbarr died in Cloyne, near Cork, on his way back from a visit to Gougane Barra. He is buried in St. Gilles Abbey, Cork (Gill Abbey), on the site where St. Finbarr’s Cathedral is now built.
For the record, Irish legend has it that the sun didn’t set for two weeks after his death, around the year 633.
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