If asked to name an Irish saint, most people will probably cite Patrick or Brigit. Many will have heard the name Colum Cille (aka Columba) but will only have a vague idea of who these characters were and their contribution to Irish society. The names of saints have long played a pivotal role in Irish culture, from Baptism and Confirmation rites to associations with schools, sports clubs, churches and community centres.
The old romantic view of Ireland as the “isle of saints and scholars” is no exaggeration as Prof Pádraig Ó Riain expertly demonstrates in the second edition of his fascinating Dictionary of Irish Saints. It is a wonderfully-written book that will be an incredibly valuable resource to a wide audience for generations to come. This new version combines the first edition (2011) and supplement (2022) into a single, well-structured, accessible volume.
The main contents of the book are, of course, the saints themselves. Inevitably, the better-known saints such as Patrick of Armagh, Brigit of Kildare, Colum Cille of Iona, Scotland, Íde of Killeedy, Limerick, and Moninne of Killevy, Armagh, are the subjects of the largest entries in the book, in part because of the wealth of existing source materials about them. The accounts of these and all the other saints included in the Dictionary reveal much about the complexity of ancient and medieval Irish society, in particular, the island’s gradual Christianisation and retention of traditional practices.
Take, for instance, the story of Beag, son of a druid and a prophet/counsel (fáidh) to the king of Tara, Diarmuid mac Cearbhall, whose extremely violent demise Beag apparently predicted. Similarly, there is Colmán, a former royal poet (fili) and later founder of Cloynes monastery, Co Cork. Colmán’s works are among the earliest extant cases of writing in Irish using Latin script. Both narratives illustrate a certain level of involvement between two traditions, “pagan” and Christian, in early medieval Ireland.
Miracles were a common feature of the saint-making process in medieval Ireland, either performed by a saint or linked to them in some form. A Dictionary of Irish Saints brims with miraculous events, a selection of which includes Mochua of Clanmorris, Co Mayo, whose tears caused an infertile woman to give birth to a future saint, Bíthe of Inch, Co Down; Coireall of Meithe, who managed to have a golden altar delivered straight from heaven; Dúnchadh of Clonmacnoise, who could raise the dead; and the holy wells of Faoileann of Killeely, Co Galway, that continued to produce miracles long after her death. It is not often explicitly stated in medieval Irish primary sources how or why individuals became saints in the early Irish context. Rather, their sainthood is simply stated in an annal. In literature, saints are depicted as protectors to whom people prayed for succour, or as intermediaries in disputes.
Ó Riain’s meticulous research presents a vast array of Irish saints, many with multiple feast days, alternative names, and associated churches, monastic foundations and other cult sites spread over a wide geographical area. Gobnaid of Ballyvourney, West Muskerry, Co Cork, is a case in point. A patron saint of ironworkers and bees, she was reputedly skilled in curing unusual diseases. There are wells and churches in her name stretching from Cork to Kerry, to the Aran Islands and Waterford. She is variously known as Gobnaid, Gobnad, Gobnait, Mo Gobnat, Deborah and Abigail, and is still venerated locally in Ballyvourney.
[ Gift of the Gob – An Irishman’s Diary about the name GobnaitOpens in new window ]
The familial connections and dynastic backgrounds of many of the saints in this book point to a sophisticated, intricate social and religious network stretching across Ireland and through Britain and continental Europe. The miracles with which they were associated, the churches they founded and the placenames that remember them resonate with Irish people today. Virtually every corner of Ireland is connected with the ancient past through association with saints, whether through a placename, ecclesiastical site, geographical feature, or personal name. In essence, Ireland’s very identity is interwoven with its saints.
A Dictionary of Irish Saints is not a book to be read in one sitting. It is a resource to return to time and again and a guide to understanding Ireland’s past and present, its people and the land. And yet it is a genuinely great read.
It is not possible to do full justice to Ó Riain’s monumental achievement in such a brief review, but every library, community heritage group and, dare it be said, household, should have a copy of this superb book.
Dr Chris Doyle is lecturer in medieval history at the University of Galway.
