By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 3/4/04)

Dubbed a Holy Land by many of its descendants, Ireland, although a small country, boasts an abundance of sites dating back thousands of years to a time when saints roamed the barren fields and monks studied in seclusion. Hillsides and pastures are dotted with ruins of churches, monasteries and cemeteries in the country home to many favorite saints.

Without a doubt, the most famous of these is St. Patrick. Born in 385 in Kilpatrick, Scotland, St. Patrick was captured during a raid at the age 14 and taken to Ireland as a slave. He escaped, with the help of God, at 20 and began his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained a bishop and sent to convert the pagans of Ireland in 433. He preached and converted thousands, including kings and their families, building churches all over the country.

In 441, St. Patrick founded a church in Ballintubber, County Mayo. In 1216, King Cathal O’Conor built an abbey in the town. The church still stands, and is the only church in Ireland founded by an Irish king still in use today. (www.museumsofmayo.com/ballintubber.htm)

Also in County Mayo is Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s holy mountain. The symmetrical mound is the site of many pilgrimages to visit the ground on which St. Patrick rested and fasted during Lent in 441. Legend also says this is where the patron saint banished the snakes from Ireland.

Off the north coast of Mayo, Downpatrick Head is another land formation associated with the saint. According to legend, Crom Dubh, a pagan chieftain, lived on what is now a sea stack. He refused to be converted by St. Patrick, and the angered bishop struck the ground with his crosier, and the sea stack separated from the mainland leaving Crom Dubh in exile. (www.teachnet.ie/vmcmahon/history/downpat.htm)

To the south, the Rock of Cashel, located in County Tipperary, also bears stories of the infamous saint. The rock consists of a fortified wall containing St. Patrick’s Cathedral (built in the 13th century), Cormac's Chapel (completed in 1134), the 92 foot-high round tower (built in the 11th or 12th century) and Vicars Choral (now restored and serving as a museum). The museum houses the original, 12th century, St. Patrick’s Cross.

In the 4th and 5th centuries, St. Patrick’s Rock was the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. In the 5th century, St. Patrick converted the leader of Eoghanachta clan (ancestors of the McCarthys) in a ceremony when he accidentally stabbed the king in the foot with his crosier. Thinking this was a rite of initiation, the king bore the pain. It was the seat of the Kings of Munster, the Eoghanachta clan, until Brian Boru came to power and in the 12th century Muircheartach O’Brien handed the rock over to the Church. The McCarthys moved to Cork, but as a sign of goodwill, Cormac McCarthy built Cormac’s Chapel in 1169 before leaving.
Also located near the rock are a Dominican friary founded in 1243 and a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1266. (http://www.historic.irishcastles.com/rockofcashel.htm)

A friend of St. Patrick, St. Brigid worked to spread Catholicism in Ireland around the town of Kildare, southwest of Dublin. Being a beautiful young girl, her father had no problems finding suitors for his daughter. Brigid, however, had promised herself to God, and prayed that he might make her ugly. When her prayer was answered, her father agreed that she could become a nun. She was the first religious sister in Ireland and founded a convent around the year 470, so that other young women might be able to enter consecrated life. As her story is told, she approached the King of Leinster asking for land for her monastery. The stingy king agreed that she could only have as much land as her cloak would cover. When she spread her cloak, it miraculously kept flowing across the countryside, securing for her acres of land. Her monastery developed into a noted center of learning and fostered the growth of the city of Kildare. She is buried at Downpatrick with Sts. Columba and Patrick.

East of Kildare, in County Wicklow, is Glendalough, the ruins of the monastic site founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. The walled settlement contains several churches, a wonderfully preserved round tower and a roofless cathedral situated between two lakes and near rolling hills. (www.glendalough.connect.ie)

Tradition tells that St. Kevin was born to a royal family in Leinster, Ireland, and baptized by St. Cronan. An angel appeared to his mother and told her she would bear a boy who would be dear to God and man and the father of many monks.

He was ordained and lived the life of a hermit in Glendalough. After seven years, he gave up solitary life and founded a monastery, later moving back to Glendalough.

St. Kevin’s high cross is located at Glendalough. According to legend, whoever can wrap their arms completely around the cross will be granted a wish. It is said that he was 120 years old at his death.

Ireland is also home to one of the major Marian shrines in the world. On Aug. 21, 1879, an apparition of Mary, Joseph and John the Evangelist appeared at the church in Knock, on the west coast of Mayo. Mary wore a white cloak and her hands and eyes were raised to heaven in prayer. On her head was a crown with a rose on her forehead. On her right was Joseph, with his head turned toward her. On Mary’s left was St. John, dressed as a bishop. Beside the three was a large altar, and on it, a lamb. Angels hovered around the lamb. Fifteen people stood witness for two hours, in the pouring rain, to view the apparition and pray the rosary.

Six weeks after the apparition, a commission of inquiry was set up and reported that the testimony of all 15 witnesses was trustworthy and satisfactory.

In 1979, the Knock Shrine was recognized and honored by the church and Pope John Paul II visited Knock as a pilgrim. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta visited the Shrine in 1993. Each year, an estimated 1.5 million pilgrims travel to the small town of Knock. (http://knock.mayo-ireland.ie/Apprtion.htm)

The few holy sites mentioned above only begin to tell the story of Catholicism in Ireland. Every county, and almost every town, has its own stories and folklore to add to the story of the Holy Land of Ireland.

For more information on saints visit www.catholic.org/saints.