Saint’s Life Story

His Early Life

Finbar was born around the year 550 near Connaught, Ireland. His original name was Lóchán, and he was the son of a skilled artisan named Amergin from Galway and his mother was a lady of the Irish royal court. From a young age, Finbarr demonstrated a deep spiritual inclination and a thirst for religious knowledge. He pursued his religious education at Kilmacahil monastery in Kilkenny, Ireland. Here, he studied under prominent monks, eventually embracing the monastic life.

Origin of His Name

When he went as a young man, to be tonsured as a Monk for the first time, the man shaving his head said: “The hair of this servant of God is beautiful.” Another said: “You have spoken well, because his name will be changed and he shall be called Finn-barr, that is ‘beautiful hair’, from the beautiful head he offered in sacrifice to God.” So he was called Finbar (“Fionnbarra” in modern Irish). So, he was called Finbarr by some and Barra by others, Barra being generally used in the Irish language.

Met Saint David

Finbar went on pilgrimage to Rome, Italy with some of the monks and visited Saint David of Wales in Pembrokeshire on the way back. This visit to Saint David was particularly important, as it connected him to the Celtic Christian tradition and the great Welsh saint who was known for his monastic foundations and missionary work.

He evangelized Gowran, Coolcashin, and Aghaboe. We are told he preached in Scotland before coming to southern Ireland. Finding solace in solitude, Finbar lived as a hermit on two occasions: once on a tiny island in Loch Irce, a small lake in the mountains west of Cork. Later, he was a hermit at what is now called Gougane Barra (Guagán in Irish means “little rock fissure of Finbarr”).

Built Schools

Demonstrating his commitment to education and spiritual guidance, Finbar founded a number of schools. One of these schools was in Eirce, Ireland at Loch Irce, a beautiful place at the source of the River Lee. He did not hesitate to join in the manual work of constructing the buildings for his community.

Finbar is thought to also have built small churches in various other places, including one in Ballineadig, County Cork, called Cell na Cluaine. The church and monastery he founded in 606 were on a limestone cliff above the River Lee. This area is now known as Gill Abbey, after a 12th-century Bishop of Cork, Giolla Aedha Ó Muidhin.Finbar’s monastery was probably sited near where the Church of Ireland Cathedral of St Finbarr stands today.

A beautiful replica of Cormac’s chapel has been recently erected in his honor. The hermitage is one of the best preserved monuments in the Diocese. The walls still stand and are 14 feet thick. There are eight cells, each 7 feet wide by 10 feet deep. The courtyard is 50 feet square.

Refused Pope

Supposedly, on another visit to Rome the Pope wanted to consecrate him a bishop, but Finbar refused the Pope due to a vision he had. Then, Finbar notifying the Pope that God had reserved that honor to Himself. Accordingly when Finbar returned to Ireland, our Lord brought a miraculous flow of oil from the ground. There, Finbar was consecrated Bishop, anointed with the oil which flowed round the feet of the onlookers. Finbar served as the first bishop of Cork, further establishing and nurturing the faith in the region. He was Bishop of Cork seventeen years.

City of Cork

Finbar settled for about the last seventeen years of his life in the area then known as Corcach Mór na Mumhan (the Great Marsh of Munster), now the city of Cork, where monks and students flocked to him. This became an important center of learning, giving rise to the phrase Ionad Bairre Sgoil na Mumhan – “Where Finbar taught let Munster learn”, is the motto of today’s University College Cork.

Legends

Numerous extravagant miracles were attributed to him, demonstrating his close relationship with God. One legend is that when he was visited by Saint Laserian the two monks sat together under a hazel bush, talking of the things of God. Saint Laserian asked Finbar for a sign that God was with him. Finbar prayed. Then, the spring catkins on the bush above them fell off, nuts formed, grew and ripened, and he gathered them in handfuls and poured them into Saint Laserian’s lap.

Another legend tells of Finbar chasing and expelling a great lake serpent named Lú from the lake at Gougane Barra, whose retreat carved out the riverbed of the River Lee.

His Death

Finbar died around 623 at Cell na Cluaine in Cloyne, County Cork, Ireland (about 15 miles from Cork), while returning from a visit to Gougane Barra. He was buried in the cemetery attached to his Cathedral in Cork, Ireland. A few years later, his relics were put into a silver reliquary and kept in the Cathedral, which bears his name to this day, St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, one of the most iconic religious structures in Cork.

Mysticism surrounds Finbar, with many extraordinary miracles ascribed to him. One of the most pious traditions claims that after his passing, the sun refused to set for a full two weeks, casting a perpetual light over the lands he so dearly loved.

Note:  There are also many places in Scotland that have the name Barra, specially Barra, Scotland, but this is probably more due to journeys made by Finbar’s disciples than to journeys by himself.

Born:                     Around 550 in Connaught, Ireland

Died:                     Around 623 at Cell na Cluaine in Cloyne, County Cork, Ireland

Beatified:             Pre-Congregation

Canonized:          Pre-Congregation

Feast Day:           September 25

Patron Saint:      Barra, Scotland; Cork, Ireland; Diocese of Cork and Ross, Ireland

Source:

• St. Finbar – Saints & Angels – Catholic Online
• CatholicSaints.Info » Saint Finbar
• Saint Finbar – Saint for a Minute
• Finbar of Cork – Wikipedia

Prayers

Video Link

St. Finbarr Inspirational Life || Feast Day : Sept. 25 – YouTube (JOY OF HEAVEN)