Amergin of Maigh Seóla, father of Finbarr of Cork, fl. c. 550. Amergin is described as an

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

from

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

, and a member of the

Uí Briúin The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with th ...

. He is said to have belonged to a branch that ruled

Maigh Seóla Maigh Seóla (), also known as Hy Briuin Seola, was the territory that included land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. It was bounded to the east by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain and extended roughly ...

, although they would not be considered among the Uí Briúin till the 10th century. He settled in Muskerry,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. He obtained work as chief smith to King Tighernach of Ui Eachach, and in time he gained land at Achaidh Durbchon (near Gougane Barra, source of the river Lee). Against Tighernach's wishes, Amergin married a member of the royal household. They were caught and sentenced to be burned alive for defying Tighernach but in what was regarded as a sign of divine intervention, a storm of heavy rain put out the fire. Thus they were set free.

A child was born from this union and they returned to Gougane Barra, where the boy was baptised Luan, or Lochan. When he was seven years old three clerics of Munster, returning from a pilgrimage to Leinster, happened to stop at the house of Amergin. They admired the boy for the grace of the Holy Spirit that seemed to them to shine in his face, and were allowed by his parents to take him away to be educated. He studied at a place called Sliabh Muinchill, where, as was usual at the time, he was tonsured and had his name changed. The cleric who cut his hair is said to have observed, "Fair (finn) is the hair (barra) of Luan." "Let this be his name," said another, "Barr Finn, or Finn Barr."

References

* ''The History and Folklore of the Barony of Clare'', Michael J. Hughes, c. 1993.

External links

History of Saint Finbarre's cathedral and about Finbarr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amergin Of Maigh Seola 6th-century Irish people People from County Galway