Saint Caomhán (; may have died in 865), anglicised as Cavan, sometimes ''Kevin'', is the patron saint of

Inisheer Inisheer ( ga, Inis Oírr , or ) is the smallest and most easterly of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Ireland. With 281 residents as of the 2016 census, it is second-most populous of the Arans. Caomhán of Inis Oírr is the island's ...

( ga, Inis Oírr), the smallest of the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony of Aran i ...

. Although he is "by far the most celebrated of all the saints of the Aran Islands", little is known about him. He is said to have been a disciple of Saint

Enda of Aran Saint Enda of Aran (Éanna, Éinne or Endeus, died 530 AD) is an Irish saint. His feast day is 21 March. Enda was a warrior-king of Oriel in Ulster, converted by his sister, Saint Fanchea, an abbess. About 484 he established the first Iri ...

, which would place him in the 6th century, but his death date has also been recorded as 865.Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, John Eller Taylor, ''Hardwicke's Science-gossip'' Volumes 10–11 (1874)
p. 272
The saint's Pattern Day ( ga, Lá an Phátrúin) was formerly 3 November, but was moved to 14 June in the 19th century. There used to be a pilgrimage of the sick to his tomb on his day, and an open-air mass is still celebrated there every year.Fionn Davenport, ''Ireland'',

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarke ...

(2010) p. 410.

St Cavan's Church

St Cavan's Church (also "St Kevin's Church", ga, Teampall Chaomhán) is a ruined church, built in the 10th century, at the location of the saint's grave. The entrance is now below ground level, as the church was nearly buried by drifting sands; it has now been excavated and is kept clear of sand by the islanders."the little church of St Cavan, or Kevin, is usually covered by drifting sands, but it is cleared each year in order to hold a service at his tomb, to the north-east of the church." Elizabeth Rees, ''Celtic Sites and Their Saints'' (2003)
p. 10
In recent times it has been roofed to resist the incursion of blown sand from the surrounding dunes. All that remains visible of this structure today is the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

. A century or so after this was built, the rest of the building gave way for a wider

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The lintel over the original western doorway was reused in the enlarged building to become the entrance from the nave to the priest's residence. Three other features date from the late medieval period: the head of the chancel arch, the pointed doorway in the south wall of the nave and the priest's residence. The grave of St Caomhan ( ga, Leaba Chaomhain or "Caomhán's Bed") is located to the north-east of the church. It is a tradition on the island to spend the vigil of the saint's feast praying at his grave. It has been written that people were cured of illness here. File:Ruine d'une chapelle, Inisheer.jpg, The ruins of Saint Caomhan's church, Inisheer (2011 photograph) File:Caomhan nave 2013.JPG, Saint Caomhan's church, viewed from the priest's residence in the west through the

and

arch to the altar in the east. File:Caomhan church grave 2013.JPG, Saint Caomhan's church with Caomhan's grave (Leaba Chaomháin) in the background. File:St Cavan's Grave (Leaba Chaomháin) Inisheer by CFM - 20220707 - 01.jpg, Saint Caomhan's grave (Leaba Chaomháin) in Inisheer cemetery File:St Caomhan plaque.jpg, Plaque in the modern church (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: "Saint Caomhán, be with the fisherman that they might return.")

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caomhan of Inisheer Medieval saints of Munster Aran Islands 865 deaths