Saint Brecan was an Irish saint active in the 5th century AD. There are legends concerning Brecan from Clare and Aran, and wells and churches are dedicated to him in various places in Ireland. His main monument is the ''Tempull Breccain'' complex on
Inishmore
Inishmore ( ga, Árainn , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 762 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and ...
in the Aran Islands.
Life and legends
![Temple Brecan 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Temple_Brecan_1.JPG)
Brecan is the oldest of all the local saints of
County Clare
County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
, and lived around 480 AD.
He was grandchild of Carthan Fionn, one of the Dalcassian kings who reigned in
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
around 439 AD. His grandfather was baptized by
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...
at what is now Singland, near
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
. His father, son of the king, was Eochu Balldearg, or Eochu of the Red Spot.
It was recorded that Eochu was hopelessly disfigured and diseased when he was born, but was cured through a miracle by Saint Patrick.
Brecan was one of two sons of Eochaidh Bailldearg, the other being Conall Caemh, and was originally named Breasel.
A poem from the 14th or 15th century says he was a soldier before becoming a missionary.
On his first mission to Aran he destroyed a reigning idol named Brecán, and took that name for himself.
He converted the idol's sanctuary into a hermitage.
According to the antiquarian
Thomas Johnson Westropp
Thomas Johnson Westropp (16 August 18609 April 1922) was an Irish antiquarian, folklorist and archaeologist.
Career
Westropp was born on 16 August 1860 at Attyflin Park, Patrickswell, County Limerick. His relatives were landowners of Engli ...
,
A different version of the dispute between Saints Enda and Brecan is recorded by Roderic O'Flaherty:
Saint Brecan died early in the 6th century.
Legacy
![Abbey, St Columb's Park, Derry - Londonderry (geograph 2486270)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Abbey%2C_St_Columb%27s_Park%2C_Derry_-_Londonderry_%28geograph_2486270%29.jpg)
Saint Brecan's most important foundations were the Seven Churches of Aran on
Inishmore
Inishmore ( ga, Árainn , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 762 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and ...
, of which only the ruins of two have survived.
Brecan's church is the chief of the Seven Churches.
The ''Tempull Breccain'' (Church of Brecan) on Aran was described in 1684 as a handsome and formerly parochial church in which Brecan's feast was celebrated on 22 May each year.
The Damhliag or great Church of Saint Brecan consists of a nave and a choir connected by a beautiful semi-circular arch of cut stone.
The original layout was a rectangle with projections of the north and south walls beyond the east and west gables.
It probably had an entrance doorway in the south wall, which suggests it was built in the 12th century or later.
The building was remodeled in the 13th century when the chancel and arch were added. The interior of the building is .
A second church, the ''Teampull an Phoill'' (Church of the Hollows) is from the main church, and probably dates from the 13th century or later.
Brecan's tomb is beside the main church.
The ''Leaba Brecain'' is an early enclosure that holds a broken but richly carved cross, and contains a slab inscribed with a cross and "
i Brecani".
This shows that he was revered as a saint from an early date.
A smaller circular stone found in the tomb, about three inches in diameter, was inscribed with the short prayer in
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 ...
: "OR AR BRAN NAILITHER", which may be short for "OROIT AR BRECAN NAILITHER", meaning "A prayer for Brecan the Pilgrim".
However, the stone may well have been placed by a pilgrim named Bran.
Brecan is said to have founded many other churches and monasteries. These include Ardbraccan in
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
, Kilbreccan in the parish of Kilcummin,
County Galway, Kilbreccan of Thomand in the parish of
Doora, County Clare
Doora ( ga, Dúire) is a village and civil parish in County Clare, Ireland, just to the east of the town of Ennis.
Name
In Irish the word ''Dúr'' means "water", and ''Dúire'' means "of water", so the name means the parish of the water or bog. ...
, Kilbreccan in
Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
, and two churches named Kilbreccan in
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
.
Doora Church near Kilbrecan, Doora parish would have been one of the first central mission churches in Clare if the tradition that it was founded by Brecan is accurate.
He also founded what is now called
Carntemple
Carntemple, once known as Kilbrecan, is a ruined church in the civil parish of Doora, County Clare, Ireland. It may date back to 480 AD. Little remains except the massive foundations.
Location
According to the antiquarian Thomas Johnson ...
about to the east of Doora Church.
The modern St. Brecan's Church, Doora, on Noughaval Drive in Noughaval townland, also bears his name.
Brecan's name is remembered as "Rikin" at
Clooney near
Quin Quin may refer to:
* Quin (name), including a list of people with the name
* Quin, colloquially, one of a set of quintuplets, a multiple birth of five individuals
* Quin (Sigilverse), a fictional planet
* Quin, County Clare, a village in County ...
, and as "Brecan" at Kilbreckan in Doora parish and at the Toomullin well near the
Moher
Moher is a townland in the Parish of Tomregan, Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Ireland.
Etymology
The townland name is an anglicisation of the Gaelic placename "Mothar" which means 'A cluster of trees'. In the 17th century it formed part of C ...
cliffs. A well at Doolin, near Toomullin, was known as St. Brecan's in 1839.
St. Columb's Park in
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
has the ruins of a small church of Saint Brecan's.
The original church was destroyed in 1197 by a Rotsel Pitun, a Norman knight.
It is mentioned in a text from 1397.
The ruins are those of a successor church built in 1585 in the same location by
Redmond O'Gallagher
Redmond may refer to:
*Redmond (name)
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Places United States
* Redmond, Oregon
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Elsewhere
* ...
, Bishop of Derry.
The old church of Saint Brecan is one of the old standing Christian foundations in the city.
According to Monsignor
Eamon Martin
Eamon Martin KC*HS (born 30 October 1961) is a prelate of the Catholic Church from Northern Ireland who has been Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland since 2014.
Early life and education
Martin was born in Derry, Northern Irel ...
, administrator of the Derry diocese, it is more than 1,500 years old.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brecan
Medieval Irish saints
5th-century births
6th-century deaths
5th-century Irish priests
6th-century Irish priests