Saint Finbar, Finbarr, Finnbar, or Finnbarr, in
Irish Fionnbharra, very often abbreviated to Barra, (c.
550
__NOTOC__
Year 550 ( DL) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
–
25 September 623) was
Bishop of Cork
The Bishop of Cork was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the city of Cork in Ireland. The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland it is held by the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, and in the Roman C ...
and abbot of a monastery in what is now the city of
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, Ireland. He is
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of the city and of the
Diocese of Cork.
[MacErlean, Andrew. "St. Finbar." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 Jul. 2013]
/ref> His feast day is 25 September.
Life
Having lived in Templemartin, which is near Bandon and originally named Lóchán (modern form, Loan), he was the son of Amergin of Maigh Seóla
Amergin of Maigh Seóla, father of Finbarr of Cork, fl. c. 550.
Amergin is described as an artisan from Connacht, and a member of the Uí Briúin. He is said to have belonged to a branch that ruled Maigh Seóla, although they would not be consi ...
, a skilled craftsman originally from Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
. He studied in Ossory
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
, corresponding approximately to the present County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...
. He was renamed ''"Fionnbharra"'' (''Fairhead'' in Irish), reportedly when, on being tonsure
Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...
d, the presiding cleric remarked: "''Is fionn barr'' (''find barr'', in the Irish of the time) ''Lócháin''", meaning, "Fair is the crest of Loan"), and he then became known as "Findbarr" ("Fionnbarra" in modern Irish).[P. Cahalane, "Saint Finnbarr, Founder of the Diocese of Cork" in ''The Fold'', July and August 1953]
/ref> He went on pilgrimage to Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
with some of the monks, visiting St David
Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail abo ...
in Wales on the way back.["About Saint Finbarr", Saint Finbarr Roman Catholic Church, Naples, Florida]
/ref>
On completion of his education he returned home and lived for some time on an island in the small lake, then called Loch Irce.[Patrick Duffy, "St Finbarr (560-610) patron of the diocese of Cork"]
/ref> The island is now called Gougane Barra
Gougane Barra () is a scenic valley and heritage site in the Shehy Mountains of County Cork, Ireland. It is near Ballingeary in the Muskerry ''Gaeltacht''. Gougane Barra is at the source of the River Lee and includes a lake with an oratory built ...
(the little rock-fissure of Finnbarr). He is reputed to have built small churches in various other places, including one in Ballineadig, County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
, called Cell na Cluaine, anglicised as Cellnaclona and sometimes referred to as Cloyne, causing it to be confused with Cloyne (Cluain Uamha) in east Cork.[
]
He 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
Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...
, where he gathered around him monks and students. This became an important centre 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 in English, though this is not a translation of the Irish motto "''Ionad Bairre Sgoil na Mumhan''" which means "Finbarr's foundation, the School of Munster".
The church and monastery he founded in 606 were on a limestone cliff above the River Lee, an area now known as Gill Abbey, after a 12th-century Bishop of Cork, Giolla Aedha Ó Muidhin.[ It continued to be the site of the cathedral of his ]diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
. The present building on the site, owned by the Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
, is called Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral. The people of Cork often refer to the nearby Catholic church, also dedicated to St Finbar, in Dunbar Street in the South Parish as 'the South Chapel', distinguishing it from the North Cathedral, the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Anne, sometimes called 'the North Chapel'.
Finbar died at Cell na Cluaine, while returning from a visit to Gougane Barra. He was buried in the cemetery attached to his church in Cork.[
]
Legacy
There are at least six St. Finbar's schools in England, Chelsea, and Australia – at Ashgrove, Byron Bay, Invermay, Tasmania, Sans Souci (South Sydney, spelt St Finbar), East Brighton (Melbourne), Quilpie (South West Queensland), and Glenbrook, in the Blue Mountains. There is a St. Finbarr's school in Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
, Nigeria. There is also a St. Finn Barr school and church in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, California. The original cathedral of the Diocese of Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
, South Carolina, in the United States was named in honour of St. Finbar and remained standing until the Great Fire of Charleston during the Civil War. It is believed to have been named so because John England, the first bishop of Charleston, was originally from the County Cork and was consecrated a bishop in Saint Fin Barre's Church before travelling to the United States.
In Coventry, England, St Finbarr's Social Club was named in honour of the saint during the late 1980's attracting large numbers from an Irish background to socialise. Upon demolition in 2006, a new housing scheme was completed in 2008 on the same site with the road name of Finbarr Close.
Other Saint Finbars
There are five Irish saints named Finnbarr.[ One scholar has theorized that the Cork saint is identical with Finnian of Moville, a teacher of ]Colm Cille
Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
.[
]Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
has place names that refer to Saint Finnbarr, perhaps due to devotion to him having been carried there by disciples.[ One such place is the Gaelic-speaking island of Barra, where there is a ruined church called Cille Bharra (Church of Finnbarr). Tradition identifies that Finnbarr with the Cork saint, but it has been argued that he was Scottish.Cille Bharra]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finbarr
Christian clergy from County Cork
7th-century Christian saints
Medieval saints of Munster
550 births
620 deaths
6th-century Irish priests
7th-century Irish bishops