St.Scuithin
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St. Scuithin (''fl.'' 6th/7th century) also known as Scolan, Scothin or Scuitin was a medieval Irish
saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Å , holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
with strong Welsh connections. Sometime in the 6th century Scuthin left Ireland to pursue a life of cenobitic monasticism at '' Tyddewi'' in Wales founded by
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 ab ...
, whom at a later date he is reported to have saved from poisoning. According to the '' Irish Ecclesiastical Record'', St. Scuithin, having attained advanced ascetic virtues, returned to Ireland c. 540 to live the life of a hermit monk, building himself an austere and isolated cell. This cell was located at Freynestown, on the
Johnswell Johnswell () is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. On the village green is a powerful spring and well dedicated to John the Baptist which was traditionally the venue for a local "pattern" (religious fair) of note, while the moat north of t ...
hills in the ancient barony of Slieve Margy, Kingdom of Ossory. This habitat would become known in Irish as ''tigh scuithin'' and evolve into
Tiscoffin Tiscoffin () is a civil parish, in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It lies in the old barony of Gowran, county of Kilkenny, and province of Leinster, roughly ten kilometres east of Kilkenny town. Tiscoffin is reputedly the site of a battle in 1362, ...
monastery as noted in the List of monastic houses in Ireland. In the
Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
''tigh scuithin'' means the house/abode of Scuithin. This has been
anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
as Tiscoffin and preserved as one of the
civil parishes in Ireland Civil parishes () are units of territory in the island of Ireland that have their origins in old Gaelic territorial divisions. They were adopted by the Anglo-Norman Lordship of Ireland and then by the Elizabethan Kingdom of Ireland, and were f ...
within the
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 ...
Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of
Gowran Gowran (; ) is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is located in the centre of Gowran close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course is located one km from t ...
. The county Kilkenny town of Castlewarren in the Diocese of Ossory also preserves his name with the church of St. Scuithin. The townland of Freynestown is closely associated with St. Scuithin.


St. Scuithin of Bed-Yscolan

There exists an apparently significant historical reference to St. Scuithin in the ancient
annals of Wales The ( Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; late ...
. William Forbes Skene, in the ''Four Ancient Books of Wales'', (Edinburgh, 1868) while reviewing poems in the ''
Black Book of Carmarthen The Black Book of Carmarthen ( cy, Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin) is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Ev ...
'' makes reference to this saint. There is a poem in which St. Scuithin, described as Yscolan, is confronted by the figure of Myrddin Wyllt. A portion of the poem reads: Black thy horse, black thy cope, black thy head, black thyself, Yes, black art thou, Yscolan. I am Yscolan the scholar, slight is my clouded reason, there is no drowning the woe of him who offends a sovereign.... Skene further states that the same name occurs in the lives of
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 ab ...
, when he is said to have met an Irish ecclesiastic called Scuthyn, at a place later called Bed-y-Scolan.


Asceticism of St. Scuithin

It is recorded that St. Scuithin led a life of austere self-discipline and on being quizzed by his contemporary St. Brendan how he was preserved from temptation, he responded that whenever he slept, two heavenly virgins, i.e., divine hope and charity, kept watch by his side to protect him from evil attack. He was so spiritualized by his constant penance, and so unconcerned with worldly attractions, that he is said to have been able to walk on water. Legend states that once while performing this act on the waters between Ireland and Wales he met
St. Finbarr Saint Finbar, Finbarr, Finnbar, or Finnbarr, in Irish Fionnbharra, very often abbreviated to Barra, (c. 550– 25 September 623) was Bishop of Cork and abbot of a monastery in what is now the city of Cork, Ireland. He is patron saint of th ...
in his boat. St. Scuithin grasped a variegated flower - a scuitliin from the water and threw it to St. Finbarr saying: “See how, by the mercy of God, it is in a flowery meadow that we are journeying." To which St. Finbarr replied: “This is not a flowery meadow, but the sea;" and plunging his hand into the water, he caught a salmon which he tossed to St. Scuithin, saying: "See how richly it is supplied by God to minister to our wants." The note in the Felire of St. Oengus adds, that it was on account of that variegated flower that our Saint received his name of Scuithin.


St. Scuithin of Slieve Margy and St. Gobban of Old Leighlin

The ancient habitat and personae of St. Scuithin is often confused with that of
St. Gobban Saint Gobhan has long been linked with the parish of Seagoe – recorded for instance as ''Teach dho-Ghobha'' – in County Armagh, Ireland. This saint - ''Gobban find mac Lugdach'' (-639), was primarily known for his abbacy of the monastery ...
of Old Leighlin which is some seven kilometres distant. St. Gobban founded his monastery in the early 7th century; it would later evolve into
St. Laserian's Cathedral, Old Leighlin St Laserian's Cathedral, Old Leighlin, previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Leighlin, is now one of the six cathedral churches in the Diocese of Cashel and Ossory of the Church of Ireland. It is situated on the site of a mediaeval monast ...
,
County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...
. Confusion exists regarding the various holy men named St. Goban. The close proximity of these two ancient
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