Saint Faber (also St or St Febor) is the

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 Sacred Heart Church in

Boho Boho may refer to: Geography * Boho, County Fermanagh, a village and parish in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland ** Boho Caves, a cave system in Boho * Boho, North Sumatra, a village on the island of Samosir, Indonesia Other uses * Boho, short fo ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

and of Monea. St Faber's Bullan

One of the first references to St Faber's is in the text of the manuscript known as The Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee Óengus of Tallaght estimated to have been written at the beginning of the 9th century. This links the saint with Boho (Botha) and Tuath Ratha (Tir Ratha) together with her feast day (6 November), as follows: "". This is reiterated in the 1630 text, "The Martyrology of Donegal: a Calendar of the Saints of Ireland". There is a popular myth that St Faber had a pet deer which carried the sacred books that she was entrusted with. One day, as she was travelling to meet Baron O Phelan at his castle in Boho, the deer was harassed by some hunting hounds. In order to escape, the deer jumped into the

Sillees River The Sillees River ( ga, Abhainn na Sailchis meaning "the sally kesh river") is located in south-western County Fermanagh. Its origins lie in Lough Ahork, which is located in Lough Navar Forest (''Coill Loch na bhFear''). From here it continues th ...

and in the process ruined St Fabers books. The saint then placed a curse on the river that it would run backwards, (previously, the Sillees river ran from Boho towards the sea) "the river writhed and recoiled," and now its route goes towards upper

Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...

rather than the sea. The second part of her curse was that the river would be good for drowning and bad for fishing. If you look closely at the river route today you can still see some of the old routes that have dried up or formed oxbow-like depressions in the ground. It is reputed that Saint Faber set up a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

in Boho, possibly at the site of the church in Toneel North and introduced

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to the area. There are several sites associated with St Faber around Boho including St Faber's

bullán A bullaun ( ga, bullán; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun. The size of the bullaun is high ...

(rock cut basin) and St Faber's well, both found in the townland of Killydrum, Boho.

References

6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Irish nuns Irish folklore Religion in County Fermanagh Medieval Irish saints People from County Fermanagh Year of death unknown 5th-century Irish people Year of birth unknown Female saints of medieval Ireland 5th-century Irish women {{Ireland-saint-stub