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Introducing
Ciarán, the founder of Clonmacnoise. Fate could
have been kinder to this man. As we encounter him, his
monastic settlement is only seven months old, he himself
is barely into his thirties, and he has been struck
down by the plague. He isn't long for this world.
Ciarán's companion here is Kevin
of Glendalough, his soulmate and confessor, or, as it
is in Irish, his 'anam cara'.
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Ciarán lies looking out at Clonmacnois under the
September sky, he sees something barely into its infancy
as he himself hurries off to the next world. He shall
have to content himself with having got the wheels in
motion here. |
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He was born to parents from opposite
ends of the country. His father, Beoit, a chariot-builder,
came from Larne in County Antrim, and his mother Darerca,
came from Kerry. Ciarán was known locally as
'Ciarán mac an tSaeir', the son of the craftsman.
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Growing
up, Ciarán was renowned for his love of animals
and vice-versa.
When he went to study with Finian of Clonard, he brought
his own cow with him to the monastery, a common enough
practice in itself. The milk yield of the cow anything
but common, however, and she produced sufficient for the
whole monastery!
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| Clonard, it transpired, was but the beginning
of the odyssey that was to bring him to the situation
in which we now find him. Following his spell with Finian,
he studied with the holy man, Enda, on Aran Island. Here,
he received a mystical vision of a tree in the middle
of Ireland, with branches spreading out to the four corners
of the land. The branches were laden with fruit and inhabited
by birds. |
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| Enda
knew he had something special on his hands with Ciarán,
someone whom he knew would do great things. He took Ciarán's
vision to be of especial significance, and interpreted
it as a sign of Ciarán's potential. Ciarán
could be the tree - he could shelter Ireland with his
grace, and feed men's spiritual hunger with his prayers
and fastings. These were gifts that belonged in a wider
setting, and Enda urged him to found a church on the banks
of the Shannon, in the middle of the country. |
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Journeying
eastwards, Ciarán came to Hare Island on Lough
Ree. It was here that he met and converted the men who
were to help him establish his monastery. Together,
they sailed further down the Shannon to find a suitable
site, landing at last at Clúan Moccu Nois, the
Meadow of the Sons of Nois.
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As we see it now, Clonmacnois has barely
begun, and its founding father lies dying. The wooden
huts of Ciarán's seven companions give little
hint of the grandeur to come. In spite of his imminent
demise, Ciarán remains down-to-earth and unsentimental,
his missionary zeal undiminished. He tells his disciples:
"Go ye, let my relics bleach in the sun like the
bones of a deer; better for you to dwell in heaven with
me, than here with my relics."
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