Gobhan of Seagoe | |
|---|---|
| Gobban Find mac Lugdach | |
 Church of St Gobhan | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6th century |
| Died | 639 |
| Buried | Clonenagh/Laois or Clooneagh/Kerry |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 6 December |
| Venerated in | Anglican Communion,Catholic Church |
Saint Gobhan has long been linked with the parish ofSeagoe – recorded for instance asTeach dho-Ghobha – inCounty Armagh, Ireland.
Gobban find mac Lugdach (c. 560 – 639) was primarily known for his abbacy of the monastery ofOldleighlin,County Carlow, where in 633 an importantsynod was held to debate thetiming of Easter. This monastery later evolved intoSt Laserian's Cathedral, Old Leighlin. This abbot also held authority atKillamery –Cell Lamraide inCounty Kilkenny. He died in 639 and was buried in either the ancient abbey of Clonenagh:Cluain-Ednech,County Laois or Clooneagh:Cluain Each,County Kerry.
Clans, landscapes and borders
A holy man named St. Gobhan (St Goban-Gobban-Goba) is associated with the foundationc. 600, of a church ofCeltic Christianity origins in the parish of Seagoe,Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.[1][2] The present St. Gobhan's church is a post reformationChurch of Ireland and is located within theDiocese of Down and Dromore (of theChurch of Ireland), or alternatively theRoman Catholic Diocese of Dromore.[3][4][5] The 17th-century Irish historian and hagiographerJohn Colgan wrote of this location: "Gobanus – Goba of Teg da-goba – Seagoe, on the bank of the Bann in Iveagh of Ulidia (also) St. Gobanus ofKillamery, near the mountain called Slievenaman."[6]
Situated four miles due south ofLough Neagh, St. Gobhan's church stands on a high-commanding ridge overlooking and to the east of the upperriver Bann in a region where three counties almost meet –County Armagh,County Down andCounty Antrim. When St. Gobhan first arrived in this locale almost one and a half thousand years ago he was in the lands of theUí Echach Cobo whose territory would later become the baronies of Upper & LowerIveagh, in modern-day County Down.[7][8][9]
This boundary remained for many centuries until thePlantation of Ulster when in 1605 "The land east of the Upper Bann on the shore of Lough Neagh, known as Clanbrassilagh was formally annexed to the County of Ardmaghe...becoming eventually the barony of Oneilland East".[10][11][12] The continuous spread of urban development and the re-designation of boundaries has masked or obliterated the ancienttopography allowing many small and independent hamlets to be swallowed up.Seagoe continued its independent existence until in 1888 theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898 facilitated its inclusion into Portadown Urban District.
So although present-day Seagoe by definition is in county Armagh, its location and ancient history display an affinity and tenuous bond of ecclesiastical ties with the lands within the historical diocese of Down and Dromore. The original foundation of St. Gobhan's church is in the ancient cemetery some one hundred yards distance from the present church. The old church ruins set amid tall Yew trees and ornate headstones are a poignant reminder of many past incarnations.
Whether political upheaval or ecclesiastical differences precipitated St. Gobban's departure from OldLeighlin is unclear. However, prior to the highly important synod of 633, it would appear that he left his monastery and along with numerous monks journeyed into the west of thekingdom of Ossory. Again whether or not he founded or inherited the monastery at Killamery:Cill lamraidhe in Ossory is disputed; however, during his abbacy, its fame and importance flourished. The 9th-century book – "The Martyrology of Oengus states “of Gobban of Cell Lamraide in Hui Cathrenn in the west of Ossory, a thousand monks it had, as experts say and of them was Gobban.",[13]TheKillamery High Cross has become famous as part of the west Ossory group of High crosses.[14]
In the southwest of Ireland, in the province ofMunster, on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, lies the "Kingdom" ofCounty Kerry (Irish: Ciarraí). The kingdom of theCiarraige tribe whose founder was Ciar, son of the legendaryFergus mac Róich of theUlster Cycle inIrish mythology. A place where crumbling fortresses on jagged headlands still guard the memories of faded kingdoms.
In the "Martyrology of Oengus the culdee", (9th-century register of saints and their feast days), it is stated…"Of Gobban, i.e. of cell Lamraide in Hui Cathrenn in the west of Ossory, i.e. a thousand monks it had, as experts say. angelic wall, i.e. angels founded the wall of his church for him.Lane, an old tribe which was once in the south of Ireland, and of them was Gobban."[15]
The tribal name ofLane is an interpretation of the Irish O'Laoghin or O'Laeghain as mentioned byGeoffrey Keating when referring to the Topographical Poems ofSeán Mór Ó Dubhagáin andGiolla na Naomh Ó hUidhrín.[16] where it is stated – "O'LAEGHAIN, O'Leyne, or Lane, chief of UI ferba and O'Duibhduin, chief of Ui Flannain, districts in the county of Kerry...O'Laeghain, a warrior of fame, We found him over Ui fearba; O'Cathnendaigh obtained the land, firmly settled under the high hills of cualan."
Some authorities describe the land of Ui Ferba as extending northwards fromTralee alongBallyheigue bay toCashen Bay.[17] However prior to its breakup during the Cambro-Norman invasion of Ireland, Ui Ferba not only included the forementioned lands but also included territory to the west of Tralee in the Dingle/Corkaguiny peninsular.[18][19][20] Scattered and embedded into this primitive landscape of stone age dolmens and Iron Age forts are the very foundation stones of early Irish medieval ecclesiastical sites.
Many of these early Christian sites have been lost to the vagaries of time, man, and nature. However many still exist to some extent: one of which is the ancient ecclesiastic site ofRattoo, with its famous round tower.
The estate of the Abbey and churches of Rattoo[21][22] arose within the ancient ecclesiastical see ofArdfert[23] in the cantred of Altry bordering Ui Ferba, within the over kingdom of Ciarraige Luachra and was founded by – "the gentle bishop Lugdach".[24][25] This ecclesiastical site, which was reported to consist of seven churches was long known as "Rath Muighe tuaiscirt" – the fort of the northern plain.[26][27] This bishop Lugdach, could be the father of Gobban find mac Lugdach and this ecclesiastical enclosure might not only be St. Gobhan's birthplace: but also that of his real final resting abode.
It is generally regarded that St. Gobhan was buried, or his holy relics preserved at the celebrated monastery of St. Fintan of Clonenagh(Cluain Ednech), county Laois.[28] However St. Gobhan had no apparent ecclesiastical ties to this historic establishment. An examination of the etymology ofCluain Eidhneach[29] may be instructive. The meaning of the middle Irish wordCluain is invariably found to be a piece of fertile land surrounded by a bog or moor, or on one side by a bog, and the other by water.[26] Also the wordeidnech/eidhneach refers to an area of ivy-clad trees.[30] In summary, an area of raised fertile land surrounded by bog/swamp.
A few miles to the north of Ratoo theriver Feale, Brick and Gale converge: thus united they become the Cashen river which flows some six more miles before emptying into Cashen Bay on theRiver Shannon estuary.[31] The low ground south of the Cashen river was known as Cashen bog.[32] The church of Rattoo lies within this bog, though now much reduced: however, one and a half thousand years ago this topography would have been more apparent.
The church of Rattoo adjoins the ancient townland of Clooneagh:Cluain Each.[33][34] – while seven miles west of Tralee, on the Corkaguiny peninsular is the old church of Kilgobbin.[35][36]
St. Gobban founded his monastery at OldLeighlin in 616. The boundary lines of counties Carlow, Laois and Kilkenny all meet on the Castlecomer plateau. A portion of this plateau has often been referred to as Slieve Margy.[37] OldLeighlin sits on the eastern slopes of the Johnswell hills in the south of the plateau in county Carlow. In the 6th centuryScuithin[38][39] left Ireland to become a disciple of the Welsh holy manSaint David, whom he is credited with saving from poisoning.[40] On returning home to Ireland he became a hermit and holy man in the Johnswell hills where the memory of his name and abode are preserved in "tigh scuithin."[41] While the site of "Tigh Scuthin" has thankfully been preserved in the eponymous location of Tiscoffin it has unfortunately almost obliterated the memory of St. Scuithin as an actual historical entity.
When the ancienttuatha were reorganised Kilkenny was divided into baronies and parishes. The Kilkenny barony ofGowran includes the civil parish of Tiscoffin[42] (tigh scuithin) which stretches into the Johnswell hills. It seems probable that here, in the 7th century, existed the fluid and fluctuating boundary between theKingdom of Ossory and that ofLeinster in which Oldleighlin is situated. Kilkenny would eventually become a county of Leinster in 1210.[43]
The county Kilkenny town ofCastlewarren:(Caisleán an Bhairínigh) in the civil parish of Tiscoffin preserves his memory with the Church of Scuithin.[44] This church is seven kilometres distant from OldLeighlin. No doubt the ancient abode of St. Gobban of OldLeighlin is on the periphery of Tigh Scuthin – Tiscoffin. Also according to theJournal of the Royal Antiquaries of Ireland (1876) St. Gobban may have briefly aboded attigh Scuithin.[45] (after leaving OldLeighlin and before Killamery) for at a time unknown a monastery was erected here.
Time, linguistic variations, dialects and anglicisation have confused and entangledSt Goban andSt.Scuithin: however, two distinct historical persons did exist. Vague references to atascaffin in county Limerick are extant but no designation of that name can be found. However, Tiscoffin monastery, county Kilkenny is in theList of monastic houses in Ireland.
The Goban Saor.
The history of Ireland is steeped in mythology. According to Irish invasion tradition, the fifth group to arrive was theTuatha Dé Danann. They fought and won many battles and displaced and disposed of theFir Bolg. The Tuatha de Danann had a trinity of gods of craft, the most important of which wasGoibniu. Goibnui forged lethal weapons and brewed their magical elixirs of invincibility. His name inOld Irish Gobae~Gobann translates as smith~craftsman. Gobann the craftsman – a skilled builder – theGobán Saor. St. Gobhan was renowned as a builder-founder of many churches. However, as a founder, he should be acclaimed, for the churches were not lavish, spectacular Romanesque or Gothic cathedrals but simple mud and wattle mixtures that embraced usually the holy well – Christianized to act as the font. The interconnectedness and mutuality of names and professions undoubtedly gave rise to an expression of oneness.
The Goban Saor of the Tuatha de Danann existed in an un-dateable period of Ireland's pre-history. St. Gobhan's death is recorded during a dateable period of Ireland's early history. Although St. Gobhan is not the goban saor of the Tuatha de Danann, he could be described as aGoban Saor of 6th–7th century Ireland.
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