ST. BRENDAN THE ELDER, ABBOT OF CLUAIN-FEARTA, OR CLONFERT, UPON THE RIVER SHANNON

HE was son of Findloga, and a disciple of St. Finian at Clonard. Passing afterwards into Wales, he lived some time under the discipline of St. Gildas, also several years in the abbey of Llan-carven, in Glamorganshire. He built in Britain the monastery of Ailech, and another church in a territory called Heth. Returning into Ireland, he founded there several schools and monasteries, the chief of which was that of Cluain-fearta.* He wrote a monastic rule which was long famous in Ireland, taught some time at Roscarbre, and died at Enach-duin, a monastery which he had built for his sister Briga, in Connaught. He is named in the Roman Martyrology on the 16th of May, on which he passed to bliss, in the year 578, in the ninety fourth year of his age. His life, extant in MS. in the Cottonian Library, is filled with apocryphal relations of miracles. See Usher’s Antiq. pp. 271, 471, 494. Smith, Natural and Civil History of Kerry, pp. 412 and 68.